Overwhelming Firepower

As the procession of gift-giving continued, Lucen noticed someone watching him. It was Count Vermont and his family. They seem like they wanted to approach Lucen’s group, but were holding back for now.

Count Vermont stood stiffly beside his wife, his eyes flicking toward Lucen and Vardon with the awkward stiffness of a man unsure whether to grovel or retreat.

’I guess they would want to apologize.’ Lucen thought to himself.

After the Viscounts and Counts gave their gifts, it was the turn of the Marquesses and the Tower Masters to give their gifts. This is when the gifts became rather interesting.

Many of the Marquesses had forged strong ties with merchants, and some even hailed from merchant families themselves. The gifts they brought were only possible to acquire if you had bought connections and enough coins.

Artifacts that would strengthen oneself, old books from now destroyed kingdoms, those were the kinds of things the Marquesses gave.

As the nobles from before stepped back, murmurs began to ripple across the ballroom. The Tower Masters were next.

Now, for the Tower Masters, their gifts were ones they themselves created. The first one to present their gift was the Tower Master of the Violet Tower, Nerrissa Nova.

She was a beauty like no other, almost fairy-like in appearance. Her garb was a dress that looked like the starry sky was covering her body. Everything about her was being distorted by illusion spells. No one was even sure what the Violet Tower Master truly looked like.

She changes her looks like she changes her dresses, but it is always a beautiful woman with violet blond hair. Unlike the seductive look of Seraphina Aeromont, Nerissa had a more caring, gentle kind of beauty.

As she neared the royal family, she offered only a small nod of acknowledgment.

Unlike the nobles, Tower Masters were not bound by bloodlines or birthright. Their respect was earned, never demanded, and in Nerissa’s case, rarely given freely.

Nerissa opened her palm, and violet butterflies flew around the ballroom. It was a beautiful sight to behold as the butterflies danced around the ballroom.

Everyone looked at the brightly colored butterflies flying around as if dancing with amazement.

In Nerrissa’s open palm, a circular hoop with a web of string in the middle creating a net appeared in her hand.

”This is a dreamcatcher I personally made. As long as you sleep near it, your dreams will always be sweet.”

”This is truly a wonderful gift, Tower Master Nerissa.” King Ragnor thanked the Tower Master, and Nerissa simply smiled sweetly, nodded her head, and stepped aside.

The next to step forward was the Tower Master of the Black Tower, Harold Ravencrown. He had messy black hair and eyes so dark, they looked like they’d stared into the abyss. He was a rather handsome middle-aged man, but the deep, dark circles diminished his looks.

There was a weight to his presence, a quiet, coiled danger common among Black Tower mages who delved into forbidden truths.

Harold Ravencrown’s deep, dark eyes looked at the Third Prince. He was frightened by the look and almost cowered to the side of his big sister. Seeing Elion’s reaction, Harold couldn’t help but sigh. He rummaged through his coat and took out a ring.

The ring was of a simple gold design, but had many runes written above one another, which was the specialty of the Black Tower.

”This is my gift to you. It’s a lifesaving item. If you ever find yourself in trouble, this ring will be able to teleport you once, if you say the activation word. There is also a function that, if you get hit by a spell or blade, a barrier will automatically activate once to block the strike.”

Harold handed the ring to the scared prince with a piece of paper with the activation word written on it.

”Thank you for giving such a precious gift, Tower Master Harold.”

Harold nodded his head at the King and stepped aside for the Next Tower Master to step forward.

The next Tower Master to come forward was the Tower Master of the Green Tower, Gabriel Mivern.

He was a rather large man with a muscular build, which one would not expect from a mage. He was bald without a single hair on his head, but he did have a rather long brown beard. He was wearing only pants and was not wearing anything on top, showing off his powerful-looking upper body.

Barefoot and broad-shouldered, Gabriel exuded a warmth and ease that contrasted sharply with Harold’s grim presence. Like the other Tower Master, he gave a small nod to the king before presenting his present.

Gabriel stomped onto the ground, and vines started to appear from the floor. Not only were there vines, but a small tree suddenly sprouted in front of Gabriel. The small tree then started to change shape, and became smaller and smaller until it was only a stick.

”This is a staff imbued with the power of nature, alongside the blessing of Naerith, the Goddess of the Land and Forests. As long as it is by your side, no animal in the forest would dare harm you. Keep it near, and the forest will watch over you.”

Lucen watched as each Tower Master gave gifts that would be considered rare items in the game.

Two of the items were not something he had seen in the game, but based on their descriptions, the Dreamcatcher would be a cosmetic item, and the staff would be another rare item that would remove the encounter rate in forests.

Still, he recognized one of the gifts, the ring given by the Black Tower Master, was something you can get if you do a few missions for the Black Tower.

It was a useful item to have, especially in dangerous areas where you want to escape from and find a safe point.

’’These gifts of the Tower Masters make mine, and even Father’s seem trivial... I was planning to use my gift to get closer to the Third Prince so I can try and change his fate, but this might be more difficult than I anticipated. I wonder if Father prepared something else.’

While Lucen was thinking, the King had thanked Gabriel, and the next Tower Master had stepped forward. The Tower Master of the Grey Tower, Marick Kanter.

He had googles on his forehead, and he was wearing something a blacksmith would wear. He stifled a yawn, lazily nodding toward the king in acknowledgment. Marick then snapped his fingers a small wooden box appeared in his hand.

”This is something I call a music box. Just press this button in the middle and it will play a famous song I heard in the streets.” True to its name, the music box played a soft, haunting melody that echoed across the ballroom. Many were amazed that such a small thing could make such sounds.

”The power source is a medium-sized mana crystal and will last for a year if you keep using it.”

When Lucen saw the music box, he remembered something from his past life. It was not that clear of a memory, but it was there.

’Maybe I can make a music box, of course, without the need of a mana crystal. If I can remember those things, I can sell the music box, seeing as how interested everyone is... I wonder if there’s an alchemy potion or spell that helps with remembering things. I’d better ask Robert later.’

After Marick gave his gift, it was supposed to be Seraphina’s turn to give a gift as a Tower Master, but she came to this party as a Duchess, not a Tower Master, which was why her gift was for later.

Now, the last of the Tower Masters stepped forward. He was the oldest and also the strongest among the Tower Masters, and it could be argued that he was the strongest in Norvaegard. The Tower Master of the Yellow Tower, Thelwin Keldross.

Unlike the other Tower Masters, Thelwin was known throughout the Kingdom and outside its borders. He might not be one of the Strongest Mages compared to those in some Empires, but he was one of the most knowledgeable.

Thelwin smiled softly at the royal family members and nodded his head. Once he was done with that, Thelwin lifted his hand and reached out into the space in front of him. As if space were being distorted, Thelwin’s hand disappeared as it reached out into another dimension.

This was a spell only a Seventh Circle Mage like him could do: Dimensional storage. Thelwin took out a small bottle and handed it to the young prince.

”This is a diluted Elixir. Almost all known poisons and diseases can be cured if you drink this. It might only be a diluted version of the real thing, but it is effective.”

The audience gasped when they heard the name of the item. Even the King and the other Tower Masters were staring at the small bottle in amazement.

A diluted elixir might not be much in powerful Empires that had Nine Circle Mages, but in the Kingdom of Norvaegard, only Thelwin could make such a potion.

It was not just about skill, but the materials needed were also hard to find, and the fact that a seventh circle fire spell was a prerequisite to create such a potion.

Thelwin gave such a gift after seeing the gift Marick had given. Among all the other Towers, the Yellow Tower would never back down to its rivals, the Grey Tower. Since Thelwin only had one item that could surpass Marick’s gift, he did not hesitate to give it.