This was a simple workshop.
On the birchwood long table, scattered tools were still placed.
It appeared to be a room Lobranch used for temporarily transcribing magic scrolls or conducting research.
However, I paid no attention to these.
Instead, I cast my gaze to the simple bookshelf haphazardly displaying various items around the room.
I recall it should be here.
Following my memory, I soon found a yellowed, old notebook among the cluttered parchment and books.
System: You have obtained Lobranch’s Map-Making Notes.
This was an item with only a name, showing no other effects.
If another player found it, they might treat it as a useless object and casually toss it aside.
But for me, who truly knew its purpose, this was tied to a very important quest.
It was also a crucial part of my plan.
After obtaining the key item, I rummaged through the other bookshelves and the long table.
Even though many thieves had visited before, I still managed to find dozens of one-time-use magic scrolls.
From minor spells like Polymorph: Sheep to major ones like Summon Lightning Storm, they recorded magic from levels 10 to 30.
The most peculiar among them were five scrolls with no level requirement.
Even I couldn’t help being stunned upon seeing them.
[Magic Scroll] Arcane Tunnel
Usage Level: None
Effect: Creates a two-way tunnel through a wall upon use, lasting one minute. Requires wall thickness not exceeding three yards.
Cooldown: None
“This is actually it.” I was slightly dazed.
Even in my previous life, few arcane mages learned such an odd spell.
Ordinary locked rooms could be handled with a thief’s lockpicking skill.
Places restricted by walls usually had powerful monsters guarding them or other mechanisms, so this spell was rarely useful.
For arcane mages, where every spell slot was precious, this spell was undoubtedly quite lackluster.
I thought for a moment and still put it into my inventory.
After all, such utility scrolls might prove unexpectedly effective in specific situations.
The entire room’s harvest seemed to be just the so-called map-making notes and dozens of scrolls.
For the residence of a legendary mage who left heavy marks in many epics, it felt a bit meager, even considering past thieves’ visits.
But I knew well that the more precious treasures were stored on higher floors.
And I currently lacked the ability to obtain them.
As for the other rooms on the second floor, I could explore them slowly later.
After checking around to confirm nothing was missed, I planned to leave.
But as I stepped onto the spiral staircase to head downward, I paused for a moment, unable to resist glancing upward.
In my previous life, the player who entered the mage tower was three months after server launch, over level 30.
Even then, they could only stop at the third floor because it was guarded by several elite-level monsters.
Clearly, that wasn’t something I could handle now.
But if I used other forces…
Though reluctant—and with plenty of time to level up and challenge it later—I couldn’t suppress the restlessness in my heart.
Plus, being killed by monsters wouldn’t drop items in my inventory.
Thinking of this, I switched to the thief class and entered stealth, adding a concealment effect to myself.
Only then did I cautiously step onto the third floor’s staircase.
Without Illumination’s light, darkness obscured all vision.
I thought for a moment and took out a necklace with dark vision enhancement from my inventory to equip.
Such equipment with dark vision boosts dropped from monsters around Herentis and was relatively common in the dark faction.
Though it only added a bit, going from none to some was a qualitative change, enough to let me discern the rough outlines of the environment within three or four yards.
Of course, farther distances still relied on perception.
Somewhat unfriendly was that just a few steps onto the third floor, I sensed seven faint shadows distributed around me in the darkness.
Based on my previous life’s memory, these monsters were all elite-level.
Wasn’t the difficulty jump between the second and third floors a bit too extreme?
I inwardly clicked my tongue but dared not make any sound.
Striving to stay as far as possible from these monsters’ maximum detection range, I sought a path forward through the gaps, aiming to reach the corridor and find a room to hide in without disturbing them.
But this seemed nearly impossible.
Just getting slightly too close, my presence was detected by a nearby monster.
Its roar upon waking from sleep also alerted the others.
Venomous Blood Dwarf Demon [Elite]: Level 30, HP 3000/3000
The name flashing instantly confirmed my guess while making me want to complain.
Like you, a good roommate disturbing others’ sleep— you’d definitely not survive a week in a college dorm.
Of course, whether I could survive now was a very serious question.
A whooshing sound came.
Without hesitation, I used Shadow Strike aimed at the nearest dwarf demon behind me.
My figure vanished, causing the attacks from two incoming monsters to miss.
The moment my body landed, I used Instant Step to move four or five yards away from the dwarf demon I targeted.
Though this meant Shadow Strike’s damage couldn’t land, it completely avoided entering combat—a thief technique from my previous life.
For me, this technique also meant more room to escape.
Quickly switching back to Dark Word Mage, I used Repelling Aura to push back the dwarf demons behind me while Blinking toward the staircase entrance again.
Three consecutive displacements plus control pulled me over a dozen yards away from those monsters.
If the third template for my magic disguise was a warrior, I think I could rightfully be called the master of escape.
Tap tap tap.
Footsteps echoed dully on the spiral staircase.
To be safe, I didn’t even look back, running all the way back to the first floor.
But before I could lean against the wall by the staircase to catch my breath, sharp cries came from behind again.
“Hey, don’t push it too far!” I widened my eyes, looking at the several Venomous Blood Dwarf Demons charging down the stairs with bared fangs.
I no longer hesitated. “Damn it, you forced me—watch me shut the door and release the hounds.”
The moment a golden magic array lit up in the dim first floor of the mage tower, five figures bathed in holy light emerged from it.
It was none other than Kai and the others.