Chapter 79: A Man's Dream (4)

When one is fully immersed in something, time flies by quickly. The inhabitants of the Tower of Wishes woke up each day and rushed to their workshops, repeating research and experiments nonstop. After two sleepless nights, they were finally awestruck at the sight of the completed silver behemoth.

“It…actually worked.”

“I thought we’d die trying,” muttered Erica and Floria, exhausted with dark circles under their eyes.

Everyone looked worn out, including Victor and Douglas, despite having superior stamina compared to ordinary humans. Dexter resembled a walking corpse.

Louis whispered anxiously, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Absolutely fine.” Despite his exhaustion, Dexter’s eyes sparkled brighter than ever before.

He had been striving for this goal for so long. Now that he could finally see its fruition, it would be a travesty to collapse from mere fatigue after enduring all these years.

Dexter turned to Louis instead. “You seem to be doing well. Aren’t you tired?”

“Oh, I’m just young and spry!”

”…More like immature.”

“Same difference.”

Dexter gave up arguing with Louis; he knew he’d never win against the brat anyway.

Meanwhile, Victor murmured anxiously, “By the way, we need to test-run the device…but will there be enough time?”

There wasn’t much time left before the Academic Festival at the tower. It seemed unlikely they would have enough time to assess both the performance and issues of the newly constructed Transcendence Engine and make necessary adjustments.

Louis waved off Victor’s concerns as if there was nothing to worry about. “It’ll be fine. What’s troubling you?”

“Pardon me?”

“We can test its capabilities on the way.”

“But how do we transport this massive thing…?” Victor muttered anxiously.

In response, Louis wiggled his stubby fingers dismissively once more. “Heh-heh-heh, I anticipated this issue and prepared accordingly.”

Pablo grumbled from the side, contradicting Louis’s claim. ”…Actually, I made those preparations.”

While Louis and the others were engrossed in developing the Transcendence Engine, Pablo had been working on a project under Louis’s orders. The only idle members of the group gathered at the Wish Tower were the twins.

Pablo grumbled about his hard work due to Louis while everyone else was absorbed in their research.

“I thought I’d break my back making that thing.”

“Oh, you did well.” Louis casually dismissed Pablo’s complaint.

Why bother having the most skilled craftsman if he couldn’t be put to good use? One must utilize resources when needed.

“Well then, where is it?”

”…It’s in the storage room.”

As soon as Pablo finished speaking, he led the way with Louis following closely behind.

The others from the Wish Tower cautiously followed them.

They soon arrived at the storage room.

Creak.

As Pablo opened the large double doors, Louis’s latest creation was revealed to all.

The group from the Wish Tower looked puzzled.

“That is… What? The Dragon Fly?”

“It seems…a bit bigger than before, no?”

As they observed, it became clear that inside the storage area sat Louis’s invention, the Dragon Fly hovercraft. Its most notable change since their last encounter was its size, which had doubled.

Louis proudly spread his arms wide and exclaimed, “Behold, I present to you, Dragon Fly Mark II!”

”…What’s different this time?” Dexter asked with skepticism.

Louis responded cheerfully, “Can’t you see? It’s much larger now.”

”…” Dexter was rendered speechless by Louis’s simplistic answer.

Dexter was rendered speechless by Louis’s overly enthusiastic yet disappointing explanation.

Meanwhile, Louis continued cheerfully, “The bigger size means more power! It’s now super-duper Dragon Fly!”

“What do you mean by ‘super-duper’?”

“It just means it’s really awesome.” Tired of explaining further, Louis waved his hand dismissively and walked toward Dragon Fly 2, dragging the twins along by their collars as they sucked on their lollipops. They obediently followed like kittens being led by their mother, trusting her completely despite their curiosity.

“Where we goin’, Louis?”

“Louis?”

“Come with me.”

Louis forcefully seated the wide-eyed twins onto Dragon Fly.

The crew from the Tower of Wishes merely watched quietly to see what they were up to.

Louis seated the twins next to him on either side of the cockpit. In front of their seats was a long stick protruding vertically between them.

“What’s this, Louis?”

“What is it?”

With a grin, Louis pointed at the stick. “Khan, Kani, grab that.”

“Grab it?”

“This thing?”

“Yes. Grab it and channel your lightning attribute power into it like you used to do before. I’ll give you some treats afterward.”

“Yay!”

“All right!”

Excited by the promise of snacks, the twins eagerly grabbed hold of the stick. Soon, their dragon hearts activated with full force.

Zzzzt…

White bolts of lightning crackled around their bodies. As they did, the empty power gauge in front of the pilot seat rapidly filled.

Louis cheered excitedly. “Oh yeah! Great job, my little ones!”

Louis lovingly gazed at his twins.

With these two, I don’t envy anyone with their hoard of dragons!

The Dragon Fly had been modified to transport the heavy Transcendence Engine, increasing its power requirements exponentially. An ordinary being would have struggled to find sufficient energy for it, but Louis was different.

I’ve got two supercharged batteries right here, so no worries!

To Louis, the precious offspring of another were merely batteries. As he smiled contentedly, the Dragon Fly’s power gauge reached its maximum level.

He promptly gave the signal. “Twins, stop!”

Immediately, the twins removed their hands from the rods. Seeing them unfazed despite pouring out such immense Attribute Power reinforced Louis’s belief that they truly were dragons.

The twins extended their hands toward him.

“Caaah!”

“Caaah, Louis!”

Of course, they were still quite immature for dragons, but that didn’t matter. They were incredibly useful and adorable creatures regardless.

“Here you go.” Louis retrieved two extra-large candies from his inventory space and handed them to the twins.

While the delighted siblings sucked on their treats, Louis pulled out the Dragon Fly carpet and stepped outside with it.

The members of Tower of Wishes swallowed hard as they beheld the majestic sight under the sunlit sky.

“So…we’re going to the Academic Festival on this thing?”

“Well, why else would he have built it?”

They instinctively realized that while they couldn’t predict whether the Transcendence Engine would impress and gain recognition from others…

Vroooom!

As soon as they entered the city riding this monstrous, noisy vehicle, all eyes would be on them. Suddenly, attending the festival seemed less appealing to the group from the Wish Tower.

The capital city of Lumacian Kingdom on the autumn continent had been buzzing with excitement for the past month due to the upcoming Tower Academic Festival, held every five years as a celebration among intellectuals. Naturally, it wasn’t just scholars who attended; mages aiming for recognition and their bodyguards participated, along with invited nobles and merchants eager to cater to these esteemed guests.

Although only towers and invited nobility could directly participate in the festival, it was still enjoyable for the general public. The event lasted ten days in total, and everyone attending shared one common interest:

Who will receive the highest honor this year?

Most towers from across the autumn continent joined the festival, showcasing their intellect through meticulous preparations.

At the Academic Festival of Towers, the best theories and magic spells presented that year were selected and recorded in the prestigious academic journal. The theories and spells published in this journal had a significant influence on the continent for generations to come. Being featured in the Tower’s Journal was not only a great honor but also brought various economic benefits.

As such, countless nobles and merchants closely followed the proceedings of the festival each year.

On the first day of the event, throngs of people filled the streets. Colorful banners fluttered as everyone headed towards the tightly shut gates of the city.

“It’s starting!”

“Mommy, Mommy! Hurry up!”

The reason for the gathering was simple: They eagerly awaited the appearance of the mages, which marked a long-standing tradition at the start of the Academic Festival.

The procession of the top ten towers was about to begin. The smaller and medium-sized towers had arrived several days earlier, but the top ten towers were yet to show their faces. Ordinary mages might occasionally encounter some renowned ones, but witnessing the most influential figures from the Autumn Continent wasn’t a common opportunity.

Couples and families gathered together, eagerly awaiting the spectacle with bated breath.

As anticipation reached its peak:

Grrrreeee…

The gates of Lumacian slowly swung open.

“Wow! It’s starting!”

Soon, sixty mages emerged through the wide-open gate, eliciting exclamations from the crowd.

“Look! It’s the Tower of the Sky!”

“The tenth-ranked tower!”

Mages wearing sky-blue robes adorned with white wings calmly accepted the attention as they marched forward.

Following them, more mages passed through the gate than those from the Tower of the Sky.

“It’s Earth and Green Forest!”

“Wow!”

The eighth- and ninth-ranked towers on the continent entered together. The mages wore deep brown and blue robes respectively. People had gathered by the roadside to catch a glimpse of these esteemed mages. As time went on, the crowd swelled with each new arrival.

“The Tower of Exploding Brains!”

“The Ghosts of War!”

The spectators cheered as they spotted individuals donning ivory-colored robes. Although ranked seventh, no other tower was as renowned or useful during battles as the Tower of Exploding Brains, making it stand out among its peers at the top. With their procession underway, others continued to follow behind.

The Tower of Self-Immolation, the Tower of Ice Shattering, and the Tower of Twilight ranked sixth, fifth, and fourth, respectively. They followed the same path as other towers before them, but no new tower emerged behind them.

Despite this, people remained glued to their seats, waiting for those yet to appear. This was because the real show was about to begin.

As everyone stared with anticipation at the castle gate—

“There they are!”

A group of mages entered together.

“It’s Dawn and Dusk!”

Mages clad in red and blue robes walked side by side, seemingly conscious of each other’s presence. Leading the way were two bearded Tower Masters guiding their disciples.

Following closely behind them were the seemingly dispirited vice tower masters.

“Woooooo!”

The crowd erupted into cheers as Dawn and Dusk made their entrance. The anticipation reached its peak amidst the roaring applause.

“So only one more to go?”

“As expected, the protagonist always arrives last!”

All eyes turned back toward the gate once again.

Only one tower had yet to appear—the number one ranked tower on the fall continent, the Tower of Luminosity.

Ba-dum.

As the beat of drums echoed from afar…

“H-here they come!”

“It’s the Tower of Luminosity!”

Mages draped in robes as white as snow emerged onto the scene.