Chapter 276 – The Rented Magic Tower

The Thought of Truth was a spellcasting organization that placed great emphasis on apprentice education, fundamentally distinguishing it from the Mage Guild, which paid little attention to apprentice training.

At the very least, Punk could clearly see that clauses regarding apprentice education were directly listed as one of two obligations on the Thought of Truth’s parchment.

In summary, there were only two obligations to fulfill after becoming a member of the Thought of Truth:

First: When the Thought of Truth branch where a member resides comes under attack, every member is obligated to defend against enemies and uphold the honor of the Thought of Truth, provided they have the capability.

Second: Upon becoming an “Ordinary Mentor” or “Senior Mentor,” members of the Thought of Truth are obligated to take in at least five apprentices. Each apprentice has three opportunities per month to ask their mentor questions regarding knowledge below the Formal-Level, and the mentor is obligated to provide serious explanations if they are capable of answering.

Note: Apprentices with low or average talent can only be taught by Ordinary Mentors, while those with high or exceptional talent may be instructed by Senior Mentors.

“Good, the Thought of Truth truly lives up to its reputation. Both the tasks and rights are quite reasonable.”

After discreetly casting two or three detection spells on the parchment, Punk remarked indifferently, then directly left his arcane mark at the bottom of the document.

This parchment was merely an ordinary contract, not a magical one. As a powerful Legendary organization, the Thought of Truth had no need to rely on magical contracts to ensure compliance in such “minor matters.”

“Welcome, young friend. Welcome to the large family of the Thought of Truth.”

At some point, the blind elder, Master Kirk Weilen, had returned to the Mission Hall, holding in his hand a ring adorned with a large gemstone.

“Here, young friend. This is something we old folks tinkered with in our spare time. Feel free to use it to keep in touch or chat when you have a moment.”

As he spoke, Kirk Weilen tossed the ring toward Punk.

Watching the small ring fly toward him at bullet-like speed, Punk casually waved his hand and caught the golden streak in his palm.

The spells attached to the ring were simple—just a very basic tracking enchantment and an even simpler communication enchantment. However, this also revealed that Kirk Weilen’s trust in Punk, this suddenly emerged powerhouse, was not as high as it appeared on the surface.

But Punk didn’t mind much. The spells on the ring were low-level and rudimentary, with only a simple tracking function. Punk was certain it couldn’t pry into any of his secrets, which proved that this Master Kirk Weilen knew his limits, staying just within the bottom line of Punk’s tolerance!

The ring’s impact was negligible, and since Punk planned to seclude himself here for centuries to conduct experiments, he didn’t care whether others knew his location. So, he merely curled his lips and put it on directly, then began inquiring about the next matter:

“I hope to have a quiet environment for experiments. It would be best if there’s a simple Magic Tower available, and of course, I can pay a reasonable rent!”After accepting this not-unreasonable “monitoring,” Punk, who never liked to suffer losses, immediately made a demand of Kirk Weilen. Though asking to rent a Magic Tower right off the bat was somewhat unreasonable—if Kirk Weilen couldn’t produce a “simple Magic Tower,” he would be left in an awkward position.

However, the shrewd Kirk Weilen seemed to have anticipated Punk’s request. Forcing a dry laugh, he replied:

“What a coincidence! Over six hundred years ago, two Master-Level Casters from this small branch met an unfortunate end, and their Magic Towers became vacant. If you wish to rent one now, you can start using it right away. I guarantee the Elemental Pool and tower spirit are fully intact. Though it might be a bit worn, with your abilities… some patching up should make it serviceable. However, due to regulations, the rent can only be paid in contribution points… Of course, Gold Coins can be exchanged for contribution points, so even if you don’t have any points at the moment, there’s no need to worry!”

Kirk Weilen wore a kindly, smiling expression, but Punk currently felt like blasting the old man right in the face with a “Kinetic Burst”!

Just listen to what this goblin-possessed “profiteer” was saying?

When he mentioned that the tower spirit and Elemental Pool were fully intact, he was subtly telling Punk that he couldn’t make changes to the core of the Magic Tower—the core authority of this tower belonged to the Thought of Truth.

And that line about “might be a bit worn, patching up should make it serviceable” was essentially telling Punk that any broken parts were his own problem to fix. If he couldn’t repair them, that was his own lack of skill—tough luck!

As for paying rent only with contribution points, that was indeed the rule. But the subsequent “kind” suggestion to “exchange Gold Coins for contribution points” was outright extortion—within the Thought of Truth, Gold Coins were the least valuable currency. Selling Gold Coins at the price of adamantine would mean taking a massive loss!

Overall, this old man had clearly targeted Punk’s need for a Magic Tower and was making an exorbitant demand. Moreover, he was convinced that Punk had the money—not enough to build his own Magic Tower from scratch, but enough to rent a low-configuration one for centuries!

As for his opinion of this old man, Punk could only say… damn, you guessed right.

Indeed, Punk really needed a Magic Tower right now—he had too many researches to conduct.

And if he sold the few pieces of Master-level Equipment he had, he could indeed afford to rent a Magic Tower. However, he truly lacked the funds to build his own from nothing. So, even though Punk knew he was getting a raw deal, he still had to grit his teeth and pay the rent.

“Fine, old man, I’ll rent the Magic Tower. But…”

Punk’s tone grew low and carried a meaningful weight.

He now understood that this Master Kirk Weilen before him only appeared “detached from worldly affairs”—in reality, he had the heart of a profiteer through and through. So Punk couldn’t be bothered with fake polite honorifics anymore and directly addressed him as “old man.”

“Don’t worry, young friend!”

Kirk Weilen maintained his same breezy, unconcerned smile as he said:

“The Thought of Truth has always upheld fairness to all. The rent you pay will not be a loss!”

“Only a fool would believe you!”Punk silently grumbled in his heart.

However, Punk knew that Kirk Weilen didn’t want to inexplicably antagonize an obviously formidable Master-Level expert. The Magic Tower he handed over might not be as “no loss” as he claimed, but it wouldn’t be too severely damaged either.

So Punk just rolled his eyes at him and decided not to dwell on the matter further.

Without responding to Kirk Weilen’s remarks, Punk directly retrieved the several Master-level Magic Items he intended to sell from his Storage Ring.

Although Punk had stored all his possessions—except for the heartbreakingly left-behind Golem Two—in several “acquired” (picked from enemy corpses, no problem there) Storage Rings when he left the Dillon Kingdom, he truly didn’t have much in Gold Coins. Rather than exchanging them, it would be better to refine a few pieces of adamantine himself!

As for these magic items… they weren’t very useful to Punk. Keeping them in the Ring would only let them gather dust. Converting them into exchange points was the most cost-effective solution.

(End of Chapter)