Chapter 484 – The Heavily Guarded Laboratory

With Scotti’s departure, the trouble from the Mage Guild had been satisfactorily resolved, and Punk calmly and leisurely returned to his Temporary Mage Tower.

Despite the long interval, every room in this high tower remained clean and tidy under the operation of the cleaning magic arrays, including the exterior surface of the Mage Tower, which hadn’t accumulated a single speck of dirt.

“Gah gah, so this is the Mage Tower you live in? Why does it look so ancient? And there isn’t even a single attack array carved on it? Good heavens, not a single combat golem in the corridors either? Is this place even safe? What’s the difference between this and a warehouse? Gah gah!”

As Punk stepped through the Mage Tower’s entrance, the Magic Raven Vector, who had been perched on his shoulder, also got a full view of the entire Mage Tower. Unable to hold back, Vector immediately and unhesitatingly began to complain about this shoddy Magic Tower of the Thought of Truth.

However, Punk showed no reaction to Vector’s teasing. So-called “complaining” was always a passive skill for non-involved parties. Vector didn’t need to spend a single Gold Coin for a good or bad research environment, which was why she could criticize this Magic Tower’s perfunctory and dilapidation with such disdain. But for Punk… having a Magic Tower was already much better than having none at all.

Moreover, a Master-Level Magic Tower was inevitably just a temporary residence. The Mage Tower built after advancing to Legendary would be the true Magic Tower belonging to a mage. As for now… when one was still poor, it made sense to scrimp and make do.

Well, ultimately, it all came down to being too poor. Punk’s main focus going forward was spell research, and all funds had to be reserved for advancing to Legendary. What? Use money to buy his own Magic Tower? How could a penniless pauper afford such fantasies!

Therefore, even though Vector’s complaints weren’t wrong, Punk remained very calm and said to his Magic Raven:

“Because I’m poor!” I have no money, so I have to make do with whatever place I can live. I think this is an obvious and self-evident truth. What’s more… whether a mage’s dwelling is safe or not entirely depends on the mage’s skill level. Soon, this Magic Tower’s security level will see a qualitative improvement!”

After saying this, Punk directly walked into the dark, deep corridor of the Magic Tower, leaving the Magic Raven Vector on his shoulder in a stunned, speechless state.

Vector could swear that Punk was the first person she, a Legendary creation, had ever encountered who could say “I’m poor” with such a calm tone and such a nonchalant attitude. But this declaration of “poverty” contained neither fake teasing nor any complaining self-deprecation. Just like Punk’s expressionless face, his words at this moment were merely a statement of fact. And it was precisely this emotionless declaration of fact that left Vector with nowhere to even continue the conversation.

I’m just poor, got any problems with that?

Vector’s response: Boss, this humble one has no objections… Wait, wasn’t I the one supposed to be complaining? Why does it feel like I’m the one who got criticized instead?Ignoring the conflicted expression on Vector’s face, Punk strode directly into the laboratory he hadn’t visited for half a year.

The laboratory door remained perfectly sealed with radiant energy, and the boundary array Punk had set up at the entrance clearly indicated that no one had entered.

Yet Punk didn’t believe this for a second. Even if inspections couldn’t detect whether someone had infiltrated the lab, pure logical deduction convinced him—Kirk Weilen must have been here.

Of course, Kirk Weilen would have found nothing. Punk hadn’t left any research materials in the laboratory, so even if Kirk had conducted thorough investigations, he couldn’t have obtained any items or intelligence.

However…

Puck narrowed his eyes as he glanced toward Kirk Weilen’s magic tower, immediately beginning to prepare new, more powerful spell arrays.

His previous tolerance toward Kirk’s probing was due to lacking sufficient strength and confidence at the time. But now things were different. Confident in being “invincible among Master-Level opponents in single combat,” Punk feared no enemy. Moreover, the experimental research he was about to undertake must not leak—if Kirk dared to continue his indiscreet surveillance… this time Punk wouldn’t show any mercy.

Now at level nineteen, Punk would use this laboratory to charge toward the path of Legendary. His research would involve the crucial Eerie Eyeball, undisclosed improved magic, and magical equipment that absolutely couldn’t be discovered by anyone… Under these circumstances, anyone bold enough to breach Punk’s laboratory would instantly elevate their conflict with him to a life-or-death level.

After firming his resolution and steeling himself for mortal combat against any intruder, Punk spent an entire week using numerous precious magical materials scavenged from Sorsend’s storage ring… finally succeeding in deploying dozens of powerful spell arrays in every corner of the laboratory.

These arrays included common magical formations like:

• “Mido’s Secret Sanctum”

• “Magic Scrying Counter-Trap”

• “Botodon’s Self-Check Alarm System”

As well as lost magic from the Netheril era that Punk had mastered:

• “Zero-Point Self-Destruct Array”

• “Aishien’s Emergency Teleport”

• “Death Ray Trap”

• “Destroyer Trample Sequence”

Layer upon layer of magical runes painted the laboratory walls with iridescent hues, terrifying energy compressed to extremes within the confined space. The variety of high-lethality spell traps clearly conveyed Punk’s stance to any outsider—Beware! This place houses a complete madman! Those who dare spy shall die! There is no third option!

Finally, after installing nearly every possible array across the laboratory, Punk observed his week’s work with satisfaction before standing before the small experiment table.Now the style of his small room’s arrangement was practically identical to those paranoid mages who would even carve magic traps into their beds—the kind of madness that would blow both themselves and their enemies sky-high at the slightest disagreement was enough to make any sane creature keep their distance.

Couldn’t you see the magic raven perched on his shoulder had turned pale with fright? Faced with a house that was no different from a “super bomb,” even Kirk Weilen wouldn’t be able to laugh.

“Caw… I say, Boss… There’s no need to go this far, is there? If this room explodes… even a Master-Level expert who layers five or six magical protections on themselves at all times would be severely injured… caw.”

Looking at the energy-saturated evocation runes on the floor, Vector felt as if his feathers were about to catch fire. It had to be said, what Punk was doing was truly extreme. Even the Zhentarim—those maniacs constantly fighting among themselves—wouldn’t set up their laboratory like this.

But Punk didn’t respond to Vector’s concerns. At that moment, he was calmly placing one alchemy tool after another onto the experiment table.

Even while living inside a terrifying “bomb,” Punk, who had never known fear, could still focus entirely on his research. Moreover…

Gently stroking the inconspicuous Crimson Gem Necklace around his neck, a meaningful smile curled at the corner of Punk’s lips—with “Blink” at his disposal, he had no worries about his experimental environment. Even if this room exploded, Punk was confident he could emerge completely unscathed!

(End of Chapter)