Giant Dragon Lord: Starting from Daily Intelligence

Mage Delin stepped forward, lightly pressing his palm against the stone door.

One second, two seconds.

With a soft CLICK, it was as if some lock had been undone.

Immediately after, the incredibly heavy stone door created a gap as it slowly swung inward, accompanied by a grating CREAK that set one’s teeth on edge.

From beyond the stone door, a scent mixed with dust and decaying wood rushed out from the opening, like a soul imprisoned for a thousand years that had finally found an escape.

CREAK!

The heavy stone door scraped against the ground, its piercing sound echoing across the deathly silent, ruined square and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Raylo retrieved a Light Crystal from his storage space. Its soft white light instantly dispelled the darkness in the doorway, illuminating a small area behind the door.

It was a stone staircase leading down, its steps covered in a thick layer of dust.

After confirming there were no obvious signs of a Magic Trap, Raylo was the first to step inside.

His boots made a soft PUFF sound as they landed on the dusty steps, leaving a clear imprint.

Mage Wendel followed close behind, then came Mage Delin and Master Barnaby.

The interior of the Magic Tower was much more spacious than they had imagined.

This was the main hall on the first floor. The ceiling was high, but most of it had collapsed. Huge stones and beams jutted out from the ground at an angle, creating a scene of complete ruin.

In the air, the scent of decay was even stronger.

The source of the light, which pulsed between bright and dim, was not on the first floor.

It came from the depths of a massive, upward-spiraling staircase in the center of the hall. With each flash, it briefly illuminated the hall’s outline before plunging it back into deeper darkness.

They walked past the spiral staircase.

Beside a toppled bookshelf lay a scattered pile of thick Magic Scrolls.

Mage Wendel walked over and casually picked one up.

The Scroll was made from some kind of tough Beast Hide. The Magic Runes on it were somewhat faded due to its age, but the lingering, powerful aura of the Fire Element was unmistakable.

"’Meteor Shower’..."

Master Wendel murmured the name of the Magic recorded on the Scroll, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"There are at least thirty Magic Scrolls here."

He stared at the pile of Scrolls tossed on the ground like trash, his voice cold.

In Raylo’s world, these Magic Scrolls were priceless.

But here, they were strewn about like common stones by the roadside, completely ignored.

Raylo didn’t touch any of them. His gaze remained vigilant as he scanned his surroundings.

Nearby, even more Magic Scriptures were scattered on the floor, cast aside like garbage.

There were also some haphazardly damaged Magic Artifacts, their Magic Cores and Gemstones pried out, tossed carelessly on the floor and tables.

Raylo’s mind was also filled with confusion.

’What kind of invaders would be so wealthy as to ignore all these things?’

’Or perhaps...’

"I understand."

A voice spoke up.

It was Mage Delin.

"Delin, what do you understand?"

Master Wendel looked at him, confused.

Mage Delin walked to a Magic Staff and extended his finger, not touching the staff itself but merely tracing its form in the air.

"Haven’t you all noticed?"

He began to speak slowly.

"These items, though valuable, all share one thing in common."

"They are all products of ’Magic.’"

"Whether it’s the damaged equipment or the Scrolls, their Power comes from Magic and requires a Mage’s Spiritual Power or Magic Power to be wielded."

Mage Delin turned around, his gaze sweeping over the others. His voice was clear and certain.

"The civilization that invaded this world has a power system completely different from our Magic Civilization."

"Therefore, in the eyes of those invaders, these Magic Artifacts and Magic Scriptures that we consider treasures have no value at all."

"To them, they’re just a pile of useless wood, Crystals, and Beast Hides."

Mage Delin’s words were like a bolt of Lightning, instantly cutting through the fog of confusion in everyone’s minds.

He was right.

It was the only explanation for the absurd scene before them.

The invaders didn’t use Magic at all; they didn’t even understand it.

That was why they had cast these items aside like worn-out shoes, leaving them scattered everywhere.

Raylo’s heart sank.

’What... what exactly are they?’

"Let’s go."

Raylo suppressed his thoughts and looked toward the depths of the spiral staircase in the center of the hall.

"Let’s go up and see."

"That thing that’s still glowing might give us more answers."

Everyone nodded and stepped onto the spiral staircase that led into the unknown.

The staircase was also covered in dust, but compared to the hall, its structure was relatively intact.

As they walked upward, the pulsing light grew clearer and more intense.

Each flicker of light was accompanied by an extremely faint HUM, like a heartbeat.

The sound was like the only beating heart left in this dead Magic Tower.

The spiral staircase wound its way upward.

Along the surrounding walls, empty niches appeared at regular intervals. The Magic Lamps or sculptures that once occupied them were long gone.

HUM...

The heartbeat-like pulse grew closer.

The light also grew stronger, brightly illuminating the path ahead of the four of them.

The scene on the second floor was much like the first, if not even more chaotic.

This seemed to be the Magic Tower’s laboratory and Alchemy area.

A huge Alchemy Platform had been knocked to the ground, and various precious metals and Crystal vessels lay shattered all over the floor.

On the walls, rune-covered panels engraved with complex Energy Circuits had been smashed open by force, revealing scorched energy conduits inside.

Mage Wendel gave it only a cursory glance before looking away, uninterested.

Although this Alchemy equipment was also valuable, it was too severely damaged to be worth repairing.

Their goal was clear: the source of the light.

Passing through the ruins of the second floor, they continued upward.

As they stepped onto the final stair leading to the third floor, the rhythmically flashing light finally appeared before them in its entirety.

The source of the light was not a Magic Lamp, nor was it some kind of Energy Core.

It came from a massive, spherical Array floating in the center of the third-floor hall, composed of countless golden runes.

The Array was over five meters in diameter. Countless arcane and complex runes flowed, appeared, and vanished within it, forming an exquisitely intricate energy circulation system.

With each alternating pulse of the runes, the Array would emit a HUMMING rhythm and radiate a soft, golden halo.

"The ’Eternal Guardian’ Array..."

Mage Delin stared at the enormous sphere of runes, a hint of shock and regret in his eyes.

"This is one of the most powerful defensive Barriers, which only a Mage with the utmost mastery of Arrays could create. It can draw energy from space to sustain itself and, in theory, run forever."

"It’s a pity..."

He shook his head.

"Its Energy Core has been taken. Now, it’s running at a minimal level, relying only on its last dregs of residual energy."

Only then did they notice the distinct cavity at the very center of the sphere of runes.

There, a powerful Energy Core should have been, providing a constant stream of Power to the entire Array.

But now, it was like a Giant whose heart had been ripped out, struggling weakly on the last drops of blood remaining in its veins.

"To be able to set up an Array of this level, the owner of this Magic Tower must have been a Peak Catastrophe Level expert in life."

There was a trace of respect in Master Wendel’s tone.

Raylo’s gaze passed over the massive sphere of runes, settling on the area behind the Array.

The third floor appeared to be the Magic Tower’s study and lounge area.

This area was relatively well-preserved, perhaps thanks to the lingering protection from the Eternal Guardian Array’s residual energy before it was destroyed.

Huge bookshelves lined the walls, which must have once been filled with all sorts of precious Magic Scriptures.

Now, however, most of the shelves were empty. Only a few books were scattered on the ground, their pages curled and covered in a thick layer of dust.