1983 Home Away from Home (Part 1)

"As you have just seen, the Firing Range mirrors whatever you attempt against it and then rates it on a simple scale." Lith pointed at a holographic display that appeared beside Solus.

There were five levels, one for each tier of regular magic. They were split into four compartments: low, middle, high, and tower. Then, there was an upper level marked as Spirit Magic with its own tiers and compartments.

Above it, there were Blade Tier spells. Unlike the previous branches of magic, it wasn't split into five tiers. It only had the usual four compartments, hinting that Tower Magic was compatible with Blade Tier spells.

It rated her spell as an intermediate tier five, far from the Spirit Magic tier and even farther from the Blade Tier.

"That's because of my blue core." Solus said with a sigh. "Final Eclipse is a powerful spell, but I lack the necessary mana to manifest its true potential."

"Now, watch this." Lith changed the settings in the holographic display and then he cast a Final Eclipse of his own.

This time the tower replied by using a darkness and water magic spell, Ice Age. Not only was the rating of the spell higher than Solus', but Lith could also experiment with it against all kinds of protections and test its effects.

In the same way, the Firing Range could conjure the spells of the owner of the tower and then fire them at him. When Lith wanted to test a new defensive spell or the Spirit Barrier of his armor, he would have the tower keep his energy signature.

This way, once a spell conjured by the Firing Range broke past his defenses, it would do him no harm. When he wanted to try out the raw defensive power of his armor, instead, he would have the tower change to a neutral energy signature.

The spells could now damage him, allowing Lith to experience how well the Voidwalker armor fared against different elements. The safety protocols of the tower made the attack cease the moment he took damage.

Then, Lith showed them his Blade Tier spell, Ruin. The Firing Range countered it and rated it as a low level Blade Tier spell.

Aside from Salaark, his guests were flabbergasted at the power that Lith had just showcased and even more by the tower considering it weak.

"Usually I would have needed a large empty space, a sparring partner, and lots of arrays to ensure our safety.  Now, instead, I can perform all the experiments I want here while Tista helps Solus study my new spells  and how they interact with different elemental defenses with the Eyes." Lith said.

"Thanks to the Firing Range, I discovered that my armor is weak against earth magic and changed its enchantments until I fixed the problem. Also, I could experiment with different designs of barriers for the Voidwalker's power core and find out which one was the more energy efficient."

"This is truly a marvel of magic." Salaark placed her hand against the cold stone of the nearest wall, using her breathing technique to study the tower's floor.

She had no ill-will to steal its secrets, it was just her inquisitive nature as a Forgemaster getting the better of her.

"Can anyone use the Firing Range or is it limited solely to you and Solus?" She asked.

"Anyone can." Lith nodded. "The floor is like those training booths back at the academy. It can be temporarily imprinted by a guest and then used to test out their skills.

"I don't know how useful it can be for you, Grandma. The scale only goes up to Blade Tier magic. I doubt it can withstand the power of a Guardian."

"It definitely can't, but it would still be great to test out my creations." The Overlord took a thin one-handed blade out of her pocket dimension and unleashed one of its enchantments right after imprinting the Firing Range.

The tower had no idea of what the odd stream of lightning, water, and darkness was so it countered it with Lith's Primordial Roar.

"Not bad." Salaark said while looking at the display that rated her enchantment as a tier five Spirit Magic spell that bordered on Tower Spirit magic.

"That was just the blade?" Solus' jaw dropped to the floor.

"Yep. Not one drop of my own mana." Salaark said with a proud smile on her face. "It's a Guardian-crafted weapon, after all. What did you expect?"

"The Fury doesn't go that high, yet you crafted it as well!" Solus looked at the enchanted hammer in her hand as if it had betrayed her.

"That's because I didn't design the Fury." The Guardian replied. "I updated it by following Menadion's blueprints so I drew out its full potential, but the final result was still capped by Ripha's skill."

"Come, there's only one floor left." Lith snapped his fingers again, moving them to the new top floor that had appeared above the Greenhouse.

"This is the Watchtower." He said. "Unlike the other floors, it has no offensive ability. Its purpose is mainly for surveillance and scouting. It synergizes with the Mirror Hall and the Eyes."

A wave of Lith's hand made the Watchtower release a pulse of mana that scoured the area around him for kilometers. Unlike the Mirror Hall, Lith had no need to focus in a specific direction.

The Watchtower didn't create a detailed map, it simply spotted everything with a powerful energy signature in the area and pointed it out to Lith. A holographic display showed him the result of the scan.

Every person with a core above green was marked with a dot of the corresponding color of their mana core. The same happened for magical equipment, arrays, and any magical source.

The display showed those present how Salaark's troops were arranged around the palace, their strength and that of their equipment. Also, it spotted a caravan in the distance by identifying the magical beasts that pulled the carts.

"Thanks to this floor, I can now scan for other mana geysers, magical mines or resources, and even magical barriers of any sort. If someone powerful approaches the tower, the Watchtower will detect them from a distance, allowing me to study them with the Mirror Hall."

"While Sentries would be spotted, the energy pulse of the Watchtower is hidden inside the world energy and can't be noticed." Solus said. "Also, it can study the magical formations from the outside so that we can grasp the ability of our 'neighbors' without the risk of getting discovered."

"Wait." Salaark turned toward Lith and Solus, her eyes flaring with anger for the first time since they had known her. "Are you telling me that you have been studying my palace and my arrays this whole time?"

"No, we are not." Lith quickly answered, showing his open palms in surrender. "We are simply experimenting with the Watchtower to understand its limitations, not stealing your secrets.

"The energy pulse can detect anything with a significant energy signature within its area of effect. It's as good and as bad as it sounds. We can instantly spot a powerful mage, a mine, or an array, but at the same time, it cannot spot something cloaked."