On another stone pillar.
The young man leaned on his sword, his messy long black hair wet and clinging to his cheeks and forehead, his eyes hidden behind the strands staring intently at Anser.
'A Spellcaster... there must be a way, right?' His eyes flickered with a hint of hope.
But seeing Anser start to collect the spoils of war without paying him any attention, he grew anxious.
"Hey, brother, nice work—" His voice was clear and bright.
Anser casually tossed the collected weapons, bundles, and other junk onto the ground and walked to the edge of the stone platform.
"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten you. The stone pillar is about to collapse; we must save ourselves as quickly as possible." He gestured with a rope he had scavenged from a goblin's bundle.
The two stone pillars were about twenty meters apart. The other's pillar was several meters shorter and was taking a direct hit from the water flow above, making it far more dangerous.
"I get it, I get it. I'm Blatt. Is your rope long enough?" Blatt grinned, revealing a row of slightly yellowed teeth.
Anser unrolled the rope and measured it on the ground; it was about a dozen meters long, not nearly enough.
"Not enough!"
Blatt looked disappointed and said helplessly, "Do you have another way?"
"I'll go up first, then find a rope to save you," Anser had already thought it through.
The Spells he had chosen were highly functional, specifically meant for situations like this.
If there were no rope, he would use Mold Earth plus Jump, combined with his climbing ability, to climb straight up.
With a rope, it was even simpler.
"Ah? Alright, I... I'll wait for you." Blatt lowered his head slightly, the hope that had just ignited instantly extinguished.
With monsters rampant above, once the other party got up, they would likely flee immediately; the possibility of him being rescued was slim to none.
Anser didn't say much because he wasn't sure if he would actually save him either.
The apprentices who fell with him were nowhere to be seen, likely dead. Life was fragile; staying alive was what mattered.
He bundled up the weapons, coin pouches, and other valuable supplies, slinging them over his back while tossing the rest aside.
"જાદુગરનોહાથ" (Draconic)
Accompanied by a low, majestic Draconic incantation, a floating spectral hand appeared on the rock wall diagonally above.
This was the Zero-circle Spell, Mage Hand. The original owner had yearned for it for years but could never learn it.
The spectral hand lasted for one minute, could fly, and was as flexible as a human hand, but it could carry a maximum of 10 pounds and could not move more than 30 feet away from him.
The sensation of having an extra hand was wonderful. A slight smile played on Anser's lips as he controlled the spectral hand with his mind to scout around, testing for stability and avoiding cracks or loose soil-stone structures.
Time was tight. After quickly selecting the first foothold, he mapped out a climbing route on the cliff wall and cast another Spell.
Cantrip: Mold Earth!
After a short, powerful incantation, a section of the cliff wall above writhed like mud and water, transforming in the blink of an eye into a small stone platform with a fixed ring.
The height was nine meters, the standard casting distance for Mage Hand and Mold Earth. He felt he could go further, but he didn't risk it for the sake of stability.
"Phew—"
Anser took a deep breath, briefly stretching his body while calming his restless spirit.
Cantrips didn't consume one's own mana; one only needed to draw upon the mana in the air. However, the turbulence in The Weave made Spellcasting much more difficult and placed a certain burden on the mind.
He grabbed the rope and threw it upward with force. The spectral hand caught the end easily and tied it to the fixed ring.
The rope was a rough hemp rope, about the thickness of a thumb. Anser gave it a hard tug; it was sturdy enough. He didn't hesitate, gripping the rope and using both hands and feet to climb up quickly.
It took about ten seconds for him to easily pull himself onto the stone platform.
"Simpler than expected. Keep going!"
He repeated the process and finally reached the fourth molded stone platform just as the second Mage Hand effect was ending.
This platform was located one meter below the edge of the pit, a position he had chosen deliberately.
He didn't rush up, instead crouching on the stone platform and listening intently.
It was nearing evening, the sky was dim, and the Light and shadows around the giant pit were chaotic. The sound of rushing water was mixed with disorganized footsteps.
'People!'
The spot where he climbed was not far from the Mage Tower. The foundation here was solid, and the risk of collapse was relatively low.
The Mage Tower was located in the southeastern part of Brampton District, overlooking the vast Chongsa River to the south, with the Rolling District—the outer city area below Dust Eagle Mountain—to the east. The two districts were separated by a city wall, connected by the Cliff Gate.
'The landing point for the Underdark Creatures is to the northwest, so there are fewer monsters here. The refugees likely want to escape to Dust Eagle Mountain through the Cliff Gate.' Anser understood the refugees' motives after a moment's thought.
He peeked out quietly. Scattered crowds were running toward the southeast, their footsteps frantic, scanning their surroundings as they ran, as skittish as startled birds.
'Are they running in the wrong direction?' Anser wondered. He glanced toward the breached Chongsa River. 'Could it be... the Cliff Gate is blocked?'
He had noticed earlier that several sections of the wall between the two districts had collapsed, creating a connection, but traversing it would be difficult unless absolutely necessary.
The situation was unclear, but he hadn't encountered any monsters yet. Now he had two choices: run immediately, or find a way to save Blatt.
He looked down into the deep pit. A black silhouette stood quietly at the edge of the stone pillar, half his body being pummeled by the waterfall. He didn't shout; his eyes were hidden in the twilight, like a statue.
'This temperament... is quite unusual.'
Anser withdrew his gaze and decided to save him after all.
If Blatt had been malicious or not clever enough to be noticed by the Gray Dwarves earlier, Anser wouldn't have gotten up so easily.
The two had established a preliminary level of trust; they could try to escape together. He also needed an assistant who could act as a 'frontline' to tank for him during combat.
'Go to the Mage Tower to find a rope first.'
After confirming there were no monsters nearby, he climbed onto the ground, gripped the crystal in his left hand, and ran stealthily toward the tilted Mage Tower dozens of meters away.
The sky was dim, and the entire city was shrouded in darkness, with almost no Lights to be seen.
Most Underdark Creatures possessed Darkvision; this level of visibility was no different from daylight to them, while the city residents were too busy fleeing to dare Light any lamps.
Anser avoided the mess on the ground, frequently using shadows for cover as he crept toward the entrance.
The Mage Tower had six floors and was nearly twenty meters high, once the tallest building near the Cliff Gate. Now it was in ruins, the tower body tilting more than fifteen degrees, the walls covered in massive cracks—a total death trap.
'It won't collapse, will it?'
But then Anser reconsidered; those Underdark Creatures probably wouldn't want to stay in a dangerous building either, which meant this place should be safe.
He peered through the shattered main door and saw only a few human corpses, with no sign of monsters or other strange noises.
Treading softly, he entered, keeping his back to the wall as he slowly circled the hall, finally confirming that the monsters had left.
He bent down to pick up a short stick and tore a piece of cloth from a corpse to cover most of it.
"પ્રકાશકલા" (Light)
As mana poured in, the short stick immediately lit up, its bright white Light illuminating most of the hall.
Anser quickly covered it, wrapping the cloth in multiple layers until only a tiny bit of the tip was exposed, causing the Light to dim.
'That should do it.'
The Light Spell could make an object emit bright Light in a 20-foot (≥6 meters) radius and an additional 20 feet of dim Light for one hour; it was very effective.
But being too bright wasn't necessarily a good thing.