Chapter 111
Both of them were wearing thin clothes, while thick fur covered them from head to toe, blocking out the cold of the desert night. Thanks to Sylas's careful control, not a trace of cold managed to get in.
For this reason, her hand occasionally crossed the invisible line in the middle, occasionally touching Xerath's body.
The thin fabric couldn't stop anything. The soft touch of their skin, the slightly warmer temperature, the soft breaths, and the uncontrollable gentle gasps were all amplified in their close proximity.
Amplified, and amplified.
Xerath's heart was beating fast. She didn't avoid any of Sylas's unintentional touches, which she normally would have politely moved away from, returning to a distance that showed mutual respect. But this time, she didn't. A sense of betrayal arose, poking at her heart, accusing her of being unreasonable and undignified.
She discreetly sat up a little, creating a gap between their bodies that no longer pressed tightly against each other.
Parting from the warmth of Sylas's body, she felt a slight reluctance and even wanted to get closer again. It was a basic human instinct, but what a pathetic reason it was. How could an archmage stoop so low as to need to share body heat with someone to stay warm?
What should she do if Sylas came closer? She hadn't thought of any strategies, and before she could figure out what to do, Sylas had already come closer, bringing up a question that eased the awkwardness, "Teacher, we haven't discussed my measurement procedure yet, have we?"
"My little wild one, are you unable to sleep because you're worried about this question?" Xerath laughed and turned to look at her expression.
Sylas replied earnestly, "Maybe, is that not important? Isn't this a very important matter?"
Xerath couldn't help but brush her hair back from her forehead. "Not looking doesn't mean I don't value your efforts. In fact, we still have time to look tomorrow morning. But I don't mind if you tell me now, hmm?"
The archmage's attention had already been diverted by this life-saving straw.
Sylas smiled and leaned against her shoulder, her voice still a bit sticky from just waking up. "Hmm... I think we should first determine the range of crystallization tomorrow, make some auxiliary lines based on the geometric shape, and then draw straight lines from the center to the boundary. At the intersections of the straight lines and the auxiliary lines, we can place measuring devices to also verify if the readings diminish towards the geometric center."
"Sounds good, what is the purpose of doing this?"
Sylas paused for a moment, then shyly and timidly asked as if caught doing something wrong, "Did I write it too vaguely? I'm sorry, teacher..."
"Relax, we're just chatting casually."
"The purpose is to obtain the most accurate difference between the readings at the center of crystallization and the boundary readings, and to verify if the crystallization readings are related to the geometric shape of the crystallization range. Actually, I have one more question..."
"What is it? I'm interested to know."
Sylas asked, "Are you really interested?"
Xerath replied, "I have always been interested in your ideas."
"Why does crystallization disappear? Why does the energy of the Earth's veins change?"
"There is a hypothesis, which is currently the mainstream one, but it hasn't been well validated: Crystallized rocks exert some pressure on the energy of the veins. The thicker the crystallization, the greater the pressure on the veins, causing the energy to change direction and release from areas with weaker crystallization."
"What do you think?"
"There are many doubts about this hypothesis. For example, if this were true, the crystallization of the veins should have a large coverage, and the entire interior of Traul would be crystallized. If the veins' crystallization is not connected, it cannot explain why they develop independently in different parts of the world. In short, it doesn't explain all the phenomena related to the veins, but there is no more reasonable explanation. We are not familiar with the veins."
"I have another question..."
"What other question do you have, my..." Unlike before, she felt an urge to say "my sweetheart," to describe Sylas with affectionate words rather than formal ones. "Hmm?"
The soft question vibrations tickled Sylas's ears and made her heart itch. She wanted to hear what came after "mine." When Xerath said the words "little beast," it always made her feel happy and excited. She wanted to belong to her. This was a fact. When Xerath explained the facts, it made her feel joyful.
"Hmm?"
"Oh, my question is, how does crystallization choose what can be crystallized and what cannot be crystallized?"
"In general, anything that belongs to rocks can become a crystal. As for the specifics... I think we might have to try every type of rock. This way, we can add notes in the Lapis manual, stating which ones can be crystallized and which ones cannot. I think some people will like that."
"'Belonging to rocks' doesn't seem like a clear definition. Do you think there are any similarities between bones and rocks?"
"Hmm... both are hard? Both turn into ashes after being burned? Both can dissolve in some kind of acid? Both hardly decay?" Xerath casually mentioned a few things.
"So, can bones be crystallized? On the journey, you mentioned that dragon bones seemed to be within the range of crystallization based on Virgil's description."
Xerath replied, "Virgil never mentioned any signs of dragon bones being crystallized. Unless we can get a piece of dragon bone to see, we won't know if it has been crystallized, and that's pretty dangerous... I could use force to drive them away, but that would be breaking the law, and I would be held accountable by the Mage Guild."
"What about using that golden emblem?"
"A gold lily badge?... I don't really want to reveal my identity to these people, I'm a shy scholar."
Hearing her unwillingness, Sylas naturally patted her hand and said, "Okay then, forget it."
Xerath couldn't help but laugh and cry for a moment. Sylas was like a little adult, and she enjoyed being taken care of by her younger companion.
However, she discreetly withdrew her hand. Indulgence is something only the archmage can achieve with such self-control, something others can never aspire to. It's time to show this kind of spirit.
But it's really interesting to daydream with her.
"Can we really see dragon bones tomorrow?"
Xerath nodded firmly.
"Have you and Virgil been on many adventures together?"
"Exactly, when I was in school, I didn't really want to go home during vacations, so Virgil and I wandered around the continent, looking for money-making quests."
"Why... why do you need money?" Sylas was a little incredulous. She didn't have a deep understanding of money, so she always thought that the archmage was always rich.
"Because our parents interfered in our lives, and in order to resist, we needed to have food first. At that time, we thought that way. My mother wanted me to marry Michel after graduating, but I wanted to buy a tower to continue my research. Buying a tower requires money, but my family would never lend me that money. Virgil was in a similar situation. Usually, I earn money by writing scrolls, and during holidays, I go out with Virgil to find high-risk, high-reward jobs."
Sylas's eyes showed a look as if she was hearing an unbelievable story, but slowly she became a little angry. Her round, pouting face prompted Xerath to ask with a smile, "What's wrong? Why are you unhappy about it?"
"I also want to," she raised her face, "I also want to go on an adventure with you. You said earlier today that you wanted to get to know me earlier. Now I also want to get to know you earlier."
Her gaze carefully scanned the corners of Xerath's eyebrows, wondering what she was like when she was Sylas's age. Did she also wear black robes, neat suits, meticulously combed hair, and have a serious and indifferent expression?
Xerath asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Her voice was soft and gentle, full of an irresistible allure. Sylas accidentally spoke her mind, "What were you like when you were my age? Are you similar to me?"
The archmage smiled and replied, "No, completely different. I was very serious back then, spoke very little, had no entertainment, and was a bookworm."
"But... but I'm also...? I'm also quite boring."
"Boring? No, how could you be? You're very interesting, with the cuteness of a child but without the troubles of having one. It's almost too perfect to be real. Do you know? Diego once told me about all the potential troubles of having a child, and I was prepared for them. But now, thinking about it, everything has been going smoothly except for your schooling. So don't feel that way, you're a very interesting person."
"So, teacher, you're also a very interesting person."
Xerath slightly frowned and asked, "What's your definition of 'interesting'?"
"Talking to you always captures my interest. Even if we don't talk, being with you makes me happy. Are you going to argue with me? But I think 'interesting' is a subjective perspective that can't be debated."
It wasn't the first time that Sylas had left Xerath speechless, but this mix of love and hate still felt fresh. Xerath glanced at Sylas, seeing her at a loss for words, and smiled happily.
Xerath then asked, "Have you considered that the sand isn't level? I roughly examined the nearby terrain today, and the sand dunes are still there, although not very steep. But according to your hypothesis, distance is the primary factor that affects crystallization readings."
Sylas yawned silently, clearly not getting excited about this topic. Her body's natural rhythm took advantage of the opportunity to lure her into sleep.
"I've thought about it, can't we just dig into the sand dunes?"
This isn't the center of the desert, and digging through the sand isn't an easy task. Elemental creatures of the earth can't walk directly on the sand as they are too heavy and would sink immediately. So, in order to move on the sand, they use 'elemental walking.' However, this means that digging becomes a very restricted action. For example, when Xerath built Aimekotes, she needed to dig through the sand to reveal the rock underneath. She created a tornado right in the middle of the empty desert, using the suction force of the wind to clear the sand, which of course caused some changes in the weather as well.
