Chapter 114
Xerath shook her head gently. It seemed like she had finally found a way to control her emotions. This time, when facing Sylas, she had no expression, as if she had suddenly returned to a distant period when Sylas's emotional fluctuations didn't affect her.
But Hyectra became more enthusiastic, with its features close to Sylas. It asked, "Miss, are you ready to wake up? Come on, open your mouth, ahh--"
Sylas slowly opened her mouth and Hyectra stuffed a water ball inside. "After gargling, please spit directly on the ground!" Sylas followed the instructions and the water lord steward then reminded her to wash her face. He sprayed a little water on her face and dried it. An Earth Child came from behind, wearing a headdress and shoes that archmage had just placed on top of his head. Hyectra extended a tentacle and gave everything to Sylas. Before long, Sylas was dressed up and returned to Xerath, looking clean and tidy.
The two of them trudged on the sandy ground. Virgil said, "How about...how about we go take a look at the dragon bones first? There shouldn't be many people there now, it's not working hours. Otherwise, I might get fined later." Noticing Xerath's skeptical gaze, he quickly explained, "Of course, the fine is just a minor thing. If I get secretly charged or worse, fired, then I won't be able to help you with the dragon bone fragments."
"Okay, let's go see now."
Virgil turned around and walked to the front of the two ladies. He said, "So, let's agree in advance, please don't get angry later."
"I have never gotten angry because of this, I always cooperate with you in acting."
Virgil shrugged and made a face, "That was before, but now you still have the little wild beast, right?" He secretly thought to himself: I can't even say "my little wild beast", if I said "the new woman I'm interested in", I would definitely get a devastating blow.
"I can promise that I won't get angry because of this either."
"You can't hit me because of this."
"I won't hit you because of this either."
"You should stop me from going too far with my story before you feel like hitting me, instead of trying to provoke me to get into trouble."
"Alright."
"Great!" Virgil clapped his hands, "So, for this scene, the archmage's name is...?"
"Hevel."
"Alright, same as before. What about Sylas?"
Sylas is still flustered by hearing Xerath call herself "Hevel." Suddenly, both of them look at her and her face turns even redder. She looks at Xerath for help.
"Let's stick with Sylas."
"Oh... Oh..."
"Do you want to be called something else?"
Sylas shakes her head, unable to think of what she wants to be called.
"Hmm... So now it's a story like this: The charming wanderer Virgil, on his way from Tabletop Mountain City to Doloru Town, encounters a pair of sisters. The older sister, Hevel, is poised and elegant..." Virgil winks at Xerath, and the archmage nods coolly, politely but distantly saying, "Thank you."
"And the younger sister, Sylas, is sweet and adorable." Virgil winks at Sylas again, causing her to giggle. "Virgil likes both of them and cannot decide. He secretly decides to win both sisters over..."
"Um... I have a question, teacher?"
Xerath asked, "Hmm? What's your question?"
Sylas asked earnestly, "What does 'get your hands on' mean?"
Xerath remained calm and answered, "It's a derogatory and incorrect definition, based on discrimination against women's bodies. Just think of it as a noun, whether you understand it or not doesn't affect the plot, okay?"
The previous description was long and vague, but that soft and enticing "okay" made Sylas give up on further questioning and mutter, "Oh..."
"Ahem, please let me continue. When I brought my two sisters to Doloru Town, I suddenly proposed taking them to see the magnificent dragon bones to make them happy. How does that plot sound to you, Miss Hevel?"
"Very good, I have no objections. Just call me Hevel directly, no need for the formal 'Miss'."
"Thank you so much, Sylas. How should I address Miss Hevel?"
Sylas blurted out, "Teacher..."
Xerath turned around, looked straight into Sylas's eyes, and with eyes that burned like pale flames, she said, "In this scene, you should call me 'sister.' Try saying it."
Sylas held her breath for a long time, her face turned red, and then she shyly whispered, "Sister."
And this "sister" seemed to have drained all her strength, she didn't speak for a while.
"You have to get used to it, don't accidentally call her the wrong name, keep calling her 'sister' until we reach the camp entrance."
Virgil thought to himself, archmage only had one brother, the youngest child in the family, and perhaps the youngest student at mage tower too. Maybe she actually enjoyed being called sister by others.
When Virgil saw Sylas blushing and sweetly and shyly calling Xerath "sister," he quickly changed his mind. Maybe it was just another peculiar pleasure of this archmage, who was gradually showing characteristics she didn't have before: being particularly fascinated by cute little girls who were shy and embarrassed.
The dragon bones were not far from the crystallization point. The archmage instructed the Earth Children to stay as far away from here as possible, to not interfere with the measurements. She herself held Sylas's hand and followed Virgil, getting closer to the area with dragon bones.
The dragon bones were especially tall, and the wooden fence around them didn't really serve as a barrier. They were exposed to everyone's sight nearby. Only two guards asked Virgil in a friendly tone, and the three of them whispered for a while - the archmage guessed they were discussing the plot - then they all burst into a creepy laughter and easily let them in.
"Wow... sister, the dragon bones are so beautiful..." Sylas widened her eyes, and this "sister" was the most natural one so far.
"Of course, dragons are the most magical living creatures."
"How about that! It's super amazing, right? Wasn't this trip worth it, Miss Hevel? I knew you would like it."
Xerath smiled slightly at Virgil, being stingy with her gratitude. "Thank you, Mr. Virgil."
"Don't be so formal, just call me Virgil like Sylas does."
Xerath casually smiled again, glanced at Sylas, and whispered quietly, "Do you see it?"
Sylas nodded. The greatness of the dragon bone lies not only in its massive and towering presence, but also in the fact that it remained undamaged despite being eroded by sand for two thousand years. Furthermore, even after the dragon's death, these bones still possess a special ability to attract elements. Dragon bones are essential materials for casting various types of spells. Some mages can cast spells from different elements using a dragon bone bracelet, for example.
This is not just talk. The dragon bone is adorned with many things unseen by others but visible to both elemental mages. Beautiful elements cling to it, and its colors appear much more vibrant to them than to others.
The size of the prop is not directly proportional to the effectiveness of the spell. However, with such a large dragon bone, the spell's effect must be particularly impressive, right? Sylas eagerly asked Virgil, "Virgil, can I touch it?"
Virgil looked around and noticed everyone was looking in their direction (more precisely, at the archmage and the young mage). He broke into a cold sweat and said, "Please, I beg you, don't cause another Keatler riot."
Xerath chuckled, and a chorus of sighs filled the surroundings. She whispered in Sylas's ear, "This is a... black dragon. It can command fire and earth, forcing them to obey its commands."
"I have read relevant books! Because fire and earth are opposing elements, using their mixed magic will always create a 'noise', which makes the black dragon very uncomfortable. That's why the black dragon has the most irritable temper among all dragons, right?"
Xerath admired and said, "That's right."
"But the desert has the most earth and wind, so the wind always comes here. Do they have to come here to penetrate this circle because the dragon bones serve as a 'foundation' for all spells, regardless of size?"
"Yes. Therefore, it can be concluded that there is also relatively more 'light' and 'shadow' here than other places, but I am not sensitive to them. I cannot feel them."
"Me too..."
"We can't rely on Virgil either; he doesn't feel anything."
Virgil glanced at the archmage and whispered, "Nonsense. Ladies, please get ready to show me your admiring expressions." He took out a radiant arrow from his quiver, and when he approached the dragon bones, the faint golden glow suddenly became bright, especially in the shadows.
"Look."
Sylas enthusiastically applauded and widened her eyes, showing a very surprised expression. "Virgil, Virgil is amazing!"
Virgil's heart was melting. Then he thought about both of them in their long teaching career, and he was sure that Xerath must enjoy the admiration from the lovely girl every day.
"What about shadow? Do you have something like that?"
Virgil could only shake his head. Spells related to shadows were almost always forbidden, associated with Lichs, undead, and the deceased. They were explicitly prohibited by the Mage Guild and the Church. Consequently, research on shadow magic was also forbidden, let alone possessing shadow magic items, which would break the law.
Today was a sunny day, the sky was incredibly blue. The enormous dragon bones, weathered to an ivory color by the sand, reached towards the sky. The combination of white and blue gave a very sacred feeling. Sunlight, vibrant but not scorching, seeped through the gaps in the bones, leaving intersecting rays of light on the white sandy ground. If one strolled slowly, they could see scenes of light and shadow colliding, strange and ethereal.
The wind carried colorful beams of light through the pristine white bones, suddenly rising upward not far away, merging into the breeze in the sky.
Sylas looked up, feeling an eager anticipation she couldn't explain. She couldn't help but hold on to Xerath, gazing at her longingly.
In that moment, she suddenly forgot how to speak. She couldn't call her teacher, she couldn't call her Xerath, then what should she say? How could she let her know what she wanted?
Her face turned red, and in Xerath's bewildered gaze, she managed to force out one word, "'Wind', 'fly'."
The archmage chuckled softly and whispered in her ear, "Call me 'sister'."
