Chapter 48
Teacher Emerson used to boast about his excellent ability to select students, saying, "I look into their eyes and know if they have potential."
All seven of his students have deep knowledge in their respective fields. He even taught an archmage, enough to make him boast for a lifetime.
Sylas's eyes are lively, filled with pure curiosity, shining as if they have captured all the stars. And during these years of apprenticeship, she has also developed many other qualities: such as being quiet, scholarly, and possessing a quiet confidence.
Xerath couldn't help but admire her work, completely ignoring the tiredness in her body.
The archmage's muscle strength is really weak, doing fifteen repetitions per set was a struggle. However, this was a good opportunity to appreciate, and she gritted her teeth and completed it. Sylas turned her head, whispering, "Teacher, is there something on my face worth your prolonged scrutiny?"
"Imperfections? No, there are none. I think you're absolutely perfect. Please continue to maintain that."
"...so are you."
The archmage expressed gratitude without any resentment.
But when it was Sylas's turn, she kept staring at her toes. The archmage protested unhappily, "Don't lower your head. You pointed out in your report that you should maintain eye contact, otherwise it will put a great deal of pressure on your neck."
Sylas reluctantly lifted her head and looked at Xerath, but then quickly looked away.
Xerath was really beautiful. Her strange gray eyes seemed to see through everything, shining brightly and illuminating the depths of one's heart. Underneath her prominent and somewhat cold nose were thin lips that always mocked and ridiculed without demonstration. The power of the Elemental King made her naturally exude a strong sense of oppression, but she was now smiling slightly, softening the lines on her face.
"Planning to do more?" Xerath smiled gently, reminding Sylas that she had done too much already.
Sylas lowered her head sheepishly and whispered, "Teacher, my waist hurts."
This was a simple action, but it caused Xerath to furrow her brow. "That's too improper."
"Just need to lie down, then raise your back off the ground."
"Why do we have to do such big movements while lying down? It's not elegant and it is disrespectful." Especially since she couldn't balance herself, Sylas had to hold onto her waist to help her.
"It's so itchy." She admitted honestly, but this wasn't a very graceful position. In her thirty-three years of life, she had never been this physically close to anyone. But she didn't say anything, afraid that her sensitive apprentice would be scared and refuse to continue.
"Then I'll hold on to the back of your knee." The previous position was impossible to exert force. She thought about sitting on Xerath, but that would be too abrupt. However, it would also be disrespectful to hold onto the archmage's knee.
After a long period of inactivity, Xerath's legs were slender and soft to the touch. Her clothes hugged her slender and slim figure due to the force of gravity. This made Sylas realize how frail Xerath's body was despite her impressive strength.
Sylas stared at Xerath's back, feeling slightly dazed. The latter was oblivious, struggling to pull herself up using her thin muscles. After doing four or five, she felt a muscle soreness but persevered to complete a set.
"Maybe I shouldn't look down on physical laborers. It takes a long time and a lot of effort to maintain muscle mass, and it's not fun at all. This makes the pain feel even more intense." Sylas handed her a handkerchief. Her fair nose turned slightly red, and beads of sweat formed due to the sudden intense exercise.
However, she still couldn't bear to take off her black robe, probably because of the mage's dignity.
This kind of exercise continued for about two months. The archmage's arm and shoulder strength improved significantly, and Sylas finally felt confident enough to look directly at her teacher. Or rather, she realized that staring at Xerath's face for a long time didn't make her teacher feel strange, so she looked openly and boldly.
The weather outside was sometimes good, sometimes bad. On a stormy night, the magic circle downstairs suddenly activated, and warning lights flashed in the quiet library. Sylas looked at Xerath, who took off her glasses and placed them on the coffee table next to the sofa. The book in front of her flew back to the shelf on its own. The Elemental King stood up and said, "I think it's probably Virgil. No one else would dare to come in during a storm."
Sylas remembered the stormy night when she was taken to Aimekotes and became a bit confused. She asked, "Why? Even you almost got struck by lightning and stayed in the storm!"
Xerath smoothed out the wrinkles on her clothes and glanced at her. She said, "There are two reasons for this. First, the lightning path found us because you were misbehaving in the wind."
"I'm sorry..."
"I'm not blaming you, I'm just stating a fact. Secondly, Pegasus is a demon beast that can sense imminent danger. Virgil's mount is an experienced Pegasus that has been raised for a long time."
"So that's how it is..." She walked over, reached out her hand, and Xerath held it, leading her downstairs.
Most mages would walk from the top to the bottom of the mage tower and then back up again every day. Today, the Archmage undoubtedly exceeded the usual amount of physical activity.
As the water lord steward opened the door, everyone unsurprisingly saw Virgil dripping with water.
"Hey! Old friend! Pal! You little rascal! It's bad weather, how's everyone doing?" There was even a semi-transparent blue outline on his arm, and it was Shamodial.
Xerath answered calmly, "Thanks to you, everyone is fine. Hang up your cloak, it will be warmer upstairs."
Virgil threw the cloak on the ground. Following the Water Lord's command, water droplets appeared out of thin air and slowly crawled over the cloak. Hyectra picked up the cloak and hung it on a nearby coat rack. Then, she handed a towel to Virgil to wipe the water off his face.
"Did you encounter Shamodial?" the archmage walked ahead, running his hand over the Sunstone on the handrail. The orbs of light ascended one by one, floating above the staircase handrail, illuminating the path forward. Shortly after the group passed, the light dimmed again.
"Yes, the wind was too strong for even Shamodial to fly over. It reached out to me for help, so I gave it a ride. It brought back your letter, but I haven't had a chance to see where it came from." Virgil pulled out a damp envelope from his pocket, the surface already wet from the water, smudging the writing. Sylas took the envelope on behalf of Xerath and examined the names under the lamplight.
"Diego, Diego Westcounty, Teacher," she looked up, gazing at Xerath's sharp profile.
Xerath turned her body and whispered to her, "Could you please read it for me later?"
"Of course, Teacher."
"The little beast has grown so tall, maybe one day she'll surpass Uncle Virgil."
Sylas turned around and smiled at him, Virgil dramatically clutching his chest. "Oh, my goodness, you little beast, you're so adorable. When you grow up, you'll definitely be a beautiful lady."
"Virgil, don't butter up the child."
"I'm just stating the facts, have you seen your apprentice properly?"
"Of course, I have been watching her every day."
"Don't you think she has a very beautiful face?"
"I do."
"She also has a great personality, no wonder you taught her."
"Absolutely."
"She is still very young, a little beauty."
"Indeed."
"Then when she grows up, she will definitely be a big beauty!"
Xerath suddenly laughed, "Virgil, of course I believe she will be a beautiful woman in the future. Can we change the topic?"
Virgil said gloomily, "Don't all ladies like to be praised for their beauty?"
"You are too arrogant."
"Okay, let's not talk about that. There have been a lot of changes in the people in the tower recently, several old men have been kicked out, even the review committee."
"Oh? Who replaced them?"
"Of course, it's still not Emerson, the teacher. But as compensation, Benson's older brother got in."
"Benson's older brother, Luther?" Benson is Xerath's second senior brother, also from a wizarding family. Since it was impossible for the review committee to directly bring in Emerson's direct disciple, absorbing Benson's brother should be the limit.
Sylas took two steps forward and pushed open the living room door for Xerath. The warm yellow light suddenly illuminated the slightly empty staircase. After Xerath went in, Virgil held the door for her and let her go in first.
Virgil was probably two inches taller than Xerath, but Xerath herself was already a quite tall figure among humans. Sylas intentionally felt it and felt that she might not grow as tall as Virgil.
Xerath turned around and was about to sit down when Virgil suddenly called out to her, "Xerath, I think you've changed a bit." Her childhood companion sat down beside her, rubbing his chin and furrowing his brow, carefully scrutinizing her.
Xerath was very curious and said, "What could have changed about me? Besides getting older."
In fact, archmages are unlikely to age. Their powers make them almost immortal. In history, there are no archmages who died of old age, only those who turned into Liches or died unnaturally. So, nobody knows where the limit of their age lies.
"I... think..." Virgil stood up and circled around Xerath, "your figure has changed." He couldn't help but extend a finger and poke Xerath's shoulder. The archmage snapped their fingers, conjuring a water bubble that popped onto his fingertip, halting his progress.
Virgil asked very flatteringly, "Could you allow me to touch your shoulder to confirm my guess?"
Xerath raised an eyebrow and said, "Alright, just be careful."
Virgil cautiously poked her shoulder and then circled around to poke it from behind.
"You've become stronger, it's quite terrifying. What happened? Do you have to carry your own books now? What about your elemental servants? Your library assistant? What happened to your magic? Please, tell me you're okay."
