Chapter 151

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Chapter 151

She even picked up a bath towel and spread out the long and large towel, wrapping the wet little beast that had just come out of the water in it.

The embrace she longed for suddenly came when she least expected it. The warm scent under the old parchment broke through the distance and rushed towards her, but in an instant, it was gone. Then, Xerath wrapped her hair in another towel.

The archmage continued to gaze at her body, deep in thought.

"…The mage’s dark gaze slid over her like a snake, causing a shiver to run through her skin where the reptile had passed. Her body was undergoing some changes that she had never known before…"

"…Teacher?" Sylas’s voice trembled a bit, fear of the unknown mixed with excitement and longing.

Xerath hesitated and spoke, saying, "I once told you that there are certain areas on your body…that others should not touch, right?"

"…Yes." She now vaguely understood why these areas should not be touched and knew that crossing those boundaries could suddenly push the atmosphere towards secrecy and excitement.

"Has no one touched those areas yet? Especially someone of the opposite sex or an older person?" The archmage said this without clearly speculating on her own motives. For now, she preferred to believe that she was protecting Sylas rather than facing her own territorial motives head-on.

Sylas suddenly wanted to laugh for some unknown reason, "No."

"I… am not actually disallowing…" In fact, "it’s just that… at your age, I still need to help you judge if this is reasonable, and if it is, I still need to teach you some other things."

The previous trembling vanished, and Sylas happily sought Xerath’s attention, soothing her overly anxious guardian by saying, "Really, there isn’t."

"Really?"

"Yes, you can trust me on this."

"In that case, I hope you’ll continue to do so." Xerath nodded, turned, and quickly stepped out of the bathroom, saying, "Wait for you outside."

The strange atmosphere disappeared as she left. Sylas tossed the towel aside, feeling a gust of southern wind gently twirling her hair. She couldn’t help but touch her chest and ask: What does Xerath’s body look like?

She recalled that, in their eight years of being together, she had never seen the archmage’s physical form. She could only guess what it might look like from the outline of their thin clothes.

Female bodies should be similar in some ways. She had never thought about seeing Luna or Caroline’s bodies, but Xerath… Xerath made her very curious.

The little creature put on her nightgown, put on her pants and walked out of the bathroom. The archmage sat in front of her bed, staring thoughtfully at the freshly changed blanket.

"Teacher…"

"Yes?" Xerath looked up, giving her a polite but abrupt smile. "Is everything okay?" The smile disappeared in an instant. She lifted a hand and waved it gently, the eager wind obediently uncovering the blanket for her, signaling Sylas to climb in.

"Go to sleep, I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep."

Sylas hesitated.

"Don’t feel like sleeping yet? How about sharing school stories?"

"Don’t you want to tell me about your own matters? I’ve written most of my school stories in letters, but you… you haven’t replied to me, so I have no idea about your affairs."

"Life in the tower has been the same for decades, I think you should know."

Sylas smiled, "But you don’t think about the same things every day, I want to know… all about your matters. What have you been researching lately?"

Xerath suddenly blinked at her and whispered, "I’ll tell you a secret. Don’t tell anyone."

Sylas suddenly felt both excited and nervous. Xerath had something she needed to keep quiet!

"I won’t tell anyone!"

"Well, actually, I’ve been studying necromancy recently."

"What? What??" Sylas grabbed her arm, "Why are you suddenly studying that? Is it for academic purposes?"

"Thank goodness you didn’t misunderstand and think I wanted to become a Lich."

Sylas breathed a sigh of relief. Of course Xerath had her reasons. Maybe, without her presence, the tower felt empty and lonely, and the archmage couldn’t bear the loneliness anymore, so becoming a Lich became a plan.

No, no, that seems too presumptuous. Sylas didn’t believe that Xerath would feel unbearable loneliness without her presence.

"So, what is it for then?"

Xerath took a deep breath and seemed determined when she looked up, "It’s because of you…your situation."

"Me? I have something to do with necromancy?"

"Yes, without a doubt. Your mother died from a form of necromancy, not the broader category of shadow magic." Xerath stood up and took a step towards the empty space in front of the bed. "Suppose she was about to step into the middle of the room, and then she suddenly realized something was wrong. That would explain why she…uh, what do you think?"

Fortunately, Sylas was used to Xerath’s constant quizzes and immediately answered, "Um, first, she cast elemental spells very quickly. Second, she knew what kind of spell it was. Um…wait, teacher, I didn’t hear anyone chanting any spells, I’m very certain…"

Xerath nodded confidently. "That’s why I like you…you’re observant and careful. There was indeed no one casting a spell, and your mother noticed that something or someone appeared in the house and realized something was about to happen."

"What was it? Something in the house?"

Xerath said, "Unfortunately, you know that all shadow spells are forbidden. We can only determine that it was a trap, but we don’t know exactly how it works or the principles behind it."

All traps are similar, each type of magic has its own traps with triggering conditions that cause various forms of harm. However, just as a hunting trap can be a sharp blade or a snare, traps come in various forms. Different traps target different groups, like how a reptile passing through a snare won’t trigger any changes, but a wild beast stepping on it will get caught.

"You must have discovered something."

"Even though I haven’t made many discoveries, I have some ideas." When talking about these questions, Xerath seemed very excited. But when I say "very excited," it’s just in comparison to her usual self – a little more expressive, a little more talkative, a little more animated. But not like Luna, who jumps all over the place. "Do you want to hear? Hm? Don’t you find it boring?"

"No, no, I enjoy listening to you talk. Anything is fine." Sylas earnestly asked her to continue.

The archmage was happy after hearing this, but immediately reminded herself secretly: this doesn’t have the same meaning as what you thought. And as if to conceal this momentary mental activity, she immediately began to explain, "This trap is based on props, possibly using objects that are not particularly common in everyday life."

"Because as an elemental mage, it should be impossible for my mother to have a sensitivity to shadow magic that exceeds that of a normal person. But in my memory, it seemed as though she suddenly became aware of something?"

Xerath nodded slowly, "Although I am inclined to assume so, it’s actually difficult to determine. The more shadows gather, the more resistant they are to light, so they also emit a chilling feeling. If your mother has ever experienced shadow magic, then she could indeed perceive it based on her experience."

"Indeed, there is a possibility. So if we assume that there is indeed a trap with props, what comes next?"

Xerath looked at her with a slight smile, and a warm gray light slowly seeped into Sylas’s heart. This incredibly charming woman still hasn’t realized how influential she is to her, and continued to say to herself, "Next, I did discover a similar trap. It’s very ancient, but its manufacturing process was destroyed. The Lichs took a long time to recreate it."

Sylas narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brow – it’s usually the expression she makes when she’s puzzled – as she looked at her teacher and said, "You… You must have had another adventure, right? I really wish I could join you…"

Xerath pursed her lips and smiled, "Don’t be so disappointed just because you missed out on traveling with me. We will have many opportunities in the future. This time is different because a Lich sent a manuscript to the editorial committee, so they gathered a bunch of experts to review the Lich’s manuscript and then destroyed it."

Sylas also laughed with her. Maybe this atmosphere should be met with laughter. "Lich is really strange. Even if he knew what kind of situation he would encounter as a Lich when he was alive, he still wanted to be acknowledged by his peers after death. He even handed over such precious manuscripts and materials. Why don’t they create their own journal? Hmm… ‘Bone Wand,’ ‘Shadow Society Magazine,’ and the like. Liches could review each other, so there wouldn’t be one eliminated like this." This mischievous little beast and Virgil have the same idea.

"Maybe finding companions is more troublesome than just sending it directly. At this stage, we still can’t capture Liches alive, so we can’t ask them about their motives or goals. Do you want to know?" she suddenly asked.

"Uh, yeah, I’m curious."

Xerath suddenly burst into laughter. "Hmm, me too. I really want to capture one and ask. But just thinking about it is dangerous. If anyone finds out, it will be trouble, especially…"

"Am I your student?"

Xerath nodded with a smile, "Yes, you are. Yes, I really enjoy being with the ‘unicorn.’ It’s very relaxing."

"Teacher…"

This cute call suddenly shifted the atmosphere elsewhere. Xerath leaned back in her chair, crossed her legs, propped her elbows on the armrests, and supported her fingers against each other. Through the gaps between her fingers, she tilted her head and looked gently at the half-sitting girl on the bed, responding softly, "Hmm?"

"You were… um… in… all that… What happened?" She suddenly forgot what she wanted to say, but she continued along the same lines, "With all the messy things… How is it?"