Chapter 154

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Chapter 154

Xerath smiled and gestured for Sylas to continue. Sylas commanded Leunen to create a rainbow.

"Oh, this is too easy." It said, creating a ball of mist.

The two elemental envoys looked at it thoughtfully, making it a bit nervous. "Oh, oh, don’t you ladies like mist? I have something else…don’t worry, don’t worry." It said, growing a prism on top of its head. The sunlight shone through and split into seven different colors miraculously on the table.

"I knew you would know!" she happily patted Leunen, causing its body to sway greatly, which in turn affected the prism on top of the table, making the rainbow dance as the angle of refraction changed.

"Are you satisfied now? Will you not torment me anymore?"

"According to your standards, temporarily not. Do you want to go back? I can give you a ride." Sylas smiled and made a gesture of exile. She wrote quickly, and the water lord, afraid, opened the crack of elements and slipped inside. How stingy! Wasn’t the intention just to be alone?

"But even if we separate the light, how can we determine which type of light it is?" Xerath murmured to herself again.

"At this point, if we let it pass through the glass, we can see what the glass filters out," Sylas immediately responded, feeling excited and eager to find the glass. But unfortunately, near the tall tower, glass was not easy to find. Most of the windows at home were completely sealed to prevent sandstorms. Luckily, there was still the terrace door, which was actually never opened throughout the year. Sylas ran over recklessly, completely abandoning her fairy-like style from school.

The wind was strong, and Sylas caught the light with a white paper, but to her disappointment, there was no change.

"Did I guess wrong…?"

"There is another possibility," Sylas blurted out as she looked at Xerath’s furrowed brow. But actually, she herself hadn’t figured out what that possibility was. Xerath was already looking at her, and her little brain was spinning rapidly. Short-term pressure might really bring out one’s potential. She said, "It could also be the invisible part."

"But can light have invisible light?"

Sylas argued, "There are some smells we cannot detect, but Titus can, so what’s so strange about invisible light?"

This argument easily convinced the archmage. There are many things in the world that we cannot see, touch, or feel. Perhaps it’s just a limitation of our senses. The archmage then asked, "If my hypothesis is correct, what is the invisible thing in the light that makes plants grow strong and vibrant? What are its properties? Is there any other evidence of its existence?"

Sylas took out her little notebook and wrote this down on a blank page. Xerath also had a similar notebook for jotting down fun ideas. As taught by the archmage, one must always be critical of what they think they already know in life. The more someone thinks they understand something, the more likely it contains clues that have never been studied by previous generations. Now the archmage applies this critical gaze to the light that we see every day.

"Oh well, we don’t have any leads now. Let’s talk about it tomorrow. Let’s take a break on our day off," the archmage stretched and stood up, and said to Sylas, "Do you want to go to the library?"

Xerath’s most enjoyable pastime was probably lying on a water sphere and reading a book. Today, she didn’t have any work, so she found a sunny spot and lay down. Her slender figure casually stretched on the blue transparent water sphere, appearing elegant and at ease.

Sylas secretly hid behind the bookshelf, watching this "home teacher" who enjoyed herself far away from the hustle and bustle. She admired the radiant brilliance that seemed to emanate from within Xerath.

But for some reason, Xerath still noticed her. The archmage’s expression seemed somewhat surprised, but it was completely different from the gloomy aura that had rejected her in the past. The sunshine seemed to make her relaxed, and she even waved at Sylas and said, "Sylas? Come here."

Sylas was overjoyed and ran over to climb onto the suspended water sphere and lay down next to Xerath. The silent Hyectra was a little worried about her, so she slightly increased the distance between the two. Sylas was a bit disappointed because she couldn’t smell the scent beneath the old sheepskin paper on Xerath anymore. But rationally, she knew that Hyectra was just worried that she might anger the Elemental King again, to the point where even such an honor would be taken away from her.

Xerath seemed to be unaware of all this, with a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth, quietly watching her book.

Of course, it is very luxurious for the magician to read books. Sometimes she wants to look up a certain book, so she would let Hyectra drive slowly, and the mischievous wind element would push the book down from a high place for her. The book flies to her on its own and flips to the right page as she commands with her fingertips, then floats silently. As she reads more and more, more books fly around her, all flapping their wings, guarding Xerath.

Sylas almost forgets about reading books and just wants to look at Xerath. But she can’t let Xerath notice her at such a close distance, so it becomes quite painful for her.

There are so many nights when she thinks about the person next to her, sometimes afraid of being left behind and crying herself to sleep. But in the end, it’s all so she can come back to this lonely tower and see her.

And the person she misses seems quite happy with herself, always finding joy alone, without a care for how much others miss her painfully. Realizing the unfairness, Sylas pouts and looks a bit upset. Her book seems weak in the midst of so many others, fearfully flapping its wings.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Xerath suddenly turns her head and whispers in her ear.

The warm breath sets her on fire, her eyes turning red from her temples to her neck. She looks at her teacher in astonishment, while Xerath innocently looks back, unaware of why she reacted so strongly.

"About… about what?" Her tone is absent-minded as she searches for words that fit the current context, but her thoughts are focused entirely in her eyes, which are fixed on the extraordinary face before her at close range.

Sharp and wise, now softened by the warm gray gaze.

"Your… your books for next semester, do you need anything? I can accompany you to buy them, or you can just take them if they’re available at the library."

"Hmm? Is this alright? I mean… are these not your own personal books, your possessions?"

"Strictly speaking, you also belong to my possessions," Xerath pointed out without hesitation, "So what does it matter if I freely organize my own possessions?"

Sylas’s heart trembled as she listened, knowing that this "belonging" was not the kind she had hoped for, but she couldn’t help but fantasize about the nonexistent relationship between them.

"Just kidding, let’s just say I’m lending them to you. Remember to return them after class. It’s not a privilege that everyone has. Sometimes you can borrow textbooks designated by teachers from the library, but isn’t it quite difficult to compete with a thousand people for five or six books?"

"Yes, they say books are expensive, and many people buy secondhand books." Books are indeed expensive. The use of movable type for typesetting and printing with metal type is a relatively recent development. In earlier times, books came from the manuscripts of researchers, which was quite time-consuming and laborious. Naturally, the cost was also high. If thirty silvers were enough for a full meal, then at least one gold coin for a textbook became the largest part of a student’s possessions.

"Me? I also buy secondhand ones. Old books have a certain texture that I like."

Xerath nodded with a sense of comfort, seeing that Sylas shared her interests.

"But teacher, haven’t you not attended advanced school?

"Yes, that’s right. I only… I only came here to prepare for exams, so I don’t need textbooks."

"How did the students in the tower solve such a problem?"

"Oh, it’s very simple. We all use the teacher’s, and there aren’t many students in the tower."

"So what about the courses? Are the tower’s courses different from the ones outside?"

"Very different. The level of specialization is much deeper," she anticipated Sylas’s question and immediately pressed her index finger to her lips to stop her from speaking, "Your level of specialization is already quite deep compared to others. Please don’t ask me why I don’t let you stay in the tower to complete advanced courses, okay? Why not try to take those exams that everyone finds difficult?"

Xerath’s consideration was reasonable, and in terms of Sylas’s abilities, the courses would be easy for her. As long as she adapted with dedication for a period of time, she would have no problem with the final exams. The only problem would be whether this adorable little beast would spend her time in inappropriate places without the supervision and urging of a teacher. Xerath thought it best to let the exams consume her energy.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Her unicorn had already taken off without her knowing what it was going to do with its free time.

Sylas pretended to agree and, once back at school, she would have to choose her courses. Before that, she needed to have a clear expectation of her daily schedule, otherwise she would definitely be caught by Xerath if she couldn’t keep up. But what if she couldn’t achieve her goal of graduating in two years? She didn’t want to spend another year in a place where there were no Xerath but plenty of annoying people.

"So? Should I go ask Maryland for a course selection form and help you choose your courses?"

Sylas was both flattered and startled, about to nod but then quickly realized that if Xerath saw her choosing so many courses, she would surely suspect her intentions, so she hurriedly said, "No, no, not necessary. I think choosing courses is a social activity. Besides, you sent me to such a faraway place alone, wasn’t it because you wanted me to complete these tasks independently?"

Xerath was a little surprised. "As you wish. But then I can’t give you the books I’ve used."

This was undoubtedly a great temptation, but Sylas heartlessly refused.

Unable to continue the conversation, Xerath brought up a new topic, "Hmm… how about the teachers? Which classes did you take?"