Chapter 184

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Chapter 184

"What exactly is this roster?"

Swis shifted his eyes, not answering the question but saying, "I think this job suits me."

"So…you think you’re suited for a job of writing and copying? I thought you’d be better off as a comedian."

"Oh, don’t mock me so quickly. Listen, this job of registering rosters allows you to know many secrets, to know what people have done. As long as you register, you leave a trace. But if you want to achieve something, you have to register. This way, anyone who wants to know someone’s whereabouts can find out."

Caroline smiled and said, "So it’s perfect for your interest in searching for gossip and rumors everywhere. Seems like it’s a good fit for you. Are you planning on doing it for a lifetime?"

Swis waved his hand and said, "No, no, no. Let’s just consider it as a hobby. That’s not the main point I wanted to make."

Caroline shrugged, "Clearly, you know someone’s secret?"

"Oh, no doubt about it, it’s definitely Sauran. You know what? The book I copied was a register for the geomagnetic measurement gauge, and it seems that some of the names from the past two years in that book overlap with the one I have in my hands. It’s like I copied it all over again. I thought these guys were all useless." The book he mentioned was a collection of names of members of the "Star Song Castle, why should Xerath’s arrogant association" that he gathered. In Sylas’s eyes, these people were really useless, because anyone with a certain level of knowledge and rationality could deduce the correctness and reasonableness of Xerath’s actions based on all the current known conditions.

But… "Wait, you said you saw the names of Sauran’s followers in the register for the geomagnetic measurement gauge?"

"Yes. You know what? Little fairy?" Swis’s eyes shimmered with excitement.

Sylas said uncertainly, "Actually, someone approached me last month about something related to geomagnetic measurements." She described how a detective from the Oversight Committee claiming to be "Detective Diego" asked her some questions about geomagnetic measurements and said, "He had a register like that on his desk."

"Wow!" Swis exclaimed in awe. "It must be something really big if it caught the attention of the Oversight Committee. But what could it be?"

Sylas became uncertain again. Swis was well-informed, but she wasn’t. If Swis didn’t know… "Swis, do you know what the Moon Stone is?"

"Of course I do! Moon Stones are really expensive now. I spent one-tenth of my tuition fees buying Moon Stones. They used to be worthless, but their price started going up these past couple of years." Swis used a portion of her tuition fees to purchase the necessary potion materials for the whole academic year. This was different from Sylas and the researchers’ courses, where the largest portion of their expenses went towards buying books.

"Do you know that someone has been stealing Moon Stones from guilds all over and then selling them?"

Swis whistled, "That’s definitely Sauran’s doing!" he said happily, even though there was no evidence. But it just made sense for bad people to do bad things, right?

"He is going to be caught by the Oversight Committee!" Swis continued with his happy imagination, but everyone present remained rational.

"Stop messing around and don’t speak baseless words," Caroline said. "Finish your work properly and don’t worry our parents. Oh, by the way, Sylas, are you going back after the exam?"

This question made Sylas look gloomy. "No…probably not going back. I can finish renting for these two months without worrying about terminating the lease halfway."

"Ah, there are still over twenty days left. I thought you would want to go home after all. After all, ‘teacher’ is at home," she swallowed the rest of her sentence.

Sylas shrugged her shoulders indifferently and lowered her head to look at the exercise book in her hands. She really wanted to go home, but Xerath showed no reaction to her not going home. After sending the letter, Xerath didn’t respond, and Shamodial never came to see her again.

This means that Xerath has no objections to her not going home. To her, it is just a trivial matter, perhaps not enough to make her emotions fluctuate.

Sylas thought irritably.

The Element Envoy Test takes place one type per day. Caroline only registered for the last type, while Sylas took the exams for the first three days by herself. The exams consist of written and practical parts, involving various syntax rules, analysis of spell principles, and prediction of spell effects. It requires writing a large number of complex proofs, formulas, and even calculations.

Many people hate Emerson and his students because of this. This elite group discovered almost half of the formulas that could be used in the exams. Previously, only analytical questions needed to be answered, but now quantifiable calculations are also required. The variety of questions has doubled because of them. So it can be said that Sauran and his foolish followers would hate Xerath, and these pioneers also have a great deal of responsibility.

But this wasn’t a problem for Sylas at all, she was well-prepared for the exam and finished it three sand timers ahead of time. Real-life practice is also not easy for many students, it requires precise control of the elements to make them perform amazing actions. For example, making a drop of water turn into a thin stream through a small hole in a piece of paper. If the paper gets too wet, it’s considered a failure, and the scores are based on the level of wetness.

Sylas felt confident that she could easily pass this exam, and she owes a great deal to Hyectra, the gentle and patient water lord who has been playing with her and teaching her about different elements since she was little. She remembers that when she was younger, she had poor control over the elements and would accidentally explode her own toy water ball or collapse a stone tower. But through play and chores, her control gradually improved, and controlling the elements became easier than controlling her own body.

With a transformation spell called "Water Blossom," the water drop in her hand turned into thin threads, just like the hypnotizing trick she used to play. The simple spell created a chaotic appearance, with the water threads crawling like tiny insects through the hole in the paper. However, the edges of the hole remained dry.

Her scorekeeper couldn’t help but applaud her, and she shyly smiled and quickly left the examination room.

She cast spells quickly, so she finished the exam among the first group. There weren’t many people outside the spacious exam room. She planned to wait for Caroline, but suddenly, a tentacle from the void grabbed her. It wasn’t Leunen, it felt like…

"Hyectra! I just remembered you when I was taking the exam… Has the teacher come?" The water lord couldn’t appear too far from the contract holder. If Hyectra was around, it meant…

The excitement in her heart triggered her heartbeat, and the heartbeat brought even more excitement. Her legs even felt a bit weak, and she wanted to look around, but then she remembered Xerath might frown upon her clumsy movements from somewhere in the corner.

– No, that’s not it. She simply thought that such actions would reveal her true feelings. She wasn’t hoping for Xerath to be around. She believed she should be like Virgil said, "Adults should know how to hide their feelings."

But she couldn’t help but ask, "Where is the teacher? Where is she?"

The water lord took her through the little garden, and at the end of the garden, there was a person with their back turned towards them. Even though they were wearing a common wizard robe, Sylas could still recognize who it was…

This person is Xerath.

She was so familiar with that figure, but something choked her throat, and she couldn’t say the word "teacher".

Xerath turned around. Her hair was still short, especially in the front, it hung in fine strands beside her cheeks, which were as white as marble. However, the hair at the back was left untrimmed, and only tied with a small silver ring.

She had her front open, tie, waistcoat, trousers, the tasteless outfit suddenly looked good on her.

She gave Sylas a familiar smile, "I hope you didn’t find my arrival presumptuous."

"No, no…" The young apprentice, no matter how fearless they were at school, still showed their usual shyness in front of the archmage, "I’m glad you came, it’s just so unexpected, why didn’t you tell me?"

"Communication was a bit slow." The archmage remained stern underneath the black suit (even in summer). She took a step forward, and Sylas could feel an undeniable pressure closing in on her.

It might not be pressure, it’s just that she doesn’t know how to handle the embarrassment of facing Xerath now.

"What are your plans for the rest of the summer vacation?"

"Um… I might read some light novels to relax, and maybe continue with some small experiments."

The archmage asked gently, "Are you not going home with me? There are still more than twenty days left."

Sylas’s heart skipped a beat.

Since Sylas kept her head down, the archmage had to bend over and tilt his head to catch her gaze. Sylas couldn’t help but smile at Xerath’s playful expression, standing up straight and saying softly, "Alright then, I’ll go back and pack my things."

It was a hot summer, and the students were wearing knee-length skirts (of course, Sylas was wearing Xerath’s, the school uniform style hadn’t changed in so many years) and low-cut shoes. Sylas also wore a short-sleeved shirt, and only added a vest for the dressing etiquette of the exam. After walking a few steps, the weather became so hot that she took off her tie, unbuttoned two buttons, and took off the vest, holding it in her hand. Xerath took it from her naturally.

It was indeed her clothes, and technically there was nothing wrong with her holding them, but Sylas couldn’t help but feel her heart race for this insignificant little gesture, with thoughts like "She helped me with my clothes" flooding her mind.

The cicadas on the road kept chirping, green leaves lazily swayed with the hot summer breeze. Dark clouds appeared above the two with a snap of the archmage’s fingers. Xerath didn’t say anything, and neither did Sylas.