Chapter 214

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 214

"My dad is so annoying! If he comes, he’ll definitely keep criticizing me. I didn’t invite him when it was my turn, anyway, he’s busy with work. Well, Jane is here to help, so if you need anything, just ask her. I’m going to take care of my poor brother."

She disappeared quickly, but instead of looking for her brother, she went to find Jane. The two of them quickly exchanged information.

Suddenly, music started playing. The school had invited a whole symphony orchestra that slowly rose up from below the stage. Guests entered, the host gave a speech, and many people had speeches to give. Sylas became increasingly nervous, and Jane skipped class to accompany her.

=

The weather today is very nice. The sun is bright, but sometimes it gets covered by big clouds. As Archmage walked out of Mage Guild, she happened to see the Laparell Islands passing overhead. A huge shadow followed her, covering her entire journey from Mage Guild to Star Song Castle.

It was still early, and she didn’t want to go in so soon, to avoid running into too many familiar faces. In fact, she had already seen a few acquaintances on the way, and someone even noticed her and wanted to come over and say hello. Nonchalantly, she quickly slipped into a bookstore to avoid wasting time in these polite exchanges. The bookstore was still quite empty at this time, with few people. When a young and beautiful shop assistant saw her, her eyes lit up and she walked over, saying, "What book are you looking for?"

"I’m just browsing," Xerath coldly replied, and her coldness drove away the shop assistant. She even stumbled and took two steps back, not able to maintain her balance and accidentally making a loud noise by pressing on the nearby display counter.

Archmage couldn’t help but be drawn by the noise, subconsciously looking towards the book that Xerath was pressing on.

Beauty and Duel: The Practical Case Analysis of the School Belle." There was also a promotional poster next to it, with provocative text that read, "One of the best students ever at Star Song Castle, graduating this year. Do you want to see how she beats up the annoying ghosts?

What a vulgar title! But it was indeed intriguing. Who is the school belle of this year? Why did she go to duel? With the thought of "let me see how impressive she can be," Xerath picked up the book impulsively, looked at the author, and surprisingly, it wasn’t some unknown author, but Kat, the old flame of Virgil.

When she opened the book, she suddenly had a bad feeling. Then the words in the preface confirmed her thought.

"The duel tradition at our school was revived due to a very strange accident. A cute-looking first-grade girl challenged her classmates to a duel. She accurately recited the spells, threw the white glove, and then won, leaving a Shame Mark on her opponent’s forehead. This student then entered my classroom, and her talent prompted me to observe her further…"

Aside from these gimmicks, this is actually a pretty good practical analysis. It contains numerous real-life cases. Kat personally wrote, "Later, almost every day someone would challenge her. I’ve been following her, recording every battle she experienced. I have to admit, Sylas’s magical talent is truly amazing, matching the rumors circulating among my colleagues. But more importantly, she can quickly choose the most correct strategy, even with many years of teaching experience, I have to admit she is naturally suited for combat."

The archmage chuckled lightly, unable to tell if it was anger or satisfaction. This is a whole book of evidence. I don’t know why Sylas decided to go duel.

The shop assistant, who had been hiding nearby, hurriedly approached her when she looked up and said, "This book just arrived today! If you’re lucky, you might even see the protagonist of this book at the graduation ceremony!"

"Is she really as powerful as the legends say?"

"I believe all the students who have witnessed her duels would say so. And her duels are legendary! It’s a pity that the book didn’t include that part. I heard the censors removed it."

"Legendary?"

The shop assistant’s eyes sparkled, hands clasped in excitement as they described, "She fought to protect the honor of archmage Xerath! As a result, the Lily Knight Order awarded her a special ‘Honorable Knight’ badge. The badge is exquisitely beautiful, crafted by renowned dwarven artisans in the city. I’ve seen it once, it’s really stunning. There was once a collector who offered 200 gold coins to buy it, but it was refused."

"Lily Knight Order？"

"Yes, the Lily Knight Order is an organization of passionate admirers of the archmage. We have books written by archmage Xerath here. Would you like to buy one together?" She quickly picked up a dusty book from the nearby shelf and showed it to Xerath.

Xerath smiled and said, "No need, I already have that one. I want this book instead."

This book is called "Beauty and Duel".

The shopkeeper stared at her eyes, momentarily surprised, then hurriedly went to the counter to help her with the purchase.

Holding the newly bought book, the archmage glanced outside at the gradually thinning crowd and checked the clock. She planned to leave for the Winter Hall now.

It had been a long time since she strolled around this campus, but the ancient school remained unchanged. Following the path in her memory, she passed through empty courtyards one after another, quickly sighting the grand auditorium.

=

"Has the ‘teacher’ not arrived yet?" Luna looked at Sylas, who kept wiping her hands with her sleeve.

"No…"

"It’s about to start."

Sylas looked disappointed. Just then, Luna whispered in shock.

"What’s wrong, Luna?"

"My dad! Oh my goodness…," Luna hid behind Sylas, only showing her eyes, "he actually came! Wasn’t he supposed to be working and couldn’t make it?"

Sylas felt familiar with that person for no reason, but they were too far away, and she couldn’t be sure. She was about to look closely when the figure disappeared into the crowd.

Luna’s father was greeting someone. The two distant girls were too young to recognize that the person he was greeting was his teacher, Emerson. His tall figure happened to block the shorter Slote, and Emerson was smiling as he asked his great student, "Are you here for Elwyn’s graduation ceremony?"

Diego smiled and said, "I guess so."

"I guess so," that means he has work to do. You go ahead, I have plenty of things to talk to Swoboda about." Diego walked away, and Emerson asked Slote, "What about the ‘gift I can only give you here’ that you mentioned?"

"Don’t worry, it will be here soon. Let’s talk about something else before that." She was wearing a formal work uniform, accompanied by a few magical brooms.

"So, how effective is your work at school?"

"Effective? Well, I have certainly discovered some things that nobody knew before. But things have changed in the past two years. It’s happening, right now, oh–it’s amazing."

"What is that?" Emerson followed her gaze towards the stage and saw a very classic-looking girl walking up to the podium. He asked Mrs. Slote, "The student representative, huh?"

"Yes, the one I want to show you is her, the little beauty. She has been studying witchcraft for two years, all self-funded. She has deciphered the syntax and principles of the ‘Dueling Law’ using the book we wrote. What do you think? Are you interested in taking her as an apprentice?"

"Is she alone?"

"Basically, yes. Occasionally, she has a few classmates as helpers."

"No one is providing guidance?"

"Oh, hehehehehe… are you referring to me? I sometimes give her hints here and there. A succubus once taught her demon spells. Isn’t she a remarkable child? It’s like all the opportunities revolve around her. Don’t hesitate, old wizard. Once the speech is over, someone else might snatch her away."

"Let me first listen to what she says."

The girl on stage cleared her throat.

…Maybe some people standing here already feel very bored. Do you feel that as you grow up, it becomes harder to find fun and you have more and more boring time? But when I was a child, I didn’t feel bored. In fact, I felt like everything around me was playing with me. What kind of magic does time have that makes the world so boring?

One day, I thought that maybe it’s not the world itself that becomes boring, but rather it’s us who gradually become too familiar with it or take it for granted.

Maybe what brought us joy as children wasn’t just the act of playing, but the feeling of curiosity being satisfied when we explored the unknown world.

However, as we grow up, everything around us becomes ordinary and common. The things that can satisfy us become fewer and fewer, and a great emptiness gradually forms the essence of boredom.

I believe that we, my friends, my classmates, should seek out things that can satisfy our curiosity, in other words, things we enjoy. We should persistently study things that we consider valuable, not just what others consider valuable or what others think we "should study"…"

Mrs. Slote smiled and asked Emerson, "What do you think?"

Emerson chuckled and shook his head, "Naive."

But he continued to smile. The child’s voice was pleasant, not high or low, not fast or slow. It was amplified by magic, spreading to every corner of the hall. The hall was quieter than usual, as most people were drawn to her.

"However… innocence is sometimes important. Innocent people can be patient," he added. Turning his head back from the direction of the podium, just then, a person darted in from the doorway, seemingly trying not to be noticed. The person kept their head down, but Emerson still recognized her and waved at her.

"Teacher," Xerath walked over and glanced at the podium.

Emerson smiled and asked, "What wind blew my shy and modest apprentice out of the tower?"

Xerath said briefly, "Received an invitation letter."

"Do you want a little sister?"

Xerath lightly smiled and asked, "Teacher, have you chosen anyone yet?" She lowered her head and said to Slote, "Miss, long time no see."

Slote happily said, "I found a good little apprentice for Emerson, look." She pouted and pointed at Sylas on the stage.

Emerson also seemed quite satisfied. It seemed that this matter was settled. More importantly, he noticed Xerath’s eyes light up for a moment.