Chapter 228

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Chapter 228

That’s right, Shirley has a C-level mark on her body. But Sylas turned her head to look at Xerath with a hint of disbelief, not expecting her to ask further questions, while her teacher blinked with curiosity.

Her lips, moistened by liquid, pouted slightly, and leaning against the wall made her seem slightly shorter than usual, as if she could just lower her head and kiss her by walking over, causing Sylas to stare at her lips and get lost in thought.

Her mouth opened slightly, and with every breath, she spoke, "Tell me a story about Shirley, hmm?" she urged Sylas, who seemed lost in thought.

Perhaps it was time to add the skill of "coming back to reality" quickly to her learning list. Sylas thought this as she leaned against the wall, saying, "For a while, I was researching how to incorporate red dye into witchcraft as a whole, and I used Shirley as an experiment. Shirley was very, very timid, so whenever she was hit by a spell, she would run around with a red mark on her back."

Xerath sneered, "What if someone sees her?"

Sylas involuntarily lowered her voice and answered softly, "Fortunately, there aren’t many people on our floor. The red mark glows faintly at night, so it has that effect in the dark." She raised her hands and imitated Shirley’s frightened running, making small sounds of "ah~~~".

Xerath pursed her lips and tilted her head, looking at her. "Can you comfort Shirley? I’m a little afraid of spiders and can’t touch them."

"Yes, I will buy live mice and give them to her."

"Will you buy them at Weeping Willow Courtyard?"

"Exactly! I’ve been going there a lot, and they even give me a few for free." Weeping Willow Courtyard is a research institution for demon beasts, located in the most secluded corner of Star Song Castle. Just outside is the Hunter’s Guild. Many animal-loving mages gather there and spend their time studying everything about animals. It is the most unpopular type of research institution at Star Song Castle, and they receive the least amount of funding each year. Rumor has it that when Xerath’s foundation was established, the roof of Weeping Willow Courtyard was nearly lifted off.

"Aren’t you afraid of live mice?"

"It was okay… I had it before."

The archmage asked in feigned surprise, "You remember? Did you secretly eat it later?"

"No no no, I didn’t…"

Their conversation became a whisper due to their close proximity, like musical notes drifting in the wind. Sylas felt out of place – it was too quiet here. She didn’t notice it before she left, but after spending two years with her little companions, when she herself became lively and noisy, Aimekotes’ silence felt like it was critically staring at her.

Xerath patted her shoulder, indicating that it was time for afternoon work. Sylas followed her back to the library. It was even quieter here. People would walk around in the school library, occasionally there would be students whispering, and sometimes there would be the sound of books flying. But here, besides the constant wind, there was nothing.

Xerath seemed like a sculpture. It was the third time Sylas saw her, and she noticed that she maintained her writing posture without moving at all. Unable to resist, Sylas slowly walked over, gently coughed, but Xerath didn’t seem to notice at all.

Unable to resist, she imitated the sound of knocking on the door and lightly tapped on the table. Surprisingly, Xerath also had no reaction. Without thinking, Sylas reached out and held her arm.

Xerath suddenly pulled her arm back, looking up at her in astonishment. The movement was so intense that it even made the chair beneath her move, causing a sharp sound on the floor, disturbing the entire library. "What’s wrong? Is something the matter?"

Sylas was startled by her sudden movement and nervously said, "Nothing… It’s just that you’ve been sitting for about two hours. Would you like to stretch your legs?"

Xerath took off her glasses, furrowed her brows slightly, and stared at her intently.

Sylas felt even more guilty, she turned her head to avoid Xerath’s gaze. She was a bit selfish, wanting to be closer to Xerath, hoping to make her look up from her work and catch a glimpse of her, and also wanting to take this opportunity to hold her…hold her whatever, her arm, shoulder, or back, as long as it was a place where she could feel her warmth.

"If you…if you don’t mind, I can go downstairs and get some drinks, how about that?"

Xerath’s scrutinizing gaze continued to stay on her face, Sylas bet that she could clearly feel that sting, her face turned red uncontrollably, and she dared not look at Xerath. After an uncertain amount of time, maybe as long as an hourglass’s time, she heard Xerath’s voice, as if passing a judgment.

"…I’ll go with you."

She put the pen back on the stand, stretched lazily, pushed her chair away and stood up, heading towards the door. When she turned around and saw Sylas still standing there, she whispered, "Don’t just stand there, go have a cup of tea and come back quickly."

Sylas hurriedly followed her.

Nobody spoke during the entire afternoon tea time. Xerath drank silently, not knowing what she was thinking.

And Sylas anxiously thought: Did I upset her?

Without Aimekotes, the tower seemed like a still snowflake bottle that had been sitting for two years. The snowflakes inside slowly sank to the bottom, while the liquid remained clear. Xerath was always a quiet person, so even when she restrained herself from expressing her emotions, she felt sharply out of place even with the desire to take a small step closer.

From time to time, she would glance at Xerath, but the archmage just changed places without settling. She deliberately stood by, leaning against the edge of the tall table. When she wasn’t drinking, the teacup was placed within reach, with her left hand clasping the spot where Sylas had held it just moments ago. She stared blankly as if lost in thought during the storm.

Sylas let out a deep sigh and secretly decided: either keep things as they are and never speak up.

With the "key," her travels to Withered Leaf City became more convenient. The twins returned home for the summer break, and Swis helped her obtain many real exam questions through Mrs. Swot, bringing them back personally.

In addition, she also connected with a study group at the Withered Leaf City library, thanks to Catherine’s recommendation. After acquiring a pile of review materials, she almost finalized a plan and began studying.

The written exam for graduation covered a wide range of topics, still including Sylas’s least favorite subject, world history. Each exam consisted of one hundred questions, sixty multiple-choice, thirty-five fill-in-the-blank, and five short answer questions, which needed to be completed within two hours. There were also rhetoric and logic, ancient languages, and elemental syntax theory. Each test booklet had many questions, and writing the answers was a huge task, especially the last major question on elemental syntax theory, where you had to design an experiment and deduce the results based on known conditions.

The exam involved memorization, reading, calculation, writing, and many other tasks. The list of reference books was thick, and it was much harder than usual exams. Luckily, you didn’t need to get a perfect score to pass.

Xerath took some time to review her materials and after reading the exam paper, she only made one comment, "It’s getting more and more difficult. I might not be able to get a perfect score. You can ask me about theoretical questions, but I can’t offer much advice on study techniques."

Everyone in the Withered Leaf City study group was curious about her background. Catherine instructed her to lie and say she was already twenty years old, otherwise, many people would be curious why she left advanced school before turning eighteen and didn’t go to any tower. If everyone found out she had a teacher who claimed she "couldn’t get a perfect score," they would probably explode.

Without a doubt, Xerath is a responsible teacher. When Sylas is writing her paper, Xerath will also write one at the same time, pretending that they are taking the exam together. What’s more, she is even faster than Sylas because she has already gone through the reference books and can accurately find out which knowledge points the questions are based on.

Because of this, Sylas feels downcast and feels as if there is a wide gap between her and Xerath, maybe as wide as the Elemental Gate. Xerath has to comfort her and say, "I have read these books many times, so of course, I’m more familiar with them, right?"

Sylas reluctantly admits that Xerath is always an honest person who doesn’t exaggerate praise or overly criticize. After a while, she remembers that although Xerath doesn’t lie, she is very skilled in how to not tell the truth, which makes her even more downcast.

Most of their conversations have turned into discussions about study skills. Xerath is certainly good at exams, and she even claims, "Exams are the simplest thing in the world because they have correct answers. You can even immediately check if your thoughts and methods are correct. But after you graduate, many things you face will not have correct answers. So cherish the time of exams."

Sylas definitely understands this point. When it comes to Xerath herself, she has a feeling of being completely clueless when faced with the last difficult question. She has never seen this question before and doesn’t even know how it is related to her own known experiences. What’s even worse is that although she has looked at many reference answers, the person who compiled the answer book clearly stated that none of the answers have any reference value or practical application.

She also knows that she only has one chance. It’s either right or wrong, and if she is wrong, she will never have another chance to see Xerath.

She still remembers that a while ago, when she touched Xerath’s arm, the latter startled and dodged. Recently, when Xerath explains questions to her, she pays more attention to keeping her distance, most likely because she messed up something a few days ago.

Of course, the archmage occasionally also motivates morale by saying things he has said before, like about freedom and power.

"When you become an official mage, you will have more power than most of the people who used to chase after you. They won’t dare to attack a mage anymore. This is something you must do to truly gain your freedom. You can’t live an ordinary life as an ordinary person. I guess trouble has already found you?"

Sylas vehemently denied, "No, there’s nothing else happening at school, except for a few duels."

Xerath raised the two sheets of paper in her hand and said, "Please have a seat."

Sylas felt a wave of ominous foreboding in her heart.