Chapter 272

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

Chapter 272

If she didn’t know Xerath and this was the first time she met her, she would definitely think that this sentence was a kind of secret love code, just like those messy romantic novels in Fenika.

If she really thought and acted like this, it would be great, but she is Xerath… She is the archmage who always uses such words, not sparing compliments, but compliments are just compliments…

Sylas forced a smile and said, "Are you complimenting me?"

"Of course," the archmage put down the pen and casually said, "The thing I worry most about in my many years of teaching is that my unintentional behavior will fade away qualities like yours. But it seems that it hasn’t, which makes me relieved."

"Hmm… For example?" But she still liked to hear Xerath compliment her, because it meant that she had at least one or two qualities that made Xerath treat her differently. "Why do you think there aren’t any?"

Xerath didn’t answer immediately. The leaves in the courtyard rustled as they rubbed against each other. The archmage’s lively gaze suddenly concentrated and stared at her face. She frowned slightly, and there was a faint warm glow in her gray eyes.

This was the familiar "examination" that she hadn’t seen on Xerath’s face for a while. Sylas’s smile slightly stiffened, unsure of what expression had caused Xerath’s "examination."

Did I ask the wrong question? Did something show on my face? Did she… see the desire that I shouldn’t have spoken out from my eyes…

The sharpness of the sword-like gesture pointing at her forehead suddenly disappeared. Xerath smiled faintly and said, "A rule-abiding mage apprentice wouldn’t fly back from the West Wind Vein like this. It’s something us humans wouldn’t even dare to think about." She lowered her head and changed the paper to continue her copying work, but her body leaned towards Sylas’s side, and she added softly in her ear, "Only beasts would do something like this."

Even though Xerath knew that wasn’t what it meant, she couldn’t help but imagine it as a hint of admiration. A smile crept onto her face as the brief moment of fear was forgotten.

Even the speed of writing has become much faster.

Lunchtime quickly arrived. Xerath put away her toolbox and returned the book to its place. She led her outside to eat. Mordant’s food was known for its fermented and spicy flavors. Xerath explained that it was because Mordant used to be a mining town, and miners needed food that could last and keep them alert while working in the mines. She finished speaking and pointed to the plate in front of them piled high with sesame, green onions, minced garlic, diced onions, crushed Sichuan peppercorns, and pepper powder on top of grilled meat on rice. She said to Sylas, "If you can’t handle this kind of taste, I can go to the hotel and borrow their kitchen for Elvis to cook for you. But their kitchen might not be suitable for Elvis."

"No!" She grabbed Xerath’s hand, then quickly let go. "I think we should try different flavors. This taste is great, very fragrant. I can handle it." To prove her sincerity, she immediately took a big bite but choked on the pepper’s flavor. Despite coughing or sneezing being inevitable and unattractive when she had a mouthful of food, the apprentice forcefully held it back, forced herself to swallow the unchewed food, took a handkerchief from somewhere and covered her mouth. Finally, she sneezed out loudly in relief.

Too embarrassed, she sighed with relief, she thought.

Xerath smiled across from her, handing her a glass of water, and whispered, "If you can’t handle it, don’t force yourself. Give me the handkerchief back."

It was dirty on the surface, Sylas shyly put it away and said, "Return it after washing, if you don’t mind, you can use mine."

Sylas handed over her clean handkerchief, Xerath thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled and put it in her pocket. Sylas glanced at it, blushing and lowered her head, taking a sip of water, and focused on her own meal.

The archmage’s handkerchief had been kept in the inner pocket of her jacket, which required unbuttoning the collar to take it out. Now her collar was open, and Sylas’s handkerchief was tucked against her chest.

Will it have a nice smell when I bring it back?

Copying is such a boring job, and Sylas felt like quitting at least ten times in the afternoon. But with Xerath by her side, she had to dismiss that thought seven times.

Xerath was always very serious, writing at a steady pace. Every time Sylas tried to sneak a peek at her, Xerath maintained the same expression and kept writing at a consistent speed.

Well… she’s really sitting too close. Sylas couldn’t resist getting closer, but whenever she actually got close, Xerath seemed unintentionally, leaving some distance between them.

After a while, Xerath finally noticed something was off. Her sharp gaze seemed to look through all the disguises and focused on Sylas. But in the end, she just smiled and asked, "Can’t sit still? Get up and stretch a bit. Sitting all afternoon is not good for your health."

Sylas stood up, and Xerath stood up too. They walked to the window and looked down at the courtyard. Xerath said to Sylas, who followed, "In the past, when Virgil was busy running errands and fooling around with girls in the city, I would stay here."

"Was it always just you and Virgil?" It’s quite remarkable that no rumors have spread yet.

"Well… later on, we would often invite Sashara because she was also in need of money. Occasionally, Diego would join us too."

Sylas felt relieved, "Does Sashara also need money? Didn’t she write some best-selling books…"

Xerath smiled and said, "She used most of her money to buy gifts for Biatris, really most of it. An apprentice’s scholarship is one hundred and thirty gold coins per year, which includes buying books, clothes, tuition, and other daily expenses. But the gifts she bought for Biatris are often five hundred gold coins."

"Why exactly did she… is it because they are in love?"

Xerath smiled and said, "Biatris doesn’t understand the concept of money. She thinks that if something is good, she should just give it to Sashara. But Sashara feels indebted and always tries to find a way to repay the favor. It’s really a heavy burden for someone without money."

"So Sashara took a risk, and joined you all…"

"Killing and stealing?"

"Um…" Sylas didn’t dare to say it, but most of the missions of A-rank and above involve killing and stealing.

Xerath happily laughed, "Let’s go back early. Today is the first day, you need to understand these ‘heavenly books,’ right?"

Sylas reluctantly agreed. She got a library card here and borrowed this book. At 4 o’clock in the afternoon, they returned to the hotel.

Outside the suite was a small reception room. Xerath quickly took the seat by the window and took out two books from her suitcase, placing them beside her. On the small side table to her right, besides the milk tea Sylas made for her just now, there was a piece of paper and a pen for her to take notes.

Sylas couldn’t help but ask, "Since we can borrow books, why do we still need to go to the library?"

"Do you want to copy here? Where should I sit?"

The living room only had a sofa set and a coffee table, with a small pretend writing desk. However, it was covered with various advertisements and trinkets, let alone providing a place for two people to sit side by side and spread out all the tools.

Sylas coughed and sat down at the small desk filled with trinkets, flipping open her book to prepare to take notes. Xerath stood up, capturing Sylas’s attention.

The old mage swayed back and forth slowly, the book floating in front of her, as if she was reading it very seriously. But she maintained this state and walked over to Sylas’s desk, conjuring a light orb for her and taking away some unnecessary things in front of her (including a potted plant) and placing them on the empty coffee table.

Sylas’s desk instantly became much neater, but Xerath had already sat back down in her own seat with the book.

This book is called "Precious Metals and Alchemy." The first Chapter introduces the steadfast nature of precious metals and their relevance to becoming precious metals. The second Chapter talks about "no shield that cannot be broken," followed by the introduction of several potions that can dissolve the steadfast precious metals. As for what these potions are, Sylas didn’t recognize any of them.

"What does this mean? I’ve been feeling strange since earlier… ‘sharp’? Or ‘sour’?"

"’Sour.’"

"And what about this one? Why do the adjectival word roots for ‘copper sulfur’ and ‘copper halide’ differ?"

Xerath took the book down and in front of her floated a few water spheres, one big and surrounded by a few small ones.

Skywriting had been suspended for a long time due to the magic pressure. The archmage pointed at the numbers ahead and said, "Alchemists believe that metals are made up of a single elemental ‘substance.’ Precious metals are as stable as a rock and cannot easily lose their ‘guardians.’ Chapter one mentioned this concept, while base metals easily lose their ‘guardians,’ some losing one and some losing two."

Inside the water sphere in front of her, a small ball began to float freely.

"Acid is a substance with a strong ability to snatch away ‘guardians.’ Sometimes it can snatch away one and replace it, and some acids can snatch away two." Another fireball floated in front of her, and after consuming one of the water spheres, it took its place in guarding the others. However, it was clear that their overall appearance had changed.

Sylas nodded with a half-understanding.

"Sulfuric acid and halogen acids have different snatching abilities, so the adjectival word endings for the resulting substances are also different."

"…I think I should go get an introductory book on alchemy."

Xerath smiled and said, "Alchemy is considered a deceptive trick by the mainstream academic community because there is still no book that explains these basic principles clearly. But an introductory book on alchemy can help you understand these things that you think are difficult to understand."