Chapter 279
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Chapter 279
Finally, everyone fell silent. Everyone either voted "yes" or "abstained."
Is it over? Sylas walked off the stage, feeling confused. Xerath must have sensed her confusion and reached out to hold her hand, leading her to the hallway. Another apprentice had already taken her place on stage.
"You did great, so calm. I knew you could do it." She raised her hand and took off Sylas’s glasses, replacing the lenses and putting them back in the case.
"Um… what is this for?"
Xerath smiled and replied, "A weapon against the old man." There was a hint of cunning in her smile.
Sylas pressed on, "How exactly does it work against the old man?"
Xerath raised her eyebrows, pulled her and said, "It’s very simple, I should have told you before. The wizards have a special fondness for beautiful women with black hair and green eyes. They have no resistance at all for classical scholars with black hair, green eyes, and glasses."
What? She couldn’t help but take a glance at the judges’ seat inside the door. But there are still people relentlessly pursuing?
"Those three people are students of Vice Principal Karrom. Do you still remember Karrom?"
Sylas nodded. Vice Principal Karrom once presided over a meeting to handle her and Mede’s duel. He is the grandson of the "tycoon" Karvik, who burned ten thousand scrolls and proposed the "intensity constant." Sylas’s thesis was equivalent to slapping the entire "constant faction" in the face. However, this is "reason."
Based solely on facts, with no regard for personal feelings or factions.
Perhaps one day she will write a thesis that even Xerath can’t refute. This is not conflicting with her feelings for Xerath. The archmage herself might even like someone who can argue with her based on facts and logic.
"It’s normal for Karrom’s students to defend his teachings. It’s such a simple blind spot that has been under everyone’s noses for so long, and yet everyone pretends to write a lot of praises for it. Not everyone has the courage to face their own foolishness. Many people will hate you because if you’re right, many people’s term papers and graduation theses will…" She opened her hand and gently snapped her fingers, looking proud and gloating.
Sylas couldn’t help but laugh along, happy that her little scheme succeeded.
She just laughed for too long and felt a bit forced, so she had to find another topic to talk about. "Now, only the practical exam is left. I’m going to make an appointment with Swis tomorrow, but it will probably be next year at the earliest."
The archmage grabbed her arm and said, "Don’t worry about this, we can still make it back in time." Xerath was pulling her elbow towards the direction of the teleportation hall when a young female wizard stopped them.
"esteemed archmage？"
"Hello?" Xerath asked in surprise.
"Oh great, then I don’t need to deliver it. You must be Sylas Hevel, right? This is your exemption certificate, as well as an invitation to the graduation ceremony. The ceremony will be held tomorrow morning at eight-thirty, please make sure to attend in person, it cannot be collected by someone else."
"What is it?"
The female wizard smiled and said, "Inside, it states the designated hotel where you will be staying tonight, please go there as soon as possible." Then she directly handed the items to her and displayed the words for her to see.
She opened the envelope that said "Confidential Documents," inside was the certificate, stating that "all the evidence you submitted regarding the killing of the Lich is valid, therefore granting you exemption from practical exams." Below was the list of evidence, all certified with the seal of the Oversight Committee.
She looked at Xerath in disbelief, "I never applied for this?"
"Ahem," Xerath deliberately coughed and took the document from her hand, then opened the invitation and glanced at it. She said, "I applied for you."
"But I didn’t sign?!"
"You did sign, this is your handwriting, see." She pointed to the signature in the attached document, avoiding eye contact with Sylas. "I didn’t forge it, I wouldn’t do such a thing."
"When was that…" She suddenly realized, "It was that day when you said some papers needed to be signed!" But then she became puzzled, as she had briefly glanced at those papers and they were clearly submission forms for a thesis and a four-colored thread test score sheet.
"Yes, it got mixed in there." The old wizard said with an air of confidence, attempting to cover up his embarrassment.
"…Why didn’t you tell me?"
"I thought you would refuse. But this is what you deserve, don’t doubt its legitimacy. I didn’t involve Diego in this, and he couldn’t have done such a thing. The guild graduation rules have a clause like this, it’s completely legal."
Sylas remained completely silent, she actually didn’t care whether this matter was legal or not. What bothered her was how eagerly Xerath was trying to expel her from the tower, even resorting to hiding the truth from her.
They deliberately skipped the argument stage, clearly wanting to squash any unstable factors in their early stages.
However, Xerath seemed unwilling to continue explaining and just pulled her towards the exit.
But she looked outside and slowly stopped, "…it’s getting dark soon."
The sky outside was filled with red clouds, Sylas was the second last contestant for the defense this year, and people inside were leaving one by one.
"Hmm…" Suddenly, Sylas started to worry about it getting dark, "Should we go to the inn first? Oh… I don’t know if they have prepared your room, so we should go and confirm quickly. Also, are you hungry? I think there will be many people eating at this time, we should find a restaurant a little further away."
Xerath followed her silently, she wasn’t really interested in small talk, she just wanted to be "together" with Xerath, literally meaning having breakfast together, working in the same library, going for a walk in the town, shopping, having afternoon tea, and going to the town library.
However… that’s all there is to it, but Xerath couldn’t wait to get her to leave.
Doesn’t she like it? Sylas thought Xerath would enjoy the easygoing time just like her, but she didn’t seem to be interested at all.
The guild had prepared a room especially for the archmage, and generously gave her a suite, a spacious room with a living room and two bedrooms, facing the lake.
When they arrived after dinner, it was completely dark outside, a few fishing boats were lighting up the lake, and the cool breeze made people feel relaxed. But Sylas had no mood to appreciate it, after staring blankly for a while, she asked grumpily, "Are we going to choose a plot of land next?"
Xerath answered cheerfully, "Of course, tomorrow we can go to the guild and look at the records."
"What should we do if someone else wants the same piece of land as me?"
"We have to bid, and the person who offers the highest price will win."
"Do we need to buy the land of Aimekotes with money too?"
The archmage nodded, biting his lip, "Yes, you cannot choose a piece of land that is not listed in the catalog. That would be against the law."
Sylas felt amazed, "How much did it cost?" she asked. Aimekotes was a barren land, so what kind of greedy merchant would sell it?
"Just one copper coin. The true value of Aimekotes lies in its construction." Yes, each of the eight towering stone slabs costs ten thousand gold coins, so the remaining parts are practically free.
Thinking about this, she couldn’t help but say, "But I don’t have any money."
Suddenly, Xerath realized, "Did I mislead you? While mage towers can be expensive, not all towers are that pricey… Actually, if you save up your pocket money, you can already buy one now."
However, Sylas had already spent all of her money, mostly on teleportation and buying portals.
"How much…is it usually?"
"Building a regular tower only costs five thousand gold coins, including a top-level bedroom, studio, storage room, and a living room on the first floor. Each additional floor requires a ‘tension gem’ worth one thousand gold coins. Sometimes, though, the price of land can be expensive, making the entire tower appear more costly. For example, I don’t know how much the land around Sotralo has increased, we’ll only find out tomorrow. Do you want to build the tower around Sotralo?" Xerath explained calmly, gesturing with her hand. The golden glow made the living room even brighter.
"…Not necessarily," Sylas said expressionlessly, imagining her own vulnerable and defenseless heart being hurt by Xerath’s cheerful expression and response.
"Well, there’s nothing else to do for now, ready to go to sleep?"
Sylas smiled gently, "I’ll stay outside for a while."
Xerath nodded, and a book flew in front of her, covering her entire face. Her behavior was the same as any other ordinary day, sitting upright on the couch, reading a book. Her hands were folded on her abdomen, and her legs were sometimes straight and sometimes crossed.
She was not affected at all by this serious matter that seemed to trouble Sylas a lot. In other words, she didn’t care whether they were "together" or not. After repeatedly confirming the logical correctness of this fact, Sylas felt a sense of powerlessness wash over her from all sides, making her lose interest in everything.
However, this time she didn’t want to show it anymore, as if doing so would mean she lost.
I am not… I can’t be a troublesome and annoying child to her.
She caught Xerath’s attention as she curled up on the couch. The archmage got up and walked over to her. Crouching down, he said, "If you’re tired, go in and sleep. You won’t feel like moving later."
This was a good excuse. Sylas stood up and walked into the house. She took off her coat and curled up in bed.
Suddenly, without warning, were these their last few days "together"?
She fell asleep very late, her mind filled with various memories of the two of them. The next day, Xerath barged in and woke her up.
Unlike her sadness and laziness, the archmage looked lively and had already tidied up. Wearing a complete outfit, she appeared capable and solemn, radiating the authority of the Elemental King.