Chapter 280
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Chapter 280
The difference was that, in this intimate collision, Sylas felt like she could no longer feel that… that kind of intimacy she used to feel every time, but instead, only a sense of "rushing against time."
However, at that moment, Xerath suddenly leaned in very close. His lips were almost touching her chin. He slightly tilted his head to look at her, and a fragrant breath hit her. The blurry pale flames flickered, to the extent that Sylas couldn’t quite hear what he said.
"…Sylas？"
Sylas shook her head confusedly.
Xerath sighed. "This is the final step. Just behave well. Later, they will give you a badge that symbolizes your status as a magician. Just stand here for a while and listen to the Head Secretary’s speech. Then we can go and see the land. Alright, let’s go."
… Are you in such a hurry?
Sylas always had a feeling of not understanding the importance of this ceremony. Maybe it was because Xerath herself didn’t value it. If the word "ceremony" made Sylas feel a little excited, it must be because Xerath was personally involved.
Just like the graduation ceremony last time, her classmates were excited and celebrated the end of their school life by drinking and playing late into the night. But for Sylas, this ceremony had no meaning except for the hope that "Xerath might come to see me."
This time, she mixed in with the crowd and was placed on the stage of the auditorium as the first one. Among the handsome and lively young people, she stood out. The people around her were very excited, maybe they all knew each other to some extent, while she was completely out of the loop. Besides going with the flow, all she could do was stare blankly at Xerath.
Xerath was talking to some people and not looking at her.
Suddenly, someone tapped her shoulder. She turned her head and saw her classmate who had reviewed with her in Withered Leaf City.
"Sylas! I knew I would run into you! I’m so happy to see that you’re graduating!" She vigorously shook Sylas’s hand.
The enthusiasm made Sylas a bit overwhelmed, and she asked curiously, "I’m happy to see you too, but… What’s wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. I bet that you will graduate this year."
Sylas asked in confusion, "Bet… How much money?"
"200!" The aspiring mage sincerely shook her hand. "I should have bet more, but it’s too late now. Anyway, congratulations on graduating!"
Before Sylas could react, the host dispersed them. Less than four thousand people graduate from the advanced school every year on the entire continent, and only a hundred become official mages. The venue was filled with joy, with many esteemed old mages sitting in the VIP seats. Some came to choose assistants, while others may have come for their own apprentices. Sylas’s gaze kept trying to catch Xerath’s, and luckily, the esteemed old mage sat in one corner of the VIP seats, sitting with Emerson, and they were whispering something.
She had originally fantasized that Xerath would have a slight reluctance towards her, but now her fantasy was completely shattered by the delighted expression on the old mage’s face. The ceremony proceeded step by step, but none of them could interrupt her grieving process. She didn’t even receive the mage emblem.
The chairman who presented her with the emblem moved away, and Sylas went to find Xerath. Fortunately, Xerath was still looking at her, not making her feel completely abandoned.
When Xerath looked at her, a smile appeared on her face, her eyes curved, and there was a deep dimple at the corner of her mouth.
The people around her slowly left the stage, probably because the host said something, and even the audience started to leave.
Maybe because it’s over.
Xerath also stood up and reached out her hand to her. Her smile was very pretty and cute. Sylas slowly walked over and lowered her head to adjust her expression.
She didn’t want to make a sad face that would be thrown away. She could completely foresee what would happen if she stayed in the tower. She still remembered clearly what happened in school and didn’t want to experience it again.
What’s more, she didn’t want Xerath to see her as a crying little child. She didn’t want to disappoint her… but wanted to be like her, always maintaining grace.
"Sylas, I have done what I promised. You are truly free now."
"Teacher." She smiled and said, "Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. As you wished, I am now an official mage. I can’t wait to start my new career. Shall we go now? See the place?"
Xerath’s expression seemed to freeze for a moment. She furrowed her brows and showed a "scrutinizing" expression. Her beautiful silver-gray eyes were surrounded by eye sockets, revealing an unusual intimidation.
However, it didn’t last long. The staring glance quickly disappeared, and she immediately returned to her usual polite manner. "Yes, congratulations. Let’s go."
Next to the Mage Guild was the auction house. Neatly dressed servants welcomed them and in a small room that overlooked the auction hall downstairs, there were various auction item catalogs. One of them was labeled "Land."
Xerath picked up the album and flipped through it a couple of times, asking Sylas, "Which place do you want? Near Withered Leaf City?"
Sylas deliberately said, "No, no, I think we should choose a place that’s a bit farther away. After going to school, I realized that going to more places would be helpful for observing and thinking. Withered Leaf City is too familiar."
Xerath looked up at her, her eyes slightly widened, appearing innocent and childish, but making it hard to guess what she was thinking.
"Don’t want Withered Leaf City? That’s fine too. The places near Withered Leaf City are not that good," she showed Sylas the album, "This one has a mine nearby, which could be noisy and may have unrelated people bothering us. And this one, I don’t know if you’ve been there before, Old Joe said there was a landslide this summer that destroyed the beautiful scenery here. Okay, I won’t choose these two places either," she turned to the next page.
"Such a pity, I think this piece of land is great. It’s the mountain across from Old Joe’s house, with peach trees planted all over. Do you remember? We said we wanted to go see it."
Her eyes moved from the album to Sylas’s face.
Sylas lowered her eyelids, nodded, and said, "I remember, um…"
"Then let’s pick this one." Xerath casually pulled out the card and placed it on the table, then shifted her gaze back to the album. "This one is also nice, but it’s close to the city. Do you want to live in the city?"
"Um… do magicians really build towers in the city?"
"It wasn’t there originally, but the city expansion will include many old towers. Do you want to buy an old tower? There might be ghosts though."
"Really, really?"
Xerath looked at her again, pursed her lips, and said casually, "Even Liches exist, so what are ghosts? They’re just uncommon. Hmm… this old tower in the suburbs of Roberry City is up for auction, and it comes with furniture. Hmm? It’s not expensive either."
Roberry City is about fifty miles north of Withered Leaf City, so it’s within the radius of Withered Leaf City in terms of teleportation distance.
Xerath showed her the view from the tower, and all she could see was the cityscape. There was a cemetery nearby, and in front were the short houses of the city. Half of the tower was hidden in lush trees, making it very discreet and perfect for a reclusive mage.
Before Sylas could react, Xerath said, "I don’t really like it. If you like it, you can set it aside." She put that book aside. "What about Tabletop Mountain City? I don’t think you’ll like it." She skipped the option of Tabletop Mountain City decisively.
Sylas still hadn’t had time to respond, but Xerath was right. She felt an indescribable fear towards Tabletop Mountain City.
"And I think it’s better to be closer to some magic capitals. Blue Star City is too far… In that case, Sotralo and Star Song Castle are both good options, right?"
"Yes, that’s right."
At that moment, a waiter knocked on the door. Xerath signaled for him to come in. The waiter, dressed in a black suit with white gloves, whispered softly, "It’s almost time. There will be an auction for four plots of land near Sotralo. Please make your decision quickly."
As they were speaking, a small auction began downstairs in the auction hall.
The listings were written on a sign downstairs. Xerath flipped to the pages and said, "Sotralo has the highest density of mage towers on the continent. Some families even have several connected plots of land where they build mansions with tall towers. Would you like to be neighbors with them?" She opened a page with a panoramic view of the land, showing several towers within sight and estimated to be within ten miles.
She thought about that scenario and found it quite amusing, causing Xerath to burst into laughter.
Xerath had already turned to the next page. "This is a ghost tower." She gave the name "ghost tower" to an old tower that had already been used, as if it was certain that a ghost would appear there.
"No… I still want a new one."
"Then how about this one?" She handed Sylas the drawing. It was a mountain on the edge of a forest with a lake halfway up. This was what the original plot of land looked like, marked by six boundary stones.
"Yes… it’s quite nice."
Xerath looked into her eyes, seemingly trying to gauge how interested she really was. But to be honest, Sylas was not very interested at all; she was only pretending to be interested out of spite.
"Really think it’s good?" she said, writing something on a white sign and holding it up to the window. There was a faint sound coming from below, "Two thousand for the first time."
"…No, I didn’t really like it either." Sylas secretly expressed shock at the old wizard’s actions, then shrugged disapprovingly.
"It’s okay, keep watching." The bidding downstairs went up a little more, but Xerath didn’t bid again.
The land prices around here are already very high. If Xerath had said she could buy half a tower for two thousand gold coins, then any random piece of land near Sotralo could buy more than one tower.