Chapter 115: Support

"No need to say sorry, we are indeed friends. Now, as a friend, I have a question I want to ask you!"

Hearing Xia Duo say the two were friends, Donald immediately beamed; it really made one wonder how his little chubby face could change so quickly. He just asked, "What question?"

"Do you want to pass the promotion assessment before the end of the month and become an Official Apprentice?"

"I want to, I want to so much!" Donald's eyes almost lit up, but then his little face fell. "But just wanting it is useless; I've only just learned 【Light】, who knows how long it will take for me to pass the assessment!"

"The opportunity is right before you now. I guarantee I can let you pass the assessment by the end of the month, and you, how much of a price are you willing to pay for this?"

Xia Duo's voice was full of temptation, as if Donald could pass the assessment just by reaching out, but did such a good thing really exist?

"Um—Xia Duo, I'm a guy!"

"……"

Xia Duo had black lines all over his head and wished he could strangle Donald. He really didn't know what was going on in that head of his. "I want money! Money, do you understand! Gold Coins!"

"Oh! You mean that! No problem!" Donald immediately took charge of everything. "How many Gold Coins do you want to let me pass the assessment by the end of the month?"

"150 Gold Coins."

"Really?" Donald had thought Xia Duo was going to name some astronomical price; he hadn't expected it to be only 150 Gold Coins. For an ordinary person, such a sum might take many years to save.

But for his father, it was merely a few months' salary, not to mention the money he skimmed on the side. Donald had already spent over 300 Gold Coins in the Mage Tower over these past few months.

Let alone just spending 150 Gold Coins to become an Official Apprentice, he would be willing even if it were double that!

"Xia Duo, can you really let me pass the assessment by the end of the month?"

"Of course it's true," Xia Duo said affirmatively. "But you must also work hard yourself. If you fail to pass due to your own reasons, the money will not be refunded!"

This was actually equivalent to spending 150 Gold Coins to learn a Ring Spell; whether it was worth it or not, only one could know for oneself. For Xia Duo, it was obviously not worth it, but for Donald, who had just stepped into the door of Magic and wanted to be promoted quickly, it was too worth it!

After receiving Xia Duo's affirmation, Donald immediately pulled two Exchange Vouchers from his personal money pouch. When the Parchment, carrying a damp, warm scent, was handed to Xia Duo, Xia Duo couldn't help but pause for a moment and didn't take it.

"This is 200 Gold Coins, you didn't take the wrong ones, did you?"

"No," Donald stuffed the two pieces of Parchment directly into Xia Duo's hand and said with a smile, "There are 50 more Gold Coins; I hope you, Xia Duo, will give me more guidance."

"Fine."

Xia Duo thought about it and accepted them. Originally, he had just wanted to conduct a cram-style intensive training, but now that Donald was so sensible, if he didn't accept it, wouldn't he be slapping Donald in the face?

"Let's go, let's go to the dining hall to eat." After walking a few steps, Xia Duo instructed again, "By the way, don't tell anyone else about this, you know?"

"I know, I know." Donald promised busily. He now did whatever Xia Duo said, fearing that his dream of being promoted at the end of the month would come to nothing.

"Also, if anyone asks what I wanted with you today, just say that from now on, every morning, we few Official Apprentices will set aside half an hour for you all to ask questions for a fee—5 Gold Coins per question, you know?"

This was actually both to make money and to vet potential members for the Study Group. If Xia Duo said it directly, it wouldn't be as effective as letting the news out through Donald's mouth to see the apprentices' reactions.

Donald did not refuse this request either and immediately agreed.

"In addition, be active when asking questions every day. If no one asks, you must take the lead. I don't care what method you use; if by the end of the month your number of questions exceeds others', I will give you another surprise!"

"What surprise?"

"It wouldn't be interesting if I said it now. You'll know at the end of the month."

Having said that, he ignored Donald, who was still deep in thought, and Xia Duo quickened his pace toward the Elevator. Realizing that Xia Duo was moving away, Donald immediately trotted to catch up.

……

The matter of paid Q&A went off without a hitch. Since the establishment of the Tower of Time, Xia Duo and his group were definitely not the first to do such a thing; even the Mages who taught classes usually charged for Q&A, but this qualification had not been extended to Ordinary Apprentices.

Xia Duo and his group just charged a lower fee (the apprentices' crowdfunding actually made the price even lower), and at the same time, they answered more people. This kind of conscientious business might truly be one of a kind.

The next day, after Xia Duo finished teaching the Study Group members and they had collectively exercised for a while, with about half an hour left before "clocking out," those Ordinary Apprentices had already spontaneously come to the Arcane Garden.

They didn't even need Donald to guide them; they naturally crowdfunded the money to ask Xia Duo questions. Before this, these apprentices would have had to work for Xia Duo and the others for a month to earn an answer from them.

No one would be willing to waste time on a stranger unless they offered Gold Coins that the other party couldn't refuse, but the vast majority of people couldn't do that, while Xia Duo and his group only needed 5 Gold Coins to ask a question.

Spread out among twenty-some people, it was practically like getting it for free.

A reliable channel and cheap fees—the Xia Duo Q&A group's first Q&A session was a great success. Not only did these Ordinary Apprentices benefit greatly, but even Aideliqi and the others gained quite a bit.

Although it was initially Xia Duo who had forcefully required them to do the Q&A, when the first session was carried out, they clearly felt that they had become different.

Afterward, Aideliqi and the others found Xia Duo and couldn't help but praise the matter highly, though they also had many questions. "Xia Duo, why do you think others haven't done what we're doing?"

Xia Duo sneered in his heart, but still gave the answer, "Do you really think others would be as generous as we are? Even if there were, in a few months, when you gain very little or even nothing from them, would you still have the patience to answer questions for these people?"

"This—"

Aideliqi put himself in that position, and the final conclusion he reached was—no, he wouldn't!

"Then how come you, Xia Duo—"

Aideliqi didn't finish the rest of his sentence, but Xia Duo understood what he meant. "How come I'm willing to share Knowledge with you, right?"

"Me sharing alone doesn't count for much, but if everyone shares together, it will inevitably give birth to a large amount of inspiration. This is called a win-win. It's just that there is no such win-win environment right now; all we can do is share within a small circle and grow and strengthen ourselves."

Aideliqi was silent for a moment. "Xia Duo, I don't understand the win-win environment you're talking about, but I absolutely support the Study Group!"

"We do too!"

Sami, Dewan, and Deen also expressed their stance one after another.

This made Xia Duo feel very gratified. Although the initial purpose was for himself, it had indeed benefited others in reality.

However, if no one in such a small circle of shared exchange took the lead in giving up part of their interests, it would be impossible to move others, let alone talk about the subsequent win-win.

Since they had boarded his ship, it was impossible for them to leave easily.

Xia Duo laughed heartily and led the group from the Study Group away from the Arcane Garden.