Chapter 160: Genuine Elf Wine

It should be human nature to inquire about one's mentor; Jianaer likely inquired as well, but in terms of channels, Jianaer clearly could not compare to Aideliqi.

Aideliqi's father is the lord's moneybag, his older brother is the lord's student, and he himself has been drifting about the Mage Tower for several years, possessing sufficient sources of information.

As for Niya being so young yet reaching a 7th-level Mage in Spellcasting Level, it surely wouldn't be difficult to inquire about.

However, Aideliqi's reaction was very strange: "Xia Duo, why are you asking about her? I only heard my brother mention her once by chance, saying this Niya is a genius he could never compare to, but she seems very mysterious; there is very little information about her."

"Oh?"

Could it be that she is too much of a genius, and the lord is deliberately protecting her? Or is she so low-key that not even a whisper of news can get out?

"She is my mentor now, I want to learn a bit more," Xia Duo said.

"She is your mentor?" Aideliqi opened his mouth wide in surprise, and at the same time, a trace of worry appeared on his face, "I've heard that the more genius a Mage is, the crazier they are; they will crazily exploit their Apprentices for the sake of their own research, you—"

"Can you tell me about it?" Xia Duo was also a bit worried; being able to become a 7th-level Mage at such a young age certainly isn't simple—talent and resources, neither can be lacking.

As for talent, Xia Duo could understand, but as for resources, aren't Apprentices free labor? Right now, Niya hasn't demanded anything of him or Jianaer; perhaps it is just an internship period, an adjustment period? Xia Duo looked at Aideliqi, hoping to get more information from him.

"I know a Mage, I won't say the name." Aideliqi looked at Xia Duo apologetically. Xia Duo expressed understanding; after all, an Apprentice gossiping about an Official Mage carries a certain risk.

Aideliqi continued, "That Mage, as long as they receive any Apprentice, will crazily exploit them. I heard that once, a Mage with good talent served as their Apprentice, and then, because of a mistake in an experiment, they lost their ability to perform Spellcasting and eventually had to leave the Mage Tower."

"There's such a thing?" Xia Duo was very surprised; he had never heard of these things before.

"Accidents are rare. Most mentors just have Apprentices do some tedious preparatory work; they won't let Apprentices participate in actual experiments. After all, participating in an experiment itself is a rare form of Knowledge."

"What about lectures? How long is the lecture time usually per week? Is there a Q&A?" Xia Duo asked again.

"Lectures depend entirely on their mood; usually, there is one every week. As for Q&A, you need to work for the mentor in exchange."

Compared to what Aideliqi said, Niya does not seem like that type of exploitative mentor; the Tuesday Q&A she mentioned didn't have any conditions attached.

This made him feel a little better, but this was only the beginning; he didn't know what would happen later!

"Right!" Aideliqi suddenly remembered something, "I know someone who might know about Mage Niya's situation!"

Xia Duo hurriedly asked, "Who?"

"Also a student of the lord, a Mage named Saixili. The lord only has two female students; Mage Saixili definitely knows more than my brother."

"..."

Xia Duo rolled his eyes. If it were really like that, he might as well just ask Mentor Niya directly; he wanted to quietly inquire through a more distant channel.

Having not obtained the information he wanted from Aideliqi, Xia Duo did not intend to linger, exchanged a few polite words, and took his leave.

After returning, Xia Duo was in the Reception Room, calculating the spell structure and elements of the 【Steam Ray】 through Arcane Geometry while waiting for lunch to be delivered.

Enjoying a meal delivery service for the first time, Xia Duo was quite looking forward to it. When he reserved lunch and dinner in the morning, he didn't specify what he needed, and he didn't know what would be sent.

Soon, a crisp alarm sound woke him from the world of Arcane. He hurriedly opened the door, and an Apprentice carrying a food box stood outside.

"My lord, your lunch."

Xia Duo gave a hum, took the food box, said nothing more, and closed the door directly. Returning to the inner room, Xia Duo couldn't wait to open the food box.

Inside, it wasn't much different from the lunch during the Apprentice stage: a piece of meat, two pieces of bread, and a lettuce leaf. The only difference was that there was an extra bottle of wine inside.

"Genuine Elf Wine!"

Xia Duo immediately thought of what this might be: a transparent glass bottle, amber-colored liquid; he could smell a faint, fresh apple fragrance before even opening the cork.

Once the cork was pulled, the fragrance instead disappeared. Not bothering to get a wine glass, Xia Duo just drank a mouthful directly from the bottle.

One word—"Refreshing"! Two words—"Extremely refreshing"! The alcohol content of this wine didn't even compare to the inferior version Apprentices drank; there was almost no taste of alcohol in the mouth, only the natural fragrance of apples.

This fragrance didn't just act on the body; with that one mouthful, Xia Duo felt as if he were in a tranquil forest, surrounded by all things singing praises to him.

He felt his spirit had also received a Baptism, and his whole being felt much more transparent!

It's just, how could one mouthful of such good wine be enough?

One mouthful, then another! By the time Xia Duo felt something was wrong, this bottle of wine had already been finished. "Damn it! Don't tell me this stuff isn't available every day!"

After asking the Tower Spirit, Xia Duo completely wilted. This bottle of wine was his monthly quota. If he wanted more, then naturally he would need more Gold Coins! 100 Gold Coins a bottle, and it's limited! Xia Duo dared to bet that the cost of this bottle of wine absolutely did not exceed 10 Gold Coins, and since it was brewed by the Mage Tower itself, the cost could be reduced even further.

Xia Duo suddenly felt that if he stayed in the Mage Tower, he might not be able to save any money.

But thinking about it, if he were the lord, he wouldn't let people make money in his own Mage Tower either; instead, he would try his best to scrape it clean!

"Sigh—"

The meal hadn't been eaten yet, but the wine was already finished. Xia Duo had no choice but to go to the vortex pool to scoop a cup of pure water for his meal. This pure water from the Water Elemental Plane was extremely bland, yet it made Xia Duo think of his days on Earth, where clean water would flow the moment a faucet was turned on.

And in Netheril, perhaps only a Spellcaster could enjoy such a clean Water Source; it would be good enough for ordinary people to drink river water or well water that tasted of mud.

In most cases, they couldn't even get river or well water and had to use rainwater.

The situation in Savile Town was still okay, but those villages were too difficult, and those were the true lives of the vast majority of ordinary people.

Thinking of such a scene, Xia Duo was filled with fighting spirit again. He finished his lunch in a few bites and began his previous research work again.

The 1st Circle 【Steam Ray】 Scroll was Xia Duo's first scroll development project. Once successful, not only could he sell it for money, but he wouldn't need to purchase other scroll-making methods from the Mage Tower, saving a large sum of money again.

And what Xia Duo valued most was that completing this project was also a rare accumulation for developing other spell scrolls and even creating new spells.

This is just like writing a novel; the experience of finishing one book is a huge gain for an author.

(End of chapter)