Chapter 179: Puppet

But only the Elves of Cormanthor know how to contact them; however, with the status of Great Arcanist Buluode, obtaining a puppet from the Elves surely wouldn't be difficult.

With this thought, Eps deliberately paid close attention to Steward Miller's expression and demeanor, hoping to find some suspicious clues.

"Lord Eps, are there any other questions?" Steward Miller asked again, appearing as if he would leave if Eps did not answer.

Eps hurriedly said, "Are Lord Buluode's other students available now?"

"Without authorization, I cannot disclose that, but if you don't mind, Lord Saville can wait here for a moment; in four days, they will attend the Mage Tower's regular meeting."

This time, Steward Miller said a bit more, and Eps did not see any signs that the other party was not a real person, but he absolutely could not wait four days, so he asked again: "Can I post a task in the Mage Tower?"

"Sorry, you do not possess the relevant Permission Level." Steward Miller refused with his usual smile.

Eps's expectant expression began to twist; even the best mindset could not be maintained now, and he was disappointed to the extreme.

He had originally intended to find a few High Mages to go back and bolster the scene by posting a task, but he hadn't expected to be refused again! Eps tried hard to control his emotions and proposed his departure, "Since that is the case, I will take my leave."

"Lord Saville, please follow me."

Without the slightest attempt to keep him, Miller's blunt attitude made Eps feel extremely stifled.

Leaving required borrowing the Mage Tower's Space Gate; Eps was not worried about this, as Great Arcanist Buluode's Mage Tower almost never restricted anyone's visits or departures, as long as one paid.

Eps was very dissatisfied with this trip; he couldn't help but fantasize about whether he would still be treated this way if his grandfather were still alive. No one could answer this question for him, and Eps could only head to the Teleportation Room with a heart full of disappointment.

Upon arriving at the Teleportation Room, Steward Miller waited quietly at the entrance. At this moment, Eps finally realized that regardless of whether Steward Miller was a puppet or not, he was always a High Mage on the surface.

Having a High Mage receive him was in itself a form of respect; if only an ordinary person had received him, he would have had absolutely no room to object.

Thinking this, Eps temporarily stopped his departure, turned around, and said, "Thank you for the hospitality, Steward Miller."

After speaking, he stepped into the Teleportation Room and activated the Teleportation Array to leave this White High Tower.

Outside the Teleportation Room, Steward Miller, who was watching Eps leave, had his originally very programmed expression suddenly become a bit more vivid, "Eps Saville? What a lucky guy!"

As soon as the words fell, his expression returned to its usual state, and his entire body disappeared under the shroud of a white light.

Savile Territory, Town Hall.

The Lord's return caused quite a stir; the various leaders within the territory received the news and rushed to the Town Hall one after another, waiting for the Lord's Indication.

New Mage Aiboke teleported over at the first opportunity. Town Mayor Sain was already waiting in the conference room. Upon seeing Aiboke, he began a barrage of questions: "Saixili came back and told me that Niya hasn't even had time to rest lately. You tell me, what is going on?"

Aiboke, being asked, hadn't reacted yet. After a moment of daze, Sain complained again, "I said we should take it slow; why push Niya out so early now?"

So it was about this. Aiboke understood mostly, "Brother Sain, don't be angry. Recently, because of the Arcane Competition, Niya also wants to contribute! As for Niya taking over the Territory, that was decided by Eps; I don't know."

Aiboke, Lord Eps, and Town Mayor Sain grew up together. Although their later paths were different, their bond had always been good, and they understood each other quite well.

If he told Sain that the matter with Niya was because he had received some kind of revelation when he advanced, and that was why Eps made the decision, even though Sain would eventually agree with the decision, Sain would definitely complain to him again.

Therefore, he simply pushed it onto Eps; Aiboke knew that it was impossible for Sain to be angry at Eps.

Sure enough, as soon as Aiboke mentioned Eps, most of Sain's anger dissipated, and what remained was directed at himself and Aiboke.

The two chatted for a few sentences and then talked about the upcoming celebration. Aiboke originally didn't want to be so high-profile, but since Lord Eps had already decided, it could only continue.

As for the Arcane Competition, Aiboke had even less interest. Restricting New Mages and restricting the range of spells that could be cast turned what was originally a romantic and unconstrained Arcane Arts competition into a rigid performance by clumsy Bards.

It was truly a bit of a letdown! But he also understood that the Territory's current influence was not enough to host a true Arcane Competition. He only hoped that things would go smoothly on the Lord's side; otherwise, this Arcane Competition would likely end in a farce.

Before long, the military Supervisor of Savile Territory, Keyaan, arrived. Aiboke stopped chatting with Sain, and afterwards, everyone qualified to attend the meeting arrived one by one.

Aiboke took a look; now only the people from the Temple had not arrived, and of course, Lord Eps as well.

Tower of Time, Lord's Study.

Lord Eps, who was originally prepared to go to the Town Hall for a meeting, was blocked in the study by his daughter. Niya placed several pieces of Parchment with writing on them in front of Eps.

"Father, during the time you were away, I received these from the Communication Room!"

Eps took the Parchment and flipped through it; the expression on his face was surprisingly spectacular. Noticing this scene, Niya immediately asked: "Father, is this true?"

The information on these pieces of Parchment came from Seventon—a notice from Archmage Olong to Savile Territory: early next month, he would bring his Apprentices to attend Aiboke's advancement celebration and the subsequent Arcane Competition.

Sent along with this notice was information about those participating Apprentices; the quality of these Apprentices could be said to far exceed the Mages of the Territory.

This was also the main reason why Niya had to strictly train Xia Duo and Jianaer.

Looking at his daughter's searching gaze, which contained a hint of worry, Lord Eps revealed a tender smile, "It is true, but don't worry. I visited Archmage Olong at the Arcane Union before; he is giving us support!"

Although the reality was that Eps hadn't mentioned any Arcane Competition to Archmage Olong, the arrival of this notice meant that things were definitely settled on the Princess's side.

Perhaps besides the people Archmage Olong brought, there would be others participating!

The only pity was that he didn't see Great Arcanist Buluode this time; otherwise, even if he just mentioned it at the celebration site, it could increase some influence for Savile Territory.

"Alright Niya, I have to go to the meeting." Eps stood up and left the desk. Before teleporting, he said another sentence, "Don't forget to eat lunch; I will have the Tower Spirit supervise you!"

After speaking, he disappeared.

"Father—" Niya only had time to shout half a sentence before being interrupted by the Tower Spirit's urging voice—

"Inheritor Niya, Master ordered—don't forget to eat lunch!"

The second half of the sentence was clearly Lord Eps's voice. Upon hearing it, Niya kicked her father's desk, grabbed Archmage Olong's Sending, and ran out while covering her ears.

The so-called puppet nation is the Artificer nation of Imaskari; puppets are roughly similar to robots. The difference between an Artificer and a Mage is that they do not pursue their own Spellcasting ability, but achieve spell effects by manufacturing Magic Appliance.

If a Mage pursues manufacturing Magic Appliance, they can become an Artificer, but they are also a Mage.

The classification rules are different; Mage is similar to academic qualifications, such as university student, Primary School student, etc., while Artificer is similar to a specific profession, such as driver, Teacher, etc.

As for Imaskari, it is similar to ancient Egypt; the king is called the Lord of Artificers. This is quite far from Netheril and won't be encountered for the time being, so I won't make a map.

I will make a rough map of the Elves later.

Thank you all for your support!

(End of chapter)