Chapter 1829: Flaw

"My Lord Mage, this gemstone is truly too precious. Please take it back. Consider this glass of Dream Blue a gift from my humble shop. If you have any other needs, please feel free to let me know."

The one speaking was the Gold Elf summoned by the Moon Elf attendant. Xia Duo gave a sudden, mocking smile; he hadn't expected the other party to come over so solemnly just to say this!

"No need, keep it. It may be very precious to you, but to me, it is merely ordinary."

Xia Duo shook his head, refusing the sapphire the other party was holding out. There was no need to owe a favor to someone he didn't know well.

Never mind that it was just an illusory sapphire from a Projection Plane; what if it were a sapphire brought from the Main Plane? If he really needed to use it, he would use it. With his current wealth and status, did he still need to care about such things?

Xia Duo's tone was flat, yet it revealed an air that brooked no refusal. The Gold Elf froze for a moment, wanting to speak but hesitating, and finally took out several exquisite sheets of paper with golden patterns, bowed, and handed them to Xia Duo, saying:

"My Lord's gemstone is truly too precious. A mere glass of Dream Blue is not worth this gemstone at all. Please, My Lord, you must accept this change."

"Change?"

Xia Duo became a little interested. Thinking that he might inquire for information elsewhere in Evereska later, he couldn't just keep throwing gemstones around; that would be too much of a sucker's move.

Thinking this, Xia Duo took the several golden Fuwu papers from the Gold Elf's hand. With a light pinch, a line of text appeared on them in the form of spiritual light.

The gist was that with this Document, one could exchange for 2,000 Gold Coins from the Evereska Council of Elders. It also specified the purity of the Gold Coins, based on the Aryvandaar Standard Gold Coin, and was not limited to Aryvandaar Gold Coins.

The Evereska Council of Elders could provide currency from six nations, including Aryvandaar, Uweilun, Shaerwen, Akaola, Jielunsita, and Evereska.

Xia Duo noticed that Illefarn was not among them. He did not know if Illefarn had ceased to exist in this Projection Plane, or if even a small city-state like Evereska, which had not yet formally established a nation, looked down upon it.

Additionally, Siluwende was also missing, but Xia Duo had heard Xize mention some things about Siluwende when he was in Shaerwen previously; Shaerwen was still quite wary of Siluwende.

However, Xia Duo did not use this question to ask the Gold Elf before him. He guessed that this question should be common knowledge, and asking it rashly might lead to inconvenience.

Moreover, the other party had produced five Gold Coin Exchange Vouchers at once, each with a face value of 2,000 Gold Coins. Even though Xia Duo didn't have much of a concept of that sapphire, he could roughly infer that it was the true price of the sapphire, perhaps even with a slight premium!

After thinking for a moment, Xia Duo asked the Gold Elf shopkeeper again: "Who are you working for?"

This Gold Elf clearly did not expect Xia Duo to ask such a question suddenly. For a moment, he appeared somewhat flustered. He subconsciously glanced at the other guests in the shop, and seeing that they all seemed not to have heard the commotion here, he immediately felt relieved in his heart.

Afterward, he turned to look at the Moon Elf attendant standing to the side and said in a deep voice: "You go attend to the other guests. This honored guest will be served by me."

"Yes, Shopkeeper."

Following this, the Moon Elf attendant bowed slightly to Xia Duo and then backed away from the street-side table.

"Can you speak now?"

"Yes, My Lord. My master is Elder Ougesi of the Evereska Council of Elders."

"This sort of thing should count as quite a significant secret, shouldn't it? You told me so easily?"

Xia Duo was truly quite surprised by this. He had only asked casually and hadn't expected to get an answer so easily.

"With a High Mage present, even my master would allow me to do so."

Once these words were out, Xia Duo was even more surprised. He carefully recalled whether he had revealed any flaws since entering the tavern, but apart from that sapphire, he really couldn't think of what else it could be.

But even a precious sapphire couldn't prove that the holder was a High Mage! Perhaps it was just the spendthrift act of some second-generation heir!

"How did you see it?"

Xia Duo stared with piercing eyes at the Gold Elf before him, who wore a respectful expression, wanting to hear what explanation the other party would have.

"My Lord, it is the aura. I once saw the same aura on you as I have seen on my master, and my master is a High Mage."

When he finished speaking, the Gold Elf shopkeeper even revealed an expression of reflected glory.

Yet such a reason was too far-fetched for Xia Duo. What aura? He was currently just disguised as an ordinary Elf youth.

And he was performing based on an Elf he had once incarnated as in the Projection Plane; he believed it impossible for him to have revealed any flaws.

However, while the other party was speaking, Xia Duo had actually secretly cast a mental Spell. Out and about, he naturally couldn't completely trust a stranger, but he had a high degree of trust in the Spells he cast himself.

The mental Spell feedback told him that the other party was not lying, which meant that in the other party's eyes, it was indeed the so-called "aura" that had exposed his identity.

Aura, what aura? Xia Duo picked up the wine glass on the table and took a small sip. The ice-cold, crisp taste of the Dream Blue made his mind clear. At this moment, a flash of inspiration entered his brain, and he roughly guessed the reason.

If he hadn't guessed wrong, the problem most likely lay with this avatar of his.

This avatar he was currently using was created by a Shaerwen Elf Mage specifically for Xilin. The avatar itself was the Saint Form of a High Mage, and a High Mage, even in a normal state without fully unleashing their power, had a considerable degree of control over the surrounding Magic Net.

As long as one's Magic attainment reached a certain level, one could distinguish it, and the Saint Form had an even higher degree of control over the surrounding Magic Net.

If one could say that a High Mage's normal form could still be controlled by oneself so as not to affect the external Magic Net, then in the Saint Form, affecting and controlling the external Magic Net had already become an instinct, an objective reality.

It was as common as a person leaving a shadow under the sunlight.

Or rather, the Saint Form of a High Mage had, in a sense, already completely merged with the Magic Net; any movement would be accompanied by feedback from the Magic Net.

In this state, it was very difficult to hide one's tracks, especially to some experienced Mages.

After figuring this out, Xia Duo was already planning to adjust the essence of the avatar; at the very least, there was no need to maintain this Saint Form body when there was no need for combat.

"I have no intention of disturbing you, I just heard that Evereska is planning to establish a nation, so I stopped by to take a look."

Xia Duo knew that his identity probably couldn't be hidden from the Evereska side, but he also had no intention of hiding it, as long as the "Xilin" mask wasn't exposed.

Moreover, taking advantage of the fact that Evereska was planning to establish a nation and had a greatly increased need for external aid, perhaps he could even utilize them to achieve his own goals!