Chapter 188: Invitation

He had paid almost no attention to outside matters these past few days; he urgently needed someone to understand the recent situation, and that person was naturally Aideliqi.

Xia Duo found Aideliqi in the Library, with Dien, Sami, and others also present. The design for the Apprentice Competition was in its final stages, and they were very happy to see Xia Duo arrive.

Regarding Xia Duo's questions, Aideliqi told him everything he knew without holding anything back—

"Everything in the Territory is normal right now, only the patrols in the Green Pearl Forest have been increased significantly, but—"

Aideliqi suddenly glanced toward the door and lowered his voice, "Besides Mengbo, two other apprentices were found to have been cursed by Elves! They are already dead!"

"Dead?!"

Xia Duo knew that Jianaer's younger brother was not yet dead, otherwise Jianaer would not be in his current state, though perhaps it would happen soon! Xia Duo felt a bit sad; death had occurred right beside him, and who could remain unmoved?

"What does the Mage Tower say?"

"What else could they say? Died in an accident, you know, an 'accident'?" Aideliqi was also a bit agitated. He was an apprentice himself, and although he wouldn't be going out to encounter Elves, he still felt a sense of grief for those like him.

Xia Duo was silent, then asked: "Was it also a Green Pearl Forest patrol mission?"

"Yes."

It seemed the Elven curse only targeted (prospective) Mages; he didn't know if it was due to the cost of spellcasting, or if they just chose such targets? Moreover, it seemed there was only danger in the Green Pearl Forest. Xia Duo breathed a slight sigh of relief, feeling more confident about leaving the Mage Tower later.

"I understand. By the way, has the time for the Apprentice Competition been decided?"

"Not yet, we were just about to ask you."

"Ask me?" Xia Duo felt a bit gratified and casually suggested a date, "Let's have it right before the Arcane Competition. I will come to watch it then."

"That's great! If you don't come, it always feels like the competition isn't complete!"

Aideliqi's words made everyone laugh, yet no one thought it was incorrect; instead, they all looked at Xia Duo with great anticipation.

"Rest assured, I will come. Additionally, the competition design needs to be further refined. The content of the competition should be made public as much as possible. I know you all have the confidence to win, but precisely because of that, it needs to be public; we do not accept questioning. If they still question it under these circumstances, then they are not on the same path as us, understand?"

"Understood!"

"Alright, I have other things to do, so I'll be leaving first. You all carry on with your work."

……

After seeing Aideliqi, Xia Duo had a better grasp of the situation in the Territory. Perhaps it was serious and urgent for the Territory as a whole, but for individuals within it, that might not be the case.

As long as one didn't go to the Green Pearl Forest, the probability of running into an Elf was low. Of course, even if one went, one wouldn't truly "run into" them; curses came and went without a trace. Didn't Mengbo also fail to "run into" an Elf? The meeting with Lady Patti went smoothly. After a few cups of Elf Hot Drink, his spirit felt as if it had been through a Baptism. Xia Duo felt this trip out had not been in vain.

However, regarding the invitation to the Mage Tower, Lady Patti was noncommittal. Xia Duo also kept in mind the instructions from his mentor Niya; he didn't need to worry about what followed.

Therefore, it wasn't until the tea was no longer being refilled that Xia Duo took his leave.

……

On the way back to the Mage Tower, halfway there, Xia Duo suddenly felt that he was a very incompetent Private Mage Consultant; the 700 Gold Coins he had taken earlier felt somewhat burning to the touch.

He did not want any conflict between Lady Patti and the Mage Tower. Regardless of Lady Patti's background, it was an undeniable fact that she herself was an ordinary person. If a conflict occurred, she would inevitably be the one to suffer.

In that case, wouldn't there be no one to pay his monthly salary? Thinking this, Xia Duo turned back, wanting to persuade Lady Patti with the logic that an arm cannot twist a thigh.

Unexpectedly, just as he turned a corner, he saw Lady Patti's carriage driving from the direction of the villa. It looked like she didn't need him to go.

However, the carriage did not stop to give him a ride and drove off into the distance. At this moment, Xia Duo suddenly remembered that he had not yet started learning the essential spell, 【Summon Mount】.

If he learned it from the Mage Tower, that would be several more days gone. Since he was already out, he might as well go to the East District to see if any of the Magic Item shops sold Learning Scrolls.

If they did, and the price wasn't too outrageous, Xia Duo wouldn't mind spending a few more Gold Coins. Compared to saving time, Gold Coins were truly of no concern to Xia Duo.

And it wasn't just the 【Summon Mount】 Learning Scroll; other spells would work too. Since he didn't have the Permission Level to exchange for them at the Mage Tower yet, he could only think of other ways.

Xia Duo had asked in the East District before, but that was when he was still a Mage Apprentice. Upon hearing that he would have to negotiate with the Mage behind the shop, he immediately lost his nerve.

Later, after he himself became an Official Mage, he hadn't thought of it again. Now, seeing Lady Patti's carriage and thinking of 【Summon Mount】, Xia Duo finally remembered this matter.

……

Eagle Chamber of Commerce, Arcane Equipment Shop.

After stating his intentions, the shop manager looked troubled, "My lord, Learning Scrolls are not for sale."

However, Xia Duo had long seen through everything. He believed that while there were indeed things not for sale in this world, Learning Scrolls were not among them; it was merely a matter of the price. "Contact the Mage; I am sincere about purchasing!"

Xia Duo deliberately emphasized "sincere" and pulled a stack of Exchange Vouchers from the inner pocket of his Mage robe. Of course, if the price was too outrageous, his sincerity would naturally be limited.

With "sincerity" as a foundation, the manager immediately went to an inconspicuous decoration on the shelf behind the counter. Under Xia Duo's Magic Vision, that decoration connected with the many Magic Auras in the shop; it must have been one of the Nodes.

Xia Duo hadn't expected that this manager was actually a Mage Apprentice, though upon reflection, it seemed natural. If a Magic Item shop didn't have someone who understood Magic, what kind of Magic Item shop would it be! "My lord, please wait a moment, the Chamber of Commerce's Mage will be here soon!"

"Hmm."

……

Just as Xia Duo was waiting, not far away, within the Eagle Chamber of Commerce branch, a squad of guards had just finished their mission of escorting a caravan back from Konnifila City and had received their bounty, preparing to rest.

"Captain, how many Gold Coins did you get? Tell us!" A tall, thin man carrying a bow hooked his arm around the burly man walking with him and laughed.

The burly man brushed the thin man's hand away and said a number calmly, "50 Gold Coins."

"Captain, how come you also got 50 Gold Coins!" The thin archer felt indignant for his captain, though his eyes seemed to show a sense of relief.

Others also chimed in, voicing their grievances for the captain.

"Alright, enough. Getting 50 Gold Coins for just a week's work, where else can you find such a good deal? If you think the pay is low, 'Magan', you can go be an Adventurer. I hear Adventurers are short on archers like you. If you really have that idea, I can tell the manager."

"No, no, Captain, I was wrong." The thin man called Magan by the burly man hurriedly begged for mercy and skillfully changed the subject, "Captain, let's go drink. My treat today!"

"Don't, I'm afraid I'll drink your purse empty, and next time your arrow won't hit my butt, but my head instead!"

The burly man's joke made Magan very embarrassed, "Captain, how can you still remember something from a few years ago! When have I ever missed since then!"

"You still say that? On this mission, you almost shot Richi. If it weren't for Richi not holding it against you, you would be staying in the Temple of the Lord of Radiance right now, and you still want to drink?" The speaker was another Warrior in the squad, who looked like he hadn't been scared by Magan any less often.

"Alright, stop messing around!" The captain stopped the bickering team members, "Put the drinking aside. The Mage used a Scroll on this mission. We will go replenish the Scrolls with the Mage first, then go repair our equipment and replenish our consumables. We can only go drink after all that is done."

"Captain, is it necessary to be so serious every time? Isn't the next mission still a week away?"

"Boge!" The burly captain was a bit angry, "Been in this line of work for so long and still haven't learned to be cautious? How do you know the next mission will definitely be next week?"

Seeing that the captain seemed truly angry, Boge hurriedly admitted his mistake. With the other team members persuading him, the captain finally let it go and led all the team members toward the Chamber of Commerce's Magic Supplies shop.

(End of chapter)