Chapter 2: Tricks and Determination

Of course, for Xia Duo, what the name is called is secondary; the key is what the situation in Faerun is actually like, which is what he is concerned about.

Netheril, what a familiar name!

It is also the kingdom he is currently in.

In a game Xia Duo loved very much before he transmigrated, there were also descriptions of Netheril, and there are many legends about it, among which the most famous are, of course, the Arcanists, the Floating Cities, and Karsus, who ultimately courted death and destroyed everything.

When Xia Duo was helping out at Old Neil Inn, he beat around the bush and asked many Adventurers, but the answers he got were merely—the Empire has Arcanists, but there are no Floating Cities, or any flying cities at all; those Adventurers even treated Xia Duo's words as a joke, spreading them around the inn.

"Xia Duo who dreams of finding a flying city," this moniker also spread within a small circle.

This made Xia Duo both shocked and angry, terrified of attracting some powerful figure, yet he was helpless; those Adventurers would not care about a "fallen Noble descendant" like him, and even Old Neil also—

Thinking of Old Neil, whose attitude had gradually changed recently, Xia Duo felt a chill in his heart; his left hand subconsciously reached toward his left waist, where a once-discarded Dagger was hidden under the hem of his clothes, which, after Xia Duo secretly sharpened it, was barely usable.

Being in a foreign world, he truly lacked a sense of security.

Fortunately, the current Netheril is not yet that era of sky-filling Floating Cities, and there is enough time for Xia Duo to grow, to grow enough to participate in that magnificent era, and even become a trendsetter of the times.

……

"Xia Duo, what are you thinking about? Hurry up and go see the Troll!"

The blonde-haired Neil pulled on Xia Duo's clothes, squeezed through the crowded square, and headed toward the southeast; that was the road back to the inn, and also the road to see the circus outside the town.

Looking at Xiao Nier, who had just come of age and lacked worldly wisdom, Xia Duo thought about the past half year, how Xiao Nier taught him the Common Tongue, taught him to fish in the river outside the town, and the scene where he helped Xia Duo out when he had a conflict with Adventurers due to the language barrier; Xia Duo's heart was filled with mixed feelings, and he did not know if the two would still be as close as they were today in the future.

……

Arriving at the southeast corner of the square, walking east was the road out of town to see the circus, while walking south was the road back to Old Neil Inn; a large pile of dry firewood was stacked at the intersection of the two roads, and a group of half-grown children were scattering spices into the woodpile.

This was prepared for the bonfire party in the evening.

The colorful spices dyed the woodpile into a strange and peculiar color; an old man wearing linen clothes was sitting by the road, smiling as he watched all this, his fingers moving slightly, and a little figure made of spice powder appeared in the middle of the children, drawing them to chase and play.

However, Xia Duo noticed that although the old man had a smile on his face, his forehead was already covered with fine beads of sweat, and his body was even trembling slightly; this was a clumsy old Mage.

Of course, the formal title did not even reach Mage Apprentice, but Xia Duo was still willing to call these people who could perform Spellcasting Mages.

He had seen scenes similar to this many times in the more than half a year he had been in Savile Town, and every time he saw it, Xia Duo could not help but feel envious that an ordinary person could actually perform a Trick.

It was just a pity that this old man had wasted his talent, and even in his old age, he could only perform one or two Tricks to amuse children.

In the Empire, Magic was not out of reach; perhaps the old woman selling bread on the street corner knew a trick or two for kneading dough, but only those true Mages could represent the mystery and power of Magic.

The Elf brought Magic, but the Netherese did not have the outstanding talent of the Elf; the vast majority of people might only be able to perform a few Tricks after a lifetime of hard work, which was of no help to their livelihood.

For the current Netherese, survival was the biggest problem; the Empire had been born for over 800 years, yet it was still struggling against the wilderness. What was the use of spending a lifetime learning a Trick to make hair glow or dust dance?

Most Netherese, even if they could perform Tricks before coming of age, would not choose the path of a Mage, unless they were lucky enough to encounter a teacher willing to teach them for free.

And those who could not perform Tricks before coming of age were even less likely to choose the path of a Mage.

Xia Duo was from Earth and had already come of age before coming to Faerun, so it was not a matter of performing Tricks before coming of age, but he had not given up.

Because the factor that determines the final achievement of a Mage does not lie in whether one can perform Spellcasting before coming of age; the Empire has many famous Mages who only started learning Magic after the age of 30 and achieved success within a few short years.

Being in a foreign land, perhaps only Magic could give Xia Duo a little confidence to continue living, and for this bit of confidence, Xia Duo was willing to pay any price.

Life is precious, but if believing in gods or sacrificing to devils could obtain Magic, Xia Duo would do it without hesitation; but he had inquired, and the Magic Goddess never bestows Magic because of Faith, only rewarding someone for breakthroughs in the Magic Domain.

And other gods also require one to recognize and practice the gods' Doctrine to obtain Divine Magic power; even if Xia Duo were willing to do so, it would be difficult to sincerely accept the Doctrines of those gods, unless there was a God of Scientific Practice or a God of Omniscient Truth in Faerun.

As for devils, Xia Duo had not heard anyone mention them; perhaps he had access to too little, and how much could those Adventurers who went outside the town every day to hunt Goblins and beasts and collect materials know about the Knowledge of devils?

However, there was an opportunity right now: the Mage Lord of Savile Town was recruiting servants; although they were only servants, this was the easiest opportunity to approach Magic. Those people in Savile Town who could play with Tricks would not teach others how to perform Spellcasting, otherwise, they could have opened classes to make money long ago.

Standing at the street corner, Xia Duo could not help but look back toward the northwest; although he could see it every day, looking again at that tall, dark Mage Tower in the northwest of the town, he still could not help but marvel.

At this moment, a Magic Rune emitting a blue glow was suspended at the top of the Mage Tower; the blue light fluctuated with light and shadow, as if a living creature were breathing rhythmically. Xia Duo, who had learned to identify the runes on the tower from Adventurers, knew that it represented the current time—just past noon.

"Stop looking, there will be results in three days; if we can pass the assessment, we can live there in the future. For now, just come with me to see the Troll." Neil mentioned going to the east gate of the town to see the Troll again.

Xia Duo was in a bit of a dilemma, "Neil, why don't we go tomorrow? Today is the Midsummer Festival, those Adventurers are all free, and Old Neil must be very busy right now; let's go back and help out first."

Thinking of the scene when he told Old Neil in the morning that he was going to participate in the Mage Tower assessment, the expression on Old Neil's face was too wonderful; Xia Duo of course knew that because Xiao Nier had leaked the matter of the assessment to him, so he also wanted to participate in the assessment, but this meant two helpers would be missing from the shop today at the same time, so Old Neil was naturally unhappy.

And on a deeper level, Xia Duo guessed that once he passed the assessment, he would not be helping out at the inn in the future; people like Xia Duo who were satisfied with just 1 Silver Coin a day were rare in the entire Savile Territory.

Of course, it was not that Xia Duo was easy to talk to, but because of the language barrier at the beginning, plus being a newcomer, Old Neil's family helped him integrate into the Empire smoothly, so he did not quibble over this wage that was comparable to hard labor.