Chapter 202: Transaction

Netheril rose from humble beginnings, and the Spellcasters who represented Wisdom and power—whether they were Priests of the gods or the new class that had attained Magic—were the actual leaders who guided the people to pioneer lands for survival. Thus came the saying, "Pioneering is the responsibility of every Spellcaster."

But as the Empire's territory gradually expanded, the Netherese were no longer in the precarious state of the past; mature territories did not even have a single starving person.

As such, pioneering became a thankless task, and the most recent instance of pioneering was nearly a hundred years ago.

Xia Duo's answer was clearly evasive, and Lord Aipusi was noncommittal about it, turning instead to ask about Xia Duo's pioneering plan: "You say pioneering is a responsibility, so what about your plan?" At this, Xia Duo was at a loss; with no people, no money, and no power, what kind of pioneering plan could he have? He was currently trying to find a way to avoid it!

"My Lord, this requires careful consideration; there is no rush for now, no rush!"

"Heh." Lord Aipusi laughed. "Xia Duo, I have a suggestion here. Would you like to hear it?"

Xia Duo's spirits lifted, knowing the meat of the matter had arrived. He knew the Lord couldn't have sought him out for no reason; it turned out he was waiting for him here!

"My Lord, please speak!"

"I have consulted Lady Greta, and she told me that a Pioneer needs to pioneer the wilderness to the southeast of Kangqi City. That region is ravaged by Gnolls, Orcs, and Trolls, but Kangqi City will not provide aid, because no matter how difficult it is to pioneer there, it actually damages the potential territory of Kangqi City."

"Furthermore, the supplies provided by the Princess must also pass through Kangqi City."

The Lord had not even mentioned the issue of manpower yet, and Xia Duo's heart had already gone cold. Fortunately, the Lord's next words brought him back some warmth.

"My suggestion is that you can choose an area in the Green Pearl Forest as your pioneering land, and I will provide you with some basic supplies."

This plan was almost tailor-made for him. Xia Duo was joyful in his heart, but after the joy, he also calmed down.

The Lord doing this clearly exceeded the scope of normal solicitation. The biggest obstacle to pioneering the Green Pearl Forest—the Orcs—was no longer a major problem now.

What reason did the Lord have to give up a piece of territory that could be easily taken? Before today, if the Lord had asked him to do something, he could not have refused at all. The only answer was that the title of "Pioneer" could make the Lord look at him differently, and most importantly—

It brought some kind of implicit benefit that the Lord might need.

After clearing everything up, Xia Duo felt more confident. He looked at the Lord and asked calmly, "Then what price do I need to pay?"

"The reading Permission Level for the 【Nether Scroll】."

"What?!" Xia Duo could hardly believe his ears. When could he be linked to the 【Nether Scroll】? The "Pioneer" title actually had such a benefit? Xia Duo subconsciously wanted to refuse, but the words on his lips changed to—"What is this about the 【Nether Scroll】?"

Lord Aipusi did not hide it and began to explain slowly, "In the past, the recipient of the 'Pioneer' title was at least an Archmage, and now this title represents an Archmage to some extent, and Archmages are allowed to read the 【Nether Scroll】."

After hesitating for a moment, Lord Aipusi added, "But the current Pioneer is not an Archmage after all, and the number of titles issued this time is not small, so it is impossible to truly possess the full Permission Level of an Archmage. I speculate that it is either a limit on the number of times or a time interval limit."

"Do true Archmages have no restrictions on reading the 【Nether Scroll】?" Xia Duo asked curiously.

"How could there be no restrictions!" Lord Aipusi sighed. "If it were seventy years ago, then even an ordinary farmer could go to the Arcane Union Headquarters to view the 【Nether Scroll】, but now, even an Archmage only has one chance per year."

Xia Duo knew the Lord was talking about the tragedy seventy years ago when a complete set of 【Nether Scroll】 was stolen. Although there was various evidence indicating it was the work of the Elves of Cormanthor, it was ultimately left unsettled.

Falling behind means taking a beating; this is true not only on Earth, but anywhere!

Xia Duo could not empathize with the Lord's sorrowful state of mind; he just felt it was a pity that the theft of the 【Nether Scroll】 meant he could not read it at will now.

The implicit benefits brought by the "Pioneer" title were quite good, but they had been eyed by the Lord.

Sigh—

Perhaps out of reverence for the title granted by the Princess, all in all, the Lord was quite sincere. And for the current Xia Duo, whether he reads the 【Nether Scroll】 or not actually makes little difference.

Trading away the reading Permission Level avoids the predicament of pioneering in the unknown wilderness, gains a relatively easy-to-pioneer territory, and to some extent, the Lord's favor and protection.

All in all, it is not too much of a loss. If it were any other Mage, the transaction might have turned into direct coercion.

Xia Duo did not want to test the Lord's integrity and immediately stated, "I agree!"

"Good!" A satisfied smile appeared on Lord Aipusi's face, and he immediately comforted Xia Duo, "The Knowledge on the 【Nether Scroll】 is complex and profound. If you go to see it now, you won't actually gain anything. After Niya has read it and returns, I will have her teach it to you, and the Tower of Time also has records of the Knowledge on the 【Nether Scroll】."

Of course, what Aipusi did not say was—aside from the Knowledge on the Scroll, the act of reading the 【Nether Scroll】 itself was a kind of gain.

The Lord's words did not bring much comfort to Xia Duo, but since he had already decided, there was no need to dwell on it.

"This is the map of the Green Pearl Forest." Aipusi took out an arm-long paper scroll and handed it to Xia Duo. "I allow you to circle two inches of land. If you can pioneer more within three years, it will also belong to you. Take it back and study it carefully, and tell me the result tomorrow."

The so-called "circling two inches of land" meant using a two-inch-long string to enclose an area on the map; whether it is much or little depends on the scale of the map.

However, since the Lord promised that the excess part within three years would also count, Xia Duo felt much better. With both a guaranteed minimum and an incentive, he felt the Lord had truly grasped his thoughts.

Taking the map, Xia Duo bid farewell and left.

It looks like he might have to pull an all-nighter tonight! ……

At the same time, the topic of the Arcane Competition in the Savile Territory appeared in Cormanthor, far away in the East, separated from the Savile Territory by mountains, forests, and rivers.

Beneath the high tower, secrets are always hidden in the dark.

In the courtyard of the Star Dew Family, the Patriarch Aolando was discussing poetry with his younger brother Feinuoweita, while also commenting on the various events that had recently occurred in the city.

But as they chatted, Aolando suddenly stopped speaking, and his expression became a bit strange. Noticing this, Feinuoweita immediately asked:

"Aolando, what happened?"

"It is nothing important, just that Weilanse has sent me a warning."

(End of chapter)