Chapter 2836: Willing to be a Legendary Supporting Character, Exaggerated Rumors

"Actually, two years ago, I had thought about going to the Tower of Time to apologize to Lord Xia Duo, but that period happened to be when the Pure White Tower was at its most boisterous discussing this matter!"

"Hui, you were only brought back to the Pure White Tower this year by Archmage Gawani, so you might not know much about what happened two years ago, but Vinak, you all should be very clear that under those circumstances at the time, many people were waiting to see me make a fool of myself."

"And at that time, I just didn't want others to see me make a fool of myself, so I stubbornly dragged it past the Three-Year Agreement. According to the spirit of the contract, I breached it!"

Speaking up to this point, Jin Mu took another deep breath, "Actually, when I first heard about Lord Xia Duo's deeds in the Green Field Plane from Butler and Todd, I wanted to apologize to Lord Xia Duo and dissolve the agreement, but it hadn't been three years yet at that time."

"But it was my ridiculous pride that kept me from truly making up my mind, until later, as you all know, Lord Xia Duo went from being Mage Xia Duo, whom I could look at as an equal, to a Great Arcanist and Council Member whom I can only look up to. I missed too much."

"Jin Mu, actually you don't need to torture yourself like this. Lord Xia Duo is indeed a genius unparalleled in the history of Netheril. We don't need to compare ourselves to him; if you adjust your mindset, everything will pass."

Perhaps sensing that this might truly be an excellent opportunity for Jin Mu to overcome that inner hurdle, Vinak, as a friend, finally couldn't help but persuade him.

In fact, he had had many opportunities to persuade him before, but he was worried about hurting Jin Mu's pride and had hesitated to speak. Now that Jin Mu had chosen to let go on his own, he naturally had to lend a hand.

Hearing his friend's persuasion, Jin Mu smiled self-deprecatingly, "You actually understand those principles, but the past you was just too arrogant. Those years of delving deep into the field of magic were when you truly saw yourself clearly."

"What you said is correct. Lord Xia Duo is like a star in the sky to us; we are just ordinary people in the mortal dust. Losing to him is not a shameful thing; on the contrary, it is a glorious deed worth talking about."

Jin Mu was no longer the child who had just come into contact with magic. He understood the profundity of magic too well; some problems, if you don't understand them, you just don't. Even if taught again, it would be useless. He hadn't seen fewer people smarter than him in the Pure White Tower.

Hui was also a bit hesitant, which is why he had just used the word "rumor." However, he was truly prepared to go see for himself when the Melting Snow Month arrived. If it were true, then he would definitely try every possible means to go to the Tower of Time for advanced studies.

Jin Mu felt worse the more he thought about it, and couldn't help but sigh: "Time has misled me! Alas!"

"I just figured things out, what are you sighing about again?" Hui glared at Jin Mu with dissatisfaction, his expression somewhat puzzled.

For that kind of person, how much resources and energy would it take to let them achieve the same accomplishments as others!

"I have also heard that it is said the Tower of Time does not arrange chores for Apprentices; they study for almost 18 out of 24 hours a day, and there are even specialized Teachers to guide them. Doing so might indeed increase the possibility of them advancing to Official Mage, but to say almost everyone can advance? I don't believe it!"

After finishing, Hui cast an inviting look at Jin Mu. Jin Mu's heart stirred, and he asked somewhat mysteriously: "Have you also heard that rumor?"

"What rumor?" It was the curious baby Jin Mu again.

"It's the rumor that Lord Xia Duo takes all twelve-year-old residents of the Territory into the Tower of Time to teach them magic," Hui explained. This was actually no longer a secret, but the rumors went far beyond that. The real rumor was actually—

He had once heard people say that in the Pure White Tower, perhaps not even one out of ten high-level Mages could successfully advance to Official Mage. If one were to count the proportion of those who achieved high-level status, then the possibility of a New Apprentice eventually becoming an Official Mage was even lower.

Losing that match to Lord Xia Duo was too abrupt; no one could have expected that Lord Xia Duo could cast a spell equivalent to a 2nd Circle Spell during a Spell Duel limited to the 1st Circle at that time.

And this guy Jin Mu was only one step away from being a supporting character in a legendary story, but he just happened to miss it, so he could only be reduced to an unknown background board.

Not to mention the increase in Permission Level within the Pure White Tower; it could be said that the match where Xia Duo won against him truly was a life-changing one.

"I think back to the Arcane Competition in the Savile Territory; if I had been serious and won against Xia Duo in the final match, then I would be a Pioneer now, and being able to fight side-by-side with Lord Xia Duo is such a glorious thing to talk about! Unlike now, I can only be reduced to a background board for a legendary story, wuwuwu—"

Vinak and Todd did not have the strength to pioneer a territory, but they received the support of the Pure White Tower, and later participated in the Green Field Plane War, fighting side-by-side with Lord Xia Duo. That was another experience worth talking about and worth remembering.

For him, who had just become an Official Mage, achieving high-level status was a goal that couldn't be further away, let alone advancing to Official Mage.

Even the biological children of Low-level Mages wouldn't necessarily get such treatment, yet almost every adolescent of the right age in the Xia Territory could get it. How could this be possible!

"Any Apprentice can advance to Official Mage? And taking all twelve-year-old residents in as Apprentices? This—" Hearing this news for the first time, Jin Mu immediately opened his mouth wide.

Thinking of this, Jin Mu couldn't help but feel extremely regretful. If he could return to the past, he would definitely bring out all his strength!

"There is a proverb on the Elf side that says 'A clown cannot become a king, but a king cannot do without the foil of a clown.' Perhaps in the future, I can still leave a heavy mark on the history of Netheril by virtue of the 'Three-Year Agreement'!"

Back then, he had gone further than Vinak in that Arcane Competition, and in the end, he lost to Xia Duo, so he had to compete with Vinak for third place, and ended up losing anyway.

……

But he was very familiar with Vinak; as long as he was a little more serious, he would have had a chance to win against the other party.

Jin Mu's slightly exaggerated performance immediately amused the others. Even the corners of Hui's mouth lifted slightly. Come to think of it, Jin Mu was even more miserable than him; at least years from now, the Netherese would still remember his name because of the "Three-Year Agreement."

……

Jin Mu discovered that Hui wanted to get rid of the shadows of the past, but he never expected Hui's transformation to be so thorough. However, following Hui's line of thought, he found that he was somehow actually a little envious of Hui.

"I know a high-level Mage who went out from the Pure White Tower. He accepted the recruitment of the Tower of Time last year. When I contacted him not long ago, he mentioned that any Apprentice who enters the Tower of Time can almost have the possibility of advancing to Official Mage!"

"Thinking about it this way, it's actually not bad!"

After the jokes, Hui stated his true plan, "I plan to wait until the Melting Snow Month when the Pure White Tower is on break to go to Nan Jing. Besides putting an end to the 'Three-Year Agreement' of my youthful arrogance, I also want to visit the Xia Territory."

That loss cost him a Pioneer title. Although he was now confident that he would become a Pioneer in the future, if he could do it a day earlier, why not?