Chapter 289: The Curse Takes Effect

Sitting and waiting for death is not Xia Duo's style; even without considering the unknown enemy, if the Mage Tower were attacked, Lord Aipusi might settle the score with him afterward.

Of course, analyzing it from a rational perspective, the enemy might not necessarily be related to the Mythallar, but other than that, Xia Duo could not think of any other possibility.

After all, the time he had spent as an Intermediate Mage was still too short, and it was not even public knowledge, making it difficult for him to access deep-seated secrets, especially regarding the rules of the game for the ruling class of Netheril.

Therefore, Xia Duo feared the unknown enemy even more than Lord Aipusi.

Time passed second by second, and the Mage Tower did not vibrate again, as if the previous vibration had just been an illusion.

Perhaps the enemy had been beaten back? Then, should the Tower Spirit's summons be next?

The sense of crisis in Xia Duo's heart lessened slightly, but he was still somewhat worried about meeting Lord Aipusi; isn't the thing one fears most when shifting blame the person who has to take the blame coming to one's door?

Of course, one was willing to shift it, and the other was willing to take it; Xia Duo had done nothing wrong, but the inequality in strength made him have concerns.

With a nervous heart, Xia Duo took out his notes and began to study, treating it as a way to dispel the unease in his heart.

……

Top floor of the Tower of Time, Lord's Study.

Niya and her father Aipusi sat opposite each other, staring at the cups in each other's hands, silent. Aiboke also sat to the side, but having just woken up, his eyes were still somewhat dazed.

He remembered that he had just teleported from Savile Territory to Daxia Territory, but he knew nothing of what happened afterward; he only knew that when he woke up again, he was already in the Mage Tower.

"Aipusi, what exactly happened? How could the Tower of Time—" Aiboke had never experienced a teleportation of the Tower of Time.

Or rather, ever since the Tower of Time was built, it had never moved!

Even in all of Netheril, it was rare to hear of any Mage Tower that could teleport; this was clearly not a conventional ability.

Aiboke's inquiry broke the silence between Niya and Aipusi. Aipusi glanced at his daughter; although Niya had said nothing and asked nothing, he could feel his daughter's dissatisfaction and worry.

Sigh—

Aipusi sighed inwardly and began to explain to Aiboke, "A Mythallar ruin appeared here. While exploring, I encountered Elves, and a conflict occurred, which is why I summoned the Tower of Time."

Aipusi said it simply in a few sentences, but Aiboke knew the truth certainly wasn't that simple; he just didn't need the truth, he only needed an explanation.

This could be considered the tacit understanding between him and Aipusi, but the questions that needed to be asked, he still had to ask, for example—

"The territory doesn't have a Mage Tower and is unstable; when can the Tower of Time go back?"

"This requires time; I'm afraid it won't be possible in the short term." Aipusi's brow tightened; he had also thought of this problem.

If it were in the past, the energy required for the Tower of Time to accumulate for an overall teleportation would take at least three years; now with the Plane Crystal, then—

He didn't know either; the current Tower Master had already changed to Niya. He had no Permission Level to know such an absolutely secret matter.

After thinking for a moment, Aipusi said again, "How about this, Aiboke, you go to the Teleportation Room and activate the Portal to connect to Savile Town; we will go back in a while."

Aiboke responded, then stood up. His gaze shifted back and forth between the father and daughter, and finally, without saying anything, he turned and left.

In fact, in his heart, he had already thought of a more serious problem, which was the revelation he received when he advanced: Aipusi had been struck by an Elf Spell.

He didn't even dare to ask what the result was, for fear of hearing some bad news.

Aiboke was very dissatisfied that Aipusi had hidden this from him, his follower, and gone to explore the Mythallar alone, but he couldn't say anything harsh, so he could only try his best to do his own job well.

……

Aiboke's departure caused the study to fall into silence once again. Finally, Aipusi could not stand the oppressive atmosphere and said with feigned ease:

"Niya, the celebration hasn't ended yet; let's go back quickly once the Portal is opened!"

As he finished speaking, Aipusi suddenly gave a muffled groan. Before he could think of an excuse, he saw his daughter reveal an expression of horror.

"Ni—"

Aipusi was preparing to explain, but Niya had already interrupted him, her voice trembling, "No, Father, your hair! Father, what is wrong with you?"

Niya jumped up from her chair and rushed to Aipusi, examining her father carefully. It wasn't just his hair; his entire complexion had withered away.

Aipusi noticed his daughter's gaze. He reached out, wanting to touch his hair and cheeks, but his hand stopped halfway.

Because he didn't need to rely on Touch, he had already seen it directly—

The skin on the back of his hand had, for some reason, suddenly become dry and wrinkled, as if he had suddenly aged more than ten years. Aipusi's heart trembled; sure enough, what was meant to come would come eventually.

It was just that now he knew what the result was.

Niya was already a tearful mess at this moment, "Father! Father!"

The sudden inheritance of the Tower of Time earlier had made her feel uneasy, but she had only held onto a glimmer of hope when she saw her father in person; but now—

Niya truly could not accept such a reality!

"Niya, stop crying, I'm fine!" This time, Aipusi was not feigning ease, but the situation was indeed not as normal as he had said.

It was just a sense of resignation to reality.

Compared to the sudden aging, the loss of power was what Aipusi found most difficult to accept. After receiving the final strike from the Light-Quality Elf earlier, although he had survived, he discovered that his Spellcasting ability was regressing.

Up until the sudden aging just now, he had already nearly lost all his Spellcasting ability; he was now no different from an ordinary Mage Apprentice.

And this was not the end.

Aipusi comforted his daughter with a pained heart and did not say the worst news, but in fact, this could not be hidden for long.

When Niya's emotions stabilized slightly, Aipusi spoke slowly: "That final finger from the Elf was a curse that landed on my Soul. If it hadn't been blocked by a few Amulets, I would have been dead at that time."

"We will go to Seventon; the Arcane Union will definitely have a way!" Niya wiped her tears and said quickly, "If that doesn't work, we can ask for help from Her Highness the Princess, or Grandfather's teacher; there will always be a way!"

Indeed, there has never been an unsolvable Magic, but what about the price?

The final strike of an Elf High Mage—who could break it? And what price would it require?

Both father and daughter thought of the Plane Crystal. Niya was about to speak when Aipusi interrupted her, "Don't mention the Plane Crystal!"

"Why! Father, is the Plane Exploration Array more important than your life?"

"To a certain extent, it is indeed so," Aipusi said gloomily.

People are afraid of death, and Aipusi is no exception. If he could really trade the Plane Crystal for his life, he would certainly be willing, but the Plane Crystal also involves the return of his grandfather, the Great Arcanist.

Compared to this, what did his life count for!