Chapter 298: Paid Divine Grace

Dig a river channel?

Everyone fell silent, and Niya was even more annoyed in her heart; she had only been polite, never expecting the other party to actually propose it, and with such a cumbersome requirement at that.

Digging a river channel itself is not complicated, but there was already a distance of over a mile from the Mythallar to the Wolfburg River, and after the Mythallar collapsed, the space hidden by the Mythallar was released.

Now the distance from the Mythallar to the Wolfburg River has expanded by nearly half, and this is just from the Wolfburg River to the edge of the Mythallar; if the river channel Aigeberde spoke of only goes to the edge of the Mythallar, it has no meaning at all.

A river channel over two miles long—at a time when the Savile Territory is actively developing new territory and must simultaneously support the Daxia Territory's development—where would they find the spare capacity to dig such a long channel!

"Lord Aigeberde, are you certain you are talking about digging a river channel from the Mythallar to the Wolfburg River?"

There was suppressed anger in Niya's words, while Aigeberde was much more relaxed; he had made his demand anyway, and if the other party couldn't do it, perhaps the Arcane Crystal could be discounted.

Of course, in all fairness, he still hoped the other party would agree; ultimately, Aigeberde did not need to act out of spite, he needed to repair the Magic Net as soon as possible and obtain Divine Grace.

"I am certain about digging a river channel. In fact, digging this channel has a very important role in repairing the Magic Net here. Tower Master Niya, please look—"

As he spoke, Aigeberde summoned a light projection, which was the map of the area around the ruins. He pointed to a red line on the map and explained:

"As long as this river is dug through, it can greatly alleviate the current state of the Magic Net's riot and delay the time it takes to fall into dormancy, making it convenient for Arcanists to conduct repairs.

"It can be said that in all of Netheril, there are no more professional Magic Net repairers than us, the Hand of Secrecy. It is not something just any Arcanist can repair; our organization's hundreds of years of experience and techniques are difficult for outsiders to reach.

"Ahem—of course, with the Great Arcanist heritage of the Tower of Time, repairing the Magic Net is also no problem."

Niya did not care for the other party's flattery. She looked at Aiboke, and Aiboke understood, stepping forward to explain for Niya: "Digging a river channel is not a small project. We need to deliberate on it, but in principle, we agree. If the three of you are not in a hurry, you can stay at the Tower of Time for a few days; we can only arrange the project once we have discussed it thoroughly."

"No, no need! We are ready to begin repair work now. If you have finished discussing, just notify us."

Aigeberde did not stay at the Tower of Time to wait for the result. Although he hoped the Tower of Time side would agree immediately, if it wasn't sincere, they could keep delaying even if they did agree.

He prepared to go and conduct repairs first; most importantly, he had to first define the scope of repairs for himself and his group.

In such a large Mythallar Ruins, it was impossible for only the three of them to do the repairs, but they could first choose the areas that were relatively easier to repair.

Although they could all obtain Divine Grace, one must also pay attention to efficiency!

Afterwards, both sides chatted casually for a few more sentences, and Aiboke led the three Arcanists away.

After those four people left, only Xia Duo and Niya remained in the Reception Room. Xia Duo was thinking about why a Mythallar Ruins could actually attract several Arcanists to come?

Those 30 guards were clearly forced upon them by Niya; it was obvious she was trying to extort something, and why was that?

"Thinking about the purpose of those three Arcanists? Or thinking about why I forced 30 soldiers upon them as guards?" Niya's voice suddenly interrupted Xia Duo's thoughts.

Uh—

"Yes, why?"

Xia Duo was indeed very curious. Even if Niya didn't say, he was prepared to ask; after all, the Mythallar was still on his Territory! If he could get involved, perhaps he could also reap some benefits.

"This is already a nearly open secret among Arcanists." Niya glanced at Xia Duo, and seeing that Xia Duo was staring intently at her, she quickly shifted her gaze away, her tone of voice also having obvious fluctuations:

"Arcanists repairing the Magic Net can obtain the Magic Goddess's Divine Grace. The most direct benefit is allowing the Spellcaster to immediately come into contact with the next layer of the Magic Net. How many Spellcasters can resist that?"

So that was it!

Xia Duo was a bit disappointed. He was still a long way from becoming an Advanced Arcanist. Niya, on the other hand, might be able to advance to an Arcanist before the Magic Net here was completely repaired.

Thinking of this, Xia Duo felt even more uncomfortable. He didn't know when he would be able to surpass Niya; for a man to be inferior to his wife was simply a failure of husbandly authority!

However, mentioning Divine Grace, Xia Duo asked again: "Does this kind of improvement brought by Divine Grace have any hidden dangers?"

"Hidden dangers? What hidden dangers could Divine Grace have? It just shortens some research time. If one's own knowledge and level of understanding are insufficient, what does it matter even if the entire Magic Net is opened to them?"

Speaking to this point, Niya seemed still unsatisfied and continued: "We humans are not Elves. As long as you become an Arcanist, you don't need to care too much about the layers of the Magic Net; there are too many means to let you come into contact with deeper layers of the Magic Net, but if you cannot become an Arcanist—"

"Ahem—" Xia Duo interrupted, "I will definitely aim to become an Arcanist, Mentor Niya!"

"Don't call me Mentor Niya!"

"Understood!"

Looking at this man who had gone from an Apprentice to her husband and had also indirectly caused her father to be cursed, Niya's mood was extremely complicated.

"Don't think too much about Divine Grace for now; finish reading those books I gave you properly."

She took a deep breath, trying her best not to think about those unpleasant pasts. Facing Xia Duo's inquisitive gaze, she could only pretend not to see it and continued:

"Others will come later, and you may need to step forward then. To hire one of us, they must pay 10 Standard Arcane Crystals. Organized Arcanists must hire at least 5 soldiers each, which is 50 Arcane Crystals; for unorganized ones, charge 100. This can only be charged more, never less."

"Good!"

Xia Duo thought of the Arcane Crystal Aiboke had given him for the Projection Plane journey back at the Arcane Union; he wondered if it was a so-called Standard Arcane Crystal.

But being able to be linked to plane travel, it likely wasn't cheap.

"By the way, do the few people who just came count as organized Arcanists?" Xia Duo asked.

"What kind of organization is the Hand of Secrecy? A small group that doesn't even have a Great Arcanist; they are just relying on the reputation of being servants of the Goddess, otherwise someone would have dealt with them long ago."

"..."

Your family doesn't have a Great Arcanist either, Xia Duo muttered to himself, but he didn't show it on his face; after all, they were already family.

Seeming to see through Xia Duo's thoughts, Niya added, "Being organized means having a Great Arcanist, or having a Mage Tower left behind by a Great Arcanist also works. Our Tower of Time certainly counts as organized."

"..."

Fine, whatever you say goes. However, Xia Duo thought that the first-generation lord of the Savile Territory was a student of Iolum, and Iolum was still alive and well, so by that calculation, the Tower of Time was indeed organized.

"Whether they are organized or not, I will remind you when the time comes. Now go do your work!" Niya suddenly pointed at the door.

Xia Duo was stunned. They were chatting perfectly well, how did it suddenly—

"Mage Xia Duo, the Tower Master has issued an exclusive task designated for you to complete. Please go to the Arcane Garden to receive instructions for the next step of the task."