Chapter 3: Probing

There was another young man helping out at Old Neil Inn at the same time as Xia Duo, but that young man only had to serve plates and wash vegetables to earn 2 Silver Coins a day, while Xia Duo had to wash plates in the kitchen, serve dishes, move wine barrels, and was also responsible for cleaning upstairs and downstairs.

Working non-stop from morning till night, he almost never had a moment of rest; even learning the Common Tongue with Xiao Nier was something he had to squeeze in like squeezing toothpaste. After this half-year of "tempering," Xia Duo clearly felt he had become much stronger.

At this moment, Xiao Nier wanted to go to the circus outside town to see a Troll and insisted on dragging Xia Duo along. He might not have had malicious intent, but such a thing might change some of Old Neil's thoughts regarding him.

For some reason, Xia Duo felt a sense of inexplicable excitement in his heart. Perhaps falling out with Old Neil was the best choice; he was already capable of surviving in Savile Territory on his own, but his reason told him it was not yet time, and he should wait a little longer.

"Isn't Malin there to help? We'll just go take a look, just one look, it won't take much time." Xiao Nier wouldn't let go of Xia Duo's sleeve. Having just come of age this year, he was still a bit playful and was using Malin as a shield again.

Malin was the other young man helping at Old Neil Inn, but today was the Midsummer Festival and there were many guests; there was no way he could handle it alone, and perhaps even Aunt Susan, who cooked in the back kitchen, would have to come out to help.

Under these circumstances, it was impossible for Old Neil to stay out of it. Originally, he only needed to sell wine and collect money at the front desk, but now he had to busy himself back and forth.

Xia Duo really did not want to offend Old Neil at this time. He only hoped to pass these three days peacefully. Once the assessment results came out, if he passed, he would live inside the Mage Tower; if he didn't pass, it would be impossible for him to leave Old Neil Inn immediately anyway.

"What if Old Neil finds out? Don't cry if you get beaten," Xia Duo threatened.

Although Old Neil exploited Xia Duo, he didn't show much leniency toward his own son either; he just worked him to the bone. If he didn't listen, and one person beating him wasn't enough, he would drag Aunt Susan along for a mixed-gender double beating.

As for Malin, because he was the son of a meat supplier for the inn, although his wages weren't high (higher than Xia Duo's), the work he did was at least relatively easier.

If Old Neil found out that the two of them hadn't returned to the inn to help after the assessment and had gone to see the circus instead, it would be one thing for Xia Duo to lower his favorability and increase his ill will with Old Neil—the final outcome remained to be seen—but Xiao Nier would definitely be in for an immediate mixed-gender double beating.

Hearing Xia Duo's words, Xiao Nier subconsciously shrank his head, and his hand gripping Xia Duo's sleeve loosened, his mood turning somewhat dejected.

"Alright, let's go, let's go see it tomorrow," Xia Duo said.

In fact, even if he went tomorrow, Xia Duo wasn't very willing to go. In this Faerun continent filled with all kinds of magical powers, Xia Duo had an instinctive aversion to coming into contact with things he didn't understand.

Seeing a Troll might satisfy his curiosity for a moment, but what else? What could he gain? If the circus failed to control it and the Troll jumped up and ate him, who would he go to for justice?

Xia Duo didn't care what Xiao Nier thought and pulled him toward the road to the south. But after walking just two steps, Xiao Nier reacted, "We are the ones going to take the assessment; how long the assessment takes is up to us. We'll go play for a while; if you don't say anything and I don't say anything, who would know?"

Xiao Nier's words seemed to have some logic to them. At the very least, Xia Duo hadn't seen anyone he knew when he was at the Mage Tower for the assessment. Judging by the demeanor and clothing of those young people taking the assessment, almost none of them were ordinary people.

And those people were very cold toward Xia Duo and Xiao Nier, with not a single one taking the initiative to speak to them; those people all had their own circles.

Clearly, the servants of the Mage Tower were not as simple as mere servants, otherwise there would be no need for an assessment. And those assessments, in Xia Duo's view, were more like selecting Apprentices; the questions mostly focused on thinking ability rather than a servant's obedience, physical strength, or work skills.

This was perhaps the beginning of Mage training. Families with the actual means to send their children to learn Magic were, after all, in the minority. At least there weren't many such wealthy people near Old Neil Inn; that was the South District, where Adventurers congregated.

The people there either didn't have children or didn't have money. If they had money, they would have long since bought land, bought Slaves to farm, or gone into business; who would be willing to risk their lives doing the precarious work of an Adventurer?

Among Adventurers, this saying often circulated: "After this job, we'll find a Noble to rely on."

Or, "After this job, we'll buy a piece of land and put down roots."

But those who said these things often didn't have good endings. Just in the half-year Xia Duo had known them, at least a dozen had gone into the forest to the south and never returned.

Xiao Nier said no one would know the time the assessment ended; Xia Duo knew this was impossible, but he didn't refute it.

Seeing Xia Duo fall silent, Xiao Nier became excited again, "Great, let's go see the Troll!"

As he spoke, he looked at Xia Duo with anticipation. He knew that if Xia Duo didn't go, even if he went by himself, he wouldn't be able to escape a mixed-gender double beating afterward; only if the two of them went together could they hide it.

Xia Duo also seriously considered it at this moment and felt that going was fine. Of course, his main purpose wasn't to see the Troll—what was there to see about a Troll? He had even seen several Elves; he wasn't lacking in the experience of seeing a Troll.

In fact, Xia Duo was considering whether to test Old Neil once. Perhaps he was judging Old Neil with the greatest malice, but having come to an alien world all alone, one could never be too cautious.

At the very least, putting himself in Old Neil's shoes, Xia Duo wouldn't be willing to let go of a cheap, or even free, laborer who was friendless in Savile Town.

The "skin" of a Noble's son had been nearly stripped away over the past half-year, and even if he were a Noble's son, how much deterrent power could a Noble's son who couldn't even speak Netherese Common have within the Empire of Netheril?

Judging from the change in Old Neil's attitude over this recent period, it was very likely he had developed some ulterior motives, but Xia Duo wasn't sure what they were; in any case, it wasn't anything good.

Clearly, going to see the circus outside town with Xiao Nier couldn't be hidden from Old Neil. By testing him slightly like this, he could make plans early. Xia Duo didn't want to fall because of some inexplicable wishful thinking.

He was grateful that Old Neil had brought him into the local area, but if he were asked to give up the opportunity to control his own destiny and spend his whole life as a laborer in a small inn, he absolutely could not do it.

"Fine, but don't let it slip when we get back," Xia Duo said.

"Great, let's go!"

Xia Duo followed Xiao Nier's tug and walked toward the east. To be honest, having been in Savile Town for over half a year, his range of movement had been almost entirely limited to the vicinity of Old Neil Inn in the South District.

Today was the first time he had walked this far. First, he went to the Mage Tower in the northwest of the town, then he crossed half the town, and now he was going to the east to leave the town to see the circus. Xia Duo greedily looked at everything on the road; for him, this was full of novelty.

From the words of the Adventurers who ate and stayed at Old Neil Inn, Xia Duo knew the general layout of Savile Town. There were also residential houses and shops in the east, but unlike other areas, the East District had a large-scale material procurement area specifically oriented toward Konnifila City.