Chapter 401: Returning to the Main Plane

In truth, Xia Duo did not have much interest in Sword Singer training, but in order to make it convenient to ask Tailun to bring him into Yinguang Ta, he performed every training session earnestly.

The inheritance of the Elven Sword Singers did not seem to have been severed, and the relevant training was very similar to the era in which the previously projected Sukanweisa City was located.

Essentially, this was actually a type of Mage, only that Sword Singers cast Spells with the aid of sword weapons, and were most skilled at close-quarters combat and assassination.

Ever since he first went to the Library, Xia Duo would find opportunities from time to time to enter the Library to look up information. Of course, this was not limited to Mithril Refining Technology itself; for instance, he was also quite interested in the Elven Paper-making Technique.

Because after many experiments, he discovered that Elven paper could carry Ring Spells, which in Xia Duo's eyes was already an earth-shattering event.

In the Main Plane, the price of ordinary paper in Netheril far exceeded that of Parchment, and most importantly, it could not carry Spells.

To a large extent, this made it useless to Mages.

Moreover, in Netheril, it was generally believed that only natural materials could carry Spells, such as metal, stone, tree leaves, tree bark, animal skin, and so on.

Ordinary paper did not belong to natural materials, so naturally, it could not carry Spells.

However, Xia Duo always believed that as long as he could discover the mystery within, he would certainly be able to produce ordinary paper sufficient to carry Spells.

He even looked forward to the day when he could directly mass-produce finished Magic Scrolls through printing.

In Yinguang City, he truly saw the dawn of mass-producing Magic Scrolls; the biggest difference between artificial paper and Parchment was that as long as there were raw materials, it could be produced infinitely.

Yet Parchment required living animals one by one, and animals needed to grow; even if they grew fast, it was not as fast or as plentiful as the forests that were everywhere outside!

Time passed day by day, and Xia Duo became increasingly familiar with Yinguang City. During this period, he had also been outside the city, but unfortunately, this Projection Plane was far less vast than the previous early Netheril Projection Plane.

It was probably only a range of less than five miles around Yinguang City.

Xia Duo understood that the time left for him was far less sufficient than the last time. Combining his experience from the first projection, he speculated that perhaps in just over a year, this Projection Plane would dissipate.

This discovery also made him somewhat urgent.

……

Time quickly arrived at a year later. During this period, Xia Duo encountered a Drow attack in Yinguang Ta, but that Drow Assassin was easily killed by him.

And also because the Short-range Teleportation he used while pursuing was mistaken by Tailun for a Sword Singer's Space Jump, he was allowed to go to the Library alone.

This greatly accelerated Xia Duo's search speed; ever since then, he would go to the Library of Yinguang Ta every afternoon.

He had already gained some understanding of the Elven Paper-making Technique; it was found in a collection of poems, where the author's main purpose was to express their insights into the cycle and transformation of all things, and a section within simply described the process of paper-making.

As for the specific Mithril Refining Technology, Xia Duo never found it.

However, poems about Mithril were not uncommon, many of which described the process of Mithril from underground minerals to becoming ornaments and weapons.

It was just that these processes were too simple, and Xia Duo had almost no understanding of Mithril Refining, unlike the Paper-making Technique, from which Xia Duo could more or less glimpse a few mysteries.

And besides looking for valuable technology, Xia Duo also paid a little attention to Elven history. Of course, so-called history was actually epic poetry, hidden within collections of poems and literature.

The Elves did not have detailed chronicles, only Lisha Shishi, or era epics, which were mainly about major events in history.

Understanding Elven history helped him understand the Elves of the Main Plane, and thereby occupy the initiative when coming into contact with Elves.

Although he had not yet reached that step, taking precautions was necessary; Netheril was almost surrounded by the Elven Kingdom.

Even the current territory of Netheril was, in the past, actually some Elven Kingdom.

Surviving in the cracks, not understanding one's opponent was certainly not going to work.

……

This day, just as Xia Duo walked out of Yinguang Ta, the Void in the sky not far away instantly attracted his gaze, and after walking a circle around Yinguang Ta, Xia Duo confirmed once again: "Time is running out!"

It looked like this Projection Plane would soon dissolve. Looking at the approaching Void, Xia Duo felt somewhat restless; if he continued searching, he might end up being swept into the Void.

Of course, he speculated that even if he were swept into the Void, he would appear in the Astral Plane and would not necessarily die, but he would not gamble with his own consciousness.

Having experienced the dissolution of a Projection Plane once, he knew very well in his heart that the closer to the end, the faster the Projection Plane would dissolve.

Right now, there was still a small half of the books in the Library that had not been checked; perhaps there was a detailed Mithril Refining method inside, perhaps not, but Xia Duo was no longer prepared to continue.

With regret, he took one last look at Yinguang Ta, and Xia Duo conceived the thought of returning. The next moment, his consciousness was dragged by the Silver Thread and flew into the sky.

Immediately following, the silver void appeared, the consciousness Yaoyue began, and soon his consciousness returned to his original body.

His hand suddenly sank, and Xia Duo subconsciously lifted it, raising the Pioneer Scepter above his head in one motion. Having been familiar with the Elven body for a year, suddenly recovering into a human one made him somewhat unaccustomed.

He moved his hands and feet slightly, a sense of familiarity arose spontaneously, but mental fatigue swept over him again.

He vaguely remembered that Niya was still waiting for him, but enduring the sleepiness, he had no heart to talk at all. Xia Duo barely gave it a second thought and immediately ordered the Tower Spirit to send him back to his residence.

As soon as he entered the bedroom, he lay on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

……

At the same time, in Niya's Study.

Aiboke, Depake, Saixili, and even Sain and Dailike were all present here, but except for Saixili and Sain, the father and daughter who were whispering to each other, the others were quietly drinking tea.

They were waiting for Xia Duo's arrival, but they waited and waited, yet no one came. Finally, Aiboke put down his teacup and asked Niya, "What is the situation with Xia Duo?"

"His side—let me check." Soon, Niya gave an answer, "He just went to the Projection Plane and is resting now. Forget it, I won't wait for him; I will talk to him alone later."

Upon hearing that they were going to talk about serious business, Saixili and Sain stopped talking, and the others also put down their teacups and looked at Niya.

"I returned this time mainly because of two things. One is about the Rodney Territory; the teacher is leading the pioneering movement, so she will not stop the Rodney Lord from coveting the Green Pearl Forest; one could even say the teacher supports this behavior."

"What?!"

(End of this chapter)