Chapter 500: Surprise, Longevity

"Archmage, I truly have reasons why I must leave!"

"Oh? What reasons?" Greta was also interested. It was obvious that the conditions for staying at Giles Tower were far superior to those at the Tower of Time, whether it was the books in the library or the peers of the same rank with whom one could communicate.

Why did this Lord Xia Duo still choose to leave?

"In the training room, I have nothing left to teach; what they need now is more practice." Xia Duo was not lying. Before he transmigrated, his understanding of Chess was merely that he played it well, not that he was some national master or prodigy.

Even in terms of the number of games played, he might no longer compare to those ten Arcanists. After all, they were now making a living off Chess, while Xia Duo was only doing it for entertainment.

Aside from familiarizing them with the rules, all he could teach were some common strategies. But once those strategies were explained, that was it; real on-the-spot performance still relied on the individual.

Whether Xia Duo was there now or not, it didn't matter much; letting them train on their own was perfectly fine.

Of course, there was another most critical reason, "Archmage Greta, I plan to advance to Advanced Arcanist this month!"

"What?!" Greta immediately changed from her usual indifferent posture, her expression extremely surprised, "You are going to advance to Advanced Arcanist?! You aren't just making up a reason to leave, are you?!"

Considering Xia Duo's age, advancing to Advanced Arcanist at this time was nothing special; there were even many Arcanists younger than Xia Duo.

But the problem was, as far as Greta knew, Xia Duo had not been in contact with Magic for very long. Those who were called Arcanists at a young age had all been in contact with Magic since childhood, and coupled with outstanding talent, they could advance rapidly after reaching adulthood.

Take Niya for example; although she seemed to have become an Arcanist in her early twenties, there were at least four years from her adulthood at sixteen to twenty. And what about Xia Duo?

Had it even been two years since he first came into contact with Magic?

This truly shattered Greta's perception of geniuses over the past few decades. Was there really such a genius? Greta was almost surprised enough to stand up, but she held back.

She kept looking at Xia Duo, almost making him feel uneasy, before she spoke: "I can apply for an advancement slot for you. The advancement room at Giles Tower should be better than the one at the Tower of Time."

"No need to trouble you, Archmage. I will return to the Tower of Time," Xia Duo hurriedly refused.

Just kidding, he was still a short distance away from advancing. If he went back, it would be to finish the push. If he stayed at Giles Tower, he might not necessarily reach the advancement standard before the end of the month.

Although Xia Duo guessed that the Great Sage of the Projected Plane Arcane Empire might have come from the Main Plane, and that the Meditation Method might not be a big secret within some organization, or perhaps even the Great Arcanists knew about it.

But how could such a training method, which could almost be called a strategic-level technology, be leaked from him?

If those Great Sages were truly miracles of the Projected Plane, then the importance of this Meditation Method was even higher, and it must not be leaked from him.

Meditation required a lot of time. Doing this under the eyes of people at Giles Tower was simply too conspicuous; it was better to leave.

Xia Duo refused repeatedly. Archmage Greta's expression was a bit poor, but in the end, she did not force him, only saying, "I need to ask Princess Xiya about this matter. I will give you an answer within two days."

Great Arcanists were busy with official business, so it certainly wasn't a matter of asking immediately upon request. Xia Duo could understand this. He calculated the time and felt that within two days was acceptable; if it took too long, he might not be able to complete his advancement before the end of the month.

In fact, the efficiency of Archmage Greta was much higher than Xia Duo had imagined. Not long after he left, Greta went to see Princess Xiya.

Not at Giles Tower, but in a study inside the Nether Palace outside.

"Your Highness, Mage Xia Duo wants to leave."

At this moment, Princess Xiya was buried in documents.

Recently, a Pioneer's Territory on the Kangqi Plain had been breached by Gnolls, resulting in the loss of many supplies and territory residents, requiring a slight punishment;

In addition, the Dwarf requested that the Seven Towers send people to jointly clear the underground trade route passing through the Underdark, as many traces of Drow had been discovered recently.

And things of that nature.

Some matters Princess Xiya could decide on her own, some needed to be decided in consultation with the Seven Towers, and some still needed to be taken to the Arcane Union for discussion. The affairs of other Great Arcanists were much the same.

Even so, these were documents that had already been sorted and pre-processed by subordinates. If she didn't have subordinates to help, she would need even more time.

Hearing Greta's report, Xiya did not look up, but just asked:

"Leave? The reason?"

"He said the training room no longer needs him. In addition, he also said that he is about to advance to Advanced Arcanist and wants to return to the Tower of Time."

After Greta finished speaking, she waited quietly. She really did not understand Xia Duo's approach. Could he not advance at Giles Tower?

At this time, Princess Xiya finally stopped the work at hand. She had always been very concerned about the two projects she was responsible for in the Snow Melting Competition. Regarding Xia Duo's claim that the training room no longer needed him, Xiya basically agreed.

Although the ideal situation would certainly be to have Xia Duo train until the competition, after training until now, they should have already surpassed the Elves in terms of Chess paths. Without Xia Duo, the impact was indeed not significant.

Perhaps more time could be freed up for targeted training in Spells.

Princess Xiya did not object in principle to Xia Duo wanting to leave; after all, his continued stay here would not play a decisive role. However, the fact that Xia Duo was about to advance to Advanced Arcanist made Princess Xiya somewhat surprised.

She still remembered that among the first batch of Pioneers, only the three people granted land in the Savile Territory had the shallowest attainments in Magic; at that time, they were only Primary Mages. She did not expect Xia Duo to have moved to the front.

Thinking that the Tower of Time possessed a Plane Exploration Array, and even discovered a Sub-plane during the Moon Festival last year, at that time she had even given Niya a Magic Scroll used to seal the Sub-plane.

Now it seemed that Xia Duo's rapid advancement might be related to the Projection Plane. Princess Xiya did not object to Xia Duo wanting to return to the Tower of Time to advance:

"Since that is the case, let him go back if he wants to. In addition, tell him to make proper use of the Projection Plane. Human life is limited; do not consume a large amount of lifespan for the sake of rapid advancement in the Main Plane; it is not worth it. Even if one possesses a special bloodline, there is no need to squander it like this."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Hearing this, Archmage Greta also understood Xia Duo a little. If one made full use of the Projection Plane, it was really not strange to advance within two years in the Main Plane.

But the problem was that the time elapsed in the Projection Plane would be instantly added to the main body upon returning to the Main Plane, which was equivalent to shortening one's lifespan.

In fact, the time spent on advancement did not become shorter, and because the Projection Plane lacked the various conditions of the Main Plane, the time would actually be even longer.

For humans with very limited lifespans, it was not cost-effective.

However, the Princess also mentioned a special bloodline. Greta suddenly no longer felt sorry for Xia Duo, but instead felt a deep envy, because people with special bloodlines would live longer than normal people.

This was different from the life extension brought by Life Extension Magic; this was natural longevity, and one would not die suddenly because the Spell failed.

"Truly good luck!"