Chapter 523: Recovery and Recruitment

Xia Duo ignored Niya's surprised gaze; when one has not mastered spells like 【Create Food】, isn't it normal to carry some food around? Besides, he didn't have to prepare it himself, and he had the means to do so.

Even if one has mastered a spell like 【Create Food】, one must still consider situations where one is stranded or Magic fails; being prepared is a fine quality of the people from Xia Duo's hometown.

While mashing the meat, Xia Duo also observed the condition of the little boy, Xiao En. When feeding the first mouthful, Padike still had to use his finger to press down on the boy's tongue to help him swallow it.

But as the first bowl of meat paste was rapidly digested, Xiao En's physical strength also recovered quickly. His mouth was already able to chase the rim of the bowl to drink on its own. Soon, the second and third bowls were down, and Xiao En was able to speak:

"Daddy, I'm hungry!"

As soon as these words were out, Padike's eyes instantly turned red. He looked at Xia Duo with excitement, his lips trembling, but he couldn't say a word. Although they looked like just a few bowls of ordinary meat paste, who knew what strange Magic was inside!

Even if there wasn't any, being able to solve a problem that the adults at the Temple could not, and saving his child, made him extremely grateful. A Spellbook that couldn't be opened—giving it away was fine.

If the child were gone, there would truly be no hope left.

The woman who had been standing blankly to the side seemed to have come to her senses at this moment. She threw herself onto the edge of the straw mat, hugging Xiao En and sobbing uncontrollably, as if she wanted to vent all her emotions.

Only Xiao En, having just recovered some strength, was held tightly in his mother's arms and couldn't move at all, so he could only look pitifully at Padike and call out once more:

"Daddy, I'm hungry!"

"Oh, right!" Padike reacted immediately, hurriedly pulling his wife away to continue feeding his son.

After a few more bowls of meat paste, Xiao En was already eager to get up from the straw mat, but he didn't expect that as soon as he showed this intention, he would be hit on the head with a "smack" from Padike.

Xiao En was stunned by the blow, his eyes filled with confusion as he looked at Padike, "Daddy?"

"Hurry up and explain, what exactly is going on!"

Seeing that his son was out of danger, Padike's tone suddenly turned harsh. He didn't know how much money he had spent for this kid, and he had even sold the only family heirloom they owned.

Before, his heart was filled only with worry; now, there was only heartache.

Although Xiao En was young, he knew he had done something wrong. Seeing two strange Mage adults standing in the room, he panicked and immediately started to cry.

"Daddy, I don't know. I didn't mean to see you hiding things, and I didn't secretly open the box to look."

"..."

Padike's face turned black. Every time he hid money in the wooden chest, he had to have his wife take their son away to avoid him accidentally letting it slip outside. The security in the Port District wasn't very good, and almost every household had a place to hide money.

It was just that he had hidden an extra Spellbook.

Thinking of the Spellbook, Padike felt a jolt of fear. It was very likely that his son had become like this after touching the Spellbook. If the Mage adults touched the Spellbook and also became like this, would they come to settle the score with him?

With this thought, Padike hurriedly looked at Xia Duo, "My Lord, that Spellbook, the Spellbook—"

"What about the Spellbook? Do you want it back?"

"No, no, no!" Padike shook his head quickly, "I mean, that Spellbook is very strange. I touched it and was fine, but this kid Xiao En touched it and became like this. My Lord, you must be careful."

Xia Duo nodded, his expression suddenly turning solemn, "Padike, I have a piece of good news and a piece of bad news to tell you. Which one would you like to hear first?"

Good news? Bad news?

Padike was a bit dazed, not understanding what the Mage meant. Was his son not fully recovered? Or was there some other situation? But what could the good news be?

Seeing Padike caught in a dilemma, Xia Duo didn't find any amusement in it; instead, he felt it was a bit dull, so he explained directly: "You have a good son. He has undergone a Bloodline Awakening of a special type, but there is one problem: his appetite will increase significantly from now on, and you likely won't be able to afford to feed him!"

"Ah—"

Padike opened his mouth wide in surprise. Although his ancestors who were Spellcasters hadn't passed down any knowledge about bloodlines, he worked at the docks and saw many people coming and going, so he was considered quite knowledgeable.

He had certainly heard of what a bloodline was, but he never expected it to appear in his own son. For a moment, his first reaction was actually—could this kid not be his own flesh and blood!

But thinking that no Bloodline User would likely take a fancy to his ugly wife, he felt a bit proud. Being able to produce a Bloodline User also proved his own prowess, didn't it!

However, the Mage said he couldn't afford to feed the kid, so what should he do?

Still, having spent a long time at the docks, he quickly reacted and looked at Xia Duo, "My Lord, you mean—"

"Heh."

Xia Duo's gaze swept over Xiao En, who was still looking confused, and returned to Padike, saying with a smile: "I am the Lord of the Southern Daxia Territory, and the person beside me is my wife, who is also a student of the Princess."

Having said this, Xia Duo paused slightly to give Padike time to process it. He said this, of course, to increase the credibility of his words; using the Princess's reputation as an endorsement was not the first time he had done so.

Once Padike's expression recovered slightly, Xia Duo continued: "My Territory is preparing to launch a talent development program, and I think Xiao En is quite suitable. I now formally invite you to join my Territory."

Since the invitation had been extended, how could Padike have the courage to refuse? Moreover, latching onto such a Lord with an extraordinary background was an opportunity for his family.

With almost no hesitation, he agreed immediately. With Xiao En still lying on the bed, he just pulled his wife and knelt down with a thud, "We are willing to serve you, my Lord!"

"Good, pack up now and leave with me!"

Xia Duo didn't want to let things drag on. Bloodline Users were relatively rare, even in Seventon. Although possessing a bloodline did not mean one could definitely master Magic power, it was always easier than for an ordinary person.

And Bloodline Users like Xiao En, who were extraordinary in terms of strength and physique, were even rarer. Most were awakenings related to elements. Xia Duo speculated that perhaps strength and physique awakenings required consuming a large amount of energy, and those awakened individuals starved to death before they could become famous.

When Xia Duo awakened, he had also experienced hunger, but it wasn't as exaggerated as Xiao En's; it was just the usual kind of hunger. Moreover, he always awakened at night (because he had to dream~), and he would eat breakfast in the morning, so he hadn't paid much attention to it before.

Now, his strength was about one hundred pounds with one hand—not that he could lift one hundred pounds, but that he could wield one hundred pounds with relative ease.

This kind of strength was already very strong, far exceeding that of an ordinary person. So, how strong would a Bloodline User like Xiao En, who had awakened in terms of strength and physique, be?

Would he be strong enough to resist Magic?