Chapter 556: Back View, Promise

"Then I will say it. Besides the light you all saw, I also saw the back of a human."

"Who is it? What are their characteristics?" Faluo asked hurriedly.

No matter who it was, as long as he could find the other party, he was quite confident in controlling the changes revealed by the Oracle, regardless of whether these changes were good or bad.

It was just that Yiruian revealed a troubled expression, "I don't know. The light was too intense, just like facing the sun. I could only determine that their figure looked like a human."

Seemingly to corroborate his words, Yiruian also summoned a projection of light and shadow, simulating the scene he saw on the spot; the other high-level Mages looked over one after another.

Sure enough, under the cover of a bright light, no matter what characteristics there were, what was ultimately presented to the eyes of the Mages was only a slightly blurred black silhouette.

It could vaguely be seen as the shape of a human, but there were plenty of Spells in this world that could change one's physical form.

Faluo himself mastered such Spells, so judging that this figure was a human based on this was something even he himself could not accept, and what made him even more unable to accept it was—

No matter if the future changes were good or bad, they would have a huge impact on the fate of the Elves.

Human? How is that possible!

But the Reality is—the Oracle of the Main God clearly pointed out that the change originated from the former site of the Alabaster Tower, which was the place now occupied by the Netherese.

Now seeing this silhouette of a human back again, even if Faluo was unwilling to believe it, he had to admit that the possibility of it being a human was very high.

And Netheril had a population of several million; how easy was it to find a specific person among these millions of Netherese!

What's more, the Netherese were keen on exploring Other Planes, and who knew how many people they had hidden in Other Planes!

For a moment, Faluo's heart was actually shaken, until the Holy Power originating from the Main God within his body fluctuated slightly, which made him realize that no matter how difficult this matter was, he had to complete it.

"It's a pity that it cannot be determined how this change will affect the fate of the Elves! Is it good or bad!"

If it could be determined that the existence of the Netherese was unfavorable to the Elves, at worst he could persuade multiple countries to unite and wipe out all the Netherese; that might be easier than directly investigating the so-called change that had no clues.

"Let's stop here for today. Recently, please pay attention to the war situation between Keman and the Drow. The Drow are not the enemy of Keman alone. If those black-skinned ones really rush to the Surface, none of your Homelands will be able to escape."

After speaking, Faluo stood up and left directly. He decided to take advantage of the situation not yet being critical to go to Arvandor to request an audience with the Main God. If he could see the Main God, perhaps he could obtain more news about the change at the former site of the Alabaster Tower.

……

【Annihilation Plane】

Xia Duo did not expect to see a living Great Arcanist here. Although he could see them every day in the Arena, and more than one, the opportunity for such close-range contact was still very rare.

He had only seen the three Great Arcanists—the Princess, Bailun, and Lander—at close range before, and among them, he had only spoken to the first two, but this time there would be one more—

The Great Arcanist Badijiaer from Gustav Tower.

Previously in the Arena, Xia Duo had seen this person several times, but after actual contact, Xia Duo felt that both the rumors and his previous impressions were somewhat biased.

Rumor had it that the Great Arcanist Badijiaer was bellicose, good at fighting, and had a fiery temper, while what Xia Duo had seen in the Arena before was dignified, solemn, and stern.

But as for the Reality—

He didn't see the bellicose part, but being good at fighting should be true. At least in the Princess's view, Badijiaer should be better at fighting than her or Master Bailun; otherwise, it wouldn't have been Badijiaer who came over for training.

He didn't see the fiery temper. At least when Badijiaer was training these Arcanists in Spell attack and defense techniques, he was very patient and meticulous, and he did not reject Xia Duo's watching; there was not a single sign of irritability.

As for being dignified, solemn, and stern, that was just Xia Duo's first impression from looking at him from afar on formal occasions, but here—

Badijiaer did not display a temperament that made people keep their distance; he chatted happily with the ten Arcanists and even took care of Xia Duo, trying his best to use simple language when explaining.

This made Xia Duo feel quite flattered.

No matter what his true disposition was, being able to appear so approachable made Xia Duo feel good will and respect for him.

Of course, encountering this situation, Xia Duo's private work could not be done. After all, private work could be done at any time, but a class taught personally by a Great Arcanist was not something that happened all the time!

"Alright, you all practice in pairs first. Xia Duo, come and play a game with me!"

How could Xia Duo dare to disobey the Great Arcanist's order? Fortunately, in this Sacred Dwelling, other things might be scarce, but there were plenty of Chess sets, all with physical pieces and boards.

After agreeing, Xia Duo took the initiative to set up the board and pieces, "Master Badijiaer, please go first!"

"No, I've discovered that whenever I go first, you always win. You go first this game!"

"……"

The Great Arcanist was busy with official business and had no time to study Chess. Xia Duo had played two games with him before and won easily. Now that the Great Arcanist wanted to win, should Xia Duo let him?

This was truly a difficult question!

It was just like playing Chess with a leader; should one win? Or lose?

Xia Duo's Chess skill was not yet strong enough to manipulate the game and lose subtly, letting the Great Arcanist win comfortably. If he insisted on losing, he didn't think Badijiaer wouldn't notice.

In Xia Duo's judgment, the Great Arcanist probably wouldn't want to win in that way.

Thinking of this, Xia Duo immediately made a decision.

Half an hour later, Badijiaer suddenly said, "I'll go see how they are practicing," then messed up the board and walked away as if nothing had happened.

"……"

Alright, this was already the third time Xia Duo had encountered this situation. Fortunately, it wasn't a Spell to the face; he just assumed the Great Arcanist couldn't save face and slipped away.

Picking up the fallen pieces and putting them back on the board, Xia Duo leaned over again, watching the Great Arcanist teach while waiting for the Great Arcanist to be unable to resist challenging him again.

……

Five days passed very quickly.

Just before leaving, Badijiaer suddenly stopped Xia Duo, "You didn't let me win once in these five days. This is the first time I've felt so frustrated. Tell me, how should I deal with you?"

"……" Xia Duo stood frozen on the spot. Could this be the legendary settling of scores after the harvest?

"Hahaha! That feels good, that feels good!"

Xia Duo's cheek twitched. He didn't expect the Great Arcanist to have such a side; he was scared to death.

Ahem—

Badijiaer suddenly straightened his expression, "I am very satisfied with these five days, and to reward you for your contribution to Netheril, I can let you make one request. Right now, think clearly before you speak."

"This—" The world changed too fast, making it hard for Xia Duo to keep his composure. Although this was a benefit, it was obviously also a difficult problem.

When a leader says you can ask for anything, do you really just ask for anything?

In an instant, all kinds of past experiences flashed through his mind, and at the same time, the notebook recording difficult problems in his Personal Space was also flipping rapidly. Obviously, he couldn't be greedy, but solving a problem that Xia Duo felt was very difficult should be a trivial matter for a Great Arcanist.

Very quickly, Xia Duo had an idea, "Master Badijiaer, may I ask if Netheril has any Magic Item capable of containing Arcane Fire? How can one obtain the manufacturing method?"