Chapter 557: Ten Thousand-Fold Profit, A Gift

No matter what one wants, nothing is as long-term as mastering a technique. Xia Duo had considered asking a Great Arcanist to decipher Feierde's Spellbook, but he and Niya could do this entirely on their own, and this in itself was a process of learning and research.

Using a promise from a Great Arcanist on this would be somewhat unworthy.

Of course, Xia Duo had also thought about proposing the request to become a student of Badijiaer, but for now, he should be considered part of the Giles Tower camp; even if the Seven Towers appeared close to the outside world, it had not reached the point of being completely integrated.

Regardless of whether Xia Duo could become a student of Badijiaer, he had to consider the Princess's perception. Regarding powerful figures like Great Arcanists, Xia Duo would rather be ignored by them than be disliked, or evoke any other negative emotions.

Even if it were just a possibility.

Moreover, he still had the proceeds from at least a Level 5 Excellent Patent from the Princess's side that he hadn't received yet!

After thinking it over, he could accomplish ordinary conditions himself, it was merely a matter of varying degrees of difficulty; as for anything too excessive, it was clearly not suitable to propose. Thus, it would be better to inquire about some information he urgently needed.

For instance, whether it was possible to manufacture a Magic Item capable of containing Arcane Fire.

If he could obtain the manufacturing method for such a Magic Item, then Xia Duo could mass-produce Arcane Crystals, subsequently expand his Personal Space, and then head to the Projection Plane; he could search for whatever he wanted from the Projection Plane and then manifest it.

It would be a business with a ten-thousand-fold profit!

Of course, Xia Duo was not certain if there really was a Magic Item that could contain Arcane Fire, but he figured that if one truly existed, Great Arcanist Badijiaer should not go so far as to hide it.

It was just that whether he could obtain the manufacturing method from him was another matter entirely.

But Xia Duo believed that if it really existed, Badijiaer would at least tell him how to obtain it; this was merely a matter of a single sentence, not difficult to do.

After asking, Xia Duo looked expectantly at the Great Arcanist before him, hoping to receive an affirmative answer from his lips.

Only, Badijiaer's expression was first surprised, then suddenly enlightened, and finally, he furrowed his brows. Xia Duo's heart skipped a beat; could it be that even a Great Arcanist didn't know if such a Magic Item existed?

"Xia Duo, your question is truly—" Seeming unable to think of any suitable descriptive vocabulary, Badijiaer hesitated for a moment, then swallowed the second half of his sentence, only saying, "As far as I know, Netheril does not have the kind of Magic Item you speak of. If you know where there is one, you must tell me!"

Is that so—

Xia Duo was somewhat disappointed; as expected, shortcuts were not so easy to take. He had the mind to mention Iolum again, but worried about arousing the other party's suspicion; the 【Mythallar】 was, after all, only a Psionic Creation from the game he played before crossing over.

Whether it truly existed in the Magic world, he did not have a hundred percent certainty.

Furthermore, even if it did, how would he know about it before Iolum had made it public? This was fundamentally impossible to explain. Could he say he came from Earth and saw it in a game he played?

"Sigh, what a pity!" Xia Duo sighed softly.

Seeing Xia Duo's dejected look, Badijiaer suddenly became amused, "Alright, little fellow, stop thinking about these things. Wait until you become a Great Arcanist to study them!"

"Oh, sorry, Master, I asked a meaningless question."

"No, your question is very meaningful, it's just that even I cannot research it. It is still too early for you to think about these things now. I don't know what you want that kind of Magic Item that contains Arcane Fire for, but the greatest use of Arcane Fire is nothing more than generating Arcane Energy. Come, take this—"

Xia Duo subconsciously reached out both hands, only to hear the Great Arcanist say irritably: "How much more do you want! Just one hand!"

"Oh!"

Xia Duo hurriedly withdrew one hand, and immediately after, the Great Arcanist reached out and grabbed into the void, then released it. "Clatter, clatter," six or seven Standard Arcane Crystals fell into Xia Duo's hand.

"This—" Xia Duo looked at the Great Arcanist in confusion.

"These are the surplus from these five days, a gift for you; it settles that one request! The time is getting late, the Snow Melting Competition is about to begin, go back now." Badijiaer waved his hand and walked straight toward the Plane Portal.

"..."

Xia Duo tightened his grip on the Arcane Crystals in his hand and hurriedly followed. He was the last one to leave the 【Annihilation Plane】; if not for the Astral Mage's continuous maintenance, the Sacred Dwelling would likely not last long in this plane.

By the time he passed through the portal, the Great Arcanist had already disappeared, and only the Arcane Crystals in his hand seemed to still retain the other party's body heat.

Xia Duo looked at the Arcane Crystals in his hand again. He hadn't paid much attention before, and at a glance, it looked like six or seven, but at this moment, he realized there were actually eight.

Thinking about it again, these eight Standard Arcane Crystals were the surplus Great Arcanist Badijiaer had accumulated in the 【Annihilation Plane】 over these 5 days; it was truly terrifying and awe-inspiring!

Xia Duo's current Arcane Energy limit was roughly an Arcane Crystal the size of a grain of rice, while a Standard Arcane Crystal was about the size of a thumb joint, a difference of at least 100 times.

His current Arcane Energy limit could only cast one 5th Circle Spell, so the Arcane Energy the Great Arcanist had as surplus every day could cast at least 100 5th Circle Spells.

Not to mention the gap in circles and techniques, the sheer difference in magnitude regarding disposable energy alone was enough to make one feel daunted.

In the past, Xia Duo only knew that a Great Arcanist was very strong, but he didn't have a very clear concept. But now he knew: between him and a Great Arcanist, there was still a gap of at least two orders of magnitude, at least in terms of disposable energy!

If he were to accumulate these 8 Arcane Crystals with his current Arcane Energy limit, it would take at least 800 days, and this was only what Badijiaer had as surplus in 5 days. No matter how exaggerated a written description might be, it was ultimately not as shocking as a clear numerical comparison.

Once he thought of this, Xia Duo once again felt an infinite yearning to become a Great Arcanist.

Walking out of the Teleportation Hall, Archmage Greta was still waiting outside. Seeing Xia Duo come out, she hurriedly greeted him: "Lord Xia Duo, the time is getting late, come with me quickly."

"Mm." Xia Duo responded and followed.

On the way to the ordinary Teleportation Room, Archmage Greta cautiously probed what he had just been doing staying behind with the Great Arcanist. Regarding this, Xia Duo did not hide it and said straight out that Master Badijiaer had given him a few Arcane Crystals.

This made Greta quite envious.

Only, for Xia Duo, although 8 Arcane Crystals were of great value, if there were a method to contain Arcane Fire to choose from, even if 10,000 Arcane Crystals were placed in front of him, he wouldn't even glance at them.

After all, no matter how many 10,000 were, it was only a one-time deal, but as long as he could stabilize Arcane Fire in a Magic Item, that would be an infinitely many one-time deals.

Arriving at the Arena, Xia Duo was still somewhat distracted, thinking about Arcane Fire, about Arcane Crystals, and even about the various possibilities of Iolum creating the 【Mythallar】.

"Xia Duo, Xia Duo! The competition has started!"

Accompanied by the sensation of a push on his arm, Niya's soft voice rang in Xia Duo's ear. Only then did Xia Duo focus his attention on the competition field ahead.

The competition had begun.