Chapter 603: Bonu No. 4 and Iced Cola

Because the name of this spellbook is "Sain's Arcane Staff," Xia Duo specifically searched for information regarding Sain, but whether it was in the Tower of Time, the Arcane Union, or Giles Tower, there was no record of him whatsoever.

Being able to create a spellbook at least indicates that Sain was a High Mage; the fact that Xia Duo searched several places and found no information about him suggests that this Sain was not well-known at the time.

Or perhaps he was hiding some secret.

In any case, this spellbook is very capable of piquing Xia Duo's desire for exploration, and coupled with Xia Duo's own desire to create spellbooks, he has almost made deciphering this spellbook his primary occupation for the time being.

Aside from his interactions with Niya every night, he also studies it alone for a while during his free time during the day.

This second bridging experiment did not encounter any accidents, and all the feedback data was exactly as he and Niya had discussed and predicted, but even so, the progress of the bridging could not be pushed too quickly.

This is similar to a chain reaction—1-2-3-4—until more; every step has the potential for anomalies to appear, which then affect the subsequent steps, so after every step of bridging, one must conduct reviews and verifications, which is quite cumbersome.

After finishing the bridging of the 3 sets of external Mithril Components, this bridging experiment was considered concluded, and Xia Duo and Niya each left the Laboratory.

……

The next day was the Midsummer Festival of the year 836 of the Netheril Calendar.

The Tower of Time was closed for the day, but this was mainly for the Official Mages; the Apprentices under the new system were more like the students from Xia Duo's hometown, busy with classes and practice every day. Although they were relieved of menial chores, the same holiday did not apply to them.

To a certain extent, they were more like slaves than before, but they were their own slaves, not someone else's.

In the past, the Tower of Time did not have requirements for their studies, letting them learn whatever they wanted as long as their daily work was not neglected, but now it was different.

Under the new system, if a Tower of Time Apprentice could not become an Official Mage within three years, they would have to repay the tuition for those three years, which was about 1000 Gold Coins.

Although this number was not high, if they were just from an ordinary farming family, they might not be able to save that much in a lifetime, so how could they not study with their lives on the line!

Of course, under normal circumstances, even if these Apprentices could not become Official Mages, the Tower of Time would provide job opportunities, such as Magic Technician or "Spellcasting Battery" or something similar; the salary was decent enough that they wouldn't be unable to pay back the money.

It was precisely because of such guarantees that these Apprentices were willing to sign such a near-gambling contract.

……

Before dawn, Xia Duo and Niya arrived at Savile Town together to attend the Sun Rising Ceremony of the Midsummer Festival celebration and welcome the rising sun.

After the Sun Rising Ceremony, Xia Duo took the time to teleport from Savile Town back to Daxia Territory. Although he had promised Niya to stay and celebrate together and had indeed contacted the territory, he still felt a bit uneasy when the day actually arrived.

After rushing around for a circle and confirming there were no problems, he teleported back to Savile Town; the whole process took no more than a few minutes.

On Earth, there is the saying that "technology is people-oriented," and in the world of Magic, spells can naturally solve many pain points, such as 【Teleportation】.

If it were before reaching the Advanced Rank, Xia Duo would indeed have no way to travel between the two places in a short time, but after reaching the Advanced Rank, 【Teleportation】 had already become a daily standard.

If one completely disregarded the needs for research and practice and used all spells only for daily life, it would be even more convenient. One wouldn't even need to touch the ground when going out; flying for short distances, teleporting for long distances, or simply sitting indoors and using spells to replace oneself for travel and entertainment.

An individual's spellcasting ability is limited after all, and from this, Xia Duo became increasingly certain of the broad prospects for Magic Items in the future.

……

The garden inside the Temple.

Although the season of lush blooming had long passed, in this passionate midsummer, the scene of green trees with dense foliage and dripping with verdant color was also very pleasant.

Xia Duo and Niya sat opposite each other under the shade of a tree. The cheers, shouts, and hawking sounds from the Central Plaza outside the Temple reached them here, already gradually muffled; it was as if this place was separated from the outside of the Temple by a world.

A faint radiance of Holy Power flowed within the garden, occasionally drifting down from between the branches like a ray of sunlight, possessing a unique charm.

Xia Duo picked up his teacup and took a light sip. Although it was a hot drink, it felt warm first and then cool upon entering the mouth, more like an ice cube pressed against the forehead, making one's spirit instantly refreshed and driving away the midsummer heat that even the 【Crimson Shelter Robe】 could hardly resist.

If there was any downside to this Elf Hot Drink, the only flaw was probably its appearance—a pitch-black, opaque liquid that looked a bit like dishwater no matter how one looked at it.

The official name of this tea is "Bonu No. 4," an Elf specialty. Anyone in Savile Territory with a bit of wealth would keep some at home, drinking it long-term to refresh the mind.

The first time Xia Duo drank this was at Lady Patti's house, and at the time, he had actually tasted the flavor of iced cola in this Elf Hot Drink; thinking about it now, it really was quite similar.

If it weren't for the fact that the material foundation of this world was elements rather than atoms, he would have wanted to produce some carbon dioxide; he really missed the taste of soda.

Perhaps seeing that Xia Duo particularly liked drinking the tea, Niya suddenly said, "I wonder how much longer this tea can be drunk?"

Hmm? How much longer?

Xia Duo put down his teacup and looked at Niya, "What do you mean?"

"When I came over just now, I went to Uncle Sain's place. He told me that trade in Kangnifeila City is nearing a standstill, and the territory's 'Bonu No. 4' is shipped from Kangnifeila City."

As she spoke, Niya could not help but reveal a worried emotion. Xia Duo felt a bit of pressure upon hearing this; he knew that Niya was certainly not worried about having no tea to drink in the future, but rather worried about whether the situation in Kangnifeila City would affect Savile Territory.

To put it more bluntly, it was whether the Drow would attack Savile Territory.

That Cormanthor was at war with the Drow was not a big secret; at least Xia Duo had seen such a piece of news in the July issue of the Arcane Federation Monthly.

As for whether it was possible for the Drow to attack Savile Territory, Xia Duo truly could not be certain, but he knew that the ones the Drow hated most should be the Elves, so he comforted her:

"Cormanthor wouldn't just let the Drow onto the surface, would they? If they really let them out, it would be the Cormanthor Elves who should have a headache! Besides, there is still Kangnifeila City between us and Cormanthor! No need to worry too much!"

Niya glanced toward the east and sighed softly, "I hope so!"

……

Leisurely time always passes quickly. Not knowing how much time had passed, Bishop Anbulier suddenly walked over and said to Xia Duo and Niya, "The time is almost here; the ceremony is about to begin."

Only then did Xia Duo realize that it was already noon. The Midsummer Festival celebration would last for a whole day, but there were three important ceremonies that required Xia Duo and Niya to participate—of course, mainly Niya; Xia Duo was accompanying her.

They had already attended the Sun Rising Ceremony in the morning.

At noon, there would be a Prayer Ceremony, and after the ceremony ended, the Lord—that is, Niya—would need to distribute Holy Water to the territory's residents.

There would be another ceremony in the evening, usually called the "Dormancy Ceremony." After this ceremony, it would be almost the next day, and the Midsummer Festival celebration would be considered completely over at that point.