Chapter 883: Accident, an Opportunity for Early Confirmation

Accompanied by Niya, Xia Duo soon arrived outside Archmage Greta's office, but the great doors here were tightly shut; despite the two of them triggering the open-style alarm used as a doorbell multiple times, there was no response.

"The Archmage might not be here; perhaps that was just a triggered message. Let's head back first!" After a moment of thought, Xia Duo discovered a suspicious point.

As an Archmage, Greta could have sent a Sending directly to him, without needing the Tower Spirit to relay it; this was perhaps information the other party had left with the Tower Spirit in advance.

Niya then suggested, "How about I contact the Archmage and ask what the situation is?"

Xia Duo thought for a moment, "That works too, sorry to trouble you!"

In fact, with Xia Duo's current status, he could contact the Archmage directly, but he and Greta had no personal friendship, only a few routine meetings.

Niya was different; her status as the Princess's student brought her many conveniences, at least in handling interpersonal relationships with people like Archmage Greta, who were managers of Giles Tower, it was much easier than for the average person.

Calling it a personal friendship, it was actually more like Greta's care for Niya as a junior.

……

Over here, just as Niya contacted Archmage Greta, Xia Duo sensed teleportation fluctuations appearing nearby; realizing what it might be, he immediately suppressed the thought of delaying this teleportation.

The next moment, the space at the doorway seemed to vibrate so intensely it blurred, resulting in a hazy white mist, and accompanied by a sudden flash of Magic Aura, Archmage Greta appeared at the door!

"Niya, Xia Duo, you returned a bit earlier than I expected, come in quickly!"

As she spoke, Archmage Greta opened the office door, revealing the dim interior of the room, and gestured for the two of them to enter.

As the three walked in, the light in the room shifted from dark to bright, and the air seemed to flow slowly; for a Bloodline User like Xia Duo, who could transform into a gaseous form and control the airspace at will, this appeared exceptionally clear.

He had been to Greta's office a few times before, but those times Xia Duo had arrived while people were present, causing him to overlook these things.

Now experiencing it from nothing to something, he suddenly discovered some details he had ignored in the past—

The air inside this office was relatively independent from the outside, not circulating, and it was also in a state of constant renewal; if someone really wanted to poison the air, it might be quite interesting.

"Sit down first!"

Xia Duo and Niya sat down as instructed, after which Greta began to enter the main topic; she first glanced at the somewhat nervous Niya, smiled slightly, and then placed her gaze on Xia Duo:

"I asked you here because there is a matter I want to notify you of; the Princess has decided to grant formal lordship status to a batch of promising Pioneers in advance, and you are one of them!"

"Ah?!"

Xia Duo and Niya looked at each other; neither of them had expected the Archmage's invitation to be for this, rather than what Xia Duo had previously guessed regarding the Mind Link.

"What? Are you surprised?"

Greta looked at their surprised expressions, as if thinking of something, but she did not pay much attention to it, then changed the subject, her expression also becoming serious:

"Being granted formal lordship status in advance is certainly a good thing, but you cannot be satisfied just because of this and forget that a lord's duty is to protect the people and expand the territory!"

"Yes, I will definitely not forget!" Xia Duo immediately expressed his resolve.

"Don't be happy too early; even the Princess cannot unconditionally grant someone formal lordship status at will; this still requires the consent of the Seventon Council."

"This—" Xia Duo was immediately dumbfounded; he had thought it was a direct confirmation, not expecting there to be another process.

However, this was also a good thing for him; at least it showed that even a Great Arcanist must obey certain rules, which undoubtedly gave him many opportunities for survival and development.

Seeming to feel the atmosphere was a bit too serious, Greta smiled slightly, her expression softening a little, and then she said again:

"But you don't need to worry too much; I have heard that this batch of Pioneers each has a copy of the 'Daxia Territory Standard Development Guide'! If even Daxia Territory cannot gain the recognition of the Seventon Council, then it would be even harder for others!"

Just then, Niya suddenly interjected, "Then what specifically must be done to gain the recognition of the Seventon Council? Could the Archmage give some guidance?"

"This is also what I was preparing to say next!"

Regarding Niya's sudden interjection, Greta was not angry, but followed Niya's words and continued, "Within this month, the Seventon Council, or more accurately, the Seven Towers, will send people to investigate each Pioneer Territory and communicate with the Pioneers; the main process is like this."

"As for how to pass, there are specifically two requirements, which also correspond to the duties of a lord: one is that the residents of a Pioneer Territory must have sufficient food, and the other is that the Pioneer must provide a timetable for the territory's food self-sufficiency and ensure that there is enough food storage before the territory reaches self-sufficiency."

The two requirements seemed very simple, but Xia Duo knew that there must be hidden conditions within this, and this condition had actually already been revealed by Archmage Greta earlier—"promising"!

Perhaps it was the population size, perhaps the size of the territory, perhaps the Pioneer's background, or perhaps the Pioneer's own ability; in short, there must certainly be some considerations involved.

This was somewhat similar to an equal-number election; out of dozens of Pioneers, a batch with potential was screened out first, and if these promising Pioneers all met those two requirements, they should all be able to be confirmed.

And for Xia Duo, the only thing that was slightly difficult about the two requirements Greta pointed out was actually the self-sufficiency timetable.

The rest was nothing more than some food; as long as he had Niya's support, getting the required amount of food was not difficult; on the contrary, regarding the timetable, since it was granting lordship status in advance, there would certainly be certain restrictions.

It might just be on this timetable; since it was a plan, there would definitely be variables; having to satisfy the Seventon Council's inspection while also leaving room for oneself was probably the only difficulty!

However, compared to other Pioneers, the conditions on Xia Duo's side were already much better; if even he could not gain the recognition of the Seventon Council, then it would be basically impossible for others to do so!

"Thank you for the Archmage's guidance! I will definitely make full preparations."

"That's good; the Princess values you highly, I hope you won't let her down!" Greta gave a final reminder, then signaled that the conversation was ending.

Xia Duo also noticed this, but he still had some questions in his heart, so he took the initiative to bring up a topic, "Your Excellency Greta, I wonder if Giles Tower is interested in the Arcane Spell of Mind Link I used in the Green Field Plane; if interested, I am willing to provide a Learning Scroll."