Chapter 977: Investment Withdrawn, One Person Fewer

On the other side, within the Semi-plane, time quickly reached the second day that the Pioneers were left alone.

Although Xia Duo was annoyed by the reduction of the Cloud Qi, he was clearly not suffering any harm now; not only his body, but even his Soul had no abnormalities whatsoever.

Of course, his luck had not worsened either.

This, in turn, indirectly confirmed that there seemed to be no connection between Cloud Qi and luck, though the concept of luck itself was quite mysterious, and Xia Duo did not really believe in it much himself.

It was just that this form of observing Cloud Qi was somewhat similar to "Qi-gazing" on Earth, which was why he had such associations; now it seemed that this Cloud Qi might be something that truly existed in the Magic world, like Faith or belief.

It was precisely because of this speculation that Xia Duo could remain in the Semi-plane with peace of mind.

Since the Seven Towers had made a name for him earlier, these Cloud Qi now had "shares" belonging to the Seven Towers; now that they wanted to withdraw their "investment," what else could he do?

He could only give it!

In any case, things like Faith and belief were external objects; if the old doesn't go, the new won't come. Overall, he was still taking advantage.

Just like that, while comforting himself, Xia Duo continued to study the Semi-plane and the Teleportation Spell using the Astral Plane as a medium, while waiting for the next rehearsal.

This wait lasted until the afternoon, and just like yesterday, the procedure was naturally the same, except that while there were a few latecomers yesterday, there were none today.

Those below the rank of High Mage had been waiting on the plaza since the morning, while High Mages and Archmages were ready to teleport at any time, waiting only to receive notice to arrive quickly.

Xia Duo was, of course, doing the same.

……

And just as the crowd was taking their positions for the rehearsal, Xia Duo suddenly noticed something wrong; it wasn't just him who noticed, the other Pioneers had also discovered the anomaly.

Someone was missing!

There was one person fewer today than yesterday!

Although it was only one person, they had rehearsed many times over these past few days; even if one couldn't remember everyone's appearance, there was certainly no one who wouldn't remember who was closest to them!

This missing person was discovered in exactly this way.

Of course, Xia Duo was in the habit of observing others, and his memory was extremely powerful, so it was easy for him to spot that something was wrong.

The missing person was named Diwoge; it was said that he had been granted the title of Pioneer at an Arcane Competition held by the Arcane Union, after which he received the support of a big shot in the Union and went to the Kangqi Plain to pioneer.

The big shot in the rumors was not much of a big shot to Xia Duo; after all, he had already come into contact with several Great Arcanists—could anyone be bigger than a Great Arcanist?

If there were, it would have spread long ago.

Xia Duo speculated that it might be some Archmage, but an Archmage could directly obtain the status of Pioneer themselves; how much profit could there be in supporting an Intermediate Mage to pioneer?

There was currently an Archmage among the Pioneers in the Semi-plane who had obtained his Pioneer status by applying directly to the Seven Cities Council.

That was the normal way of doing things.

Of course, it could not be ruled out that some big shot really did think highly of Diwoge, but what did that have to do with his disappearance?

……

For a moment, there was a commotion on the plaza. Who cared that Archmage Greta was standing right there? Xia Duo heard someone whispering that Diwoge had committed some offense, that the matter had come to light, and he had been dealt with.

Others said that Diwoge had left the Semi-plane himself; theoretically, this was feasible, as long as one could contact Archmage Wohuaide, one could ask him to open the Plane Portal of the Semi-plane.

Still others said that Diwoge had been killed by someone present. As soon as this was said, the people around the speaker immediately moved away unobtrusively.

Xia Duo, with his sharp ears and eyes, heard this speculation and couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth; this kind of speculation was truly too ridiculous.

One had to know that this was an independent Semi-plane, and there were 53 Pioneers present in total; the only one who could leave on their own was likely that Archmage Pioneer.

Even Xia Duo couldn't leave on his own; if he really dared to kill someone, wouldn't he be asking for trouble?

There were also those who said that Diwoge might have angered the Princess and had been secretly taken away by people sent by the Princess.

All kinds of speculations ultimately boiled down to being killed and having the body disposed of, or having left; in short, he simply wasn't here.

Just as the discussion was gradually turning toward conspiracy theories, Greta let out a sharp shout: "What are you all arguing about! Her Highness will be here soon, be quiet!"

Xia Duo had not participated in the discussion, so naturally everything was as usual, but the others who had been discussing were like startled birds and immediately fell silent.

However, that Archmage among the Pioneers seemed intent on stepping forward; after everyone else had stopped talking, he actually began to question Greta:

"Ms. Greta, could you explain the whereabouts of Diwoge?"

This was precisely the question everyone else was very concerned about; if they didn't get to the bottom of this, they probably wouldn't have much heart for the next rehearsal.

Looking at Archmage Xigelaier, who was staring at her and pressing her for an answer, Greta felt extremely irritable. Why should she have to explain such a question to you!

But since Her Highness the Princess could arrive at any moment, Greta did not want the Princess to see such a near-confrontation, so she could only give a perfunctory answer:

"Diwoge left because of a temporary matter; you will see him when you leave the Semi-plane!"

"Really?" Xigelaier looked at Greta and continued to press.

"Of course it's true! Or do you think I would lie to you about such a thing?" Greta replied almost word for word.

Even as a bystander, Xia Duo could feel Greta's anger erupting. If Xigelaier continued to press, perhaps no conflict would occur on the spot, but the fuse for a conflict had been lit.

—What was Xigelaier to Diwoge that he was so concerned about Diwoge's whereabouts?

Watching this near-dramatic scene before him, such a thought popped into Xia Duo's mind out of the blue. Of course, "absolute rationality" was not the trend among Spellcasters, but it was beyond doubt that the further one went, the more one's behavior and conduct tended toward rationality.

Xia Duo did not know Xigelaier's past, but he was very clear that pressing Greta so directly in front of dozens of people was not a wise move.

Spellcasting was not prohibited on the plaza; had he forgotten about the Message spell?

Aside from the fact that Xigelaier indeed had some kind of relationship with Diwoge, Xia Duo hardly made any other conjectures.

Following this line of thought, Xia Duo couldn't help but doubt Greta's answer just now—Diwoge left because of a temporary matter; was that really the case?

An Intermediate Mage leaving the Semi-plane without any warning?

There must be some secret hidden in this!

Of course, one point was also certain, and that was that Diwoge should not be dead yet, otherwise Greta wouldn't have needed to say that everyone would see him after they left.

Someone of Greta's status might conceal some information, but lying in front of dozens of people was likely impossible.

Especially since these dozens of people were all Pioneers with their own status and backgrounds.