Chapter 20
However, in exchange for this, the souls of humans leaving their bodies would cause a strange distortion of morality. Since there were no captured Liches, this area of research remained blank. Scholars interested in this topic could only propose one hypothesis after another without being able to verify them. Therefore, Liches were usually considered evil, even if they themselves didn't see it that way. Most people agreed with this view after seeing their bone and soul experiments.
There was an important step in the archmage's inauguration ceremony, which involved casting a perception spell on her. When her life disappeared, it would alert several mages from the Mage Guild who would then issue a worldwide warrant for all guilds. The mages who became Liches and their mage towers would inevitably turn into dangerous and wealthy treasuries for adventurers and mercenaries.
In fact, during the previous month without messengers, the archmage had also entertained thoughts of becoming a Lich. After all, the taste of loneliness was not pleasant.
Now it seemed quite lively. Xerath hadn't experienced this kind of liveliness in a long time. It did manage to dispel some of the lingering feeling of loneliness. However, at the same time, she had wasted too much time. Her schedule was already two days behind, so she had to push back the entire timetable.
Thinking about this, she stood up and said to Sylas, who was engrossed in a battle on the chessboard, and the steward, "I'll be stepping out for a bit. I'll be back in about five minutes." To the archmage, it was necessary to prevent Sylas from panicking because she couldn't find her or to delay the steward in case of a disaster. However, when she came up from the library with her work diary, everything seemed calm. Sylas seemed to be completely absorbed in the new game and had temporarily forgotten about playing with the elements. Of course, the absence of any problems may also be due to the observant archmage noticing that the water lord had firm control over all the chess pieces. The moment Sylas moved a piece, Hyectra would take control of the water droplet.
When Xerath entered, the people on both sides of the chessboard smiled at her. The archmage sat on the couch, and Titus happily flicked the tassels behind him. Xerath took off her shoes, revealing her fair feet, and stepped on Titus' back.
This way, her knees were slightly raised. A finely bound hardcover notebook was spread on her lap, with a bottle of ink floating beside it. She dipped her feather pen into the bottle, then wrote a few words in the notebook.
Xerath originally planned to divide the work she had delayed over the past few days into the remaining days. However, when she looked up at the cheerful Sylas and thought about it, she decided to postpone the work further.
Maybe she should listen to Virgil's advice and sell this one to buy a few different types of demon beasts... No, that wouldn't work. Making them peacefully coexist would be a challenge, and commanding them would be another challenge. It would probably take twice as much time, if not more, than spending time with Sylas.
Besides, who could she sell her to? The archmage actually doubted the reasonableness of the little story in his mind about Sylas's background: why would everyone rush to catch a child? Except for experiments, the archmage couldn't think of anyone else who would need a little trouble.
She spent about an hour making her schedule. The simulation celestial globe downstairs would periodically disturb a continuous spatial magic, causing the clock to ring every now and then.
The dull sound of the clock spread throughout the mage tower. She put away her work journal and said to the two people in front of the chessboard, "I'll be back in five minutes."
But it was clear that these two creatures were very focused. Sylas heard her voice and couldn't help but glance at her before quickly turning her head to stare at the chessboard. Xerath sighed, put her notebook back in the library, and returned to the living room.
Compared to the dark and cool library, the living room was warm and bright. The archmage sat on the couch, with Titus' warm cushion under their feet. A book flew in front of them and opened to the same page they had seen last time.
This is a history book about the Dragon War, which starts with the first necromancer about 2,000 years ago and ends with the Dragon Council destroying the final generation of Witch Kings by destroying the Life Casket. It's different from those simple and easy-to-understand history stories or epic hero tales you find in the market (although they tend to be more popular). The Archmage still prefers to read these big and impressive works by historians as a way to relax after work.
This is written by a very old elf elder. Xerath happens to be a fan of this elder and elves always have more time to perfect their work. The book even has many beautiful illustrations drawn by the elder personally. Because of this, Xerath becomes very captivated by the book, and even manages to read it twice in one sitting when the clock chimed.
However, a sudden disturbance in the elements quickly brings her back to the mortal realm. Without thinking, she extends her hand and creates a water bubble to protect her book before turning to see the source of the disturbance: Sylas, who is covering her mouth and looking apologetic. Hyectra is recovering from a thin film-like substance. Meanwhile, Titus got hit by water droplets on his "backside" and is protesting with "woof woof" sounds, but he can't turn around because his owner is stepping on his back.
"Madam, I apologize for being a bit slow..."
"What happened?" From the scene, it seems like a water droplet burst, but the Archmage looks at Sylas calmly.
Sylas, in her panic, seems to forget how to speak properly and can only blurt out words one by one, saying, "Water droplet, wanted to grab it, but then... it went 'boom'!... I... sob, Xerath, I'm sorry."
Xerath has no choice but to stand up and walk towards her, stroking her soft hair and asking Hyectra, "Describe what happened at that time."
"The young lady wanted to control the floating chess pieces herself but ultimately failed. She managed to maintain it for a while, which made me relax my vigilance. However, I might have been a bit slow just now, probably because the number of water droplets she was controlling was a bit too much. I apologize for that."
Xerath waves her hand and says, "It's fine. I think next time I can directly enclose both of you in a water bubble to play. What do you think? I believe that should be a viable solution."
"Oh, what a great idea."
Xerath smiled and said, "You're being too dramatic, sir. I'll take her to bed now." While she was talking attentively to Hyectra, Sylas yawned several times. Although Xerath wasn't looking at her, she still noticed. "Where is Virgil?"
"Mr. Virgil has already gone to sleep. The weather will improve tomorrow, and he'll probably leave early in the morning."
"Okay, wake me up to send him off." She nodded, took Sylas's hand, and headed towards the guest room downstairs. However, when Sylas reached the entrance to the guest floor, she refused to go any further and stared fearfully at Virgil's door.
Xerath sighed and said, "Alright, you can sleep in my room today, but after Virgil leaves tomorrow, you have to go to your own room, okay?"
