Chapter 44
In Sylas's eyes, the archmage was so capable. Her knowledge was extensive, and it seemed like there was nothing in the world she didn't know. However, just recently, she admitted that she knew very little about human physiology...
Sylas suddenly remembered, "Teacher!"
"What's the matter?" the glossy grey eyes stared at her curiously. "Do you have any new discoveries?"
Sylas shook her head, "Have you changed clothes? Just now, you had almost no time to take care of yourself..." She couldn't help but hold Xerath's hand and carefully touched the cuff of her sleeve, discovering that it was dry.
"Don't worry, I've changed clothes, thank you for your concern. Here, I think I want to tell you a common knowledge. When a thermometer is wrapped in a moist fabric, the temperature it indicates is lower than when it is directly exposed to the air. This means..." she looked at her student.
"This means that people wearing wet clothes are more likely to feel cold, right?"
"That's right, just like that. So if you use a spell like ice barrier again next time, remember to dry your clothes immediately."
"I remember."
"Very good, clever child. I'll be here reading. If you need anything, just call me."
"Alright, teacher."
Xerath touched her face and tucked her into the blanket, "Lie down a little longer, until it's time to eat."
Xerath touched her face and tucked her into the blanket, "Lie down a little longer, until it's time to eat."
She turned the chair herself, but instead of starting to read like she said, she took out a beautifully bound notebook from the nearby bookshelf and started writing in it. Xerath's notebooks were her personal belongings, and Sylas couldn't touch them without her special permission, so this nameless notebook looked particularly mysterious.
Xerath's hand was beautiful, slender and pale, almost translucent. Faint blue veins could be seen just beneath the skin. As she held the pen, the ligaments connecting her finger bones moved rhythmically, making a scratching sound on the paper.
Sylas stared at her hand for a while, then whispered, "Teacher... do you really like the tricks I did in the wind today?"
"Oh, of course, I really admire that about you, I hope you keep it up."
"I feel like I almost got into trouble..."
"Don't worry too much, I think I did a great job teaching, and based on your performance in the wind, there are many important tasks for you to do. I hope you can propose a related research plan to me next Tuesday."
It didn't seem like she was blaming, and these extra assignments didn't seem like a punishment, but which child likes doing homework? Sylas reluctantly agreed, while Xerath chuckled softly.
"My little wild one, observe everything, understand everything. Don't try to escape. It's time for you to try completing a research project."
It seemed like she had written something that she was quite satisfied with, happily closed her notebook, put it back in the corner of the shelf, and took out another one. This one had a similar color but Sylas was very familiar with it, it was her lesson plan.
Sylas instinctively feared - which child doesn't fear learning? It's just that the rewards were so generous that it kept her chasing better performance and higher knowledge - and she hid her entire head under the blanket.
The next day, when she was getting ready to get out of bed, Sylas finally understood what Xerath meant by "sore all over". She was in pain just from getting out of bed, as if her muscles had been pulled apart. She felt like she was limping and panicked to find Xerath, but her teacher just smiled and said that it was normal.
"The work of a wizard and a mage apprentice is mostly done at the desk. Sitting for long periods makes you lack exercise, so when you suddenly start moving, it feels like this. There's nothing to worry about, it will get better in a day or two, but you'll be in pain during those days."
"Oh my... Is there no way to get rid of it?"
Xerath smiled and walked to the librarian's side, picking up a pen and writing a few words. The librarian flew into the depths of the bookshelf and came back after a while with two books in a hurry.
"These are the books I mentioned. You must be eager to know the answer, so look for it inside."
Sylas sighed, slumping her shoulders and holding the two books as she returned to her seat, quickly browsing through them.
Xerath went back to her own desk and felt a little happy for having trapped Sylas in the library today. Then she was overcome by a sense of remorse, thinking that she had stifled a child's natural instincts.
On Tuesday, Sylas proposed a preliminary research plan, listing several different forms of spells that focused on the wind element for this big adventure. Finally, she asked Xerath, "Teacher, I want to understand the individual motion trajectory of a single wind element in this experiment. Do you think it's feasible?"
Xerath thought for a moment and said, "Then you might have to greet a specific wind element and ask it to tell you. How do you plan to track it?"
Sylas pondered for a while and said, "I think I can use colored mist. Is that possible?"
"I think you can give it a try. If it doesn't work, we can go and ask the craftsmen in Withered Leaf City if they have any solutions. Do you think that's feasible?"
The research work turned out to be much harder than she had imagined. Even though Xerath seemed so skilled, Sylas felt a huge difference when imitating her - she couldn't even take the first step. The colored water couldn't spread well in the air, and no one - referring to those water elementals - wanted to carry solids. Sylas later tried using ink but ended up getting herself all black.
Because of this, the experiment lasted for a whole week. During the weekend, Xerath took her to meet the workers in Withered Leaf City who make furniture for Xerath. The workers were shooting ink lines on freshly cut logs.
This is an ancient technique where graphite powder is stuck on a fixed string, and the color of the graphite is shot onto the wooden board to draw straight lines quickly. Sylas stared at the ink lines intently and then grabbed Xerath's hand and said, "Teacher, is the most common ink called carbon ink?"
"Yes."
"Can they disperse in the wind?"
"I think so," Xerath said as she watched a young carpenter blow off excess ink.
Sylas decided to try using graphite powder. Xerath praised her spirit of exploration and worriedly tailored a dozen masks for her.
On the day of the experiment, Hyectra carefully scattered the graphite into the wind at the bottom of the tower while Xerath protected her from the terrace. The ash-black powder gathered in a bundle rose with the breeze, just as expected. Sylas jumped into the wind from the terrace. The wind shield and the supporting air cannon quickly formed in the enchantment. The graphite powder was like black ink dissolved in clear water, initially stirred by invisible hands and mixed with the surrounding wind, forming a certain tangible shape.
"Teacher! The wind shield is constantly moving!" Sylas jumped with excitement but almost lost her balance. She quickly steadied herself, and Xerath nervously reached out her hand from the edge of the terrace to support her.
Luckily, Sylas was much more coordinated than the other young mages, so she quickly regained her balance and curiously watched the black powder beneath her feet slowly moving in the wind.
However, she couldn't stay still all the time; she had to go with the wind. Thanks to the effect of the developer, the two elemental envoys saw the flow of the wind clearly for the first time: it created eddies as it drifted, eagerly forming new shapes under the influence of spells. When they got tired of the old elements, they left and new ones immediately joined in. Some quickly joined the ranks of the air cannon, while others followed the flow of the wind. Even within the relatively still wind shield spell sequence, Sylas's wind shield beneath her feet was like dark liquid with constantly changing shapes, forming unexpected mysterious patterns.
Xerath watched Sylas soar into the sky from afar, then loudly called out as she descended, unable to resist saying to Hyectra, who poked her head out beside her, "I think she just took the opportunity of the experiment to play."
"Do you remember that article that talked about how young animals practice hunting skills and other survival skills through play, which you found very reasonable?"
"Of course I remember, I think of it every time I see her."
The Water Lord cleared its throat slightly, hinting that it was about to say something important. "Have you noticed that she hardly has a chance to practice certain essential social and cooperative skills in human society?"
Xerath fell silent for a moment. "Maybe she'll never need to use them in her lifetime?"
"Unfortunately, you know that's not possible. Even if you live alone in Aimekotes, deep in the desert, you still have many friends and enemies who occasionally make contact with you. The young lady is not really a wild animal; she still belongs to human society."
Xerath fell silent, her gaze fixed on Sylas as she slid down from the top of the tower to the nearby terrace.
The little girl didn't notice their conversation and excitedly greeted, "Teacher! Are you coming too?"
Most of the time, Xerath was a very steady person. She walked neither too fast nor too slow. When she was sitting, she had a straight back, which looked proper from any angle. She didn't do things that would disturb this sense of order, and she would never run if she could walk.
Sylas didn't expect her to agree, but she simply nodded shortly and without hesitation, she stepped on the edge of the terrace, jumped up, and caught Sylas's outstretched hand.
Sylas seemed slightly surprised, but she was prepared. She quietly called upon the wind, which suddenly rushed in the opposite direction of Xerath's jump, effectively countering the impact. The wind shield flew smoothly, and Xerath leaned down, holding onto Sylas's waist.
The little girl looked at Xerath approaching and was extremely excited as she said, "Teacher, please hold me as tightly as possible. I'm about to start accelerating!"
