Chapter 73
Xerath held out her hands, each maintaining a different spell – her left hand suppressing the wind wall, while her right hand sustained the half-circle ripple above her head. She pursed her lips and said to the fountain above her, "Most likely on top, Sylas, quickly close the rift."
Sylas slowly tightened her hands, making a twisting motion, and the fountain gradually shrank, descending from the middle of the tower.
Upon closer inspection, there was indeed a blue creature lying halfway on top of the fountain.
It waved down and said, "Long time no see, Hyectra. Did you cover up my master?"
Hyectra, floating in the air, looked up and said, "Yes, as long as you don't keep raining, I will let her out. How about that?"
You know it's not my fault." It jumped down from the fountain, clasped its hands together and then opened them again, creating a ripple above Sylas's head, pushing away Hyectra and perfectly blocking the remaining "raindrops.
It looked similar to Hyectra, just slightly thinner in figure. Unlike Hyectra's deep blue and pure body, its body floated some crystalline-like substances, and there was a diamond-shaped stone in its chest that kept rotating.
Like a gentleman, the water lord elegantly bowed and said, "I am delighted to serve you, my master. My name is Leunen."
Hyectra floated behind her and gently rested on her shoulder, introducing, "Leunen, this is my master's student. I believe you understand our new relationship, right?"
Leunen exaggeratedly said, "Oh, I really want to hit you!"
The water gradually receded, and the sandy ground beneath her feet changed from a light color to a saturated dark color. The sand softened with the water and even caused the Earth Child to sink a little.
Xerath traveled on the struggling Earth Child, freezing certain parts of the ground because the road was difficult.
"Teacher..."
"Absolutely amazing, my little wild creature. I knew it..." She even poked half of her body out of the Earth Child just to pinch Sylas's cheek. "You have remarkable talents."
Over there, Hyectra also exchanged pleasantries with an acquaintance, "How about the war? How's it going?"
"Don't mention it. Why am I the biggest one and yet I have to fight? Look at me, look at me, I'm covered in explosive fragments. I can't even take out this core of the fire child. I have to use solid water from the deep sea to neutralize its heat. I feel like I'm about to be scattered. It's too tiring. I should just be scattered and live an easy life as a little water droplet."
It pointed to the spinning rock in its chest, and upon closer inspection, it was indeed solidified magma. And those strange, transparent crystals floating nearby, which distorted the light passing through them slightly, were probably the legendary solid water.
Solid water, isn't that ice?
"Isn't this getting away from war?" Hyectra patted its shoulder. "Be a good caretaker, the little lady is a lovely child."
"Of course, of course, I can feel it, she has a... unique charm," the new water lord exaggeratedly bowed to her, took her hand, and gave it a kiss, causing the emblem in the palm of her hand to briefly glow. "Always enticing me to submit."
Everyone was happy. Leunen was Hyectra's cousin, a water lord with a glorious military record, but lately, their resignation request due to injury had been repeatedly rejected. Luckily, Sylas extended a helping hand at this moment, and without hesitation, Leunen accepted the invitation and hurried over.
A lord claimed by humans cannot participate in war, but it's not like we have to fight. The long-lasting war made everyone in the Elemental Realm very indifferent towards war. When they arrived in the mortal realm, they were in a state of passive idleness. This happened long before human magical civilization developed, to the point where humans were completely unaware of the opposition between elements.
However, Sylas wasn't very eager to play with this water lord, even though having a water lord was the ultimate pursuit for an elemental enthusiast. Sylas's entire attention was on Xerath.
Her heart felt empty, and her gaze was always following Xerath. He had just said "extremely exciting" and "extraordinary talent," which made her very... very happy, but it still wasn't enough.
Xerath also noticed her gaze, so he held her hand and let her sit beside him. Earth Child rumbled back, and Xerath rested his arm on her shoulder, suddenly whispering in her ear, "I really think you're amazing, you see, I'm not lying. I appreciate your changes and I'm proud of you."
Sylas's earlobes turned red, and she didn't dare to turn her head to look at her. She had been staring at Xerath just now, but when she was being stared at, she lost the courage to make eye contact again.
Xerath looked at her small and rosy earlobes, lightly laughed, kissed her on the cheek, and watched as her young apprentice's face turned red little by little, as if it would start bleeding any moment.
Earth Child had already carried them back up the stairs. Xerath stepped on the stairs, hooked Sylas's shoulder, and walked back upstairs with her.
Her mood was probably really good, "I really admire your talent, but I am also afraid that it may be used inappropriately. When I first started teaching you, I always felt nervous and cautious."
"Huh?"
Xerath smiled and her lowered gaze was filled with nostalgia, "I was afraid that you were a wild and untamable child. I'm not really good at dealing with children because... they usually don't listen. Fortunately, you are willing to listen to me. I am... so happy." However, no one in the room understood that she had ever been "so happy".
The archmage had never spoken so much to her apprentice before, but today, it seemed as if they had been drinking.
"I have also worried that my teaching methods might be flawed. I was afraid that you would become weak and overly dependent on my guidance, rather than relying on your own intelligence to solve problems. I think you won't understand this feeling of mine unless you become a teacher yourself..." Her fair hand covered her chest, and Sylas had never seen her teacher use such expressive body language before.
"Luckily, you didn't disappoint me." She smiled with great contentment and suddenly said, "Let's go eat Nislan food!"
"Teacher?" Sylas now understood that after summoning her own water lord steward today, the person who was the happiest was not herself, but Xerath.
I am who I am - this understanding had existed in her mind since she had to embark on the journey of escape. Besides herself, no one could really help her. But today, there was someone who genuinely felt happy for her.
She had guessed what she was to Xerath. Perhaps she was a restless beast that needed to be appeased, or maybe she was a high-level elemental servant, or just a harmless pet. At most, she was just slightly more noticeable in Xerath's eyes, a bit larger speck of dust than the ordinary.
But she had never thought that the person she cherished was also looking back at her. Enormous happiness and joy gradually filled her, not because the puzzle was solved, the water lord was summoned, or her own strength was proven, but simply because of Xerath's gaze.
She dared not say anything, fearing to disturb Xerath's mood. She simply held her hand silently and walked into the Portal together with her.
If the two water lord stewards appeared together on the street, everyone would know that her apprentice possessed such powerful abilities at such a young age. Xerath proudly walked ahead, wearing a black woolen coat that she had put on before going out. Now, with every step, the wind blew, lifting up the hem of her coat and moving it back. Sylas wore a similar but clearly smaller-sized clothing and followed behind.
The archmage's taste was truly unchangeable. No matter what clothes she wore, she could almost always find a smaller size for Sylas. In the meantime, Sylas had grown more than a head taller.
The two water lords followed behind their master. Water lords were the symbol of mages' status.
As magic permeated all aspects of human life, learning some magic had become an essential skill. There were various primary schools in the world, teaching all kinds of basic skills. However, magic primary schools had the most students. If someone was not suitable to become a mage, they would switch to other schools to learn different skills. Passing the exam to enter a intermediate school would already prove that a person had more magical talent than an ordinary person, and those who passed the advanced exam to enter an advanced school were considered exceptional on the entire continent. Summoning a water lord, without a doubt, demonstrated the strength of a magic apprentice. You see, some people can't even summon a water lord after graduating from an advanced school.
And a magician can only have one water lord, even an archmage, so it's without a doubt who it belongs to.
People on the street couldn't believe their eyes as they looked at Sylas. She looks very young and many people can't guess her age. A child of this age being able to summon her own water lord (and not some strange big water droplet), it might be in the newspaper tomorrow.
"Teacher... I feel like someone is watching me."
Xerath held her hand and put it in her pocket, breathing out a puff of white air. Even though it was spring, the weather was still quite cold. The archmage laughed and said, "Of course, you'll have to get used to such looks. You are a unique person, and in the future, all sorts of people will look at you this way."
"But I feel a bit scared."
The archmage continued walking briskly, shrugging his shoulders and replied, "You can't change what others think, so you don't need to care. Envy, jealousy, compliments, and insults will come along with it. Just know how to deal with them."
Sylas took a few quick steps to keep up with her pace and asked, "How do I deal with it?"
Xerath slowed down a bit and said, "Ignore. If ignoring doesn't work, then warn."
"...How do I warn?"
