Chapter 11: The Paid and the Green Service Lane
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The entire time when Baiyi was checking Mia's body, she did not stir from her sleep even once. She was so exhausted that even if they had not casted a dream spell on her, she would not have been awakened by the small disturbance from the Psychic Energy anyway.
"So, what is the verdict?" Some of the Voidwalkers who took this matter seriously asked.
"Well, there's nothing that particularly stands out. It's just that... I find her body to be well suited for the Void Energy. This must be her unique feature," Baiyi replied. "I have two news here though, one good and one bad. The good news is that I think she would be able to work well with our energy which would definitely be useful in helping her grow her power. We just need to be patient when it comes to waiting for her to accept this energy that is out of this world." He paused before continuing, "As for the bad news, I don't think that there are many people in this world that has the same innate capabilities as she has. I'm pretty sure that the search would not be an easy one."
Trying to find another person who possessed such a rare trait in a world that had hundreds of realms would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. If even the Voidwalkers were unable to find such a person then there would be no one in the world who could do it.
"Finding a second person who is compatible would be a long and tedious journey. Let's just put that aside first and focus on solidifying your power instead," the Archmage said. "We need another plan while we wait patiently for Mia's power to grow."
I agree that you have a point right there but why does it sound so weird to me? It's as if you're trying to find a pilot for some big ass Transformer, Baiyi thought to himself. Well then, I'll go to the library tomorrow and see whether I can get any information that might be useful to us.
"Oh yeah! Please have a look at the latest journal as well. I want to know what is the progress on theoretical research right now. I'm sure that a school like Celestial Fortress Academy would have these sort of things," the Walker known as the Scholar said.
The next morning, Baiyi told Mia his plan as she was brushing and tying up her hair into two ponytails. "Mr. Hope, if you want to go to the library, I will have to come along with you. I will have to inform the teacher of my absence first. Shall we go and meet her together? We can also ask about our results for yesterday's appraisal while we are at it."
Just like that, Mia led Baiyi across a simple but beautiful path where they saw many students who were rushing off for classes. They finally reached an office in the academic building where a person who appeared to be Mia's class teacher was sitting.
As Mia was explaining her situation to her class teacher, Baiyi asked the Apprentice in his mind, Do you know this teacher?
"That is Nila, one of my students last time. She was a serious and dedicated child, I just never thought that she would come back to this academy to become a teacher." The Apprentice explained.
That's all that you've got to say? If you only have this much to say about her then I suppose this stern teacher did not quite stand out last time.
In no time, Mia quickly finished her report and said, "So, this is about it for my report."
"Thank you, Mia. And congratulations to you for obtaining such a reliable partner and teacher." With a warm smile on her face, the teacher continued, "I heard from the appraisal teachers that one of the students from our course has the best result in yesterday's round, I just never thought that it would be one of my students. I will make sure the academy implement the subsidy programme for you as soon as possible."
Her words made Mia jumped in delight, causing her cute ponytails to bounce around. Looking at the teacher in surprise, she asked, "D-did we really get the best result?"
"Is it so surprising? Isn't it normal to obtain such a result with the amazing power that Master Hope possesses?" Teacher Nila said as she gave a polite smile to Baiyi before standing up and giving him a slight bow. She then said in a courteous manner, "Welcome to Celestial Fortress Academy, Master Hope."
Without saying a word, Baiyi gripped his left hand to form a weird gesture before putting it on his shoulder, as he responded with a typical sorcerer salutation. That's quite a polite student you got over there. Satisfied with her gesture, he sincerely praised her in his thought.
"Of course! Students that graduated from Celestial Fortress Academy are not only unquestionably strong but their manners are without rebuke as well," said the Apprentice proudly. It seemed like he was quite happy about the fact that Baiyi was pleased with his former student.
Since both parties had quite a pleasant exchange, there was no reason for Mia's leave of absence to be rejected. Soon after, silhouettes of one big and one small bodies could be seen walking towards the grand library of the Celestial Fortress Academy. The library was a two-storey structure that took up a huge space and it was not in any way inferior to the modern libraries on Earth. Despite the fact that classes were ongoing at that time, many students in their uniform could be seen going in and out of the library with books in their hands.
On top of the great entrance of the library, there was a string of calligraphy that was written in golden ink: "The Only True Treasure Is Wisdom". Rumor has it that it was written personally by the first president of the Celestial Fortress Academy. After going through countless renovations and expansions throughout the years, the library became the largest library in the realm of Isythre.
Those words right there are quite meaningful. I wonder what happened to that president? Did he become a Soul Armature like me? Baiyi asked suddenly.
"Well, he's not that lucky," the Lich replied out of nowhere. "I don't know what went through his mind during his old age. Instead of retiring properly, he decided to be a part of a movement that tried to vanquish me. All I can say is that in the end he died from my curse which caused his soul to vanish and scatter like ashes. Tsk tsk tsk, what a funny tragedy that is..."
As the Apprentice listened to the Lich boasting, he was filled with righteous indignation as he said angrily, "But then he still managed to send you all the way here to the Void, didn't he? Well, Demigod Dexiphire of the Lich, let me tell you this, you are not the winner here."
"Tsk tsk tsk, you little brat. What? Are you looking for a fight? Want to avenge your ancestor now? No problem! I will welcome you anytime! From what I can see, you are no different from Mia-chan anyway..."
Those two looked like they were going to get into a fight at any given moment and their verbal war was heading towards the topic of good versus evil that had been discussed time and time again back in the Void. Seeing that, Baiyi immediately regretted his question and tried to change the topic, Alright now. This is not the time to discuss this. Eh! Look at that! Isn't that girl the beauty that we saw yesterday?
It turned out that the eye-catching beauty that they met yesterday was on her way to the library too and she was just walking a few steps ahead of him. That waist-length golden hair that was swaying gently as she walked and that long slender pair of white-silk-stocking-covered legs, her each step was measured and it complemented the elegance aura that was exuding from her. It was only right to say that such a scene captured the attentions of many passersby.
Even Mia-chan could not help but be mesmerized by such beauty. Her mouth gaped slightly as if she was trying to say something but in the end she just stayed silent as she lowered her head down until the beauty vanished from her sight.
But even the sight of the beauty could not dampened the heated discussion that the Voidwalkers were having in Baiyi's mind. Perhaps it was because the excitement from the encounter yesterday had already worn off or perhaps it was because Baiyi did not have the slightest intention to talk to her at all but the altercation between the Lich and the Apprentice was slowly getting more and more intense. They had even started to use vulgar words to curse each other's ancestors and descendants. Seeing as the situation was getting a little out of hand, Baiyi had no choice but to use his power to create some sort of bubble over each of them, effectively stopping them from being able to communicate any further. It was as if a ban had just been imposed and the turmoil from earlier began to fade away.
It could be seen how important Earth’s customs and way of life were towards that group of people. Had there not been a buffer zone, one could easily imagine what kind of chaotic situations that might crop up back in the Void.
When Baiyi turned his attention back to Mia, her expression had already returned to normal. Putting up a facade, she followed Baiyi to the library as she smiled sweetly, "What kind of books are you looking for, Mr. Hope? I will bring it for you."
"The journals of the Association of Sorcerers of the General Realm please," Baiyi replied. "This is the main one that I'm looking for. As for the rest, any geographical or biographical books would do. Oh yeah, don't just limit it to the realm of Isythre. I want books from other big realms too, like Marle and Gouve. Alright then, let's split up." Having said that, he turned around and walked away without another word, burying himself in the huge ocean of books.
"Err..." Mia found herself stuck in an awkward situation. She did not expect that Baiyi would be interested in such things. She had never even heard of those names before… The books that she usually read was always related to magic rather than those sorts of genres.
In the end, even though Mia meticulously looked all over the library for the books that Baiyi had requested, she returned empty-handed while Baiyi returned with an armful of heavy and thick books after only going one round around the library.
Baiyi did not get angry but instead, he asked her calmly, "Did you manage to find the journals? I can't seem to find it anywhere."
Pheww… Mia let out a sigh of relief knowing that Baiyi was not at all mad and hurriedly lifted her head up as she said, "I have already asked the librarians. They said that the journals are all kept on the second floor."
"Oh is that so? Alright, let's move on to the second floor then." Holding all those books in his arms, he was about to move upstairs but before he could take a step forward, he was pulled back by Mia.
"Mr. Hope, we can't just simply enter the second floor like this," Mia said awkwardly. "It's actually like this..."
It turned out that there were a few changes made by the management around the library a few years back. A lot of important magical knowledge and advanced books that students would not normally use, were all moved to the second floor. In order to access the books from the second floor, they would have to pay a hefty fee of one gold coin each time they enter! Not only that, those books were not allowed to be taken out of the premise and could only be copied down by hand. A person would have to pay more if he wanted to read more!
The fee was just too expensive for someone like Mia who barely had enough to cover her own daily expenditure. Now that it was nearing the end of the month, there was not enough left in her kitty purse at all.
However, it wasn’t like there was no other method of accessing the books on the second floor. Baiyi had another idea instead...