Hearing this, Du Pont could not help feeling stirred. Putting on an innocent, curious look, he said, "So the Dean had such a glorious past. If only I had that kind of ability. Faerûn is so vast—wouldn't I be able to go wherever I wanted and have fun?"
"Not necessarily. Sometimes being too powerful comes with restrictions, especially for someone like Lavoisier, who is married and has people he cares about. Now he can only stay here obediently. Without an official summons, he basically has to remain at this Mage Academy. How is that any different from prison?" The Butcher was about to continue when the halfling coughed. "Enough. Be careful he doesn't hear you and dock your pay."
Knowing he had misspoken, the Butcher chuckled and said no more. He merely patted Du Pont on the shoulder with his greasy hand. "Come on. We'll head up the mountain later. Since you want adventure so badly, I'll let you get a taste of real combat first. Wouldn't want you dying inside on your first Chartered Mission, with not even a whole corpse left to find."
Du Pont nodded, a small thrill rising in his heart.
Wasn't this what he had spent half the day waiting for? At least that time had not been wasted.
When the pork knuckles arrived, the three of them skipped the chatter and dug in. The Butcher had just finished eating and was about to polish off the last pork knuckle when the halfling stopped him. "Leave that one for Lavoisier."
The Butcher snorted. "He said he doesn't eat that stuff. Says it lowers his status."
"That's because he doesn't know how good it tastes. Besides, whether he eats it is his business. If we do not leave him any at all, that would be pretty thoughtless."
The Butcher muttered something in a Northlands dialect, but obediently left the pork knuckle alone. He took out a spotless white towel glowing with magic and wiped the grease from his hands. "Once he eats it, don't forget to tease him. He's got far too many bad habits."
Du Pont naturally did not mind. If a pork knuckle could leave an impression on the Dean, that would be a truly unexpected bonus.
What future was there in squabbling with the little brats in the academy all day? Getting to know real big shots was the fastest way to rise through the ranks. If he could get even a little reward from Lavoisier, perhaps just a few scraps slipping through his fingers would be enough to meet the prerequisite of 1,000 Gold Coins.
Still, Du Pont did not pin all his hopes on that, because it was not very realistic.
With his current abilities, no matter how highly others regarded him, he could at best become an academy cook like Judy. Getting anything more was basically impossible.
If he wanted to be valued, he needed actual ability. A creature like an Archmage, who absolutely respected reason and likely had little sentiment left, would not be like those foolish rulers who could not live without flattering bootlickers.
If there was truly no other way, then he could only become a salted fish and live an ordinary life.
But if there was still a chance, who would not want to take a gamble?
If he truly was not cut out for it, then he could lie flat afterward. But before that, he had to give it everything he had.
Before leaving, Boulderstone swiped several loaves of bread from the kitchen, then stuffed some meat steaks into his waist pouch. The other cooks turned a blind eye. Seeing that Du Pont was too embarrassed to take any, he grabbed another portion and tossed it into Du Pont's hands. "Just take it. The cafeteria has leftovers every day anyway. What remains gets sold cheaply to taverns in nearby towns or simply donated. No one will say anything if we take some."
Du Pont shook his head. A cook sampling food was one thing, but taking it was another. "Normally, one serving costs 30 Copper Coins."
"Exactly. Who cares about something worth less than half a Silver Coin?" The Butcher did not understand Du Pont's meaning, or perhaps he simply did not care about such a trivial matter. "Let's go. Don't delay us, or once it gets hot, there'll be fewer prey animals out."
Du Pont shook his head and left behind three stacks of Copper Coins, each bound with ten coins, before taking the meal and leaving.
The Butcher could ignore the rules, but he could not. After all, no matter how close he became with them, he was still an apprentice at this academy.
Even if Lavoisier did not care, it would not be worth it if certain apprentices or instructors found out and used it to mock him.
This was Du Pont's first time leaving the Mage Academy, in both this life and his previous one.
Although there was almost no danger around the academy, wandering outside was undoubtedly a waste of time, not to mention that going out might cost money.
But to Du Pont, a modern man, there were many unusual sights here.
The four-meter-wide road had been tamped flat by golems. Not a single weed grew on its smooth surface. Elm trees on both sides were sprouting fresh buds, while birds hid among the branches and secretly watched passersby. The moment their eyes met someone's, they spread their wings and flew away to another tree to continue observing in secret.
As they crossed the bridge, a stream flowed freely through the riverbed. Beautiful pebbles reflected a soft glow beneath the sunlight, and the water was so clear that he could see golden flecks on the sand beneath. Several finger-length fish drifted slowly through it.
Walking through this natural, unspoiled wilderness, Du Pont felt much of his stress ease away.
The air in the academy was not bad either, but its fast-paced life and tense atmosphere inevitably became oppressive after a while. The constant comparisons everywhere also dragged people into endless internal competition. It could be said that competition was everywhere.
Yet on this wilderness path, the gloom that had hung over him seemed to vanish in an instant. Whether it was the rustling of wind through the wheat shoots or the occasional call of an unknown bird, everything sounded wonderfully pleasant. It was as though some ancestral instinctive dependence on nature had awakened within him, making him unwilling to return to that cold academy built of cement and stone.
The only flaw was that Boulderstone gave him little time to appreciate the scenery. Although he occasionally pulled out a bottle of ale from his waist and drank deeply, then immorally tossed the empty bottle aside, even after Du Pont secretly cast Expeditious Retreat, a spell that made his body more agile and his steps lighter, keeping up with him still left Du Pont drenched in sweat.
Barbarians were famous for their strength and endurance to begin with. Boulderstone was tall, long-legged, and an adventurer. His walking pace was almost as fast as Du Pont's jog.
Yet the exhilaration of seeming to regain freedom made him ignore his physical exhaustion. He simply persevered in silence.
Though he had not done physical labor in a long time, he had once stayed up all night supervising crews pouring concrete when necessary. How could he lack this much perseverance?
Half an hour later, the two of them crossed a low hill and finally arrived at a small village surrounded by wooden fences.
"Alevale. With Mount Tarras and the icy waters of Gelaraga nearby, this is considered the best place in Haluar for growing barley, though the ale is only so-so." Boulderstone casually pointed at the village ahead. "This Barley Village has just over three hundred people. It is not poor, but there are simply too few people. The tavern does not even have any decent barmaids, and they're all too old for you. Mostly, only country bumpkins would be interested, and it can only get the lowest-level Chartered Missions. If you're interested, you can visit a town farther away. That's where the young, pretty girls are."
Du Pont felt a little embarrassed. "Come on. If I wanted to find a girl, I might as well find one in the academy. Why would I come out here to buy happiness?"
"It's definitely not the same. Finding a barmaid is just for entertainment and satisfying physical needs. Dating takes time and energy, and if things go wrong, she gets angry and finds someone else, then you have to fight. It's much more worry-free to spend a little money and have some fun directly. Most adventurers do it that way. Otherwise, once a party develops feelings, it often becomes a huge inconvenience. Plenty of teams have broken up over that."
Boulderstone watched Du Pont shake his head and laughed. "What, don't tell me you have some kind of... noble moral obsession? Are you still a virgin?"
Du Pont straightened his back. "I call this keeping myself pure, all right? Besides, I'm a promising young man, unlike an old man like you who thinks dating is too troublesome. Don't corrupt me with your filthy, profit-driven values."
"You're a man, and you're keeping yourself pure?" The Barbarian could not help bursting into laughter. "Then you'd better be careful. These are troubled times. Maybe one day a drow will pop out of the ground, or some Harpy will snatch you away. When they take your virginity, are you going to hug a blanket and cry?"
Du Pont: "."
The day I become an Archmage, just wait and see whether I hire a bunch of Barbarian old women to have their way with you.
Before you continue