852 Side Story: Hellen
In the Allyn magic tower in the City in the Sky…
Berkley was already used to the magnificent building. No longer amazed by its appearance that was entirely different from other magic towers, he only felt that fondness and appreciation from the bottom of his heart.
Also, the moment he saw the magic tower, Berkley felt firm and steady. He was no longer as scared as he used to be in the past, when he was often woken up in the middle of a dream, fearing that the night watchers would find him, capture him, and send him to the fire.
“This place is the heaven of the sorcerers…” Berkley closed his eyes and remarked. Then, a fire seemed to be ignited in his heart. Would she still be there today?
He moved faster and passed through the lobby of the magic tower, entering the first zone on the first level of the magic tower where the General Arcana Library had been established.
Many arcanists had the habit of reading and studying the books immediately after they borrowed them, in order to figure out the files that they were missing. Therefore, the Congress of Magic had established a reading room on the empty ground in the first zone so that the arcanists would have a place where they could read quietly.
Later, many arcanists realized that the environment here was very suitable for them to read books that did not require experiments. Therefore, they came to the place to study as well.
Berkley took out two thick books with black covers from his magic pouch. Taking a few deep breaths and pretending that he had come here as a hardworking researcher, he slowly walked into the reading room, although no books were on his mind at all.
The moment he entered the reading room, he looked at a place next to the window, hoping that he could see the beautiful girl there again.
“She’s really here!” Berkley couldn’t have been more delighted. A brilliant smile popped up on his face completely beyond his control.
The sun shined into the room through the window and illuminated a beautiful girl who was sitting in the silence. She was focused and indifferent. Her face was delicate. Her lips were blue, but they emitted a certain weird charm. Together with the halo caused by the sunlight, she looked like a snow elf that could not be described.
She was the most beautiful and attractive female that Berkley had ever met during his escape all over the continent. As a result, he had spent the better half of his last week in the reading room appreciating the girl quietly, unable to get himself away from her.
“No. I can’t be like this anymore…” Berkley said to himself, as if he were making up his mind to work harder. “Who knows whether or not she’s coming to the reading room next week? After all, she barely came to this place before. I have to get to know her. This opportunity is too great to be missed out on. Otherwise, I will be regretful for the rest of my life!”
Encouraging himself and summoning his courage, he finally made up his mind after a minute and walked over to the girl with his books in his hand, hoping to use them as a conversation starter.
“There’s no need to fret! This is just regular friend-making! I am not forbidden from making friends in the Congress of Magic, am I?
“Bring out the courage when you date with the noble ladies in the past! Don’t be a coward!”
Too many thoughts popped up in Berkley’s head. He felt that his feet were as unsteady and strengthless as his own heart.
The girl was too focused on the book in her hand, calculating on the paper now and then, to notice that Berkley had approached her.
Her hair seemed to be made of ice, which was clear and glittering under the sunlight, reflecting vague rainbows. Berkley was dazzled and completely forgot what he had in mind previously.
“Honorable lady, may I sit here?” Berkley asked; his lips dry. He felt that his voice was shaking beyond his control.
The sound of quill running on the paper never stopped. The girl with an unparalleled face did not even bother to raise her head. She was as focused as before.
“Honorable lady, may I sit here?” Berkley held back his cowardliness, which was urging him to turn around and flee, and asked again.
Hualala.
The pages of the book were turned, but the elf-like girl seemed to have nodded her head, or so Berkley thought that was what he saw.
Was it my illusion? Berkley thought unconfidently. However, he immediately told himself that he should leave it alone. As long as she did not openly refuse him to sit here, it meant that she was okay with that!
He sat on the girl’s opposite side carefully and stole a glimpse at her again, only to be astounded by her surreally delicate face again. In the meantime, he noticed that the girl had two badges on her magic robe. One of them was a four-star arcanist’s badge, and the other was a sorcerer’s badge with two black circles.
She’s already a middle-rank arcanist at such a young age? Berkley was shocked because he had barely seen any girls with such a remarkable achievement. Then, he thought hard about how to get to know her.
“My lady, I’ve been to the Congress for years, but I’ve never met anyone whose arcana level is so much higher than their magic level. You are really an arcana genius.” Berkley tried to make his smile elegant and handsome.
The girl kept writing with her quill, not even bothering to nod her head or give any reply that indicated her awareness of his remark.
Berkley’s face was frozen on his face. Did she not like the subject?
So, he went on and said again, “My lady, you seem to be of the bloodline of the snow elves? That’s an extremely rare bloodline. As I recall, it only exists in the northland.”
Hardly had he concluded his sentence when the girl suddenly raised her left hand. Berkley couldn’t have been more delighted. There was finally some reaction!
The girl’s tiny eyebrows were furrowed. She held her cheek with her left hand, and her index finger was extended to her mouth and touched her lips without her realizing it at all. However, she still did not look at Berkley at all or said anything back to him.
Berkley was attracted by the most beautiful picture at first. Then, immense frustration of failure emerged and bit his heart deeply.
I can’t… I can’t give up just like that!
If I miss this opportunity, there wouldn’t be any in the future. Who knows if she is from the northland? Who knows if she will return very soon?
After several minutes, Berkley summoned his courage again. Trying to soften his smile that had already been rigidified, he said, “My lady, I’m impressed by your concentration. I can’t help but wonder what you are working on.”
The moment he spoke it out, Berkley almost slapped himself in the face brutally because he had seen the familiar mathematical symbols all over the book before the girl. It was not difficult for him to guess what category the book belonged to at all.
The girl’s left forefinger seemed to have already been extended into his lips. Her eyes were fixed on the paper, and the quill in her right hand kept moving, as if the whole world had nothing but herself as well as the book, the paper, and the ink left, and no other people existed in that world at all. Whoever sat on her opposite side would be treated as air equally.
Berkley was silent for another couple of minutes. The passion in his heart was unstoppable. Therefore, he pulled himself back together and said again, “My lady, according to my quick glance, you seem to be studying the knowledge about calculus. I don’t know what problem you have run into, but if you don’t mind, you can speak it out so that we can discuss it together. Although I’ve only come to the Congress for several years, I do know calculus rather well. After all, the solutions to many magic models cannot be achieved without calculus…”
He tried to start with the part that the girl was obviously most interested in.
Before Berkley finished his sentence, the girl had raised her head abruptly. She stared at him carefully with her transparent, ice-like eyes. Berkley felt that his mind was shaking so hard that he almost lost control of himself.
“How should a limit be strictly defined to avoid the previous problems? What about continuity, derivative, and infinitesimal? How can they be mathematically defined in a self-consistent way?” The girl’s voice was chilling and refreshing, like the floating snowflakes in the winter. There was nothing but solemnity in her tone.
Dazed, Berkley opened his mouth and could barely close it. What… What were those questions? What was she working on exactly? It was… It was too terrifying!
His brain seemed to have just been savaged by “Mental Storm”, a legendary spell, and nothing could be found at all in it. However, the girl was still staring at him attentively and carefully. Subconsciously, he replied, “I… I haven’t really given any thought to those questions before…”
The girl nodded her head. With no despise, albeit some disappointment, she lowered her head again and continued writing her own ideas.
Looking at the chilling girl who basked in the brilliant sunlight, Berkley felt that his heart had been so destroyed that he could not fight any longer. She was a goddess in arcana that other people could only appreciate and admire from far away but could not approach.
