BXBX NOVEL Chapter 79 Laddie
The ever perceptive Adalia saw that the old man had begun to stare at Xzavier inquisitively, she immediately moved to make the necessary introductions.
"Forgive my lack of manners…" she apologized to both men.
"Xzavier, this is Sir Laddie, the senior mage here and a world class, renowned mage. He was recruited specially by the governor to tutor his son and daughter in the ways of the craft."
She then turned to the old mage and did likewise;
"Sir Laddie, the young man standing before you is Mister Xzavier. He is the hero who is solely responsible for elimination of the orc\'s leader. He also single handedly dispersed the colony of orcs that were subject to the chief orc."
Laddie was a man who had seen a lot in his lifetime. He had seen thieves, he had seen power hungry men, he had seen powerful mages of different proportions, and also, he had seen his fair share of fraudsters, liars and deceitful men who breathed lies just as easily as they breathed air.
As the old man looked at Xzavier, he looked at him through the filter of his own many experiences with different men over the years. Unfortunately for Xzavier, in the old man\'s mind, Xzavier seemed to tick all the boxes that were indicators of the fact that he was indeed a fraud.
Thus, unable to rise above his own limitations that had been brought on as a result of his own experiences, doubt clouded the old man\'s heart, poisoning his objectivity, mudding his perception of the young man who stood before him, and stripping him of his straight forward vision. Though the old man didn\'t show it on the surface, much like Dale before him, he was very much doubtful of Xzavier\'s capabilities.
But the old man wisely chose decorum over blatant straightforwardness. He didn\'t see any need to call out Xzavier as a fraud. It wasn\'t his place, and it definitely wasn\'t his business either.
"What you have accomplished is astonishing. Thank you for bringing Earlene back here…"
Earlene scowled in the background. Laddie rebuked her sternly and then returned his attention to Xzavier.
"But right now, my students are supposed to be studying and practicing. So, if you don\'t mind would kindly request that you recuse yourself for the mean time."
The old man was pretty curt. And so far, he had been reasonable. But Xzavier had learned his lesson from his previous encounter with Dale. This time, he paid close attention to the old man, and as he related with him, Xzavier could tell that the old man didn\'t trust him at all. In fact, his politeness was just a front to get Xzavier to leave as soon as possible.
Xzavier sighed inwardly. Having to show his powers every time someone second guessed him was mentally draining. The whole pattern was exhausting really. Especially because of the fact that it was repetitive, with very little variation or deviation from the previous experience.
No doubt, it was annoying, but it was a necessary evil that Xzavier had to endure in his pursuit of his goal to gain the knowledge on how to master the magic of this time.
In that situation, anyone with half a brain would have discerned that they were unwanted there, they would have immediately recused themselves considering just how antagonistic the atmosphere was. The old man\'s aloofness was concealed by polite speech and unemotional words. Any sane thinking mind would have been able to detect this. But, this time, Xzavier had decided to leave behind anything that was considered normal.
In that short period, he decided to be the mad one. If they thought he was uncultured, he was going to show them just how incognizant he could be of others feelings!
He wasn\'t a trouble maker or anything of the sort. It wasn\'t consistent with his character as someone who did his best to stay out of any kind of trouble that can be avoided. But right now, he had seen a shortcut to his goal; the white bearded old man. Without even trying to look, Xzavier had found the perfect source, and the fastest route to learning magic. Laddie was just perfect for Xzavier. He was a venerated mage of high repute. And since he was a direct tutor of the governor\'s kids, it was safe to say that he was also discrete.
The old man ticked all the required boxes for Xzavier. This was pretty ironic because, in the other man\'s mind, it was the exact opposite! Xzavier ticked none of the boxes in the older man\'s books. This clash of interests looked like it was going to be the basis of another friction that would usher in a fresh new wave of drama. A willing student and a very reluctant teacher was never often the case. Most times, it was almost always the other way around. It was a dynamic that was both unusual and unlikely.
So, instead of retreating to the background which had been relegated to him, Xzavier took a deep breath and stepped forward, almost in a challenging manner. Looking the old man squarely in the eye, Xzavier asked the question he was sure would provoke a conversation.
"Forgive me for asking Master, but what exactly is your motive behind asking your student to manipulate the water to revolt against the bucket?"
The old man looked at Xzavier as if he had asked the dumbest question in the history of dumb questions. He managed to contain his emotions and answered without any vitriol.
"Why would you, a person who possesses practically no mana be interested in this exercise?"
Xzavier shrugged.
"I\'m just curious really. I figured no harm would come from seeking out knowledge while I can. Regardless of any deterring factor, I will always seek out knowledge."
The younger man was keenly trying to court the older man\'s attention. As one who had been a student once, Xzavier knew that there was no quicker way to incur a teacher\'s goodwill by appearing to thirst for knowledge.
But the old man wasn\'t easily seduced.
"Your ambition is noble one. But I am afraid that without mana, there are some things that just can\'t be properly taught and understood. You may gain the knowledge, but that would be it."
He took a soft jab at Xzavier\'s ego with his next statement;
"It\'s like trying to teach an ostrich how to fly…"
Interrupting the old man\'s train of thought, Earlene\'s colorful personality chipped in eagerly;
"Ostrich? More like a hippopotamus! There\'s no hope for this one!"
"QUIET!!" The old man thundered!
After rebuking his truant student one last time, he turned back to Xzavier, hoping to continue his lecture. Surprisingly, Xzavier was no longer paying attention. His eyes had that faraway look in his eyes that strongly suggested that he was actually lost in thought. Wondering what had captured the young man\'s attention in this manner, the old man followed his gaze and traced the source of his distraction.
It turned out that Xzavier had been focused on the boy\'s futile attempts to use the water to destroy the bucket. The old man saw the look of wonder and fascination in Xzavier\'s eyes as he watched the young boy go at his task. In the background, Earlene was mumbling something about this being a waste of her time, however no one paid her any attention. The boy\'s attention was on his bucket. Xzavier\'s whole attention was on the boy, and the old man\'s focus was on Xzavier.
So, when Xzavier finally spoke up with the question that had been brewing in his mind, the old man wasn\'t entirely surprised.
"Is the boy\'s ultimate aim to destroy the bucket using the water?"
The old man didn\'t like it, but he found himself getting impressed by the young stranger. Despite the fact that he had no mana, his deduction on the exercise was spot on. Just as the old man opened his mouth to reply him, once again, the chatty, hopelessly loquacious Earlene beat him to the chase.
Her loud voice rose above the regular conversation volume and rang through the courtyard.
"Of course that\'s the whole point! Are you blind? What sort of baseless question is that?!"
Earlene was frustrated by the fact that she was constantly failing at the task that had been set before her. So, she found an easy target in Xzavier, and continued to bash him at any chance she got.
This gambit was starting to get old, so because he was getting bored of the whole thing, Xzavier stopped paying her any kind of attention whatsoever. He began to ignore so hard that she started to doubt her own existence. He continued his dialogue with the old man.
"Well, I don\'t think that is expedient at all…"
He saw the questioning look on the old man\'s face and immediately reiterated his initial statement, but in a more simple and defining lingo.
"I mean, it\'s not necessary to use magic destroy the bucket, I easily accomplish that using a specific set of tools."