Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

"Victor, my dear friend, welcome to this beautiful Lily Street, emerging from the deep sea." An old man in a long pink suit and holding a golden metal staff stood in the hall, opening his arms to the visitor.

"Listen to this, how cheesy, my dear friend." Archmage Victor, dressed in a blue robe and wearing a mage's hat, turned his head away disdainfully.

"You old bastard, don't force me to curse you in front of Vivian." Archmage Afif still smiled as he looked at the guest who walked in through the door. His long beard was braided into an exquisite plait, and the pink bow on it swayed up and down as he spoke.

"Mr. Afif," Vivian said with a smile, pulling down her hood and clasping her hands together after hearing the black door behind her close. "I'm sorry to have bothered you."

"Sigh—" Afif tilted his head and sighed deeply, "When will you finally call me Teacher Afif?"

"You old bastard, don't even think about it," Archmage Victor deliberately stepped forward, blocking his apprentice's path. "I will not let her learn magic here, nor will I let her become your apprentice."

"Why bother with all this?" Afif turned to look at Vivian, who was wearing a long black cloak. "Vivian, you're an adult now. You have your own opinions. You don't have to listen to that old man when it comes to choosing a master."

"Haha," Vivian said with a wry smile, quickly waving her hands, "Mr. Afif, I..."

"My dear, thank you," a joyful female voice rang out, interrupting the meeting. A beautiful woman in a gorgeous long dress strode out from the side door. She came to Afif's side, took his arm, and kissed the old mage Afif deeply on the cheek. "I won't disturb you any longer."

"Oh, goodbye, beautiful lark." Afif held the woman's hand until she smiled and withdrew her fingers, turned around, lifted her skirt, and walked towards the door. As she passed Vivian, she even winked at her with her eyes.

"Kuang!" The black lacquered door closed again. Afif nodded slightly. "Please don't be surprised. She's my guest, just here to do some divination."

"A divination?" Vivian glanced at the door above her. She had seen a lot of people waiting outside, who were probably all there to see the great mage in front of her.

"Yes, she is a beauty from Perfume Lily Street," Afif said, leaning on his cane like an old gentleman. "As for those noble servants outside who want to visit me, they are not nearly as important as those beautiful ladies."

Vivian raised an eyebrow. She knew the old man's temperament. Just by looking at how he built his magic tower in the red-light district of Golden Flower City, she knew what kind of person he was. This street was the most upscale and luxurious red-light district in the entire Kingdom of Fran. Her brother had even said before that it was the most impressive red-light district on the entire continent. Any new and interesting things in this world would definitely appear here immediately.

The men and women here spend their days in revelry and debauchery. Some spend a fortune just to drink with a beautiful woman's shoes, while others draw their swords and challenge each other to duels simply because a beautiful woman is gazing at them with affection.

"Is she here for divination or something?" Vivian asked casually, withdrawing her gaze.

"Oh, she wanted to ask how long it would take to become the top courtesan at the Moulin Rouge."

"Afif said with a calm smile.

Knowing this would happen, Vivian lowered her head and touched her forehead with her palm.

"Alright, Afif, I'm not going to waste time with the pleasantries. You know why I'm here," Viktor frowned and said directly. He still disliked his "old friend's" behavior. "Now, can I try to pull off your fortune-telling or prophecy tricks?"

"Listen to this, Vivian," the old mage Afif said, taking a few steps forward with his staff, which resembled a nobleman's cane. The blue magic crystal embedded in the golden hilt of the staff glittered in the candlelight. "He actually called those tricks. Now that you've learned arcane magic, you must know what those are."

"Mr. Afif, thank you for your help, but my abilities are still quite limited." Vivian ignored the two men's confrontation, since she already knew they didn't get along. Apparently, they had a falling out when they were young because of a woman named "Anna," and they still were at the same age now.

"Alright, I can help you, but," Afif walked to the middle of the hall, straightened his back, "not today. My magic still needs to recover. You can stay here for two days."

Then, Afif smiled mysteriously and gently tapped the beautiful patterned floor tiles of the hall a few times with his staff.

"Tap tap tap," a crisp sound rang out, and then Vivian felt the scenery in front of her blur, and a floating sensation spread throughout her body. This was very similar to the feeling she had when she practiced the Qi-controlling flight technique. Then she found that the three people in front of her were standing in a strange room, surrounded by all sorts of strange objects that looked like magical items.

Nearby, at a doorway, stood two winged stone statues that turned their heads and stared at them with a "clattering" sound.

"You've used up so much magic?" Archmage Victor didn't mock him this time, but instead looked around. "You actually managed to teleport us to your magic tower."

"A magic tower?" Vivian asked in surprise, staring at the two moving stone statues. She was very amazed by this place. If this was a magic tower, then what was that building on the Lily Avenue before?

"I couldn't help it. Someone insisted that I make a prophecy, which cost me a lot of magic power," Afif sighed. "So, little Vivian, you've never been to my magic tower, have you?"

"Where is this?" Vivian turned to look at her teacher, hoping to get an answer from him.

Archmage Victor did not speak, but simply pointed upwards with one finger.

"This is," Vivian exclaimed, covering her mouth in surprise, "the sky."

"Yes," Afif nodded with a smile. He was very satisfied with Vivian's expression, which seemed to say, "Look how amazing I am! Do you want to learn? Forget about that old bastard and become my apprentice!"

"Tch," the old mage Victor rolled his eyes at his "old friend," "You went to all that trouble to create such a huge arcane rune levitation array, just to show off..."

"That's still better than you lying on the seabed blowing bubbles," Afif chuckled. "Little Vivian, since this is your first time visiting your future teacher's magic tower, let me entertain you. Do you like the royal golden camellia?"

"We brought better ones ourselves," Victor immediately interrupted the other's "spellcasting."

"Better?"

"Red Bull," said the old mage Victor smugly, "you've never heard of it, have you?"