"Isn't this a bit too valuable? Lady Findabair, forgive my rudeness, but I cannot accept it."
Giving such a priceless treasure to Asa so easily suggested that an epic quest was likely to follow, or perhaps there was an ulterior motive to make Asa work like a dog.
For now, he didn't want to take on any quests; he still needed to grow and study for a few more years.
Even if the elves were holding a breeding convention and needed him to keep order, it would still be a no.
Take this Fire Meteor Shower, for instance; it was one of the most powerful destructive spells in Elemental Magic, summoning dozens of fiery meteors, each as wide as two men hugging, to rain down from the sky.
Of course, the number of meteors falling from the sky would be affected by the amount of mana channeled into it, but winning a small-scale war with it would be absolutely no problem.
"Lady Tissaia, Mr. Asa... please let me explain. This medallion is not free of charge; I need to confirm something."
Francesca Findabair sighed softly and began to tell the story.
In summary:
A black-haired, black-eyed Aen Seidhe compatriot, possessing an extremely noble and rare bloodline among the elves, had suddenly vanished decades ago, disappearing into the human city-states.
Since the traits of black hair and black eyes were so rare, upon hearing that Tissaia had such a student, the elven Sorceress suspected that this black-haired person with the strange-sounding name was a child left behind by the elves.
This time, she hoped to obtain a drop of Asa blood to confirm whether the bloodline he carried belonged to the descendant of that black-haired, black-eyed elf from back then.
If the identity matched, this dragon medallion would be unconditionally gifted to Asa; if not, there would be other forms of compensation, ensuring Asa would not suffer a one-sided loss.
What in the world?
After listening, Asa was filled with questions.
His background story only had the setting of the Herbalist whom Yennefer met in her early years; when did he suddenly become the posthumous child of a black-haired elf?
Could the truth really be as Francesca Findabair Findabair said?
That was a lie.
Even though the prophecy had given her the answer, and she was extremely pleased with this human mage upon meeting him, Francesca Findabair still needed to confirm whether Asa possessed the Elder Blood to overcome the final hurdle in her heart.
That was why she had fabricated the story of an elven posthumous child to legitimately obtain his blood. Whether it was the Elder Blood or not, any subsequent matters could then be classified as internal elven affairs, preventing the human faction of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers from interfering.
"No."
Tissaia was the first to speak, making the decision first.
She did not know if the elven Sorceress was telling the truth or not, but having a Wizard's blood taken by another Wizard was a highly dangerous matter. Blood was often the medium for the Dark Arts and curses. Was she supposed to stake her disciple's safety on this elf's goodwill?
Moreover, as one of the five elders of the Council of Wizards, although Tissaia focused on teaching generation after generation of sorcerers and was not adept at schemes and politics, she knew that this seemingly ethereal elven Sorceress was by no means as simple as she appeared.
Frankly speaking, elven sorceresses and human sorceresses were actually no different; beauty was merely one of their weapons.
"Lady Tissaia, I would like to remind you that your student is already an adult."
Francesca Findabair was still smiling, but her tone carried a sharp edge.
Tissaia and the elven Sorceress turned their gazes to Asa at the same time, seemingly waiting for his own decision.
Asa knew perfectly well in his heart that he had absolutely no connection to the black-haired elf Francesca Findabair spoke of. His identity in this world was merely granted by the system; his body was still his original body, with just an added background story.
Besides, he couldn't give away his blood. It was full of biological viruses; he was afraid they wouldn't be able to handle it.
Even if he converted his equipment slots, using equipment from the Cyberpunk world would expose him in front of the two of them. How could he easily reveal the system's secrets?
Having made up his mind, Asa reached out for the dragon medallion, examined it closely under Tissaia's disappointed gaze, and then tossed it back:
"I'm sorry, but I refuse."
Hearing this, Tissaia nodded in satisfaction, thinking that this student still possessed some reason.
Francesca Findabair's face was filled with disappointment, and a hint of sadness appeared on her exquisite face. However, she did not say much, merely waving her hand as the dragon medallion returned to wherever it had come from.
If this were a GALGAME, the elven route would probably be broken by now.
The entire scene seemed set to end in a stiff and distant atmosphere, and this meeting was bound to conclude in failure.
But Francesca Findabair suddenly shifted the topic, casually chatting with Tissaia and Asa about the local customs and culture of the Northern Kingdoms, not at all looking like an elven princess who had just been rejected and lost face.
As expected of someone who had lived for hundreds of years. Asa was also happy to chat with such a beautiful person, so he kept the conversation going.
In this life, he had only visited a few cities: Vengerberg, Thanedd Island, and the rest was going to the capital of Kaedwen to see the fountain.
His understanding of the Northern Kingdoms and the southern Nilfgaardian Empire was limited only to the games, with the rest sustained entirely by insights from modern society.
However, his occasional unique insights made the elven Sorceress look at him repeatedly, sometimes even revealing a meaningful smile.
Asa was bewildered. Why was this elven Sorceress constantly sending signals?
An ordinary sorcerer might fall into the illusion of "she likes me," but under the system's affection display, everything was laid bare.
If you smile, then I'll smile too.
Facing Francesca Findabair's ambiguous smile, Asa responded with an equally ambiguous, mysterious smile. In this staring contest, the elven Sorceress ultimately came out worse, ending with a few traces of blush appearing on her fair cheeks.
After some exchange, the few of them unknowingly drifted into talking about elven history.
In the Wizarding World, the elven language was a required subject, and some courses also taught the history of the elven race.
Among them, a female elf named Aelirenn was highly esteemed by the young elves of this era.
Two hundred years ago, Aelirenn was still an ordinary female elf. After witnessing the elven reservations being constantly encroached upon and oppressed by humans, she felt deeply resentful. To awaken her ignorant compatriots, she often gave public speeches outside elven taverns.
Except for not being a rejected art student, her speeches were exceptionally infectious. Almost all the young elves adored her, viewing Aelirenn as the symbol of the elven race and the representative of the Aen Seidhe.
Facing the humans, Aelirenn was the first to cry out to fight for the defense of elven cities, for freedom, and for honor, launching an attack against the humans.
But this war ultimately failed. The young elves were massacred by humans, the elven court was destroyed, the Aen Seidhe lost their chance to rise forever, and the elven territory was reduced to only the Blue Mountains.
Yet to this day, she remained a symbol of fighting for freedom in the eyes of the elves. The younger generation adored her, viewing Aelirenn as a fighter against tyrannical oppression and an idol who fought for freedom.
In the eyes of humans, however, it was quite the opposite. Out of respect for non-human races and to unite them, the Brotherhood of Sorcerers rarely mentioned Aelirenn's story in books. Students had to learn about it privately to know this tale of resistance.
It just so happened that Asa had read widely and had some understanding of this history, allowing him to keep up with the elven Sorceress's pace.
"Wizard, what kind of person do you think Aelirenn was?"
Francesca Findabair asked with underlying meaning, looking at Asa expectantly, eager to hear his evaluation of this elven rebel.