Chapter 16: A Vast Disparity in Talent

When Wang Yu was released from the small wooden shack that had served as his makeshift prison, his mood remained remarkably calm.

Compared to the prowess of Lilia and Garcia, Wang Yu was undeniably, hopelessly weak.

This was no longer a mere "significant" gap like the one between him and Obi-Wan; it was an insurmountable chasm.

He was just grateful they hadn't bothered to slaughter him while they were at it.

It was only when Lilia draped her arms around his neck, laughing and telling him not to sweat the small details, that Wang Yu realized the difference between her and Avia.

The imposing, queen-of-the-winds aura she had projected earlier was clearly nothing more than a facade.

Once the hostility had evaporated, this stunning forest witch revealed herself to be unreliable and hopelessly carefree.

"So, you actually managed to finish that thing off? That’s fantastic."

"Keeping watch over this forest has been a nightmare because of that creature. We can finally breathe a little easier now, can't we, Garcia?"

"Don't just stand there with that blank expression. You were so much fun when you were little; how did you end up like this?"

Lilia listened with delight as Wang Yu recounted how he and Avia had confronted the maddened forest witch in the woods.

Noticing Garcia’s stoic poker face, she jabbed her elbow hard into his ribs.

"So, what exactly was that thing?" Wang Yu, having grasped Lilia’s true, frivolous nature, felt more and more like he was watching a goofy girl from the northeast.

It was strange; Lilia could crush him with a single finger, but now that they were allies, that sense of danger had vanished.

Crossing her arms, Lilia struck a thoughtful pose, though it felt entirely performative. "That thing was likely a shard of the Lord of Fear and Terror..."

"What?" Avia gasped, startled.

"A shard of which god? How could it be so weak?"

Unlike Avia, who possessed a systematic understanding of the gods and this world, Wang Yu knew almost nothing. Even hearing it was a divine shard failed to stir much surprise in him.

"Yes, we’ve been guarding this place for years. That thing appeared out of nowhere forty years ago, which is when I was first dispatched here."

"I even picked up Garcia along the way, heh."

As she spoke, Lilia darted behind the burly man and began vigorously ruffling his hair.

Though the majestic warrior said nothing, Wang Yu could read the profound resignation on his otherwise expressionless face.

"Do you have any idea how it appeared here? Divine fragments, even if I don't know much, shouldn't exactly be common, right?" Wang Yu asked, curious.

Lilia stopped messing up Garcia’s hair and turned uncharacteristically serious. She rubbed her chin, contemplating.

"We investigated it before, but we weren't sure. Based on what you’ve told us, though, I have a theory."

"You met that priest in the village, didn't you? We knew he was there, but he never spoke of why he stayed or what his story was."

"We never knew what he had faced, but looking at the situation now, the 'Curse of the Mist Forest' was likely the result of a sectarian conflict."

"Wait? You mean this was caused by that priest? The Cult of the God of Fear playing dirty against the Church of the God of Light?"

Lilia nodded. "More or less. You know how the Church of Light operates—they’re gentle, generous, and kind. They’re beloved by the common folk, and their influence is vast."

"Meanwhile, those chaotic entities—the Lord of Tyranny, the God of Fear, the God of Plague—they’re either minor gods or outright evil deities. Nobody sane worships them; the ones who do are usually missing a few screws."

"So..." Lilia shrugged with a strange expression.

Wang Yu nodded. He hadn't expected the issue to be so grounded in reality.

Faith in this world was largely a matter of personal choice. Aside from a few theocratic kingdoms, most nations didn't subscribe to the divine right of kings.

The gods relied on their followers to exert influence; without believers, they couldn't touch the world at all.

Evil gods who tried to intervene directly were usually driven off by the massive losses they incurred, so there wasn't much in the way of religious warfare.

The Church of Light was essentially the most prevalent faith, with followers everywhere and a stellar reputation.

It was only natural that other sects would be jealous, but the Church of Light was so magnanimous—extending its benevolence not just to the commoners, but to heretics as well.

This forced many heretics to begrudgingly acknowledge the Church’s virtues.

In Lilia’s estimation, the maddened forest witch was a move by the Cult of Fear, terrified that the priest would carve out a new territory of faith for the God of Light, further shrinking their already dwindling pool of potential converts.

It had all boiled down to malicious market competition, Wang Yu thought, curling his lip. It felt wrong somehow.

But on second thought, this world was so visceral that such a simple, earthy motive made perfect sense. It was only the presence of supernatural factors that made the event seem so absurd.

"The matter is settled, but it was really thanks to you, squire Wang Yu," Lilia said, shifting the conversation back to him.

"We could only resolve this because the shard vanished. If it hadn't, we wouldn't have been able to lift the mist blocking the forest."

"You saw its durability; we couldn't kill it, only contain it."

"Every time the mist appeared, it meant the creature had manifested and triggered the forest's magic circle. The mist was just there to hide the thing from the outside world."

"Is that so? What does that have to do with me?" Wang Yu asked, confused, pointing at himself.

"The shadows of fear endlessly regenerate fear. That thing fed on the emotion of terror to sustain itself."

"The reason it looked like a mess of stitched-together forest witches was largely because those witches loved the fear of their prey."

"So, the real reason the shard was destroyed was you. You don't possess the emotion of fear..." Lilia pointed at him, looking genuinely earnest.

Wang Yu nodded. He truly lacked the capacity for fear—an emotion he deemed largely useless. What he felt instead was awe.

He had omitted the fact that his gauntlet had absorbed the shard, saying only that it had grown weak after encountering him.

Thinking about it now, his presence being the cause of its weakness made sense.

As Wang Yu pondered this, Lilia slapped him on the shoulder, shouting.

"You’re a strange one, kid. You make me want to study you! To stand before the God of Fear and claim you feel no fear—the reason we couldn't solve this for years was precisely because every sentient being has their own fears."

"That’s why the shard was impossible to eradicate. But how do you manage it? I’m so curious..."

"Still, you saved Avia so many times. Good job, kid. I won't treat you poorly."

Lilia waved her fair, smooth hand in the air. Despite being a stunningly sexy woman, she came across as nothing more than a boisterous big sister.

"A year as a squire, as agreed. I’ll give it my best for the year," Wang Yu nodded.

"Besides, a lot of this was actually Avia's doing. She discovered the nature of the Fear shard, which is why I knocked her out," Wang Yu explained.

Avia was indeed skilled in that regard; her meticulous observation and sharp intuition made her far superior to Wang Yu in such matters.

She had discovered many of the details earlier, and it was only after she realized the nature of the shard that she had signaled Wang Yu to strike her.

"Well, of course! That’s my little niece, hehehe." Lilia made a sound like a pervert, rushing over to grab Avia’s face and squishing it until the girl let out a muffled "wuwuwu."

"Your mother told me when we were in contact that you had incredible magical talent and an affinity for the Void."

"You were marked by some entity in the Void, which is why the path of witchcraft was closed to you."

"But according to you, that mark was inexplicably erased by this squire you picked up."

"So, we’ll have to test your talents in both areas, and that Void-touched hand of yours—that might be an opportunity, too."

"And don't worry, I already sent word to your mother that you were alive before I even knew for sure."

"Sigh, your mother is always like that. She really makes it hard for one to stop worrying."

Lilia continued as she kneaded Avia’s head, her tone taking on an indescribable, complex emotion whenever she mentioned Avia’s mother.

"In any case, hurry up and test your talent, and you too!"

The tomboyish woman reverted to her cheerful nature in an instant, dragging Avia toward the house before remembering something and pointing at Wang Yu.

"Garcia, hurry up and bring the equipment over!" Her voice drifted back from afar, though she had already vanished from sight.

Wang Yu was left standing with Garcia. They exchanged a glance and a smile; Wang Yu found the situation somewhat amusing, though he detected a strange mixture of doting and helplessness in Garcia’s eyes.

Shrugging, Wang Yu walked toward Lilia.

The Forest Cabin Magic Academy, as it was called, was in reality nothing more than three large wooden structures: a library, a laboratory, and a living area.

Under Lilia’s introduction, Wang Yu and Avia learned that the place was merely a facade; it didn't actually recruit students.

Lilia never mentioned which organization she belonged to, vaguely claiming she was only there to guard a shard of the God of Fear, though she never explained how she had come by it.

Then, because Wang Yu had destroyed that shard, she would likely have to move on in a year or so, making it urgent for her to teach Avia.

Lilia wanted to start with the talent test. "Don't take this too seriously; generally, only the most mediocre academies obsess over such things."

"On the path of the wizard or mage, relying too heavily on talent won't get you far. Even though we’re just a nominal academy, I suppose we should maintain some sense of ritual." Lilia spoke while preparing the items.

"So-called ritualism is really just a sense of ceremony..." Wang Yu muttered to himself.

Before long, Garcia arrived carrying a large vessel that looked like a washbasin, and Lilia produced a crystal ball from a pile of cluttered, miscellaneous debris.

"Come, put your hand on it!" Lilia waved her hand, signaling Avia to place her palm on the sphere, which the girl obediently did.

As her palm touched the crystal, a ripple of energy surged through the room: the flicker of flame, the soft murmur of water, the fragrance of grass, the friction of earth...

Various strange and marvelous phenomena appeared in succession. One could see specks of light dancing around the girl—the manifestation of elements, commonly known as elemental sprites.

These specks swirled around Avia, fluttering in a display of deep affection.

Avia extended her ethereal right hand, and the tiny creatures did not shy away; they gently nudged against her, passing right through her palm, causing the curious sprites to circle her hand in delight.

Watching this magical scene, the girl let out bursts of laughter.

"My god!" A loud exclamation shattered the quiet beauty of the cabin. The sprites were startled and scattered in an instant, leaving Avia standing there in a daze.

Wang Yu turned to look at the impulsive Lilia. Even someone as thick-skinned as her seemed unable to maintain her composure, and she offered an embarrassed explanation.

"Oh, my apologies, my apologies! I really didn't expect it. My sister said her daughter had great talent, but I thought she was just boasting. I never imagined my little niece’s talent would be this strong." Lilia said, looking somewhat awkward.

"But, take note: never expose your talent to those you cannot trust, for the jealousy of some is a terrifying thing." Her tone turned serious as she warned Avia.

This reminded Wang Yu of that hysterical old mage, Yegor, who had coveted others' Void affinity. That man was exactly the type who would try to seize Avia’s gift.

Wang Yu didn't know the exact extent of Avia’s talent, but judging by Lilia’s reaction, it was undoubtedly immense—strong enough to shock even a Great Mage.

"Hmm, now you try..." Lilia beckoned Wang Yu over.

Wang Yu walked over and placed his hand on the crystal ball. One second, two seconds, three seconds... nothing happened. Wang Yu looked left and right; indeed, there was nothing.

Suddenly, he noticed Avia looking at his side with a strange expression, as if she wanted to laugh but felt too embarrassed. He looked over.

A solitary, earth-yellow speck was bumping against his right arm. It would hit, bounce off, refuse to give up, hit again, and bounce off once more.

Finally, it gave up. The tiny yellow speck dissipated into the air.

Wang Yu shook his head. He knew he lacked mage talent; after all, the odds in this world were one in ten thousand. Why would he have it? Smiling, he waved his hand to signal he was a failure.

"Hmm, you have no mage talent," Lilia said. "No matter, try the wizard talent. According to Avia, you possess wizardly abilities, right? Let’s see!"

"Look at this star chart and imagine the starry sky above!" Lilia placed the object Garcia had been holding—which looked like an iron plate—in front of Wang Yu.

It appeared like a mirror, yet it seemed to hold a thin layer of liquid that sloshed and flowed across the surface.

Contemplating the stars? Wang Yu listened to Lilia’s guidance and imagined the night sky in his mind. The stars from his previous life were etched clearly in his memory.

Calling it a "previous life" felt strange, as it had only been a year. The stars hadn't been visible often, but they were beautiful. He felt a pang of nostalgia. This world was interesting, too, but he still needed to find a way home.

His thoughts drifted, but he had visualized the stars. Wang Yu turned his gaze to the star chart.

Inside was a dim, lusterless sky. If one looked closely, one could even see faint clouds obscuring the points of light that dotted the night.

The night sky was black, not at all like the brilliant, mysterious, and colorful Void projection he had seen in his mental space.

"You have Void affinity, but it isn't very good," Lilia shook her head, sounding somewhat disappointed.

Wang Yu nodded calmly. It seemed that was the case. Still, the sky displayed there looked oddly familiar. Was that... the Morning Star?

Before Wang Yu could look closer, the impatient Lilia called Avia over to try.

With a shake, the familiar night sky on the chart vanished. Wang Yu hadn't had time to examine it properly, but he didn't really care.

Avia walked over obediently, closed her eyes, and began to imagine the starry sky before the chart.

In an instant, a bright, resplendent purple light projected from the chart, bathing the entire room in the magnificent and illusory glow of the Void.

(Thank you all for your support; your reading is my eternal motivation!)