Chapter 146: Intelligence and Trouble

Wang Yu's direct criticism left "One" in stunned silence—it had genuinely been stunned into speechlessness.

Who would dare talk to a devil in such fashion? At the very least, "One" had never encountered such a person.

Whether an innate ability needed to be explored and understood was a contentious subject in this world. Every race had unique racial talents—dragons, elves, dwarves, and even ordinary and unremarkable humans, who nevertheless possessed the concept of bloodlines.

Innate abilities tended to grant power far beyond what could be acquired by training, and these natural gifts were easy to grasp and simple to enhance.

Despite their uniqueness, research into these innate abilities had been fruitful. Bloodlines and unique constitutions formed the basis for many secret techniques and other discoveries.

Those scholars who pursued such research tended to believe that all innate abilities ought to be examined and studied carefully. Blindly taking advantage of such abilities without understanding their principles was, in their view, utter foolishness.

Wang Yu himself was continuously studying his ripples and seemingly overpowered mental immunity. He still made use of them despite not fully understanding them, but he certainly didn't treat them as absolutes the same way "One" did with its visions from the void.

Frankly, Wang Yu didn't care how "One" handled its own talent—it had nothing to do with him. He simply detested people who spoke in riddles and feigned a sense of mystique.

Neither did he care about whether what he said was logical. He simply wanted "One" to stop talking about the future in such vague terms and instead give him useful, practical information. He had no patience for meaningless statements like "I think you can't change fate" or "I think you might be able to do it."

"I need more concrete information, not a lecture on whether the future can be changed. That doesn't help me at all. If the future is unchangeable, then what's the point of talking to you? I might as well go back and lie down, waiting for destiny to play out," Wang Yu said, waving his hand impatiently.

"...Fine." Using Charles' body, "One" tapped its finger against its temple, its eyes closed, a trace of resignation in its voice.

Wang Yu's words were blunt and direct, but they reminded "One" of something someone else had once told it. Perhaps it needed to change its perspective—not to look at things from the viewpoint of a prophet but from the perspective of those within the prophecy.

As it composed itself, "One" discarded its air of omniscience and instead imitated the approach of Charles and the other Ryders in analyzing the visions of the future for useful intelligence and converting them into actionable information.

It reopened its eyes and began to relay the intelligence it had gathered.

"Setting aside unspeakable information—things that might attract the gaze of certain beings—there is very little I can say. But there are two things I believe you must pay attention to."

Raising a finger, "One" continued, "You need to be particularly wary of the 'deities' that Selwyn has created. They are highly incomplete. Though they possess some divine characteristics, they remain laughably weak—compare them to the seven main gods, for instance, and the difference becomes obvious. As the archbishop of the Lady of the Night, you must be acutely aware of this.

"They are weak because they are incomplete—both the Font of Life you encountered or the Warlord you captured. The true threat comes not from themselves, but those to whom they are connected. That is an entity I cannot scry.

"One thing is worth mentioning. I don't know if it's due to your actions, but the Lady of the Night seems to have severed her connection to that entity. In the future I saw, her fate diverged from that of the deities that Selwyn manufactured."

"What fate?" Wang Yu frowned. He was already highly wary of the deities Selwyn was creating. The situation with the Lady of the Night may have been a unique accident, but what kind of impact would the other gods bring? The Font of Life alone had caused chaos at the academy, and more broadly within the Aleisterre capital, for months.

"They will transcend their current selves and regain their divinity—their true form," "One" said, with undisguised apprehension in its voice. He clearly feared whatever entity they were connected to.

It was highly unusual to see a devil's naked fear, but it was only to be expected. A devil's greatest power lay not in its strength but rather its ability to manipulate events from behind the scenes, subtly guiding things toward its desired outcome.

"I'll relay this information to the relevant people." Wang Yu nodded. He would modify the details of how he had acquired such knowledge slightly and pass the information on to Sieg and Hugin. The Nightblades needed to have a clear contingency plan for this potential crisis.

"The second piece of information is also related to the incident at Stevenson Academy of Magic. Selwyn is searching for the thirteen keys of Roland." "One" raised a second finger, its expression unreadable as it delivered crucial intelligence.

"The thirteen keys?" Wang Yu had heard of this before.

"Indeed. Roland was the figure who most closely attuned himself to the void in human history, and the void leaves me with no hints about his legacy.

"Certain people in Selwyn are obsessed with acquiring these thirteen keys. Many have dismissed them as legend, but they do exist. Someone has already collected several of them, but this collection is yet incomplete. The attempt to drag Stevenson Academy of Magic into the void was partially to obtain a key purportedly hidden within the academy."

"Do you know what these keys actually are?" Wang Yu asked seriously. He had previously suspected that Avia might be connected to one of the keys. If that were true, this would escalate into an even bigger problem. But "One's" next explanation only deepened his confusion.

"The keys attach themselves to individuals with strong affinity for wizardry. I don't know if Roland is trying to identify worthy successors, but I have seen records across the world that mention 'thirteen steps leading to the truth of the void.' They do lead to some hidden legacy left by Roland himself.

"I believe that the holders of all thirteen keys are eligible to claim an artifact that Roland has left behind—and anything like that is bound to be extraordinary.

"Each key also drastically amplifies its host's natural talent for wizardry. The overall effect is roughly a twofold, multiplicative, increase."

Wang Yu frowned. He was less interested in Roland's legacy compared to this immediate, practical benefit.

His suspicion that Avia was connected to a key no longer seemed well-founded. He had been with her from the very beginning. While her talent was astonishing, her growth had always been steady and methodical—there were no sudden leaps in power. This didn't align with the key's supposed effect.

However, the fact that Selwyn was willing to trade something as valuable as the Silent Forest for a chance to obtain a key demonstrated just how precious Roland's legacy had to be.

"I've learned a lot, but now I have even more questions. Frankly, someone at my level shouldn't even be involved in these matters. I'll pass this on to the Professor and the captain as soon as possible."

Wang Yu shook his head. "One's" information was useful, but it was beyond what a minor pawn like him should be dealing with. The plans of those great beings were far beyond his ability to influence.

"For now, this is all I can reveal," "One" said. "I will be staying by Charles' side. We've devised a plan—I used my abilities to alter his memories.

"He won't remember the actions he took to interfere with the future, and I also had him borrow power from the Lady of the Night to conceal his movements. Expect him to seem a little out of it. Finally, tell no one about this conversation or my involvement."

"One's" tone seemed sincere, but trusting a devil so easily would be reckless and foolish.

"I have one question. Why are you getting involved in something that's nearly impossible to stop? There's no benefit to you in this." Wang Yu looked straight into Charles' eyes.

"...Charles and I are good friends. I don't want him to lose the kingdom he values and the people he cares about." "One" paused for quite a long moment before sharing this simple reason—perhaps too simple.

"Very well. I'll believe you for now. You'll be able to contact me through Charles, right?"

Wang Yu stood up, ready to leave—there was still much to handle in the aftermath of the incident at the academy. He also needed to report to the captain and the others, as well as follow up on the rampaging winter wolves and the feasibility of incorporating the Lady of the Night into the Nightblades' faith.

Perhaps "One's" actions did make sense, after all. A simple motivation was often direct and convincing.

"I can," "One" replied in confirmation.

After Wang Yu left, "One" pulled the chair up to the table and carefully began flipping through the diary left on Charles' desk.

"It seems I still don't know Charles well enough. We've been apart for too long—my analysis of his current personality was exposed just by how he reacted to a single drink. I need to study this diary more carefully..."

A long while later, instead of returning the diary where it had been, "One" simply reclined in the chair and closed his eyes. He ceded control of Charles' body as he gradually slumped forward, collapsing onto the table as if falling into a deep sleep.

"Ah!" A moment later, Charles' loud startle suddenly echoed through the room. He lifted his head from the table as he sat up in a daze. He looked around in confusion, but had no recollection of what had happened. His mind was a complete blank.

The sky outside was already dark—had he overslept?

Then, he suddenly caught sight of his diary, which had been left on the table. Panicking, he quickly put it away, just as a wave of exhaustion and drowsiness crashed over him. In a daze, he stumbled toward the bed, flopped onto it, and fell asleep again almost instantly.

Who knew what he would think when he woke up to find a flood of messages in his communication crystal from the Professor, the captain, and Edward...

Wang Yu walked briskly out of the Ryder lands as he walked back home, his mind filled with countless problems waiting to be solved. The affairs of the rich and powerful were giving him quite the headache.

"Should I find an opportunity to leave the capital, I wonder..." Such a thought surfaced involuntarily. Avoiding the turmoil of the capital seemed more and more tempting by the day.

"No—that would be pointless. I'm growing far faster within the capital than outside of it. Its resources are unmatched."

Wang Yu clenched his fist as he rejected the idea. A shudder of weakness spread throughout his body, testament to another life-threatening event he had just overcome.

"Selwyn and Aleisterre are at war. Aleisterre's capital may seem to be in turmoil, and it certainly is at the center of the storm, but this is a world ruled by extraordinary power. I have strong allies and significant protection within the capital. If I leave, I'd still be facing threats elsewhere. It's better to take full advantage of the resources here to grow stronger."

As he walked home, Wang Yu continued planning his next steps while observing the unusually lively streets. Normally, with the sky already dark, few residents would be out wandering. Tonight's bustling streets were clearly unusual.

Wang Yu saw some hunters and guild members among the residents carrying a few winter wolf carcasses on their backs. Some of the more unlucky ones who had been caught in the first wave of the crazed winter wolves' assault had their arms and legs wrapped in bandages. In a way, they were lucky—they had at least survived.

Others were selling winter wolf carcasses along the streets at prices lower than in previous years. Though the rampaging beast tide had caused far more casualties than usual, the wolves' reckless attacks meant that they had also been culled in far greater quantities—and materials from magical beasts were always in demand.

There were makeshift stalls everywhere, not all of which were selling beast hides and the like. Some opportunists were taking advantage of the chaos to peddle their own goods, and both buyers and sellers carried a certain reckless air about them. The guards were too preoccupied with the beast tide and the incident at the academy to bother cracking down on these unlicensed stalls, at least for the moment.

Despite the ongoing war and the unrest in the capital, life went on as per usual. The capital's citizens still had to make a living.

Wang Yu couldn't help but recalibrate his thoughts, which had been mired in death and destruction since his talk with "One." Human resilience was remarkable and in full display all around him. Aleisterre was no small village. It wouldn't collapse quite so easily.

Wang Yu set aside his thoughts as he returned to Redmaple Street. As he reached the entrance to his house, he immediately spotted several carriages parked right before it. The horses pulling the carriages were all purebred, and the carriages themselves were far more refined and ornate than was standard. More importantly, each carriage bore the emblem of a noble family.

Wang Yu sucked a breath in through his teeth. "Well, there's trouble afoot."