Chapter 16: A Disparity in Talent

Wang Yu was relatively calm upon being freed from the small log cabin—a temporary prison—into which Lilya and Garcia had thrown him.

Compared to them, he was a complete weakling.

Between him and Beran, there was an apparent gap in strength; between him and them, that gap might as well have been an unbridgeable chasm.

A casual wave of their arms was all it would take to kill Wang Yu.

After Wang Yu walked out, Lilya, all smiles, wrapped her arms around Wang Yu's neck and apologized for their treatment of him.

Wang Yu's first impression was that Lilya was a haughty monarch of wind, but that impression quickly faded upon closer interaction. The beautiful, voluptuous witch was personable, gregarious, and somewhat unreliable.

"So you actually managed to kill that thing? Wonderful! It's been a huge problem for us to deal with. Now, we can finally relax, right, Garcia? Come on, don't be so stoic! You were much more fun to play with as a kid. What happened to you?"

Lilya was having lots of fun listening to Wang Yu relate the encounter with the crazed hagbird in the forest.

When she noticed Garcia's poker face, she nudged his ribs with her elbow.

"So what exactly is that entity?" Wang Yu asked. Lilya gave off girl-next-door vibes when she clowned around, which gave Wang Yu a strange feeling of dissonance. Lilya could easily kill him with a single finger, but her antics made her seem completely unthreatening.

Lilya propped her head up with her hands thoughtfully, though she seemed to be doing it just for show. "It's likely a fragment of the god of terror..."

"What?" Avia exclaimed.

"A god's fragment? Are gods that weak?"

Compared to Avia, who knew of gods and deities and had a systematic education in the background of this world, Wang Yu had no idea about the significance of such a statement.

"We've been guarding this forest for quite a while. This monster, thing, entity—whatever it is, it suddenly appeared out of nowhere about four decades ago. I was dispatched here at that time, and I picked up Garcia along the way, hehe."

Lilya ran over to Garcia's muscular back and began to rub his head vigorously.

Although the stoic hulk didn't say a thing, Wang Yu fancied that he could read a deep-set exasperation in his seemingly expressionless face.

"So do you know how it ended up in this forest? A fragment of a god—well, I don't understand what that actually means, but it surely must be uncommon," Wang Yu said.

Lilya gave Wang Yu an unexpectedly serious look.

"We investigated but failed to reach any meaningful conclusions. Given what you told us, though, I have a few ideas. Didn't you encounter the village pastor? Though we knew of his existence, he never told us why he had come here, nor about his mad escapade through the forest. That's why we were unaware of his encounter with the monster. Now, though, I suspect that the curse of the Forest of Fog is religious in origin."

"What? You mean that it arose because of that pastor? The god of terror was responsible?"

Lilya nodded. "More or less. You're aware of the good deeds of the church of light. The god of light is beloved by the people, and their apostles have a wide reach. As for the various gods of fear, brutality, plague, and the like—they might as well be evil gods. They barely have any followers, not mentally sound ones, at least. That's why...." Lilya shrugged.

Wang Yu nodded. He didn't realize the curse of the Forest of Fog would have such a practical origin.

The people of this world were largely free to believe in whatever gods they pleased, save for a rare few theocracies.

Gods needed followers in order to interact with the world. Without any followers, there was little they could do.

The sect of light had a particularly broad reach, and His churches were everywhere to be seen. It had a sterling reputation, and it was only natural that other sects would eye the sect of light jealously. However, because the sect of light was generous not only to the common people but also to those of other sects, many followers of other gods were forced to admit, if unwillingly, that the sect of light's reputation was well deserved.

The crazed hagbird that had suddenly appeared in the Forest of Fog, in Lilya's estimation, had been installed by the sect of the god of terror. The sect was fearful that the young missionary who had become a pastor would convert the people of the unnamed village into followers of light, depleting the sect of its followers and future growth.

Wang Yu pursed his lips. Was it really as simple as a territorial dispute between gods?

He supposed it made sense, though the involvement of supernatural powers made it seem far-fetched at first glance.

"Well, it's gone now thanks to you, Squire Wang Yu." Lilya turned to him. "You managed the crucial task of extracting the fragment of the god from the monster. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to remove the protective cordon of fog around this forest. You experienced the monster's fearsome ability to regenerate for yourself—we were only able to quarantine it, not kill it completely. The fog appears whenever the monster does, and is meant to isolate it from the wider world at large."

"Really? What does it have to do with me, then?" Wang Yu pointed at himself in confusion.

"This monster generates fear and feeds off of it. The reason it looks like a mishmash of hagbirds is largely because hagbirds enjoy the fear of their prey. That's why you were crucial for killing it. You don't feel fear, after all," Lilya said seriously.

Wang Yu nodded. Fear was a useless emotion to him; he largely replaced it with cautious respect and reverence.

He had hidden the fact that his gauntlets had absorbed the fragment of the god. Rather, all he said was that the entity became particularly weak once he was the only conscious being in its vicinity.

Now that he thought about it, he could very well have been responsible for that weakness.

While Wang Yu was reflecting on the situation, Lilya gave him a hard pat on the shoulder.

"You really are an amazing lad! You don't know how badly I want to study you. Imagine feeling no terror while facing the god of terror Himself! We've been unable to do anything about this monster all this time because any intelligent lifeform can't help but feel fear. How did you manage it? It really is incredible! I have to thank you for your help in rescuing Avia. Well done, lad. I'll definitely treat you well."

"I promised to serve Avia as a squire for a year. I'll do my best during that period of time." Wang Yu nodded firmly.

"What's more, it was Avia's idea. She discovered the essence of the entity and had me knock her unconscious."

Avia really was skilled at observation and perception, far more than Wang Yu himself.

She had been the one to discover many details about the entity, and she had uncovered the truth behind its fearsome regenerative powers.

"Of course! She's my dear niece." Lilya squealed happily as she ran over to Avia and squished her cheeks firmly.

"Your mother told me about your magical talent and void affinity. I know that you were marked by a void entity and had the path of wizardry sealed off from you, but based on what you said, your squire somehow managed to dispel that marker? In that case, we'll have to take the opportunity to test your talent for both magic and wizardry. Your virtualized hand could very well be a chance opportunity as well. And of course, there's no need to worry about your mother. I told her that you were alive and that I had found you."

Lilya sighed. "I can't help but worry about your mother the way she is."

Lilya's exuberance faded as she brought up Avia's mother. Then, she rallied.

"At any rate, let's test your talent. And yours as well!"

Lilya dragged Avia toward her house, then turned back and pointed to Wang Yu.

"Garcia, hurry up and bring the things in!" she called out from afar.

Garcia and Wang Yu glanced at each other. Wang Yu couldn't help but smile. Garcia seemed to indulge in Lilya's whims despite his seeming exasperation.

Wang Yu shrugged and ran off after Lilya.

Lilya's magical academy was really just composed of three large wooden buildings: one library, one laboratory, and one residential quarters.

Lilya explained to Wang Yu and Avia that it was a magical academy in name only; it didn't recruit or admit any students.

Lilya didn't mention what organization she belonged to, only that she was responsible for keeping watch over the fragment of the god of terror in the Forest of Fog.

Because Wang Yu had finished off the entity, she would likely be dispatched elsewhere within a year's time. As such, she would have to make the most of her time and teach Avia what she could as quickly as possible.

She began by conducting a test for talent. "Don't worry too much about this. Generally speaking, the academies that make a big fuss about this are the worst of the lot. You won't get far as a wizard if you rely on talent alone. We're a magic academy only in name, but these rituals and ceremonies are indispensable," Lilya explained as she made her preparations.

Before long, Garcia brought in what looked like a particularly large washbasin, while Lilya pulled out a crystal ball from a mountain of miscellaneous junk.

"Come. Put your hand on the orb!" Lilya gestured for Avia to begin.

As Avia touched the orb, energy bloomed from its interior, revealing the crackling of flame, the susurrus of moving water, the sweet scent of grass, and the tremor of the earth.

All sorts of strange sights and phenomena appeared one after another as pinpricks of light surrounded Avia, manifestations of the elements themselves: elemental sprites.

The elemental sprites hovered around Avia in a friendly, intimate manner.

Avia reached out with her virtualized right hand. The elemental sprites fluttered close and passed right through, stirring up their curiosity. They buzzed around her right hand as they inspected it with interest.

Avia couldn't help but laugh.

"My goodness!" Lilya's exclamation disturbed the idyllic moment. The little sprites scattered, leaving Avia somewhat shell-shocked in the center of the room.

Wang Yu turned to Lilya, who blushed and began to explain herself with some embarrassment.

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I knew you had strong magical affinity, but not to this extent. I thought my sister was bragging when she was telling me about you—but it's all true! That said, make sure not to expose your level of affinity to anyone you don't trust. There are those who would hurt you merely out of envy," Lilya warned.

Wang Yu couldn't help but think back to Egor, who coveted others' void affinity. He had wanted to seize Avia's void affinity for himself.

Lilya's astonishment made it clear to Wang Yu just how talented Avia had to be.

"Next, your turn..." Lilya motioned to Wang Yu.

Wang Yu walked over and put his hand on the crystal orb. He held it there for a second, then two, then three... Wang Yu glanced left and right. There was nothing to be seen at all.

Suddenly, he saw Avia looking strangely at something beside him. She smiled, then hid it behind a hand in embarrassment. Wang Yu turned to see a lone mud-yellow sprite dashing into his right arm and then rebounding from the impact.

It did so several times before ultimately giving up and fading away into the air.

Wang Yu shook his head. He had no talent for being a magician, then. Such talent was rare, perhaps one in thousands—there was little reason to expect that he would have any himself. He smiled wryly and waved a hand, indicating that he was done.

"Ah, a pity. It looks like you have no talent as a magician," Lilya said. "Don't worry. Try the wizardry test instead. Based on what Avia told me, you've unlocked your latent ability, haven't you? Face this astrolabe and visualize the starry sky." Lilya passed Wang Yu the metal disc that Garcia had been holding.

The metal disc was polished to a sheen and looked like a mirror, though there was a thin layer of liquid on it that sloshed back and forth.

Wang Yu composed himself. He conjured an image of the starry sky in his head, whatever he could recall from his past life on Earth.

He called it his past life, but it had only been a year since he arrived in Aleisterre. He didn't recall seeing much of the starry sky back on Earth, but what memories he had of it were beautiful. He missed being back home. This world was interesting, but he would do his best to return.

Wang Yu blinked and opened his eyes. He stared at the astrolabe he held in his hands.

The starry sky that was reflected within it was dim and dark. There were a few nebulous clouds that hid the stars studding the night sky.

The night sky of Wang Yu's astrolabe was a dull, featureless black, quite unlike the resplendent and mysterious projection of the void that was present in his mindscape.

"You do possess some void affinity, but not much." Lilya shook her head with some disappointment.

Wang Yu nodded. That did seem to be the case—but the starry sky reflected on the astrolabe seemed particularly familiar. Wasn't that... Venus he saw?

Before Wang Yu could get a closer look, the impatient Lilya had beckoned Avia over.

The liquid in the astrolabe sloshed and vanished. Wang Yu frowned, but ultimately thought little of it.

Avia walked over, closed her eyes, and visualized the starry sky.

A bright and resplendent purple manifested from the astrolabe, dyeing the entire room with the phantasmal and ethereal colors of the void.