Chapter 26: Curios and Alchemy

Although Fang was very happy with Wang Yu's potential, he knew that Wang Yu was still lacking in strength. There would be a long climb ahead for Wang Yu when he was ready to head to the capital in ten months' time.

At the very least, with his connection to Fang, the path forward would be smoother.

As Wang Yu prepared to leave, Garcia called him back. Wang Yu turned around, somewhat puzzled, one hand on Torrent's neck.

"Aren't you going to ask about Reynard?"

"Reynard? Ah, well..." Wang Yu scratched his head and glanced at his gauntlets.

"I know Reynard has secrets he didn't want to mention. I don't think it makes sense for me to dig deeper. I'm the same way, myself." Wang Yu smiled.

The old knight had passed with no regrets. Wang Yu knew that Reynard had chosen the life of a wandering knight himself.

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He didn't know why a former Nightblade would do so, but that wasn't important. If Reynard didn't want to share the information, Wang Yu wouldn't pry.

He wasn't the type to meddle in others' affairs. He hadn't asked Avia about her family situation, and neither did he probe into Lilya's background.

The old knight hadn't told him about his past while he was alive; Wang Yu saw no reason to worry about it after his death.

Perhaps he would learn about the truth when he grew stronger, but there was no rush.

Garcia clicked his tongue. He glanced at Wang Yu with an odd expression on his face.

What could he say? Wang Yu had made himself clear. His personality really was appealing.

Garcia grinned and gave Wang Yu a friendly punch to the chest. "You'd better get stronger quickly. We'd make great comrades if we had the chance to work together!"

"You're leaving already?" Wang Yu exclaimed.

He had assumed that Garcia was only in Oakclaw to check on the progress that he and Avia had made, but it seemed as if he would be leaving the forest academy entirely.

In the short time they had known each other, Wang Yu had grown fond of Garcia. He was serious and reliable, and was as dependable as Reynard had been.

"I intend to serve in Aleisterre's army," Garcia explained. "The tension between Selwyn and Aleisterre is ratcheting. We Nightblades are above the law in some sense, but we're duty-bound to participate in matters of war."

He suddenly looked a bit sheepish, a surprising look for a man with such a rugged appearance.

"If you wouldn't mind letting Lilya know... Five years. Please tell her to wait for me for five more years..."

Wang Yu raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, take this too. It's not much, but it's still a curio. It might help you a little..."

Perhaps because he was eager to move on, Garcia pulled out a small book from his pocket and handed it to Wang Yu.

"A curio?" Wang Yu was taken aback. He knew just how much curios were worth. How could Garcia afford to hand him a curio just like that?

"Don't be that shocked. This thing's pretty useless, honestly. You already have a notebook, don't you? Think of this as an upgrade." Garcia smiled at Wang Yu's astonished expression.

Though Garcia downplayed the gift, Wang Yu knew just how rare and precious such curios were.

Curios were unique to this world and had nothing to do with void, magic, or even alchemy.

Curios had peculiar characteristics with absolute powers that defied common logic.

For instance, a certain curio had been found by Aleisterre's borders: the Phantasmal Knights' Banner.

No one knew precisely where it had come from, but it was one of the ultimate weapons of Aleisterre's knights.

Its effects were straightforward. When wielded by a commander, up to a hundred soldiers would be transformed into phantom knights who would ignore all magical, physical, and wizardry-related defenses as they charged forward for a distance of up to 20 kilometers.

It was a terrifying weapon of war. Its most famous battle involved the Lion Knights of Aleisterre charging into the heart of the Northern Barbarians' forretress, Winterhold. Only 63 out of 3,000 knights had survived the initial assault, but just as the barbarians were cheering in victory, the leader of the Lion Knights, Leon Leonardo, had roared and activated the Phantasmal Knights' Barrier. The 63 remaining knights unleashed a devastating charge that overwhelmed the barbarians' defenses and allowed the knights to take down the barbarian king. His head was displayed on the highest tower of Winterhold that day. The snowfields echoed with the wails of the distraught barbarians—and Sir Leon Leonardo was granted the title of Grand Duke of Lionheart, one of four grand dukes in the kingdom.

Though he was now nearly a century old, with his strength that went beyond the realm of a grand knight, he and his phantom knights continued to defend the northern borders of Aleisterre.

When Garcia handed the book to Wang Yu, however, Wang Yu immediately understood why Garcia had called it useless.

"This is the Endless Pages. It's precisely as the name would suggest: a notebook with infinite pages. No matter how much you write, you'll never run out of space. If you want to find something you've written, just think about it and flip to the next page. It'll be right there. However, no one can use this book but you. Its only real advantage is that it's indestructible and very convenient to carry with you."

Wang Yu nodded. He understood why it was considered a weak curio, but it certainly was very practical. However, there were books enchanted by magic that could replicate its power to a large extent, and they even allowed for automatic transcription.

Not only that, multiple people could use the book simultaneously.

Notably, though... Wang Yu threw the Endless Pages into the air.

The old-fashioned book bound in faded, yellowing sheepskin virtualized and vanished above his head.

Though it seemed to have disappeared, Wang Yu could still sense its presence above his head.

With a thought, the book materialized back into his hand.

"This is great. Thank you." Wang Yu was very pleased with the book. Though it might not have been very strong, he was certain he could do interesting things with it with sufficient thought.

"No need for thanks. It's—how do you put it? Ah, yes—a long-term investment. You really do have some strange sayings, Wang Yu. At any rate, I think you show great promise," Garcia said, waving off his gratitude.

"That said, you had better be careful. The situation across the continent is destabilizing. There'll be major upheaval within a few years' time. We'll all be like rocks swept away by the tide. If you aren't large and tough enough, you'll just be shattered by the current," Garcia said seriously.

Wang Yu nodded. He too had sensed the brewing storm on the horizon. He was trying to grow stronger as quickly as he could to face what challenges came his way.

"Farewell, then. Take care of Avia, too. Her challenges may be far more numerous than yours."

"Of course—but honestly, she might be the one helping me. You know how incredible her talent is."

Garcia waved goodbye, as did Wang Yu.

He walked away without looking back. It was a simple farewell, fitting for men like them.

Wang Yu tossed the Endless Pages back into the air, allowing it to hover invisibly above him.

Then, he mounted Torrent and called out for Avia to join him. It was time for them to head home.

"You really do have high hopes for that squire, don't you?" Fang murmured. Garcia was walking his way.

"You're one to talk, Archbishop. You praised his prodigious potential as well."

Fang nodded. "He's severely lacking in terms of absolute strength, but he's demonstrated an unique ability. Being able to bypass one's mindscape and interfere with the void directly—that's the domain of the divine. Do you know what that means?"

"Could it be..." Garcia's gaze swept up and up, past Fang's head and into the sky.

Fang glared at him and smacked Garcia on the head. "Don't start attributing everything to the gods, now. They're not all-powerful!"

Garcia yelped and rubbed the spot where he'd been hit. It was strange for a religious authority to claim that the gods weren't all-powerful, but such was the stance of the church of light.

Garcia couldn't help but smile at the familiar sting of the blow. His old mentor still liked to hit him, and his blows still hurt like hell.

"Simply put: his potential is extraordinary. The Nightblades need someone like him. The kingdom has grown corrupt and bloated out of stability. The nobles are blinded by their lust for power. We need fresh blood to shake things up..."

Wang Yu rode on Torrent's back, with Avia clasping his waist from behind.

Torrent galloped through the forest gaily, the wind tossing Avia's golden hair all about. With his buzz cut, Wang Yu had no such problem.

Avia gripped Wang Yu's waist tightly. She still wasn't accustomed to riding at such speed, no matter how many times she had done it.

Wang Yu, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying the ride. He tossed his money pouch in the air, the coins within jingling with every bounce.

Avia squinted against the wind as she glanced at his carefree smile. She shouted over the wind, "You look very happy!"

"Of course! Ten gold coins is a lot of money!" Wang Yu's grin widened.

This was the reward for completing their low-level task. Ten gold coins was hardly much to Garcia and Fang, but to Wang Yu, who had been all but penniless, it was a fortune.

"Is it?"

"Isn't it?" Avia's question caught Wang Yu off guard. Then again, she was a noble.

Ten gold coins probably wasn't much to her despite the fact that she wasn't highly regarded in her household.

"Well, you nobles are all rich. As for me, even a little money will make me very happy!" Wang Yu shouted back over the wind.

Avia rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile. She admired Wang Yu's ability to find joy in the simplest of things.

For some reason, whenever she was with Wang Yu, she felt as if she could easily relax.

"Let me hand you my share too, then!" Avia pulled out her own pouch with ten golden coins, her share of the reward.

"What? No way! What squire would take a handout from his mistress?" Wang Yu refused Avia's offer as he continued to smile.

"Take it!" Avia said stubbornly—unusual insistence on her part.

She took advantage of the fact that Wang Yu had to hold on tightly to his reins to stuff the pouch of money into his armor.

Wang Yu laughed. "Thanks, boss!"

"I can barely understand your slang," Avia muttered. She was about to grumble when Torrent suddenly leapt over an obstacle, forcing her to grab tightly onto Wang Yu's back.

The two of them continued their ride through the forest.

By the time they returned to the forest academy, it was mid-afternoon.

To their surprise, Lilya was standing at the entrance. It was unusual to see her outside; she was usually cooped up in her lab, teaching Avia only when she felt like it.

"Didn't Garcia accompany you back?" Lilya asked. As Torrent trotted up to her, she embraced Avia and ruffled her hair while Wang Yu dismounted and unsaddled Torrent.

"He wanted me to tell you to wait for him for five more years, just five more," Wang Yu said, mimicking Garcia's tone.

"That damn brat..." Lilya chuckled, though her mind seemed distant for a moment. She absentmindedly ruffled Avia's hair even more quickly, drawing muffled complaints from the girl.

Brat? Considering Lilya's age, Wang Yu supposed she could call Garcia a brat...

"I'll need to return to the cursebinding spire soon enough, but before I go, I'm going to teach you both one final lesson of great importance. All powerful magicians must at least be adept alchemists—and the same goes for knights, too!"

"Really?" Wang Yu muttered under his breath. He couldn't help but feel that Lilya's playful nature was showing through again.

"Follow me. You'll be spending the next month mastering the basics of alchemy, starting with the workshop."

Lilya finally let go of Avia, who quickly hid behind Wang Yu.

Lilya brought them toward the back of the forest academy, revealing its recent expansion—charred stone bricks, a towering furnace, and a roaring fire. The setup reminded Wang Yu of something familiar. Wasn't this... a blast furnace?

"This is the foundation of alchemy: understanding the unique properties of materials."

Chemistry, was it? Wang Yu had been a student of the sciences. He was certain he would do well.

"Now, you'll start by smelting this iron ore and forging it into a sword."

Lilya tossed a large chunk of ore at Wang Yu and a small piece of mana stone into the furnace. The flames roared.

Avia stood frozen in front of the furnace, her mind blank. Wang Yu, on the other hand, sighed and rubbed his temples. Was the first step of alchemy really smelting iron...?