Chapter 8: Wizardry and Latent Awakening

By the side of the fire, Avia carefully extended her right hand. It looked pale and ethereal in the firelight. Wang Yu's palm, still radiating a faint purple glow, reached out and caught it solidly.

"Great!" Avia exclaimed, then stared awkwardly at Wang Yu, who was deep in thought.

"It looks like your hypothesis was right. Your right hand is translucent because it's been virtualized. If I encase my hand in a void projection, I'll be able to touch it."

Wang Yu came to this conclusion after a little thought.

"Really? Wonderful! I've had this ability since I was young, but I was marked by a void entity the first time I used it. That entity ended up hiding in my mental domain as a void projection. If I were to use the ability again, it would have dragged my entire body into the void. But everything's settled now. I can tell that my ability has grown weaker, but I won't have to worry about the danger any longer." Avia was beaming.

The nightmare that had plagued her since she was little had somehow made its way into Wang Yu's body, where it had been instantly destroyed. The path of wizardry, which she believed lost to her, had now reopened.

"Excellent news. Let's test it, then. According to that old magician Egor, all wizards start out with a latent void ability to which they have an affinity. This ability grows faster than any other, and you're most likely to reach the pinnacle of wizardry with it. Your latent ability must be related to healing. I'll cut myself. Try to heal me."

Wang Yu pulled out a dagger he had claimed from the bandits' lair and cut himself on the arm.

"Alright, but—Wang Yu, don't you feel any pain?" Avia couldn't help but frown at the drops of fresh blood seeping out from the cut as she activated her latent ability.

"Of course it hurts. I'm an ordinary person," Wang Yu replied, giving her a strange look.

Avia's mental energy served as a bridge between her mindscape and the void, with which she could draw upon void energy.

Her virtualized right hand was problematic in some aspects, but it was also an incredible conductor of void energy.

It existed both in the void and in physical reality, allowing Avia to easily channel void energy through her hand.

As her latent ability activated, Avia placed her palm over Wang Yu's wound. Purple light flooded into the wound and manifested as blood, flesh, and skin.

Within a minute, Wang Yu's wound had healed. The cut looked as though it had never existed.

"It's amazing. Avia, your latent ability is far more incredible than I could have expected."

Wang Yu watched as the void energy transformed into a part of his body. He believed that there was far more to Avia's ability than what she had uncovered to date.

"I-Is that so? I'm feeling rather dizzy. It drained a lot of my mental energy. I... need to sleep a little," Avia murmured.

Traces of faint purple aura remained by her forehead, a warning from the void: if Avia didn't protect her mental domain, it could well be distorted by the void. She would go crazy, and her body would mutate into a monster's.

"Go rest a little." Wang Yu patted Avia on the shoulder and helped her toward Torrent's side.

"G-Goodnight..." Avia's exhaustion left her weak and lethargic. She fell asleep instantly.

As Wang Yu stared at the sun peeking out from over the horizon, he shook his head. "Night, is it? It's almost dawn."

He took out Egor's treatise. That Wang Yu could successfully grasp Avia's virtualized hand meant that he had established a link with the void.

He had directed the void energy into his body, then used it like a glove when touching Avia's virtualized hand.

However, just being able to link to the void was insufficient. Wizardry involved using void energy to distort reality and manipulate it according to the wizard's will.

Of course, he was merely parroting Egor's explanation. Wang Yu knew too little about this world's magic. Despite having trained as a knight, he didn't know much about knighthood, either. He would have to brush up on all his lacking knowledge at some point.

That said, there was a principle he firmly adhered to: strength was only what he could grasp.

Giving up on present gain for future benefit was a foolish, ridiculous idea.

In that case, according to Egor, what he needed to do next was to embark formally down the path of wizardry and awaken his latent ability.

He cleared his mind of all thoughts and imagined an eye within his body.

He attempted to use this "inner eye" to study the world.

This was a meditation technique that Wang Yu had come up with on his own. Meditation was simultaneously arcane and steeped in reality. In truth, there was no fixed method to meditation; everyone could simply do as they pleased.

The common purpose of meditation was to sense mental energy and manifest it. The first step to becoming a wizard was to construct a mental domain—a building, an abode, hearth and home—within his mind.

As he successfully called upon his inner eye with mental energy, Wang Yu saw himself from a different point of view, as if in the third person, in the eyes of a bystander.

Then, he looked down. His projection, which had been floating above his head, now entered his body. In the blink of an eye, an astonishing sight came into view.

"Is this my mindscape?" Wang Yu murmured.

Beneath his feet was a lake that stretched as far as he could see. It was clear and limpid, without even a speck of impurity within. It reflected Wang Yu's appearance like a mirror. From his reflection, he could see the vast expanse of the starry sky high above, shining in resplendence, draped in a veil of mystery and danger.

Wang Yu looked up at the magnificent sight composed of countless stars twinkling merrily and giving off an indescribable luster.

The night sky ought to have been dark, cold, and silent; but in his mindscape, it boasted a gorgeous and fearsome charm. It was as though there were countless existences far above him, whispering hushed secrets to each other.

Somehow, the sky looked almost like the chasm leading into an abyss.

It was so vast, so expansive, that even the light from the twinkling stars served only to make the darkness loom larger.

At that point, a wizard's subconscious mind might invert the world. The sky wasn't above, but below. The wizard might imagine himself falling into a dark abyss, surrounded by a deathly chill as he descended into madness.

Of course, none of this happened to Wang Yu. He simply admired the breathtaking view overhead. He knew that the starry sky was a representation of the void, which was almost like a backdrop to the world. It existed everywhere, a fundamental layer of the physical reality of this world.

Mental energy was a bridge between reality and the void, and the starry sky was the reflection of the void in a human's mindscape. Interacting with the starry sky was akin to interacting with the void.

"How magnificent. I can even hear some sounds... Could they be the prelude to madness that the old magician mentioned?" Wang Yu murmured to himself. "No, no. This isn't an illusion at all, nor a sign of madness. There really is something howling up there! How fearsome. Madness, the unknown, an endless expanse—there's a Cthulhu flavor to it all. No wonder all these wizards are going crazy."

Wang Yu glanced up at the starry sky again. There were howls coming from far above, he was sure of it. Madness-inducing howls that spread like a virus, corrupting the natural order of life.

Clearly, this wasn't something Wang Yu was well-equipped to investigate just yet. At the very least, the howls had no effect on Wang Yu, whose fearsome willpower all but granted him mental immunity.

"Two earplugs, please," Wang Yu commanded. In this mindscape, he could conjure anything he wanted with his imagination alone.

Two earplugs appeared in his hands. He stuffed them into his ears; the astral howls vanished.

He nodded in satisfaction, then prepared to start establishing his mental domain.

He intended to erect a castle of his own in the safest and most comfortable location he could find. This castle would be the cornerstone of his journey into wizardry, as well as a bulwark against void invasion.

Only within their mental domains could wizards commune with the void in a relatively safe manner. Otherwise, direct exposure to the void could corrode their minds and bodies, transforming them into monstrous beings beyond their ken.

Wang Yu imagined his favorite place in the world and attempted to manifest it before him. He knew how strong his mental defenses were; the protection his mental domain afforded him wasn't his primary concern. Rather, he focused on functionality and comfort.

As he reconstructed his memories out of mental energy, void energy filtered down from the starry sky. It gathered in Wang Yu's mental construct, turning the virtual into the real. The domain shimmered into existence in Wang Yu's mind.

A mental domain was a liminal construct between reality and the void. It did exist in reality, but could only be accessed through one's mind.

The mental domain that manifested in Wang Yu's mind was an ordinary wooden door that had been painted white.

The handle was made of slightly rusted copper, and an old, worn-down key was stuck into the lock.

Wang Yu smiled. He didn't try to turn the key. The door was unlocked, and it sufficed to wiggle the handle a little. The lock was broken, actually—Wang Yu remembered that very well.

He opened the door and strode inside. There was no doorframe or walls or anything of the sort attached to the door, and yet it swung open and allowed Wang Yu in.

Within Wang Yu's mental domain was a brightly illuminated bedroom and a wooden bunk bed, though Wang Yu was the only one who ever slept in it.

A desk was heaped full of all sorts of miscellaneous junk. Wang Yu never used to do his homework on it.

There was a bookshelf stacked with books, but they were largely about moral philosophy, which Wang Yu hardly liked. The thin layer of dust that clung to them made it apparent how long it had been since they were last opened.

By the corner of the room was an air conditioner, and by the bottom of that, a guitar. The air conditioner was his lifeline in summer, and the guitar one of his few hobbies and talents.

He smiled as he sat down on the bed and strummed his guitar. It felt exactly the same as it had in his previous life—but after not having played it for so long, he had clearly regressed.

He lay down in the comfortable, familiar bed and felt a wave of happiness from deep within. This was his favorite place, the bedroom in which he had grown up, a place where he would be comfortable and at ease.

He was very pleased with his mental domain. Wang Yu flipped through a notebook on his desk.

His familiar, horrible penmanship jumped out at him. It was time to unlock his latent ability, wasn't it? Perhaps he would let this notebook serve as its foundation.

It seemed as if Wang Yu was being rather cavalier about all this, but in truth, everything in this room was made of void energy and Wang Yu's mental energy—the walls, the bed, and even the table. In principle, anything in the room could be used as a vessel for void energy.

According to the old magician, he would unlock a latent ability after he was done building his mental domain. The void would judge his affinity for various elements to confer upon him a personalized technique that would develop as he did.

It would be cheap and efficient to cast and result in minimal void corruption. Generally speaking, such techniques were also among the strongest in a wizard's arsenal. Subsequent techniques constructed in one's domain wouldn't benefit from these blessings.

The old magician claimed that these latent abilities were a certificate of binding between newly minted wizards and the void, and these blessings represented a newbie gift of sorts.

Rather than a technique, a latent ability was more like a supernatural talent. Avia's latent ability was one such example.

Wang Yu flipped through his notebook as he leaned against his bed, thinking about the wide expanse of starry sky high overhead. His mental energy served as a conduit to the void projection, and beams of starlight filtered down.

The void seemed to roil in excitement as it sensed another existence baring its mind to it.

The stars in the sky flashed and congregated, thousands of stars together sketching out the outline of a giant eye. The eye focused on Wang Yu, who was attempting to attune to the void.

It glanced into the window of Wang Yu's mental domain and saw him seated in bed.

Wang Yu was looking back at the giant eye through the window, a magnificent construct of starlight that looked as if it belonged to a living being. A pale purple haze illuminated the sky and the window.

"It's been too long since I've seen such a sight. I do miss my old life. I'll have to try harder to find a way back..."

Wang Yu clutched his notebook in his hand.

His mental domain was a manifestation of mental energy. Wang Yu's willpower was formidable, rendering his mental domain exceptionally strong.

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Void energy descended toward Wang Yu's window in a deluge, so concentrated that a wizard mired in its midst would go crazy within moments. Even so, it couldn't bypass Wang Yu's defenses.

The giant eye outside, sensing how strong this new wizard seemed to be, grew even more excited. The void energy flooded down in concentrated waves, causing Wang Yu's mind to radiate with purple light.

Whether this was normal or not, Wang Yu didn't know. He had far too many gaps in his knowledge.

He wasn't sure if other wizards faced the same phenomena during their awakening, but at any rate, it wasn't hindering his progress. He imagined himself guiding the void energy to distort reality, causing the energy outside to filter into his mental domain in a smaller, more controllable portion. He infused his notebook with the stream of energy, and it too began to glow purple.

Wang Yu's latent ability took shape as the notebook was bathed in void energy.

As more void energy accumulated, it grew brighter and brighter. The existence in the starry sky continued to channel more void energy toward Wang Yu's mental domain.

Wang Yu's void affinity wasn't very strong, but the eye seemed to have plenty of energy to spare.

The eye was likely a lifeform native to the void, providing it with an endless supply of power.

An ordinary wizard would already have gone crazy, but Wang Yu's unassailable will held firm. The void energy instead served to boost the strength of Wang Yu's latent ability.

His notebook glowed brighter and brighter. The blinding purple light forced Wang Yu to shut his eyes.

Wang Yu's latent ability began to manifest in the air, one the void believed to be best suitable for him.

"Hold on. Why does the void get to decide, not me? That old magician's book didn't mention it, but I think I should get to choose the latent ability I want," Wang Yu murmured.

Why should the void tell him what to do? Wang Yu frowned as he attempted to marshal the void energy into obeying his will and giving him a latent ability he wanted.

The void energy stubbornly resisted, but it couldn't hope to defy Wang Yu's incredible willpower. In the end, Wang Yu gained some control of the void energy and impressed it with the notions of growth and strength. He wanted a growth-type latent ability that would strengthen his physical body.

Wang Yu wasn't a particularly greedy fellow. He transmitted the outline of what he wanted to the void energy and let it do its work. After all, he barely had an understanding of wizardry. This was about the best that he could do.

Finally, as vast quantities of void energy gathered in Wang Yu's notebook, a word appeared on the title page: Ripple. The word shone with purple starlight.

Simultaneously, Wang Yu opened his eyes in reality and smiled in satisfaction.

Meanwhile, the void existence, discovering that Wang Yu had left his mindscape, roared in anger and madness. Its cries echoed across the starry sky.