Chapter 20
Winster clenched his teeth, and the pain in his head as if being squeezed did not make him utter a word. He took a deep breath and suppressed the rising irritability and desire to destroy. Winster carefully looked through the new memories in his mind, his black eyes full of deep hatred... As expected, there was a demon in his body.
He had all the memories of seeing his brother for the last time in the chapel last night.
After the demon possessed his body, it looked at his brother with a slight interest, then left indifferently, walking into the depths of the forest without stopping for a whole day and night.
At night, he frowned impatiently, as if he finally couldn't stand this weak state of his body. After killing a big snake entangled in a tree out of thin air, he stretched out his hand, moved a few times, and dug out a cave.
But after that, the body shook a bit, as if it really couldn't hold on any longer, so the demon let Winter out.
Winster already knew that demons could use inhuman powers, so could his brother's coma be caused by it?
Thinking of the faint white light he saw on his brother before leaving, the demon left a calm reminder before giving up his body: "He has a talent for light, and will soon join the church and become one of the clergy who will hunt you down. You two are destined to be different people."
Rather than the insurmountable gap in their positions, Winster was more concerned about another thing at the moment - as expected, the devil had sensed the threat posed by his brother, so he secretly attempted to kill his brother!
Now that he has left, my brother is protected by divine light, so he should be safe...
Winster endured the discomfort in his body, mustered up a little strength, picked up a pile of dead branches, made a fire, and roasted a small piece of snake meat.
The nine-year-old child ate the tasteless food mechanically and faced with being displaced again. With a deep expression that was inconsistent with his age, he calmly thought about how to survive.
He has black hair and black eyes, and is the object of a huge bounty offered by the Vatican. He cannot go to a priest to perform an exorcism on him, so he can only endure and coexist with the devil until he finds a way to kill it.
The village chief and his son who wanted to report him were probably killed by the devil. It seems that the devil is very attached to this body, or something else, and will not let him face death for the time being.
It seemed that the devil would come out to help him solve problems when necessary, so his life should not be in danger if he wandered in the forest.
Maybe he could try to communicate with the devil and learn its methods?
As long as he can stay alive and become stronger, Winster doesn't mind pretending to be friendly with his enemies.
It will not be too late to walk out of the forest and contact the outside world when he is older, taller and stronger and has some ability to protect himself.
As long as he has enough strength and intelligence, he may be able to kill the demon hidden in his body and avenge his brother.
The child quickly finished his food, spread the cloth that contained the food on the haystack as a bed sheet, and lay down calmly to recover his strength.
From the time he woke up till now, he has not uttered a word.
My brother doesn't like reckless people, so he can't show resentment and rejection, let it go, and anger an enemy stronger than himself...
Winster knew that his brother had always admired his steadiness and prudence, and he wanted to continue to maintain that and always be the kind of kid his brother liked.
——
Two years later.
Elphis is a fourteen-year-old boy. Perhaps because of good genes, good food and regular exercise, he has grown to almost 1.7 meters tall.
But he was born with a small frame, so even with a thin layer of muscle, he doesn't look strong.
The boy had a well-proportioned figure, with a body that was neither threatening nor thin, but with his pretty face that was always gentle, he looked a little easy to bully.
No one knows how much power this young man, who convinces the townspeople and makes them want to protect him, has.
In order to avoid the noise, Elphis hid on a big tree ten meters high. His eyes were floating around and could not reach the real thing, but he was not distracted.
He twirled the exquisite magic wand in one hand and muttered something - just like some modern students who twirled their pens and recited classical Chinese during morning self-study.
Elphis was reviewing and reciting some powerful spells, even though these magical skills were beyond his current level of proficiency.
He had discovered long ago that the knowledge his teachers left him was slowly becoming blurred, just like his own childhood memories. He could still remember some important people and events, but the details had disappeared with time.
Therefore, Elphis could only digest the knowledge that he had not used yet in advance. He estimated that many magics could not be used in another ten years. But in order to prevent some experiences and spells from being gradually forgotten like some high school knowledge due to long-term non-use, Elphis basically reviewed them carefully every month.
The hand that was leisurely turning the staff suddenly stopped, and the boy sat up straight - he was hungry and it was time to go back for lunch.
The staff slashed in the air, "Light Wings."
The brief ancient language summoned a large number of elements, which condensed into a pair of half-body-length white wings on the boy's back. The faint light of the wings and the light spots lingering around his body made the boy look like an angel descended to the earth, beautiful and dreamy.
The pair of wings looked so solid that it made people worry that they would suddenly disappear. However, Elphis jumped down from the treetop with confidence.
The elements he summoned seemed to be in tune with his mind. Without any command, their wings could flexibly pass through the branches of the trees and fly towards the town.
The quiet place where he was hiding was quite far from the town, so it would be faster for him to fly back.
When Elphis first started learning magic, he began by practicing ancient languages, and he didn't try to hide from people. However, Grandpa Kevin saw him often in a daze for several days in a row, and he would even mutter to himself some incomprehensible words. He once suspected that Al was possessed by the devil, so Elphis had no choice but to learn by hiding from people.
When he first received the teacher's memory, Elphis thought he could immediately perform a few magic tricks to show off their power, but...
It's just like a kitchen killer who watches cooking videos and learns from them, confidently thinking he can do it - but only his eyes can do it, his hands can't.
Even the ancient words he could understand were only learned by ear, but they were not authentic when he spoke them out...
Elphis started by learning the new language, pronouncing it word for word, before moving on to the next step - sensing and communicating with magical elements.
Not only will the ancient language not be pronounced correctly, the power of the magic will be reduced, which makes Elphis very confused. Do these elements recognize ancient language?
There is no need to chant the ancient spells. As long as your realm level is raised and your control over the elements is strong enough, you can use magic at will.
The lowest level magicians have to use lengthy spells to ask for help from the elements, but advanced magicians can directly drive the elements.
Two years after Elphis started learning magic, he could easily perform small life magic such as "Wings of Light" and "Bright Light", while "Shield of Light" and "Small Healing" which did not require any spells required more effort.
According to the classification of magicians' strength in his teacher's era, Elphis has already touched the barrier of a mid-level magician. As long as he can use more powerful magic, he will naturally be able to break through the level.
Since his level is still far from the highest level that humans can reach by learning magic - the God of Magic, Elphis believes that he is still a rookie with no power or influence. He feels insecure when he goes out to explore. He will wait a little longer...
In another year, it will be time for the talent test again. Then I will touch the crystal ball again to reveal my talent and be sent to the magic academy in the royal city.
Elphis had already gone to the city to inquire, and found out that Aurelion in the royal city was the only magic academy on this continent. Since there might not be one talented person in a city, it would be enough to establish only one academy.
Aurelion only accepts students who are fourteen years old or above, and they can graduate after six years of teaching.
Considering that younger children are more playful and some courses are cruel and even have a certain mortality rate, it is understandable that the college is reluctant to accept them.
Before reaching school age, children whose talents have been discovered early will almost always be looked after by the Magicians' Association of their respective cities, and those with outstanding talents will be fought over by multiple forces.
With better care and preschool education, there is no need to worry that geniuses will waste several years.
However, even if the children have first-class learning resources in the big forces, Aurelian College is a must-go. As a historical school founded after the War of Gods and standing to this day, it naturally has advantages that cannot be replaced by other places.
This is also the place that Elphis most desires at the moment.
——
In the past two years, Elphis has devoted most of his energy to learning magic, but he has also not neglected making money. He has asked Moon to open two branches in At City, which is close to Raphael City.
Uncle Will has always wanted to save money to buy a house in the city and do some small business. After making enough money over the years, he took his family to settle in Art City and is currently the nominal owner of the branch.
After training several new chefs, Moon finally had some free time, but the kid was very ambitious and had asked Elphis many times which city to choose when opening his next store.
Since Elphis will go to the royal city of Saint Castor to study in the future, he naturally hopes to eat food that suits his taste more often, so he has recently been discussing with Moon about crossing half the continent to go to the royal city to make a living.
Apart from occasionally coming up with a new recipe and making important decisions, Elphis is a completely hands-off boss, and he is also very generous when it comes to providing funds.
Young workers like Moon were touched by his trust, but older people like Will and Gray were worried that he was too tolerant and kind and could be easily deceived.
Before meeting his teacher, Elphis did have some concerns that the emperor was far away and that it would be difficult to control important matters, but he had already learned about the power of faith from his teacher's memory, so he felt much more relieved.
Thinking of the little light spot he had seen several times, Elphis once thought he had some eye disease...
According to the teacher's philosophy, the power of faith comes from the intelligent life's strong gratitude, trust and admiration for a certain existence.
Creatures with devout beliefs can often live more optimistically in ordinary or difficult situations because they firmly believe that they will be blessed and get through the difficulties (refer to Pastor Carvin on this point).
Capable creatures also dare to go it alone to overcome obstacles. They are determined to become qualified believers and offer the laurel wreath of victory to the object of their faith (see the example of the Moon brothers and sisters).
Let me put it this way, if the object of faith collapses and the originally devout believers lose their spiritual support, they will be greatly hit and may never recover.
It was only in the past two years that Elphis gradually discovered that he held such an important position in the hearts of the Moon siblings and more than 30 townspeople!
No wonder he felt these people were inexplicably trustworthy a few years ago. It turned out that they had placed their faith in him...
Because of this, Elphis was able to confidently hand over the most important matters to these young people who always looked at him with shining eyes.
The old mayor of the town of Lisse doesn't know how to get rich, but he is good at keeping a low profile and is aware of the dangers in times of peace. In recent years, the townspeople have earned more and more every year. He was afraid of attracting robbers to rob, so he had a high wall and a gate built at the entrance of the town.
Elphis also went to the city to invite a retired guard from the city lord's mansion who knew some swordsmanship to live in the town for a long time and teach the children and young people. This money-making town has defensive capabilities, so he can feel more at ease when he leaves.
Of course, he also learned a little bit.
Everything was getting better steadily and slowly, but Elphis felt that this kind of life was no longer suitable for him. He should make some changes to adapt to the future which might be turbulent.
After thinking for a while, Elphis said goodbye to Grandpa Kevin after lunch, and went into the city alone. He discussed the plans for the coming year in detail with several of his important workers, and returned to the town the next day.
On this day, he talked to the people he dealt with the most in the town one by one, arranged some matters, and finally mentioned his plan to Pastor Kawen during dinner with a guilty conscience...
Kevin was horrified. "What?! Al, are you saying that you want to stay in the forest for a year? Honey, grandpa must have heard it wrong. How could you have such an outrageous idea!"
Elphis mainly wanted to train his survival ability, and also wanted to find an opportunity to fight some ferocious beasts and put the magic he learned into practice.
Moreover, this forest is really huge, and it is possible that there are magical beasts in its depths. Elphis just wants to force himself to adapt to the unknown environment.
He couldn't let his grandfather know that he could do magic, otherwise in three days the news would spread throughout not only the small town but also the entire city of Raphael.
In short, Elphis had to work hard to convince Pastor Carven to agree to his plan that night.
"Grandpa has always known that this town cannot keep you, but everyone yearns for Saint Castor. Why do you insist on going to the forest to suffer... You have always had your own ideas. Since you think this will be beneficial, go ahead. Remember to bring more..."
Elphis stayed obediently beside Pastor Calvin's bed and listened to him chattering for a long time until the old man's voice became unclear and he fell asleep.
The young man raised his hand and covered the old man's eyes, secretly performing a healing spell for the Nth time - curing diseases and strengthening the body if there is any.
After secretly showing his filial piety, Elphis went back to the house to pack his things.
He should bring his bow and arrow to continue practicing, as well as his iron sword. He should also bring more jerky as food. He also taught the townspeople how to make this snack, which has been in short supply in recent years and he likes it very much.
Pack some more clothes, a flint, a dagger...
——
The townspeople of Lisse live a busy, fulfilling and happy life. Time passes quickly for them. They only complain when they mention the smart and beautiful boy who changed the whole town. Now, several uncles and aunts are sighing while working again -
"Ah, a year goes by so slowly. Little Al hasn't come back yet. Without him, the days pass by without much novelty."
"That's right. I don't know if Al is doing well. He must have lost weight because he didn't eat or drink well in the forest!"
"Al will be back soon. He left during the hot weather last year."
No one mentioned the possibility that something had happened to the boy, and no one wanted to think about this possibility.
Suddenly, the cheers of several teenagers came from somewhere. They shouted and couldn't wait to inform everyone, "El is back--!"
Everyone who heard the news couldn't help but smile. They put down their work and hurried to the chapel.
Fifteen-year-old Elphis had been in the forest for a year. He didn't seem to have suffered at all. He didn't lose weight and seemed to have grown a little taller. He was still as fair and good-looking, but...
The more sensitive townspeople didn't know how to describe it. Simply put, they felt that although Al was only a few steps away, he was still very far away from them. Some people hesitated and dared not approach.
Elphis went deep into the forest for hundreds of miles, and his initial expectations were not disappointed, he really encountered a monster!
The long-legged rabbit of the wind element, the diamond devil bear of the earth element, the blue-striped python of the water element...
Of course, Elphis didn’t know the names and weaknesses of these monsters. He only knew that the opponent’s level was not life-threatening to him, so he went straight up to fight.
As the boy gained stronger control over the elements, he successfully rose to the mid-level five-star rank, and after many fights, his aura inevitably turned colder, with a bit of intimidation.
But when he curled the corners of his mouth and greeted the newcomers with curved eyebrows, everyone instantly forgot about the thoughts of "difficult to approach" and "seemingly unfamiliar"!
This is still the familiar treasure of Lisse.
——
After a while, the magic talent test of Raphael City came again under the expectation of countless people.
Elphis casually asked the children in the town who had not been tested yet if they wanted to go with him. It turned out that he was the only one who had not been tested yet...
Everyone was delighted to learn that Al had finally figured it out, and for some reason they didn't consider the possibility that the boy was as untalented as they were.
This is Al! A little genius who can do anything. Moreover, he is of noble blood, so he is definitely different from ordinary people!
Yes, the speculation more than ten years ago was widely circulated, and now everyone in the small town of Lisse unanimously believes that Elphis has noble aristocratic blood!
Elphis originally wanted to go alone, but everyone was too enthusiastic and the caravan planned to enter the city ahead of schedule, so they insisted on accompanying him.
"The line is really long. Don't worry. The guys will take turns helping you line up."
"Don't be nervous, Al. The important thing is to participate!"
I'm not nervous, but you guys are quite nervous. You look like your child is about to take the college entrance examination.
If Elphis didn't know that he had talent, he might have really worried about disappointing everyone's expectations.
The group arrived at Rafi City a day early, and that evening they saw many people queuing up with their bedding rolled up! It was so scary!
Many young people remain enthusiastic even after participating in several tests - I didn’t have talent before, but maybe I will develop talent in these few years?
No wonder the common people are so delusional. Even if only the lowest level of talent is detected, they can cross classes in an instant.
In fact, it is not really a delusion, as it is indeed possible, but it is very small.
Elphis was exhausted looking at the long queue! Why couldn't the City Lord's Mansion just open a store so that everyone could take the test any day they wanted?
Not understanding the reason for this arrangement, Elphis wanted to go to the academy, so he had to take a talent test and queue up. Besides, he was also curious about the level of his talent.
Fortunately, he has a bunch of workers, so he can pay a young man who is energetic and can stay up late to help him queue.
It turned out that Elphis had already hired a second person to take over, and it was his turn at the end of the first day of testing.
The two recorders sitting in front of him had droopy eyelids and looked listless. They had been sitting there doing nothing for the entire day and were already feeling sleepy.
It seems like things are much quieter around here?
The recorder looked up and saw a pretty boy with silver hair and blue eyes paying for the test. He smiled at him politely and said, "Excuse me, can I just put my hand on it?"
This...this kind of young man is from their city?
He must be a traveler passing by... If he said he was from the royal city, the recorder would be willing to believe it.
The man who was questioned by the boy nodded blankly, and unconsciously wiped the crystal ball that had been touched by countless people with his clean handkerchief, and responded stiffly: "Yes, just put it on, you, please."
“…”No, why are you nervous?
And was it an illusion? It seemed like hundreds of people were looking at him nervously?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
