"[Hawkeye], a two-star magical aptitude Soul Art, typically used with crossbows. The few available magical spells are high-level... Tch, compatibility is only 36%?? Even with a two-star magical aptitude, I can’t learn it? What trash among trash."
"[Titan], a two-star magical aptitude Soul Art. This one’s not bad, with a 55% compatibility, but sadly, I only have one star in magical aptitude, so I can’t learn it. Besides, I’ve heard it barely has any usable magical spells. Sigh, trash."
"[Assassin], a one-star magical aptitude Soul Art. This one I can learn and it has decent compatibility, but... I don’t care for it? How could I, the young master, be content as just a sneaky little thief? Too lame."
"[Magical Swordsman], a three-star magical aptitude Soul Art. Now this is good. The compatibility is acceptable as well, but alas... Three stars, out of reach. I don’t know why this kind of Soul Art is even available. How many people wandering the streets can afford it? Even if they could, it would be useless."
"Is this the largest non-private Soul Art repository in the royal capital? There are so few kinds of Soul Arts... The highest is only three stars, how lame."
"........" Inside the Soul Art repository, the owner sitting on a long bench listened to Winnie’s grumbling, unable to hold back.
He knew Winnie, of course. After all, he was quite a 'famous' figure in the capital, how could he not recognize him?
It was already surprising enough that this good-for-nothing villainous young master appeared here today, but his strange mutterings while looking around made no sense at all.
Well, the owner could ignore his bizarre remarks, but then Winnie started saying that his collection of Soul Arts was lacking and that the highest was only three stars??
Seriously? Doesn’t he know his own magical aptitude? How dare he complain, acting like some unrecognized genius?
The owner couldn't help but twitch his lips at Winnie.
If he truly was a genius, he wouldn't be here. The owner's shop mostly served ordinary people with some magical aptitude or wealthy customers. If he were truly a four-star or even five-star magical genius, the nobility or royal family would have noticed him long ago and brought him into their private Soul Art repositories to choose his Soul Art.
Could the Soul Arts in a shop on the street compare to those in the royal family’s private collection? A three-star Soul Art would already be the prized possession of a shop.
Private Soul Art collections of the royal family and nobility were different. There, you could find a dazzling array of three- and four-star Soul Arts, more than you could even look at.
If he truly had talent, why would he be here?
The owner complained in his heart.
"Useless." After saying that, Winnie closed the panel and walked out of the repository.
He wasn’t here to actually pick a Soul Art. He just came to see if the Soul Art selection guide worked well.
And it worked quite well. The three Virtue points were well spent; all he had to do was align the Soul Art with the panel to see his compatibility with it. Very convenient.
If he was going to select the best Soul Art for his whole life, he would have to go to a bigger and more comprehensive repository.
Like the Peono Royal Family’s Soul Art repository.
Normally, Winnie wouldn't have the qualifications to go there. But, thanks to the King of Camellia granting an exception because of Aeciphysis' bloodline, Winnie was allowed to enter the royal Soul Art repository.
However, the King's special treatment didn't sit well with other nobles. On the contrary, young nobles in the capital mocked him.
Some even snidely remarked, "His Majesty the King really knows how to make things difficult. It's like putting a mountain of gold in front of a starving beggar, tempting him but letting him take nothing. Pathetic."
This was naturally a mockery of Winnie’s magical aptitude. The implication was that he had no need to go to the royal repository, because he wouldn’t be able to take anything valuable.
In the past, if the foolish Winnie had heard such remarks, he might have gotten furious. But now, he felt nothing inside.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
Who cared about that?
He had come to the capital for important matters today.
Gripping the royal Soul Art repository pass personally given by the King, he looked out at the vast royal city, the towering city walls stretching to the horizon.
It was said that each jade brick on the wall was inscribed with magical runes, and from the top of the walls, magical crossbow cannons were set up, with golden dragon flags fluttering in the wind.
From time to time, fully armored golden-clad Red Crest Guards could be seen patrolling the city walls. They wore dragon-like closed helmets, donned in golden armor, wielded enchanted dragon-tooth swords, and were equipped with excellent gear, exuding an air of majesty and power.
Those were the elite guards serving the Peono family, the Angry Dragon Knights.
They were the most trusted and relied-upon military force of King Camellia.
King Camellia might not completely trust his personal butler, his courtiers, or even any outsiders, but he had absolute trust in the Angry Dragon Knights. In fact, the mere appearance of the leader of the Angry Dragon Knights symbolized the King’s presence.
The reason for this wasn’t because the Angry Dragon Knights were the royal family’s personal guards, but because the King had granted them the status of the royal knight order, making it impossible for the Angry Dragon Knights to betray the royal family.
As a family with a long history, the Peono family inherited their own unique Root Soul Art.
The Root Soul Art was a Soul Art created by a Sage, who had independently explored and developed it.
The Soul Art created by the Peono family’s ancestor was called Dragon’s Eye, with a magical aptitude requirement of four stars. It was the Soul Art most compatible with the Peono family, and it had been used by every Peono king throughout the generations.
Moreover, every member of the Angry Dragon Knights used the Dragon’s Eye Soul Art. Without a doubt, each Angry Dragon Knight was an elite among elites, a genius among geniuses. Only such talents were qualified to join the Angry Dragon Knights.
This was also the reason why the King could trust the Angry Dragon Knights unconditionally.
First, the Angry Dragon Knights was a knight order created by the royal family itself, and second, the Soul Art used by every knight was Dragon’s Eye, a Soul Art whose origin lay with the Peono family. The family’s head, if powerful enough, could even strip others of their Dragon’s Eye Soul Art.
This was why the Angry Dragon Knights would never betray the royal family—the Soul Art they used could be stripped by a sufficiently powerful family member. Betrayal would mean certain death.
In front of the royal city stood a church made of silver-white stone, surrounded by pink roses.
As Winnie passed by this church, he hesitated for a moment and stopped.
This magnificent and grand church was the church of the Fanghui Church, the most widespread faith among human nations.
Beneath the church’s great bell, there was an intricate six-winged burning cross. It was the family crest of the Aeciphysis family, also symbolizing the Fanghui Church.
In the past, whenever Winnie saw a church, he would avoid it as though instinctively reacting to stay away.
This was natural, as the events from his childhood were still vivid in his memory, leading to his strong aversion toward the Church.
He couldn’t understand why the Church, which had shown him such kindness before his parents died, sending him sweets from time to time, would act so ruthlessly after their death.
Speaking of sweets, Winnie remembered that before his parents died, the Archbishop of the Church had been particularly kind to him, always secretly giving him various candies.
However, after his parents passed, the Church had raided his home and publicly tested his magical aptitude, revealing that his magical aptitude was only one star.
It was also after this incident that rumors began to spread that "Winnie was a false descendant of the Goddess."
Recalling these memories, it all seemed too coincidental.
Winnie noticed a detail—the Cardinal who had performed his magical aptitude test had a certain certainty in his expression, as though he had known from the beginning that Winnie’s magical aptitude would be one star.
Wait, could it be??
Thinking of a possible scenario, Winnie’s face changed drastically.
.......No, these were just his suspicions; he had no proof.
By the time he snapped out of it, he had already walked into the church.
In front of the church’s main doors stood a large silver-white stone sculpture of a beautiful, holy maiden.
Her hands were raised in a prayer position, with long hair flowing down to the base of her legs, dressed in a holy princess gown. Her eyes were closed in a humble, devout prayer, and six massive white wings behind her seemed to summon the spring winds that revived all things.
The artisans had crafted her features with exquisite skill, her beauty radiating as the cross-shaped holy spear beside her purified the world’s impurities. Her flawless and immaculate sanctity purified the darkness in people's hearts.
No matter how beautiful the flowers in front of her were, they could only feel ashamed in comparison.
Even so, according to the ancient records, the top craftsmen who sculpted the statue of the Fanghui Goddess were still ashamed, as they couldn’t fully replicate even half of the Goddess’s beauty in the lifeless stone.
Yes, the statue in front of the church was the sculpture of Fanghui Goddess, the founder of the Fanghui Church, who was also Winnie’s ancestor. Her faith spread across all human nations—Aeciphysis.