014: Traveling Together
"I guess it's because I've changed bodies, but my mindset has become that of a young person."
Li Aoz turned his head away. ' Rio ' was all alone, and no one came to see him off. He simply picked up his backpack, boarded the flying carpet, and found a seat at random.
The Public Flying Carpet is a long-distance flight. It only passes through Blue Chrysanthemum Village. Many candidates from several neighboring villages came, and after flying for a few stops, the flying carpet was simply packed with people.
The villagers of Blue Chrysanthemum Village sat together in a huddle. Because of Li Aoz's usual 'charity and good character', none of his fellow villagers sat next to Li Aoz.
However, while acquaintances didn't come, candidates from other villages did sit in a circle around Li Aoz and even started chatting with him.
"Hey, young man, are you the only one from your village going to take the exam?" A blue-haired youth saw Li Aoz sitting alone reading a book and immediately came over, extending his hand in a friendly manner. "My name is Cardiff Endar. I'm the only one from the whole township who came to take the exam this time. How about we get to know each other? It'll be good to have someone to look after you on the way."
"Oh, I'm Li Aoz." Li Aoz blurted out instinctively, then realized he had given himself away and explained, "Rio Aoz is just because I don't really like socializing."
"Lioz? Lioz, that's a nice name." Kadfi plopped down opposite Li Aoz, pulled out a bag of dried fruit, and started chatting with Li Aoz: "Do you know what the name ' Lioz ' means?"
Seeing that the Li Aoz simply went along with it and continued saying the same thing:
"Lioz — the God of Reality in mythology, a hero who resists invading monsters. My name is quite common."
"Yeah, you have the same name as gods and great men—hey, what's it like?" Kadfi was always chattering away, eating dry food while talking, and Li Aoz was enjoying the leisure.
"Nothing special, Noah, Arthur, David, Caesar, Vladimir—these names are all too common."
Li Aoz explained:
"Everyone will rush to choose a good name. When too many people choose it, it naturally loses its mystery and divinity. That's what demystification is. In fact, maybe ' Lioz ' doesn't have any remarkable meaning. In the beginning, there were some people named Lioz who were not famous. But later, there was a celebrity named ' Lioz,' so people with the same name as him became more special."
"Hmm, you make a good point. What's great isn't the name, but the person, right?"
"That's probably it," Li Aoz replied. "Lioz himself might just be an ordinary name, but because one ' Lioz ' became famous, other ' Lioz's ' are assumed to have similar characteristics because they share the same name."
"So there wasn't actually any connection?" Kadfi asked dejectedly. "I thought there would be some kind of connection."
"A name is just a label, nothing more. Labels will always be repeated. What is unique is the soul and the actions," Li Aoz said easily. "I can have any name, but what kind of person I become depends on what I do."
"To be able to say something like that, you must have read quite a lot."
People nearby were drawn to Li Aoz's speech, perhaps because of Li Aoz unique ideas, or perhaps because of his charisma, and more and more people chose to join.
Gradually, Li Aoz discovered that his prophetic nickname ' Lioz ' had been completely accepted by people.
Two weeks of relentless, day-and-night studying shed the strong, nasty, and thuggish aura of this body, instead adding a scholarly air to it.
With the love and favor of the whole world, ' Rio's' image has also changed somewhat. Even the candidates from the same village did not feel anything unusual. Li Aoz would go out and show his face every day when he had nothing to do, and gradually corrected and changed, and they accepted these changes imperceptibly.
Before setting off, Li Aoz made a special effort to tidy up his appearance, went to the barbershop to trim his messy blond hair and shave off his stubble.
Under the world's adoration, his face was constantly adapting and changing. It had transformed from the initial ' Rio's ' hastily made, ferocious, and ugly appearance into a rugged and masculine face with well-defined features and a wild beauty. His emerald green eyes, golden hair, and tall, strong body easily evoked images of a lion of the wilderness.
Even with a significant increase in his intelligence, his charisma remained his Primary Attribute. Li Aoz possessed a powerful attraction for ordinary people, and before long, all the examinees from the neighboring villages had become familiar with him. No one treated him like an outsider; they chatted and laughed together without any reservations.
Most of the test takers had taken the test multiple times, while some took a chance and went all in, and some even took the test without any preparation, simply because they were young people who couldn't stand their parents nagging them anymore.
The environment of the Public Flying Carpet is perfect for people to gather together and chat in a circle, which is also in line with the cultural traditions of the Tanas Race. Even strangers will be treated to food and tea in public places, and they will chat about various things and have a pleasant journey.
This place is a place where social anxiety explodes on the spot and social anxiety sufferers ascend to heaven instantly. Li Aoz's personality is naturally not afraid of these things. Chatting with people also makes it easier for him to collect information.
"I heard that the highest institution of learning on White Candle Star — the Crystal Magic Academy —has already sent its fourth-year students to work in space." Someone suddenly brought up the universe, and many others chimed in.
"Really? I'm so envious. In my hometown, we only have Earth Rhinoceros and rice. I heard that in the universe, they can use high-energy rays to grow special crops. And some magicians are lucky enough to sign contracts with giant beasts in the starry sky and travel freely between several star systems."
"Haha, I'm not going to the universe. For nobodys like us, as long as we can find a female mage who is a good match for us, marry her, and settle down in the city, with me as a senior employee in the workshop and her as a primary school teacher, we'll be content."
"That's right, I also want to be a minor official or something, so I can help improve the environment of my hometown and build a Magic Tower for them. That way, many unemployed people can come and work there, which would be wonderful."
Most people have very simple and honest ideas. Even though they are all at the Gamma-rank, they still have the simple and honest mindset of ordinary people. When Li Aoz heard them say this, he was surprised to find that their demands seemed to be not much different from those of most Azure Planet People.
People at the grassroots level seem to be the same everywhere.
"I'm going to join the army!" Kadfi suddenly said, "Corinna —that planet that the Night Butterfly Federation and the Crystal Tower are fighting over—still has our people. The Night Butterflies are bombing and slaughtering our people, and it's still going on."
As he said this, his eyes were filled with fighting spirit. "War is the only thing we can do. I became a magician so that I could join the army, save our compatriots, and protect our homeland."