Another Trouble

Angel looked at Moro with complete confidence. He believed that as long as Lord Wizard intervened, his mentor would surely be saved!

Leon, meanwhile, looked at Angel with indulgence. Though he somewhat resented his younger brother for squandering such a tremendous favor on saving Jon, when he recalled Jon's contributions to the Pat Family over the years, that trace of regret in Leon's heart scattered with the wind. So be it if the favor was wasted. As long as his brother was happy, it was worth it.

The two brothers had different thoughts, but both firmly believed that Jon's chronic illness could certainly be cured by Moro.

Yet reality always ran contrary to expectation.

When the green halo vanished from Jon's body, Angel immediately wanted to step forward and ask Moro about it, but Leon stopped him.

Because Moro had once again suspended the crystal ball in the air, and his expression had changed from initial ease and leisure to grave bewilderment.

Could it be that even Lord Wizard could not heal his mentor? Could his mentor's illnesses truly be Gaia Consciousness rejecting someone from another world?

No, it couldn't be.

The hope that had soared high within Angel now became uneasy.

After a long while, Moro stopped casting.

A trace of confusion appeared on his face, because he had not discovered any illness in Jon's body. The result returned by the spell was that everything was normal.

The result was normal? That was precisely what was most abnormal.

Anyone with eyes could see that the skin-and-bones Jon was absolutely already at death's door. Moreover, he was not yet fifty, and such extreme aging was certainly abnormal.

Yet no abnormality could be found!

Could he have been cursed by an Evil Spirit? With that doubt in mind, Moro extended his spiritual tentacles toward Jon. So long as there was anything abnormal, spiritual power could easily seize upon its traces.

...Nothing. Still nothing.

Moro truly had no solution now. He had only just advanced to Advanced Apprentice and had not even begun learning third-level cantrips. He had used every disease-detection cantrip he knew, yet they were completely useless against Jon.

He had no way to help.

Seeing Angel's anxious expression, Moro felt slightly embarrassed. He had just boasted so boldly, only to be slapped in the face by reality at once.

After giving two perfunctory coughs, Moro revealed an apologetic expression and said to Angel, "For the time being, I have no way to treat your mentor."

"I just examined him. There is nothing wrong with his body. Since the examination found nothing wrong, treatment naturally cannot proceed." Moro changed tack. "But he truly does look gravely ill. Perhaps there is a problem with his mind, or perhaps his soul."

Angel remembered his mentor saying that there was indeed nothing wrong with his body. The reason his organs were failing lay with Gaia Consciousness.

Listening to Moro's words, although he had not mentioned Gaia Consciousness, Moro had indeed said there was nothing wrong with his mentor's body. Then there must be something wrong with his mind and soul?

Was Gaia Consciousness eroding his mentor's soul?

Moro did not know that Angel had filled in so much from his words and arrived at an answer that was neither fish nor fowl. Whether it was correct or not, Angel himself believed it three parts out of ten.

"Then... if there is a problem with the soul, or the mind, is there no way to treat it?" Angel asked urgently.

"There is certainly a way. But at present, I have no way." Moro sighed helplessly. "If I advanced to become a Formal Wizard, perhaps I could treat him. But as a Wizard Apprentice, I have absolutely no way."

"A Formal Wizard can treat my mentor?" Angel pressed.

"I dare not presume to guess at a lord wizard's abilities, but saving an ordinary person should not be a problem. Even if someone has died, a lord wizard can rescue their soul from the Land of Eternal Darkness

."

Angel asked, "Then... when can you advance to become a Formal Wizard, sir?"

Moro froze for a moment, then shook his head with a bitter smile. "It took me nearly sixty years to advance to a Third-Level Wizard Apprentice... As for becoming a Formal Wizard? I basically have no hope in this lifetime. That realm cannot be reached merely by piling up time."

Moro explained the stages of wizard advancement to Angel. Talent determined how quickly one could advance to Formal Wizard. Once one became a Formal Wizard, talent no longer played such a great role. But before becoming one, talent could be called the most important link. Some people became Formal Wizards after training for only a few years, while others trained for a lifetime and could not even break through to Junior Apprentice. That was the difference in talent and opportunity.

Moro believed that his talent had already reached its limit. If he wished to advance to Formal Wizard, he could only rely on opportunity. But opportunity was not something one could obtain simply by wanting it. Moreover, in most cases, ninety-nine parts danger came with only one part opportunity.

Opportunities were all fought for with one's life. Opportunities gained easily were few and far between, unless one ran into a stroke of tremendous luck. This time, Moro had done exactly that.

Moro's words plunged Angel into utter despair. Formal Wizards... they had nearly vanished from the Old Earth Continent. Where could he possibly find one?

For a time, everyone fell silent. Leon patted Angel on the shoulder, wanting to comfort him but not knowing what to say.

After an unknown length of time, Moro spoke again. "I remember you said earlier that you had two troubles. Since I cannot help you resolve this one, why not tell me about your other trouble?"

Another trouble... It was as if a bolt of lightning flashed through Angel's mind. He remembered Moro saying that as long as one became a wizard, one could treat his mentor... and that with good talent, one could become a Formal Wizard in a short time...

Good talent? If he could become a wizard, did that mean he could treat his mentor himself?

Angel recalled the other small trouble he had mentioned earlier. It had also arisen from his curiosity about transcendent beings, as well as his desire to follow in their footsteps.

He wanted to become a transcendent being too!

"Mr. Moro, can I become your apprentice and study the knowledge of wizards?" Angel asked with great solemnity.

Moro was stunned. Only after quite a while did he burst into laughter.

"Wizards are not as simple as you imagine. The prerequisite for becoming a wizard is that you must possess talent. As for talent, I traveled all around the entire empire and tested nearly ten thousand people, yet only my two grandsons possessed it. That shows just how rare it is..."

Angel was not frightened away by Moro's words. Instead, he insisted, "Then could you see whether I have talent?"

Moro looked Angel up and down. After a while, he nodded. "Testing for wizard talent is very simple... If you are willing, you could even have everyone in Pat Manor tested. Consider it my repayment of your favor."

Moro's words sounded very generous, carrying the implication that he would help the Pat Family cultivate wizard talent. But in truth, given how scarce the talented were, finding even one was already exceedingly difficult, let alone training family wizards!

Furthermore, testing talent did not actually cost him anything at all. He merely needed a medium. The medium could be reused and suffered almost no loss.

This time, he had accepted a mission to recruit talented people for the academy. Naturally, the academy would provide him with the medium. Thus, what he had said earlier was basically the same as catching a wolf barehanded. He did not need to give up anything, yet he had earned back someone else's favor.