Toby and Genesis

Gloria was momentarily choked by that answer. With doubts in her heart, she gave Sanders a few extra looks, but he still wore that breezy, unruffled expression. Had she guessed wrong? Was Angel's talent unrelated to the Nightmare Realm?

But recalling what Angel had said he experienced earlier, no matter how she listened to it, it sounded like the Nightmare Realm.

If Angel's talent really was connected to the Nightmare Realm, then during his talent test, had he inadvertently entered the real Nightmare Realm? Could Angel's talent be a passage linking reality and the Nightmare Realm? Gloria laughed at herself. How could that be? A dimensional passage was not something a *mortal body could forge a connection with.

At first, Gloria had guessed that Angel's talent might have effects similar to the Twisted Baworm. That was why she had specifically come to pry for gossip, but now it seemed that was not the case.

Gloria shook her head. For things she could not understand, she could only let them go.

The person sitting across from her was one of the Southern Region's great figures. She had no ability to force him to speak.

With that thought, Gloria could only suppress her doubts and begin preparing the Twisted Baworm Sanders wanted.

Just as Gloria was preparing the ingredients, the sound of flapping wings slicing through the air reached everyone's ears.

Following the sound, they saw a seabird no larger than two palms dart in from beyond the curtains. Gray feathers, green eyes, red claws, an orange beak—it looked no different from an ordinary seabird.

But what if that seabird was wearing clothes?

A white cap, a blue apron, and a small bag slung across its body. Such an outfit should have looked wildly out of place on a seabird. Yet strangely, it suited this seabird unexpectedly well.

Perhaps it had something to do with those lively eyes, so humanlike in their expression?

"Ah! It's little Chirp-Chirp." Seeing the seabird, Angel cried out softly without thinking.

Upon hearing Angel's voice, the seabird spun through the air, then with one final flap, landed atop Angel's glittering golden hair.

"Oh ho ho ho, little darling Toby!"

At some point, Gloria had already come to Angel's side, rubbing her plump cheek against the seabird Toby again and again.

Since the seabird was perched on Angel's head, Gloria simply gathered Angel into her arms as well.

The sudden impact made Angel's mind go blank, and his vision swam. Surrounded by bloated flesh, he felt his face being squeezed out of shape.

Other than his late mother, this was Angel's first time being so physically close to a woman. Yet not a trace of romantic thought stirred in him; he only wanted to break free as quickly as possible.

After a bout of struggling, Gloria finally released Angel.

The seabird Toby was still perched steadily atop Angel's head, though its feathers were somewhat more disheveled than before.

Angel had it far worse. His slick, glossy pompadour, carefully combed that morning, had already become a little messy because of Toby's arrival. Then, after Gloria's rough handling, his hair was completely turned into a tangled mess.

"Hey, hey, what's with that bird?" Seeing her newly acquired junior's utterly lifeless expression, Flora snickered as she pulled Angel behind her.

"What do you mean, 'that bird'? Have some manners. Its name is Toby, and it's my beloved pet!" Gloria shot her a furious glare.

"Whatever it's called, it's still a bird."

"Too lazy to argue with you." Gloria carefully cupped Toby in her hands, placed him on her shoulder, then swayed her hips as she continued making the Twisted Baworm.

"That bird is *food," Sanders suddenly said.

"*Food? Could it be Gloria's Genesis?" Flora asked in surprise.

"Most likely."

Flora's expression abruptly changed. "No, I examined it carefully just now. That is definitely a magical bird. Though it's an extremely low-level Magic Beast, how could it possibly be *food synthesized through Genesis?!"

"Use Break Illusion to look at its roots, and you'll understand." Sanders's expression carried a trace of admiration.

After a while, Flora turned around with a face full of shock and uncertainty. When she used Break Illusion to observe the seabird, she found that its origin had been severed! This was a typical remnant of Genesis!

In the past, Gloria's Genesis spell could only cultivate and synthesize various non-sentient creatures.

In just a few short decades, she had unexpectedly managed to cultivate a magical bird that might gain intelligence. It seemed her power had already reached a critical threshold." Sanders sighed. "If she had not gone down the wrong path, then given another twenty years, perhaps she would become the Southern Region's first level-two gourmet wizard."

After all, whether Fragment Mayflies or Twisted Baworms, while both possessed miraculous powers, neither had gained intelligence. To wizards, they were only fit to be used as materials. Magic Beasts were different. Although many Magic Beasts could be dealt with even by ordinary people, they had already gained intelligence. Given a fortuitous opportunity, they might even become great powers.

"So this is a true wizard? Her path has actually gone farther and farther." Flora sighed.

"What is Genesis?" Listening to the two of them talk, Angel could not help asking.

Sanders pointed at Gloria. "It is Gloria's original spell. You'll see it soon enough."

The *food Gloria made was generally taken away directly by her customers, so she did not use any particular utensils to prepare it. Her movements were swift as she placed all kinds of unidentifiable materials into a magical tool unique to gourmet wizards.

Vortex gas, a many-eyed monster, smoke, worms, ore, unknown solutions... Every material was bizarre and strange, yet each faintly radiated an extraordinary aura.

Then Gloria suddenly tossed all the materials into the air. No one knew what she was chanting as streams of light spread from between her ten fingers.

What Angel saw was all manner of living and dead materials changing shape and color beneath the "massage" of those lights. Like damp soil, they were kneaded into new forms and sprouted fresh shoots.

In the end, a pitch-black, many-segmented worm appeared before Gloria.

Angel watched only for the spectacle, but Sanders and Flora could see the application of much knowledge and technique within it. Combined with the unique fluctuations of a gourmet wizard and the descent of some unknown will from the unseen, this was what finally transformed death into life, creating a *creature based on multiple templates.

"So gorgeous, so amazing!" That was Angel's assessment.

"Knowledge as vast as the sea, logic applied in ten thousand transformations—it truly leaves one gasping in admiration." That was what Flora and Sanders always felt whenever they watched Gloria cast her Genesis spell.

Looking at the lively worm, Angel asked in a low voice, "Does Genesis mean creating life?" Angel remembered that in Earth's myths, whether Eastern or Western, creating life was something only supreme beings at the pinnacle of mythology could accomplish. But in the wizard world, could one create life simply by becoming a wizard?

Sanders was silent for a while. "Yes, and no."

"True creation of life may perhaps be something only the creator gods of myth could accomplish. But wizards do not believe in gods. Wizards believe only in truth and knowledge. Gloria's original spell is called Genesis. It appears to create life, but in truth, it involves far too many theories, including illusory beast biology, microbial structural reorganization, equivalent exchange of magical sources... and a series of profound principles. It is not like the creator gods in myth, making things from nothing."

"Oh..." Angel nodded in sudden understanding. This was much like the theory of cloning. Through all kinds of methods, reproductive barriers were broken, allowing new life to emerge. "I see. I think I understand."

Still just a child. Sanders shook his head. Naturally, he did not believe Angel truly understood. He only thought Angel's youthful, unwilling-to-admit-defeat nature was making him pretend to be calm. Yet he had no idea that, in the logic of certain fields of knowledge, Angel already counted as a qualified scholar.

Sanders did not expose him, treating it as a way to save face for his newly accepted student.