Wizard Aptitude

The Acosta Family, to which Count Hardy belonged, had once been nothing more than a minor viscount house, with territory nowhere near as vast as it was now.

But after Count Hardy followed that Wizard for some time, he took part in the war between the Vira Kingdom and the Gondor Kingdom and earned considerable military merit, eventually being promoted to count.

Although that Wizard had already departed, Count Hardy relied on the experience and resources he had accumulated during that time to steadily develop and expand his family.

He had also encountered many assassinations and crises, but with his Knight Level strength and the Red Glove in his possession, ordinary Knight Level assassins posed no threat to him at all.

Vivian was Count Hardy's youngest daughter and also his most beloved child.

The most important reason was that, among all his children, Vivian possessed the best Wizard aptitude—or rather, she was the closest to reaching the threshold of becoming a Wizard.

As long as Vivian became a Great Knight and her mental power improved, she would qualify to become a Wizard.

For the vast majority of ordinary people, their innate mental power was insufficient to become Wizards.

Even among Wizards, descendants of Wizard families often needed certain methods to improve their mental power from childhood so they could start at a higher level upon entering the field.

The only method Count Hardy knew of to increase mental power was cultivating to the realm of a Great Knight.

"As long as my mental power is high enough, Father can secure an opportunity for me—an opportunity to become a Wizard," Vivian said.

When Count Hardy had worked for that Wizard in the past, he had also received a promise.

If any of Count Hardy's descendants had decent Wizard aptitude, he could contact that Wizard, who could recommend them to join a Wizard Organization.

"How is mental power tested?" Duke asked after thinking it over. He wanted to know how Vivian knew her own mental power.

"Father has a Mental Force Measuring Compass. You only need to hold it in your hand to test your mental power. When we get back, I'll test you," Vivian said.

This Mental Force Measuring Compass had also come from that Wizard. It was merely a small instrument used for experiments.

So-called Wizard aptitude actually referred to the innate strength of a person's mental power.

It was normally divided into ten grades, from first grade to tenth grade. Reaching the third grade meant one's mental power met the basic requirement.

Vivian's mental power reading was 2.8, only a tiny bit short of the third grade.

For an ordinary person, mental power at her level was already considered very high.

In truth, according to Count Hardy, mental power was not the entirety of Wizard aptitude. It was merely a basic standard for judgment.

True aptitude also depended on many factors, such as comprehension and logical thinking ability. Mental power did not represent everything.

But those things were difficult to quantify and assess, so mental power was usually what got tested.

Vivian looked at Duke and said, "The fact that you can use an Enchanted Item proves your mental power is quite good. If I can join a Wizard Organization later, I'll also help you see whether you have a chance."

Duke nodded without saying anything. Naturally, he hoped to join a Wizard Organization and become a Wizard.

But now it seemed that even Count Hardy probably did not have much influence before Wizards, so he could not place too much hope on it.

He had already made up his mind. Even if he could not come into contact with Wizards through Vivian in the future, he would have to pursue the path of a Wizard on his own.

Before that, all Duke could do was improve his strength as much as possible and push everything he could currently improve to its limit.

Only with strength did one have the capital to speak of the future.

Since Wizards existed, that meant there were many people capable of casting spells.

Duke also understood clearly that this meant the world was extremely dangerous. Without sufficient strength, it would be easy for something to go wrong.

At night, the cold wind carried the chill of the distant snow mountains.

Duke was still bare-chested. He had given his clothes to Vivian, leaving himself no choice but to endure the cold wind.

The full suit of armor lay beside him. It was made of metal and provided no warmth at all. Instead, because it conducted heat so well, it would make body heat dissipate faster.

Vivian looked at Duke sitting off to the side, then at the clothes she was wearing. "Come here," she said.

"What?" Duke turned to her in confusion.

"Come here. Sleep here." Vivian patted the grass beside her.

Duke froze for a moment and understood what Vivian meant, but he did not dare go over immediately.

After all, social ranks in this world were clearly defined. He was a commoner, while Vivian was the daughter of a count.

"Hurry up!" Vivian huffed.

Duke thought about it. They had already seen everything anyway, so there was nothing left to fuss over. He lay down beside her.

As soon as he lay down, Vivian carefully wrapped her arms around him, doing her best to cover Duke with her body and shield him from the cold wind.

The fine linen clothes Vivian wore were already soft and thin. The soft places pressed against him inevitably stirred certain thoughts.

"Don't think nonsense. Sleep!" Vivian noticed it, her face flushing red as she hurriedly scolded him.

Duke lay there obediently and did not dare move recklessly, allowing Vivian to hold him as they huddled together against the cold.

Nothing was said through the night. Feeling each other's breaths and listening to each other's heartbeats, the two fell peacefully asleep.

Early the next morning, Duke slowly woke and discovered that they were tightly entwined, most likely a natural reaction after the temperature had dropped during the night.

Vivian lay against his chest, sleeping peacefully.

When Duke lowered his head, he saw the abyss.

Soon, Vivian's long eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly woke as well.

"What is that..." Vivian murmured groggily.

They were holding each other tightly, and it was early in the morning. At Duke's age, it was inevitable that his blood ran hot.

Feeling uncomfortable, Vivian thought it was a branch or something. Only after reaching down to touch it did she realize what it was. She quickly moved away and lay to one side, her face burning red.

Duke awkwardly scratched the back of his head, feeling helpless. This was not something he could control.

He then found an excuse to go look for breakfast and gathered some wild fruit outside.

These fruits did not taste very good and were rather sour and astringent, but they could replenish some vitamins, so they had no choice but to make do.

Vivian did not mind at all. Without the slightest airs of a noble young lady, she picked up the misshapen wild fruits and began eating them.

She could endure hardship even better than Duke. What kind of suffering had she not endured during her daily training? Otherwise, she would not have worn armor weighing several hundred pounds all day.

After resting these past two days, Vivian's ribs had not fully healed, but they no longer affected her normal movements.

Only the fracture in her right leg had yet to fully recover, so walking was still somewhat difficult.

Duke and Vivian planned to slowly make their way out today, first trying to leave Moonlight Forest and reach somewhere inhabited.

As long as they encountered people and figured out their bearings, returning to Maple Hill County would not be difficult.