CHAPTER 374: THE FINAL STRUGGLE

But perhaps Silvanus had worried too much, because not long after he left, Vivian’s body began to glow again, and she instantly reverted to her usual small fox form.

She wondered what she had done wrong to make Silvanus look so horrified, feeling gloomy and unhappy.

As for Silvanus, he spent the entire class in a daze. Matthew immediately sensed something was off.

The moment class ended, he followed Silvanus and asked with concern, "Silvanus, are you alright? Lately you seem tired..."

Silvanus glanced at Matthew. He thought that the last few days it had been because of forging the Sentinel, but today, ha, it was obviously because of the shock of discovering such a strange creature.

He didn’t answer Matthew’s question and only said, "I’m going to the Lore Tower."

Hearing that, Matthew quickly ran after him. "Wait for me."

"You’re not going to eat?" Silvanus couldn’t help looking at him.

Matthew shook his head vigorously. "I just want to stay with you."

Silvanus looked into his eyes, then finally patted his head and said softly, "You should grow up. You’ll have your own life too. You’re getting stronger after all..."

For the first time, Matthew didn’t let Silvanus finish. He grabbed Silvanus’s hand tightly, panic in his eyes. "If I get stronger, will you stop caring about me?"

Silvanus ignored him and continued walking.

Matthew hurried after him, wiping his tears. "I’m sorry, Silvanus, I won’t say that again..."

Silvanus noticed that people around them were staring. He also couldn’t understand why Matthew cried so easily. Since they were children, Matthew cried whenever the tears wanted to fall.

He stopped walking. Matthew almost bumped into him, flustered.

Silvanus looked at him, narrowing his eyes. "You always act like you don’t understand what I’m saying. Matthew, sometimes I wonder whether you’re foolish or you’re just trying to make yourself look like a fool."

Matthew pressed his lips together, silent, only wiping his tears.

"Alright, stop crying."

Silvanus said that and quickly continued walking. Matthew could only jog after him.

Silvanus, how could you possibly understand? You are always noticed, always admired, while I... the only thing that makes me feel safe is knowing that at least my stupidity can still keep your attention on me.

"Silvanus wants to abandon me. He doesn’t want to be my best friend anymore. The stronger I get, the farther he’ll go from me..."

Matthew kept muttering inside his head.

Even the Outer God couldn’t help saying, "You want friends? You can make friends with others. I’ve seen a few who suit you."

It paused for a moment, then added, "And besides, from the beginning you wanted to get stronger so you could make Silvanus look up at you and feel jealous."

Matthew said again, "No, he would never be jealous. He would only feel relieved, then toss me aside and never spare me another glance."

The Outer God laughed at that. It knew Matthew wanted far more than he admitted.

Its voice curled around him, smooth and mysterious, like a hook baited with something irresistible:

"Then make Silvanus become you. Switch places. Make Silvanus lose everything, make him look up at you and beg for mercy. Wonderful, isn’t it? I think it’s wonderful too. Crush him, become his savior! Just as you once clung to Silvanus to survive, he will cling to you. Hahaha... as expected, you truly are my incarnation!"

Matthew trembled with excitement at its words, staring intensely at Silvanus’s back.

"To bring that day sooner, you must make a decision. The one I told you about..."

The Outer God’s voice snapped Matthew out of his spiraling thoughts.

He shuddered. With the Outer God’s help, he had grown stronger at an astonishing speed. Despite his timid and forgettable demeanor, he was now in the top five of the class.

It was only because of his shy appearance that most people overlooked him.

Previously, the Outer God had suggested a method that would allow him to become even stronger, even faster.

All he had to do was absorb the energy inside other Mages... in the most direct way possible: by consuming their flesh and blood.

And Lumina—Lumina was indeed the place where the most significant number of young Mages gathered.

That thought jolted Matthew back to himself. He shook his head violently, horrified that he had even considered such a monstrous idea.

Silvanus had supported him, sheltered him...

"Get lost!" Matthew snapped coldly.

The Outer God only scoffed at Matthew’s feeble struggle.

By the time they entered the Lore Tower, Matthew was the one who couldn’t concentrate.

The Lore Tower was the tallest structure on the Lumina campus, its peak disappearing into the clouds above.

Inside the tower was stored the oldest knowledge—accumulated not only from humans, but also from ancient ruins and from the contributions of the Elves.

This was also the only place where they were allowed to use magic, which let them fly. Luckily, the book Silvanus needed did not require any flying at all. It was simply a book about genders and different races, filled with many mysteries in history that ordinary people would never know existed until they saw the records with their own eyes.

Silvanus flipped through the pages frantically, yet found no record that mentioned any case of a creature being able to change its form on its own.

Ah, he did find something interesting, about certain people who could possess both sexual organs at the same time, or about some hermaphroditic species.

But Vivian was different. It seemed like it could decide what it wanted to be...

For now, Silvanus could determine that Vivian’s gender leaned more toward female, though depending on its needs, Vivian could transform the shape of its lower body however it wished.

Hmmmm...

Such an interesting race...

Silvanus also searched for information about the multi-tentacled creature that had attacked him at the Relics of the Hobbit, but found nothing in the records. Perhaps he had not searched long enough.

But for the first time, Silvanus realized just how vast this world truly was.

There were too many things out there, things even the most seasoned professionals had never seen. Some people lived their whole lives without ever seeing the Elves’ deep forests, without ever seeing the vast skies the Dragons once soared through...

Countless things that humans had never known...

Silvanus looked up. The skylight above was like a tiny star. Humans flew overhead, seeking knowledge, yet the higher they flew, the smaller they seemed.

"Matthew, let’s explore this world together."

Silvanus suddenly spoke. Matthew did not understand, and he did not need to. He would go anywhere Silvanus was, so he nodded. "I’ll go with you."

At that moment, in another corner of the sky.

The Church is a power parallel to the nobles.

The Church existed all across human territory. They represented light and faith, and they were also guardians who protected and supported the familiar people whenever disaster struck.

Unlike the nobles, the Church was deeply loved by the people.

The main temple of the Church was located in the very heart of the capital, Luminous, the home of the highest ranking believers and, most importantly, the Pope.