CHAPTER 41: CHAPTER 41: WIZARD APTITUDE

The Acosta Clan, to which Earl Hardy belongs, used to be just a small Viscount, and its territory was far from as large as it is now.

However, after following that Wizard for a while and participating in the war between the Vera Kingdom and the Gondor Kingdom, Earl Hardy gained considerable military merits and was promoted to Earl.

Although that Wizard has since left, Earl Hardy has steadily developed his power with the experience and resources accumulated during that time.

He has encountered numerous assassination attempts and crises, but with his Knight Level power and his Red Glove, ordinary Knight Level assassins pose no threat to him.

Vivian is Earl Hardy’s youngest daughter and also his most beloved child.

The main reason for this is that Vivian is the most gifted in wizardry among his children, or rather, the closest to the threshold of becoming a Wizard.

As long as Vivian can become a Great Knight and enhance her Spiritual Power, she will qualify to become a Wizard.

For most ordinary people, their innate Spiritual Power is insufficient to become a Wizard.

Even within Wizard organizations, descendants of Wizard Clans often need methods to enhance their Spiritual Power from a young age, so they can start higher when they enter.

The only method Earl Hardy knows to enhance Spiritual Power is to cultivate to the Great Knight Realm.

"As long as my Spiritual Power is sufficient, Father can secure an opportunity for me to become a Wizard." Vivian said.

Earl Hardy received a promise when he worked for that Wizard.

If one of Earl Hardy’s descendants has good wizard aptitude, he can contact that Wizard to potentially join Wizard organizations.

"How is Spiritual Power tested?" Duke pondered and asked, wanting to know how Vivian knew about her own Spiritual Power.

"Father has a Spiritual Power Scale Compass; you just hold it to test your Spiritual Power. I’ll help you measure it when we get back." Vivian said.

This Spiritual Power Scale Compass also came from that Wizard and is merely a small experimental instrument.

The so-called wizard aptitude actually refers to a person’s innate Spiritual Power intensity.

It is normally divided into ten grades, from first to tenth, and reaching the third grade means meeting the basic requirements for Spiritual Power.

Vivian’s Spiritual Power Scale measures at 2.8, just a hair’s breadth away from the third grade.

For an ordinary person, her level of Spiritual Power is already considered quite high.

In fact, according to Earl Hardy, Spiritual Power alone is not the entirety of wizard aptitude; it is just a basic judgment standard.

True aptitude also takes into account factors like perception and logical thinking ability, as Spiritual Power does not represent everything.

But these aspects are hard to quantify and evaluate, so often Spiritual Power is tested instead.

Vivian looked at Duke and said, "The fact that you can use demonized items shows your Spiritual Power is quite good. If I can join a Wizard organization, I’ll also help you see if there’s an opportunity for you."

Duke nodded without saying anything; naturally, he hopes to join a Wizard organization and become a Wizard.

But it seems that even Earl Hardy might not have much influence in front of Wizards, so not much hope should be pinned on it.

He has already made up his mind: even if he cannot reach Wizards through Vivian, he will pursue the path to becoming a Wizard by himself.

In the meantime, Duke can only enhance his own abilities as much as possible, raising everything he can at present to the limit.

Only with strength can one have the capital to discuss the future.

If Wizards do exist as a group, it means there are many with casting abilities.

Duke is well aware that this signifies a world of high danger, and without sufficient strength, one can easily run into trouble.

...

At night, the cold wind brought a chill from the distant snowy mountains.

Duke was still bare-chested since he had given his clothes to Vivian. He could only endure the cold wind.

The full-body armor set aside was metal, providing no warmth. Instead, its excellent thermal conductivity made his body heat dissipate faster.

Vivian looked at Duke sitting beside her, then at the clothes she wore, and said, "Come here."

"What’s up?" Duke turned his head in confusion.

"Come here, sleep here." Vivian patted the grass beside her.

Duke hesitated but understood Vivian’s intent, though he dared not approach for a moment.

After all, this world is highly hierarchical; he is a commoner, while Vivian is the Count’s Daughter.

"Hurry up!" Vivian huffed impatiently.

Duke thought about it, and since he had already seen everything, there was nothing more to mind. So, he lay down next to her.

As soon as he lay down, Vivian carefully embraced him, trying to cover him with her body as much as possible to shield him from the wind.

The fine linen clothes Vivian wore were soft and somewhat thin; touching the soft parts inevitably stirred one’s imagination.

"Don’t get any ideas, sleep!" Vivian noticed this, blushing slightly, and scolded him softly.

Duke lay obediently, not daring to move, letting Vivian hold him as they kept warm in the cold wind.

They said nothing that night, feeling each other’s breaths and listening to each other’s heartbeats as they fell asleep peacefully.

Early the next morning, Duke slowly woke, finding themselves tightly embraced, likely a natural reaction to the cold at night.

Vivian lay on his chest, sleeping soundly.

Duke lowered his head and ended up looking into an abyss.

Soon, Vivian’s long lashes fluttered, and she slowly awakened.

"What’s this..." Vivian mumbled groggily.

Embracing tightly in the early morning, Duke’s age made him naturally hearty.

Feeling uncomfortable, Vivian thought it was a branch, reached to touch it, and quickly realized, hurriedly pulling away with a red face.

Duke awkwardly scratched the back of his head, helpless, as it wasn’t something he could control.

He then made an excuse to find breakfast, gathering some wild fruits outside.

The fruits tasted not very good, quite sour and astringent, but they could replenish some vitamins, so they had to do.

Vivian didn’t mind either, showing none of a noble lady’s airs, and ate the ugly wild fruits without a fuss.

She was even tougher than Duke; she had endured countless hardships in daily training, or she wouldn’t wear armor weighing several hundred pounds all the time.

With two days of rest, Vivian’s ribs were not fully healed but no longer hampered normal activity.

Her broken right leg wasn’t fully healed, still making walking difficult.

Duke and his companions planned to start slowly moving out today, trying to first exit the Moonlight Forest and reach populated areas.

As long as they could encounter people, understanding their position and returning to Maple Hill County wouldn’t be difficult.