Chapter 251 – Vedrasha (One)

After listening to the Projection’s narration, Punk didn’t feel worried at all. Instead, he let out a long sigh of relief, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

The fourth trial was indeed extremely difficult. Experiencing another person’s incredibly long life was enough to make most “strong-willed” geniuses lose themselves. However, Punk was the only one unafraid of this—truly, not afraid in the slightest.

Punk’s soul had evolved in the void. While it might lack in other aspects, when it came to the concept of “self,” Punk dared to guarantee that even those at the God-Throne level might not necessarily surpass him.

A long time? No matter how long, could it compare to the “length” of “timelessness”? Erosion of consciousness? No matter how severe, could it compare to the terror of the endless deathly silence in the void?

Thus, Punk was genuinely fearless. If anyone could pass this trial, Punk would undoubtedly be the most relaxed and comfortable one.

“Excellent. Time is tight, so I think we can begin now.”

Punk didn’t hide his delight. He spoke to the Projection with a smile on his face.

Faced with Punk’s unusual confidence, the Projection didn’t say much. It was, after all, a rather rigid intelligent program. The numerous soul arrays set up by the Grand Arcanists to restrict intelligent programs had successfully stripped this advanced virtual soul of all emotions, including curiosity. Since the inheritor requested to begin the trial, there was naturally nothing more for it to say.

In Punk’s eyes, the Projection merely nodded calmly. Then, his consciousness gradually blurred. Space seemed to spin, all light slowly dispersed, blurred, and finally faded into darkness!

——————Break——————

This was the late period of the Netherese Civilization, a time when the war between the Netherese Civilization and the gods had already lasted for a hundred thousand years.

The Netherese Civilization was still glorious at this time. The terrifying phaerimm had not yet emerged, and the gods were powerless against the Floating Cities. Almost every day, news of some Floating City invading some God Realm and slaying some deity was eagerly discussed by the people.

It was in this magnificent era, a time when the Netherese Civilization seemed on the verge of reaching the legendary transcendent level and surpassing the entire universe, that a small life was born into an inconspicuous magic family in an unremarkable Floating City.

At the end of the tender growth season this year, the Zakas Family’s only Formal-Level powerhouse—the old patriarch, Mos Zakas—happily lifted a sleeping infant before the family’s mere seven members and declared loudly:

“Vedrasha Zakas, my beloved grandson, will become a powerful spellcaster!””

And so, Vedrasha Zakas’s life was predetermined while he slept.

In the old patriarch’s eyes, Vedrasha’s talent was exceptional—far superior to his own, an “old fool” stuck at the peak of the Formal-Level with no hope of reaching the Master-Level threshold, and certainly beyond the reach of Vedrasha’s father and two older brothers, who couldn’t even attain the Formal-Level.Thus, the old clan leader placed immense hopes in Vedrasha. He decisively abandoned his own illusory path to Master-Level advancement and, after getting drunk and weeping bitterly for the first time in his life one night, resolutely exchanged all the resources originally intended to assist his own advancement for the finest and most precious mage enlightenment resources to cultivate his “talented” grandson.

The Zakas Family specialized in crafting Magic Potions, and the old clan leader’s potions were undoubtedly cost-effective. Consequently, the “Zakas Potion Family” had gained some renown among the Formal-Level Mage circles of the “Shadow of the Distant Sky” Floating City, and their wealth even rivaled that of some newly advanced Master-Level experts.

Born into such an affluent family, Vedrasha’s childhood material life was undoubtedly of the highest standard. He had his own luxurious Room, a young maid of similar age whom little Vedrasha viewed purely as a playmate to attend to his daily needs, and an unlimited supply of spiritual-nourishing magical delicacies and snacks that commoners might never see in their lifetime. Describing Vedrasha as a “young master” would be an understatement—he was practically a little Emperor. Except for having to complete some tasks he deemed “time-wasting” as instructed by his grandfather, he got whatever he wanted in all other aspects. Within the vast family, aside from the authoritative old clan leader, no one—including his two older brothers—dared to say “no” to him.

The old clan leader clearly knew nothing about educating children. Had it not been for Vedrasha having a rather sensible, willful young maid who remained unmoved by both soft and hard tactics when displeased and constantly reminded him, Vedrasha would have truly become a complete good-for-nothing.

Fortunately, as an intelligent young mage, Vedrasha did not grow up spoiled. His childhood passed in playful squabbles with his little maid. Later, when attending the mage academy, Vedrasha felt the only dissatisfaction with his childhood was having an old clan leader who forced him daily to learn “boring” things and consume “disgusting” concoctions.

Unconsciously, Vedrasha had become a fifteen-year-old youth. Under the stern gaze of the old clan leader, he reluctantly bid farewell to the little maid he had grown up with and secretly admired, then boarded an airship to a spellcaster academy, truly stepping into the world of spellcasters.

At the outset of his mage path, Vedrasha was actually rebellious because he never wanted to be a mage at all. Instead, he aspired to become a knight like the gatekeeper Dankesh. The reason was simple and childish—Vedrasha thought using fists to teach others a lesson was cool, nothing more.

Well, how could we expect a wealthy young master living daily in an ivory tower to understand what opportunity meant or what it was to cherish anything?

In the throes of rebellious adolescence, Vedrasha resolutely and secretly studied the then-unpopular Battle Aura, even feeling smug about it because he found Battle Aura much easier to learn than obscure and difficult magic.During the subsequent fourteen years of his student life, Vedrasha actually managed to cultivate Battle Aura while studying magic, stubbornly pursuing both paths simultaneously. Had his Apprentice-Level spellcasting mentor not discovered this in time, this future Grand Arcanist might well have ended up as a mere spellblade.

Once exposed, there was nothing left to explain.

Vedrasha’s grandfather, the old clan leader, knew full well that his grandson was no prodigy capable of mastering both magic and martial arts—cultivating Battle Aura would only ruin the boy. Furious, he personally rushed over and decisively eradicated Vedrasha’s Battle Aura, bluntly severing his path as a warrior.

Though Vedrasha yielded to his grandfather’s lifelong authority at the time, putting on a show of “sincerely mending his ways,” he felt deeply discontented inwardly. Even after becoming a Grand Arcanist, Vedrasha still looked back on that moment with regret—not because he lacked passion for magic, but because Battle Aura had been a cherished dream of his childhood.

(End of Chapter)