Chapter 77 - 4: First Encounter or Reunion

Chapter 77: Chapter 4: First Encounter or Reunion

At this moment, through Lilia’s eyes, the seemingly empty room was filled with countless Elemental Particles drifting and colliding in mid-air as she focused her mind. The most abundant and brightest among them were the Fire Element, followed by the Wind Element. She could barely see the earth and Water Element particles. However, since different types of Magic were inherently interconnected, she figured it wouldn’t be too difficult to sense them once her Magic level improved.

Lilia recalled her learning experience at Lien Academy. Back then, even with Victor tutoring her, it took her at least a week to master a single spell—and that was just for the simplest, most basic Magic. Later, when she transferred to Adrian Public School, she completely gave up on practical Magic studies because she had no idea how to actually apply more than half of what the teachers taught. The root cause was her incredibly poor perception of Elemental Particles.

Back then, no matter how hard she tried, she could only vaguely sense the presence of Elemental Particles around her. But now... the densely packed Magic Elements were like stars in a clear night sky, their density so high it would make someone with trypophobia scream. Lilia didn’t even need to actively attract them. She only had to draw upon a sliver of Magic Power within her body, and the elements spontaneously gathered in her palm.

With a barely audible POOF, an orange-red flame leaped from her hand. It was condensed, stable, and bright enough. If she had been able to produce something like this in her practical Magic classes, she probably would have scored as high as Caius. Not only that... Lilia flipped her palm, and the fireball danced continuously between her fingers with incredible agility. As she poured out more Magic Power, her control over Magic grew stronger and stronger. It was clear that the talent known as "Heavenly Dao Rewards Diligence" was taking effect.

After she practiced in the room for a while, the time quietly slipped into the afternoon.

Feeling that she had practiced enough, Lilia got up and left the small house. The easiest way to get food was, of course, to use Phantom Magic to conceal her presence and then openly take some from the kitchen. However, on one hand, she couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t run into a steward who might understand Magic along the way. On the other hand, Phantom Magic was considered a relatively High-level application of Magic. Before learning it, one had to master the low-level magic of both the Water Element and the Wind Element. The Wind Element was fine, but the Water Element... the restriction of a "low-level" affinity was still too great.

Fortunately, the Royal Court was large enough. As long as she put her mind to it, finding something to eat wouldn’t be difficult. Following her memory, Lilia arrived at the northernmost corner of the Royal Court. Few people ever came near here. Overgrown with weeds, the environment wasn’t exactly picturesque, but there was a lake nearby. Spending time here in the summer would be quite comfortable. When Lilia was a child, she often came here at night to sit on the grassy bank, enjoying the cool breeze and watching the starry sky. Here, she wouldn’t be disturbed by those mean and bitter servants, nor would she have to worry about overly realistic problems like how they would make things difficult for her the next day. It was one of the few happy times in her memory.

Dark clouds had been rolling into the sky since noon. It looked like it was going to rain. The oppressive weather made it a bit hard for people to breathe, and the fish in the lake felt the same way. Standing on the shore, Lilia could occasionally see large, arm-length fish leaping out of the water. For some reason, it gave her a satisfying sense of an impending bountiful harvest.

Lilia rolled up her sleeves. Using the Fire Element in water would greatly reduce its effectiveness, but she could add Wind Element Magic as an auxiliary. When combined, these two primary lethal elements often produced a synergistic effect greater than the sum of their parts, especially in terms of destructive power. Although bombing fish was a bit lacking in Morality... special circumstances required special measures. Who could blame her when she needed food right now?

Supported by her extremely high Elemental Affinity, she didn’t even need to chant a Spell. The free-floating Elemental Particles in the air rapidly gathered under her control. In an instant, hurricane-force winds surged, and flames soared! The fierce wind, wrapped in raging flames, shot forward, diving deep into the lake like a swimming dragon before suddenly erupting. The blast sent a massive splash of water shooting a full three meters into the air.

FLAP, FLAP, FLAP...

The lake water rained down on the shore, followed closely by several pale, plump fish. They clearly hadn’t realized what had just happened. Their tails slapped against the ground in vain, their tiny eyes filled with massive confusion. Lilia picked out a few that had been caught in the blast and died on the spot, then threw the rest back into the lake.

She observed her surroundings. Although the explosion was loud, it was fortunate that this place was remote enough not to attract anyone’s attention. She decided to simply process the ingredients right there. Using a sharp stone she found on the shore, she scraped off the scales, sliced open the bellies, discarded the gills and all the innards, and then washed them thoroughly inside and out with lake water.

Not bad. Now they were ready to be roasted.

Since it was her first time doing something like this, Lilia’s movements were undeniably clumsy, but fortunately, the results were satisfactory enough. Carrying the large fish, she prepared to head home. As she passed a grove of trees, her footsteps suddenly came to a halt.

She thought, "How strange." For a split second just now, she felt as if she had detected a faint fluctuation of Magic Power, but when she tried to sense it carefully, it disappeared. She wondered if it was just an illusion. Frowning, Lilia continued down the path and left.

Only when the girl’s figure vanished at the end of the road did a young man in a white robe step out from behind a tree trunk. It was none other than Victor.

The Royal Court of the Light Kingdom was exquisitely decorated and boasted beautiful scenery. Utilizing an overall color scheme of white and blue, it exuded a sense of lightness and freedom, as if floating in the sky. However, Victor never paid attention to such things. He had bypassed all the places where people might be along the way, unknowingly arriving near this lake. He had barely been there for a moment before the girl walked over.

He hadn’t originally intended to hide, but the girl didn’t notice him at first. If he were to suddenly reveal himself halfway through, it might make her think he was deliberately peeping. So, he concealed his presence and observed her in secret until she was done.

He saw her use Magic without even needing to chant, her proficiency so advanced that she didn’t seem like a mere teenager. He saw her preparing the fish, the sharp stone nearly cutting her fingers several times, her clumsiness giving him the urge to step forward and help. Combining the Water Element with the Wind Element could create a sharp ice blade. Let alone slicing open a fish belly, it wouldn’t have any problem cutting through bone... These words rolled around the tip of Victor’s tongue, but he ultimately swallowed them back down.

He didn’t know why he had stayed here just to watch a teenage girl process food ingredients. He merely felt that even though he had never seen that face before, it inexplicably gave him a... very familiar feeling. He was even impatient to find out her name.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, a clear, sweet voice rang out from behind him.

"Hey." The girl’s tone carried a hint of confusion, but mostly it was the wariness reserved for a stranger. "Who are you?"