Chapter 720 - 450: The Protagonist

Chapter 720: Chapter 450: The Protagonist

·

Ten-year-old Michelle strolled leisurely down the road back to the village, a basket of brown mushrooms on his back, humming the melody of a ballad he had heard from a Minstrel.

Today’s haul was excellent. The secret forest he had discovered by chance was full of delicious Floating Mushrooms. This type of mushroom was extremely popular in the city. Its flavor was exceptionally rich, making it suitable for all kinds of cooking methods: frying, grilling, stewing, steaming, and stir-frying. It could even be eaten raw, offering a unique, fragrant taste that could cleanse the palate of any unpleasant flavors.

Most importantly, eating a Floating Mushroom produced a comfortable, pleasant sensation of floating on the clouds. It also caused one to see many wondrous, magical scenes. This was why it had become an ingredient that city dwellers scrambled to buy. Minstrels and writers were particularly fond of it, as it was said to provide them with a great deal of inspiration.

Of course, one couldn’t eat too many Floating Mushrooms, or there was a risk of fatal poisoning. Michelle’s maternal uncle’s neighbor’s second aunt’s female cousin’s distant male cousin—a writer of some small fame—had died from poisoning after consuming an excessive amount.

Countless death cases were a matter of public record, yet countless people continued to fall victim. Michelle once pointed at a newspaper story and laughed at their foolishness, thinking that none of these adults were as clever as he, a child. But his grandfather had just shaken his head, saying they weren’t foolish—they just wanted to escape reality.

Michelle said he didn’t understand, and his grandfather didn’t explain further. He simply stroked Michelle’s head affectionately and told him he would naturally understand when he grew up.

Now, Michelle was ten. His grandfather had passed away two years ago, and he finally understood.

It was because of the end of the World.

Michelle looked up at the sky.

A glaring, bright red Sun hung overhead like a great, blazing Fireball, dazzling his eyes. The scorching sunlight baked the earth, turning his skin red, and the road beneath his feet was searing hot.

The edge of the Sun was covered by a smear of black, making the entire star look incomplete... No, not covered. The elders and the newspapers all said it was "erosion."

More than sixty years ago, in that world-altering war, the Evil God was defeated by the heroes of Gaia. But it had still managed to erode the Sun. Scholars who studied it discovered that the patch of Darkness was slowly expanding and would one day consume the entire Sun.

The Royal Family was helpless against the corruption, which led to a flood of rumors about the end of the World, causing widespread panic. But those rumors usually died down on their own before long. This was partly due to suppression by the Royal Family, but mostly because most people didn’t have the time to worry about it. They’d rather use that time to work a little harder, earn a little more money, and put better food on the table.

There was also a portion of the population who believed the rumors implicitly and began to indulge in wanton pleasure. These people were the biggest consumers of Floating Mushrooms, and quite a few were willing to buy them at high prices.

Selling Floating Mushrooms had earned Michelle’s family a lot of money. He could have kissed those foolish city folk.

’In his view, the end of the World was still far off. Sixty-some years had passed, and the Sun had only been eroded by that little bit. It probably wouldn’t even be halfway corrupted by the time he died. There was no need to worry about the end of the World now. Only idiots would believe those rumors and squander their family fortunes on pleasure.’

He could already imagine their regret and embarrassment when they spent all their money only to find the end of the World hadn’t come.

Humming a song the whole way, Michelle returned to Rose Village.

The houses in Rose Village were clean and tidy, and every household grew different varieties of roses by their doorstep. Vibrant rose bushes could be seen everywhere along the roads, and there was even a massive flower plaza. This was the great specialty of Rose Village, which it used to attract outsiders to visit and stay. Some wealthy outsiders were even willing to spend thirty Copper Coins for a single bouquet of roses.

At the village entrance, a man saw him and hurriedly called out, "Michelle, you’re back just in time! The Mage from the Magic Academy is here to test the village children’s talent! He’s in the plaza. You’d better hurry over, or you’ll miss it."

"What?! So suddenly? Isn’t it supposed to be three days from now?" Michelle’s face fell, and he immediately broke into a sprint.

’The magic talent test!’

This was an important ceremony that all Gaia People had to participate in at the age of ten, one that would determine their future.

The ceremony tested whether a participant had the talent for using Magic. If they did, they could become a Mage candidate and go to the city to study Magic for free for three years, after which there would be a unified assessment. Those who passed the assessment would become official Mages. Even those who didn’t pass could still find an excellent job with the status of an intern Demon Cultist and continue to study Magic until they passed.

You could say that as long as you had a talent for Magic, your life would be changed forever!

Michelle had dreamed of becoming a Mage ever since he was little. After his tenth birthday at the beginning of the year, he had been eagerly awaiting this year’s magic talent test. He just never expected the day to arrive so suddenly, three days earlier than in previous years and without any notice.

He rushed to the plaza. It was already mobbed with villagers, so packed you could barely move. There were even some out-of-town tourists in the crowd, drawn by the excitement.

"Michelle, you’re finally here!" Michelle’s mother, who had been pacing anxiously at the edge of the crowd, quickly took the basket from his back and, without another word, started dragging him through the throng.

"Make way, make way!"

His mother forcefully pushed her way through the crowd, pulling Michelle to the very front. "Hurry and get over there!"

In the center of the plaza stood seven children, their faces filled with nervousness and apprehension. Beside them was a long, solid wood table brought from the village chief’s house. A Crystal Ball sat on top of it, and behind it sat a young man wearing a Magic Robe.