Wandering Knight-Chapter 9: Latent Abilities and Avias Family

By the time Wang Yu opened his eyes again, the blazing sun was high up in the air. Golden light filtered down into the depths of the forest teeming with vitality.

Without any mauled bodies or bloodstains ruining the atmosphere, the forests of Aleisterre were beautiful beyond belief.

In his past life, the few forests that Wang Yu had seen were all polluted and degraded to varying extents. In comparison, the forests of Aleisterre were largely pristine and untouched.

Of course, there were predators lurking about this otherwise beautiful forest, but Wang Yu wouldn't give them a chance to attack.

He was lucky not to have to stand guard overnight. Torrent was the best sentry he could ask for. If there were even the slightest disturbance, the capable horse would immediately awaken and alert Wang Yu.

He squinted at the sun to estimate the time of day.

Days were roughly about 24 hours long in this world, and the sun likewise rose in the east and set in the west. Perhaps there was a solar system here too.

All Wang Yu knew was that the knowledge from his past life could be used as reference, but not necessarily promulgated as the truth.

To pursue so-called "science" in a supernatural world was a shortsighted decision.

That was why Wang Yu had been attempting to accumulate more arcane knowledge, though he hardly had opportunities to do so. Most of what he learned from Reynard was common sense and physical conditioning.

Wang Yu's thoughts quickly turned to his newly acquired strength. He considered his body carefully, trying to determine how it differed from before. Formless ripples surrounded him.

His latent ability, automatically given the name "Ripple" by his mental domain, seemed to have drawn on memories of an animated show he had watched in his past life. [1]

There were many similarities between his Ripple ability and that in the show. For one, the power manifested in the form of ripples.

Wang Yu put a finger in the dregs of the pot of soup left over from last night. The sticky fluid immediately began to ripple, as if he had thrown a pebble into a pond. It looked as if Wang Yu's finger had been agitating and stirring it up, but Wang Yu hadn't moved his finger at all. He was simply activating his latent ability, which distorted the world by translating void energy into force—hence the ripples.

Upon awakening, a wizard would receive limited information about the form and function of the resulting latent ability, the core of its essence and power. Subsequent evolution of that ability, however, was up to the wizard.

Wizards were also known as occultists because of the wide variety of abilities they showcased. In addition to their latent abilities, wizards could develop all sorts of occult practices with which to distort reality. All who had to face wizards in battle would experience a breadth of such occult powers.

The core of Wang Yu's latent Ripple ability was the notion of conveyance: the ability to bear and support whatever Wang Yu gave it, then to transmit it elsewhere.

For instance, Wang Yu made the dregs of soup ripple by transmitting his strength from his body into physical reality.

Doing so would drain his stamina, but the consumption of mental energy was so minimal as to be negligible.

"Is this the power of a latent ability? I can use it almost indefinitely. No wonder you have to awaken a latent ability to be known as a wizard," Wang Yu murmured, glancing at his hand.

"I can already imagine how potent this ability can get. There's no restriction to what I can convey, is there? It could be 'line of sight,' 'intent,' or even 'pain.' For the moment, though, my control isn't sufficient to work with such advanced and complex concepts. I'll have to start small. Trying to transmit my strength from inside my body to outside is still somewhat restrictive, but if it's merely internal, I can do it without much effort."

Wang Yu focused on his inner body as he crossed his sensory receptors.

The next moment, Wang Yu's eyes widened. He felt as if he had lost control of his entire body.

His eyes could smell, his nose could see, his ears could sense pain, and his limbs and muscles began to spasm.

Wang Yu attempted to stand up. He could prop one leg up, but when he did the same with the other, he ended up raising an arm instead.

He immediately lost his balance and toppled over.

He tried to struggle up again, but neither his arms nor legs would obey him this time. He struggled madly like some monstrous creature, some humanoid spider. He writhed madly on the ground, but his limbs were unable to produce anything even vaguely resembling motion.

His nose heard a crack and he sensed sudden pain by his neck and left foot. Simultaneously, his right hand knocked over the pot of soup. Wang Yu didn't dare move any longer. He froze in place in a tangled heap.

Any further movement might end up causing serious injury, but he was rather satisfied with his little experiment.

The principle of conveyance applied even to non-physical matter, and he would be able to develop greater control and mastery over his ability with repeated practice.

He lay on the ground quietly, ignoring the drops of soup now trickling down his hand. Wang Yu began to regulate his senses and ensure that his body remained functional.

"What's going on, Wang Yu? Are you alright?" Avia asked from nearby. She had fallen asleep last night from exhaustion after testing her latent ability, but had completely recovered after a good night's rest.

Torrent was now sleeping after having remained on guard all night long.She sat up against Torrent's body, only to see Wang Yu sprawled on the ground, his limbs all in disarray, soup splashed all over his right hand, his eyes bulging, his expression half-crazed.

Avia instantly began to panic. She had no one else she could rely on save Wang Yu, who was now, supposedly, her squire and attendant.

Given her kind and softhearted personality, she would never order Wang Yu about like a servant. Rather, they were developing into trustworthy comrades.

Upon seeing Wang Yu's appearance, she couldn't help but panic. A pale purple glow shone from her hand as she prepared to use her latent ability.

"No, no, it's alright! I'm fine," Wang Yu mumbled. He had finally gotten the majority of his senses back in order.

Avia continued to examine him as she frowned. It had taken him far longer to form that sentence than he should have, every syllable requiring dedicated effort.

Avia sat down by Wang Yu's side, her hands curled around her knees, as she watched Wang Yu put himself back in order.

Wang Yu felt a little embarrassed. He had likely given Avia a big shock as she awoke.

He calmed down and continued to correct his sensory perception, which gradually settled into their native forms.

As he did so, the ripples within his body harmonized, and Wang Yu gained rudimentary sensory control over his body.

He examined how his senses transmitted information all over his body via his ripples.

It was an incredible sensation, one with a pleasing flow that was difficult to describe. His body was an intricate machine, each cog serving its intended role.

His ripples served as shortcuts for transmitting signals that could bypass the conduits and natural framework of his body, allowing for near-instantaneous signal transfer.

His reaction speed and control improved to a shocking degree—if his physique had been operating at 0.8x the human maximum in the past, it must have grown to 2x or even higher. The superlative increase left Wang Yu even more confident in his decision to become a budding wizard.

The next step was to determine where he and Avia would go.

Developing his latent ability and training his constitution as befitted a knight would come later.

Now that Avia was awake, it was time to discuss her circumstances. Their future journey would, in large part, be dictated by her goals.

Wang Yu wiped the remaining soup on his hand against the grass on the ground and sat right opposite Avia.

Wang Yu looked at her and asked, "I need to know about your family and your future plans. We should plan out our next steps."

Avia seemed to cower upon hearing Wang Yu's request. Her gaze grew dim, and she appeared upset.

Even so, she told Wang Yu about herself.

She was born to nobility in Missal, one of the Central Provinces of Aleisterre. Her father was a viscount, and her mother the daughter of an earl. Her family's holdings included a large tract of land in the area.

Her father, Dimas Dovan, was a renowned general in Aleisterre's army and a powerful knight who had awakened to a knightly bloodline with mastery over frost. He was incredibly strong.

Avia's mother was Mira Dovan, and Avia had two siblings: an elder brother and a younger one.

Because of the influence of the times, the nobility of Aleisterre generally valued male heirs over female ones. Avia's two brothers, Dellan and Damian Dovan, received preferential treatment over Avia herself.

Viscount Dimas was a traditionalist who had been awarded his noble position after fierce competition between his own brothers and had earned merit by valor on the battlefield.

He firmly believed that strength derived from repeated, rigorous training and exercise.

From childhood, Avia's father had insisted that her two brothers compete with one another and the children of the other nobility. His face was always stern and stoic; he was stingy with compliments and generous with punishment. The most one could hope to receive was a grudging nod. Success would be rewarded with advanced training techniques or rare, particularly nourishing food—and failure with beating from a switch or rod.

His deep-set disappointment and disinterest in Avia had left her with a sense of inferiority since childhood, one that was exacerbated by similar treatment from the servants and her two brothers owing to her gender.

Neither brother was willing to play with her, or even speak with her overmuch.

The servants didn't dare express their views outright, but Avia had been a sensitive girl to whom their disdain was apparent.

The oppressive nature of her childhood had left her subdued and timid.

Despite being a member of the nobility, she didn't act like one.

Her one respite within her seemingly enviable but particularly stressful environment was her mother, who showered her with love and affection.

Her mother held incredible status in her household. Though she was weak and infirm, it was clear that her father loved her.

The household's servants and the serfs over which they governed were all proud to have such a benevolent and powerful magician as the lady of the land.

Avia's mother was an advanced magician who boasted particularly strong magic.

Famed for its armies, Aleisterre generally prized its magicians, who boasted incredible area-of-effect combat spells, over similarly-ranked knights.

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Avia, who had an advanced magician as a mother and a great knight as a father, was therefore a noble of high standing herself despite her gender.

Her mother would frequently hug her and tell her, "I was just like you at your age. When you become a magician and surpass me, all those who looked down on you will be forced to change their minds."

When her mother told her that, Avia would beam. Her lacking confidence and desire for recognition—her mother's words seemed to provide a solution she longed for. She smiled in hope of a better future.

When she was twelve, her mother had tested her affinity as a magician. She was very pleased to find that Avia had incredible affinity, and might even reach the vaunted status of elemental mage.

Her father had witnessed the entire process. He too shared a rare smile with her mother and caressed her head.

Her two brothers were a little envious of her talent, but still very happy for her.

Those were her happiest childhood days.

Her mother told her that she should work toward becoming a magician at sixteen, when her memory was at its peak and would facilitate her understanding of the fundamental aspects of magic.

Before that, she would train her mental energy and shore up her reserves.

Over the next four years, Avia carefully followed her mother's guidance, meditating, training her mental energy, and accumulating magical energy. Though she had yet to learn formal magic, she boasted the magical power of an advanced magician-in-training and mental energy far beyond that of a trainee.

Avia had been slated to visit her mother's sister—her aunt—to formally receive training in magic and become a true magician.

She was being sent away because, a year ago, her father had perished on a battlefield in the distant kingdom of Selwyn. He had slain three great knights of Selwyn, only to succumb to his injuries.

Dellan, a squire to his father who had been learning from him on the battlefield, had perished as well.

When her mother received the horrifying news, she cried for an entire day. Thereafter, it was as though she had aged a decade overnight.

Her younger brother, forced into early maturity by the cruel vicissitudes of life, followed her father's erstwhile subordinate onto the battlefield. He wanted to prove himself and follow in his father's footsteps, in accordance with his will.

Since then, the matter of succession had become a thorny issue.

The servants gossiped that Avia's uncles might inherit Avia's father's position as viscount, but Avia was well aware that her father would rather cede the position to her than any of his own brothers.

Despite her grief, her mother knew that she would have to put the household to order herself. She suppressed the rumors floating among the servants and even went as far as to kill those who most viciously spread those rumors.

She started an internal investigation to find the source of the rumors: her husband's brother, Decaphon Dovan.

Worried, her mother contacted her sister, headmistress of a specialized academy of magic, Lilya Svein.

She requested that Lilya instruct Avia in the magical arts so that she could rapidly grow into a full-fledged magician and be protected from the matter of inheritance that now plagued her household.

Three months before her capture by the bandits, her brother Damian went missing on the battlefield, and the chaos in her household reached fever pitch.

Decaphon allied with a few barons in hopes of securing his late brother's position as viscount, deepening Avia's mother's worries. She entrusted Avia to her loyal housekeeper "Iron Fortress" Oka, himself a full knight, to bring Avia to her sister's academy in the woods.

"And then..." Avia trailed off. She lowered her head as tears glimmered in her eyes.

Wang Yu could guess what had happened. Oka and Avia must have been waylaid on the road.

Avia's younger brother, Dima, had gone missing on the battlefield. Avia was presumed dead. Viscount Dovan had no remaining successors except for his brothers, paving the way for Decaphon's rise.

Oka's role had been crucial in this chain of affairs.

After careful thought, Wang Yu patted Avia on the shoulder. "My deepest sympathies. What we need to do now is bring you to your aunt as quickly as possible, then inform your mother that you're still alive. Don't worry. Leave it to me!"

Wang Yu gave her a thumbs up. Despite the fact that Wang Yu wasn't a particularly strong squire, his assurance relieved her to a surprising extent.

Somewhat awkwardly, she copied Wang Yu's thumbs up. She didn't quite understand what this hand gesture was supposed to mean, but it was more or less clear from context.

"Please!" Avia requested seriously.

Wang Yu laughed and bowed. "Your wish is my command."

1. A JoJo's Bizarre Adventure reference. ☜