Mythology Rebooted

At noon, a blue family sedan was driving on a rural highway.

The further they got from Lundan, the worse the roads became, but generally speaking, they were much better than Wayne had expected, especially with the air being fresher, hundreds times better than the Lundan city center.

It would have been even better if it weren't winter.

The sedan was purchased at a second-hand car market. Dr. Laine had commissioned Wayne to investigate the second-hand cars, and he had uncovered quite a few shady dealings at this dealership. After a bit of intimidation and persuasion, and considering the Queen's influence, they readily recommended this eight-tenths new "black market" vehicle.

The owner didn't disclose its origins, and Wayne didn't ask, knowing that Veronica scorned commoners' cars. It was destined to be a one-time-use item, so adhering to the principle of expedience, he completed the vehicle purchase within half an hour.

Whose name the vehicle was registered under was a mystery, so Wayne didn't need to assume any risk. The dealer assured him, with a slap on his chest, that everything was legitimate.

Compared with the civilian cars Wayne had seen in his 'previous life', this four-seater blue sedan was quite basic. It was so simple that the dashboard had only one instrument panel, without even a radio.

The car's body included some wooden components, and it featured double doors at the rear, with a very spacious trunk which could hold a lot of stuff.

Basic as it was, it truly seemed eight-tenths new. The headlights were bright, the engine was running smoothly, the gearbox was reliable, and there was no strange smell inside the car—it was ready to go as soon as it was warmed up and fueled.

Wayne leisurely drove the sedan out of the dealership, and according to Veronica's request, he purchased a batch of supplies. In addition, he prepared two barrels of gasoline, two cases of drinking water, and a varied amount of cans, chocolate, and compressed biscuits.

Veronica intended for a quick trip, to catch Bloody Mike, lift the curse, and leave without staying too long in Caforno Town—if all went well, they would be able to return to Lundan by nightfall.

Her reasoning made sense, so Wayne bought a large quantity of supplies, as being cautious never hurt anyone.

Veronica was responsible for driving, and being a young woman who had lost her concerns of poverty at an early age, her driving skills were quite adept.

In contrast, the driving skills of William, who sat in the passenger seat, were simply indescribable. He possessed a driver's license, which the university mandated as a graduation requirement. Braving wind and rain, it had taken him two years to barely pass.

In the backseat were Wayne and the black cat, Monica. Originally, Veronica had asked Wayne to drive because teacher Monica was supposed to teach a class, making the young lady the dedicated driver for this journey.

"Don't rush, the seeds of magic power cannot be achieved overnight; they are more like a form of guidance and inheritance unless you're a genius..."

Seeing Wayne somewhat eager for quick success, Monica began to enlighten him, explaining in detail the foundation of all extraordinary powers—magic power.

Magic power is the lever to move the extraordinary, without it, there's nothing to discuss.

For an ordinary person to gain magic power and become a novice Mage, or rather, a Magic Apprentice, meditation is a relatively gentle method.

If you have connections, you can let a mentor guide you. For example, the Magic Seed that Monica implanted in Wayne is one of such guiding methods.

The more radical method is to follow the path of extraordinary faith, pleasing the gods to obtain powerful magic power.

The former method is slow, and many people spend a lot of time stuck at this stage, while the latter, though much faster, is not as serene and safe as the former.

After all, in the eyes of the believers, all gods other than their own are heretics, evil, and deceitful, while only the god they worship is the eternal beacon of truth.

Through the believers' embellishments and oral traditions, the gods are ninety-nine percent made-up, leaving ordinary people in the dark, and choosing a faith is like opening a mystery box.

If you're lucky, you join a legitimate society, taking it upon yourself to uphold justice and fight evil—definitely a protagonist;

If unlucky, you end up worshiping an Evil God who delights in torturing followers, with sacrifice quotas every month and every year. Not only do you suffer, but you also become a henchman of the Evil God, reviled by all.

But I digress, back to the original topic of the Magic Seed.

Black cat Monica shared her magic power with Wayne, using water to draw water, employing magic power to awaken magic power, allowing Wayne to skip the tiresome initial stage of meditation.

In the future, if Wayne wanted to enhance his own magic power, he would still need to persist in meditation. But the leap from 0 to 1 is the hardest, and skipping this stage could save a lot of time and energy.

The success rate is fifty-fifty; everyone has the potential to become a Mage, but not every attempt at sparking magic power with magic power is successful.

"So, if this attempt fails, don't be discouraged. If you keep trying, you'll eventually succeed."

Logically, Monica didn't need to guide Wayne to become a Mage. If this trip went smoothly, the curse on Wayne could be completely lifted. All she needed to do in the short term was to replenish Wayne's magic power to prevent his soul from starving.

The reason she expended so much effort, planting a Magic Seed and holding lectures, was purely because of Wayne as a person.

As a follower of the Moonlight Goddess, Monica was opposed to the Goddess of Death and the Dark Goddess. Snatching Wayne from the sights of a death walker would not only thwart the opponent's plan but also add a living force to her own side.

Win twice, that's a win-win!

Here it should be mentioned that Monica's faith was with the Moonlight Goddess, neither Veronica nor William shared this belief. The former was a follower of the Nature Goddess, while the latter had devoted his faith to the Sun Goddess.

Nature, Sun, Moonlight VS Death, Dark, the strife among the five Goddesses dates back a thousand years.

Wayne spent the whole journey with his eyes closed, listening to the black cat teacher's lecture. Following the small tips from the cat, he explored the existence of his own magic power.

A night's worth of diligence wasn't wasted; he quickly found his own magic power. As a beginner, he couldn't describe magic power with professional jargon from the magical field. In terms that he understood, magic power was the product of vitality, energy, and spirit closely intertwined, and moreover…

The spirit held the dominant position.

Spirit refers to the heart, the mind, and mental strength. Only this wisdom crystal, born from the flesh and straddling the realms of matter and energy, could move magic power and thereby lever the world bound by rules.

Wayne sensed a lot and saw clearly his own magic power, pure white but different from Monica's Magic Seed. The two shades of white were vastly distinct.

One was tainted white; the other was pristine white.

The moment the magic power within Wayne was unearthed, the Magic Seed left by Monica shattered instantly. This scene caught the attention of both Veronica and William, and left Monica dumbfounded.

Cat shocked.JPG

It hadn't held much hope, initially just wanting Wayne to get acquainted with the Magic Seed. There would be time to deal with the curse later, but it never expected…

Monica's mind raced with countless thoughts, grateful for the stroke of good fortune. A spur-of-the-moment hijack not only sabotaged the plan of the death cultists but also won a potential and limitless follower for her own Goddess.

Given the chance, Wayne might even become a favored one of the Divine!

On the passenger seat, William swallowed his saliva and stuffed a mouthful of chocolate to calm his nerves.

The driving Veronica wasn't doing much better, distracted and not paying attention, the vehicle deviated from the road and the tires ran over a large pothole.

With a thump, Monica on the back seat was sent flying into the air.

Mid-air, the black cat still wore a confused face.

So quick, could he really be a genius?

"Ah, Veronica, watch the road, the road!"

Amid William's screams, Wayne reached up to catch the falling Monica, stealthily petted her a few times while the cat was not paying attention, and then pretended nothing happened and placed her back in position.

The feel was really nice; next time, I'll try to flick the little bell.

Wayne looked down at his still feeble magic power, exchanged glances with The Book of Greed, and couldn't help but slowly curve his lips into a smile.

Veronica apologized in a low voice and glanced at the rearview mirror. Catching sight of the big liar, who was staring down at his crotch and chuckling stupidly.

Oops, I've been deceived by this kind of guy!

Veronica pursed her lips and threw cold water on the situation, "Don't get too excited too soon. Magic is very dangerous. From the basics to psychological counseling, from eating meals to taking medicine, from school to the cemetery, there is no shortage of Mages who go mad each year. I hope you're not the next one."

Wayne: (¬_¬)

Learning magic leads to madness, what's the reasoning behind that?