Chapter 16: The Three Major Architectures

As the month of Frost Descent arrived, fine snowflakes began to drift from the sky, and even the distant ocean froze into ice.

Along this winding coastal mountain road, a tall, black-lacquered carriage traveled slowly.

The coachman held the reins with one hand, driving a tall, spirited steed adorned with an exquisite saddle, while his other hand held a copper warming stove. From time to time, he would lean his frozen face close to the stove, drawing in the meager warmth escaping from the ventilation holes.

On both sides of the black carriage were sliding glass windows. One of the windows was pushed open, and a beautiful young girl blinked her eyes, looking around curiously.

Just as the girl was enjoying the view, a chubby hand reached out from beside her and closed the window.

"A-choo! Irene, it's so cold, don't open the window. I'm about to be frozen stiff by the wind," a cute, plump young boy said in a milky voice.

Irene: "Hmph, you're so useless, Brother! You can't even handle a little wind. Look, Brother Pat hasn't said a word, yet you're the only one complaining about the cold all the way along."

The passengers in this carriage were none other than Moro and his group, who had departed from Gru Town.

Anger was an unintended target of the remark, but he did not join the siblings' argument. Instead, he simply smiled and sat quietly to one side of the carriage. Beside him sat Moro, who had his eyes closed in meditation.

Allen curled his lip and muttered under his breath, "All you talk about is Brother Pat, Brother Pat... you act as if he's your actual brother."

Irene had sharp ears. Hearing Allen's words, she wasn't angry; she merely gave a huff and rolled her eyes at him in secret. Then, she leaned toward Anger and began chatting away to herself. Unfortunately, Irene rarely traveled far, so most of her stories were merely gossip about the nobles in the capital.

Although Anger wasn't particularly interested, he did not interrupt Irene's monologue. He nodded occasionally in response, appearing to engage in serious conversation, though his true attention remained immersed in his own thoughts.

That day, Moro had proposed a condition: if Anger agreed, Moro would hand over the magic rune parchment used to heal the Ice Coffin.

Anger ultimately agreed to Moro's condition because it didn't sound overly harsh

—Once Anger advanced to a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice, he must accompany Moro to explore a ruin.

As for what kind of ruin it was, Moro did not speak much of it, only stating that he did not know if the ruin would be dangerous. Although the journey might be perilous, the prerequisite was being a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice. It had taken Moro nearly ten years to advance to a Mid-level Apprentice, and Anger himself wasn't even sure if he could reach that level.

Therefore, Anger felt it wasn't a bad deal to exchange potential danger for the healing of the Ice Coffin.

After giving the healing Ice Coffin to Mentor Jon, Anger stayed at the manor for one more day. Amidst Lyon's reluctant farewells, he packed his luggage and set off with Moro on a journey toward the unknown continent.

...

Night fell, and the cold of the winter night was unimaginably harsh. Even the experienced coachman had to halt their progress to find a temporary shelter to wait out the night.

They found a large, semi-recessed rock formation. The group set up camp and built a fire within the hollow, while the coachman covered the horses with velvet covers and tethered them to the side.

Allen hugged his legs pitifully, looking like a little ball of flesh, muttering, "So cold, so cold."

"Honestly, you can't even handle this much cold. What a waste of meat!" Although Irene's words were sharp, her eyes held concern for her brother. She didn't forget to take a thick cloak from the tent and wrap it around Allen.

Watching the interaction between his two grandchildren, a smile appeared in Moro's eyes. He waved his hand gently, and a ball of green light drifted into Allen's body.

"This Constant Temperature Spell can last for ten hours. However, using spells is not a long-term solution. You have been physically weak since childhood; you must exercise more every day in the future. Once your constitution improves, you won't fear this kind of cold," Moro said to Allen. "If your talent leans toward the Bloodline Path, your physical constitution will improve significantly once you begin cultivation."

Allen nodded blankly. As the green light entered his body, he clearly felt the change in the surrounding temperature, and his curiosity about magic grew even deeper.

"Grandpa, didn't we already test our talents? Does the test with the Talent Sphere not count? Will we have to test again when we go to the White Coral Floating Island Academy?" Irene asked in confusion.

Anger also pricked up his ears; he wanted to know the answer to this as well. The incident he encountered during the talent test that day had been far too bizarre. He had privately asked the Allen siblings about their experience; Irene had heard static, and Allen had found an extra piece of black bread on his plate. While there were "changes," they were still within a comprehensible range.

But when it was Anger's turn, he had actually "transmigrated"! That was simply inconceivable.

Although Anger had categorized the experience as a "variation" in the talent test, he wasn't truly convinced in his heart. Thus, when Irene brought up the talent test, his attention was immediately drawn.

Moro chuckled and stroked his beard, saying to Irene, "The Eye of Abilas can only test whether a person possesses talent. As for the direction of that talent, it cannot determine it. Once you arrive at the White Coral Floating Island Academy, there will be a more detailed talent detection, and you will understand then."

"However, before that, let me offer a reminder. The academy's talent detection is not a definitive label. Even if it detects that you lean toward the Elemental Path, you do not necessarily have to specialize in it. Everything depends on your own will."

Moro paused suddenly. "By the way, although you can study any branch regardless of your talent inclination, certain branches are not things you can learn simply through hard work. For example, some special branches within the 'Mystic Path,' such as prophecy or astrology, rely heavily on innate talent."

"I don't believe I have explained the branches of wizards to you yet. I shall do so today," Moro thought for a moment. "There are countless directions for a wizard's development. After tens of thousands of years of refinement, the system is basically complete. There are many sub-branches, so I won't list them all; I will only introduce the three major frameworks currently recognized in the wizarding world."

"The Elemental Path, which encompasses the composition of nature and the origin of all things."

"The Bloodline Path, which involves absorbing the bloodlines of powerful creatures to strengthen oneself."

"The Mystic Path, the convergence of all mysteries."

"These three frameworks basically outline all current wizarding systems. Beyond these three, there are, of course, many related systems, such as Alchemy, Summoning, and so on... However, most wizards are involved in Alchemy and Summoning to some extent; it is merely a matter of degree. Of course, there are wizards who take these auxiliary systems as their primary study, but they are rare."

"Among the three frameworks, the Elemental Path has the most people. Basically, every wizard knows a few elemental spells. The Mystic Path has the fewest people, and the distribution of strength is the most peculiar. The strong are extremely strong, and the weak are extremely weak. This is mainly because the systems under the Mystic framework are too diverse. The most famous representatives in the Southern Region are the archaeologist Mantora and the Illusion Master Sanders. Both are Level 2 Mystic Wizards, yet their strength is worlds apart." Moro spoke of these two with great emotion.

"As for the Bloodline Path..." Moro snorted, seemingly recalling an unpleasant memory, and said coldly, "Most have highly developed limbs and unruly tempers, but their combat prowess is exceptionally outstanding."

Moro's words left everyone in deep thought.

Irene asked curiously, "Then what path do you belong to, Grandpa?"

"Me? If we are speaking of the three major frameworks, I belong to the Fire系 within the Elemental Path. However, most of my energy is spent on magic rune drawing, so I should more accurately be classified as a Rune Wizard of the auxiliary path."

The question and answer continued for most of the night. The darkness grew thicker, and even the distant mountains and forests had turned into blurry black shadows, looking like clawing monsters in the wind.

Gradually, everyone grew drowsy and fell into sleep.

Lying in the simple tent, Anger's eyes flickered with a faint, bright light. Tonight's conversation had deeply moved him; he had not expected there to be so many classifications of wizards. Even within the Fire branch of the Elemental Path, there were branches like Flame, Lava, Cold Fire... and various other elemental mixtures.

Whether through specialization or broad knowledge, one could embark on the path of pursuing truth.

Under Jon's enlightenment, Anger possessed a curiosity to seek the roots of all things, especially when Jon described the various incredible phenomena in the universe, which filled him with longing.

If he became a wizard, would he be able to explore these unknown mysteries in the future?

Carrying his expectations for the future, Anger gradually fell asleep.