Chapter 82: The Uninhabited Wasteland Village Under the Reversed Stars

Astrologers are a branch of Mages.

Using magic requires talent, and it can even be said that in this profession, one’s innate qualities are often more important than later efforts. Aside from the now-defunct “Faith-based Magic,” no matter what branch it is, it won’t escape this basic principle.

To determine if someone can become a Mage, one must first check if their body possesses the most basic aptitude for magical power and if so, a detailed assessment of various attributes follows.

Not long after Vilyric crossed over to this side, she discovered that so-called magical talent actually refers to the affinity of each person’s body for certain elemental elements. Her affinity for the light element was at a perfect hundred percent, essentially putting her at the pinnacle of this aptitude.

However, the conventional academic community in this world still can’t represent elemental affinity in an intuitive numerical form like in games, and it’s even challenging to make absolutely precise determinations. It requires a long period of training and practical testing to explore.

This is the main reason most magic academies exist; they cast a wide net to teach indiscriminately. Although most graduates may only reach the level of “Apprentice” or “Scholar,” not exceeding level 20, they can still sift out some truly valuable talents.

However, some very niche magical attributes are different; while their creation probability among ordinary Mages is only one in a few thousand or tens of thousands, they hardly ever have any “defective products.” As soon as they appear, they possess talents that ordinary people could hardly aspire to, similar to how the three divine heirs of the Holy Empire naturally have a high affinity for the light attribute.

These branches are known as the “Divine Chosen Series.” They are akin to “God-touched” individuals that might appear among any intelligent life forms with very low probability. Although they also belong to Mages, they are usually not regarded as part of the conventional elemental system but rather as blessings granted by the gods to mortal beings.

Of course, while the holders of “Divine Chosen Series” magic generally have extremely high talents, this doesn’t mean they are necessarily stronger than conventional elemental Mages at the same level; the relationship between the two is not that of higher to lower magic, but rather a difference in inclination.

Astrologers are one of the “Divine Chosen Series.” To be precise, the magic they use should be called “Astrological Magic.”

This magical system is more inclined towards support, using the power of stars to enhance allies and weaken enemies, but it doesn’t have much healing ability; instead, it involves powers that are more mysterious, bordering on the manipulation of cause and effect—quite fascinating.

In the past, when Vilyric traveled around, she heard mention of this kind of magic and was even jokingly warned, “Even if you’re amazing, don’t offend an Astrologer; they can even steal your luck from afar.”

Unexpectedly, she really ran into one this time.

As Vilyric boldly stated her occupation, Qionghua could only awkwardly admit in a whisper.

“Um, Priestess, I really am an Astrologer… but this profession isn’t as mysterious as the rumors suggest, so you don’t need to be overly surprised. Also, I’m quite clumsy, and I haven’t grasped the essence of astrology yet…”

“Hehe, alright, alright. When Priscilla was your age, she definitely couldn’t do anything close to that level.”

As the team leader, Tree Bow soon relaxed, taking the opportunity to explain to the three girls who were unfamiliar with Qionghua.

“Astrologers can observe celestial bodies, borrowing star power to investigate the surrounding environment from some special perspectives, making them near the ultimate nemesis of all illusions and disguises.”

“Qionghua is an external member of our team; she’s still studying at the academy and rarely participates in adventurous activities. This time she just happened to follow her teacher to the Coastal City of Leila, so I brought her along to help.”

“Looks like you have quite a few external helpers…”

Sighing helplessly, Vilyric didn’t say much more, just turned to look at the introverted girl wrapped in an oversized mage hat and robe, who usually blended into invisibility.

“You just said the stars are strange; what do you mean by that?”

Glancing at the team leader beside her, and seeing a slight nod, Qionghua let out a breath, returning her gaze to the shadowy night sky obscured by tree branches.

“The star positions… all the star positions seem a bit off, but there’s no significant unusual movement in their arrangement. It’s hard for me to describe what kind of situation this is, just like… like it’s completely reversed?”

“Reversed…?”

The Swordsman Girl furrowed her brow, muttering the key word from Qionghua’s previous statement. Miss Le Qiao Qiao seemed to think the former didn’t understand, and cheerfully patted her shoulder.

“Oh, silly Hong Yan, it’s just that the left side has moved to the right, and the front has gone to the back; though to me, everything seems the same anyway…”

Rolling her eyes at her, Hong Yan ignored this usual nonsense and actively questioned Qionghua.

“And then?”

“Huh? What ‘and then?'”

“I mean, what does this change signify?”

“Uh…”

The Astrologer girl suddenly fell silent, as if touched by a blind spot in knowledge. After a long pause, she awkwardly twisted her clothes and tried to explain.

“Well… normally, star positions only experience different degrees of movement in certain areas. Astrologers can decipher the information they signify according to those specific stars and their trajectories, but I have never seen a scenario where the entire starry sky is completely reversed like this in books…”

Seeing the group exchange confused glances, all looking baffled at what to say, Qionghua quickly added,

“Maybe I should ask my teacher? She’s a master of astrology; much better than a half-baked me…”

“Foolish girl… In this remote place, we didn’t bring any means to contact Priscilla. We can’t just waste your ‘Star Connection’ for this little matter, can we?”

Enrique scanned the group and soon spoke in a serious tone as the team leader.

“Although the star positions that Astrologers see are just a rough omen and do not fully represent reality, we haven’t encountered any substantial danger yet. However, since Qionghua detected an anomaly, everyone should stay alert… there’s definitely something off about this place.”

Then, the team reformed their formation, taking out their weapons, with Tree Wall Sophie leading the way, and the others protecting Vilyric and Qionghua, who were in support roles, keeping a cautious posture as they continued down the mountain.

As Tree Monkey had predicted, at the foot of the mountain was a not-too-large village, around a hundred households from their elevated viewpoint.

After climbing over the last steep slope, with the light of the illumination spirit, Tree Bow double-checked the map in her hand. The deep green eyes illuminated by the glow flashed with a hint of profoundness.

“It’s indeed Adelaide Village 192; it completely matches the position recorded on the map. Unbelievable…”

“According to the intel from the Adelaide Adventurers’ Guild, this village should have had all its residents mysteriously disappear two months ago, turning into an empty village. There have been several groups of investigators confirming this over time; if they were not lying…”

She gazed at the distant flickering lights scattered throughout the quiet village enveloped in nighttime shadows, seemingly murmuring to herself.

“Then what we are seeing now… what is going on?”

   

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