Chapter 41: 40. The Fated Mentor

40. The Fated Mentor

"Hidden danger?"

"When the Divine Child does not manifest in a resonant state, I fear she cannot freely mobilize the power of the Star Soul within her body."

Zoe was indeed unable to wield the power of the Earth Serpent in her original form.

Eden meant that this was not how things should be.

"The opportunity of the ages has appeared in this world; we have waited a long time and are willing to dedicate all our power to the Divine Child."

"If she can only wield power when in resonance, she can only utilize the strength of one Star Soul."

"Moreover, the Earth Star Soul is only temporarily docile. Lacking guidance, she remains in a state of ignorance and will still unconsciously absorb the Divine Child's power. If this continues, the Divine Child will still weaken."

Patting Zoe's head, Li Ang pondered in his heart.

His previous doubts regarding the starting plot of her being the "world's heroine" were beginning to clear up.

The Eden before him was likely Zoe's true novice guide, her fated mentor.

It was probable that the original plot of *Newbis Fantasy* involved the awakening of the Earth Serpent; Eden had sensed this, and upon arriving to investigate, discovered Zoe, the "Star Soul Greenhouse," and thus took her away from the island.

He vaguely remembered that the game's design philosophy was to have a grand objective driving the protagonist to visit various islands. Looking at it this way, perhaps it was Eden who bestowed the mission upon Zoe, or perhaps upon the now-nonexistent Aidan.

Furthermore, regarding the issue of the Earth Serpent, Li Ang suddenly realized—that snake might not have been a novice village boss, but a mid-game boss. Perhaps Zoe only returned to the island to face it after learning of her true destiny.

But now, everything was different; she had tamed it ahead of time, and she could freely go anywhere.

It was just unclear how she would have trusted Eden in the original plot. Perhaps game plots sometimes didn't need to be so complex? If it didn't have a health bar, you couldn't cut it; if it did, you could cut anything.

Li Ang looked at the young girl: "What do you think?"

"Me? I don't know."

Zoe quietly hugged Li Ang's waist: "Didn't we agree to go on an adventure together? The big sister doesn't seem like a bad person, but we only just met her."

"Look."

Li Ang said to Eden: "If she really is some Divine Child of yours, you should respect her wishes, right? She doesn't understand this world yet. Perhaps it wouldn't be too late to make a decision after she goes out, plays around, and understands a few things."

Eden looked at Zoe, then said to Li Ang: "The Divine Child now has a firm attachment to you. We do not understand the level of mortal affection and will not interfere. My desire to take her away is not to separate her from you."

"You may also visit my Star Palace together and accompany the Divine Child at all times. It is located in Winter-Rejecting City on Frost Sky Island."

"Winter-Rejecting City? I have friends there."

Li Ang smiled. Some people he had met in his early years of adventuring lived in that place, such as the old captain of the Soul Pinnacle. When he retired, he said he was busy with his daughter's schooling; he wondered how he was doing now.

Friends all said it was a good place. Although the island was shrouded in frost and snow, there was a massive heating magic array system beneath the city. The Frost Tower Church within the city was responsible for maintaining the arrays, mining minerals from the island's mountains to power the heating system, keeping the city free of snowflakes for over a thousand years.

"No wonder I felt like I had seen the pattern on your robe somewhere before. Is it the Frost Tower Church? It's been too long."

Eden smiled and lowered her head: "I am ashamed to serve as the sect's High Priestess."

The citizens of Winter-Rejecting City had always said the High Priestess's identity was mysterious; she always wore a veil, and no one knew her true identity.

Li Ang shook his head: "Perfect, I'll verify it with the local customs of the island."

"Please."

"Which is the more approachable restaurant, the Snow-Viewing Terrace or the Spring Flower Garden?"

"The latter."

"The time and reward for the church's mining team recruitment."

"At the end of the third week of every month; the reward is thirty thousand adventure coins."

"What are the three major specialties of the island?"

"Frozen spring shrimp, unmeltable ice, and snow rabbits."

"Alright, let's leave it at that for now."

Since he knew a little bit of the plot, which amounted to grasping a bit of meta-knowledge, plus the verification from his own experience in this world, he would tentatively stop questioning her.

Li Ang asked Zoe: "Do you want to go take a look?"

"If going there can make me stronger, help Li Ang, and I don't have to be separated from Li Ang, then, then I can."

"There's good food and fun things to do there."

The young girl's eyes lit up: "Like what?"

"The shrimp and fish in the icy water are very delicious, and you can go skiing and make snow sculptures."

"Then I want to go."

Although judging by her expression she only understood half of it, she could already grasp the fun in it.

Frost Sky Island also had a Knight Guild; registering a team there would be fine, and it would be a good chance to visit the old captain. It felt a bit like starting over from a former point of departure.

"That is wonderful." Eden smiled: "The sooner the Divine Child masters her power, the better she will be able to cope if a catastrophe arrives."

"Catastrophe? What is that?"

Eden remained silent.

"Why is she your opportunity? What are Star Souls? Since you know many things, why not tell me? I can seek help through the guild."

Li Ang pointed to himself: "You have a human form; if you live in the airspace, I fear you must understand many things. The Sky Knight Guild is the one that establishes the order of this sky."

"My name is Li Ang, a Grand Knight ranked two hundred and thirty-third in the entire sky. Among tens of millions of adventurers, I count for something."

In the past, for the sake of team affairs, Li Ang had not pursued a personal ranking, which mainly meant he hadn't deliberately squeezed into the top one hundred to obtain the Paladin title.

"Guild, Grand Knight... my apologies. No wonder you were able to subdue a nascent Star Soul."

After bowing, Eden shook her head: "However, that is precisely why I cannot tell you everything."

"For these past few thousand years, mortals originally kept to their own corner, not seeking out secrets they were not meant to know. But since three hundred years ago, the appearance of the guild broke the barriers, and mortals... Sky Knights, have repeatedly broken into those unknown forbidden lands."

"Not long ago, even Moon Night Island..."

"Even what?"

Moon Night Island was the location of the Ancient City of Dark Night. Li Ang wouldn't be foolish enough to say he had just returned from there; he wanted to see if he could hear information from Eden that "mortals" supposedly didn't know.

"The leader monster perished, and mortals entered to begin exploration. Perhaps this will cause things that should not appear to return to the world."

Eden shook her head: "In short, it is too early for the guild to uncover all the secrets of the airspace. I cannot understand the obsession mortals have with this. Some secrets are best left in the darkness forever."

She looked at Zoe: "If the sky continues as it is now, the ancient fate remains forever silent, and mortals completely dominate everything, perhaps that is the best future."

"I only hope that if the fated moment eventually arrives, the Divine Child can be prepared in advance."

"...I don't understand a single word," Zoe muttered softly.

Eden was unwilling to speak specifically about the "catastrophe." She believed that if anyone other than Zoe went to explore deeper secrets, they might instead bring about their own destruction.

She believed the "Star Soul Greenhouse" would face a catastrophe, so preparations should be made as early as possible, even though Eden herself did not wish for the catastrophe to arrive.

As for those distant secrets, they would only need to be known when Zoe faced the catastrophe of her destiny.

But Li Ang knew clearly that the gears of Zoe's fate were beginning to turn at this very moment, and the catastrophe would likely follow one after another.

From this perspective, learning to master the power of the Star Soul now was a good thing.

Li Ang said: "We will take a Kantuo ship; we can transfer to another route in the middle and reach Frost Sky Island."

Eden shook her head and turned to look at the sky of Satus Island outside the door.

The four warships that had just fought her were hovering and surrounding the island.

"They will not let us leave easily."

Li Ang said: "You can just travel with us in human form. My VIP status allows me to bring three people for free. Kantuo is a shipping company that cooperates with the guild and is protected by guild law. These troops have no authority to board the ship to pursue us."

"They are not targeting me."

Eden's amber eyes were very deep: "Their target is this island. I was merely traveling the same path as them and was attacked."

As her words fell, the sound of explosions spread across the island.

Li Ang walked out of the house and saw that on the back of the island, the newly arrived Kantuo transport airship was engulfed in raging flames under the bombardment of magic shells.

Having been attacked, it could no longer land on Satus Island and had to turn back. Onboard, they were fighting the fire while using magic turrets to return fire, flying further and further away.