Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Chosen of Heaven

“Mentor, you can just refuse me directly next time.” After being teased so much by Antinoia, Zhao Xu no longer had the strength to retort.

“I’ll try my best,” she replied.

“Mentor, did you give that ‘Mana Pearl’ to that lady?” After some thought, Zhao Xu finally voiced his inner confusion.

There were hardly any players right now who could earn a reward of 1,000 GP, especially for simply casting a spell.

“That’s right. If I recall, that pearl still belongs to me,” Antinoia said.

“Mentor, it’s not like I want everything for myself. I’m just curious why you did it.”

“Because among everyone present, her ‘Magic Missile’ was the most skillful, and she was able to push you to your limits, forcing your potential to erupt. Since I chose her, it was only right to reward her.”

Hearing this, Zhao Xu nodded, but replied, “Mentor, I’m not that naive.”

Had this been the Zhao Xu who just entered the game, he might have believed her explanation. But after ten years of experience in his previous life, he had come to thoroughly understand one of Arthur’s fundamental principles:

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

Every windfall from the heavens must have deep causes behind it.

Warlocks, for instance, are considered the easiest of spellcasters—because of the formidable bloodlines backing them.

If he weren’t a transmigrator, he’d only feel that the benefits he’d gained—like cheat codes—were a hot potato.

“Suddenly, you seem rather mature to me,” Antinoia remarked appreciatively.

“Think about it: why does she possess a necklace that gives +1 to caster level?”

Zhao Xu was momentarily stunned. Back in the battle, he hadn’t had the time to notice.

“She’s also a target of our observation?” Unconsciously, Zhao Xu began to see himself as a member of the “Final Scroll.”

“She’s someone the Mage Association is monitoring, not us,” Antinoia corrected him gently.

“Actually, you players have been fighting in Arthur for a year now. Even with resurrection stones to let you keep trying and failing, how many do you think will reach the highest levels in the vanguard group?” Antinoia asked.

With the knowledge from his previous life, Zhao Xu hesitated before replying, “Level 5.”

That was the result compiled by everyone during the massive transmigration in his previous life; the rest were just a handful who surpassed level ten.

“That’s right, but I can tell you: there will inevitably be players above level ten among you,” Antinoia said.

Suddenly, Zhao Xu felt as if he could hear the deep, furious winds howling through the calm night sky.

“You noticed the exceptional nature of that female mage—Ning Wei—and proactively helped her. So what about us, who have been observing for more than half a month? The Association doesn’t archive and analyze all of you for no reason.”

Only now did Zhao Xu realize that the Mage Association was far from as simple as he had thought.

If he could instantly see the value in investing in someone, the Mage Association would have been prepared to invest long before.

On Blue Star, venture capital funds always look for promising companies to invest in because they represent future wealth.

In Arthur, class level is the ultimate productive force.

Perhaps, in his previous life, all the top players among Blue Star’s powers were basically spokespersons selected by the major factions.

For Arthur’s natives, reaching level five in a year was considered lightning-fast.

Earth’s players, without resurrection stones to keep making mistakes and starting over, could never reach that level.

Those who surpassed level ten—could any have done so without the resources of powerful backers?

So, Wang Ningwei was a player chosen by the Mage Association?

Was his meeting with her today not a coincidence, but fate?

“Mentor, isn’t that a bit too conspiratorial?” Zhao Xu found it hard to imagine that everything was being manipulated behind the scenes.

“You’re overthinking it.” Antinoia laughed.

“You are the main responsibility I’ve been assigned. Letting you meet her today was just a whim,” she explained.

“She’s destined to become a leader among the players. Since you’re both training in the Floating City, it would be a pity if you never crossed paths. It’s always better to make friends with some people than to make enemies.”

“So that ‘Mana Regeneration Pearl’ will be the bond that connects her to me in the future? Because she’ll return the pearl to me?” For the first time, Zhao Xu felt a flash of insight.

He could faintly sense his actual intelligence improving.

Yet, he couldn’t help but admire the Mage Association’s foresight. In the future, when Wang Ningwei represented the Blue Star forces as an envoy to the Northern Alliance, they received her with a monarch’s hospitality.

In other words, the Mage Association had directly picked one of Blue Star’s future leaders.

Or rather, the two roles complemented each other—Wang Ningwei became a leader of Blue Star only with the Mage Association’s support.

At this moment, Zhao Xu wanted to shamelessly ask, why wasn’t he chosen?

Although he disliked dealing with all the trouble, the sense of power was intoxicating for anyone.

“Mentor, why was Wang Ningwei chosen?” Zhao Xu quickly asked, sensing this was a replicable path to success.

Antinoia glanced at Zhao Xu, as if seeing through his thoughts.

“Wang Ningwei’s human reward feat is ‘Leadership’.”

“I haven’t heard of that feat,” Zhao Xu said curiously.

“Let me put it this way: our Mage Association president possesses this feat. And he has an even higher-level version—Legendary Leadership,” Antinoia explained.

“It won’t let you cast an extra spell, but it can give you many powerful allies.”

“On the day of your awakening ceremony, I brought you a cloak so that no one would recognize you. Today was your first encounter with that girl. Unaware of your special status, she resisted a tempting offer, then chose to cooperate with you simply because of one answer you gave.”

“Even though you had no interest in her romantically, you still chose to help persuade her, knowing it would benefit her.”

“I just wanted to invest—” Zhao Xu’s words suddenly caught in his throat.

Why did he want to invest, rather than replace her?

“Remember, some feats grant abilities that surpass magic, almost like innate talents. Some people are simply born to attract others, to unite the majority, and to earn widespread support.”

Zhao Xu exhaled deeply.

Every cheat in life has its own unique traits.

Surely, he couldn’t be the only one to benefit from all the cheats in the world.

In his previous life, he struggled for ten years and only reached level five, while those gifted by fate reached the summit of level ten within a year, looking down on the rest.

Now that he stood above most other players, surely he could tolerate a few other hills beside his own.

After all, what he pursued was to be the most powerful in Arthur—no matter how the world changed, he would be the sharpest blade.