Chapter 5: The Great Mage from Afar (Part 1)

In his past life, many people thought Jiang Zhe was difficult to get along with, but in fact, it was just that they didn’t understand his personality. Jiang Zhe was introverted by nature; he only showed his cheerful side around people he knew and was close to. Otherwise, he kept to himself and spoke little.

I remember Jiang Zhe’s fixed pattern when chatting online:
“Hello!”
“How old are you?”
“Where are you from?”
After the other person answered all three questions, they would suddenly find that Jiang Zhe had fallen silent… In truth, he had run out of topics to talk about. It was hard for him to engage in conversation with strangers or those he wasn’t familiar with.

That’s why, in his past life, Jiang Zhe had few friends, but those he did have were very close to him. Around people he knew, he would be cheerful, joking around with them; but with strangers, he became quiet and reserved, preferring to daydream rather than approach them first. Like many of his peers, Jiang Zhe often immersed himself in his own world, showing little interest in the outside world.

I remember in elementary school, his teacher described him as “quiet and unsociable.” As he grew up, this trait only worsened… Sometimes even Jiang Zhe wondered why he lacked so much interest in things. He lacked curiosity and ambition, and even basic perseverance was hard for him to maintain… In his past life, the only thing he never lacked interest in was sleep… Strangers thought Jiang Zhe was a “weirdo,” but those who knew him considered him honest and worth being friends with. The deeper their friendship grew, the more they realized that Jiang Zhe was actually a cheerful person…

※※※
It had rained in Sett Town for several days straight, but finally the weather cleared. The dark clouds in the sky gradually dispersed, though the breeze still carried a hint of coolness as it touched the face. The old priest at the church stood beside the flower bed, looked up at the sky, and nodded: “The weather isn’t bad.”

In the flower bed, many flowers had wilted from the continuous rain, looking listless, which made the old priest feel a bit sorry for them.

“Hey, Old Charles!”
A greeting reached the old priest’s ears. He turned around and saw Jiang Zhe coming out of the church. Smiling, he said, “Good morning, my child. It seems you’re in a good mood today…”
“Is that so?” Jiang Zhe tilted his head.

Speaking of which, he has been living in the church for over two years now and has gradually gotten used to life without electricity. At the same time, he has also become close to the old priest. I remember a year ago, Jiang Zhe still addressed the old priest as “you,” but now he just calls him “Old Charles.” However, Old Charles doesn’t mind this at all; in fact, he really likes these two kids. “Old Charles, do you really not know magic?” “Really!” Faced with Jiang Zhe’s persistent questions, the old priest was somewhat exasperated. “You’re not lying to me, are you?” Old Charles shook his head with a wry smile and said, “As a believer in God, how could I lie to you?” By God, he meant the only deity worshipped by the Church, whom the clergy regarded as Heaven’s Lord—something similar to Christianity in his past life. “Oh, that’s too bad…” Jiang Zhe said doubtfully, feeling that this old man was far from ordinary. Old Charles shook his head and walked straight to the flower bed, straightening out the plants disrupted by the rain, while saying, “Sos, why do you keep thinking about magic? You must know that magic isn’t the whole meaning of life…” “Because I want to learn it. I think it must be very interesting.” Old Charles glanced back at Jiang Zhe, holding a flower with a broken stem, and said regretfully, “Magic is indeed interesting, but it doesn’t bring happiness—it only brings misfortune… Sos, pass me that small shovel over there.” “Oh,” Jiang Zhe walked to the other end of the flower bed, picked up a small shovel from the ground, and handed it to the old priest, asking curiously, “Old Charles, why do you say magic brings misfortune?” The old priest was silent for a moment before saying earnestly, “Child, the path of magic is full of temptations. Great power can lead people to lose themselves and commit unforgivable mistakes—mistakes that you can never make up for in your lifetime…” His tone grew somber by the end. Jiang Zhe blinked. He clearly sensed something strange in Old Charles’s words, so he asked tentatively, “Old Charles, have you committed any mistakes?” The old priest froze, turned to look at Jiang Zhe, stood up with a wry smile, and looked up at the sky, saying, “The weather is nice today. Why not go play with the kids in town?” “I’m not interested.” Seeing the old priest change the subject, Jiang Zhe sat down on the steps, feeling frustrated. To be honest, he had no interest in those kids in town who only knew how to throw stones at him. “Sos, are you really determined to learn magic?” “Yeah. In a few years, once I’ve saved enough money, I’m going to Sassen…”

“Why must one learn magic?” The old priest sat down beside Jiang Zhe and said, “Magic cannot bring happiness to people, especially black magic. Black magic only brings destruction… Look at the people in the town; they don’t know magic, yet they live happily…”
“Hmm… I want to see real magic, learn it, master it… I hope to encounter some interesting things…”
“The interesting things you mention usually come with danger… Look at the people in the town. They don’t know magic or have any titles, but they create wealth through their hard work. Isn’t that good?”
“That’s too boring…”
The old priest was stunned for a moment before saying with a bitter smile, “The path of learning magic is like the outside world—full of danger. Look at the mercenaries passing by; they must be on high alert at all times. Even a small mistake could cost them their lives…”
“Is it because their strength isn’t strong enough?”
“…” Old Charles turned his head in surprise, looking at this little kid who had surprised him so many times. “Great strength… Many powerful black magicians get lost under their own strength…”
“If one can’t control their own strength, how can they be called powerful?”
“…” Old Charles fell silent. He had never met a child as smart as this one before.
Intelligence was originally a prerequisite for being a magician. Unfortunately, the smarter the child, the lower their ultimate achievements often were, because most of them got lost under their own strength. Some even signed contracts with demons in pursuit of sheer power…
“Although magic can’t bring happiness, it can be used to protect one’s loved ones, right…” Seemingly unaware of Old Charles’s silence, Jiang Zhe continued speaking.
Old Charles was momentarily stunned, as if relieved, but then frowned again. Just to protect one’s loved ones…?
It wasn’t that Old Charles had too high expectations of Jiang Zhe—it was that Jiang Zhe didn’t seem like a child of seven or eight at all…
“Suo…”
“Sos!” A cheerful call interrupted Old Charles. Nina ran over excitedly, carrying a small basket. When she saw Old Charles beside Jiang Zhe, her expression turned nervous.
Jiang Zhe had been secretly observing Old Charles’s expression. Seeing him frown, he quickly stood up first and pretended to be surprised, asking, “Nina, weren’t you going to buy bread?”

Over the past two years, Jiang Zhe had always called her that. After all, no matter how close they were, he felt too embarrassed to call someone who was only eleven or twelve years old “sister.” Nina didn’t really care either; her brother wasn’t as foolish as before, and she was actually quite happy about it.
“I bought bread…” Nina said weakly.
“Coincidentally, I’m hungry…” Just as she was about to step forward, Jiang Zhe suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder and smiled bitterly inwardly.
Old Charles slowly stood up, placing one hand on Jiang Zhe’s shoulder and extending the other toward Nina, saying, “Give it here, child.”
Nina hesitantly handed the basket full of bread to Old Charles. He frowned and said, “There’s more!”
“There’s nothing else…” Nina replied softly.
“Sigh,” Old Charles sighed slightly before speaking earnestly, “Child, God tells us to be honest…”
Nina bit her lip and hesitated for a long time before finally pulling out a money pouch from her pocket, her expression reluctant.
Old Charles nodded kindly, but his expression changed slightly when he saw the pouch in Nina’s hand.
The pouch was made of dark blue fabric, adorned with white star patterns, and the thin string used to tie it had a faint golden glow—it was definitely not something ordinary people would use.
As Old Charles examined the pouch, Nina pouted and whispered to Jiang Zhe resentfully, “There are so many gold coins… It’s a shame…”
After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Zhe advised softly, “This isn’t right anyway. It’s better if Old Charles returns it to the owner. We’re not short of money right now…” Indeed, since Old Charles took in Jiang Zhe and Nina, their lives had improved greatly.
“We’re still short of a lot,” Nina muttered unhappily, staring at the pouch in Old Charles’s hand. “Aren’t you going to learn magic in Sassen soon? I heard it requires tons of gold coins…”
“…” Jiang Zhe was stunned. He felt a tightness in his chest and couldn’t speak for a moment.
“Creak.” The garden gate was pushed open. Jiang Zhe looked up and saw an old man around the same age as Old Charles walking slowly toward them, followed by two attendants dressed as travelers.
“I didn’t expect there to be a church in such a small town…”
Wearing a gray travel cloak with faint black star patterns, holding a brown cane topped with a thumb-sized sapphire in his left hand, and wearing a gray, worn-pointed hat, along with silver-white hair and beard…
Could this man be the magician he had always longed for?

No! Such overwhelming pressure…
Absolutely!
Jiang Zhe felt his heart pounding violently.
“Ah!” Nina let out a soft cry and quickly hid behind Jiang Zhe.
“It’s been over a decade since we last met, right?” The old mage glanced in Jiang Zhe’s direction, removed his wizard hat with his right hand, and turned to Old Charles.
Glancing at Jiang Zhe, who kept staring at him intently, Old Charles frowned and said in a deep voice, “Kids, go inside first!” Unusually, Old Charles’s tone left no room for refusal.
“Oh.” Unlike Nina, who hurriedly slipped into the church, Jiang Zhe kept looking back at the mage he longed for so much…
“Go in!” Old Charles repeated.
The old mage watched quietly, smiling, until the two children entered the church. Then he stepped forward toward Old Charles. “Did you take these two in, Charles?” He paused for a moment before adding softly, “Oh, it should be Saint Charles George…”
Frowning, Old Charles glanced at Jiang Zhe, who was peeking out from behind in the church, and said in a low voice, “What are you doing here? I don’t see anything special about this town that could attract the attention of the Empire’s Supreme Royal Mage… Supreme Mage Veston Malajiji Hastings…”
The old mage shook his head with a smile and said, “At least I’m still on imperial territory… It would be more strange if one of the Church’s twelve archbishops, a Holy White Mage, appeared here.”
“…” Old Charles fell silent for a moment before saying, “I’m not Saint Charles George. I’m just an ordinary priest, a priest who can’t cast any magic…” With that, he threw the money bag in his hand to Veston.
Veston was stunned for a moment, then seemed to remember something, nodding as if in realization. He glanced at the money bag in his hand, then at Nina, who was looking at him fearfully from behind the church door, and sighed, “Time really flies. In the blink of an eye, it’s been over a decade since the Empire and the Church stopped fighting…”
Blocking Veston’s view of the church and interrupting him, Old Charles asked warily, “As the Supreme Royal Mage, what are you doing here?”
“No need to guess. I happened to come to this town. I’m heading west,” Veston said with a shrug.
“West?” Old Charles was stunned for a moment, then seemed to remember something, his expression turning serious.

“Yes!” Veston nodded and said in a deep voice, “A year ago, the empire sent an army to the fortress in the west. Half a year ago, contact was suddenly lost. We old folks were worried, so I came here in person to check things out…”
“I see…” The wariness in Old Charles’s eyes gradually faded. But when he looked up, he saw Veston staring in the direction of the church, and he became alert again. “With such an important matter, why are you still wasting time here?”
“I’ve already sent two of my guards there first…” He paused for a moment before adding in a low voice, “Charles, do you know? I’ve been searching for over a decade…”
“What?”
“Someone who can inherit me… I want to take that little girl with me!”