Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 162 - 155: Lucky Kevin

The number of creatures partaking in the dinner had grown from three to four.

"This taste is truly marvelous," Kevin praised, directing his words at William. But at that moment, William could only muster a strained smile, appearing quite perturbed.

Nia not only finished her own meal, but also reached into Lyle’s bowl. Fortunately, Lyle wasn’t hungry, so he let her have her fill.

"William, where is your homeland? The flavor here greatly differs from what we have in Cassandra, you must be from a far-off place."

William scooped the soup absent-mindedly as his eyes fixed on the starry sky above.

"My homeland, yes, it is a place far away. As for its name, there is no need to mention it, for it has been destroyed. When I was very young, my hometown faced a devastating disaster. Where the city once stood, only a massive crater remained, a frightening legacy of powerful magic. And I, might be the sole survivor."

He pulled out a scroll tied with a red string from his clothing, "I vaguely remember, as a child, learning the etiquettes with my family; perhaps I was once noble. But now, all that remains is this scroll, a family heirloom containing knowledge of magic."

Kevin’s enthusiasm dimmed, and Nia’s rustling through the food quieted down.

"My condolences, William."

"To survive, I’ve done many things, deceit, theft, and even robbery. I’ve worked at a circus, stores, and farms. The only things that kept me going were magic and the belief in my heart. I wanted to become stronger, to investigate the catastrophe that befell my homeland, to find my possible enemies and make them pay."

Lyle sensed the trickle of magic power that William, due to emotional upheaval, was emitting, much stronger than when they had last met.

"William, you’ve advanced to the Second Ring?"

"Second Ring? What is that? Is that a special ranking term used by you Necromancers? We mages are accustomed to calling such advancement the Second Ring." William rolled up his sleeve to reveal two concentric rings on his wrist. "When we are promoted, we recall the pattern of the rings in our minds, drawing the Magic Ring to constrain the magic power that dissipates during advancement, becoming our new abilities."

"What is your ability?"

"The First Ring is the Purifier. My natural talent for studying all elements becomes equivalent to my strongest element of magic power, which is my innate gift for fire magic."

"The Second Ring is the Elemental Concerto. Just as you have seen, after I use a certain element of magic, I will utilize another element in the next spell, because my Second Ring ability allows me to stack the power of magic when using different elements. Water, fire, wind, earth. Thus, I can reach up to four times the power."

Lyle listened carefully to William’s explanation, feeling somewhat uneasy within, wondering why it seemed that every Mystic was so powerful.

What bothered him most was that William, whom he had once thought he far surpassed, now had a magic power nearly on par with his own—a feat that was no easy duplication, considering the hardships Lyle had endured to advance to the Second Ring.

"William, did you have some kind of remarkable encounter? Why has your magic power increased so quickly?"

"It’s probably due to my talent. My talent is a hereditary bloodline, and I can study magic much faster than the average person. I haven’t experienced any exceptional adventures; in truth, I was just conducting some magic research and then advanced."

Is this what they call feeling outdone by someone?

The strength I struggled so hard to gain barely keeps up with the effortless results of another.

Kevin felt utterly bewildered as he listened to his two Mystic friends.

"Lyle, what is talent?"

"It’s an innate ability that one is born with, though most people never awaken it. It’s a very marvelous trait. Like William’s inhuman ability to study magic, or like me, my talent... it’s Nia." Lyle stretched out his hand to touch Nia’s large eye. Her tentacles waved comfortably like an anemone, emitting contented hums from her body.

William, surprised by Lyle’s talent, cracked a little joke, "Lyle, Necromancy, abominable creatures, medical research. Things the Church has strictly forbidden, you’re about to do them all. You’re quite the heretic."

"Not just that, he’d be tied to the stake and burnt by the Church not just thrice."

Lyle smiled. You probably don’t know my Purifier identity. I get along with the holy light pretty well too.

Kevin, his face buried in his golden locks, pinched his chin in deep thought. Then, lifting his head, his face took on an earnest seriousness, and with a firm tone, he said,

"Lyle, I might also have the talent you’re talking about."

Lyle regarded the earnest-looking Kevin, glanced at William, and then cleared his ear.

"Kevin, talent is quite rare among ordinary people."

"No, Lyle, I’m certain I have a talent."

Lyle showed enough patience with his friend.

"Kevin, talent isn’t a psychological confidence, it’s something tangible that affects us. If you have a talent, can you explain what it is in detail?"

"Of course," Kevin puffed out his chest with conviction, "My talent is luck!"

"Hah?" Lyle brushed away Nia’s teasing tendrils from his hair, "Kevin, why do you think you have the talent of luck?"

With a smile, Kevin spread his hands wide, "Am I not lucky enough?"

The eldest son of Baron Cassandra Delbrie, born with a golden spoon in his mouth, handsome, and incessantly indulging in pleasures, Mr. Kevin was indeed a lucky individual in life.

"Moreover, I became friends with you and William. I have a Mage and a Necromancer as friends, isn’t that lucky enough?"

"Thank you for the compliment, Kevin, but I’m afraid that might just be your illusion."

Kevin decided to come up with some critical evidence.

"Well, the truth is, I can also make life go the way I want it to, probability events always turn out in my favor."

"Want to give it a try?" William took out an exquisite Gold Coin, a special coin, "A relic left by my ancestors, I call it Dolgette’s lucky coin, it always brings me good fortune. Let’s have Kevin guess heads or tails, since there’s nothing else to do."

"Alright."

William displayed the coin, one side with the portrait of a man wearing a tall, narrow-feathered hat, the other side, a scroll and a quill pen. "The portrait is heads, the other side is tails. Start guessing, Kevin."

"Heads," Kevin chose heads without hesitation.

William tossed the coin and caught it in his hand.

Heads.

"You guessed it right on the first try, Kevin, you have a real talent for games. Let’s continue."

"Heads."

William tossed the coin again, this time with a different technique. The coin landed in his hand, and William quickly slapped it onto the back of his other hand for the final flip, revealing it.

Heads.

"Quite a lucky streak, Kevin, let’s start the third round."

"Still heads."

This time, William didn’t want to leave everything to fate. He used an old cheating trick. With a skillful move, he controlled the spin of the coin so that it would land in his palm after spinning seventeen times in the air, and it was definitely going to be tails.

The spinning coin landed in William’s hand without any surprises, all he had to do was open his palm and Kevin would lose.

William couldn’t help but look at his face, only to find Kevin’s eyes fixed on his palm, his expression calm and composed as ever.

William lingered on Kevin’s face for too long, stretching his hand so far that it neared the burning pile of wood, without even noticing.

"Ah!" The burning pain on his finger startled William, causing him to involuntarily open his hand. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The dislodged coin spun in the air, landing on the ground.

On the coin, the man’s smile was as gentle as ever.

Heads up.