"Best Soul Art Selection Guide??"


    "And what''s this—awakening the family bloodline? Is this for real??"


    "What the hell is a Virtue Tree??"


    Winnie waspletely dumbfounded. He checked multiple times to make sure he wasn''t hallucinating.


    The golden-framed panel before him was clearly not an illusion. The background of the panel depicted a six-winged cross engulfed in sacred mes. Winnie recognized it instantly—it was the emblem of the Aeciphysis family.


    Virtue? Purchase?


    Winnie noticed the amount of Virtue he possessed, and suddenly, a golden-framed notification popped up.


    ''Ways to Obtain Virtue: Fulfill the duties of the Aeciphysis family or cause emotional fluctuations in key characters.''


    Duties? Emotional fluctuations in key characters??


    Who the hell are the key characters? ...Don’t tell me it''sthose disasters??


    At that thought, Winnie''s face turned pale.


    That second method might as well not exist—did hedareto mess with those so-called "Heroines of Fate" right now??


    The good news was that his reincarnated self at least had a system.


    The bad news? This system seemedpletely useless.


    There was no way he was stirring up trouble with those walking cmities.


    Survival instincts kicked in, and Winnie immediately ignored the second method. People are naturally inclined to seek benefits and avoid harm—heabsolutelywasn’t going to take that suicidal risk.


    What if he got tangled up in the main storyline’s causality? For Aeciphysis and her harem, it would be nothing more than an emotionally charged but ultimately harmless character development event. But forhim, still stuck with the identity of a viin, it would be an insurmountable mountain crashing down on him!


    And what the hell was this "Best Soul Art Selection Guide"? Wasn''t this just mocking him??


    As thst heirof the Aeciphysis family—theBlessed Angellineage—Winnie was infamous throughout the capital for having onlyone-starmagical aptitude.


    What did a one-star rating mean? It meant that evenregr peoplecould beat Winnie senseless with their magic talents.


    Amongmoners, the majority hadnomagical aptitude. The number of people with a one-star rating was almost the same as those without any talent at all. The remaining poption consisted of those withaboveone-star aptitude, including many prodigies born frommoner backgrounds.


    So even byordinary people''sstandards, Winnie wasexceptionallymediocre and powerless.


    And they were calling this aBest Selection Guide? No matter what he picked, it wouldn’t change the fact that his magic aptitude wasone star!


    Soul Arts avable for one-star aptitude werethe weakest of the weak, barely capable of any magical attacks. Calling them "Soul Arts" was misleading—most of them were just physical enhancements at best.


    As for awakening the family bloodline?


    @@novelbin@@


    TheBlessed Angellineage of the Aeciphysis family had already turned into a"dead bloodline"since his grandfather’s generation.


    A "dead bloodline" referred to asage family that had lost its "Divine Favor."


    In ancient times, the strongest figures blessed by the divine established human civilization. They wereter known as"Sages."


    The descendants of these Sages inherited their family''s immense power, capable of unleashing divine might that defied thews of reality. This power was known as"Divine Favor."


    Most Sage families were named after the bloodlines they inherited. For example, thePeono Royal Familyof theKingdom of Camelliawas one such Sage family. Possessing theFurygold Dragon Bloodline, they could manifest the might of the Furygold Dragon throughDivine Favor, earning them the title"Furygold Dragon."


    However, theBlessed Angellineage of the Aeciphysis family lost theirDivine Favorduring Winnie’s grandfather’s generation. This resulted in theabsence of a sessor to the Holy Maiden, leading to the Aeciphysis family''splete loss of influence and control over the Church.


    However, losing theirDivine Favorand forfeiting theHoly Maidentitle wasn''t the direct reason why the Aeciphysis family was expelled from theFanghui Church. Despite falling from grace, they still carried the name of theGoddess, serving as a symbol of theFanghui Church—descendants of Aeciphysis, theGoddess of Radiance, whom humanity widely worshipped.


    The real reason for their exile seemed to be agrave mistakemade by Winnie''s grandfather. Whatever he had done, it resulted in the Aeciphysis family—already reduced to mere mascots due to the loss of Divine Favor—beinpletely cast outfrom theFanghui Churchand stripped of theHoly Maidentitle.


    By the time it reached Winnie''s father''s generation, the Aeciphysis family had settled in theKingdom of Camellia. The ruling king, out of respect for theGoddess Aeciphysis, granted Winnie''s father aViscount title, ensuring that the family could at least survive within the kingdom.


    Winnie''s father was a formidable man. Even withoutDivine Favor, he earned his status through sheer military prowess, achievingnumerous battle merits.


    Thanks to that, Winnie had the opportunity to interact withMireciain his childhood.


    If things had continued on that trajectory, even ifrevivingthe Aeciphysis family was out of reach,sustainingit wouldn''t have been a problem.


    But, as fate would have it,disaster struck relentlessly—his fatherdied in battle, a sudden and unexpected casualty. His mother, unable to bear the grief,withered away and passed soon after.


    And then,the Church pounced at their weakest moment—just when the Aeciphysis family had barely begun to stabilize, they wereruthlessly crushed once again.


    To make matters worse,rumorsbegan to spread:


    "Winnie isn''t truly a descendant of the Goddess—he''s a fraud who stole the name! The real Aeciphysis lineage died out long ago!"


    Thipletelyruined his reputation.


    There was no way to refute such ims. After all, Winnie''s bloodline had alreadybe a "dead lineage", meaning he had no means of proving his descent from the Goddess. He could onlystand powerlessas these rumors festered and spread.


    Other nobles, when their family declined, couldrely on their maternal rtivesfor support.


    But Winnie''s father?A pure-hearted war god. He had refusedanynoble alliances, marrying arural vige womanwith no background. He wasonly good at war, knew nothing aboutfinance, and had no clue how tomaneuver noble politics.


    This wasexactlywhy the Church had beenbold enoughto openly raid their household. The Aeciphysis family was nothing but awithered weedpletely alone, with no noble allies or powerful inws to shield them.


    Not that it would have mattered. Evenhigh-ranking noblesandroyaltyhesitated to provoke theChurch—how could minor nobles possibly stand against them?


    What Winnie inherited was nothing but aruined legacy—a family that had onceled the Fanghui Church, bathed in the faith of thousands, now reduced to asingle living descendantof a fallen Sage lineage.


    As thedirect descendantofGoddess Aeciphysis, his family had beenexpelled from the Fanghui Church. The Church no longer had aHoly Maiden—only aPope.


    And hisstarting rtionshipswith the twoheroines?


    Negative.


    One of them even had a"life-and-death grudge"with him and would love nothing more than tosee his head roll.


    Not to mention, hisreputationwasworse than a gue rat''s.


    It was the kind ofperfect opening scenariothat made one want to sarcastically scream:


    "Never before has there been such a splendid start!"


    Was thereanyway out of this?


    Winnie''s gazelockedonto the words"Awaken the Family Bloodline."


    His expression turned serious.


    It wouldn''t hurt totry, after all—he hadnothing to lose.


    But as for thesecondmethod of gaining Virtue?


    Heh.


    Right now, Winnie was absolutely sure he couldprovoke intense emotionsin theHeroines of Fate—specifically, theburning rageof wanting tochop his head off.


    Compared toaffection points,emotional fluctuationswere amysteriousthing.


    Happiness? That''s an emotion.


    Excitement? Also an emotion.


    Anger? Still an emotion.


    Murderous intent skyrocketing?Definitelyan emotional UP UP!


    Maybe hecouldearn Virtue byenragingthe heroines to theirbreaking point.


    But what would thecostbe?


    Yeah, no thanks. He wasn''t about to be a"tragic senpai"anytime soon.


    Then, what exactly didawakening the Aeciphysis bloodlineentail?


    Was itsimplyabout regainingDivine Favor?


    Winnie had a feeling itwasn''t that simple.


    ...Could itmake him more handsome?


    That wouldn''t be so bad.


    Returning to hisdpidated, deste estate, Winnie sighed.


    Ever since both thehead of the householdand thdy of the househad passed away, thefamily finances copsed, and nearly all theservantshadleft.


    The only one who remained wasan old servant named Dark.


    "You''ve returned, Young Master."


    The elderly man, sweeping the courtyard, looked up at Winnie and gave him arespectful nod.


    "Yeah."


    Lost in thought, Winnie barely acknowledged the old servant before heading straight inside.


    Dark watched him for a moment.


    Thesilent, withdrawn demeanor.


    The way he barely reacted.


    For a brief moment,a flicker of surpriseshed in the old man''s eyes.


    It was gone in an instant.


    The Aeciphysis estate, while not particrlysmall, wasn’t exactlygrandeither. It was atwo-storybuilding, but due to years ofneglectanck of fundsfor proper maintenance, much of it had umteyers of dust. The house was sodpidatedthat it resembled anabandoned ruinleft untouched for decades.


    The moment Winnie stepped inside, apungent stench of cheap alcoholwafted up from thecer, causing him to instinctivelyfrown.


    TheformerWinnie, drowning indepressionandlethargy, hadsumbed to alcohol. And since hecouldn’t affordanything decent, all he drank were thenameless, bottom-shelf brewsfrom back-alley distilleries—so cheap that a few copper coins could buy an entire jug.


    Whenever he was in abad mood, Winnie woulde home anddrink himself into a stupor, refusing to stop until he wapletely wasted.


    On top of that, henever exercised, allowing his body towaste awayover time.For someone so young, he was already frail and hollowed out.


    Winnie shook his head.


    "If he couldn’t even care for himself, how could he possibly care for anyone else?"


    He’d have toget rid of those cheap, wretched liquorsat some point. No point in letting them take up space.


    Asdusksettled in, its fading lightcascadedover the estate’speeling yellow walls.


    Back in hisroom, Winnie shut the door behind him, gazing quietly out the window as thegolden afterglowstretched across theold wooden floorboards.


    But he wasn’t actuallylookingat the sunset.


    Nor was he looking at the floor.


    His eyes were locked ontothe golden-framed panel—the one thatonly he could see.


    "...Virtue."


    He murmured the word, rolling it over in his mind.


    This was thekey to his survival.


    Even if he wanted to test it, he’d have toumte enough Virtue first.


    Buthowexactly was he supposed togainit? The systemdidn’t specify anything clearly.


    Other thandonating to beggars, was there any other way?


    Don’t tell me this so-called "Virtue" is just about doing good deeds...??


    In that case—


    Winniestood up, his mind already forming a n.


    Hepulled outan oldleather suitcasefrom under his bed.


    Inside was thst of his family’s savings.


    A singlecopper coincould only earna tiny bitof Virtue.


    For him, that was aluxuryhe couldn’t afford.


    But this was anecessary sacrifice!


    If awakening hisbloodlinewas truly possible,would money even matter in the future??


    With that in mind, Winniegritted his teethand pulled outwhat little remainedof his money.


    He was already backed into acorner.


    There wasno other choice.


    Living off hismeager inheritancelike this was nothing more thanwaiting to die—he probably wouldn’t evest long enoughfor Aeciphysis to make a move.


    With that settled—time to act!


    Just as hestrode toward the door, asudden soundechoed from the hallway.


    Hurried footsteps.


    Winniepaused, hesitating for a moment before pulling open the door.


    Outside, standingrespectfully, wasDark, the old servant.


    "...? What is it?"


    "Young Master Winnie, it is time for dinner,"Dark lowered his head slightly.


    "I’m not hungry. You eat by yourself."


    "This... but, Young Master, no matter what’s happening, you still need to eat. Otherwise, your body will—"


    "That’s none of your concern. Alright, alright, I’m in a bad mood right now. I just need to go out for a walk."


    Winnie deliberatelyfeigned impatience, waving Dark off.


    "...Understood, Young Master."


    "Hmph."


    Winniebrushed past him, descending the stairs.


    But just as he stepped out into thecourtyard, he suddenlypaused—and turned his head to nce back at the estate.


    His eyes flickered witha deep, thoughtful gleam.


    How interesting. How very interesting.


    Winnie had originally assumed thatDark—thisold servant—had simplynowhere else to goand hadstayed behind out of necessity, willing to work formeager wagesjust to survive.


    But apparently, he’dbeen wrong.


    Someone hadnted a spyrightunder his nose.


    Who, exactly, is so wary of a worthless, one-star magician with a dead bloodline?


    Recalling thesudden infamyhis past self had gained in the original timeline, Winnie’s eyesnarrowed slightly.


    Even now—


    Someone was still working against him from the shadows.