Richard nodded eagerly and ran back to his room. But with the excitement on his face, it was clear he would hardly be able to sleep tonight. Ilene shook her head with a smile, grabbed the magic lamp, and climbed up to the attic.

  The attic was normally used to store odds and ends, but it was meticulously cleaned. Ilene moved a chest aside, revealing a small altar behind it. The altar was made of stone, its base intricately etched with a complex magical array in delicate and precise strokes. However, the place where a statue should have been was now empty.

  Ilene carefully cleaned the altar, wiping away even the smallest speck of dust. Only then did she stand up, her gaze falling on a thick book casually placed beside the chest. This book was surprisingly thick, almost a thousand pages long, and the size of four ordinary magic books, weighing at least ten kilograms. The bronze-colored cover shimmered, immaculate and obviously well-read. Ilene paused for a moment; she hadn’t touched it in a long time, so it was clear that Richard had been reading it. She didn’t expect that the little one had read it so frequently and so intently.

  She walked over and opened it. Her fingers, long and graceful, were more beautiful than her looks, something the men in the village had commented on more than once.

  The cover of the book was made of actual bronze, heavy and cold, radiating the weight of the years. Ilene knew that within the bronze, scattered like stars, were hundreds of crystal particles. When these particles activated together, they formed a miniature altar, and if the user was devout and powerful enough, they could even use it to listen to the voice of the Moon Goddess Elucia!

  On the first page, there was a long poem written in beautiful ancient Elven script, praising the Moon Goddess Elucia. To this day, Ilene still remembered every syllable of the hymn. Ilene casually flipped through the pages, the textured sheets flowing through her fingers like water. The pages were filled with large sections of Elven writing and vibrant illustrations. Unlike human scriptures, the book contained very little doctrine of the Moon Goddess. Instead, it focused on the deeds of Elucia before she became a goddess. Therefore, in addition to the content of the Norland continent, the book also included stories from other continents, even from different planes. Little Richard had likely treated it as a vast geographical and cultural encyclopedia, which is why he found it so fascinating.

  This book, despite its sheer size, was the former most precious treasure of the Elven Court—the Holy Scripture of the Moon Goddess Elucia.

  The scripture also recorded the seven unique divine arts of the Moon Goddess, but only those recognized by the Goddess could see and use them. Back in her day, Elucia had mastered five of them. Apart from the great druids of the Elven Court, she was the priestess who had mastered the most divine arts, symbolizing both power and the Goddess’s recognition. But now, even at great cost, the only divine art she could activate was one, and it relied on the power of the scripture itself.

  Seven divine arts flowed through her heart like water.

  "Elucia’s Destiny" divine art: Enlightenment;

  "Elucia’s Blessing" divine art: Healing;

  "Elucia’s Wrath" divine art: Judgement;

  "Elucia’s Sword" divine art: Silvermoon Armament;

  "Elucia’s Will" divine art: Judgement.

  There were also two divine arts, one of which Elucia had never mastered: "Elucia’s Heart" divine art: Foresight.

  And the seventh divine art, which was merely recorded in the scripture but never used by anyone: "Elucia’s Confusion" divine art: The Dark Side of the Moon.

  Ilene placed her hand on the scripture, quietly feeling the lingering divine aura within it. The fifth moon hung high in the sky, and the cold moonlight filtered through the roof’s skylight, casting a perfect beam onto her. The divine power hidden within the moonlight quietly seeped into her body, building up energy for the ritual that would take place in just a few days.

  The divine art: Enlightenment, was Richard’s gift for his tenth birthday.

  On the day of Richard’s birthday, still at midnight, he was called up, led to the attic, and made to kneel before the altar. The page of the scripture was already open to the designated section, and a few lines of prayers, which Richard had never seen before, appeared. The prayers were in ancient Elven, a complex and obscure language that Richard had mastered as fluently as the common tongue. The content of the prayer was still in praise and petition for the Moon Goddess, but as Richard silently recited it in his mind, he suddenly felt something strange. It seemed as though his body was becoming transparent, and somewhere deep within, something that had been aimlessly wandering around suddenly found its purpose and flew toward him, rushing into his body. Richard felt a cold current flowing into his chest and abdomen, swiftly spreading out to his limbs and lower stomach. The sensation lasted only an instant, though it was extraordinarily vivid. But strange sensations during divine or magical rituals were quite common, and many rituals even required enduring intense pain. So Richard said nothing, continuing to clear his mind as his mother had instructed.

  "My Richard, soon you will enter the hall of the Moon Goddess Elucia and receive the enlightenment about fate. You will most likely have two or three choices, and if you do, you can choose..." Ilene suddenly shook her head and changed her words, "My Richard, choose whatever you want, listen carefully to the Goddess's voice, and then follow your heart’s choice."

  Richard nodded, confused. As Ilene’s soft prayers filled the air, his consciousness gradually faded, as if pulling away from the world before him.

  When he regained his senses, Richard found himself standing before an enormous, vast temple. He was in the center of a plaza that stretched for miles, and standing in it, Richard felt as small as an ant. The plaza was paved with silver-gray stone, gleaming with a faint, mysterious light. As he looked around, he was astonished to see an endless starry sky, the stars so close that they seemed within reach. The plaza and the temple seemed to float in the void of the stars.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The vast space overwhelmed Richard, and his heartbeat quickened. He could no longer bear to look around and immediately began running toward the temple. He ran for what felt like ages, crossing the entire plaza and climbing thousands of stone steps, finally arriving at the temple entrance. If not for the strength and endurance cultivated in the mountains, Richard would have collapsed long before. Once he started running, he dared not stop. The enormous plaza filled his entire field of vision, and the sparkling light shifted, as if the entire space were not static but moving according to some invisible rule. Richard had a strange sensation that if he paused for even a moment, the whole plaza would tilt, and without anything to grip on the glass-like surface, he would slide helplessly into an endless abyss.

  When he reached the temple’s entrance, his heart was almost about to leap out of his chest, and breathing became laborious. It took him a long moment to recover, remembering his mother’s instructions, and then he looked up at the temple.

  The temple had no dome; instead, it was surrounded by tall, white, jade-like stone pillars. In the center was an altar, and three faint statues of the Goddess stood around it. They were all posed differently, with varying distances between them. There should have been six statues around the altar, representing six different abilities. The more statues Richard could see, the more abilities he could awaken during the enlightenment.

  Richard, with his excellent memory, quickly recognized the abilities represented by the three statues. They were "Supernatural Power," which could grant tremendous strength; "Life Surge," which granted vitality and the ability to heal; and "Wind Speed," which enhanced speed and agility.

  Richard felt a little disappointed. Deep inside, he had already made a choice: it was "Wisdom," the ability to greatly enhance intelligence. Because a true man must have wisdom.

  But having three choices wasn’t so bad. His mother only hoped for more than one option. Ilene had not told Richard that most people who received enlightenment saw nothing but an empty temple.

  Richard approached the altar, straining his eyes, hoping to see "Wisdom." But this temple, along with the starry sky, wasn’t real. No matter how hard he tried, what could he possibly see? Instead, due to hesitation and doubt, the three statues began to blur.

  "Do you want more abilities?" A voice suddenly echoed in Richard’s ears.

  Richard jumped in shock and looked around, but saw nothing. The voice was sudden, cold, and metallic, filled with an eerie, emotionless tone that terrified him.

  "Who... who are you?" Richard gathered his courage, his voice trembling. The sound reverberated throughout the hall, and the heavy echoes startled him.

  "Who I am doesn’t matter, I will never appear again. Strictly speaking, I am the other half of you that is hidden deep within," the voice replied.

  "Impossible!" Richard shouted firmly. His mother had told him that his soul was pure and that there was nothing strange within him. But after conversing with the voice for a few moments, his initial fear began to fade. Mountain children were naturally brave, and his fear had simply been because he didn’t know what was happening, caught off guard.

  However, the voice remained unaffected and spoke in the same unchanging tone. "Now, choose what you want to receive."

  Before Richard, the altar glowed again, and three new statues appeared! In addition to "Wisdom," there was "Elemental Affinity," which was crucial in the path of magic. This ability allowed mages to communicate with the elements more easily and cast spells with less energy consumption. To put it simply, mages with "Elemental Affinity" could have one to three additional spell slots compared to others of the same level. This was a terrifying ability that grew more powerful as one advanced. The other ability was "Nature’s Messenger," which granted an intuitive and deep understanding of nature, enhanced stealth abilities, increased speed in complex terrain, and boosted the power of nature-based spells, along with greater resistance to poisons.

  Now, all six abilities were presented before Richard.

  "This... this..." Richard’s mouth hung open, speechless. His mind was in chaos, unable to comprehend what was happening before him. The only reasonable explanation was that everything he was seeing was an illusion. Otherwise, how could this be? It was nothing like what he had read in books or heard from his mother.

  Richard finally remembered the purpose of his journey. Trembling, he reached out toward the statue representing "Wisdom." At the foot of the statue, towering at over ten meters, Richard could only reach the Goddess's feet. This was also part of the ritual's meaning—stooping to touch the statue’s feet represented humility. As Richard’s hand touched the statue, he suddenly heard a crisp cracking sound in his mind, and the entire world seemed to become more real and vivid.

  "Wisdom allows people to see the world more clearly." This was a line from the scripture, and now Richard understood its meaning.

  As soon as Richard touched the Wisdom statue, all the other statues vanished. Normally, this would mark the end of the enlightenment ritual, but the temple didn’t disappear.

  Confused, Richard looked around and suddenly saw a new statue emerge in front of the altar. This statue had its arms crossed over its chest, its face turned slightly to the side, and an expression both melancholic and focused. Unlike the other statues, this one had no texture and appeared to be made of shadows. Could this also be an ability? Richard racked his brain but couldn’t remember what this statue represented. Even the scripture didn’t mention such a form of the Moon Goddess, though it was indeed her statue.

  "Don’t you want another ability?" The voice rang out again.

  "What is that ability?" Richard hesitated and spoke loudly, "I don’t want to give up Wisdom."

  "You can call it Reality. It will allow you to see the world from another perspective, and at the end of this path, you may see something else."

  "Something else? What is it?" Richard asked, curious.

  The voice fell silent and did not respond.

  Richard realized that he could leave anytime he wished and return to the real world. This temple was just a world constructed by the ritual’s power, designed to help those with talent see their abilities and choose their path. But on the other hand, this world wasn’t completely illusory. The temple floating in the stars was filled with the Goddess's divine power, and obtaining all six abilities was only possible with the Moon Goddess Elucia's favor.

  However, the voice in Richard’s mind, along with the seventh statue that had never been mentioned in the scripture, completely shattered his understanding. Richard suddenly had a feeling that... this seemed like the devil’s temptation. But how could the devil’s power appear in the sacred ritual of the Moon Goddess?

  Looking at the seventh statue, Richard hesitated. Two conflicting voices argued fiercely in his mind. Take it, or not?

  Richard hesitated, but eventually, he took a step forward and reached out for the seventh statue. "The world is balanced, and every gain has its price." Richard remembered this teaching from the scripture, and balance was one of Elucia’s core teachings. So, if he gained a second ability, what would he have to give up?

  For the first time, Richard felt lost and conflicted, but in the end, he reached out for the statue. His mother had said he could choose based on his own will, and he wasn’t willing to give up this opportunity. He was prepared to pay the price. Little Richard was brave—he was willing to fight for an unexpected gain. And he was smart—he knew that deep inside, his mother hoped for him to become a hero, someone truly important.

  At the very least, someone more important than Baron Tack.