"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 was completely 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 flames. 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''s those disasters??

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

    That second method might as well not exist—did he dare to 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 seemed completely useless.

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

    Survival instincts kicked in, and Winnie immediately ignored the second method. People are naturally inclined to seek benefits and avoid harm—he absolutely wasn’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 for him, still stuck with the identity of a villain, 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 the last heir of the Aeciphysis family—the Blessed Angel lineage—Winnie was infamous throughout the capital for having only one-star magical aptitude.

    What did a one-star rating mean? It meant that even regular people could beat Winnie senseless with their magic talents.

    Among commoners, the majority had no magical aptitude. The number of people with a one-star rating was almost the same as those without any talent at all. The remaining population consisted of those with above one-star aptitude, including many prodigies born from commoner backgrounds.

    So even by ordinary people''s standards, Winnie was exceptionally mediocre and powerless.

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

    Soul Arts available for one-star aptitude were the 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?

    The Blessed Angel lineage of the Aeciphysis family had already turned into a "dead bloodline" since his grandfather’s generation.

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

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

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

    Most Sage families were named after the bloodlines they inherited. For example, the Peono Royal Family of the Kingdom of Camellia was one such Sage family. Possessing the Furygold Dragon Bloodline, they could manifest the might of the Furygold Dragon through Divine Favor, earning them the title "Furygold Dragon."

    However, the Blessed Angel lineage of the Aeciphysis family lost their Divine Favor during Winnie’s grandfather’s generation. This resulted in the absence of a successor to the Holy Maiden, leading to the Aeciphysis family''s complete loss of influence and control over the Church.

    However, losing their Divine Favor and forfeiting the Holy Maiden title wasn''t the direct reason why the Aeciphysis family was expelled from the Fanghui Church. Despite falling from grace, they still carried the name of the Goddess, serving as a symbol of the Fanghui Church—descendants of Aeciphysis, the Goddess of Radiance, whom humanity widely worshipped.

    The real reason for their exile seemed to be a grave mistake made 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—being completely cast out from the Fanghui Church and stripped of the Holy Maiden title.

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

    Winnie''s father was a formidable man. Even without Divine Favor, he earned his status through sheer military prowess, achieving numerous battle merits.

    Thanks to that, Winnie had the opportunity to interact with Mirecia in his childhood.

    If things had continued on that trajectory, even if reviving the Aeciphysis family was out of reach, sustaining it wouldn''t have been a problem.@@@@

    But, as fate would have it, disaster struck relentlessly—his father died 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 were ruthlessly crushed once again.

    To make matters worse, rumors began 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!"

    This completely ruined his reputation.

    There was no way to refute such claims. After all, Winnie''s bloodline had already become a "dead lineage", meaning he had no means of proving his descent from the Goddess. He could only stand powerless as these rumors festered and spread.

    Other nobles, when their family declined, could rely on their maternal relatives for support.

    But Winnie''s father? A pure-hearted war god. He had refused any noble alliances, marrying a rural village woman with no background. He was only good at war, knew nothing about finance, and had no clue how to maneuver noble politics.

    This was exactly why the Church had been bold enough to openly raid their household. The Aeciphysis family was nothing but a withered weed, completely alone, with no noble allies or powerful in-laws to shield them.

    Not that it would have mattered. Even high-ranking nobles and royalty hesitated to provoke the Church—how could minor nobles possibly stand against them?

    As dusk settled in, its fading light cascaded over the estate’s peeling yellow walls.

    Back in his room, Winnie shut the door behind him, gazing quietly out the window as the golden afterglow stretched across the old wooden floorboards.

    But he wasn’t actually looking at the sunset.

    Nor was he looking at the floor.

    His eyes were locked onto the golden-framed panel—the one that only he could see.

    "...Virtue."

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

    This was the key to his survival.

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

    But how exactly was he supposed to gain it? The system didn’t specify anything clearly.

    Other than donating to beggars, was there any other way?

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

    In that case—

    Winnie stood up, his mind already forming a plan.

    He pulled out an old leather suitcase from under his bed.

    Inside was the last of his family’s savings.

    A single copper coin could only earn a tiny bit of Virtue.

    For him, that was a luxury he couldn’t afford.

    But this was a necessary sacrifice!

    If awakening his bloodline was truly possible, would money even matter in the future??

    With that in mind, Winnie gritted his teeth and pulled out what little remained of his money.

    He was already backed into a corner.

    There was no other choice.

    Living off his meager inheritance like this was nothing more than waiting to die—he probably wouldn’t even last long enough for Aeciphysis to make a move.

    With that settled—time to act!

    Just as he strode toward the door, a sudden sound echoed from the hallway.

    Hurried footsteps.

    Winnie paused, hesitating for a moment before pulling open the door.

    Outside, standing respectfully, was Dark, 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 deliberately feigned impatience, waving Dark off.

    "...Understood, Young Master."

    "Hmph."

    Winnie brushed past him, descending the stairs.

    But just as he stepped out into the courtyard, he suddenly paused—and turned his head to glance back at the estate.

    His eyes flickered with a deep, thoughtful gleam.

    How interesting. How very interesting.

    Winnie had originally assumed that Dark—this old servant—had simply nowhere else to go and had stayed behind out of necessity, willing to work for meager wages just to survive.

    But apparently, he’d been wrong.

    Someone had planted a spy right under his nose.

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

    Recalling the sudden infamy his past self had gained in the original timeline, Winnie’s eyes narrowed slightly.

    Even now—

    Someone was still working against him from the shadows.