Chapter 25: Chapter 24 Coo Coo Coo
Velie's parents were devotees of the Sun Goddess, and they went missing during a mission to eliminate heretics. Years had passed without any word, and they never reappeared.
Velie was only five years old at the time; according to the law, she would be sent to the community welfare home, awaiting adoption by a couple.
The devotees were not pleased. They were colleagues and friends of Velie's parents, watching her grow up, and did not believe that so-called foster parents would treat Velie as their own child. Moreover, what kind of place was this welfare home? If she encountered a perverse dean or disappeared without cause, how could they explain it to Velie's parents?
After discussing the matter, families composed of devotees took care of and raised Velie. She had many family members—uncles, aunts, elder relatives—who considered her as their own child and never hesitated to give her their love.
Velie's childhood might not have been complete, but compared to her peers, she lacked no love.
Perhaps even more!
After hearing this past, Wayne was quite moved for a while; the buxom girl was loud and boisterous, yet her heart was incredibly strong.
Velie was very optimistic and loved to laugh. Her smile was so infectious that one couldn't help wanting to become close to her, to laugh and fool around with her.
However...
One thing at a time, this was not the reason for the muscle-heads to intimidate him. Today's events were not over; when he got back, he would write in his diary, complaining about the societal scum that persecuted a kind-hearted young man.
Dick the coach gave Wayne a free fitness card. In this day and age, there was no such thing as a physical fitness card—it was all facial recognition. He basically made Wayne's face known to all the coaches, indicating that from then on, this face was free of charge.
Seeing the coaches' enthusiastic manner, Wayne resolved to avoid coming here in the future if at all possible.
Their first encounter was, at best, friendly.
Velie felt Wayne had been bullied and was not very happy, putting her hands on her hips and pouting in dissatisfaction. The coaches scattered like birds and beasts, swarming towards the ring area to continue wrestling in groups.
The painting style of the Sun Goddess devotees was full of brotherhood, fully affirming that adage: moderate fitness attracts the opposite sex, excessive fitness attracts the same sex.
Considering steroids had not yet become popular in those days, whether it was fitness or bodybuilding, the participants were not as huge as those later, but all the coaches were muscle giants. Wayne guessed that their physique might have a direct connection with their faith in the Sun Goddess.
Perhaps, this too was magic!
...
Velie led Wayne through the fitness area to the backyard of the fitness center, where three rustic iron gates were set into the white walls.
The Moon Arch Iron Gate, engraved with a simple pattern of the sun, seemed to pour the sunlight profusely onto the earth, bringing light to dispel darkness and nurturing life that gives birth to all things.
Such vibrant vitality and blooming of all things seemed just in front of one's eyes!
Above the three Moon Arch Gates, from left to right, were the symbols of the Hexagram, the Cross, and the Triangle. Wayne looked at the equilateral triangle symbol and thought of the Golden Triangle Magic Array that Mick used for sacrifices.
One couldn't just say it was similar; it was exactly the same!
The iron gates also bore the portrait of the Sun Goddess, guiding devotees forward with her spear in hand. Wayne examined it closely, noting that her facial features were indistinct and invisible, showing only her seductive figure and delicate arms.
Not reliable at all, that one must be a crossdressing buff guy, and the kind with super developed muscles at that.
Velie stood at the iron gate on the far left, her hand fitting against it. As a ray of light spread out, the Moon Arch door turned transparent, revealing the forest scenery within, alive with the songs of birds and the fragrance of flowers.
The area it covered was vast; Lundan City had no park this large. Wayne guessed it was a portal only open to devotees of the Sun Goddess.
He did not ask where the other two doors led to and followed Velie on a shaded path through the forest.
The air was saturated with the essence of nature, sunlight dappled through the leaves with warm patches, and as Wayne basked in it, he felt an indescribable sense of tranquility, and his restless heart quieted down.
Soon, Velie brought Wayne to a wooden cabin, unguarded, with only a form hung on the wall by the door.
After she signed it, she had Wayne leave his name and then began to select a homing bird for daily use for him.
That was the homing pigeon, nothing much to say about those; their breeding was relatively easy, and given their high attrition rate, they were generally not valued by mages.
The crucial part was the night-use homing bird.
"Coo coo coo———"xN
"This one's cooing the loudest, I'll choose this one."
Wayne, following Verily's advice, chose a relatively robust pigeon and, after signing the contract, the pigeon disappeared into Verily's top hat like a magic trick.
"When you need it, just tap the hat and it will appear, but remember to feed it on time, or it will starve to death in the hat." Verily warned Wayne and took a bag of feed off the shelf and stuffed it into Wayne's arms.
The mixed feed's main ingredients were wheat, corn, and peas. When it was finished, he could come to collect it himself; he just needed to remember to sign his name.
The Tri-Goddess Alliance shared many resources, and messenger birds were one of them. As long as Wayne became a familiar face, he would also be able to obtain feed for the messenger birds at other major strongholds.
Wayne put on the hat and listened very carefully, as every piece of information was crucial for a beginner.
"Messenger birds can be used to contact friendly mages or to exchange information with major strongholds. Nowadays, with phones, their use for communication is optional, but the magic spells that can be combined with messenger birds are very practical. Come to my room later, and I'll teach you slowly."
Verily started making faces and jesting after a short while, to which Wayne responded with a "haha," not possible, absolutely not possible.
It wasn't that he couldn't do it, nor was it that Verily couldn't do it, but rather because there were a dozen muscular brutes blocking the way, and he bet that various reasons would soon arise preventing him from entering Verily's room.
He wouldn't even get to touch the doorknob.
The two of them went to the back row of the wooden house. Verily lifted the curtain that blocked the light, and pairs of round, bulbous eyes looked over at Wayne.
(◉⌄◉)(◉⌔◉)(◉⌵◉)(◉∀◉)...
Such intelligent gazes!
Indeed, they were round-faced, fat chickens.
Wayne was not surprised at all; in fact, he took it for granted. He didn't know much about owls, but he had heard that these creatures belonged to the birds of prey category and were the most trusted partners of mages, as well as reserve food supplies.
"Coo coo coo————"
"Caw————"
"Chirp chirp chirp———"
Upon seeing someone come in, the round-faced, fat chickens all tilted their heads, making a variety of strange noises.
"Stop!"
"Everyone quiet down!"
Verily shouted loudly, to no avail. She kept shouting, but the owls kept up their hooting, showing her no respect at all.
So rude, much worse than the pigeons that could only coo; this showed that pigeons at least had some pigeon-virtue.
"Owls, besides being used for communication like pigeons, can also watch the house and alert to intruders. In necessary situations, they can borrow their master's magic power to transform, speak human language, track, and so on..."
Verily counted on her fingers one by one and concluded, "Although owls are not magical beings, when a mage encounters an owl that matches them, they can enable it to perform abilities beyond imagination."
"A match?!"
Wayne asked, "How do you determine if there's a match, and what method do you use?"
"That's right, don't hesitate, choose the one you find most pleasing to the eye at the fastest speed."
Verily said, "They are all carefully raised excellent messenger birds, and each one has its own personality and temper. The one you find most pleasing will have a personality and temper very close to yours. Generally speaking, the closer the match, the better the fit."
So it was a matter of intuition!
Wayne frowned slightly; Verily made it sound easy, but these guys all looked pretty much alike, so where was the most pleasing one...
Hey, that one looks so arrogant!
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone