Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton
Chapter 1563 - 1124: I’m Not Useless

Chapter 1563: Chapter 1124: I’m Not Useless

Emery shrank her head, trembling in fear, anxiously glancing at the Pope of Light, the God of Knowledge, the King of Alchemy In Memoriam Edition, the God of Fraudsters, and a presence so enigmatic it couldn’t even be discerned.

These individuals, including Ange, usually excelled at disguising themselves, appearing harmless to the point where ordinary people wouldn’t find them threatening.

But Emery was among the rare few who could sense something amiss because she couldn’t divine anything about these people.

When her crystal ball was shattered by a silver coin, she realized the coin was terrifying. However, when it dragged her here, she discovered that the silver coin was perhaps the kindest among this group.

As a result, she couldn’t help but attempt a reading on each of them—and every time, she received no response.

While she found Anthony and a few others intimidating, Ange was utterly paralyzing—mere focus on Ange with the intent of divination would immediately induce an overwhelming sense of suffocation, as if death were imminent at any moment.

Consequently, she couldn’t even keep her gaze on Ange, and to this point, she hadn’t managed to discern what Ange actually looked like.

"The Power of the Prophet? Quite fascinating. Where did you find her?" Negris asked, both surprised and curious.

"Lord Nage, are you certain it’s the Power of the Prophet? I found her at the failing ’Star Astrology Academy.’ Lord Anthony had instructed me to acquire an astrology institute, so I targeted this near-bankrupt one, planning to inject funds and merge it strategically to speed up the process."

"She was a graduate of the academy and had been reading fortunes at a stall in the free market. Her senior brought her back to teach at the academy. During a meeting, she attempted a reading on me, suffered from backlash, and blew up a crystal ball. That’s when I discovered her and brought her here," the silver coin explained.

The silver coin initially thought it was some kind of predictive ability but didn’t expect it to be the Power of the Prophet. Wasn’t this a racial trait unique to the Prophet Dragon? How was it present in a human?

Prophecy and prediction were vastly different, as witches often said—many predictive abilities were essentially guesswork, with the outcomes adjusted to fit the predictions.

For instance, predicting someone would strike it rich. If it didn’t happen by the predicted time, they’d just shove money into their hands to make it true. Or predicting someone would suffer a calamity—when the time arrived, beating them up would suffice.

The most perverse predictive ability they’d encountered was Shamara’s ’Something Good Will Happen,’ which could only predict positive occurrences but couldn’t specify what they might be.

The Power of the Prophet, on the other hand, truly allowed glimpses of future fragments. The further into the future seen, the clearer the fragments became, depending on the individual’s level.

For example, in the hands of a Monarch, the Power of the Prophet could reveal scenarios a thousand years ahead, enabling intricate preparations. For someone like Negris, it could barely provide a glimpse of a few seconds into the future, like Naeli scratching its face in irritation.

However, no matter the wielder, the Power of the Prophet couldn’t reveal changes caused by entities of the same level. A Monarch couldn’t see anything resulting from Ange’s actions, and thus the future after Ange left the Resting Camp became a mystery.

Similarly, Emery couldn’t perceive anything about beings significantly stronger than her, such as the silver coin—and certainly not Anthony or Negris. As for Ange, she couldn’t even perform the act of "looking."

"Pfft... the free market? Fortune-telling? That destitute? With the Power of the Prophet, couldn’t she do something more lucrative? Gambling? Buying Goblin Lottery Tickets? How did she end up reading fortunes?" Negris asked incredulously.

Emery timidly replied, "I wouldn’t dare. Winning too much would get me beaten up. Goblin Lottery Tickets? Ha... every time I buy them and then divine the result, it changes. Those fraudsters monitor the tickets’ numbers, so there’s no way to win."

Negris turned to the silver coin in shock, while the latter awkwardly rubbed its nose. Negris gritted its teeth and barked, "Fraudster! All that secret stash I had you use to buy lottery tickets—it was all embezzled by you, wasn’t it? You crook! I’ll strangle you. Give me back my money!"

"No, no, no! I never did that. I warned you, didn’t I? Goblin Lottery Tickets aren’t worth buying. You wouldn’t listen. It’s basic; to ensure profit, they manage risks. How could it be random? If too many people won, they’d go bankrupt! If I were in charge, I’d do the same," the silver coin said, dodging while clutching its head.

Ignoring the squabble, Anthony looked at Emery and lamented, "What a shame, her power is too weak. Most of what she sees is hazy. Master, is there any way to unlock her potential?"

Given Emery’s abilities, any of Ange’s enemies were overwhelmingly beyond her foresight, their massive presence overshadowing everything she might have glimpsed in advance.

Unless her level could be elevated to that of Ange, the Power of the Prophet seemed virtually useless.

Ange nodded but then shook his head. "She wouldn’t survive it. She’d die."

Negris, still chasing the silver coin to punch it, translated in passing, "Ange has a way to harness her Power of the Prophet, but she’s far too frail. The backlash would kill her instantly if she tried."

"Then it’s useless. Silver coin, send her back," Anthony concluded.

Emery, bewildered and dazed, was sent away. She remained in this state until Ms. Tianya patted her comfortingly, snapping her out of it. Indignant, she muttered, "They actually said I’m useless? Dismissing me?"

Emery’s arrival had given Anthony a new realization: among sapient beings, many possessed untapped talents, though their lack of opportunities kept those abilities dormant. If these individuals could be discovered and cultivated, they could undoubtedly become outstanding talents.

Anthony had engaged in such work before. Developing and stockpiling talent was a fundamental duty of a superior. However, his current workload left him with no time to allocate resources or personnel for this task.

In the Friel Empire, Nagi’s ancestor Yixianni had done similar work. Yet in the Divine Light Alliance, no foundations for this endeavor had been laid. It was time to begin—but who would be suited to take on such a responsibility?

Anthony’s first thought was the Great Speaker’s executive, Lea. The right people for the right tasks—Lea was particularly well-suited for this role. Unfortunately, she was aligned with the Great Speaker.

Besides Lea, who else would be fit? Anthony pondered in frustration. This was the consequence of failing to nurture and reserve personnel; when the need arose, there was no one to rely on.

Just then, the silver coin returned with Emery and Tianya in tow, looking somewhat helpless. "Lord Anthony, she’s insisting on coming back to see you."

Emery stormed in indignantly, approached Anthony, and raised a White Crystal. "I’m not useless. I made this—I felt you’d need it."

Anthony held it up for inspection and found it was indeed a White Crystal. Astonished, he couldn’t help but scrutinize Emery anew.

Emery stood proudly, hands on her hips, looking as if she cared about no one.

Anthony spoke sincerely, "You’re impressive. To create something of this caliber—I, the Pope of Light, Saint Anthony, sincerely invite you to serve our Lord..."

Emery smirked smugly. "Didn’t you say I was useless..."

"Twenty Demon Crystals a month," the silver coin interjected.

Emery’s knees nearly buckled, and her face quickly transformed into a polite smile. "I... I accept—happy to serve our Lord."

Kvada! A twentyfold salary hike? This wasn’t dismissal—it was recognition! How ’weighty’ those twenty Demon Crystals were!

With a money-loving Emery now recruited, Anthony turned his gaze to the smiling Ms. Tianya nearby and inquired, "And this would be?"

Silver coin introduced, "This is Ms. Tianya, the new headmistress of the Star Astrology Academy. The previous management bankrupted the institution, so I fired them all. Tianya is highly respected among the students and faculty, so she’s temporarily taken the position."

"Oh, Ms. Tianya certainly has the demeanor to be a headmistress. I wonder—do you have any insights into leading an academy or cultivating talent? No pressure; we can just chat casually," Anthony said, smoothly transitioning to persuasion mode.

While this conversation unfolded, Ange picked up Emery’s White Crystal, examining it intently. After a while, Ange unexpectedly sent a transmission to it: "Hello."