Hero Awakening

Lu Yao clicked [Yes].

White light shone from the two Pixelated Villagers, and the title [Hero] appeared above their heads.

To Lu Yao's delight, after the Prophet, Hero characters could also be guided and controlled.

When he selected certain locations, the two Heroes would explore and patrol that area. Compared to the Prophet, who preferred to think things through, Heroes were better at exploring everywhere and conducting field investigations.

Furthermore, repeatedly clicking on the Pig-Fish Brothers opened a more detailed character interface.

The interface showed pixel portraits of the two male Heroes. The Hero who liked pigs was muscular, while the one who liked fish looked slender and agile. Both wore the same Leather Vest and had no other equipment.

[Hero Lv.1] fisherman

Attack 1 Defense 1 Knowledge 0 Mana 0 luck 1 Morale 0

[Hero Lv.1] Hunter

Attack 2 Defense 1 Knowledge 0 Mana 0 luck 0 Morale 0

The Pig-Fish Brothers really had been a fisherman and a Hunter before.

Their stats were a little shabby, but they had awakened from ordinary Pixelated Villagers into Heroes, so he could not ask for too much.

What about the Prophet?

Lu Yao clicked the Prophet several times in a row, and sure enough, the character interface opened as well.

The Prophet's portrait showed him bare-chested, gazing up at the sky.

[Prophet Lv.1] farmer

Attack 0 Defense 0 Knowledge 3 Mana 0 luck 0 Morale 0

[Abilities]

Wisdom Lv.1: Wisdom is the key for Apostles to hear Deity's will. The higher the level of Wisdom, the easier it is to improve and comprehend various abilities.

Compared to the Pig-Fish Brothers, the Prophet also had a special ability: [Wisdom].

Lu Yao hovered the mouse over the six attributes, and the screen displayed the function of each one.

Attack: Every point of Attack increased the damage of all members of a Hero's unit by 3%.

Defense: Every point of Defense increased the Health Points of all members of a Hero's unit by 3%.

Knowledge: Every point of Knowledge increased maximum Mana Points by 10 and daily Mana recovery by 1.

Mana: Every point of Mana increased spell effects by 5% and reduced spell cooldown by 4%.

Luck: Every point of luck gave all members of a Hero's unit a 4% chance to strike twice and trigger randomly beneficial events.

Morale: Every point of Morale gave each member of a Hero's unit a 4% chance to enter an Enthusiastic State. In that state, Movement Speed and attack speed doubled for 10 seconds.

After reading the descriptions of the six attributes, Lu Yao had a better idea of how things worked.

This was very similar to the Heroes of Might and Magic series. It seemed that, in the future, both the Prophet and Heroes could lead soldiers into battle.

The Garlic Tribe had a small population, and its production was still at the primitive stage of manual farming. It had not invented Farm Tools, mastered Smelting, or learned how to make weapons. It would still take time before professional soldiers emerged.

Lu Yao selected the Pig-Fish Brothers together and sent them into the forest to explore.

For now, he could only rely on these two single Heroes. Hopefully, they would have some luck.

A few minutes later, the Pig-Fish Brothers actually found something in the forest.

"Forest Tribe settlement discovered!"

"The Forest Tribe acknowledges our faith and recognizes that we are also children of the gods. They are willing to communicate with us."

"We received their hospitality. They wish to exchange Leather and meat for the Garlic of our tribe."

Lu Yao had them return to the tribe and meet with the Prophet.

After learning of the Forest Tribe's request, the Prophet fell into thought.

"Should I tell the Forest Tribe about the Black Bear? The Garlic Tribe is still very weak. If we trade with the Forest Tribe now, we may draw an attack from the Demon Cultists."

"However, this is also an opportunity for the tribe to step into the outside world. We can trade for the Leather and meat we lack, and establish a good relationship with the Forest Tribe."

"What a difficult choice."

Lu Yao selected the Prophet and moved him directly into the forest.

Development was the only real solution.

If the tribe did not want to be beaten, it had to seize every opportunity to develop rapidly. Otherwise, once the Forest Tribe was wiped out, the Demon Cultists would turn around and deal with the Garlic Tribe. They could not miss this opportunity.

An exclamation mark appeared above the Prophet's head.

"Without realizing it, I have arrived in the forest. This must be the will of God. God believes we should join forces with the Forest Tribe, so that is what we shall do."

The Prophet entered the woods, and a Pixelated Villager emerged from the forest to greet him. The villager wore a Leather Vest, the distinctive clothing of the Forest Tribe.

A small path had been cleared through the forest, leading to another tribal settlement deeper within. On the computer screen, the visible boundary expanded further outward.

Lu Yao could see everything clearly from God's perspective.

The Forest Tribe appeared to have more than a hundred people, living in all kinds of treehouses throughout the forest.

Unlike the Garlic Tribe, where everyone did everything, the Forest Tribe had two clearly defined professions.

Farmers specialized in growing Berries and Mushrooms, exchanging food with others.

Hunters used traps and Wooden Spears to hunt Birds, Hares, and Monkeys. They traded their prey with the Farmers and also made Leather from the Fur of their catches.

Farmers usually remained in the tribe to tend their berry bushes and mushroom plots, while Hunters ventured deep into the forest or entered the neighboring mountains to seek all kinds of prey.

The leader of the Forest Tribe was called the [Shaman], and he wore a Wooden Mask. The Shaman and the Prophet had been talking continuously, but their conversation did not appear on the screen. The two little people seemed to have opened a private chat channel.

About ten minutes later, several messages suddenly appeared one after another on the game interface.

[The Prophet told the Forest Tribe about the Demon Cultists' attack. The Forest Tribe's attitude has become friendly.]

[The Prophet taught the Forest Tribe how to grow and use Garlic. The Forest Tribe's attitude has become intimate.]

[Blessing has been completely fulfilled. Garlic has merged into the world.]

[The alliance between the Forest Tribe and the Garlic Tribe has succeeded. Your faith will spread through the Forest Tribe.]

Lu Yao felt slightly relieved.

The Prophet had accomplished several things in a row with that one round of actions.

With the Forest Tribe's population of over a hundred people, he would have a chance of gaining a few believers. Those were sources of Faith Points that Lu Yao currently needed.

The alliance also gave the Garlic Tribe a reliable trade partner.

Most importantly, [Blessing] had also been completed.

He hurriedly opened the Temple interface.

Sure enough, the [Blessing] slot had been cleared.

In other words, he could now send another item over and provide remote support to the Garlic Tribe.

Lu Yao was excited for a few seconds before falling into thought.

What did the Garlic Tribe need most right now?

Writing?

Ironware?

Pottery?

Food?

Lu Yao played with the [Energy Staff] in his hand as all kinds of ideas surfaced in his mind. Every item seemed useful and important to the Garlic Tribe.

Just as he was having trouble deciding, another line of text appeared on the computer screen.

[The Forest Tribe has offered a Sacrificial Offering in gratitude for the Garlic you bestowed.]

A second Sacrificial Offering!

Lu Yao hurriedly opened the Temple.

A green plant appeared in the [Sacrificial Offering] slot. It looked like a cactus.

[Cactus Follower]: Faith +1/hour.

Loyal servants of the gods, they obey divine commands and are responsible for cleaning and making offerings in forest Temples. They are reliable and hardworking Elves. They normally take the form of Cacti, but transform into servants before the gods.

Lu Yao stared blankly.

It was alive?

He quickly took the [Sacrificial Offering] out.

In an instant, a round cactus appeared on the keyboard.

It was about the size of Lu Yao's fist and looked no different from any cactus sold on the market, a plump green sphere covered in sharp spines.

Suddenly, the cactus began to sway slowly, sprouting slender green arms and legs.

It bent its knees, pressing its round body—or perhaps its head—against the desk, and solemnly knelt before Lu Yao.

Lu Yao tried asking, "Can you clean?"

The Cactus Follower remained kneeling on the ground and nodded.

"Then clean the floor here."

Having received its command, the Cactus Follower leaped off the desk and landed gracefully and steadily. Then it spread its legs and began running across the floor. As it scampered around, dust, hair, and debris vanished from everywhere it passed.

The clumps of dust and trash adhered to the cactus's surface, where they were gathered together and compressed into balls.

It was like a tiny living vacuum cleaner. Before long, it had cleaned the floor spotless, even sucking out crumbs from the cracks and old grime that had built up over the years. The old cracked tiles gleamed brightly, as if they had been waxed and maintained at a luxury car dealership.

Lu Yao crossed his legs, opened a bottle of Cola he had bought yesterday, and watched the cactus work. For some reason, he felt deeply content.

So this was the joy of being a god.