Hero's Awakening

Lu Yao clicked [Yes].

White light flashed on the two pixelated villagers, and the title [Hero] appeared above their heads.

What pleased Lu Yao was that, following the Prophet, Hero characters could also be guided and commanded.

When he selected certain locations, the two heroes would explore and patrol that area. Compared to the Prophet, who favored deliberation, the heroes were better at scouting and on-site investigation.

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

This interface displayed pixel portraits of the two male heroes. The pig-loving hero was muscular, while the fish-loving hero looked slender and agile. Both wore the same Leather Vest and had no other equipment.

[Hero Lv1] Fisherman

Attack 1 Defense 1 Knowledge 0 Mana 0 Luck 1 Morale 0

[Hero Lv1] Hunter

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

So the Pig-Fish Brothers really had been a Fisherman and a Hunter before.

Their stats were a bit shabby, but since they were heroes awakened from ordinary pixel villagers, he couldn't ask for too much.

What about the Prophet?

Lu Yao clicked on the Prophet repeatedly and, sure enough, opened his character interface too.

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

[Prophet Lv1] Farmer

Attack 0 Defense 0 Knowledge 3 Mana 0 Luck 0 Morale 0

[Ability]

Wisdom Lv1: Wisdom is the key for an apostle to heed the 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 had a special ability: [Wisdom].

Lu Yao hovered his mouse over the six attributes, and the screen displayed the effect of each.

Attack: Each point of Attack increases the damage of all units under the hero by 3%.

Defense: Each point of Defense increases the Health Points of all units under the hero by 3%.

Knowledge: Each point of Knowledge increases maximum Mana Points by 10 and daily Mana recovery by 1.

Mana: Each point of Mana increases spell effect by 5% and reduces spell cooldown by 4%.

Luck: Each point of Luck gives all units under the hero a 4% chance to deal double damage on attack and triggers random beneficial events.

Morale: Each point of Morale gives each unit under the hero a 4% chance to enter an Enthusiastic State. In this state, Movement Speed doubles and Attack Speed doubles for 10 seconds.

Seeing the descriptions of these six attributes, Lu Yao had a rough idea.

This was very similar to the Heroes of Might and Magic series. It seemed that in the future, whether Prophet or Hero, they would all be able to lead soldiers in combat.

The Garlic Tribe had a sparse population, and their production was still at the primitive stage of manual farming—no farming tools invented, no smelting, no mastery of weapon-making. It would take a while before professional soldiers emerged.

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

For now, he could only rely on these two single heroes. He hoped they'd have some luck.

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

"Discovered a settlement of the Forest Tribe!"

"The Forest Tribe recognizes our faith, acknowledges us as fellow subjects of the deity, and is willing to communicate with us."

"We were treated with hospitality. They want to trade leather and meat for the tribe's garlic."

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

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

"Should we tell the Forest Tribe about the Black Bear? The Garlic Tribe is still very weak. Trading with the Forest Tribe now might provoke an attack from the Demon Cultists."

"But this is also an opportunity for the tribe to reach out to the outside world. We could trade for the leather and meat we lack and build a good relationship with the Forest Tribe."

"It's truly a difficult choice."

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

Development was the absolute principle.

If the tribe didn't want to be beaten, it had to seize every opportunity to grow quickly. Otherwise, after the Forest Tribe was wiped out, the Demon Cultists would turn around and deal with the Garlic Tribe. Now was not the time to miss a golden opportunity.

An exclamation mark appeared above the Prophet's head.

"Unknowingly, I've arrived in the forest. This must be the god's will—He believes we should unite with the Forest Tribe. So be it."

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

A narrow path had been cleared through the forest, leading deeper into another tribal settlement. On the computer screen, the observable boundary expanded further outward.

From his god's-eye view, Lu Yao saw it all clearly.

The Forest Tribe appeared to number over a hundred people, living in various treehouses scattered throughout the woods.

Unlike the Garlic Tribe, where everyone did a bit of everything, the Forest Tribe had two distinct professions.

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

Hunters used traps and Wooden Spears to catch Birds, Hares, and Monkeys. They traded their catches with the Farmers and also used the prey's Fur to make leather.

Usually, the Farmers stayed in the tribe, tending to their Berry bushes and Mushroom patches, while the Hunters ventured deep into the forest or into the neighboring mountains in search of game.

The Forest Tribe's leader was called the [Shaman], who wore a Wooden Mask. The Shaman and the Prophet kept up a continuous conversation, though it wasn't displayed on the screen—the two Pixelated Villagers seemed to have their own private chat channel.

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

[The Prophet tells the Forest Tribe about the Demon Cultists' attack. The Forest Tribe's attitude shifts to Friendly.]

[The Prophet teaches the Forest Tribe how to plant and use garlic. The Forest Tribe's attitude shifts to Intimate.]

[The Blessing is complete. Garlic is integrated into the world.]

[The Forest Tribe and the Garlic Tribe have successfully formed an alliance. Your faith will spread within the Forest Tribe.]

Lu Yao felt a touch of relief.

The Prophet had pulled off consecutive feats.

With the Forest Tribe's population of over a hundred, there was a good chance of gaining a few believers—all of which were sources of Faith Points that Lu Yao currently needed.

The alliance gave the Garlic Tribe a reliable trading partner.

Most importantly, the [Blessing] was complete.

He quickly clicked open the Temple interface.

Sure enough, the [Blessing] slot was empty.

That meant he could now transmit another item over to provide remote support for the Garlic Tribe.

Lu Yao was excited for a few seconds, then fell into deep thought.

What exactly did the Garlic Tribe need most right now?

Writing?

Ironware?

Pottery?

Food?

Lu Yao toyed with the [Energy Staff] in his hand, a flood of ideas swirling in his mind. Every item seemed useful, all of them important to the Garlic Tribe.

Just as he was struggling to choose, another line of text appeared on the computer screen.

[To thank you for the Blessing of garlic, the Forest Tribe offers a Sacrificial Offering.]

A second offering!

Lu Yao quickly opened the Temple.

In the [Sacrificial Offering] slot appeared a green plant that looked like a cactus.

[Cactus Follower]: Faith +1/hour.

Loyal servants of the god, they obey divine commands and are responsible for cleaning and maintaining the Forest Temple. A group of reliable, hardworking spirits. In their normal state, they take the form of a cactus; in the presence of the god, they transform into attendants.

Lu Yao stared, stunned.

Alive?

He quickly retrieved the [Sacrificial Offering].

In an instant, a round, plump cactus appeared on his keyboard.

It was about the size of Lu Yao's fist, indistinguishable from any ordinary cactus on the market—a plump green sphere covered in spikes.

Suddenly, the cactus swayed gently, sprouting slender green arms and legs.

It bent its knees, pressing its round body (or rather, its head) against the desk, and bowed solemnly to Lu Yao.

Lu Yao tentatively said, "Can you clean?"

The Cactus Follower remained kneeling and nodded.

"Then clean the floor here."

The Cactus Follower received its command, leaping down from the table with a graceful, steady landing, then scurried across the floor on its legs. As it trotted along, every speck of dust, strand of hair, and bit of debris on the floor was swept away.

These clumps of grime and trash adhered to the cactus's surface, gathered together, and compressed into spheres.

It was like a tiny biological vacuum cleaner, quickly leaving the floor spotless, even pulling out crumbs and years-old grime from the cracks. The cracked, old-fashioned floor tiles gleamed with a clean shine, as if waxed and polished at a 4S shop.

Lu Yao crossed his legs, opened a bottle of cola he'd bought yesterday, and watched the cactus work, feeling an inexplicable sense of contentment.

So this was the joy of being a God.