Divine Arts

High Priest Reed's tone softened slightly before he said:

"There will always be places sunlight cannot reach in this world. We are not only spreaders of faith, but guardians of faith as well. We must use holy light to drive away all darkness..."

He stared into Roy's eyes until Roy nodded repeatedly, only then allowing him to sit properly again.

At that moment...

What caught Roy's attention was not High Priest Reed's words, but his own right hand resting flat on the table.

A sacred ball of light, pointed at the top and round at the bottom, emerged from his palm. It looked like a Seed of Light.

The glow was as large as an egg, dozens of times bigger than the firefly-sized light he had shown High Priest Reed a few days ago.

Roy discovered that the seed-shaped ball of light in his palm had extended an invisible tentacle. It was completely colorless and transparent, like an octopus's limb, constantly writhing as it rapidly absorbed the Holy Light Particles drifting nearby.

Roy could sense its existence with absolute clarity. Like seaweed swaying beneath the ocean, it grew from the root of that Seed of Light and waved constantly.

The tentacle seemed to possess some strange magnetic force. As long as a Holy Light Particle drifted nearby, it was immediately caught and pulled back toward the Seed of Light, where it merged into it...

The entire process was fluid yet fiercely aggressive. Before long, the Holy Light Particles drifting around Roy's palm had all merged into the ball of light in his hand.

This was completely different from what Priest Reid had described, leaving Roy rather stunned.

Naturally, High Priest Reed could also clearly see the seed-like ball of light in Roy's palm...

"You must have been praying diligently at home. Otherwise, the light could not have grown this quickly. It looks quite good. Actually, you can follow the method I taught you and merge it into your body..." Priest Reid praised Roy.

Roy widened his eyes. He did not move the ball of light from his palm, instead letting the invisible tentacle devour the surrounding Holy Light Particles.

"Teacher, is there any way to gather holy light without praying?"

High Priest Reed explained to Roy with great gentleness:

"Actually, countless Holy Light Particles drift around us. They are drawn by the Holy Light Power gathered within our bodies. Once they get close enough, they are absorbed into the body. However, this natural way of gathering Holy Light Power is far too weak. Under normal circumstances, we must rely on prayer and borrow the power bestowed upon us by the gods to gather holy light."

Just as High Priest Reed had said, some of the Holy Light Particles floating around him had to practically land on his clothes before they slowly vanished and merged into his body.

And he seemed unaware that Roy could clearly see the Holy Light Particles around them.

"Teacher, can the holy light gathered in our bodies ever extend a tentacle to catch the Holy Light Particles drifting around us?"

"That would not happen..."

High Priest Reed answered with complete certainty.

Just as he said that, the ball of light in Roy's palm swallowed more than a dozen Holy Light Particles in succession. Roy clearly saw the Seed of Light in his palm grow slightly larger, taking on the appearance of something about to sprout.

Listening to High Priest Reed's answer while looking at the ball of light in his palm, Roy immediately fell into a muddled state of wondering which one was the truth.

"..."

Seeing Roy sitting in his chair in a daze, High Priest Reed thought his words might have discouraged this Novice Priest. He began considering how to keep this young Novice Priest in the temple...

The holy light in Roy's palm was already as large as an egg...

A ball of holy light that large was enough to cast the simplest divine art. So he said to Roy, "The Glimmer Illumination Spell is the simplest beginner-level divine art."

Seeing that he had successfully drawn Roy's attention, he continued, "This divine art can drive away darkness, and it also has a slight healing effect. Do you want to learn it now?"

"I do."

Roy said.

Of course he wanted to learn it. Roy was still extremely curious about the magic and divine arts of this fantasy world.

High Priest Reed stood up and pulled a book from the bookshelf behind him. The book was not very thick and looked like a bronze box. Its cover was a bronze plate decorated with exquisite patterns, with a clasp on one side and delicate hinges on the other.

He undid the clasp and casually opened the book. Inside were only a few thick parchment pages.

The first page contained a single prayer, beneath which was a pattern made up of several sacred symbols. Numerous guide lines had been drawn beside the pattern, each leading to an annotation.

High Priest Reed flipped through the later pages, which contained more detailed explanations.

Only then did he nod in satisfaction and say, "This book contains detailed annotations for the Glimmer Illumination Spell. Read through them carefully, and come ask me if there is anything you do not understand."

"Alright, Teacher!"

Roy moved the somewhat cumbersome bronze box in front of himself. Instead of immediately looking at the pages that described the divine art, he raised his head and continued asking High Priest Reed, "Teacher, Novice Priests will become Priests in the future. What comes above a Priest?"

High Priest Reed answered without hesitation, "Priests master powerful divine arts. After receiving Divine Revelation, they can become High Priests. High Priest is not merely a title within the temple; it also indicates a clergyman's rank."

Roy asked curiously, "Then what comes above a High Priest?"

High Priest Reed narrowed his eyes and considered for a moment before saying:

"According to my teacher, when the shadow of the Goddess merges with one's soul and the body becomes assimilated with holy light, a High Priest can advance once their Holy Light Power reaches a certain threshold."

"I cannot describe it in detail, because I have not reached that level either..."

"Above High Priest, there are actually two paths: Priest and Combat Priest."

Roy had no interest in becoming a Priest. He did not want to become some ascetic dressed in ragged priestly robes, so he asked:

"Teacher, can you tell me about Combat Priests?"

High Priest Reed asked him, "Do you want to become a Combat Priest?"

Roy had not actually thought that far ahead, but at this point, he could only nod and admit it.

High Priest Reed said, "The divine arts cultivated by Combat Priests are fundamentally different from those of Priests. Priests mainly focus on healing, while Combat Priests use divine arts with blessing effects. They can strengthen themselves and their companions, including their strength, speed, endurance, weapons, armor, and more."

"So, a Combat Priest must not only possess firm faith, but also a strong physique. Otherwise, if their body is frail, then even with divine power enhancing them, they can only become enemy spoils on the battlefield."

Roy understood this time. A Combat Priest needed to cultivate both martial skills and divine arts.

"What comes after Combat Priest?"

"After advancing, Combat Priests become Inquisitors, while Priests become Bishops. It is said that Bishops who possess powerful divine arts can master Greater Resurrection, but my teacher never told me exactly how one advances..."

After explaining this to Roy, High Priest Reed had Roy study the Glimmer Illumination Spell in the room.

He himself carried that geographical atlas out of the room. Before long, Priest Theodore's voice could be heard speaking in the corridor outside.

Sitting in the Study Room, Roy carefully read the annotations in the book while keeping the ball of holy light in his other palm. The invisible tentacle continued catching Holy Light Particles within an area the size of the round table, making the Holy Light Seed in his hand increasingly solid.

Learning divine arts was an exceptionally tedious process. Even though he did not understand the meanings of those symbols, he still had to memorize them by force...

Not only did he have to memorize them, he also had to learn to draw them by hand. There were extremely strict requirements for every stroke, how it connected with the prayer, and how it had to be drawn.

The process was immensely complicated.

Fortunately, Roy was fascinated by divine arts, and he spent the entire afternoon studying seriously.

At first, Roy drew even the symbols crookedly.

But this level of learning posed little difficulty for Roy, who had attended all kinds of tutoring classes since childhood, learned English for exams, and taught himself Japanese for personal interest.

When his symbols looked too ugly, Roy dipped his finger in water and practiced on the round table.

The prayer was somewhat hard to pronounce, so he recited it aloud in the Study Room. After all, this was an introductory divine art for Novice Priests, so there was no need for secrecy...

During this time, High Priest Reed came by twice more. The first time, he corrected Roy's speed and rhythm when reciting the prayer. Faster and smoother was not necessarily better.

The second time High Priest Reed came over, it was to correct errors in Roy's drawing of the sacred symbols.

This was the benefit of having a teacher, even for a mere Novice Priest.

He could promptly correct all sorts of mistakes made during practice and point out shortcuts...

At first, Roy could not cast this simple divine art no matter what he did.

Later, he could successfully cast it once every five or six attempts.

Roy had learned the Glimmer Illumination Spell in only one afternoon, and most of that time had been spent gathering holy light.

Watching a faint glow appear above his head, like a huge light bulb had lit up there, Roy felt rather awkward. But with a thought, the faint light could drift freely within five meters of him.

Wherever his gaze reached, the faint light would slowly drift over.

Roy decided that he would no longer need to carry a Carbide Lamp when walking at night.

It would be especially convenient for gathering seafood along the shore at night.

A Carbide Lamp had to be carried by hand, but this faint light could float on its own. That was not bad either...

Unfortunately, it was not magic. Roy had actually hoped more that he could control a fireball.

Throw it out, then make it explode...

The afternoon passed quickly.

By the time he left the temple, Roy could barely cast the Glimmer Illumination Spell.