Strength Blessing

The Temple seemed rather deserted on days without gatherings. In the large courtyard, there were only five Clerics, and the two Novice Clerics had to do things that servants would do, such as cleaning the yard, taking turns guarding the Temple gate, and pruning the greenery in the yard.

Of course, the biggest difference between Jasper and Abbott and the servants was that they had to learn Divine Magic from the Clerics every day.

Whether it was morning or evening, the two of them had to pray devoutly before the Goddess of Freedom Statue.

Roy braved the rain and rushed into the lounge in the backyard of the Temple, wrung out his soaked clothes, and hung them to dry in the small room.

After drying the rain from his body and hair, Roy changed into the Novice Cleric's robe and hurried to the Study Room on the second floor.

Every afternoon, High Cleric Reed would teach Divine Magic to the three Novice Clerics in the Study Room.

Perhaps it was because they had been here for a long time that they had lost their initial novelty towards Divine Magic. Jasper and Abbott would always find excuses to skip class.

Only Roy, who had only attended three days of classes, was still learning with great interest, especially since he had just learned 'Glimmer Illumination' yesterday and hadn't even had time to show it off.

Now he had some questions he wanted to ask High Cleric Reed, so as soon as he arrived at the Temple, he couldn't wait to run to the Study Room.

Knock, knock, knock.

A knock sounded on the door. Hearing the response from inside, Roy cautiously opened the door to the Study Room.

Novice Clerics Jasper and Abbott were sitting at a round table in the Study Room, with a thick book in front of them, which seemed to be some kind of Divine Magic.

When the two Novice Clerics saw Roy walk in, they immediately winked at him. Having someone to face High Cleric Reed with made them feel a little relieved.

High Cleric Reed didn't know what was wrong, but he was in a bad mood today, his face was unusually full of worry, and he seemed preoccupied.

His assessment of the two's homework was also stricter.

As soon as Roy sat down, he heard High Cleric Reed say, "Roy, let me see the results of your study yesterday."

"Yes, Teacher."

Roy calmly stood up from his seat, adjusted his breathing slightly, and then recited the incantation for 'Glimmer Illumination', releasing a very thin line of Holy Light from his fingertip, weaving a Divine纹 pattern in front of Roy.

Countless Glimmer Illumination with a sacred aura appeared around Roy's body, and these Glimmer Illumination slowly rose, gathering at Roy's fingertip.

A not-too-bright ball of light slowly rose, but the sacred aura inside was extremely pure.

Jasper and Abbott were surprised. They naturally knew that this was only Roy's third day at the Temple, and he had already learned an entry-level Divine Magic...

What kind of speed was this! The two Novice Clerics looked at each other and couldn't help but complain in a low voice next to Roy:

"Roy, how did you do it? You mastered 'Glimmer Illumination' so quickly, it's simply incredible."

"Roy, what are you doing... what are you making others do?"

High Cleric Reed nodded slightly, very satisfied that Roy could master 'Glimmer Illumination' so quickly.

Then he asked Roy to condense the Holy Light in his palm...

In fact, this Holy Light ball had already formed a seed shape in Roy's body, and that invisible tentacle had actually grown longer. Usually, it was like the tentacles of a sea anemone, as long as some Holy Light Particle floated past Roy, it would be caught by the tentacle and put into the Seed of Light.

Whether Roy was asleep or awake.

Whether Roy was in Martial Arts practice class or geography class.

This invisible tentacle was tirelessly grabbing the surrounding Holy Light Particle.

Although the growth rate of the Holy Light was very slow, it was growing all the time.

Now this light ball was still very small, so the changes every day were very obvious. Roy released the light ball in his hand, which was the size of an apple.

Novice Clerics Jasper and Abbott directly covered their mouths...

High Cleric Reed also had some appreciation in his eyes, reached out and patted Roy on the shoulder, praising him:

"The light ball is obviously a little bigger than yesterday, it's always good for young people to know how to be diligent..."

Seeing the expressions of the three, Roy secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

Jasper and Abbott also couldn't see that invisible tentacle.

Roy even let the invisible tentacle grab a few Holy Light Particle in front of Abbott, and this young Novice Cleric was indeed unresponsive...

"Teacher, among the beginner Divine Magic, is there anything that can improve combat ability?"

After Roy sat down, he asked High Cleric Reed.

Steve and those elves have decided to make trouble for me, so they definitely won't stop after just one attempt.

He had managed to escape today because of the rain, but that didn't mean he would be so lucky every time.

Once those elves cornered him on the street, a fight would be unavoidable.

Roy's idea was simple: even if he got beaten up, he would at least take one of them down with him.

High Cleric Reed naturally didn't know that Roy was preparing for an upcoming brawl. He thought Roy had decided to walk the path of a 'Combat Cleric', which was why he was learning Divine Magic that aided in combat.

"Yes, 'Strength Blessing' is a basic Divine Magic that every Combat Cleric must learn," High Cleric Reed said.

"Teacher, I want to learn it!" Roy said.

The eagerness in his eyes pleased High Cleric Reed.

"Let me see... Oh, here it is..."

High Cleric Reed rummaged through the bookshelf behind him for a long time before finding a book covered in thick dust. It was clear that he didn't favor Divine Magic that aided in combat.

He placed the book in front of Roy with some distaste, still not forgetting to recommend:

"I think Minor Healing is more practical. As a Novice Cleric, you will inevitably encounter people injured in accidents. Minor Healing will help you heal minor injuries, and for serious injuries, it can accelerate wound healing. Combined with some first aid knowledge, this is what Clerics need to focus on learning."

"Teacher, I want to learn that too..."

A smart person wouldn't choose just one; of course, he wanted both! High Cleric Reed frowned, correcting Roy's choice in a timely manner: "Roy, a person's energy is limited in life. Even if you are talented, you can't become both a Cleric and a Combat Cleric at the same time. It's better to choose some Divine Magic that you like and master it."

Roy chuckled and said:

"Teacher, I'm a half-elf. If we don't consider accidents, I can probably live to be three hundred and fifty years old, so learning a few more basic Divine Magic shouldn't be a problem..."

These words immediately left High Cleric Reed speechless.

"Alright, this is 'Strength Blessing', and this is 'Minor Healing'. I haven't learned 'Strength Blessing', but Cleric Ocido happens to be proficient in this Divine Magic. You can ask him for guidance if you have any questions. Now, Jasper, you will demonstrate 'Minor Healing' for Roy."

"Yes, High Cleric Reed!"

Jasper quickly stood up, crossed his fingers, and held them to his chest, beginning to recite the Holy Prayer word by word.

A ball of Holy Light lit up on his chest, the light almost enveloping his entire body. In the sacred glow, a halo appeared under Jasper's feet, and within the halo was a very complete Divine Mark.

He cast this Divine Magic very quickly. As soon as the prayer was finished, a beam of Holy Light fell on the round table.

Sitting at the round table, Roy clearly felt the rich vitality in that Holy Light.

High Cleric Reed didn't seem very satisfied with Jasper's demonstration of Divine Magic.

He signaled Jasper to sit down and explained to Roy with a slight displeasure: "Jasper has inscribed the Divine Mark of 'Minor Healing' in the 'Holy Prayer' book. When casting Divine Magic, as long as you inject Holy Light Particle into the magic book and cooperate with the prayer, you can activate the Divine Mark inscribed in the book, so you can release this Divine Magic as quickly as possible."

"In simple terms, inscribing the Divine Mark in a magic book can greatly simplify the casting steps of Divine Magic and increase the casting speed."

"But for beginners, it doesn't help with practice. In particular, it will make the Divine Magic lack integrity. I don't recommend practicing like this, but I allow it to be used in daily life, after all, it's more convenient..."

Roy quickly nodded humbly, indicating that he understood.

In essence, Jasper's approach was like simplifying the steps when solving a math problem. Although the final result was the same, some of the intermediate steps were missing.

Nevertheless, Roy still glanced enviously at the 'Holy Prayer' book in Jasper's hand.

Afterward, High Cleric Reed re-cast 'Minor Healing' completely, showing Roy the correct steps of this Divine Magic.

Next was a detailed breakdown of the Divine Mark and prayer, the timing of the cooperation between the two, and so on, all explained in detail...

For some reason, Roy could always feel High Cleric Reed's urgency, as if something was chasing him from behind, making him eager to pass on these Divine Magic to Roy.

Even though he clearly knew that Roy had not yet mastered Glimmer Illumination, he agreed without hesitation when he heard that Roy wanted to continue learning Strength Blessing, and even included Minor Healing as a bonus...

In fact, High Cleric Reed was also worried that this cramming teaching method would make Roy's foundation unstable, so he repeatedly urged Roy to practice more at home, and strive to make these basic Divine Magic form some muscle memory, so that he could cast them at will.

And he also sternly warned Roy that during the study of Divine Magic, he was strictly forbidden to use magic items to assist in casting...

Roy naturally followed all of High Cleric Reed's requirements.

However, Cleric Theodore, who had specially come to demonstrate the casting steps of Strength Blessing to Roy, held a different attitude. As an Elf Cleric, he preferred the auxiliary casting of magic items, believing that this could not only greatly shorten the casting time, improve the success rate of casting, but also simplify the learning difficulty of Divine Magic.

This learning method would inevitably replace the traditional Divine Magic learning method...

Although the two Clerics had conflicting views on Divine Magic learning, this did not affect Roy's learning of 'Strength Blessing'.

Roy spent almost another afternoon, stumbling and bumbling, to cast the Divine Magic 'Strength Blessing'. Although the success rate was pitifully low, at least he felt the sensation of a successful cast.

As long as he remembered that feeling, the success rate would gradually increase.

Even Cleric Theodore praised Roy's diligence.

In fact, Roy couldn't explain it...

Of course, he couldn't say that this thirst for Divine Magic was entirely forced out of him by those Elves from Steve.

In one afternoon, Roy only learned 'Strength Blessing'.

Although he also wanted to learn 'Minor Healing', he couldn't manage it before he left the Temple.

But even so, Jasper and Abbott, the two Novice Clerics who were studying with him in the Study Room, completely saw Roy's dedication and were completely impressed by Roy.

"Roy, I think you're simply a genius. You mastered 'Strength Blessing' so quickly. When I first entered the Temple, it took me about three months to learn 'Glimmer Illumination', and I still haven't learned 'Strength Blessing'..."

The three Novice Clerics walked out of the Study Room, Jasper's arm on Roy's shoulder, chattering on about his 'glorious past'.

Abbott next to him also asked curiously, "Roy, don't you find it boring and tasteless to practice these Divine Magics?"

Roy was telling the truth, "Actually, it's okay."

It was actually okay. For Roy, this was many times easier than doing practice questions for months before the college entrance exam...

Abbott felt that Roy's enthusiasm hadn't disappeared yet, and couldn't help but say:

"Okay, when his excitement for Divine Magic passes, he will become like us, like those dried salted fish in Castleton Harbour, preferring to hang on ropes and blow the sea breeze rather than sit in the house and study Divine Magic..."

At this time, Roy returned to the lounge to change out of his Novice Cleric robe.

However, his clothes that were drying in the room were not yet dry, so he could only put them on half-wet.

Jasper and Abbott chatted with Roy at the door.

"By the way, tomorrow is the day of the Temple gathering, remember to come early to help." Jasper reminded Roy.

Roy endured the uncomfortable feeling of the wet clothes sticking to his body and readily agreed, "Got it, I'll come as soon as possible after class."

When Roy changed his clothes and walked out of the lounge, he saw Cleric Anderson sitting alone by the well in the backyard. He obviously didn't notice Roy.

Holding a Cedar Staff in his hand, he was chanting prayers in a very soft tone. After chanting a few sentences, he walked around the yard a few times. His pace was a little hurried, his face was as pale as yesterday, and his emotions seemed a little anxious.

"Reed, we should also express our position, we can't continue to be silent, we should also write a petition!"

Cleric Anderson muttered to himself, unintentionally overheard by Roy who was passing by. He didn't expect that he was actually preparing some arguments with High Cleric Reed...

Roy was also confused.

Thinking that he might have to deal with those troubles at the Elf Academy tomorrow, Roy could only speed up his pace to go home and try to practice 'Strength Blessing' a few more times.