Divine Magic

They didn't head towards the academy; instead, Klayr led the way to the back street of the Elf Academy.

This entire street was lined with various shops, and there was also a flea market that wasn't too big.

Klayr found a potion shop, and some of the students on the street stared at them with strange looks, which made Klayr feel a little ashamed. He couldn't help but lower his head to avoid being recognized by acquaintances.

Once inside the potion shop, Klayr plopped down on a high stool in front of the counter and finally felt alive again.

At least in front of the apothecary, he didn't need to hide the purplish bruises on his face.

"Two bottles of Minor Life Potions... oh, no! Make it two bottles of Regular Life Potions!"

Klayr said to the potion shop owner.

The potion shop owner, an Elf Mage, was wearing an Apricot Yellow magic robe and standing behind the counter, looking at Klayr and Roy with some surprise.

According to Klayr's request, he turned and took two bottles of light red potion from the shelf behind him.

"Want an ice pack? Free of charge!"

The potion shop owner said casually.

"Yes..."

"One hundred and twenty Kele," the potion shop owner quoted the price.

Klayr paid the money and handed a bottle of potion to Roy. The potion shop owner then handed over two ice packs wrapped in gauze.

Roy had personally witnessed him conjuring the ice with magic. Each piece was the size of a Palm, and he just grabbed some gauze from under the counter to wrap them.

Although there was a potion shop at the entrance of Brown Street, this was Roy's first time seeing these magic potions.

It was a test tube-shaped bottle with a cork in the opening. Actually, there was a wax seal on the cork, but it was so thin that you couldn't see it unless you got close.

"Life Potions don't help much with reducing swelling and bruising. If you want to recover quickly, you might as well go to the Moon God Temple for a cup of Tree of Life sap, or Water Magic Hydrotherapy also works well," the potion shop owner said to Klayr, rolling his eyes.

"Then can you cast Hydrotherapy on us twice? I'm willing to pay you," Klayr immediately understood and asked the potion shop owner.

"Of course, fifty Kele each time." The potion shop owner squinted and smiled at Klayr, saying, "It's getting harder and harder to run a potion shop these days. It's not easy to keep it going."

Klayr paid the money readily.

The potion shop owner led Klayr and Roy behind a curtain, where there was not only a single bed but also a long bench.

Klayr and Roy sat obediently on the long bench, watching the potion shop owner take out a Cedar Staff from the drawer and then stand in front of them like a conductor.

When he raised the staff, the usually dull potion shop owner seemed like a different person, exuding an indescribable aura.

Roy could feel that something must be flowing from the tip of the staff, but he couldn't see it.

As the potion shop owner uttered a fluent incantation, a glittering light enveloped Klayr...

"Ouch, what is this... it hurts!"

Klayr screamed. Roy saw a series of silvery, glittering lights like tiny bubbles enveloping Klayr, disappearing after a few seconds.

Hydrotherapy seemed to be very painful for Klayr, but what surprised Roy was that the bruises on Klayr's face were visibly fading.

The potion shop owner said smugly, "See, I dare say there's no magic better than Hydrotherapy for reducing swelling and bruising."

After speaking, he raised the staff again and aimed it at Roy.

Roy asked Klayr nervously, "Does it hurt a lot?"

Before Klayr could answer, a string of tiny bubbles fell on Roy. This time, Roy didn't even hear the incantation...

Instant cast.

Roy only felt as if his body was being twisted countless times by countless hands. The pain was clearly between the skin and flesh, yet it was unbearably painful.

"F*ck..."

After completing the spell, the potion shop owner casually threw the magic wand into the drawer, pulled open the curtain, and returned to the front of the counter.

Roy and Klayr, two fellow sufferers, endured the discomfort and walked out of the potion shop.

At this moment, Roy was thinking that if he learned Minor Healing, he might not have to spend money on magic potions after a fight, and maybe he wouldn't even need Hydrotherapy.

He wondered if 'Minor Healing' would hurt as much as Hydrotherapy after casting.

Back at the Temple, he could ask Jasper and Abbott.

However, it was obvious that the bruises and swelling on their faces and bodies were rapidly receding.

Aside from a bit of pain, the effect was quite good.

Walking out of the apothecary, Klayr sat on a bench by the street, complaining with a bitter face:

"This is the 'shining sword' you were talking about?"

Roy, still clutching the Life Potion in his hand, said matter-of-factly, "Yeah, if they dare come looking for trouble again, we'll all beat up the one who started it. We'll return the favor in kind. Since it's just a fight, what's there to be afraid of? Bring it on... Ouch!"

Roy winced in pain as the strained muscles in his upper arm protested when he waved his hand.

Hearing Roy's words, Klayr, who had initially felt like he had been taken advantage of, perked up again, saying excitedly:

"That's right, I gave Steve a black eye just now, it felt so good! If he dares to cause us trouble again, we'll beat him up badly. I need to practice the takedown moves I learned today. If they dare come again, we'll fight back. Tonight, I'll go get some Tree of Life sap..."

Before Klayr could finish, he saw Roy, clutching his two books, hurrying towards the street corner.

"Hey, Roy, where are you going?" Klayr asked, chasing after him.

Roy turned around and said:

"I have something to do this afternoon, I'm leaving first."

With that, he quickened his pace and ran off. A long carriage was approaching from across the street.

Roy ran over, panting, and just managed to board the stopped carriage. He then poked his head out of the carriage and waved vigorously at Klayr.

Klayr stood there, recalling how, when he was by his sister's side, he always thought that Steve, who was a bit older than him, was a tough character among the younger generation. But now, thinking about it again, he realized that Steve didn't seem so scary after all.

Looking at the sleeve that had been torn open, and the light leather armor stained with blood, Klayr felt that he really should drink a cup of Tree of Life sap to recover...

Sitting in the carriage, as it passed through the Lower District, Roy stared blankly at the scenery flashing by on both sides of the street.

He hadn't expected that the thief who stole the Holy Grail was dead. Roy was a little dazed when he heard the news this morning. He had only stolen the Temple's Holy Grail. Even if he was caught, if he returned the stolen goods, according to the Elven Kingdom's lenient laws, the lightest punishment would be to wear an irremovable iron ring on his finger, and the heaviest would be to spend some time in prison.

There was no reason to die...

Now Roy realized that things had gotten a bit out of hand. The elven thief Pelius had gone to the tavern that noon, probably to see Jefferson, and Roy was sure that the package he had in his hand at the time probably contained the Holy Grail.

But now! The elven thief Pelius and Jefferson were both dead, and the Holy Grail was missing.

The trail of the Holy Grail had been cut off just like that.

The long carriage stopped by the Da Nei River bridge at the Brown Street intersection. Roy got out of the carriage and walked along Brown Street towards the Goddess of Freedom Temple.

There wasn't much to do at the Temple in the afternoon, probably just studying Divine Magic in the Study Room.

Roy arrived at the Temple gate and found that the Temple's iron gate was indeed closed.

There was even a luxurious carriage parked in front of the Temple. The carriage was not only decorated with honeysuckle patterns, but even the wheels were covered with a thick layer of gel-like resin.

Trying to push open the small door next to it, Roy entered the Temple courtyard.

As he passed the Temple's main hall, Roy vaguely heard people talking inside.

"How can we go on like this!"

Cleric Anderson's voice reached Roy's ears, startling him. His voice was a little hoarse.

Then Cleric Theodore's voice came out: "Has the High Cleric replied yet?"

High Cleric Reed replied:

"The messenger won't be that fast, I'm afraid we'll have to wait a few more days. Anderson, you need to rest more recently, I feel like your condition is a bit unstable."

Cleric Anderson's voice came: "Maintaining miracles always comes at a price, don't worry, I'll be fine after a few days of rest."

"I'm in a hurry, I'm leaving first!" Cleric Theodore's voice said.

Roy had just walked to the side of the well when he saw Cleric Theodore, wearing a red and white priest's robe, quickly walk to the Temple gate and board the carriage parked there.

Roy arrived at the resting room, where the Novice Cleric robe he had washed yesterday was already dry.

Roy changed into his Novice Cleric robes and went to the Study Room.

Jasper and Abbott were both in the Study Room, silently chanting prayers. Roy walked in, and they opened their eyes one after the other.

Jasper couldn't keep things to himself. Seeing Roy, he said to him:

"Roy, did you know that the thief who stole the Holy Grail was found, but he was killed in a stinking ditch in the Lower District? The Holy Grail wasn't recovered..."

Abbott chimed in at this moment, saying:

"I heard that someone witnessed the entire process of the thief's theft and even asked an artist to draw a portrait for the Patrol Guards, which led to the target being locked and caught. It's a pity that when they finally caught him... he was already dead."

"Really? Are there any new leads on the Holy Grail?" Roy asked curiously.

"Not yet. It seems the guardhouse is planning to shelve the case."

Jasper said in a low voice, feeling that praying wasn't very effective and he couldn't gather much Holy Light, so he simply took a book from the bookshelf, which happened to be the 'Strength Blessing' that Roy had learned yesterday.

"I've discovered that this Divine Magic is actually quite good. How come I never noticed it before?" Jasper said with some annoyance.

"Are you going to be like Roy in the future, determined to become a Combat Cleric?" Abbott asked with some surprise.

Jasper chuckled, his smile looking somewhat wretched, not at all like what a Novice Cleric should be like.

"I don't want to be that tired. It's good enough to be a Cleric. If I can go a step further, I want to become a Cleric..." Jasper said.

Abbott asked even more puzzled: "Then why do you want to learn 'Strength Blessing'?"

Jasper pushed the book in front of Abbott, turned to the annotation page, and said triumphantly:

"Didn't you notice that this Divine Magic can enhance the strength of the whole body? Although twenty minutes is a bit short, it's barely enough..."