Heavy Rain

33. In the Temple's Study Room during a heavy rain.

Novice Priest Abbott sat at the round table, his hands clasped together in front of his chest, his eyes closed in silent prayer.

Perhaps because Roy's successful Advancement to a Level Two Novice Priest yesterday had given Abbott some hope, his prayers had become more devout.

Jasper guarded the door, leaving only him and Roy in the room.

Roy sat next to Abbott, with two Divine Magic books in front of him: 'Strength Blessing' and 'Minor Healing'.

He had already grasped the basics of 'Strength Blessing'.

At noon, he had successfully drawn two 'Strength Blessing' divine runes.

Although the second attempt resulted in the failure of the Divine Magic due to unfamiliarity with the incantation.

But for Roy, he had clearly remembered the feeling of drawing the divine runes.

Yes, this kind of experience was the most precious.

Generally speaking, the divine rune symbols and incantations in Divine Magic books could be recorded clearly and accurately, but the priests could not clearly describe the profound feeling in the drawing process.

Now, all Roy lacked was familiarity with reciting the incantation.

Roy repeatedly recited the 'Strength Blessing' incantation.

Abbott reminded him that he should spend more time praying each day, otherwise the speed of Holy Light condensation would become slower and slower.

Roy nodded in agreement.

However, the two Divine Magic books on the round table clearly showed that his mind was completely immersed in learning Divine Magic.

'Strength Blessing' and 'Minor Healing' were the two most practical Divine Magic spells for Novice Priests.

But Roy was only a Level Two Novice Priest, and learning these two Divine Magic spells, which consumed a lot of Holy Light power, was far less practical than concentrating on praying to condense Holy Light power.

In fact, High Priest Reed had also noticed these days that Roy preferred to study Divine Magic and had little interest in prayer.

He rarely saw Roy praying. Every time he came to the Study Room, he saw him studying Divine Magic diligently, which made High Priest Reed feel a little worried.

For a priest, the Holy Light obtained through prayer was the foundation of all Divine Magic, and those Divine Magic spells were just the flowers on the tree.

Without accumulating enough Holy Light power, it was useless to master even the most advanced Divine Magic.

High Priest Reed was worried that Roy would be too focused on Divine Magic and neglect that, as a Novice Priest, what he needed most now was to condense Holy Light through prayer.

"Roy, don't spend too much time studying Divine Magic. What you need most now is to condense Holy Light."

Every time he saw Roy, High Priest Reed would earnestly remind him, regardless of whether he did as he said.

"Teacher, why can't I feel the Holy Light every time I pray?"

This question that Roy raised was also the one that Jasper and Abbott had been wanting to ask recently, but had never dared to ask.

High Priest Reed's eyes dimmed, his voice became heavy, and he said in a low voice:

"That's because the Goddess is too far away from us now. Since entering the Dark Land, the Goddess's Holy Radiance has been obscured by the dark mist. Currently, the Holy Radiance cannot reach the Elf Continent. That's why we have rarely been able to feel the Holy Radiance when praying recently."

"So we need to pray with a more devout heart, and our power of faith will be the greatest beacon in the vast darkness. I firmly believe that one day the Goddess's Holy Radiance will penetrate the endless darkness and shine on every corner of this continent. As long as we are prepared, the Holy Radiance will eventually descend..."

Roy didn't expect it to be like this.

Jasper and Abbott were always complaining that they couldn't get Holy Light power from praying recently, because the Goddess's Holy Radiance could no longer extend to the Elf Continent...

Abbott was even more dumbfounded, sitting there muttering to himself:

"So the rumors outside are actually true."

Then he said to High Priest Reed:

"High Priest Reed, I heard that the situation in this God War is not optimistic, and the opposing dark forces are very powerful."

High Priest Reed shook his head slightly: "These rumors have no basis. The Bishop will take care of the matters above, and we only need to wait quietly and pray devoutly."

Speaking of this, High Priest Reed wanted to say some words of encouragement, so he patted the two on the shoulders and said, "Actually, the Goddess's Holy Radiance won't be completely unable to reach here, it should just be a little weak... too weak for us to perceive. Otherwise, Roy wouldn't have successfully Advanced in just one week."

"The first time I saw Roy, the Holy Light in his palm was only this big..."

High Priest Reed brought his thumb and forefinger together, gesturing haphazardly, looking very much like he was making a heart.

"Now then! Roy, release your Holy Light and let Abbott see it."

Roy quickly condensed a seed-shaped ball of light in his palm.

In the soft light, the Seed of Light stubbornly raised its head like a big-headed question mark...

Seeing the ball of light in Roy's palm, High Priest Reed nodded.

High Priest Reed quite approved of Roy's efforts.

The first time he saw Roy, the Holy Light in his palm was as weak as a firefly.

In less than a week, the Holy Light Roy had mastered had grown to the size of an apple, and this ball of Holy Light was clear proof of Roy's efforts.

Abbott clearly agreed with High Priest Reed's assessment, nodding incessantly.

The ball of light in his palm continued to shrink, and when the last wisp of light dissipated in his palm, Roy once again asked tactfully:

"Teacher, can the Holy Light in our bodies capture the Holy Light Particles that drift around us?"

In fact, Roy had mentioned this two days ago... but the answer he received was negative.

He was bringing it up again now, thinking that his previous description hadn't been accurate enough, and he wanted to confirm it again this time.

"The Holy Light in our bodies isn't a spirit, how could it actively absorb the Holy Light Particles drifting around!" High Priest Reed frowned and immediately gave Roy a negative answer.

He felt that Roy had only just become a Novice Priest, and there were many things he didn't understand. It was normal for him to fall into such unreasonable fantasies...

In High Priest Reed's view, he still needed to guide Roy carefully: "You're wondering why you can't obtain Holy Light when you pray, but you can feel the changes in the ball of light within your body, aren't you?"

Roy nodded immediately.

"That's because the Holy Light in your body is too weak, so you can easily feel even the slightest changes," High Priest Reed said.

He paused and continued, "The Holy Light in our bodies naturally increases over time because there are some Holy Light Particles drifting around that we can't see. These Holy Light Particles will merge into our bodies due to Holy Light Affinity."

"Of course, this doesn't mean that when there are more Holy Light Particles drifting around, or when we're riding in a carriage and our bodies come into contact with more Holy Light Particles, these Holy Light Particles will merge into our bodies faster."

"Only sincere prayer will bring the Goddess's radiance, which shines on this continent, into our bodies..."

"Roy, you're just a Novice Priest who has just come into contact with Holy Light and Divine Magic, so it's normal to feel confused when you encounter problems you can't understand. You can use prayer to strengthen your heart..."

Listening to High Priest Reed's patient and earnest teachings, Roy suddenly fell into a kind of self-doubt: Could the two invisible tentacles I feel just be the personification of Holy Light Affinity?

That must be it...

So Roy began to pray with Abbott in the Study Room.

It wasn't until he was about to leave the Temple that he flipped through the book 'Minor Healing' again.

When he thought of Steve and the Silver Moon Elves at the Elf Academy, he felt that if he could master 'Minor Healing' sooner, he could at least avoid wasting those precious Tree of Life Sap...

Even if Klayr provided the Tree of Life Sap, they couldn't keep using it like this.

However, before leaving the Study Room, Roy still tried 'Strength Blessing'. As the complete Divine Crest appeared on the round table, Roy's prayer had just ended when the Divine Crest turned into countless grains of sand, condensing into a fist radiating a holy aura, slowly merging into Roy's body.

Abbott, who was about to stand up, widened his eyes, and the thick 'Holy Prayer' in his hands fell on the table with a thud.

The evening sky was covered with dark clouds, and countless clouds piled up over the sea.

A Heavy Rain was imminent, and the sea breeze carried a strong, moist air.

Roy changed out of his Novice Priest robes in the lounge, put on his slightly damp clothes, and prepared to run home before the Heavy Rain came.

Perhaps he was discouraged by Roy, Abbott ran back to his room in a huff and locked himself inside.

Jasper was guarding the gatehouse at the entrance of the Temple. When he saw Roy walking out, he quickly opened the side door for him.

"It looks like it's going to rain soon, run a few steps!" Jasper said to Roy.

The wind was a bit strong, and waves rose one after another on the sea, crashing on the black reefs and instantly shattering into countless bubbles...

Roy walked quickly down the street. Gusts of wind caused the fig trees along the road to sway violently. The shopkeepers were taking in the goods displayed outside their shops, and the stallholders were hurrying home.

There were hardly any people left on the docks, and even the fish market had become deserted...

Roy saw Ms. Jillian pushing a flatbed cart appear at the end of Brown Street.

Reaching the street corner, probably sensing the impending heavy rain, the Night Blade Leopard tied in front of the apothecary shop retreated into its small wooden house, only leaving half of its nose exposed.

Upon seeing Roy, it instinctively let out a low growl.

Roy stopped, glanced at the Night Blade Leopard provocatively, and then quickly ran towards his home.

Raindrops the size of beans began to fall with a crackling sound, instantly wetting the ground. As more and more raindrops fell, the sound of the rain finally merged into a continuous roar.