The Changing of Divine Power

Hiss! It hurt!

Though Duncan gritted his teeth in pain, he did not say a word, like a cold and merciless warrior.

The Witch removed the arrow from his back, wiped away the blood, and bandaged him with herbs.

Her movements were gentle and practiced. When her slender fingers lightly brushed over Duncan's broad, solid back, they paused for just a moment.

Duncan sat by the campfire and asked in slight surprise, "You know medicine too?"

Raven Queen Triss swept aside her cascading golden hair, added some dry kindling to the fire, and smiled. "I serve Diana, Goddess of Moon and Oak, and also the Goddess of the Forest of Rome."

"Medicine and herbs are required studies for every Priest, though we are not as proficient as Druids."

Duncan's ears perked up at once. "Do all Priests possess Magic like you?"

He had found that there were still very few people here with supernatural powers.

Raven Queen Triss shook her head slightly. "No."

"Only those with unique talents, or those favored by a Deity, can wield Sorcery."

So that was how it was.

I knew it. Their spellcasting is more like that of sorceresses. It clearly isn't a mage's style.

Having finally grown closer to the Witch, Duncan wanted to learn more about supernatural powers. He asked curiously, "Then where does your power come from? Talent? Or divine favor?"

Raven Queen Triss raised her head, her azure eyes resting on him for a while. Then she said softly, "Both."

"I was born a Witch."

"Long ago, I was chosen by the Trivia Sect as its High Priestess. But not long afterward, the sect was disbanded, and many died in the turmoil."

"The Romans abandoned their own Deities."

"Our power was taken back as well."

Trivia?

Their power had been taken back? In other words, she had been stronger before?

Duncan asked doubtfully, "The Trivia Sect? I've never heard of it."

A trace of sorrow colored Raven Queen Triss's voice as she said quietly, "Trivia refers to the Great Goddess of Greece, Hecate. After the Empire conquered Greece, Goddess Diana merged with Hecate's faith."

"The sect originated on the Greek Peninsula. Before the Empire was born, its Priests served Goddess Hecate."

Could worldly wars affect Deities too?

Clearly, the Roman Empire had won in the end, so Diana merged with Hecate. If Greek civilization had won, then Hecate would have merged with Diana instead.

The Romans abandoned their own Deities.

When Raven Queen Triss said those words, her voice carried exceedingly complicated emotions.

Duncan thought for a moment, then asked hesitantly, "Didn't you ever think of resisting?"

Since they possessed supernatural powers, surely they would not simply wait to die.

Raven Queen Triss revealed a bitter smile and shook her head. "Resist? How could we resist?"

"We were facing..."

At that point, Raven Queen Triss looked up at the sky.

Duncan immediately shut his mouth.

If Deities truly existed, or if beings of a similar nature existed, then the Roman Gods truly were not on the same level as them. In worldly affairs, ever since the Edict of Milan was issued, The Church had developed at an astonishing speed and had, to some extent, begun influencing secular authority.

The further things went, the stronger The Church would become. After entering the Middle Ages, The Church could even influence changes in royal power.

Excommunication warning.

Duncan poked at the fire sparks and said to the Witch beside him, "Tell me about your sect's history."

Raven Queen Triss's body stiffened for a moment. She said quietly, "Do you know the story of the Golden Fleece?"

Duncan considered it. "I know a little."

Raven Queen Triss sighed. "Our sect originated from one of the figures in that story."

"Sorceress Medea."

Duncan immediately thought of a few things.

Raven Queen Triss slowly said, "Medea was the daughter of Aeetes, King of Colchis, and the Oceanid Idyia; the niece of Circe, Witch of Aeaea; the sister of Apsyrtus; the granddaughter of Sun God Helios and the Oceanid Perse; and a Priestess of Hecate, Goddess of the Dark Moon."

"She was the sect's first High Priestess."

An era where humans and Deities lived together.

It seemed that this land had been quite lively during the Mythological Era.

Raven Queen Triss recounted the origins of their sect. At first, they had been Priests serving Greek Deities. After Rome rose and conquered Greece, the Deities merged with one another, and the Priests were consolidated, eventually forming new sect branches. The only one who had not been greatly affected was Sun God Apollo. He was both one of Greece's Sun Gods and Rome's Sun God, so the Priests of his Shrine merged perfectly.

Of course, no one knew whether the Deities had truly merged or whether they had simply placed bets on both sides.

Raven Queen Triss had never seen a true Deity either. Or rather, according to the sect's records, no Priest had ever seen a Deity's true form. Divine guidance and oracles had appeared only during the Mythological Era.

The time mortals had come closest to Deities was still several centuries ago, when the Son of God walked among the secular world.

The night deepened.

Duncan looked toward the Witch lying on her side nearby, pretending to sleep. He could feel her utter despair. The Romans had abandoned their own Deities, and the Deities had abandoned Priests like them as well. The power of The Church had crushed the faith they had inherited for over a thousand years. The dark Middle Ages were approaching, and this land had less and less room for them.

After the Olympic Sacred Fire was extinguished, whether the Roman Gods or the Greek Gods, all became history.

Duncan suddenly recalled a piece of history he had read at some unknown time. Before besieging Rome, Attila, the Scourge of God, had received Pope Leo I. Legend said that he abandoned the attack because of this, and Pope Leo I was given the title "Defender of the City of Rome."

An image was even left behind afterward, showing Saint Peter and Saint Paul protecting the Pope and warning the Barbarians not to invade Rome, the "Eternal City."

After the Roman Empire fell, the power of The Church began to grow explosively.

This period was essentially a process of unifying divine power. All the Deities from the Age of Gods were swept into history's garbage heap, and worship was gradually prohibited. Though the Deities of the Germanic Barbarians vanished a little later, the European Continent would ultimately still see its faith unified.

"This feels much deeper than it looks!"

To Duncan, if supernatural powers did not exist, then the changing of divine power was more a matter of worldly choice. But if supernatural powers existed, then all of this became extremely thought-provoking.

"Forget it."

"I should go to Britain instead."

"I can help the Irish, the Welsh, and the Scots fight the Anglo-Saxons, and earn some Legendary Points while I'm at it."

"I'd better not throw away my first Human Form."

"I have a feeling that the Human Form's final achievements will affect everything I have in Dimensional Space."

King Arthur's legend was connected to the Lady of the Lake and, at most, involved Avalon in the Mist. It should not touch those terrifying existences.

Duncan still knew exactly what he was capable of.

Even the Romans had abandoned their own Deities. Why should an outsider like him join in the mess?

It would be better to kill more legendary monsters and see whether he could seize their abilities, allowing himself to become a powerful supernatural being too.

--"Master of Archery [Sharpshooter Title]: Your archery has reached a miraculous level, making you a sharpshooter in mortal eyes. Strengthens rapid fire, kill-based Intimidation, and greatly improves accuracy."

--"Mastery of Horsemanship: Your riding skills are no worse than those of elite nomad riders. While mounted, you can nearly become one with your horse."

--"Mastery of Mounted Archery: Your mounted archery is extremely refined, enough to rival elite Hun mounted archers. Greatly strengthens mounted archery accuracy. While shooting from horseback, you can use other foot-archery techniques, including but not limited to rapid fire, multishot, sniping, and so on."

Duncan glanced at the Witch beside the fire. His gaze lingered briefly on her round, perky backside. He swallowed and took out his little notebook to tally the count.

--"Day Four: 22 heads."

A Witch who could fight, heal, and was well-endowed.

No wonder, in the future deduced by the Law of Causality, she had completely bewitched the Human Form. If the Lady of the Lake had not intervened at the end, it might have been a beautiful love story.

Medea.

Duncan knew this figure from mythology too: a very powerful lovesick Witch. After being betrayed and abandoned by her husband, she immediately turned dark and began a series of revenge plots.

Overall, Medea truly deserved the title of Sorceress, but she was ultimately a tragic figure.

The Alps.

Duncan had no idea where the two of them had arrived. It felt like somewhere near Munich, because snow-covered mountains could be seen directly from here.

After entering Cisalpine Gaul, Raven Queen Triss had taken the lead. The two avoided densely populated areas and traveled along mountain paths for a day and a night, eventually entering a lush, dense forest.

"Traveling in this era really is inconvenient."

Because it had rained heavily yesterday, Duncan's feet were now covered in mud. Raven Queen Triss was no better off. Her face was weathered by the journey, and she no longer possessed the initially graceful, stunning beauty she had displayed.

People really did need clothes to make the man. Otherwise, even a peerless beauty would still look like some rustic village woman after rolling around in mud.

Duncan could now confirm that Raven Queen Triss had the physical abilities of an ordinary person, perhaps only slightly stronger. She had fallen once upon entering the Alps. If Duncan had not reacted quickly and caught her, Triss might have suffered a minor injury.

Her clothes were still smeared with mud, and even her golden hair had been soaked by sludge and rainwater. Strands stuck to her forehead, exposing a smooth patch of brow.

"The guide you mentioned doesn't live in the mountains, does he?"

A light drizzle was still falling. Once it soaked through their clothes, it brought a faint chill. Duncan was a little better off, thanks to the Sturdy talent he had taken from the Barbarian, but Triss's lips had turned slightly pale from the cold.

The Witch looked quite bedraggled as she said, "He should be nearby."

Duncan had no time to admire the curves revealed by the Witch's soaked clothes. He took off the coat stripped from a dead man and tossed it to her. "Put this on first."

"There's somewhere ahead where we can shelter from the rain. We'll rest there before continuing our search."

Over a hundred meters away was a slope at a forty-five-degree angle. It did not even count as a cave, but it could barely let the two of them curl up beneath it to avoid the rain.

Duncan did not know whether it was because he had seized the Barbarian warrior's talent, but his injuries were healing faster than he had expected. It might also have been the herbs gathered by the Witch, and he could not rule out the possibility that she had cast some Magic on him.

"Witches are still flesh and blood."

Looking at the bedraggled Witch, Duncan had her sit farther inside. He was tall and could block some of the wind.

There was no dry firewood nearby to start a fire. Duncan looked at the Witch and said, "Rest here for a while. I'll go look over there."

God's Eye View.

Activate!

Duncan found a spot with a broad field of vision. After a brief meditation, his consciousness entered Dimensional Space, and a large map quickly projected itself before him.

"Can I enlarge the map?"

At the movement of his thoughts, a terrain map covering more than ten miles immediately appeared before him. He found a village marker, then spotted a wooden cabin several miles away from them.

"Looks like that's the place."

A Druid in seclusion could not possibly stay far from human society. After all, they still needed food, water, and basic necessities, which had to be replenished nearby.

"Why is there a red marker too?"

Duncan discovered that a red dot had flashed at the edge of the map. Before he could switch perspectives to inspect it, it vanished.

A human or a monster?

He returned to the others and called for the Witch. The two of them trudged toward the wooden cabin.

No one was in the cabin.

However, there were some basic living supplies inside. Duncan did not stand on ceremony. He found some firewood and lit it, and the two huddled beside the flames for warmth. Duncan skewered dried meat with his longsword and roasted it over the fire. Once it sizzled with grease, he handed a piece to the Witch.

The Witch carefully accepted it and said softly, "Thank you."

Duncan put a piece of dried meat into his mouth and chewed. The Northern War Bow lay on his right, ready for battle at any moment. He had not eaten a proper meal the whole way here. Even the meal at the inn had merely been passable.

When he had the chance, he needed to hunt some game for a change.

This should be where the Druid lived in seclusion, because the cabin contained many mysterious symbols and strange animal-bone crafts, perhaps tools used for worship.

He did not know how much time passed.

Soft footsteps sounded outside. The Witch immediately turned to look at him, while Duncan picked up his war bow and stood behind the door.

--Druid (Two-Star) [Neutral]!

Outside stood a burly man whose thick beard and hair resembled tree roots. He wore animal skins, a stag-antler helmet, carried an Oak Shield in one hand and a one-handed hammer in the other, and had a dagger at his waist. His leg seemed injured, with blood faintly seeping out.

Duncan sniffed and seemed to catch a distinctly rotten stench.

The Witch signaled to Duncan that there was no problem, then stepped out of the cabin. "Severus, you're injured?"

The Druid had been full of vigilance as he approached the cabin. Once he saw the Witch clearly, his expression relaxed considerably, and he bowed of his own accord. "High Priestess Triss."

After the Empire conquered Gaul, the faiths of forest Deities had all come under sects serving Diana.

Though the two sides were not in a subordinate relationship, they had another sort of connection. In later years, Druids had also appeared within the sects serving Diana.

A Two-Star unit, but not a silver-gray marker.

It was less dangerous than Eagle Shooter.

Probably not an elite monster.

So far, Duncan had encountered only two people with different markers. One was Witcher George, with three glittering golden stars. The other was Eagle Shooter, with two silver-gray stars.

The Witch murmured, "What happened?"

The burly Druid set down his Oak Shield, tucked the one-handed hammer into his belt, and caught his breath. "A Ghoul."

"This thing used to appear mostly in Mesopotamia. I don't know why there are some near the Alps now."

A monster?

Duncan's ears perked up at once. He was already eager to move.

The Witch's brows furrowed as well. "Did you deal with it?"

The Druid shook his head. "It got away."

"A village at the foot of the mountain asked me to find the monster digging up graves. I tracked it for many days, but I still let it escape."

As he spoke, the Druid pulled out his dagger, cut away the rotten flesh around his wound, then wrapped it with herbs.

He said in a deep voice, "I owe the village a favor."

"Lady Triss, your matter will have to wait until I deal with this monster first."

At that moment, Duncan, who had remained silent all along, suddenly spoke. "We'll help you deal with it."

Monsters were much rarer than people.

He had to take the initiative this time. Duncan also wanted to know what ability he could seize by killing a monster.