I was an apprentice in Ferren

Chapter 172 That Kind (2nd update, 7000 words)
Benjamin didn't go far. Instead, he used invisibility to hide in a secluded spot around the corner and watched the commotion unfold.

What puzzled him was that 20 minutes had passed on his pocket watch, and his legs were numb from squatting, yet there was still no sound of arguing coming from inside.

Paladins aren't exactly known for their good temper. Even if they don't fight, catching someone in the act will likely cause a scene. Although there's a silencing barrier to prevent them from hearing, how could Pastor Shuni be so shameless as to refuse to leave even after being caught red-handed?
Or is it that the paladin had already killed all the adulterers in the house and was now cleaning up the bodies?
Benjamin almost burst out laughing at this thought, but after he rested for a while, there was still no sound from inside the house.

This really worried him, and he couldn't help but speculate about other possibilities.

Could it be that this paladin is a romantic, and they've already made peace inside, so there's no longer any conflict between them?
Or perhaps that Pastor Shuni knows some weird magic and has already seduced the paladin, and they're currently having a threesome in the dormitory.

The more Benjamin thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and he immediately regretted it and slapped his thigh.

Damn, they overlooked Pastor Shuni's divine magic despite all their careful planning.

Shuni's pastors are all beauties, and they have close relationships with bards; it's hard to say whether there might be any shady dealings involved.

If this guy gets to enjoy the benefits of having two wives, wouldn't I be the one who helped him?

And they even included a magic book that costs hundreds of gold coins to import?!

Thinking about this, Benjamin regretted it so much that he slapped himself.

I didn't even get to see the excitement, and I even helped the other party get on the good side. I gained everything but lost 100 gold. Where can I go to seek justice for this?
Thinking about this made Benjamin angrier and angrier. He wasn't even hungry anymore, and he didn't bother to undo his invisibility. He went straight back to his office to sleep.

However, just 10 minutes after he left, DuPont leisurely returned to his dormitory.

Last night, he was extra tired with his beautiful wife by his side, but that made him go to bed early, and he woke up as soon as it was light.

Lilith was exhausted and still asleep. DuPont felt bad about bothering her any longer, so he packed his clothes and headed to Damai Village.

According to Man Shi, successfully advancing during the ritual might grant one basic attribute value, but he unexpectedly gained two.

Items that can increase basic attributes are all very valuable, so this is most likely not a coincidence, but rather involves something I don't understand.

If this could be thoroughly investigated, it would be enough to establish a secret that allows an organization to rise instantly.

The two high elves couldn't easily relay the message, but DuPont couldn't possibly keep it from Savage Rock and Morning Star. Now that everything was fine, he could go over there.

The barbarian couple also got up early. After all, one of them worked as a pig butcher and the other lived according to the natural rhythm of life. Resting at sunset and rising at sunrise was their basic routine. When DuPont arrived, the two were having breakfast and were quite surprised to see him.

When he explained the matter in detail, Manshi was indeed shocked: "This is impossible! I only obtained a little bit back then, and there are no other records in the tribe. How did they manage to do this?"

DuPont thought for a moment: "Is it possible that the bear was just too big? That's why it received more blessings?"

"That's nothing! I killed a polar bear back then, a whole size bigger than yours!" Man Shi's loud voice scared away the early birds that were catching insects. "While your achievements are indeed better than most in the tribe, you're still a bit green compared to me."

"You scared the birds away, and you're still bragging like that, as if I don't know what you were capable of when you were young." The druid glared at Wildstone with annoyance, then thought carefully and gave a very likely answer: "I think it's because you didn't kill that giant bear, so you received other blessings."

“That’s unlikely, isn’t it?” Man Shi thought for a moment. “We barbarians don’t have this in our rituals.”

“If I remember correctly, a normal barbarian’s coming-of-age ceremony is simply to hunt a single prey, such as a stag or a wolf, to prove that they have reached adulthood. They don’t even qualify as professionals.” The druid handed DuPont a bowl of steaming hot tofu, topped with a unique spicy sauce.

"Later, some fool probably forgot to bring his weapon and killed his prey in an extremely bad hunt, thus pleasing the spirit of nature and receiving a blessing. That's why your tribe has this secret ritual, am I right?"

Man Shi retorted, "How could that be considered foolish? My ancestors must have done it on purpose, to prove their bravery!"

"I think he just drank too much and forgot to take it." DuPont coughed lightly, and was immediately glared at by Man Shi, and then glared at by the Druid, so he picked up his bowl and just ate.

"Anyway, it's all in the past, but the ritual has indeed been passed down. DuPont's trial mainly has two parts: one is not to use your own weapon and the target of the challenge must be large enough. This is quite in line with the rules of the barbarians. After all, according to tradition, the larger the target of the challenge, the higher the probability of receiving a blessing. You can bring a weapon, but you cannot wear a magical weapon."

"The other condition is one I added: you can't kill him."

"This is an extremely difficult target. Unless you are a high-level combatant, it is almost impossible to win a close-quarters fight against such a beast with your bare hands and without any equipment. However, I think that since you know magic, DuPont, in a life-or-death situation, a mage would definitely use a spell to save his life. At the very least, his life will be safe."

As the druid spoke, a pale green light emanated from his palm, and an image of a deer and a bear appeared on the wall: "There are many kinds of nature spirits. Some are kind and peaceful, such as some herbivorous nature spirits. Summoning them is more about granting blessings like vitality or swiftness."

"Carnivorous beings, on the other hand, are more evil and violent. Even if they become spirits and gain intelligence, their innate instinct to kill remains unchanged, and they prefer to watch a spectacular duel. I once analyzed that the blessings that barbarians receive are bestowed by these kinds of spirits."

"Although many spirits themselves do not know why they become such unique beings after death, their powerful strength cannot be ignored. They are an important force in fighting against evil and maintaining the balance of nature."

The druid smiled with satisfaction. "Mortals cannot touch or understand their consciousness. They can basically only communicate with druids and shamans. However, whether it's barbarians, orcs, or shamans of other races, they are not the type to think too much. They basically only draw power from others without considering the source." "Druids, on the other hand, generally only exchange information without borrowing it. They only obtain divine magic from the gifts of nature, which makes them somewhat closed off." The druid looked at his man. "There are some things I've been preparing for a long time, but since Lavoisier hasn't been around much, I haven't known who to talk to about them. I've had to prepare them myself. When I heard you say that before, I thought the experiment had failed. I didn't expect you to have a backup plan. You've made me worry for so long. DuPont, you're a bit too cunning."

"Who knows if those high elves are friends?" DuPont shrugged. "Rituals that everyone knows about won't be worth anything then."

“You’re right, that’s indeed very valuable information.” The druid sighed as he spoke, “However, this challenge is far too difficult, and it might only be useful for barbarians.”

DuPont immediately understood.

This advancement ritual is basically only useful for totem warriors. It may not be effective for other advancement paths for barbarians, so it is indeed difficult to spread and its value is greatly reduced.

"Don't other professions or advancement methods have similar blessing rituals?" DuPont subconsciously lowered his voice: "Shouldn't that be?"

“It’s highly likely. Even the Church of Magic has similar blessings, but such top-secret knowledge is naturally only known to the core members.” The druid shook his head. “If you could become a druid, I could take you to try challenging the Wrath of Nature. If you succeed, you can obtain those blessings of nature, but obviously that’s unlikely.”

“But if we have children in the future,” the druid touched his belly and looked at Wildstone, “we could consider it then, DuPont, you too.”

Man Shitou didn't lift his head, focusing on his meal, as if he hadn't heard anything.

The atmosphere became somewhat strange. DuPont put down his rice bowl and returned to the college, but as he approached his room, he could vaguely hear some faint sounds coming from inside.

I can't hear clearly. Could it be that Lilith has already woken up and is getting ready?
Upon opening the door, DuPont felt a chill run down his spine.

Holy crap, how did Deva get here?
And these two girls seemed to be chatting quite happily, but their expressions were very serious?
As soon as the door opened, the two girls who were arguing inside immediately fell silent. Lilith, however, reacted much faster. She patted the single bed she had slept on the night before and smiled charmingly: "DuPont, you're back. Your friend is looking for you."

The paladin's anger flared up again upon seeing this.

This silver-tongued succubus still acts like this when DuPont arrives; this is truly going against the natural order!
However, seeing the other person's sweet smile, the paladin put aside his anger and smiled gently, moving his position slightly: "DuPont, did you go out to train? You must be exhausted. Sit here and rest for a while."

“I noticed you two seemed to be having a great time chatting, but I’ve interrupted your conversation.” DuPont glanced at the wall clock. “It’s getting late, and you must be hungry. I’ll go to the cafeteria to get you some food and I’ll be back in about 10 minutes. You can continue your conversation.”

DuPont finished speaking and left, instantly pausing the Paladin's smile. Lilith, seeing this, revealed a victorious smile: "See? Men are just so greedy. So I won the debate just now."

“But that doesn’t mean he loves you.” The paladin calmed down and looked at the other person with pity. “He didn’t sit on your side either.”

"So what? Actually, I don't care as much as you do about whether he loves me or not. After all, love is such a precious thing, and being able to have it even briefly makes me very happy. I really liked his passion last night." As she spoke, Lilith looked at the paladin's tightly closed legs and smiled.

"You don't seem to know much about these things, but young boys are very thirsty during puberty. You've protected your purity and satisfied your spirit, but his desires are still accumulating. You've made him suppress himself for the sake of your fetish. Do you really love him that much?"

The paladin scoffed: "Love is not the same as lust. Is that how you interpret the Fire-Haired Lady's teachings? I think you should go serve the Succubus Queen. Of course, if you feel it's too depraved, you can seek out the Lady of Pleasure. There just happens to be her temple nearby."

Lilith's smile remained unchanged, and her eyes even held the air of a victor: "But the doctrine doesn't teach people to forcibly suppress their desires. Isn't bearing the love of a lover what a qualified lover should do?"

“But you are not his lover!” the paladin roared. “You only seduced him with your body!”

“Whether he loves me or not and whether I like him or not are two different things, and whether or not we sleep together has no direct relationship. Why can’t you get over this?” Lilith sighed. “Actually, love is a very heavy word. This word can encompass all the beauty in the world, but it has also created countless tragedies. You keep saying that I shouldn’t do this and that I’m blaspheming the teachings of the goddess, but do you even understand love? You two aren’t even lovers; at most, you can only be considered comrades-in-arms.”

The paladin fell silent upon hearing this, but his eyes held an undeniable stubbornness, as if everything the other person said was blasphemous.

"Of course, you can think that my words are vulgar and tempting you to degenerate, but if you want to maintain your own nobility while demanding that the other person be an ascetic like you, I have never heard of many mages who can endure such suffering."

You'll likely encounter many rivals after you get married, and I'll just be one of the inconspicuous ones, because I don't have time to pursue him right now. But I think many women would be willing to invest in this.

Lilith casually straightened her clothes, her expression relaxed. In fact, she knew she couldn't lose when the two were discussing this issue.

"By the way, if you can really endure this hardship, then I feel you should join our church. Although there aren't many Holy Knights of Fire, the Oath of Pure Love possesses a powerful force that other oaths cannot match."

The last paladin who could uphold this principle has already become a legend, retiring with her lover. If that time comes, I fear I will have to address you with respect, and even the archbishop will treat you with courtesy.

"Is this your latest rhetoric?" The paladin sneered. "I'm far more devout than you."

Seeing this, Lilith shook her head, stood up and whispered something in Deva's ear, then chuckled and turned to leave, leaving only the paladin's frozen figure behind.

"A paladin is not afraid to sacrifice himself for the justice in his heart, so why are you so afraid of physical contact? Are you afraid that your efforts will not be rewarded, or are you afraid that he will not love you as much as you love him?"

(End of this chapter)