Goddess Kaleidoscope

"The lesson was excellent, Priest. Are you considering taking on apprentices from among these children?"

"I do have that plan, but rather than becoming a priest like me, I hope they will become outstanding scholars in the future."

"You're so funny."

Seeing that Jegan thought he was joking, Ludd simply smiled noncommittally and didn't try to argue. Hamilton, on the other hand, had become interested in the math lesson Ludd had just given and was now staring intently at the simple geometric figures on the blackboard.

"That's interesting. Maybe it can be used in magic."

Thanks to his recovery from his chronic illness, the old magician was in a good mood. This "Fire Saint," who was known for his bad temper and difficulty in getting along with others, hadn't stopped smiling since yesterday, which made his apprentice feel quite uncomfortable.

"My supervisor hasn't scolded me all day. Is he just listless?"

The old magician was completely unaware that his young apprentice had developed typical "Stockholm syndrome" from his scolding. He mainly wanted to talk to Lud about yesterday's divine healing.

As someone who experienced it firsthand, Hamilton could clearly sense that the divine magic used by Rudd was very different from that of ordinary priests. Based on his professional knowledge as a senior magician, he judged that Rudd must have made some kind of improvement to the divine magic that had not changed for hundreds of years, which was very rare in the religious world, which was known for its "conservatism".

The old magician always believed that the magic of mortals and the divine arts of gods are based on the same principles, the only difference being the power used.

However, over the past three hundred years, magic has been constantly evolving, with each generation trying to upgrade and improve it. Divine magic, on the other hand, has remained stagnant. In fact, a group of conservatives has emerged, constantly clamoring for "restoring the old system and following ancient methods." Not only is divine magic not allowed to be improved, but many religious systems that have been modified to adapt to the changing times are also being changed back.

This is one of the main reasons why Hamilton has always looked down on those charlatans. Now that he has finally met a reformist in the religious world, such a rare and precious person, he naturally wants to have more exchanges with him.

The old mage was very direct, not bothering with any of those roundabout tricks. He went straight to the point and asked Rude if the healing spell he used yesterday was a new type of spell that Rude had modified himself.

Seeing that Lude's expression was strange, he quickly explained.

"Don't misunderstand, my friend. We in the magical community have always been staunch reformists, so we can't stand the conservatives in the religious world. You've taken the lead, so we can actually have more exchanges."

Like most magicians, Hamilton simply looked down on those pretentious charlatans, but he was very interested in divine magic. Unfortunately, the two sides were clearly divided and never got along, so communication became very difficult.

When Lud heard that the old magician wanted to have an academic exchange with him, and that he was also very interested in magic, he readily agreed.

So Lude handed the story he was going to tell today to Aina and had her read it from the script, just to test her learning progress over the past two months, while he led Hamilton and Jaggan to a quiet side room.

In Hamilton's presence, Ludd frankly admitted that he had indeed improved upon the old divine spells, which he called "combined divine spells," that is, using multiple different types of divine spells simultaneously and integrating them into one divine spell to accomplish more complex operations.

Upon hearing this, the old magician thought to himself, "Holy crap, this is awesome!"

Similar new topics have emerged in the magical world in recent years, but they are still in the exploratory stage because compound magic requires a lot of mental strength and control from the caster, so it is difficult to popularize.

On the other hand, Lud not only had mastered the application of magic, but also relied on a system that was completely different from magic—divine magic.

Considering the current environment in the religious world, where various sects are at odds with each other yet collude to suppress progressives, the old magician suddenly understood why a high-ranking priest of Lud's level would be willing to hide in a small village, and couldn't help but feel a deep respect for him.

"This is an indomitable fighter!"

End of this chapter

At this moment, Lud had no idea that his simple words had caused the old magician before him to conjure up so many wild theories. He was indeed hiding in the border village to avoid being discovered by other sects, but not because he wanted to improve divine magic; he wanted to create his own god!

Of course! This was definitely not something that could be said to Hamilton. The old man was loose-lipped, and his mouth was probably not tight either. So, while Ludd seemed to be communicating, he was actually holding back a lot of things.

However, the two sides gained a lot from their conversation. Lude learned a lot about magic from Hamilton, including insightful observations from someone as sophisticated as him. Hamilton, on the other hand, was impressed by some of Lude's ideas, noting his unique perspectives on problems.

The two talked from day to night until Captain Jegan finally couldn't take it anymore and reluctantly reminded Hamilton that time was flying by.

The old man couldn't help but complain that there should actually be a god of time in this world, who would transfer the time wasted by mediocre people to those who truly need it.

Lud smiled but didn't say anything, though he secretly made a mental note of it.

In the following days, Hamilton visited him every day, treating Lud as his closest friend. He even gave him a fire magic research notebook, hoping to provide some help in improving Lud's divine magic.

In return, Ludwig gifted Hamilton some of his own concocted balms. These were a product of his previous testing of divine magic, infused with divine power to enhance the effects of conventional medicines.

These ointments are less effective than Holy Healing, but far superior to ordinary medicines. They are also very convenient to use, requiring no priest's presence; ordinary people can apply them to the affected area for them to take effect. They are sufficient to treat most common ailments and non-fatal injuries. For Hamilton and his group, who lack a priest in their ranks, this might be a lifesaver in a critical moment!

Thus, Hamilton and his party were trapped in Pine Village by the heavy snow for a whole week, until finally the sky cleared up again and they were able to continue their journey.

Although this group of people and horses consumed a lot of the village's stored grain, as well as a third of the chickens and a whole pig, the money they paid was very generous. The village not only did not lose money, but also made a small extra profit.

Lude learned in a casual conversation that Jegan had followed the Earl into battle years ago and was once seriously wounded. He was saved by a peasant couple. Jegan was already gentle by nature, and from then on, he developed a great fondness for the common people and strictly disciplined his men, earning him the reputation of a "model knight" under the Earl.

On the day the group set off, Ludd personally saw them off. Just as Hume had previously speculated, they were indeed going to continue north into the Void Forest. Hamilton even revealed some information to Ludd: their journey was to find a powerful creature, and whether they succeeded would determine the fate of the entire Duran Kingdom.

"Take care, old friend. I'll come to visit you sometimes."

Take care of yourself and have a safe journey.

After they said their goodbyes, Ludd watched the group leave, while Hume stood beside them, looking at Hamilton's carriage and saying something.

"I never expected that you would be friends with that guy. With this connection, your missionary work in the Kingdom of Duran will definitely go much more smoothly in the future."

"How to say?"

"Don't you know? Hamilton has a very close relationship with the Durand royal family; the current king has to call him uncle!"

"Incredible! There's this connection too!"

After Hamilton and his party left, Pine Village quickly returned to its former tranquility. Ludd led a fulfilling and regular life, with a series of plans still in preparation, ready to be implemented next spring.

Of the three goddesses around her, Aina's growth has been remarkably stable. Although most of the faith offered by the villagers has been used by Lud for various experiments, there is always some left. Aina has now grown accustomed to this and is even quite pleased with herself for having some left over.

Shanis gradually became known to the villagers and began to gain some followers by frequently making cameo appearances in Aina's stories.

However, this meager income was not enough to completely alleviate Shanis's thirst. Her divinity still occasionally went out of control, causing harm not only to Lud himself but also to the innocent villagers, especially the young men and women.

In the past few days, Lude has received quite a few helpless teenagers who came to him for "medical treatment." The poor young men frequently had "strange dreams" and had to secretly change their pants in the morning without their families' knowledge, making them think that they had some incurable disease.

Compared to these two, Hume remained largely unchanged.

Since this is not a new god, she already has a considerable number of followers. Her main problem is how to collect these beliefs more effectively and how to break the curse of the god of war.

Given that Hume's followers were mostly thieves and petty thieves who mingled in the underworld, Lude felt that she could actually broaden her divine status, emulating Guan Yu on Earth by adding the attribute of "righteousness" to herself, so that those gangsters would worship the god of thievery when forming sworn brotherhoods or joining gangs. This could be a kind of religious ritual.

However, Hume felt that this might not work, because according to her understanding of the "underworld," it was a human arena where only the ruthless could survive, and those who were truly loyal did not live long.

But Lude felt that precisely because the underworld didn't value loyalty, the concept of loyalty was actually more popular here.

"Humans are hypocritical creatures. Everyone likes to be strict with others but lenient with themselves. They are not loyal themselves, but they want everyone around them to be loyal. Sworn brotherhood is just like making a vow. The key is to get them to form this concept and gradually evolve it into a custom. Don't think that this habit can be spread all at once. We will promote it slowly."

Ludwig promised Hume that once he had settled things in Pine Village, he would take the time to accompany him there.

Hume, having traveled the world for years, personally established several underground organizations resembling religious sects. Ludd could try to reform these organizations, transforming them into more efficient groups for producing faith. Hume, having witnessed what he saw and heard in Pine Village, had considerable faith in Ludd.

In any case, for her now, even if Lud's transformation ultimately fails, her situation is unlikely to become worse than before.

End of this chapter

For most people, the snow-covered winter is a difficult and tedious season. Lude thought he would be able to spend a peaceful time, but bad things always happen unexpectedly when you are least vigilant.

Two weeks after Hamilton and his party left, Ludd got up early as usual to prepare breakfast for the four people in the house who couldn't cook.

Ludwig could understand why Aina and Shanes couldn't do it, but he looked down on Hume and Fallen Leaf, who claimed to have walked the mortal world for three hundred years, for not being able to either.

However, just as Lu De was skillfully preparing the ingredients, a very urgent knocking sound suddenly came from the direction of the main entrance of the hall.

"Priest! Priest! Open the door quickly! Something terrible has happened in our village!"

"What?"

Hearing someone shouting in panic at the door, Lud quickly put down what he was holding and went to the door. When he opened the door, he found that it was Sam, the village chief's youngest son. Following the direction Sam was pointing, Lud noticed that there seemed to be a lot of people gathered at the village entrance.

"Sam, what's the situation in the village?"

"I...I'm not really sure either. This morning, a lot of people suddenly came outside. My father sent me to find you."

"Okay, I'll be right there."

Urged on by Sam, Ludd put on his coat, called Hume and Fallen Leaf, and together they hurried toward the village.

When the group arrived at the village entrance, village chief Rom was confronting a group of armed militiamen against another group of strangers who looked quite disheveled. Ludwig pushed through the crowd to find old Rom and asked him what had happened.

"They're all from the neighboring Acorn Village. They all suddenly came over, saying their village was attacked by flying monsters. Three or five wouldn't be a problem, but there are over a hundred of them! We can't possibly take them all in!"

"Attacked by monsters?"

Looking at the outsiders who had been turned away, Lude could see the lingering fear in their eyes. They were clearly terrified, and the story of being attacked by monsters was probably true.

Rudd had heard of Acorn Village before; it was about 30 kilometers southwest of Pine Village, closer to Riverwood, and had a permanent population of over 300. Rudd had originally planned to try preaching in the village next spring, but the villagers came to him on their own.

"Hey Rom, you're having the militia guard the village entrance, are you trying to drive away all these distressed people from the neighboring villages?"

“Old friend, I don’t want to just stand by and watch them die, but there’s no other way! Our village did have a bumper harvest this year, but we’ve spent a lot of money on various things. The remaining grain is just enough for us to eat. If we really help them, we’ll go hungry.”

The old man shrugged helplessly. The group of people in front of him wasn't just a few or a dozen, but a huge crowd of over a hundred.

Lu De thought for a moment and told the village chief not to rush to use force to drive people away. After all, they were fellow villagers, and if they were really pushed too far, Songshu Village would definitely win if the two sides started fighting, but there would inevitably be casualties.

So Lude discussed it with the village chief. They knew they couldn't afford to feed all one hundred-odd Acorn Village residents if they stayed, but the village could at least provide them with a decent meal. They would give them a little less rations and then send them to Riverwood.

So Ludger called Rom along to negotiate with the villagers on the other side, explaining their difficulties and the help they were willing to provide. At the same time, Ludger hoped to find out the details of the monster attack on their village so that they could prepare accordingly.

However, when Pine Village offered to help them seek refuge in the nearby Riverwood, the acting village chief of Acorn Village, with a mournful face, told them some unexpected and terrible news.

"Riverwood is doomed. That monster came from the north, burned our village, and continued flying south. I reckon Riverwood is finished by now."

"Fellow villagers, did you get a good look at what that monster looked like?"

"I didn't see it clearly. That thing came in the middle of the night. Everyone was too busy running for their lives to appreciate the scenery. All I knew was that it could fly and its roar could make your legs go weak... Oh, and it could breathe fire too!"

The villagers of Acorn Village described it for a long time, but none of them could make out the monster's appearance. However, the knowledgeable Hume could vaguely guess the attacker's identity from the key features they described.

"Hey, High Priest, the more we listen to these people's descriptions, the more it sounds like a dragon!"

Holy crap! No way!

When Hume said it might be a dragon, Ludd's heart skipped a beat.

In this magical world, dragons are at the very top of the pyramid of all mortal creatures. If we disregard the fact that gods cannot be killed by conventional means, a mature dragon in its prime is actually much stronger than some mid- to low-ranking gods.

However, dragons are solitary, highly intelligent beings who usually hide in deep forests and sleep soundly. Even if they occasionally appear near human towns and other places, they rarely launch an attack.

In addition, there are many stories circulating in this world about kind dragons rescuing mortals in distress, so the dragon race has a surprisingly good reputation.

It's worth mentioning that besides pure-blooded dragons, there are actually quite a few subspecies of dragons in this world.

Compared to pure-blooded dragons, subspecies dragons are much weaker, and many lack the advanced intelligence to communicate. However, through certain means, mortals can actually tame them. It is said that the Galio Empire, the strongest nation on the continent, has a wyvern cavalry unit with formidable combat power.

Therefore, given the unclear situation, Lud was more inclined to believe that a subspecies of dragons had attacked Acorn Village, which was somewhat of a form of self-comfort.