Detan pulled out a set of clothes and handed them to Jaycee. He noticed the change in the way she acted around him. She was much more comfortable around him now. Although this was not his intention, he is still pleased to achieve such an effect. After all he wants to be a god that brings comfort and peace to his followers, not fear.
Jaycee put on the clothes. They were not made of any fabric known to her. They were lighter and softer. On the back of the robe was a strange symbol of a 'X' with four dots, one in the spaces between each line. The robe was light blue, matching her eyes. They both looked at each other and smiled, satisfied with how it looks.
"What is this made of? It's softer than anything I've felt before."
"It's not that the material is special, it's the technique used to make it. The thread count is higher which makes it softer. If you train your clothing skill to the max, you could also make something like this."
Detan pulled up his map. He found the dirt road that leads to a nearby village. This is likely the road Jaycee's party was ambushed on.
"Alright, now that you're cleaned up we can go search for your companions."
Her face turned complicated. There weren't that many guards for the caravan. They were outnumbered by the bandits, and it's been a week. Her friends are probably all dead.
Detan noticed her sadness and offered some encouragement. "Even if there is only one person that survived, we should go help them. They might be hiding in the village scared and alone."
"Yeah you're right." When he said that, she immediately knew he was right. She was scared and alone hiding in a cave before she found him. Now she should go and do that for someone else.
"As we head toward the village we might run into some wild beasts. I am a god, and while I could wipe them out on my own, I believe that this is the perfect time to start your training."
Detan put his hands out in front of him, palms facing up. Black smoke appeared out of the air and rushed towards his hands. After a few seconds the smoke cleared, leaving behind a white colored hand fan in his left hand, and a few throwing knives in his right.
Before Detan could give them to her, he fell to his knees and spurted out a mouthful of blood. His face grew even paler, and his eyes struggled to stay open.
Jaycee rushed over to help him. "What's wrong, are you okay?!"
Through labored breaths Detan replied, "I'm... alright...ha... I guess I had less than I thought."
"Less? What do you mean less?"
He now started to catch his breath. "Divine power. Just your prayers alone are not sufficient for me to wield my power." He said as he wiped the blood from his mouth.
"Then what should I do? Should I pray now and help you recover?"
"No, no. There's a better way. In fact it is part of the reason I wanted to make these weapons in the first place. Just like the map we talked about earlier there are two ways for me to gain divine power. The first is passive, which is through prayers. This way is slow and gives comparatively little divine power. The second way is through a Holy War, or fighting. Everything on the planet has traces of divine power, the trees, the rocks, the insects. The stronger a creature is the more power can be reaped when it is killed. I made this weapon for you to train yourself by killing the creatures we come across."
"Wait, you mean everything has divine power? Even me?"
"Yes, even you. When a person kills something, the divine power in the dead creature goes to the person's god. Who then rewards that person with blessings. So the best way to help me is to fight."
Jaycee was stunned by this information. Killing could grant divine power? He harmed himself to make these weapons for me, and he's offering me a chance to become stronger. Strong enough to protect the people I care about. If I were strong then I wouldn't have had to run away from the bandits and leave my friends to die. I could have stayed and fought.
"I'll do it. I'll fight. I'll get stronger for both of us."
Detan looked at her determination and smiled. Even after telling her that her future would be filled with blood, she just looked at him with determination. He felt he was lucky to have been summoned by such a woman.
She helped pull him back up to his feet. Although a bit unsteady, he could still walk. They continued walking while heading in the direction of the village. After a few minutes of walking, Detan spotted a chance. He spotted two Branch Monkeys tearing into the carcass of a wild boar that they had dragged up the tree. Branch Monkeys are not very strong animals to deal with. They hunt by using the height advantage of the trees to throw down large rocks and knock their prey unconscious before they drag them up the tree and start their feast, hence the name.
Detan stopped a distance away from the monkeys. He pointed at them and said, "See those monkeys over there? They will be your first opponents."
She looked over to where he pointed and saw the two monkeys shoving their faces inside the stomach of the boar, blood matting down the fur on their face. Although not the strongest monkeys their tall height and bloody war paint made them seem ferocious.
"Those!? I don't know, can't we fight something smaller and less... bloody?"
Detan was amused. Of course this would be too much to handle for a beginner, but she's walking around with a personal god and she's still scared of two monkeys! He could only encourage her. "They seem scarier than they really are, and besides, those weapons of yours aren't only for show you know. I used a lot of divine power to enchant those for you so they will definitely be strong!"
Jaycee's jaw dropped. D-did he just say enchant!? "The weapons you gave me are enchanted!?" She thought he didn't have much power and could only give her some normal throwing knives and a fan. She never expected it to be enchanted! Even the worst enchanted weapon with a barely noticeable effect would be sold for hundreds of gold coins back in the Capitol. Most people would never be able to see one in their entire lives and here she is equipped to the teeth with them!
"Of course they are enchanted, I am a god after all!"
His encouragement worked. Now her hands were shaking but for a different reason. If she broke it or got it dirty that would be the same as throwing hundreds of gold coins in the drain!
"O-okay, I got this!" She said with a nervous smile, as Detan sent her off with a wave.