Looking down on the earth from the sky, the world is like a silent movie.
Life and death, barbarism and civilization. Beasts like ants were running on the ground, and birds occasionally flew across the horizon. There were even powerful humans with great momentum, and for various reasons, a "war" broke out on the ground.
When a hundred years are shortened to a day, the earth itself is the most amazing image. You can see the green fade away and be stained with rows of artificial colors; you can see the spider-web-like roads as if they were outlined by an artist's brush, extending from a few strokes at the corners to the center of the masterpiece. The world is stained with all kinds of wonders, as well as countless love and hate, heroes in their twilight years, beauties with gray hair, and rise and fall.
In this world of floating pictures, the closer you are to the center, the more magnificent and fantastic it is; the closer you are to the edge, the more ordinary it seems. Although they are in the same world, they seem to be in two different eras... However, there are always exceptions.
Just like this day, a fireball fell from the sky and landed on the outskirts of a city in the northeast of the mainland.
Perhaps because it was in the daytime, the meteor seemed so inconspicuous that only a few people noticed its existence until it landed.
"When fire falls from the sky... there will be disaster."
…
Summer, 852 AD.
Thuringia outskirts.
From time to time, the roars of animals could be heard among the sparse trees, and occasionally there were some annoying buzzing sounds of summer insects.
At the end of the dirt road near the woodland, a flame flickered, illuminating the surrounding road in the night.
The man holding the torch was a sturdy middle-aged man wearing a patched coarse cloth long gown. His hands were covered with calluses, and he was obviously a worker engaged in manual labor.
The other man with him was not tall, but he also looked strong. However, judging from the way he walked, like the former, his strength was only gained from labor.
"Nike, are you sure this is the place? We have been walking for half the night. You know, I gave up the selection of guards tonight..."
"Don't be silly, Summer. Everyone knows that it's not for people like us."
Waving his hand to interrupt his companions' complaints, Nike raised the torch higher, hoping to see farther.
"Heh, to pass that test, you either need to have a good ancestor with noble blood, or you need to have undergone real training - that still requires you to have a good ancestor, and the requirements are much higher."
"So instead of holding on to such unrealistic ideas, why not try your luck with me? A shooting star... do you know how valuable this thing is?"
"I don't know, and I guess you don't know either.
Waving the pitchfork in his hand, Summer shrugged.
"But Nike, legally speaking, everything here belongs to the Lord of the City."
"So why did you come here instead of reporting me?"
With a mocking smile, in the light of the fire, Nike saw his old friend grit his teeth.
"You're right, I should have reported you... Damn it, come on, let's try our luck and see what we can find. If there's nothing, I will never let you go!"
In this era when history has come full circle, the classical republic coexisted with early feudalism, and even slavery and public ownership were maintained in some countries... In short, at least in Thuringia, all wealth on the land belonged to the owner of the land, and any act of taking without permission was a felony, and could even be punishable by death. Even the Church of the God of Justice and Law would not object to this rule.
But for two farmers who only know how to farm, this is almost their only chance in life. After all, although they are not slaves, they are far from being "citizens". Or to use a more official term, they should be called "free people" or "semi-free laborers".
This is also part of the "peasant discrimination chain", because the farmers around the city are formal citizens, while those who live in nearby villages and towns and only occasionally go to the city are not, so they cannot enjoy the rights of citizens under the classical republic.
If it was a few years ago, he would not be able to enjoy it. After all, this is an era of "born noble", and Summer would not necessarily choose to take this gamble. But after witnessing the changes in this city in recent years, he can no longer tolerate his current mediocrity.
To put it more poetically, it means "I can endure darkness if I have never seen light." The city of Thuringia changes every year, but the village where he lives remains unchanged. The two sides are like two different worlds, intertwined and isolated.
"Speaking of which, Nike, if you really get rich this time, how are you going to spend it?"
In a world without light pollution, the night is much darker than what mortals in later generations imagine. Even under the light of torches, the two felt like they were walking on a road with no end.
In other words, both of them are locals and are very familiar with the nearby terrain. Otherwise, when walking at night, no one would know whether they are moving forward or backward.
"Of course, let's enjoy ourselves first - but to be honest, Summer, I don't know what enjoyment means. It can't just be eating and drinking to my heart's content - so what about you?"
Shrugging his shoulders and causing the torch to shake, Nike told the truth.
"I want to test whether I have the qualifications to become a 'Knight'... I mean a more sophisticated test. You know, this is my dream."
Summer's voice was a little low, and no one knew what he was thinking of. After hearing his words, Nike also fell silent.
Dreams... everyone has them. But for most people, they are just dreams.
"It seems to be almost there, just ahead."
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Nike, holding a torch, suddenly stopped.
In the light of the fire, both of them could vaguely see the bottomless circular pit in front of them.
The effect of the firelight was not very good, and they could not tell how deep or how big the pit was. However, if someone with some knowledge came here, he would definitely not dare to approach this pit.
The meteor landed so close to Thuringia and created such a large hole. The loud noise it made was theoretically loud enough for everyone in the city to hear clearly. But in fact, apart from Nike who happened to see the flash of starlight, few people noticed the falling fireball.
"Hey, Nike, I'm afraid you've found something really remarkable."
With a look of surprise, Summer subconsciously lowered his voice: "There really is a meteorite... I heard that there might be something called a star core inside it. Even if there isn't, its shell can be sold for a high price."
"Don't just stand there, go down and take a look."
After inserting the farm tools into the soil, the two men immediately climbed down along the huge pit wall little by little.
The surrounding soil was a bit soft, not at all like the crater formed by the shock wave, and the two men almost rolled down several times.
Fortunately, after several hours of hard work, they finally reached the bottom of the pit safely.
"Be careful... Damn, the torch is burnt out."
Looking at the increasingly dimming fire in his hand, Nike cursed, threw it aside, and continued on his way.
Fortunately, the weather was clear today, and they could barely recognize each other's position by the moonlight...
"——Fuck, get out of the way——!"
"ah--"
Summer missed a step and took Nike in front of him with him, and the two of them rolled down together.
Bang!
With a dull thud, the two of them collided at the bottom of the pit.
"Hiss...I told you to be careful!"
"Of course I was careful. Do you think I wanted to fall down? If you had brought an extra torch, this wouldn't have happened."
After replying stubbornly, Summer struggled to stand up. In the dim moonlight, he looked around.
There was no huge meteorite as he had expected, nor was there any feeling of heat. It was just like a pure earth pit, and they were at the apex of this conical pit that had been cut out.
There was nothing around, only a little reflection in the distance...
"gem?"
Nike shouted in surprise: "Is that a gem? A gem that fell from a star? Oh my god, it turns out that stars are really made of gems. I thought it was just a fantasy in bedtime stories!"
"Stop talking nonsense, that's not a gem, look carefully, it's transparent!"
Summer walked up; his eyesight was better, so he could see more clearly.
It was not a giant gem, but an oval crystal layer, only a thin layer. It looked like some kind of gem, but in fact it was slightly "melting".
Although he didn't know what it was, Summer had a bad feeling. The fireballs falling from the sky, the irrational holes, the fantastic and magnificent crystals, no matter how he looked at it, none of this seemed normal.
Moreover, according to some ancient legends that have come down from the north…stars falling into the wild is not a good sign.
"Wait, there's someone in there, did you see it?"
His expression suddenly changed and Summer shouted loudly.
As the distance got closer, he could vaguely see something under the crystal layer in the moonlight. It was a humanoid figure.
It seemed to be a young man - perhaps a young man, anyway, he looked young. He had a handsome face, no trace of labor on his skin, and he was wearing a silver-white robe with golden patterns dotted on it, which looked so gorgeous and noble.
"A living person, the great goddess of wisdom... Could it be that what you saw was not a meteor, but a person who was seriously injured... Nike, what are you doing?!"
"Bang!"
The pitchfork collided with the transparent crystal wall. Under the moonlight, Nike's smile looked a little ferocious at the moment: "What else can I do? Of course, I open it!"
"I don't care who he is, but now he is my trophy. Do you see this dress? I have never seen such exquisitely made clothes. One of its sleeves may be worth five - no, fifty gold coins (Note 1)!"
"But--"
"Don't say buts. Don't you want to be a knight? If this is really a seriously injured warrior, then this is your chance!"
BANG——
With another blow, the crystal shell began to crack. Nike seemed to be encouraged, but Summer felt that the crack might not have been caused by him.
But no matter what, they came together. If their actions today were discovered, none of them would be able to escape... Gritting his teeth, Summer also joined in the knocking. Just like he said before, what if?
Bang——
BANG——
BANG——
…
One sound after another, as time slowly passed, a faint light appeared on the horizon, and the crystal shell became thinner and thinner, with more and more cracks.
Until one moment, with a sound that seemed to echo in the soul, it shattered and then dissipated into the air like water vapor.
"Huh—it's finally opened."
After wiping the sweat off his head, Nike became more and more excited. He looked at the young figure who had lost his protection, and a touch of ecstasy flashed across his eyes.
"Wait, don't be in a hurry."
"What are you waiting for? You're not going to regret it now, are you?"
"Of course not," Summer just shook his head with a heavy face, then raised his pitchfork: "No matter who he is, we have definitely offended him..."
"So no matter if he's dead or not, kill him first, and then see what we can get from him."
Without hesitation, under Nike's surprised but approving gaze, Summer used the pitchfork to strike the mysterious young man's neck hard.
It is said that as long as the spellcaster's mind is still able to function, he can mobilize magic power or holy power and easily kill hundreds or thousands of mortals... Summer didn't know how that was done. The only spellcasters he had ever come into contact with in his life were low-level priests in the temple, and they had never displayed such powerful power.
But what if? Who knows where this young man came from? Kill him first. Summer knew at least one thing, that is, a dead person cannot be used for anything.
······
It's like a replay of the scene in the deepest part of memory, spanning the distant time and space in chaos and mist.
Ryan still doesn't know how he came into this world. It was not until he woke up from a long sleep that he began to understand this world again.
Now, he experienced a similar scene again, but this time, he created the opportunity for himself.
"brush--"
His thoughts were still unclear, but the sound of a sharp weapon breaking through the air made Ryan instantly realize his situation.
Almost subconsciously, he reached out and grabbed in the direction where the sound came from.
The pitchfork covered in mud was not sharp, and it might not be able to pierce Ryan's palm, but he still bypassed the tip and accurately grasped the connection between the sharp teeth and the long handle. Then, in the visitor's instantly horrified eyes, he first pulled back hard, and then stretched out his hand to push.
Cluck——
Summer, who was holding a pitchfork, was startled by Ryan's sudden movement, but before he could react, the sudden force caused his body to fall forward, and the pitchfork almost flew out of his hand at the same time.
The next moment, he saw the long handle that had slipped out of his hand had become someone else's weapon and was coming at him again. However, Summer, who had lost his balance, had no time to respond and was hit directly on his vulnerable throat.
With a sound that made one's teeth ache, his larynx was shattered on the spot, and then he fell directly to the ground, making a "ho ho" sound. Everything happened in a flash, and Nike, who was standing by, just reacted when it was over.
"No, wait, it was an accident, I mean - spare me, I -"
laugh--
Ryan turned the pitchfork in his hand and accurately inserted it into the heart of the farmer who was trying to escape, blocking his unclear words.
Squinting his eyes, Ryan slowly looked around and determined his current situation.
He did not see a familiar primitive god or any other deity as soon as he opened his eyes, nor were there a large number of onlookers, such as guards from mortal countries or something... It seemed that the result was not bad, at least there was no major deviation, otherwise he would probably have to delete his account and start over.
In fact, when Ryan realized that the power that enveloped him had crashed into the special space-time bubble, he was already prepared for failure. However, this was just an attempt, and he did not decide to die if he failed.
Fortunately, everything is going well now, which saves him a lot of effort.
"Very good, plan the first step,"
Ryan stood up from the ground and stretched. Suddenly he felt that his mind became much more active.
At this time, the morning sun rose completely from the ground, and the huge pit also became bright.
Ryan had no sympathy for Summer, who was covering his throat with his hands, twitching subconsciously, and bleeding from the corners of his mouth. No matter what the reason was, since he dared to attack him, he must have been prepared to die.
"Well, to be a 'human' again, I need to solve three problems first."
"Who I am, where I am, and what I'm going to do."
The first problem was easy to solve. To put it in layman's terms, it was to give himself a new name. After all, he couldn't walk around the world with the title 'Ryan', so it was natural to change it to a more appropriate name.
So without thinking too much, Ryan just changed the pronunciation. From now on, he will be called "Evan". As for his identity... it is the heir of any defeated family/school/organization, if there are any of the above in this era.
As for the second question…
Rubbing his forehead, Ryan also felt a little headache.
Because he accidentally hit the space-time bubble, his landing point and landing time were greatly changed. In his original plan, he intended to land directly near Silver Moon City and start his subsequent plans from there... But now, even if there are no stars to identify during the day, he knows that he is definitely not in the south of the continent, but in a direction slightly north.
In the north of the continent, Ryan couldn't say that he had no impression of this place at all, but he had basically no idea about it. After all, before, this was a completely uninhabited primitive continent. So if he wanted to solve this problem, he could only sacrifice this guy who dared to cause trouble for him.
Using the tip of a pitchfork as a pen and the dead man's blood as ink, Ryan drew a terrifying-looking array like a cultist, in front of the horrified gaze of someone struggling in pain.
Then he walked up with a smile, easily resolved Summer's useless struggle, and threw him into the center of the formation.
As the array pattern lit up in a special form, the blood and energy in the flesh of the dead were continuously transformed into controllable spiritual power. It was like a primitive burnt sacrifice, except that there were no natural spirits to accept the sacrifice. This spirit mixed with the resentment of living beings was only used as a driving force to touch the ubiquitous shallow magic network.
With a flash of inspiration, the witchcraft [Advanced Detection of Thoughts] was easily performed, and this was the only value of Summer's staying alive a little longer.
Like a movie, a lot of useful or useless information flashed before Ryan's eyes. Although most of these were worthless, even as a farmer at the bottom of society, Ryan still understood this familiar yet strange world.
"The Church, the Evil God, the Divine Blood Nobles, the Wizards..."
"The new calendar, founded in Athens, is based on the movement of the stars..."
"The country favored by the gods, Olympia... Argos, the sanctuary of the Queen of Heaven... blood sacrifices, natural disasters... the barbarians in the north who believe in evil gods, claiming that all things have spirits and can become gods?"
"And Thuringia, the northernmost city-state in Athens' sphere of influence... This city has changed a lot recently because the King of Athens signed an agreement with the Emerald Ring Alchemy Society, causing alchemical products to gradually flow out of the capital. What's going on? Are the humans in Chaos World so powerful that they have already developed alchemical works of this level out of thin air?"
One after another, pieces of news that he didn't know whether to consider as surprise or delight flowed out of his memory. In fact, Ryan was a little bit unbelievable. He didn't expect that a mortal he just picked up at random turned out to be so knowledgeable.
However, he had no time to pay attention to the other party's love, hatred, and why he wanted to know this information that had nothing to do with him. He just locked his attention on this [Emerald Ring] Alchemy Conference.
Developing alchemy from scratch, this would be easy for a god, but how did humans do it? He would like to know...
While thinking, Ryan's attention was instantly attracted by the content of his memory.
That was exactly what he wanted to know before, the inventor of alchemy and the president of the Emerald Ring Alchemy Society.
"...?"
Slowly typing out a question mark, Ryan once again felt that this world was really interesting.
"...a child from a village outside Eleusis, who later went to the southeast of the continent to study...He learned the secrets of witchcraft in Condenia, and after becoming a great wizard, he rejected the invitation of the White Tower and delved into the secrets of witchcraft on his own."
"Finally, after countless failures, he proposed the concept of 'the equality of all things', believing that everything in the world can be transformed into each other. He personally accomplished the feat of 'turning stone into gold', completely creating a school of alchemy, and his name became known among the countries..."
"Oh."
With a low laugh, the memory in front of him came to an end. Ryan gave the unfortunate guy a quick death and then patted his clothes.
"Great Alchemist Hermes, very good, such an interesting development... As expected, going offline appropriately will help the development of the world."
With a slight smile, Ryan decided to go to the nearest city of Thuringia first.
Memory is just memory after all, and [Advanced Detective Thoughts] is not advanced witchcraft like [Soul Insight] or [Memory Weaving]. Of course, maybe someone invented some more powerful low-level witchcraft during the time he was offline. Anyway, browsing his version of memory is like reading a book. Not only are there no illustrations, but the results given are not prioritized, and 99% of them are redundant.
In short, the ancients... and later generations said it well, 'What you learn from books is shallow, you can only truly understand it by doing it yourself', Ryan still plans to use his own eyes to personally witness this mythical world that has deviated so much from the original history.
…
Note 1: There are different names for coins in ancient Greece. Here we use stater for gold coins, drachma for silver coins (there are also gold coins, but more silver coins, and the Greek currency is also called this name now), and leptah for copper coins (strictly speaking, it is a subsidiary coin, not a copper coin, but it is regarded as a copper coin here. Similarly, modern Greece also uses this name). As for the conversion ratio, please refer to this book.
Chapter 311 National Strength Under Silver Coins
Ryan seldom does useless things, so there is naturally a reason why he ran from the Chaos world to the door of Hemenu next door, and then made a circle to send his humanity back.
Just like Pallas, who was destined to die, could not be born under the unilateral cover of Chaos' power, Ryan could not separate humanity in the world, that would just be a cover-up. Of course, he could do this in the spirit world - but it was not very reasonable for a mortal to fly out of the spirit world.
But then again, although Ryan has separated his divinity and humanity, he is actually very clear about it. This degree of separation may not be as complete as imagined. The most obvious example is that Chaos World itself can still find the connection between the two, as well as his now seemingly complete memory.
The soul of a real mortal cannot bear the "mystery" that Ryan knows. Just like he once saw the true body of the [Mother Tree of Flesh and Blood]. If it were a pure mortal, this memory would most likely be activated directly in his mind, and then he would be assimilated into himself. Even if he is lucky, he will at least become a fanatical cult member.
"It's not a big problem. I just want to become a complete great divine power... This level of human division should be enough."
After using some tricks to erase the traces he left behind, Ryan climbed out of the pit. Facing the rising sun, he took a deep breath of fresh air.
As a god, he hasn't done this kind of thing for many years...
When most of the influence of divinity was lost, the heart also became much lighter. It was as if something heavy was removed. At this moment, Ryan felt like he had returned to the time before he came into this world and was still a mortal.
He is interesting and likes to joke, likes delicious food and beautiful scenery, feels pity for the misfortunes happening before his eyes, and enjoys the admiration and praise of others.
Ryan didn't know whether this was good or bad, but he was willing to give it a try. However, as he changed, the part far away in time and space that was no longer burdened by human nature would probably also change and become a true 'God'.
Heaven and earth are unkind, they treat all things as straw dogs. The sacred are unkind, they treat all living beings as straw dogs. Below the self, all living beings are equal, all are like dust.
"Huh - according to the memory I just browsed, Thuringia seems to be in this direction."
"But before that, I need to change my clothes."
Strictly speaking, Ryan was not wearing any clothes at the moment. The 'robe' that aroused the greed of the two was actually fake. It was the embodiment of the power of scattered time and space, so it showed a color of silver and gold patterns interwoven.
But just like the gradually damaged crystal shell, this false robe will not last long and will soon disappear.
So if you don't want to run around in the suburbs on your first day... Ryan frowned, regretting that he had been a little rough in his actions.
After a while, Ryan, who had changed into local farmer's clothes, weighed the three silver coins he had taken out. On the front was an unknown middle-aged man's head, and on the back was a miniature version of the Acropolis of Athens.
According to what I remember, the mainstream currencies in the human activity areas on the continent are still gold, silver and copper. Although it is not clear whether there is a fate factor in it, gold and silver as a precious metal have their own mystical value, so it is not surprising that this situation will occur.
As for the value of currency... Take silver coins as an example. This currency, called 'drachma' or 'silver drachma', is divided into two denominations, the smaller one is equivalent to about 75 to 130 copper coins, and fluctuates up and down depending on the country and region where the coin is minted - there are always some small countries that cut corners, and there are also countries like Olympia that want to show their noble status, and they will mint silver coins that are large and heavy even if they lose money.
As for the big silver coin, it is called the big silver coin, or the big silver coin with the small coin value, and the conversion ratio is about 1:5. Starting from the big silver coin, the symbol of the king of the country is no longer engraved on the front of the coin, but the head of the god, which is the origin of the word "badge".
Therefore, there is a phenomenon of private minting of small-denomination silver and copper coins in the market, but it is easily eliminated in the case of large-denomination coins. Large-scale engravings of gods will almost certainly attract the attention of gods, but small-scale private minting cannot recover the cost at all.
"Tsk, changes are really everywhere. I don't know how long it has been since I left... more than 800 years in the new calendar, but this is recorded based on the founding of Athens. Who knows when Athens was founded?"
"And it feels like this... even the sun god has been replaced. Well, at least it's not red and there's no tree growing on it."
Ryan secretly complained and looked at the big hole caused by his fall with a headache. It would not be easy to fill it.
"Forget it, let's bury these two guys and then go to the city. With the speed of information transmission in this era, by the time the abnormality here is discovered, I won't even know where it is..."
After roughly identifying the direction, Ryan walked towards the nearest dirt road.
…
noon.
The sun is at its zenith. The summer sun is always so hot.
Outside the city of Thuringia, many residents had gathered on the tributaries of the Werra River (Note 1) to fetch water. Under the sunlight, a faint glow appeared on the clear river.
Building along rivers is the practice of most cities in this era. After all, the ease of obtaining water is often the most critical factor in whether an area is livable.
As we got closer to the city along the dirt road, the flow of people on the road became increasingly dense.
There were residents from nearby towns and villages who came to buy daily necessities, and there were also a few small caravans. Not far away, fully armored guards stopped at the city gate, checking the identity of every person entering the city. Judging from their work attitude, it was a bit unworthy of their sophisticated equipment.
"With caravans and currency... As expected, with the emergence of cities, the expansion of material exchanges, and the popularization of private ownership, commerce is bound to develop."
"And the craftsmanship... They were able to forge a suit of armor that was close to a full-body armor. Although the technology seems to be very ordinary, and it was not forged by Turin itself, it still proves that the casting level in Athens was close to that of Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries. Even considering that this is a supernatural world and that supernatural powers were likely involved in the process, it is still quite incredible."
Walking on the avenue, among the sparse crowds of people, Ryan silently observed this strange era.
Thuringia is just a remote city in the north, and many things here do not represent the pinnacle of the times. But a glimpse of the whole picture shows the living conditions here, and many things hidden behind can be revealed from the corners.
Just like the silver coin in Ryan's hand, it looks like a currency used for transactions, mass-produced, and without much technical content. In fact, from its fineness, silver content, purity, glossiness and other details, we can see the mold-casting level of Athens at that time - you know, in the original historical trajectory, from ancient Greece to the early ancient Rome, people at that time still used manual methods to make coins.
Craftsmen melted the metal material and poured it into a pre-prepared mold, then waited for it to cool and solidify. Although this method was simple, the production process was very unstable, so that there was a considerable degree of inconsistency in the quality and shape of the coins.
Currency with patterns and text was a technology that only existed during the Roman Empire. It even declined in the Middle Ages and did not rise again until the Renaissance. The craftsmen at that time used molds with patterns and text and standardized standards, which made the appearance of the coins more exquisite and consistent. They also used some special alloy formulas to improve the hardness and durability of the coins.
The silver coin in Ryan's hand is like this now. The error is difficult for ordinary people to discern with the naked eye. The pattern composed of olive branches, snakes and spindles, Athens of this era used this subtle way to silently show its national strength and skills to the world.
Ryan believes that not every country in this era can do this. But even if this is the pinnacle of contemporary technology, it is still very surprising.
"This development speed... isn't it a bit fast? I thought that supernatural powers would significantly inhibit the development of humanities. After all, this is a world where the strong can prolong their lifespans, and kings, princes, generals and ministers are indeed born nobles. The conservative forces are destined to dominate the upper world. Logically speaking, tradition should be able to easily defeat the reformists - but from my memory, Athens is now about to start the 'Alchemical Revolution'..."
"But it's hard to say. After all, there are gods in this world... and there is also a situation where changes are often much faster than in theory."
With a distant look, Ryan walked on the dirt road and looked back to the southwest. But it was obvious that he could not see through the earth now, and naturally he could not see Olympus supporting the eastern sky.
"As long as there are external enemies or there are enough threats, everything will be allowed. Chaos is the ladder to rise. If the existence of the extraordinary will make the class solidification in peacetime more serious, it will also greatly speed up the flow in chaotic times."
Does Athens have enemies?
There is no accurate answer. After all, Sammer is just a farmer in a remote town. Three generations ago, he was a slave. He gained his freedom by moving to the north to build a new city.
But it goes without saying that human history is a history of war, so Athens cannot be without enemies. Moreover, in today's world, the rise and fall of city-states and kingdoms also represents the amount of faith that the gods gain... Indistinctly, Ryan suddenly had a better understanding of some later myths and legends.
Shaking his head slightly and pressing his straw hat, Ryan walked towards the city gate. This was not something he needed to consider right now.
Following the crowd and paying the city tax, Ryan successfully entered the city of Thuringia.
No one cared about his appearance that obviously didn't match his clothes - at least the guards at the city gate didn't care about that. They just took a silver coin silently and then ignored Ryan.
"Oh, at least in this respect, it seems that people of every era are similar."
Joining the crowd, Ryan recalled the memories he had browsed before and compared them with the real city.
He entered the city from the west gate. Thanks to the layout of the city of Eleusis, the birthplace of the belief in the goddess of agriculture, the east and south districts of most cities are now residential areas for the noble and wealthy in the secular sense, while the west and north districts are just the opposite.
Therefore, most of the pedestrians along the way walked, and there were basically no traces of the frame.
"Hello, sir (Note 2)...Is there anything I can do for you?"
After walking a little further, Ryan pushed open the door and walked into a clothing store. Behind the wooden counter, an old man with gray hair and a gray robe greeted Ryan.
"Well... two pieces of clothing that fit, something ordinary will do - you can just change them here, right?"
"Of course, please wait a moment."
The old man looked at the customer and his eyes flickered. He nodded and walked out from behind the wooden table.
"The guest is not a local."
The old man asked casually while looking for suitable clothing according to Ryan's size.
"Yes, I just arrived in Thuringia today. Does the old man run this shop alone?"
Without hiding his identity as an outsider, Ryan smiled. I have to say that Thuringia is quite hospitable.
"Yeah... I didn't think much about it when I was young, but now I'm the only one left... Haha, don't mind it, customers. It's just an old guy's complaint."
After chatting casually, Ryan soon found clothes that fit him. They were not custom-made, he just wanted them to be quick and suitable.
He simply paid the bill and exchanged the savings of the two unlucky guys for his robe without hesitation. Ryan walked out of the store empty-handed.
Following the flow of people, walking forward aimlessly for a while, Ryan turned into a seemingly remote alley, and then stopped after a corner.
Tap tap...
Tap tap tap——
Bang!
Ryan knocked the stalker to the ground without changing his expression. He looked at the sturdy young man. Was he a gang member from the old days?
Whatever it was, he pulled out a purse from the other person. Ryan weighed it carefully and it looked like it was a lot.
"Sure enough, Thuringia is quite hospitable."
In a remote city of this era, especially a new city that has been developed for less than a hundred years, an ordinary person can live peacefully to old age without the help of descendants, and even be able to open a store... It can only be said that if he does not have some kind of ability, probably no one will believe it.
The old man must have thought Ryan was a fat sheep like a runaway noble... But Ryan was too lazy to go to him now, as he had other things to do.
"Of the three elements of reincarnation, the second element, 'Where am I', is now halfway completed. In addition to the current environment, I also need to understand what happened in the past."
"Fortunately, Athens was really avant-garde in this regard... They worshipped Athena as the main god, calling her Lady, Queen, and Dominant - the more formal title was 'Lord of War and Victory, Lord of Knowledge and Wisdom'. As a result, Athens was always keen on spreading knowledge to promote the belief in the goddess. At one point, the prototype of a 'library' even appeared at the request of the church."
"The entry threshold is quite high," Ryan expressed his satisfaction after kicking the young man who fainted on the ground.
It makes sense for him to go to school and have others pay the bills.
He didn't kill the other person directly, not because he was kind, but purely because Ryan didn't sense the breath of magic or holy power from him, which proved that the other person had no connection with the existence with the ability to cast spells.
In this case, he naturally had to let the line run longer, and it would be best if he could do it a few more times - in this way, he wouldn't have to worry about money issues in the short term.
…
Note 1: Because I am too lazy to come up with a name, I just randomly picked a name from reality. Thuringia is actually a state in Germany, and the Werra River is indeed a river there, but it is just a name, and the same goes for the Heligoland Bay.
Note 2: Of course there were names for strangers in ancient Greece, but it may seem awkward to readers after I wrote them, so let's just regard these aspects as translation issues.
Chapter 312 Heroic History Peace...War
Three days later.
In the eastern part of Thuringia, diagonally opposite the Temple of the Church of Knowledge.
Panathenaic Library.
A lady with long brown hair and wearing a plain robe was moving gracefully between wooden shelves filled with books and parchment scrolls, followed by a handsome young man.
On her chest was a half-broken olive branch symbol, which symbolized her identity as a reserve priestess of the Church of Knowledge.
Reserve priests are not formal clergy. Although they are no different from formal priests in terms of knowledge and training, the biggest difference is whether or not they have been inspired by the goddess.
To put it more realistically, they are still pure mortals in terms of strength, and you cannot do work that requires divine power; to put it more idealistically, since your beliefs have not yet been recognized by the goddess, you should first take on the work of managing the church's subordinate institutions.
"Sir, this is the content of the Museum of Knowledge concerning history, heraldry, and family trees... There may not be much content here, but I'm sorry, Thuringia is not Athens after all."
With a smile on her face, although the candidate priest lady was apologizing, Ryan could still see the pride in her eyes. After all, in this era, only a very small proportion of people can read, let alone collect books.
This Panathenaic library probably contains more texts than all other Thuringian texts combined.
"The first and second floors are library rooms, the basement floor is for collecting and preserving antiquities, and the third to fifth floors have a special reading room that provides snacks and drinks... Of course, alcohol is not provided here, which is not in line with the teachings of the goddess. In addition, a maximum of five different books or scrolls can be borrowed at a time, and I hope you can protect them as much as possible - if it is unintentional damage, you only need to pay compensation according to the price. But if it is intentional damage..."
The priestess didn't finish her words, but Ryan nodded to show that he understood.
Although he knew very well that Athena did not have the authority of [Knowledge], [Wisdom] and [Knowledge] were indeed very similar and well matched. Moreover, with the [Hydrology] inherited from her mother, it was not surprising that she would have some ideas about this.
Perhaps they wanted to reach relevant fields and powers through faith, or perhaps they simply wanted to enhance their prestige in the world. In any case, Athena's church was even named "knowledge", and as a result, the carrier of knowledge was regarded by her believers as an extension of the goddess's will, and any deliberate act of destruction would be regarded as blasphemy.
"Thank you for the reminder, ma'am. But I don't think any well-educated person would treat them in a rough manner."
"Knowledge is the ladder of progress. The rise and fall of civilization depends on it." Ryan reached out and took out a book labeled "New Calendar - 849 New Edition" from the bookshelf. "Since 10,000 years ago, when the first human beings looked up at the stars, knowledge has been inseparable from human beings."
"Just like the stars, the moon and the night sky - if the gods are the moonlight that illuminates the night sky, then knowledge is the guidance in the darkness."
"...a perfect metaphor. You are truly a learned nobleman."
There was a flash of surprise in her eyes. If it weren't for the rules, the candidate priestess really wanted to chat with this young foreign noble. Compared with those rude guys in Thuringia who only knew how to wield swords and guns, she felt that the one in front of her was in line with her usual imagination.
However, long-term communication is prohibited in the Museum of Knowledge. If you want to exchange opinions, you should go to the corresponding reading room to avoid disturbing others... So after regretfully discovering that Ryan had no intention of inviting her to sit up, the priestess returned to her own seat.
"Hehe, noble? I don't have the blood of a god... No, as a mortal created by 'me' myself, I should also be considered 'of noble blood', right?"
Ryan smiled and watched the prospective priestess leave, and couldn't help but complain in his heart.
Although he had spent the previous three days solving housing and identity issues, and only came here to study for the first time today, he still gained a better understanding of the social structure of this era.
Without considering those distant countries, within the sphere of influence of Athens, which appears to be the most advanced and developed country in the world today, there is a political system in which the classical republic and feudal aristocracy coexist.
The 'citizen' class, which is made up of male citizens living in cities, craftsmen, merchants and professionals, and the 'divine blood aristocracy', who have the blood of gods flowing in their veins, are born extraordinary and have an orderly inheritance. They are the upper and middle class structure of this era.
The two are contradictory to each other, yet they also merge with each other... As for why this pattern has formed, it can be traced back to objective factors that began in the era of the Great Migration and have continued to this day.
You know, Chaos is a supernatural world, and there are always a lot of wild beasts and monsters in the wilderness of the human world. After the disaster of Typhon and the shining of the bloody sun, this situation has become many times more serious.
Therefore, the idea that "a ruler must be a strong man" and "only a strong man can protect the people" spread easily among humans. Therefore, most of the first monarchs in the world were strong men in the legendary realm, and only they could open up a habitable area in the dangerous wilderness.
However, with the end of the Great Migration, the first batch of cities were built, and the population gradually increased. Outer expansion again was an inevitable option... But there was only one king, and other places also needed other strong people to protect the people. Transportation in the wilderness was also inconvenient, and the later system of itinerant officials was destined to be unable to be implemented here... So gradually, the feudal system became a very reasonable direction.
The original nobles were not a rentier class that oppressed the people. On the contrary, they enjoyed rights but also paid equal obligations. Whenever there were monsters causing trouble in their territory, they were the first to stand up and fight them.
"But it's different now."
"Today's nobles have long since changed and become 'divine blood nobles'. Those who are powerful but do not have divine blood can only be classified as citizens. This is why the classical republic can compete with the feudal system, because both sides have extraordinary powers to support them - well, let me see... the first recognized divine blood noble, the son of the God King and Princess Danae, born demigod, great hero, Perseus, His Highness Perseus."
"He made countless achievements in his life. He killed the sea monster Gorgon, saved a foreign princess who was about to be sacrificed, and killed the hero Phineus and his brother. He had six sons and two daughters, who later either established their own city-states, inherited the old throne, or married famous heroes. Corinth, Nemea, and Mycenae all obtained the bloodline of gods. It was from then on that the blood of gods aristocrats began to grow in the world."
In the reading room on the third floor, Ryan browsed through this past history.
There were only a few hundred words recorded in the book, but when compared with the memories of later myths, Ryan saw more than that.
Why is Perseus the son of the king of gods? Because his grandfather received a prophecy from an unknown source, saying that his daughter's son would definitely harm him. So in order to prevent him from being harmed, the king forbade his daughter Danaë from contacting outsiders and locked her up in a high bronze tower to keep her under strict guard.
However, the mortal guards could not stop the gods, at least King Acrisius could not. So the king of gods Zeus transformed himself into golden rain, penetrated the window bars, mated with Danae and gave birth to Perseus.
The king was horrified to find that his actions were useless, and his daughter eventually became pregnant and gave birth to a son. But the king did not dare to take action against the Son of God in the end. He had to exile Perseus and his son, and he was in a state of panic all day long, and even fled abroad - and then one day in the future, as the prophecy said, he was "accidentally killed" by the discus thrown by his grandson Perseus in Bilasi, successfully completing the ending of this prophecy.
However, here is the key point. Where is Perseus? It is the country where Io, another princess who was raped by the king of gods, turned into a white bull and finally fled to Egypt, lived. Then, because the foreign king was mistakenly killed in his own country, this small country, which was gradually declining at that time, suffered another heavy blow... In short, it is not known whether Perseus is a "hero" in the sense of later generations, and it is hard to say whether he can fight or not, because his record along the way can almost be summarized as "come, cheat, come, sneak attack" or "Kryptonian warriors are invincible."
Anyway, with the help of the gods who appeared one after another and bestowed a dozen divine weapons, he did kill more than one king on his adventure, gave birth to more than one king, and overthrew a number of countries and their representative figures who were dissatisfied with Olympus, and finally spread the bloodline of the God King among the human royal family.
From then on, the saying that only those with divine blood could become kings spread more and more widely, and more and more gods followed suit and left their descendants in the human world. Since then, divine blood began to spread, and those with noble bloodlines occupied the mainstream of the human race...
Turning over another page of the book, through history, Ryan seemed to see Perseus's life like a puppet.
"Who knows, maybe he actually enjoys it."
With a smile on his lips, Ryan continued to flip through the review.
In addition to the origin of the divine-blood nobility, this new historical review from the Church of Knowledge naturally talks most about Athens.
According to records, this city blessed by the goddess was founded nearly a thousand years ago. At that time, there was no new calendar and the city-state was not yet called Athens.
According to legend, Cecrops, who was 'born from the earth' and had a 'human body and a snake tail', was the founder of this city-state. When this king, who had a special bloodline and a long life, was in his prime, the goddess of wisdom came to the world to spread the secrets of knowledge and chose this city as the beginning of her church on earth.
Of course, generally speaking, an accident will happen at this time, and Poseidon, the king of the sea, is the cause of this accident.
For some purpose, he also fought for the ownership of the city-state at that time. The two gods argued over this and finally decided that the local people should decide who to believe in.
Poseidon gave humans salt water, which represented the protection of the sea, but people at that time did not understand its meaning and thought it was useless; Athena gave olive trees, which people believed could bring wood, oil and food. Food is the first necessity of the people, whether in the East or the West, so the goddess finally gained the trust of the local people, and the city-state was renamed Athens, which has continued to this day.
"Among the great powers of the time, Athens was almost the last to be established. Even with the help of Athena, Athens could not be considered powerful for a long time."
"The reasons for all this are not recorded or analyzed in the books, which is beyond the knowledge of people of this era... But from the perspective of future generations, it is almost clear from the topography."
While flipping through the book, this new world map, which was very different from the original Greek terrain, gradually became clear in Ryan's mind.
Athens...is actually a city near the East China Sea, and it is also the last city built during the great migration of mankind. It can be said that the earlier the kingdom was built, the closer it was to Olympus, and the distance between them was often farther, because the wilderness was vast, and there was no need for two migrating humans to choose to build cities too close.
On the contrary, the later a city is built, the closer it is to the sea. Therefore, the remaining migratory groups not only have a shorter development time than those who settled earlier, but also have more intense competition with each other, and the distance between two cities is often closer. This is not a problem at the beginning, but when everyone settles down, the population grows, and the land is expanded, they will find that there is almost no direction to open up around them without resorting to force.
This is also the origin of Thuringia.
Athens is located on the eastern coast. To the west are all long-established cities. If they want to expand, they can only cause war. The same is true to the south. Compared with their western neighbors, they may face the White Tower and the legendary pagans in the south...
Therefore, the remote north was the only direction for development. Thuringia and the port city of Heligoland further north became the northern border of Athens, which was also the result of the development strategy designated by the current king.
"There have long been frictions between many countries, whether due to religious beliefs or geopolitical reasons. But this is a world with gods, and the gods have not yet torn their faces apart over this, so how could a large-scale war break out in the human world?"
"So peace is the main theme of all nations in the world. Trade and commerce become more frequent, and prosperous trade also brings about a life of luxury for the upper class... Until one day, the gods' desire for more faith will eventually overwhelm the fragile kinship between them. The conflicts among nations in the world will also accumulate to a limit, and some powerful people will even crave for power and eternity. At this time, all it takes is a spark, and a war will break out."
"And this time, perhaps the gods will be shocked to find that they can no longer decide the outcome of the war."
Snap——
Ryan closed the book and slightly closed his eyes. The memories of the future and the current situation in the world collided with each other, and the last straw that broke the camel's back seemed so obvious in his mind.
"Everything has been decided long ago."
"Golden Apple, the most beautiful goddess; Ten years of war, a 'hero' who goes down in history..."
"Everything comes together into one, this is the war and peace in the world."
······
The sun was setting. Ryan walked out of the Museum of Knowledge and nodded to the trainee priestess' sweet smile. He planned to find a place to eat something.
Although I only read the general idea in one day, there is no need to rush to study. After being reborn as a human, I still have a long time to live.
Today is the reign of the twelfth king since the founding of Athens, and his name will be well-known in later generations - not simply because of his achievements and legends, but more because his name is widely circulated in the East and the West as a famous philosophical concept.
Considering that the world has not heard of the Golden Fleece or the Argonauts, Ryan does not have to worry about a burly man named Hercules suddenly jumping out from a corner and saying, "Where are the gods? I'll fight ten of them." Instead, he is thinking about what to eat.
After all, as a mortal now, Ryan would be hungry if he didn't eat, and would be thirsty if he didn't drink water. He couldn't generate energy through photosynthesis.
But here comes the problem. The prices of food in Dongcheng are not cheap. After two days of unbridled spending, the money he had received from the hospitable locals seems to have been almost spent...
"Well, it seems that we need some more sponsorship from kind people."
Nodding secretly, Ryan turned and walked towards the west of the city.
After spending a lot of money in the past two days, Ryan moved directly into the South City. No blind "kind-hearted person" dared to approach such a safe place.
Ryan simply gave them a chance...so in a remote corner, he changed into the clothes he had bought in the shop before.
He walked across several streets towards the place where he had 'encountered' last time - as expected, Ryan realized that he was being followed again.
And this time, there seemed to be more than one, at least five or six.
"Tsk, how come it's just like killing monsters to level up... Never mind, just give me some gold coins."
He secretly complained in his heart but remained calm on the surface. Just like last time, Ryan turned into an empty alley.
After walking for a while, he turned a corner and prepared to repeat the same trick.
"Huh?"
Ryan was a little surprised to find that there were already three people waiting behind the corner.
"Hey, kid, do you really think we'll be tricked by the same trick twice?"
With a sneer, the young man in the lead raised a wooden stick, and two big men stood on his left and right.
While he was talking, the few people who had been following Ryan came around the corner and blocked him in this narrow area from the front and back.
"Boy, you are really good at hiding. I couldn't even find where you went these past two days..."
Last time, one of his accomplices was hit by a club for no apparent reason, and no one was even seen, which really made Weiss a little depressed. For several days, they have been looking for Ryan's whereabouts, but to no avail.
This was not surprising, because Weiss had never imagined that Ryan would go read books, let alone live in South City - even if we don't take the literacy issue into account, the fact that Ryan spent all the savings of that unlucky guy in three days was enough to tell us that the consumption level there was completely beyond the acceptable range of these low-class people.
Although they were in the same city, Dongcheng District and Nancheng District were two different worlds from them - the same was true for ordinary people in later generations. It was not a question of whether they had the money or not, but even if they had hundreds of thousands of savings, they would never eat a lunch that cost 10,000 or 20,000 yuan.
"You misunderstood. I wasn't hiding anywhere - in fact, I was a little worried at first that you didn't recognize me."
Shaking his head, Ryan expressed his innocence to the questioning of the 'good-hearted man'.
"But then again, you just took a stick?" Ryan asked curiously, somewhat disappointed, "You guys can be considered a 'vibrant Thuringian grassroots social group', right? Don't you have any weapons prepared?"
"At least a knife or something?"
"...I think you've been living a good life for too long and still haven't figured out the situation. Go ahead, treat him well!"
The corner of his mouth twitched, Weiss felt that the man in front of him had some psychological problems. Who in their right mind would have the time to pay attention to this when they were surrounded?
He also considered whether the other party was a formal professional, but they knew what level the Black Iron (first order) level non-spellcasters were.
He can fight, but that's just the way it is. Without good equipment, he can't bring out his extraordinary physique and strength.
As soon as the words fell, the two people beside Weiss immediately raised their sticks and stepped forward, and the few people who were chasing Ryan from behind also doubled up.
Regardless of whether they were nobles who had run away from home or the descendants of wealthy merchants, they were most likely not from Turin. Looking at their delicate and tender appearance, as long as...
"Ψ!"
A short syllable, followed by an inexplicable repulsive force. The first layer of the magic net was gently moved, and the complex structure took shape instantly.
The invisible repulsive force acted on the lower body, and the unprepared people immediately lost their balance while rushing forward, and rolled to the ground like a rolling gourd. Weiss, who was standing behind and had not taken action just now, suddenly changed his face and looked at Ryan in front of him in disbelief, because in his hand, a glowing ball was flickering.
"Spellcaster?!"
"Correct answer, but no reward."
Smiling and nodding, looking at the other party's reaction, Ryan once again understood the status of beings with spellcasting abilities in this era.
Before, he had only heard others talk about it occasionally... After three days of reincarnation, he could not actually be considered a spellcaster yet. After all, the first layer of the magic network was too basic. An ordinary person with good talent could theoretically access it, but not as easily as Ryan.
The witchcraft supported by the energy level of the first layer of the magic network is not very high. It is probably like what he did just now, releasing an indestructible impact field, or casting a light spell or something.
In a real fight, a sword might not be as useful as one could use it - however, this non-lethal light magic scared several 'energetic social elements' including Weiss half to death on the spot.
"Now, robbers, hand over all the valuables you have on you, and explain to me why you only have sticks to use and who you work for."
"Don't tell me there isn't one." With a smile on his face, Ryan pointed his finger, and the illuminating light ball immediately floated forward, scaring Weiss so much that he retreated again and again. "As long as the ruler of this city is not a fool, he will not allow the gray forces to exist without his permission."
Chapter 313: The Maharaja and the Bard
If a real fight breaks out, Ryan, who is proficient in fighting skills, may also be able to easily defeat these "social people" who don't even have weapons, but being able to solve the problem with just a light spell is naturally a good thing.
Soon, under the anguished gaze of Weiss and the others, Ryan had eight unfamiliar money bags on his waist. The only regret was that there was not a single gold stater in them.
But this is normal. After all, in the original historical trajectory, a huge silver mine was discovered near ancient Athens. The wealth brought by it supported the rise of this city and eventually dominated the entire ancient Greek civilization. And now the extraordinary world is likely to be the same, so the amount of silver is naturally far more than gold.
The amount of this raw material is reflected in the coinage, that is, private consumption is often based on silver coins. In large transactions, even if both parties use large boxes to pack tens of thousands of silver coins, they are unwilling to trade with gold coins of equal value but easier to carry.
"That's a lot of money. Probably enough for a month."
As the saying goes, "Take every penny and spend it like dirt", Ryan didn't cherish this unexpected fortune. However, Ryan looked a little strange after accepting the donation from the "kind-hearted person".
"I didn't expect that the reason why they all carried a wooden stick was actually because of the Church of Justice... No, it seems that the paladins don't completely belong to the church."
"Look, I need to buy more materials to build the spiritual barrier."
Ryan secretly made a note of this and watched the hospitable locals leave in a panic. He collected the hair he had taken from several people and put it in a separate package.
Killing seven or eight people in the city was a bit too disrespectful, especially when there were paladins staying there. Even these "lively social people" didn't dare to use sharp weapons, so Ryan just took a piece of hair from each of them, which scared Weiss and the others half to death.
In the eyes of these people at the bottom of society, all spellcasters who were not from the church were proficient in curses and could kill people invisibly. Having a part of your body taken away by Ryan was almost the same as losing your life.
"Sure enough, just as I expected, when the clergy spread, it was almost foreseeable that wizards would be demonized and excluded."
"Athens and the Church of Knowledge are relatively neutral. Even the king has taken the initiative to promote the development of the alchemy industry, trying to overtake the Western powers in terms of population and land. But even so, such exaggerated rumors are still prevalent among the people."
He shook his head slightly. As both were spellcasting professions, there were differences between clergy and wizards. Of course, there were reasons behind this. However, Ryan was not going to think about this subject which could be named 'supernatural sociology' anymore.
He returned to the corner where he had changed his clothes before, and put on the plain robe made of extraordinary material again. When he walked back to the South District, he looked nothing like the man who had just robbed a group of active young people in the Lower District. Instead, he looked like a typical Athenian nobleman.
In any era, it is very beneficial to disguise yourself as a respectable upper-class person. They will be treated with courtesy wherever they go, and it is natural for them to gain the respect and trust of strangers.
Just like now, if Ryan entered the city again, I am afraid that those fully armed guards would not only not accept his money, but would also salute him from afar to express their welcome.
…
Outside a three-story loft in the southern city of Thuringia.
Tap tap tap…
"...So, this is another direction for Athens' future development."
"As the only major country among the Pan-Hellenic states close to the East China Sea, it is very necessary to connect the central region of the continent with overseas countries through maritime trade to exchange what is available. In addition to alchemy, this is also one of the solutions that the kingdom can try to implement."
"After all, alchemy requires skills and time, and it also has the problem of a narrow audience - you can't expect ordinary craftsmen to be able to afford expensive alchemical creations," Ryan said casually while walking on the road, reciting some classical editorials that are not very nutritious. "But trade is different."
"It only needs policy support, and then the merchants and nobles of Athens will spontaneously engage in trade in pursuit of profit. This large-scale trade will inevitably bring benefits to the people and facilitate the export of excellent local handicraft products. By the way, the wealth brought from other countries can also enrich the pockets of the middle and upper classes of the kingdom and bring greater sales of alchemical products."
"Of course, all of this is based on Athens' leading system and folk crafts. Only these are the cornerstones to guarantee everything."
"It's really eye-opening..." A young man in gorgeous clothes nodded in admiration and said, "Mr. Irwin, you are really knowledgeable... It's a pity that I didn't meet you until today."
"This is all God's guidance."
With a smile on his face, Ryan spread his hands helplessly.
"Although it's a bit regrettable, this is where I rent."
"I have just arrived in Thuringia and have no permanent property. I am afraid I cannot invite a distinguished guest like you to sit upstairs."
"Ah-sorry for interrupting."
Suddenly realizing that he had walked all the way, the young man who had just met Ryan at dinner felt a little rude.
It was really that the classical natives had never heard of this kind of argument that everyone in later generations could talk about, and they were actually fascinated by it for a moment.
"It's okay, it's not your intention."
After a few more polite words with a smile, and after both parties said goodbye, Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. He was finally rid of this young noble. In fact, he was a little regretful now.
Once reincarnated, many of my old habits from my mortal days were brought back, such as chatting with others casually during meals. Who would have thought that I would meet someone who was more serious, and we chatted all the way to my doorstep.
Squeak——
After closing the door, Ryan walked into the house and put down the small bags he was carrying.
"The materials are finally complete."
"This local noble is still somewhat useful. At least he knows where to buy these things."
He changed his outer clothes and took out the things one by one. The package Ryan brought back contained nothing but some gold powder, spices, salt and flower essential oils.
These things are not rare, nor are they prohibited. It's just that because most of them are used in places of worshiping gods, people who don't need them don't know where to buy them.
Fortunately, the young nobleman who was very interested in "classical keyboard politics" had this method - although Ryan still couldn't remember his name.
I closed the doors and windows and drew the curtains to block out the light from outside, and the room immediately became pitch dark.
Ryan lit a candle in the dark, and then mixed gold powder with some materials to make a light blue liquid. Using this as ink, Ryan drew a circle around the entire house.
A few runes were traced out, distributed inside and outside the circle. When the last rune was carved, a feeling of being "isolated" from the outside world immediately filled the small room.
After finishing all this, Ryan extinguished the candle.
"If I hadn't asked those questions, I probably wouldn't have known that there's still some trouble in this city right now."
Looking around the spiritual barrier he had created in the darkness, Ryan nodded secretly.
This barrier has no defensive function, and its only purpose is to isolate the internal and external auras. And the object Ryan needs to isolate... is naturally to make those energetic young men "repent" and use sticks to blackmail the source.
Paladins are special clergy who have been active on earth before the New Era. They are also a group of extremists who fanatically believe in justice and kindness. They are a professional system once created by Themis herself.
Strictly speaking, however, not all paladins are necessarily believers of the Goddess of Justice and Law; most of them are, but not all, even though many of their key powers do come from the gifts of the goddess.
They believed in justice, and those who understood justice the same way as Themis naturally offered their faith to the goddess, but there were also some who had different understandings, and they chose to clean up the sins for other gods, or simply believe in justice itself.
Fortunately, as a kind of clergy, these holy warriors with firm beliefs found another place outside the gods that could provide them with holy power, that is, the gathering of human beliefs such as truth, goodness and beauty, the outer world [Seven Hills Heaven]. Therefore, even if there is no god's favor, it will not affect those people with pure wills from performing divine arts.
Of course, regardless of whether they have faith or not, as long as all the holy warriors strictly abide by the basic commandments and creeds, they can use the power of the Sword of Judgment, the artifact of the God of Justice and Law, at will. It is precisely because of this that these guys have some special abilities that are hated by many people.
"For example, the exclusive divine spell [Detect Evil] is included in it... Because fighting and death without sharp weapons are classified as 'fighting' or 'manslaughter', while using sharp weapons are 'violent organization', 'murder' and 'robbery'. The 'degree of evil' reflected by the two under [Detect Evil] is different, and the time it takes to eliminate most of the evil is also different. Therefore, under the threat of the paladin, even these people at the bottom of society actually abandoned swords and used sticks instead."
"Tsk, tsk, what a strange development. But if you look at it this way... you have achieved your own 'justice' to a certain extent."
Ryan sighed a little, but was also happy for Themis.
As a congenital god, it is not a pleasant feeling to go against one's duties. It seems that she has finally found a balance between law and justice, at least to a certain extent.
Let's get back to the point. The arrival of the Holy Knights was certainly not without reason. According to Weiss, there was no temple of the God of Justice and Law in the city of Thuringia, and the Holy Knights who had been active in the vicinity recently were said to be tracking down traces of some cultists.
The cultists haven't been found yet, but the security in the entire city has improved several levels. Even the nobles have behaved themselves a lot better. This is quite ironic.
But that has nothing to do with Ryan. What really affects him is what he is going to do next, which is something that is unlikely to be known by the righteous people.
After being a mortal without supernatural powers for a few days, Ryan has roughly solved the problems of 'who am I' and 'where am I', and now what he needs is 'what should I do'.
But no matter what he does, he needs to first master the extraordinary powers that he can use.
"Logically speaking, as my human incarnation, this body and soul have extraordinary talents."
"If I want, I can easily reach the realm of demigod, whether on the path of a wizard or on the career path that is now called a knight by the mainstream, but..."
He shook his head slightly. To put it bluntly, this was one of the reasons why Ryan's divinity was away and his human incarnation had to come down.
Even though the respected Lord of the Spirit World has claimed for n years that he would explore the path to deification and thereby analyze the authority of the gods from bottom to top, in reality his current achievements are actually zero.
Yes, things like demigods and self-generated divinity, these were all things he had researched in the middle of the Second Age, but there was no further method at that time, and there still is no further method until now.
At best, Cohen's success is to demonstrate from another perspective the possibility of self-generated divinity in different ways, but the progress towards deification itself is also zero.
So in this case, Ryan didn't really want to go directly to the various branches derived from these two roads. After all, he didn't know whether this was a dead end or not.
He now needed another power system that could be used at any time but abandoned at any time, to temporarily increase some usable power for his humanoid incarnation.
So the question is, in today's world, what kind of power is there that can be used at any time, and once put down, it can be quickly cleared?
"Of course it's the clergy. After all, this is a borrowing of external power. Without the gift of the gods... the clergy is just a mortal with a higher life essence and a stronger soul after a long period of cleansing by the holy power."
Picking up the materials prepared in advance, Ryan continued to arrange them in the dark.
Since warfare and magic are not an option, then naturally the only option left is priesthood, which is only temporary anyway... But since he has decided to become a clergyman, Ryan also needs to consider his own "beliefs".
The Olympian gods directly passed it by, and the same was true for the angels in the spiritual world - even if it was not exposed, Ryan himself felt that it was a bit strange to believe in his own subordinates.
As for directly believing in the 'Lord of the Spirit World'... since the beginning of the world, no mortal has been able to become a god-favored person directly subordinate to the 'Lord of the Spirit World'. If Ryan does this now, it is simply saying that he has a secret, and all the primitive gods should come and watch.
"So, eliminating all the impossible, I now only have one choice."
"In all the worlds, only He is qualified to be the object of my faith. He is also the only one who will not expose my secrets. Similarly, He also possesses supreme power. Hey, why does it sound more and more like the mother tree?"
Shaking his head, putting aside those useless thoughts, Ryan looked at the ceremony that had been arranged with a leisurely expression.
With a pointed finger, a basic magic web wave similar to the [Light Spell] flashed past. Ryan lit the candle placed at the core of the ceremony, straightened his clothes, and then bowed down.
"The great serpent that encircles the atrium."
"You are the giant python of the world that devours all souls."
"It is the origin and end of all evil in the world."
"I, in my own name, pray to you here... Please cast your strength and come..."
The ancient language resounded in the closed spiritual environment, accompanied by prayers and chants, and invisible waves spread here. Yes, the embodiment of humanity prayed to the power of its own evil thoughts, which was a very reasonable direction.
And there is nothing wrong with mortals offering sacrifices to the Lord of Hell in order to gain power.
Besides, the power of the Nine Hells has nothing to do with the spiritual world, but the ruler of Hell has an old grudge with the God King on Mount Olympus. Therefore, if Ryan did something blasphemous later, it would also be logical, and someone would take the blame for him.
The King of Hell even has a fallen angel who was once from the spiritual world under his command, so it should be nothing wrong for him to have a lot of contact with the spiritual world.
In short, three is a naturally sacred number in the world of Chaos, just like the Three Ash Goddesses, the Three Vengeance Goddesses, the Three Oracle Tablets, the Three Fates... and the names also have important mystical significance.
So when Ryan recited the three honorific names of the Midgard Serpent in full, a certain connection was instantly projected from hell into this extremely simple little ceremony.
The power from the King of Hell began to fall, and in the process of sliding, it combined with the elements and was diluted greatly, and finally became the "Hell version of holy power" that was allowed by the order of the world. Then, under the guidance of a certain will, it was unceremoniously poured into Ryan's human incarnation.
In less than a second, the crude ritual collapsed, unable to bear the flow of more power. But the holy power that descended in such a short time still brought enough changes to Ryan. The power of hell hovered at his fingertips, and from now on, he was an official priest-side spellcaster.
"Hmm - it's a wonderful feeling to give a gift to myself."
"But no matter what, I am now a person with a real identity."
"As a tool sent to the human world by the Lord of Hell, my origins have many flaws, but when it comes to the Lord of Hell, these are no longer a problem."
"My purpose in coming here is nothing else but to stir up discord among the nations of the mortal world, bring about war and destruction, and corrupt the faith of the gods of Olympus. And my ultimate goal is to fulfill the ten-thousand-year plan of the Lord of the Nine Hells, to capture the sacred mountain, suppress Zeus, and make the devil clan great again!"
His tone became more and more excited, but his expression remained unchanged. Ryan patted his clothes and took out a strange-looking musical instrument from somewhere.
As the embodiment of humanity, Ryan cannot always behave like an ordinary person. He is destined to do many things in this era and create great waves.
He will intervene in the disputes between countries, come into contact with heroes favored by fate, and influence the situation in the world. As time goes by, the origin of his identity becomes more and more of a bug, which will make all people or gods who know of his existence want to explore.
Simply disguising is not advisable. The less others can see the problem, the bigger the problem is. The more ordinary you appear, the scarier you are. So in this case, if you want to cover up a secret, the best solution is to cover it up with another secret that looks bigger.
On the surface, his identity is the descendant of a noble from a foreign country, but in fact, if someone conducts a deeper investigation, they will find that Ryan is not a noble at all, because he does not have any divine blood from any god... If they go deeper, they will think that he is a member of a hidden organization, or has some special opportunity.
And in the end, someone would naturally discover that this person was actually a person favored by the Lord of Hell - no one would think that this could be a fake identity, not even the King of Gods could do that.
This identity might be equally troublesome, but compared to the 'human incarnation of the Lord of the Spirit World', it was nothing. And in the eyes of some people, this identity might even be a plus.
"Well, that's it. The holy power from hell...although it's mostly effective on the casting side, it seems to be able to warm up the body as well, but it's more inclined towards agility and endurance."
"In that case, my profession should be considered a variation of [Bard] in the mortals' understanding?"
Silently making a judgment, humans always tend to accept inherent concepts, so Ryan did not intend to give his extraordinary path a new name that was too unique. Fortunately, this world already had a similar profession, which was originally derived from the northern evil god [God of Drama], and then gradually spread to [Bard].
It has both spellcasting ability and good melee ability, of course, both seem to be more biased.