592: Chapter 390: 3000 Deities, 3000 Great Dao?
592: Chapter 390: 3000 Deities, 3000 Great Dao?
Hill understood what List was getting at and laughed helplessly, “Of course it’s lucky, magic books can be dealt with later.
Although I don’t know who’s behind this, they probably underestimated the number of the Undead Tribe.
And they underestimated their levels, too.
I think, in this world, legends aren’t so numerous as to surpass the Undead Tribe, right?”
“Very few.” List said simply, “This is a world dominated by deities.
It’s kind of like those old novels, where three thousand deities vie for faith.
Mages are still powerful, but they are not the mainstream of the world.
The children of nobles are all sent to the Temple, and only merchants would want their children to become mages.
After all, a mage’s destructive power is still formidable, making them well-suited as bodyguards.”
“What?” Hill’s surprise changed his tone, “In this world, can mages only serve as bodyguards?”
“The legacy of mages is difficult to pass down.” List said earnestly, “Low-rank mages need to study diligently for a dozen years or even decades, whereas priests only need the recognition of a deity to advance.
At the high level, mages are indeed powerful, but priests won’t fight you in a duel; they always fight in groups.
People naturally seek benefits and avoid harm.
Spending decades and not necessarily becoming a high-level mage, but definitely becoming a high-level priest through decades of devout worship—is the consensus in this world.
Though I can also find in the records of this Magister that devout followers like that might only get one opportunity every ten years in each temple.
But with so many temples, it gives people the impression that anyone has a chance.
Especially the children of nobles—they have much bigger chances than ordinary people.
On the contrary, merchants prefer to cultivate mages because if they cultivate just one, their trade routes would be much safer!”
“With so many temples, why isn’t it safe?
Do they rob each other?” Hill asked, puzzled.
“It’s not just that enemy temples cut off each other, forcing these caravans to take detours through the wilderness.
There are also completely fallen temples, whose gods might only be slumbering and not necessarily perished.
So priests and knights just hide in the wilderness, waiting for their god’s awakening.
When they see a caravan, most of them choose to rob and kill.
Mages have more tricks up their sleeves, capable of fending off any kind of person.
Plus, mages can fly, and if they run into the city and call their enemies, they’re done for.
Therefore, it’s much safer in the wilderness if you have a mage with you.”
Hill felt there were so many questions, yet no way to express them.
But after all, isn’t the world still going to be the same one that was meant to come?
No wonder the God of Time and Space told Agleya and the others that this world was meaningless for them.
In a world accustomed to the worship of deities, even the divinity of Teraxil would avoid being involved!
Hill couldn’t help but laugh and turned to walk towards the Floating Stairway: “So these deities, they just arrogantly absorb faith power without fear?
Do they have a way to burn away the poison of faith?”
“It doesn’t seem like it.” List followed him in, and the Floating Stairway ascended directly, “You can sense that these deities have completely lost their own personalities.
They act entirely according to their divinity.
The laws that oppose each other often denote enemies.
This is impossible in Teraxil.
Why should a Water God be enemies with a Fire God just because of their element?
Water Sorcerers wouldn’t just fight a Fire Element Warlock on sight.”
“But for humans, there’s nothing bad about it.
Such deities, if not careful, could be turned into tools for humans,” Hill mused, “Are there elves in this world?”
“There are dwarves.
But no elves,” List answered, “Elves exist in legends, but it is said that they opposed some deity and were subsequently banished from this world.”
“Some deity?” Hill asked suggestively.
“Yes, that one’s name has disappeared from history,” List replied cheerfully, “There was once a deity who tried to claim the ‘certain deity’ title for themselves, but they too ended up being referred to as ‘some deity’.”
“Although it’s a bit unbelievable, I guess this world is an experimental field created by a deity of the same immense divine power as Coron or the World Tree.
Coron offered the coordinates of this world, probably not with good intentions.
How interesting, even the World Tree acquiesced.
Who could be so disliked by both of them?
Otherwise, even a kind-hearted deity wouldn’t be so altruistic as to meddle in another’s affairs.”
List shook his head: “This Tower Spirit doesn’t have much common sense, he’s probably the most rigid of the intermediates, not taking the initiative to learn on his own.
Completely different from the likes of Srei and Marsha from before.
Once I’ve sorted out everything in the Magic Tower and have recorded and organized all kinds of books, then I’ll see if there are any clues.”
The door of the Floating Stairway opened, and Hill walked into the small lobby.
He decided to give up exploring this world for now, and to get his living space sorted out for the near future first.
This world, it was clear that even if the Undead Tribe was powerful, they couldn’t simply charge into battle head-on as Gerns did earlier.
The Undead Tribe was shifting from battle mode to story mode.
Hill didn’t know how long it would take them to find the clue they needed in such a chaotic world, but he knew he was in for a long period of learning.
So, his first task was to organize a place where he could live for a few years.
However, the thought of simply patching up his abode and settling in was fading.
“What kind of construction style is this?” Hill didn’t quite understand.
His own Magic Tower was indeed different, having large independent spaces, and the visitors who could go to the top floor were already few, which is why there was a large living room at the exit of the Floating Stairway.
But even the most traditional Magic Tower should connect to a large reception hall with a circular corridor, shouldn’t it?
Why did the original master build such a small foyer?
It wouldn’t even be convenient for him when he used the Floating Stairway!
“Here, very few people visit!
They use the stairs.
Including the Tower Master.
When in a hurry, he would just fly on his own.
This Floating Stairway is just for show; the original was very slow,” List replied.
“There’s a door on each side of this foyer; on the left is his study and bedroom.
On the right side is the laboratory, outside which is the spiral staircase.”
“A laboratory next to the living space?” Hill muttered, “Forget it, I might as well build a new one!
First, let’s see how the laboratories in this world are arranged, and I’ll just go and refine the tools myself.”
“The Mage’s equipment hasn’t changed much in this world,” List responded.
“The difference is only in the materials.
Sir, you can surely make it yourself.
The precision and variety of Alchemy Devices are far inferior to those in Teraxil, and there are no Alchemy Workshops either.”
Hill nodded, “That at least proves that they can meet their needs with such simple objects; otherwise, they would have definitely made improvements.”
Even the poorest Mage wouldn’t skimp on the most crucial experiments.
Hill followed List into the study, first collecting all the bookshelves and the desk, and then went to the laboratory to gather all the items there.
As for the bedroom, he only found a private storeroom, where he located some Mage Equipment, jewelry, and some particularly precious materials.
Although many were only available in small pieces, Hill felt relieved.
It was fortunate that most of the produce in the Fantasy World was quite similar, with only some unique local products that Teraxil did not have or had very little of.
Indeed, with the Elemental Realm above their heads being the same, the output of the elements would naturally be similar.
Hill believed it wouldn’t take him long to purchase these things from the hands of the Undead Tribe.
The Robes of the Mage were all black and loose-fitting with simple arrays for fireproofing, waterproofing, acid resistance, and self-cleaning.
They were all very low rank, and with a mere increase in mana, Hill burnt a piece of clothing with a Fireball.
Hill’s Fire Element Spells were only slightly better than the Undead Tribe, or maybe not even as good, for he couldn’t really cast a Sea of Fire Magic.
Hill remembered seeing an Elementary Magic Array book on the bookshelf and decided he should study it properly; at the very least, he should employ an Intermediate Magic Array for his own clothes, right?
No, he was foolish to consider only an Intermediate Array, why not craft the best he could!
He was Legendary, after all!
Hill was confident in his learning abilities.
Since he wouldn’t be leaving this place for the time being, he decided to study until he had mastered about eighty to ninety percent before he would visit the city to take a look around.
When Hill arrived at the large storeroom on the eighth floor, he felt bewildered and repeatedly confirmed with List that the former Tower Master really placed the warehouse for ordinary items on the eighth floor!
It wasn’t just low-value materials like iron ore and wood, but even food and textiles were stored here.
Hill gave up on his last hesitation; no longer considering whether to maintain a facade similar to the former Tower Master.
He truly felt that even if there was a hint of danger, he might not be able to reach such lengths.
After all, that person’s rank wasn’t even Legendary, was it?
Hill quickly turned his head to confirm with List.
“This world pays attention to rank,” List answered.
“Sir should know, it’s that kind of ranking from level 1 to 20 and above.
Every two levels, you advance to the next ring and can learn new spells.”
“The Weave?” Hill asked in surprise.
“Not exactly,” List answered.
“It’s divided in a similar way, but one still needs to learn on their own, spells can’t be directly used from the Magic Weave.
Their daily spellcasting doesn’t have restrictions, but learning spells is quite difficult.
It might be because Divine Arts are set up that way, hence Mages have adopted the same ranking system.”
Hill nodded, though he didn’t know who first decided on this ranking for Mages, if it were up to him, he would have arranged it the same way.
After all, if any Mage really got into a scrap with some temples, it would be useful to know which level of Priest one was capable of taking down!
“What about below the seventh floor?” Hill asked slowly.
“The seventh floor is an indoor botanical garden, and the sixth floor is for guests’ rooms.
It seems he did have visitors,
but they were mainly his hires.”
“Ah?”
“Guards of Mage Level are very expensive.
He took on a mission with a very generous reward, leading his apprentices from the tower, and never returned,” List explained.