Hi
11056Translator: Snorri
Proofreader: theunfetteredsalmon
Metatro stopped digging. Amon said he was a mage, so he let it be. After all, it was useless to talk about it here. He poured some wine for Amon and looked at him eagerly.
The caveman’s wine was made from fruits found in the mountains. It was sour and opaque, but it had a special sweet aftertaste that was not present in other wines. Amon drank the wine and asked, “Your great-grandfather was a priest of the Marduc Shrine, but his final message violated the oracles of the shrines. What’s your take on it?”
Metatro thought seriously and answered, “He had obtained the divine power in the shrines and gotten the chance to practice the magic, becoming a sixth-level mage. He had given his oath to the shrine, and his hard training for the extraordinary feat and enjoyment. If Marduc really exists, my great-grandfather owes him nothing. He’s gotten what he deserved.”
“Who told you this?” asked Amon thoughtfully.
“My grandfather told me. That was what my great-grandmother had said when consoling him. She also said that if Marduc had saved my great-grandfather, we should especially thank him. If not, it’s normal that a man finally faces all that he experienced.”
Amon nodded, “Your great-grandmother was a great woman. It was unfair that your grandfather lost the position of priest, but what your great-grandfather has experienced had nothing to do with Marduc, that is if he even exists. As for learning magic, without the shrines’ permission, it’s against the oracles. What’s your opinion?”
Amon was now a sorcerer himself, so he definitely wanted to know Metatro’s view on it. Metatro smiled and answered in a low voice, “Do you remember those Ironbacks when you saved me? They were using some skills that resembled magic as well. Which shrine gave them permission to do so?”
Amon smiled too, “Mister Nietzsche learnt his first magic from your ancestor’s scripts, to which he was grateful for. His gratefulness will be my gratefulness as well so I can teach you magic. Since you are an advanced warrior, you have already awakened the inside power. You should know that you cannot practice magic and body arts at the same pace.”
Metatro saw hope in Amon’s words, so he immediately stood up and greeted, “I know that perfectly well. Since I am an advanced warrior though, I can have a second awakening. Perhaps I can awaken the divine power. This way, I can learn some primary magic and that would already be great. If I have the chance to be a great warrior, I…”
Amon ushered Metatro to slow down, “Don’t go so far yet, let’s get back to the awakening. I want to awaken your power in a very special way, though it might be difficult for an advanced warrior. If you succeed, you might experience some tests, and it may take a considerable amount of time before you can achieve a higher level of body arts. ”
“As long as you teach me magic, I will take any risk and price for it.”
Metatro’s choice was wrong and right. The two ignorants now got together for an impossible thing. In every shrine in each country, only fifth-level or higher mages could host the rites to awaken the divine power. Also, only a great mage could host the rites for advanced warriors.
It was only a very special case that Gabriel could host the rite for Maria. Maria was the candidate of the Adoratrice, and Gabriel was an advanced mage besides being a great warrior. Thus, with the help of the Gods’ Tear, Maria succeeded. Hardly anyone could copy her methods to success. As for a second-level mage hosting the awakening rite for an advanced warrior, that was something unheard of in the continent.
None of the above was in Amon’s knowledge since Crazy’Ole had never told him. Metatro never had the chance to learn magic, so naturally, he knew almost nothing. However, the rite that Amon was thinking about was not the typical ones held in the shrines. Since he knew nothing about them, he decided to awaken the power of two sides for Metatro. He said meditatively, “I can give it a try in my own way, I cannot guarantee anything though. You should already know that very few people can actually awaken the divine power. Wait for a few days. I’ll find you when I’m ready.”
“I will be plenty grateful as long as you are willing to give me a chance. If I do not succeed, it will only prove that I don’t have the luck, at which point I’ll be able to let go peacefully.”
Crazy’Ole told Amon that he might as well teach others with the way he knew if he ever wanted to confirm it. Normally, Amon would not do it, but Metatro was voluntary and showed great enthusiasm at that. Hence, Amon thought that there was no loss in trying. However, Amon didn’t expect that he would have a second volunteer for his experiment this quickly.
Metatro didn’t leave after expressing his gratitude to Amon. He smiled awkwardly and said, “My dear mage. The cavemen here call you the gods’ emissary. Their headman, Lynk, told me that he was willing to offer all his efforts for you. In fact, he was urging me to ask you if he could be taught as well. Now that you have agreed to teach me magic, may I ask, what price would he have to pay to be your student? ”
Metatro deliberately avoided asking whether Amon would be willing to teach Lynk, though Amon did not think much of it. Since he thought herding one sheep was no different from herding two, he replied, “I can give him a try too, but I’ll need to talk to him first. Let him come and have a talk with me.”
Lynk was waiting just outside the door. He bounced in with joy after hearing Metatro calling for him. Amon and Metatro had just finished the terrine of wine, and the meat at the corner was gone too. Who knew how Schrodinger managed to stick it into its stomach without being scalded by the burning hot stone. Amon let Metatro leave the room and proceeded to discuss with Lynk. They chatted a little about the tribe and Amon found that this tribe had a delicate relationship with Duc.
This tribe was the largest and the most powerful one in this mountain. They occupied the entirety of the high terrain with the most prolific woods for picking and hunting. The most important factor that made them incontestable for other tribes was that they knew how to forge iron products. There was more than just a furnace in the biggest hole.
The skill has been passed on for generations. Lynk’s great-grandfather’s great-grandfather learned it from outside. He was captured in wars between tribes and got sold to a town far away as a slave with his peers. They were trained to mine, smelt and forge iron. They were forced to work hard in very poor conditions.
They stayed twenty years in that town and learned many things. Lynk’s great-grandfather’s great-grandfather managed to become a small head of the mine in charge of several other slaves. He finally found a chance to flee with some other cavemen. Since then, the iron smelting skills were brought to the tribe and passed on until now. However, no one knew how to write in this tribe, so the story was just passed down verbally.
Reciting it to Amon, Lynk asked nervously, “My dear emissary, can I still learn the divine magic if I don’t know read and write?”
The answer would be a standard ‘no’ in the shrines. Amon thought for a while and answered, “You still can, but it would be harder for you. You’d better learn to read and write.”
On hearing Amon’s answer, Lynk jumped up and almost fell over with excitement. He then fell to prostrate and exclaimed gratefully, “Thank you, my dear emissary, thank you for granting me the opportunity to learn divine magic! My tribe is at your service any time. If I am asked which deity has blessed me the divine power, I will definitely say it’s God Amon!”
His last statement scared Amon. He was still in the dark for solving the secret of deity. Now, this dwarf just gave him the title of god as if it were a piece of rock! Amon shook his hands, “You don’t have to do this. I can’t even promise you success. It depends on you too. I promised to give you a try because I had already promised Metatro. But I have the impression that you already know a little magic. You have a magic staff!”
Lynk raised the parangon-implanted bone, “This is the elder wand. I did know a little of what you call magic, which has been taught from generation to generation among the elders. Only the one who masters it can become the elder.”
Lynk knew a bit of magic, more specifically, he knew earth magic. He could apply the most basic and simplest earth magic without having much understanding of it. Since there was no written record of it, he did not know how his ancestors got to know this magic.
……
Amon stayed with the cavemen in their tribe as the gods’ emissary, although he was practically treated as an actual god. Now, he had two students to teach. After several days of meditation, Amon brought Metatro and Lynk to a remote place in the forest and told them secretly —
“No matter what you have learned, I want to begin with the initiation rite. You two, especially Metatro, try not to think about what power you are going to awaken. Divine power or bloodline power, it does not matter. Forget it all. Forget that it’s your second awakening rite too. Imagine that you’re starting from square one.”
“The awakening of power is accompanied with the awakening of desire. The desire may come from the body as well as from the soul. It’s usually manifested on both sides. You have to learn not to subject to it. First of all, you should learn to focus and look into your mind and body. Pray to this Terroculus, I shall lend it to you two. You can take turns to use it by day.”
“Lynk, you have to remember that you should train your body like the bravemen in your tribe do. Alternatively, you can learn martial arts from Metatro. As for Metatro, you must forget the differences between magic and body arts. You are just waking up a power. The initial key point is to attain a serene balance by only focusing on your inner self. There’s no need to question which god it is given by. Of course, it may be very hard to pray without a specific god to pray to.”
Lynk tried to make some compliment, “Not hard, not hard at all, just pray to god Amon!”
Amon tried to copy Crazy’Ole’s method as close as possible. To his surprise, it worked. More surprisingly, the first one to awaken the power of two sides was Lynk. Metatro could not awaken the power even after Lynk had learnt most of the primary earth magic, beginning to further master the skills and to integrate.
After a deep analysis, Amon reckoned that Metatro did not lack talent. The main problem should be his mindsets about magic. Although he was trying hard to remove the bias and focus on awakening the new power, the old knowledge was still influencing him. It was not easy to forget with intention.
Lynk’s case was more interesting. He had no idea about magic and body arts. So he was a perfectly “clean” sample for Amon. He knew about some rudimentary earth magic. Though he had not experienced any rite to pass the first test, he was prepared enough for it. Amon did not know what to teach so he just taught him the technique of Duc. Lynk was familiar with mining and forging, so it did not take him much effort to understand the principles. After that, Amon hosted the rites for him and everything went smoothly.
Once he passed the test, things got much easier. Starting from the earth magic he was familiar with, Lynk learnt fast. Having been fiddling around with earth magic for years, the magic force was not a stranger to him. After a few days, Lynk was able to wield his big bone and perform various primary earth magics. So Amon started to teach him about the simplest theurgy: the curing magic, which fits “God Amon” more and was more useful to the tribe.
When Lynk more or less achieved the first level, Amon told him, “In order to better master the magic in the beginning and enhance power in emergency, the staff is allowed. But try not to use the staff when you practice your magic skill and accumulate magic power.”
Amon was telling Lynk what Crazy’Ole had been telling him, but he forgot one thing. Lynk’s bone was far less powerful when compared to Amon’s staff. In this circumstance, it was not necessary for Lynk to avoid dependence to media, since there was not much dependence he could get.
Amon was mature for his age, with a stable character. But he was still a teenager. His teaching programs for Lynk and Metatro were more or less like a game. There was surely luck as ingredient in Lynk’s success, which Metatro might still need some.
Subconsciously, Metatro always had some doubt about Amon due to preconceptions formed along the years. But seeing Lynk waving his bone, casting all kinds of magic, his last doubt disappeared. He devoted himself wholeheartedly without a trace of hesitation. Using Terroculus as media, he succeeded in awakening the power two weeks later.
What neither of Metatro and Lynk knew was that before meeting them, Amon had mainly practiced primary water and air magic and just began to learn primary fire magic. Amon learned earth magic along with Lynk, but he learnt it so fast that Lynk was not aware at all that Amon taught him magic while learning it himself at the same time.
It was only in a caveman’s tribe that Amon could succeed. Any experienced mage would easily know what was going on.
Now that both the two had awakened the power, Amon got the Terroculus back. He taught them several other types of magic and ask them to master them by themselves. He just casually mentioned some requirements such as to pave the ground with ice stealthily by hands. Amon gave these requirements from his own experience, which turned out to be complete torment for the two. After all, those were the special requirements an eighth-level supreme sorcerer gave to the most talented student he had ever had.
An ignorant teacher would always have a trouble-making student. Things became emergent when one day Lynk set his house on fire when practicing fire magic. It was quite successful in the sense that the whole house turned completely into ashes. Amon had to teach him water magic right away so that next time he could put out the fire himself.
The awakening of power of two sides was accompanied with the awakening of desire from both sides. There was no cold spring here to calm them down. Amon simply demanded them to meditate every day and reflect on themselves, tasting the restlessness without being controlled. When they really need to release their extra energy, Amon told them: go hunting in the mountains!
The cavemen surprisingly found that lately their headman suddenly became the bravest warrior. Lynk went out of the way to lead the hunt every day, and always had the most prey, which astounded his clansmen. It seemed that the headman was so deeply moved by the coming of the holy emissary, that he was trying his best to give sacrifice to the deities by his own hands.
Metatro was impulsive and irritable these days, always looking for fights. But he was the strongest warrior here, so he could only pick Lynk as his rival. With some [slowing magic], [trapping magic] and [shielding magic], Lynk could resist him from distance. But when the advanced warrior got close, he could only become a human sandbag. So after few crushing defeats, Lynk refused to fight. Losing his last rival, Metatro came up with another idea out of irritation. After an enlightening discussion, the two went to see Amon.
These two new practitioners were in a phase of daring everything. They were impressed by their newly-acquired power and were eager to express it. Metatro recalled his recent unpleasant experience at the pool, which had been frustrating him ever since, so he invited Lynk to visit the pool again. In his calculation, he could fight three big ones alone. According to the rumors, the king was not more powerful than several big ones. Thus along with Lynk, two masters of magic should be able to take them all. Metatro was familiar with the sagas and legends about heroes fighting monsters. Now fuelled with excitement and confidence, he wanted to be a hero as well.
Lynk was more prudent, he still was a bit worried about the danger. So the two decided to invite their almighty teacher, Amon, as their patron and final guarantee.
Listening their audacious plan, Amon frowned and asked, “What do you want from them? Their excrement?”
“It’s a trial.” said Lynk, “We can’t find other rivals in the mountains.”
“We can collect the ore sand too.” Metatro added, “Clear the place out and we can have our people carry the ore sand back, so we can have more Damasc iron. A small ingot is worth a fortune!”
“That’s certain, since the best ore sand is around the king’s pool. But if you kill all the Ironbacks, there would be no ore sand anymore, wouldn’t it?” asked Amon.
Metatro shook his head, “We are not going to do that. We are just going to show our muscle and get the Ironback away, so our people could dig out the ore sand and carry it back.”
In the end, Amon was roped. It’s teenager’s nature to love adventures. Amon’s stable character was shaped by the hard life, but that did not mean he would give up the chance to play when possible. Amon was at the same time an excellent second-level mage and a second-level warrior, but he had never really tested his limit. He also wanted to know what he was capable to do now.
Besides, Amon had his own concerns lately. His teaching project was doing well, with two students making progresses. But he was kind of stuck at the peak of the second-level after achieving it both in magic and in body arts, without any clue to ascend to the next level. According to Crazy’Ole’s reckoning, if he was still on the right track, he should be facing the “faith’s confirmation”, passing which would make him a third-level mage and warrior.
But what was this test and when would it come? Amon had no clue about these questions! The test was said to be about the faith, but how could he pass the test, if he did not even know in which deity he should have faith? Crazy’Ole wanted him to notice the sky in the west and wait for the dark clouds and thunders, saying that he could see the message after the disaster. But after weeks of observation, Amon found nothing special about the sky in the west. He was waiting for a disaster that he did not really hope to happen. The perplexity and frustration had been accumulating, making him hard to settle his mind. So Amon accepted the invitation, hoping this little excursion could make him feel better when testing his true power.
As a habitual precaution, Amon asked Lynk about the details of the Ironbacks in the pool. There were four big ones in the pool. The king never went out in day time. It was at most as strong as the four big ones added up. Amon made a little calculation in his mind, and concluded that they could handle the worst situation. Thus he gave the final permission and the three set out happily.
Lynk kindly suggested to lend his bone to Amon. Metatro and him did not know that the iron stick in Amon’s hand was a staff, since it could even get past supreme mages. Amon of course refused, and instead lend him the Terroculus in case of danger.
They even thought about the tactics. Metatro would be the shield to resist the attacks from the Ironbacks. Lynk would cast magic behind him to prevent any assault from the back. Amon would just stand on a higher place to observe and tackle the king if it showed up, using magic to chase it away. If they could get the ironbacks away from the pool, the tribe would have a chance to recollect the ore sand here and make more Damasc iron.
On the departure, Amon took the iron stick and grabbed his bag by force of habit. He was not taking Schrodinger, but seeing Amon going out with the bag, the cat naturally jumped over his shoulder, opened the bag and shrank into it expertly.
Three men and a cat went down the mountain, crossed the forests and came to the side of the pool. It was noon. The pool was half-circled by cliffs, at the bottom of which there was a cave, half of whose entrance was submerged in the pool. It should be the Ironbacks’ home.
Amon stayed on top of the cliff. Metatro got down halfway to the mouth of the cave and pulled his sword. But before he had done anything, Lynk said to him ostentatiously, “Don’t move. See me about this!”
