The Magic Empire for 20,000 years

Chapter 9.9. A Race Without God's Protection

Mr. Joseph adjusted his glasses and nodded.

"Little girl, you're right to be so observant."

"Yes. As far as we know, magic has two different branches. In addition to arcane magic used by mages, there is divine magic."

"However, divine magic is a skill that only priests who believe in gods can master, and it has nothing to do with you and me."

"After all, we humans are a race without the protection of any racial deities; we can only rely on ourselves!"

In the ancient Eldorian era, most of the gods, such as the god of war and the god of wealth, had not yet appeared, or were at least unknown to humankind.

The gods of various races are the mainstream of the world.

The blood of Krelon, the "Heart of the High," became elves; Moradin, the "Hammer of the Mountains," favored the dwarves of the mountains; Bahamut, the "Lord of the North Wind," ruled over the metal dragons; Tiamat, the "Queen of the Five Dragons," symbolized the five dragonflights... Even the savage orcs, goblins, and kobolds had their own racial gods.

For some reason, at least in the time of ancient Eldorum, no god came forward to claim that he had created humankind.

"Yes, teacher, we will definitely study hard in our academic subjects and become a mage!"

Little Gret jumped high, raised his little fist, and made a vow.

In the cramped and simple classroom, the other children also jumped up, raising their hands to show their lofty aspirations!

The teacher shrugged and smiled:
Becoming a mage is not that easy.

"Arcane magic is a highly sophisticated discipline that requires intelligence, logical thinking, and supernatural talent simultaneously!"

"Among you, I estimate that only a small fraction will eventually have the opportunity to master a first-level spell and become a truly recognized, official mage!"

"Most others can only master one or two apprentice-level tricks, and some can't even conjure up the most basic light trick."

After hearing what the teacher said, little Grete's perked ears drooped again, and he was immediately disappointed.

Is it really that difficult to be a monk?

But immediately, the extinguished flame reignited in his heart.

"If a small percentage of children can become monks, why can't it be me?"

Most of the other children in the classroom shared the same thought.

They wanted to study hard and strive to become real monks! Seeing the children's eager and energetic appearance, Joseph, a teacher in his forties, couldn't help but feel quite moved.

"What a lucky bunch of kids."

"Many of them have the opportunity to become true monks, leave the land where their ancestors lived for generations, and change their destiny."

"Just like when I was born on the surface of the earth, but was chosen by a great mage and taken to the heavens to learn magic..."

Yes, Mr. Joseph was also born in a village on the surface of the earth!
Joseph addressed the excited children:

"However, children, don't worry. Even if you don't become real monks in the end, learning to read and write and mastering basic cultural knowledge will still benefit you!"

He received nods of approval from the children, like chicks pecking at rice.

Looking at the respectful eyes of the children and listening to their laughter, Mr. Joseph was suddenly lost in thought.

He enjoys the feeling of being respected by the children.

In the realm of the high heavens, he was merely an ordinary, low-level mage; there were far too many people whose status surpassed his.

But in Rolling Stone Village in the lower world, he is a transmitter of knowledge, and a person of boundless respect for all the children and the entire village.

Days passed by like this.

In the days that followed, little Greta and the other children studied with the teacher who came down from the sky.

Given the current productivity of human villages, it is impossible to support children to study full-time without working. Therefore, children work in the fields on weekdays and come to school to acquire knowledge during their rest time.

In fact, from a later perspective, Joseph's words were not rigorous, but they were consistent with the understanding of that ancient era.

In the more distant future, heretics discover that mortals can acquire divine powers even without believing in gods—simply by having an equal conviction in an idea.

They can acquire divine magic by believing in anything:
Mountains and rivers, good and evil, life and death, war, and even oneself.

This fact gave rise to many spellcasting professions familiar to later generations: "atheistic priests" who believed in specific ideologies, "druids" who served nature, and "paladins" who drew power from their allegiance and oaths...

But in the primordial beginning of all things, these extraordinary professions had not yet appeared.

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(End of this chapter)