NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4: Chapter 4
I put the offering on the small shrine in front of me and clapped my hands.
"Thank you for the great weather, Goddess Amaterasu."
After thanking Amaterasu, I get up from the small shrine and leave my home. Why do I choose Amaterasu over the other Gods or Goddesses? She is known as benevolent. She did nothing too far in the legend, like her brother and husband, Susanoo and Tsukuyomi.
In the legend, Susanoo is known to be a hot-headed individual, and Tsukuyomi is known to be someone who is easily insulted. Like the incident where Susanoo makes Amaterasu hide inside a cave, and Tsukuyomi kills a goddess because she produces food from her stomach.
Hell, the only known problem Amaterasu is known for is that she hides in her cave after her brother causes a problem. And that is not her problem. Susanoo destroys her rice field and throws a dead horse at her. If I were her, I would punch him in the face for doing that instead of hiding in a cave.
So yeah. I decided to give prayer to her to empower my new ability.
Speaking of ability, it is time for me to cast one. It has been three days since I decided to give prayer to Amaterasu, and I can use my magic now.
I leave the house and take out a small quartz from my pocket. According to the knowledge I get from the Grimoire, quartz is great for a core for any barrier-type spells. I already dug a hole in my backyard and put the quartz inside the hole.
I kneel next to it and start to chant.
O radiant Amaterasu, Goddess of the Sun,
With your divine light, this prayer has begun.
Shield this home with your celestial might,
Wrap it in your warm, protective light.
By your sacred rays, let all harm be turned,
Let intruders be halted, their intentions spurned.
As daybreak follows the darkest night,
Bless this dwelling with your eternal light.
In your name, Amaterasu, I humbly plea,
Let this barrier be strong, as strong as can be.
Guard us now and evermore,
With the power of your sunlit core.
O divine Amaterasu, heed my call,
With this chant, a barrier shall rise.
So it is spoken, so it shall be,
By the grace of Amaterasu, blessed be.
After I am done with my chant, which sounds like a prayer, I open my eyes and see a ball of light hovering above my home, and from the ball of light, it creates a barrier. However, the barrier covers the entire village instead of only covering my house.
The process takes five minutes, and it is enough for the other villagers to run toward my house. The village elder, Elder Shukaku, walks toward me and says,
"Are you the one creating this barrier, son?"
I nod and say.
"Yes, Elder. This was the first time I created a barrier; I did not know it would cover the entire village instead of my house. Will this be a problem, Elder?"
He shakes his head and smiles instead of getting angry at me.
"No, son. It is a great boon instead! And this feeling… Are you asking Lady Amaterasu for her blessing?"
"Yes."
"As expected. The warm feeling of the morning sun coming from the barrier is something that always comes from her blessing. You are truly blessed by the gods, son."
"Ah, he is not much older. I am just glad that Lady Amaterasu is willing to give some of her blessing to create this barrier."
And I am not lying either. I can feel the power coming from the barrier. It is twice as powerful as I thought it would be.
The elder only laughs and says.
"Let's celebrate this association!"
He looks at the rest of the villagers and says.
"Let's have a party! It is on me!"
"YEAH!"
The others roar in excitement and start to prepare for the party.
The elder looks at me and says.
"Come on. This party is for you and Lady Amaterasu."
I nod, and as I am about to follow him, the Grimoire appears in front of me. It opens up and starts to flip through the pages before stopping a second later. I can see it shine, but instead of knowledge, I can see a picture of mage robes, complete with the hood, and an assortment of books.
"Is everything okay, son?"
I snap from my thoughts and pick up the book before following the elder. I will think about it later.
==||==
I wake up with a headache, and when I look around, I can see the other youkai still sleeping on the ground. What happened? Right. The party. The elder is an oni and boy, they know how to party. He is old but still has a lot of fire in his belly.
The last thing I remember is being forced to chug a literal barrel of sake and hear them laughing at my wobbly body before darkness takes over me.
The sake is great, but drinking a large amount of them at once is not something I want to do once again. I want to enjoy them, goddammit.
I shake my head and leave the house. I carefully walk so as not to step on the people who are still asleep.
When I leave the house, I quickly raise my hand to block the sunlight.
"Ah you are awake, Haruhiro"
I look to the side and see Haruka. She is the wife of the local farmer. She is a Kodama Youkai. It is the equivalent of Dryad. However, unlike Dryad, she can go to other places as long as that place has good enough wood in it.
"Good morning, Haruka-san."
"Fufufufu~ Please leave the formality behind. Not after how you flirt with me~."
I can feel heat creeping up to my face. Right. I remember now. When someone asks me what kind of woman I want to marry, I proudly declare that Haruka-san is the perfect woman. She is a Nadeshiko-type of woman and combines it with her MILF energy and body… She has a deadly combination.
"Fufufu~ Look at you, blushing like that~ How cute."
She pinches my cheek for a second before giving me a bottle of water.
"Here you go."
"This is?"
I look at the bottle in confusion.
"That is a potion made of some herb that will help your hangover."
I shrug and drink the potion. I can feel my hangover slowly get better. It is still there, but it is getting better.
"Thank you, Haruka-san."
"Fufufu~ Think nothing of it. You must know how to make this potion when living with Oni. Anyway, take a seat and don't move for a minute or two to let the potion take effect. I will wake my husband and the others so they can get back to work."
I nod and let her enter the house while I sit on the chair outside the house. While letting the potion take effect, the Grimoire appears once again. What? What are you doing now? I'm happy you appear, but if you give me more knowledge, I think I will die from the headache.
Sadly, the Grimoire does not hear me and opens up.
I can only brace for impact when I see the pages flip for a few seconds before stopping. However, instead of shining, the Grimoire closes and does nothing.
I don't know whether to cry or be happy. I only release a sigh, pick up the Grimoire, and get up. I still have clothes to test and books to read.
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[1200 Words = 200 Points]
[Points from the previous chapter: 200 Points]
[Perk in this chapter]
Basic Mage Set (The Elder Scrolls) [100 Points – Buy]
An enchanted set of robes and a hood. Together they will slightly increase your total Magicka and magicka regeneration, but can be worn separately. This also comes with a book detailing the basics of magic, and some common ways to improve your skill with it.
Have Faith In Me (Final Fantasy I) [400 Points – Failed to Buy] [Points Banked]
White Magic is simply the art of restoring what was into what it used to be, closing wounds and removing ailments from a physical body. But what if you could have a more lasting effect than simply fixing things? When you cast beneficial support or healing magic on anyone besides yourself or things that are a direct extension of yourself, they will enjoy a resistance to disease or other 'status ailments' that would impair their physical or magical abilities, and their health will be considerably more robust. This effect fades over the course of a day.
[Point in the Bank: 300 Points]