NOVEL WEB Chapter 31: Hero? No Thanks, I WIll Attend the Crops!
Chapter 31: Hero? No Thanks, I WIll Attend the Crops!
Frank, Gwendolyn, and Annabelle decided to walk back home after the current events to calm down and catch a break from what has unfolded just a few seconds ago.
Gwendolyn seemed to be sighing a lot as they walked back, and her face would often turn rather happy and then a bit worried, she was changing expressions too often.
Meanwhile, Annabelle was a bit scared from what had happened and was tightly grabbing her mother's hand.
Frank could not help but feel pity for the young girl, as he put his hand over her head.
"Huh?" muttered Annabelle as she glanced at Frank.
"This should calm you a bit… Gift of Life," said Frank, exuding a glowing yellow light that enveloped Annabelle's body for a few seconds. The concern and shock left in her mind suddenly dissipated as she felt calmer and more composed.
"Ah… Frank… Thanks," she said.
"You can also calm down nerves with your Life Spell? Could you do the same with me? I may not look like it, but I am rather worried as well…" muttered Gwendolyn, as Frank nodded and touched Gwendolyn's shoulder, using 'Gift of Life' and calming her nerves.
The glowing yellow light ran through Gwendolyn's blood vessels as she felt calmer, her mind felt as if she had taken a pleasant nap.
"By Abraddon, you're talented…" she muttered.
The trio quickly reached the house as they entered and sat down in the chairs around the table, finally sighing and beginning to talk their hearts out, the one who began was Frank, of course.
"First of all, are all the priests of the church crazy nutjobs?" asked Frank.
"…Kind of. You see, the church of Abraddon is the only religion in our Nation, however, it has many factions. Within the factions, there is the extremist faction that secretly despises anyone that is not a beast-kin… like you, Frank. There is also the progressive faction that seeks peace within all races, even those that are not the children of Abraddon-sama. That priest seemed to be secretly part of the extremist faction, and the hate he had against humans was deeply seethed into his heart. I suspect that he might have been containing it, but the moment he saw how you acquired not only the divine protection of Abraddon but also his Champion Crest, he simply lost it… I need to apologize as well, it was my fault that I brought you into this…" said Gwendolyn.
"No, it wasn't your fault, miss Gwendolyn. It was a variable that you couldn't tell, I don't think you knew that the guy was an extremist… thankfully the High Priest SEEMS to be on our side, though I am still quite suspicious of him" said Frank.
"I do know the High Priest more than that goat, his name is Reuberto Estgrade and… I know him quite well because he participated in the war I was in against the nearby human nation… He is a Rank 3 Time Attribute Mage… His Time Magic was of great help for both utility, enemy disruption, and even healing, as he is capable of hastening the regeneration of people's wounds or make wounds stagnant, so they won't get worse" said Gwendolyn.
"So he's such a bigshot… Damn, Rank 3? In what grade?" asked Frank.
"He was middle grade… but the power he exudes now, he's most likely at peak grade, and soon to become Rank 4. Although he is scary strong, he seems to be very devoted to the church, and told me that he had no plans of joining the military again… Well, with the amount of money he got from all his merits, he got his life ensured" said Gwendolyn.
"I see… So that spell he used to Stop the time around the crazy goat priest… Does he have similar spells to those? They seemed ridiculous" said Frank.
Through the media of Earth, Frank had seen many times how powerful and absurd the ability could be to manipulate time in various fictional characters, to simply think that there are such people in the world of Terra roaming everywhere made him a bit concerned… if Time Attribute Magic were as powerful as he was imagining, he might simply never stand a chance against a user of it.
"Oh? You are interested in Time Attribute Magic? The users of such magic are incredibly rare, similarly to Space Attribute. Do not worry, although it is rare and has many useful spells, it is not an unbeatable attribute, it seemed like that because of Reuberto's high cultivation rank, his spells are simply way stronger than any of us. He could single-handedly destroy this whole town if he wanted… but he is a good man. Most of the people in this town, including the mad goat, are mostly Rank 1 Magus, with a few being Rank 2 such as myself… Time Attribute Magic is especially useful, but also has awfully specific uses, and is not often as flexible when it is needed in battle, the requirements for each spell are also very strict. Although Reuberto can make someone paralyzed in time for a small amount of time, such a spell drains a lot of mana, and cannot be used multiple times. He also lacks any truly offensive Spells, as they are very rare in the Time Attribute category… And no, he cannot age someone to death," said Gwendolyn.
"Okay, I was thinking a lot of fantastical things he could do, but I guess without proper offensive spells, Time Attribute might have strong gimmicks, but it is not unbeatable… but even then, if he does not have offensive spells, how could he destroy the whole town as you said?" asked Frank.
"Ah, did you see how he manipulated the goat priest after he stopped him in time? He can pretty much do the same… he fought in battle by stopping a large piece of building in time, and then he moved it around freely through the air, blasting away whole battalions… Yes, that is how he does it… I still can remember his gentle laughter as he threw away dozens of humans through the air… It gives me shivers" said Gwendolyn.
"Wait, what?! So that is how he can weaponize it… (Though does not that sound more like Telekinesis than Time Attribute Magic?! I guess the spells and their uses are very varied, as long as he stops something in time, he can move it freely around the air and even use it as projectiles or weapons…)" said Frank as he thought about the possibilities of such power. He was also thankful that there was not a spell that could age people to death or turn them into babies. However, if those that had reached Rank 7 and above were as strong as Gwendolyn had explained to him yesterday… then perhaps a Time Attribute Magus of Rank 7 or above might be capable of doing something like that… or not, it was simply a hypothesis for now.
"That was a crazy goat! I hope the high priest gives him a good lesson!" said Annabelle.
"Ah, don't worry, Reuberto is known to like to discipline those that do not follow the church rules… there is a whole dungeon below the church where… such things are done" said Gwendolyn.
"Huh, so he's also quite the sadist…" muttered Frank, he was now even more terrified of this high priest, despite having helped him.
"Alright, enough of this, I've explained to you enough. For now, I will teach you the areas that I want you to take care of around the front yard, also I will show you the materials such as the rich soil, the seeds I want you to plant, and the many farming tools" said Gwendolyn.
"Mommy, can I help Frank in the fields?" asked Annabelle.
"No! Young lady, you have to study a few magic books with me, and you're still lacking in reading comprehension, so we'll also study that as well, we'll have a busy day," said Gwendolyn. It seems that she was tutoring her daughter at home.
"Meeehh… Boring!" said Annabelle while crossing her arms.
"Be a good girl and learn a lot, Annabelle, you're already more intelligent than me" said Frank.
"Eh? Of course! You're just a dingus!" said Annabelle.
"I am letting that one slide because you remind me of my sister…" thought Frank as he left the house with Gwendolyn.
Gwendolyn showed Frank the large fields and the many farming tools, such as the hoe, the shovel, and many others. She also gave him a few pouches with different vegetable seeds that he needs to plant below the soil. His task was simple yet tiring, he had to open the soil quite deep with a shovel and the hoe, plant the seeds, and then cover them back with soil. He will afterward water the plants, going around the fields all over again.
Frank was rather quick to learn and understand, and through the use of the Farming Technique Skill he acquired, the information about good techniques using the farming tools came to his mind as he executed them quite precisely, surprising Gwendolyn.
Frank slowly began to feel the 'excitement' of 'fighting' against the hard and dry soil with the hoe and shovel, it was as if each piece of soil was like a monster battle. Gwendolyn explained that this was due to the high density of mana in the soil, it made the soil very hard to move, but it also made the plants grow very fast.
After a few hours of working below the scorching sun, Cathyl finally came back with a lot of packed things alongside her two children. Frank was called back to the house to greet the new kids that would be staying in Gwendolyn's house today.