Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

For Bards, compared to other transcendent professions, there are quite a number of records in the "New Chronicle." The reason for this is that one of the origins of this profession is rooted in the Northern Lands, which has had many interactions with the Kingdom of Athens.

According to the records, a true Bard is a typical jack-of-all-trades profession, encompassing both divine and non-divine versions.

It's called jack-of-all-trades because most Bards are skilled in swordsmanship, have a basic knowledge of wilderness survival, and can set traps. While they may not have great spiritual or soulful accomplishments, they can also cast some low-level spells. The latter refers to their possession of a unique casting system.

Those divine-sided Bards can cast special divine arts or rituals by chanting poems or performing dramas. It is rumored that these abilities originally came from one of the Evil Gods worshiped by the Northern Barbarians and represent some aspect of its authority. As for those non-divine-sided ones...

it's said many have some connection with the source of Southern witchcraft, the rumored Silver Moon City.

The literature records that there are quasi-gods in possession of domains like "poetry" and "music" there, but the "New Chronicle" doesn't elaborate much on this.

Of course, some later Bards worship the Sun God Apollo, often carrying Lyres and using beautiful music to inspire morale—it's just unknown what the origin of the Lyre is now without Hermes' original path.

"Ande... it seems you've learned something after being backstabbed. However, our business has ended, and what happens in the future is your own affair."

"As for those so-called 'Evil Gods,' I wonder how many have established Divine Kingdoms and become true Faith Gods through those cultural Divinities."

Related information flashed through his mind as Laine tidied up the surroundings.

Soon, the attic's third floor was bright again.

In the spacious hall, Laine silently sensed his current state.

"'Hell's Exclusive Edition' Bard abilities..."

"Hmm, first is the spellcasting permission of a third-tier Divine Art—normally, the Bard's spellcasting is discounted, and even at the peak of the first-tier (Black Iron), they can only touch the second layer of the Magic Net, but the Exclusive Edition has no difference from a real Priest in this regard."

"Then there's the enhancement of senses... exceptional reflexes suited for using agile weapons and an increase in intuition, could this be a manifestation of divination abilities?"

"Finally..."

Laine hummed a short tune, and the melodious and soothing melody wafted out the window, sending a bird flying by into immediate slumber, and it thudded to the ground.

Since it's called a Bard, naturally it should be able to sing and dance. And the 'song and dance' of Hell's Exclusive Edition is undoubtedly these slumber-inducing notes.

...

After finishing the incredibly simplistic initiation ritual, there wasn't much worth mentioning in the following days for Laine.

With the help of generous public sponsorship, he visited the Museum of Knowledge daily, drawing on the changes in the Mortal Realm over the past thousand years.

After all, the Godhood Practitioner system didn't require much cultivation; others might need to pray day and night to strengthen their Faith, seeking the Deity's grace, but Laine certainly didn't need to do that.

He just needed to wait until his body adjusted to this phase of Sacred Power and find enough precious materials to set up the next ritual.

Such high-level materials might be found in Turingen, but he would likely have to interact with the true rulers of this city... for now, Laine didn't quite want to do that.

He planned to head directly to Athens after getting a rough understanding of this era's situation. There, unlike this small frontier city, many things could be easily acquired. Find your next read on empire

Plus, he wanted to try to meet that Great Alchemist called Hermes and see what exactly went wrong.

In later myths, Hermes was even once dubbed the 'God of Alchemy,' and while there was some exaggeration, like conflating deities from different mythological systems, his talent in Alchemy was unmistakable.

...

Afternoon.

He bit into a Turingen sausage, the flavor of this local specialty was quite good indeed.

For a moment, Laine recalled that before coming to this world, he had also tasted another kind of 'Turingen sausage.'

Thump—

"Ah—"

Feeling a knock on his shoulder, Laine restrained his reflex to dodge.

Turning around, he saw a graceful woman with a mature aura, holding her arm as if she had just accidentally bumped into him.

"I am truly sorry, sir."

With an apologetic smile, the woman slightly bowed.

"...It's fine."

Smiling and nodding, Laine expressed that he didn't mind.

"Then, I thank you for your understanding."

After thanking him again, the woman left with a smile, quickly departing as if she had urgent matters, which likely led to her bumping into Laine.

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

Across the long table, noticing Laine's reaction, Jess couldn't help but turn to look as well.

"Eh, was that Lady Seville?"

"Just an accident. It seems you know the lady just now?"

With an inquisitive gaze, Laine asked with a smile.

Jess is no stranger, incidentally the same young bureaucrat that Laine had met some days ago. In recent days, the latter often came to chat casually with Laine, unintentionally revealing quite a bit of information unknown to ordinary people.