Preparations for Ascension
The vacant manor on Faulen Island was opened up once to welcome the honoured guests from the continent.
Baron Jonas had sent all the manpower he had, but he was still a little undermanned for the guests that were still pouring in. What's more, guests from the western desert and the northern lands were still on their way to the island. These organisations had to travel far and wide to reach them. Even if they had received the news by magic, the emissaries would reach Faulen Island later than the other guests.
Very soon, the guests had no choice but to seek lodging in the inns of Port Venus, which was a huge opportunity for the merchants here. The prices for various items had increased manifold.
As Baron Jonas scurried around to tend to the guests, he was also suspended in a state of disbelief. Fortunately, butler Leon was around to tend to things, so order could still be maintained.
‘My son has already become a legendary?’ Baron Jonas and his wife felt as if they were on an emotional rollercoaster. While they weren’t at the peak of nobility, they still had a certain understanding towards the power system in the world of gods.
A legendary was a powerful entity that could influence an entire kingdom! Bards would forever sing hymns of their tales, the tales of these beings at the apex of power! Right now, their son Leylin had achieved such an accomplishment too!
Right now, the esteemed guests were also fervently discussing this youth who had become legendary.
“Hehe… A legendary who has yet to reach the age of 25! Lord Leylin has broken the record in the continent!”
“There are rumours that he is a favoured soul of the Goddess of Wealth, there are no other plausible explanations….”
“A favoured soul can only advance quickly as a cleric, and even that would require a large amount of divine force.…” Evidently, this emissary was more privy than the others to the powers of the extraordinary and rankings in the power system. “From my observation, this Leylin must have had some sort of extraordinary talent, which would explain his progress...:”
“Rumour has it that he’s taken up piracy in the past, and he’s even conducted taboo research relating to Netheril!” A voice filled with annoyance and hostility sounded, apparently belonging to someone who treated Leylin as his enemy.
“That’s indeed a problem before one becomes legendary, but almost all legendaries engage in such dark research. To use this to condemn him is just… Also, for his past as a pirate, haven't you seen that even the Dambrath court’s chief wizard is here?” This deep voice spoke with a very logical stance, which stumped even the hostile emissary.
Only a while later did someone lament, “This is a legendary we’re talking about…” The voice reverberated throughout the room.
Amidst the fervent discussion between the forces, Leylin chose to hole up inside the wizard tower, seldom seen by the public eye. He was draped in comfortable robes within his chambers, his golden hair gently resting on his shoulders.
A dark red light glowed under this golden hair, making him look extremely sinister. Leylin hadn’t taken on the nightmare form completely, but his body was covered in dark red runes. A red line appeared on forehead, radiating a light of dreams.
In this state, he was able to grasp the power of faith and emotions much easier. Using dreamforce as a catalyst, he could see the actions of each and every person that chanted his name, their joys and sorrows, and everything else...
After entering the legendary realm, his body and soul had achieved a quintessential upgrade, the beginning of his journey to godhood.
A legendary could already sense the faith of any worshippers, and even respond in return. If one was able to amass a following of devout worshippers, they could accumulate faith over a long period of time, progressing in their own strength and giving rise to divinity. They could even ignite their godfire, becoming a demigod.
However, the churches all suppressed the worshippers of anyone who hadn’t become a complete god. Forget legendaries, even divine beings and demigods weren’t spared.
This unspoken rule showed Leylin the hostility the gods had towards someone joining their ranks. Unless one could become a god immediately, or had the backing of a powerful god themselves, it was very difficulty for a being from the material plane to attain godhood. This was a perilous path riddled with danger.
The divine hall was now extremely packed, and they did not wish to see any other newcomers joining them.
‘Even without this restriction, legendaries, divine beings and demigods would still find it difficult to compete with the churches of true gods…’ Leylin sighed.
Legendary experts could only vaguely respond to prayers, and divine beings could only respond somewhat more clearly. Demigods could bestow divine spells, but only up to rank 5. Only those true gods who had their divine spark were able to bestow rank 1 to rank 9 divine spells.
The ordinary people of the prime material plane were not fools. It was obvious who they would choose in this competition. The gods had leveraged many restrictions on the powerful mortals, all for the sake of protecting the source of their faith.
‘Although I’m still only a newly advanced legendary, my sensitivity to the power of faith is greater than some weaker gods thanks to Dreamscape Vision. Apart from not being able to bestow divine spells, I’m much different compared than a true god. The most crucial point is is that Nightmare Absorption can even absorb the power of emotions. This source of strength is greater than what those true gods have…’ Leylin assessed his strengths and advantages.
A legendary’s response to their followers’ prayers was like that of an old handphone with a bad signal. Nightmare Absorption was like an extra antenna, greatly amplifying Leylin’s sensitivity to the signals he received.
Although the power of emotions was weaker than that of faith, there were more sources of it. The quality may not be equal, but emotions far exceeded faith in quantity. This was too crude and complex for gods to use, but Nightmare Absorption disregarded such things, allowing Leylin to make effective use of that power.
It increased Leylin’s probability of ascension more than fivefold.
And indeed, this was what Leylin was looking at now. Having become a legendary, he’d placed his sights on godhood. He could not halt his steps because of a little bit of praise and admiration from those in the secular world. He always had to look up at the stars above.
“To become a true god, one must not lack godfire or divine rank. Godfire is just a transformation of divinity once it has accumulated to a certain level. To attain divine rank, the legendary first has to comprehend laws, combining them with the power of faith from their worshippers…” Leylin already had a great deal of experience in all the aspects required for his ascension to godhood.
‘The faith of their worshippers and the power from their prayers can help gods comprehend laws, allowing them to form a special structure called the divine rank… The laws of the World of Gods are really quite bizarre…’ Leylin thought. As for the divine spark, it was an emblem of a god’s strength. Only those who had ascended to become a true god could possess this.
A divine kingdom was also something that only true gods possessed. It was an external plane used to accommodate the souls of their worshippers, and it also served as a hideout for themselves.
In their divine kingdoms, gods could wield amazing power. The ancient Magi had not understood this during the last war, and some had even died to that mistake.
‘The divine spark and divine kingdom aren’t too far off in the future. The most crucial point is to accept some potential worshippers and try to obtain divinity. I can then continue to accumulate worshippers, soon igniting my godfire to become a demigod.
‘I need to select my first worshippers carefully. Their prayers and philosophy will affect my domain and my divine kingdom. Clerics will be the most important, they help raise gods.’
Leylin began to feel rather vexed as he thought of this point. Although the seas around the Dambrath Kingdom were at his disposal, this was a developing area. There weren’t many cultured and civilised people here.
Beelzebub’s worshippers weren’t even worth thinking about, it wouldn’t be wise to let a group of devils function as priests and clerics. Leylin seriously suspected that those worshipers would pray their way into Beelzebub’s stomach in the end.
One reason Leylin had accepted Beelzebub’s worshippers was that they were an established power. Another was to quickly raise his own strength.After advancing to the legendary realm, he was certain that he could take over Beelzebub’s entire worshiper network, and obtain a secret church whose members could be found all over the continent.
This framework would only nurture clerics the next generation. This was a worrying delay. He’d already put his plans into action though, having his followers in Dambrath accept orphans and the like, sending them to Viscount Tim for secret training and instruction.
He also had a few plans to migrate people to the outer seas.
‘I need to pay more attention to the race of the worshipers. Although racial gods are very powerful, it’s far too limiting…’