novelhk Chapter 312: Divine Emissary
Chapter 312: Divine Emissary
"?"A question mark silently appeared in Gauss's mind.
But he was genuinely curious at the moment—what exactly did the Lake God Mete want to entrust him with?
Although he hadn't directly admitted to being a deity, even as the will naturally born from Blue Lake before him, his status was clearly not something ordinary creatures could challenge.
What could a mere level 5 professional like himself possibly help him with?
"Please speak, Great Mete."
["Here, Blue Lake connects north to Tarna River, whose waters flow for thousands of miles, originating from a majestic snow-capped mountain."]
["Within that eternal ice and snow, nurtures a will born from the same source as me—my sister, the Mountain Spirit Aisvier. She guards the pure mountains and the river's source."]
["However, in recent years, the impurities and filth flowing from the upper reaches of Tarna River have been increasing."]
["I am the lake spirit, my power rooted in these still waters, making it difficult to travel far upstream."]
["My awakening this time is partly to see you, and partly troubled by this matter."]
["Therefore, my request is for you to travel north along Tarna River until you reach the snow mountain, and investigate the source of the pollution for me."]
["As prepayment for your service, I have gifted you the Water Transformation Armament. If you can investigate and resolve the pollution source for me, I will perform a true 'Blessing Baptism' for you using Blue Lake's origin power."]
Mete's voice remained ethereal.
Gauss understood the meaning—simply put, he was being asked to continue north along Tarna River to the source snow mountain and investigate the origin of the contamination.
But...
Gauss pondered for a moment.
It wasn't that he found the request particularly troublesome.
Rather, this was definitely not a journey that could be completed in the short term.
If he remembered correctly, the snow mountain's location on the map wasn't exactly close to Blue Lake where he currently was.
Although his planned route was already heading north, who knew how long it would take to actually reach the snow mountain.
"I might need considerable time to reach the snow mountain."
Gauss voiced his hesitation.
["That's fine. Your human time is extremely brief to me."]
["Take your time."]
Regarding Gauss's concerns, Lake God Mete expressed complete indifference.
Several decades might just be like a brief nap to him, but to an ordinary human, it could be an entire lifetime.
"Then, I'm willing to accept your commission." After some thought, Gauss nodded in agreement.
If the commission deadline wasn't urgent, he was willing to take it on.
He could treat it as accepting a side quest—if he happened to reach the commission location, he could investigate along the way.
On one hand, he had indeed received favor from Lake God Mete, and one shouldn't bite the hand that feeds. On the other hand, he thought maintaining good relations with a nature spirit was quite beneficial.
["Good."]
["Awaiting good news."]
After Gauss readily agreed, Mete's watery outline began to slowly dissipate, his voice gradually fading into the distance.
When the voice finally vanished completely, the massive watery outline completely collapsed, dissolving into the azure lake waters that resembled a sea of stars.
The flow of time in Gauss's perception seemed to resume.
"Beau—"
Noisy human voices rushed into his ears all at once.
"Lord Gauss, has the Lake God already...?"
A gentle force lifted Gauss back to the shore.
The priest who had brought Gauss to the lakeside cautiously inquired.
Outsiders like them could only vaguely see the figures within but couldn't hear what Gauss and the Lake God were discussing.
However, one thing was certain—Gauss had indeed received the genuine Lake God's Blessing.
"The Lake God has gone to rest."
Gauss simply explained.
He didn't plan to share too much about the Lake God with others.
From their brief exchange, he had vaguely sensed the "personality" of Lake God Mete—this nature will seemed to prefer tranquility.
And towards others, even the most devout believers, he showed no response whatsoever.
His awakening was purely because Gauss had piqued his interest, plus the request to investigate the snow mountain source.
So he didn't plan to do anything unnecessary—this was Mete's territory after all. If he had even the slightest interest in spreading faith, he probably had countless methods to expand worship.
But since he hadn't done so, it meant he wasn't interested.
"Alright, I'm going back to rest now. I'm somewhat tired."
"Have everyone disperse, the ceremony has ended."
Being stared at by so many people—some with fanatical worshipful gazes, others with curious searching gazes—Gauss felt rather uncomfortable.
After informing the priest, the priest didn't dare ask further questions.
Gauss's teammates gathered around, but they knew this wasn't the right time for inquiries, so they just quickly followed Gauss away from the lakeside.
However, Gauss had underestimated the impact of the Lake God's descent.
The return path was completely blocked.
Some people knelt fanatically by the roadside as if paying homage to a holy figure in their hearts, while many townspeople who hadn't come to the lake tonight rushed here, wanting to catch a glimpse of the Lake God's earthly emissary.
And lent Gauss one of his personal residences.
...
"Whew—"
"Finally over."
Entering the residence, Gauss was sweating profusely.
What an eventful evening.
"So, what did the Lake God tell you?"
Aria could no longer contain her curiosity.
Now that there were no outsiders, her eyes practically glowed, clearly screaming "I'm so curious!"
Gauss hadn't planned to hide things from his teammates anyway.
So he selectively shared some of what had just happened.
"I see."
Aria and the others nodded.
"Never thought there really was a Lake God here."
"When he appeared earlier, he really gave me a scare."
Although Gauss had explained that Mete claimed to be a nature will, to ordinary adventurers, such an identity was practically no different from a deity.
Especially when the person involved was their own captain.
Even now, the few people still seemed somewhat dazed.
Hearing about something is one thing, seeing it is another—tonight's witnesses included not just local residents of Fisherman's Song Town, but also considerable numbers of commoners from other villages and towns, plus merchants passing through.
"Yeah, Gauss, you're going to be famous too!" Aria said excitedly.
But even though Mete was just a regional nature spirit, his divine manifestation still possessed awe-inspiring power. And as the only person who publicly communicated with the Lake God before countless people, titles like divine child, chosen one, and emissary were inevitable.
His reputation throughout the five Blue Lake towns would be unmatched.
Even if he was just an unknown outsider adventurer before tonight, after this night, he would become the most influential figure in this region, with every word and action carrying extraordinary weight.
"Doesn't sound like a good thing to me." Gauss shook his head helplessly.
Recalling the fanatical believers he encountered on the way back, he couldn't help shaking his head.
He was just an ordinary adventurer—he didn't want to be crowned with too much unrelated sacred coloring.
The impact of the Lake God's descent wasn't something he could shake with a few words.
After all, so-called divine children and divine emissaries were essentially just individuals running errands for deities in the Prime Material Plane.
As someone accepting commissions like a temporary worker, he was practically half an emissary—no one would deny this if stated.
"Let's prepare to continue northward."
Gauss didn't plan to stay long in Fisherman's Song Town.
During this period, he had already drawn too much attention in the Blue Lake area—it was time to leave quietly after accomplishing his goals.
...
Early next morning.
When the mist was still hazy, Gauss's party quietly left Fisherman's Song Town.
Mayor Helsun, who had been unable to sleep all night, was already awake. Upon receiving news of Gauss's departure, he breathed a relieved sigh.
He felt the relief of having sent off a major deity.
Initially learning of his uniqueness, he naturally sought to avoid conflicts between his good-for-nothing son and Gauss, then fully cooperated with Gauss, meeting his conditions to send him away quickly and prevent unnecessary trouble.
After witnessing Gauss's excellence firsthand, he couldn't help considering matching him with his younger daughter, wanting to detain Gauss for a while and use some methods to create opportunities for the young people to meet.
As a "helmsman" dedicated to revitalizing his family, he was truly drawn to such an exceptionally talented young man.
If fortunate enough to have a descendant integrated into the family bloodline, the family lineage could probably be improved within just a few generations of branching out.
However, after witnessing the miracle of the Lake God's descent, this completely extinguished his various "mortal" thoughts.
When Gauss walked on water and stood quietly facing that sacred outline in the lake, Helsun, standing on the shore at that moment, understood that this young man's future was destined to be extraordinary.
When deities fight, minor spirits suffer.
His family was far from capable of bearing the risks that might come from standing beside Gauss.
"Perhaps it's better that he left."
Helsun gazed at Blue Lake outside the window where the mist was gradually dispersing, murmuring to himself.
"Someone like him won't have his stage in our small town."
"Pass down the order: Lord Gauss bravely won the hunting competition and gained the Lake God's favor."
"He is truly an honor to our Fisherman's Song Town and the entire Blue Lake. Erect a stone tablet in the town square recording this event as commemoration. Additionally, all soldiers and servants who maintained order last night shall receive rewards."
"Furthermore, establish today as the annual Blessing Festival."
"From now on, our Blue Lake won't just have the quadrennial Five-Town Alliance competition, but also the 'Blessing Festival.' I believe more travelers will be willing to stay in our town."
He would use the form of an official festival to record this event, thereby enhancing Fisherman's Song Town's reputation and attracting more merchants and attention.
This decision quickly spread throughout the town.
Townspeople responded enthusiastically to the proposal of establishing the "Blessing Festival."
Meanwhile, many people were searching for Gauss, but upon learning he had already left town, they could only regret missing the chance to meet this legendary figure.
......
On the northward road, Gauss remained completely unaware of the town's subsequent arrangements.
He rode on his Ostrich mount.
The reason he wasn't riding his dragon was because flying on a dragon's back was too fast—he would miss many monsters along the way.
Plus, the next village wasn't too far anyway, so he simply continued along the path by Tarna River.
At the moment, he was playing with a flowing water orb in his hand, sensing the marvelous power contained within.
His companions nearby also focused their attention on his hand.
Gauss had already explained this object's origin.
As something from a "deity," it naturally should possess some differences from mortal objects.
"Change form?"
Gauss's heart stirred slightly.
Soon the water orb in his hand rapidly transformed according to his thoughts.
The water first stretched, then completed shaping, solidifying into a small blue round shield in the blink of an eye.
The shield body wasn't solid metal but presented a semi-transparent, flowing water-like texture, with blue halos faintly visible flowing slowly inside.
"Want to test it?"
"Be careful though."
He jumped down from his bird mount, signaling his nearby companions to attack him.
"I'll do it!"
Aria was the first to raise her hand.
Then she lifted her staff, activating "Shillelagh."
The staff gleaming with white light struck the water shield with considerable force.
"Thump~"
A soft sound echoed.
The force carried by the staff seemed to be gently absorbed by the shield.
Gauss holding the water shield felt no impact whatsoever.
Before he could speak.
After briefly glowing, the water shield that had absorbed the impact released all the force, returning it to Aria whose weapon hadn't yet left the shield.
"Ah!"
Aria screamed.
Her body flew backward.
Shadow, witnessing this scene, reacted quickly, her figure flashing.
The next moment she appeared behind the airborne Aria, catching her in a princess carry and bringing her down from the air.
"Mmm, thank you, Shadow."
"Your shield is too sneaky."
"I did say to be careful, you know." Gauss smiled, having already issued a disclaimer beforehand—he wasn't willing to take the blame.
"Lord Gauss, let me try." As a blacksmith, Albenia was also very interested in the Water Transformation Armament in Gauss's hand.
She rubbed her hands together, and the next moment a massive double-edged axe appeared in her grasp.