Chapter 83: Divine Spells!

Damian accepted the Divine Boon with considerably less suspicion than he had shown everything else Lyla offered him.

For the first time since arriving in this strange divine meadow, the guarded edge around his expression loosened as he gave the Goddess of Life a genuinely friendly look.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Damian said.

Lyla’s lips twitched.

...That worked?

After all the effort she had put into this meeting, that was what finally did it?

What Damian did not know was that practically nothing about his first impression of Lyla had been accidental.

When Damian selected her as his Divine Patron, Lyla had immediately prepared this little garden scene.

From the cottage to the flower basket, to the simple dress, and yes... the bending over.

Especially the bending over.

The Divine Spirits had observed enough of Damian’s activities to understand his general preferences, and his little tryst with Ophelia Linus had been particularly enlightening.

From that moment onward, Lyla had possessed hope!

Among the major goddesses who could potentially interest Damian, she happened to possess a figure that most closely resembled the type which had already shattered his defenses once.

Surely when Damian eventually interacted with Divine Spirits directly, normal male instinct would perform half her work for her!

Then Damian suddenly chose Cleric, and that had surprised practically everyone watching him.

The moment his Divine Patron selection opened, several Divine Spirits whose Domains matched his available choices practically began campaigning.

And those divine portraits Damian saw through the Valorian Overworld System?

Curated!

Extremely curated!

What?

Did anyone seriously believe every random farmer who awakened Cleric could freely gaze upon a deity’s true visage like they were scrolling through dating profiles?

Most aspiring Clerics saw indistinct silhouettes, sacred symbols, majestic light or perhaps a vague representation carrying the deity’s general nature.

Damian though, received the premium package!

Eldrian had posed in immaculate scholarly robes, looking like the refined master of all knowledge who had never once made a mathematical error in ten thousand years.

Davian had deliberately gone for the approachable father figure, complete with the woodcutter’s axe over his shoulder and enough rough warmth to practically smell freshly cut timber through the image.

As for Orpheus?

That bastard had been aura farming!

The God of Light had deliberately chosen his most impossibly flawless and mysterious appearance, standing there with that remote expression as if mortal concerns were beneath him while simultaneously radiating enough holy majesty to illuminate a cathedral.

Lyla herself had dug out her best ’simple village maiden’ outfit, tied her auburn hair into braids and grabbed a flower basket.

And Eastra...

Good heavens.

Eastra had gone to war!

That was absolutely her best goth-baddie dress!

The Goddess of Souls had apparently decided that if Damian possessed even one hidden masochistic bone in his body, she would locate it through sheer visual pressure.

Unfortunately for all of them, Damian knew none of this.

He simply saw a list of Divine Patrons, examined their Domains and chose the one most suited to keeping his family alive.

Even Lyla’s carefully deployed rear end had earned little more than appreciation before Damian immediately began interrogating her motives like a criminal investigator.

Now, however, after <Class Merger>...

He was finally looking at her warmly.

Lyla understood.

So that was the way to interact with this fellow?

Neither lust nor seduction had worked successfully, at least not yet.

Rather, a smattering of sincerity, a heap of benefits, and a veneer of reliability was the way?

Essentially, give Damian Baines something genuinely valuable without trying to trap him afterward, and the suspicious bastard would actually lower his guard!

Hmmm... this was actually useful information.

Very useful, in fact!

After exchanging several more words, Damian’s initiation came to an end.

The meadow blurred around him as the invisible pull that had brought him there gently reversed itself.

"Until next time, Damian," Lyla called warmly.

Damian gave her one final nod. "I’ll see you around, Lady Lyla."

Then he disappeared.

............

The moment his presence vanished, Lyla’s pleasant smile gradually collapsed.

Several divine messages immediately pressed against the edges of her realm from Eldrian, Davian, Orpheus, Eastra and others who had been aware of the meeting.

Lyla ignored every single one.

"Later."

She gathered her flower basket and entered the cottage.

Her home was exactly as comfortable as its exterior suggested, with wooden furniture, shelves filled with herbs, bundles of dried plants hanging from the rafters and sunlight streaming warmly through the windows.

Lyla placed the basket upon the spotless table and sat down heavily.

The chair immediately suffered.

Her exceedingly generous backside spread over the seat’s edge beneath the simple dress, stretching the fabric enough that a mortal tailor might have begun praying for structural reinforcement.

Lyla did not notice as she was busy chewing her rosy lower lip.

There was one Divine Spirit who had not attempted to contact her despite all the hubbub.

Naturally, who else could it be but her darling money-grubbing sister Caurelia?

That coin chasing bimbo was probably somewhere laughing at her for failing to even deal with a single mortal man.

Lyla’s fingers hovered as she considered sending the message herself, but she truly hated having to take that option.

However, Caurelia possessed one piece of expertise Lyla suddenly needed more than anything else.

After all, Elias Rosenfeld might possess an entire harem of powerful women and Divine Spirits, but everyone knew who had him hopelessly wrapped around her little finger whenever she truly wished.

Lyla covered her face with both hands.

She wanted only one answer.

One tiny piece of advice.

How the hell do you make an Otherworlder fall in love with you?!

............

Damian’s awareness returned to Rosewood Town, his eyes opening slowly.

"Huh?"

He was still seated exactly where he had been before, so clearly, his body had never moved.

Damian inspected himself before realizing what had happened.

It seemed that only his soul, or some projection of it, had entered Lyla’s divine realm.

Interesting.

Thankfully, everything gained there remained perfectly real, so <Class Merger> sat comfortably among his Feats.

Also, his Cleric initiation was complete, his Divine Spellcasting was active, and his Level 11 advancement rewards still waited to be fully processed!

There was only one remaining <One Feat Per Level> selection.

Damian opened the list, and this time, he barely lingered.

[Feat Selected: Lightly Armored.]

[Feat Name: Lightly Armored

Feat Category: General

Effect 1: Grants the Light Armor Mastery Specialization at Novice mastery.

Effect 2: Allows the Host to utilize compatible Light Armor without penalties to spellcasting or stealth-related actions.

Effect 3: Increases the effectiveness of compatible Light Armor in resisting damage by 50%.]

A new bundle of information settled into his mind, covering armor fitting, weight distribution, movement, how to roll blows across protected surfaces rather than absorbing them squarely, and how to preserve freedom around the shoulders and arms for spellcasting.

After this, his eyes roved over a new set of screens that appeared before him, all concerning...

"Divine magic."

Well, this was new territory for him, as Mage spellcasting and Cleric spellcasting were fundamentally different systems.

A Mage learned spells and could distribute compatible Spell Slots among them however he wished.

Once the slots were exhausted, recovering them normally required proper rest.

Cleric magic was much more rigid.

Each Divine Spell Slot had to be assigned a specific prayer from the Cleric’s available pool.

If Damian dedicated one Level 1 Divine Spell Slot to <Cure Wounds>, then that slot was <Cure Wounds>.

He could not suddenly decide during battle that he wanted to cast <Command> instead.

Divine magic also ignored Mana and Mental Energy entirely as the prayer was already prepared through divine authority.

Damian invoked it, and the slot was consumed.

Simple.

Restoring those slots though, was a whole other ballgame altogether.

A Cleric did not necessarily need to wait until the following day or complete a long rest like a Mage.

He could kneel and pray to his patron for restoration.

As for whether the god answered, well... that depended upon faith, favor and apparently whatever mood the deity was in.

As such, how many slots were returned into active service was similarly uncertain.

A beloved Champion might kneel for five minutes and stand back up fully restored.

Some random Cleric who had spent the previous week violating every principle of his faith might pray until his knees developed their own knees.

Damian rubbed his chin.

"So Clerics have unlimited ammunition if the ammunition factory likes them."

Considering Lyla had just spent Faith Power gifting him <Class Merger> personally...

He suspected his customer service treatment would be decent.

Fortunately, Cleric Cantrips avoided all of that nonsense.

They were completely free, requiring no Mana, Mental Energy, Divine Spell Slots, or prayer recharge.

As long as Damian remained capable of invoking divine magic, he could throw the things around indefinitely.

His five available Divine Cantrips appeared.

Damian began reading.

[Cantrip: Guidance

Type: Divination

Effect: Blesses one target, increasing all Attributes by a percentage equal to the Cleric’s INT for a duration in seconds equal to the Cleric’s WIS.

Current Attribute Increase: 11.5%.

Current Duration: 11.5 seconds.

Resource Cost: None.]

Damian’s eyebrows climbed.

All Attributes increased by 11.5% for free?

"Yeah. You’re shortlisted for sure." Damian muttered with amusement.

Next.

[Cantrip: Light ℯℯ𝑙.

Type: Evocation

Effect: Creates a persistent sphere of divine light that follows the user or a designated nearby target.

Duration: Indefinite until dismissed.

Resource Cost: None.]

Well... it was useful and extremely convenient... but also completely boring compared to the others.

Damian moved on.

[Cantrip: Resistance

Type: Abjuration

Effect: Blesses one target, reducing all incoming damage by a percentage equal to the Cleric’s INT for a duration in seconds equal to the Cleric’s WIS.

Current Damage Reduction: 11.5%.

Current Duration: 11.5 seconds.

Resource Cost: None.]

Damian leaned forward in pleasant surprise.

Another free 11.5% damage reduction that he could cast and recast willy nilly?

That one was coming home with him!

Next.

[Cantrip: Sacred Flame

Type: Evocation — Holy

Power: 5% Holy Damage.

Effect: Calls down concentrated divine radiance upon a target and inflicts Minor Purification.

Resource Cost: None.]

Damian slowly smiled.

Oh boy, this was going to be a knee slapper!

Fire magic already interacted with Nightmare Corpse Sect cultivators like somebody had secretly enabled ’Critical Hit’ and ’Super Effective’ simultaneously.

Now that he had direct Holy magic?

Not just that, but spell carrying actual Purification?

"That’s probably not just a crit anymore, but a max combo fatality." Damian remarked solemnly.

Poor bastards.

Finally—

[Cantrip: Thaumaturgy

Type: Divine Utility

Effect: Grants the target <Holy Aura> for one day.

Holy Aura: Increases the target’s compelling presence toward neutral and friendly sentient beings while increasing their intimidating presence toward hostile sentient beings.

Resource Cost: None.]

Damian stared at it for a while.

Hey, this one wasn’t half bad, especially alongside <Persuasion>, <Deception>, <Performance> and his newly revealed Charisma!

But... he only possessed three selections, so his choices were kinda obvious.

[Cantrips Selected:

<Guidance>

<Resistance>

<Sacred Flame>.]

<Light> was convenient, but Damian possessed magical illumination options already.

<Thaumaturgy> was tempting, but social advantages could be replicated through several abilities he already owned.

Whereas <Guidance> buffed everything, <Resistance> made people harder to kill, and <Sacred Flame> might make Nightmare Corpse Sect disciples discover religion several seconds before meeting whichever deity handled their paperwork.

Done.

Then came the real headache... his Divine Spell Slots.

............

Level 1 alone offered more options than Damian wanted to think about.

<Bane> weakened enemies.

<Bless> strengthened allies.

<Command> imposed simple divine instructions upon a target.

<Create or Destroy Water> did precisely what its name advertised.

<Guiding Bolt> combined divine damage with an opening allies could exploit.

<Protection from Evil and Good> guarded against several supernatural creature types.

Then came healing, defense and control.

Damian possessed six slots.

After considering the entire list, he made his allocation.

[Level 1 Divine Spells Assigned:

<Cure Wounds>

<Healing Word>

<Sanctuary>

<Shield of Faith>

<Guiding Bolt>

<Command>.]

He took the two healing options, one for close-range which was powerful, and the other weaker but ranged.

<Sanctuary> gave him an emergency protection tool, <Shield of Faith> offered straightforward defense, and <Guiding Bolt> gave him divine ranged offense without relying entirely upon <Sacred Flame>.

As for <Command>?

Well... Damian liked options that could end fights without needing to kill someone, or force someone to kneel before killing them.

Context mattered.

Selecting for Level 2 became harder, because the available prayers expanded into healing, control, support and magical utility.

Damian skimmed through spells such as <Aid>, <Silence>, <Warding Bond> and several others before finally making his choices.

[Level 2 Divine Spells Assigned:

<Spiritual Weapon>

<Prayer of Healing>

<Lesser Restoration>

<Hold Person>

<Enhance Ability>.]

<Spiritual Weapon> was practically mandatory.

A divinely created weapon fighting independently while Damian simultaneously controlled a Flying Sword?

Why have one sword as a problem for an enemy when you could give them two?

<Prayer of Healing> covered group recovery outside direct combat, very good for infirmary and indiscriminate mass healing.

<Lesser Restoration> removed diseases, poisons, paralysis and several comparable conditions.

That alone had enormous utility.

<Hold Person> supplied hard control against humanoid targets, causing them to freeze in place like time had been stopped.

And <Enhance Ability> allowed Damian to reinforce specific natural capabilities of a target according to circumstance.

Next were his three Level 3 slots, and Damian barely needed to think about the first one.

[Level 3 Divine Spells Assigned:

<Revivify>

<Glyph of Warding>

<Remove Curse>.]

<Revivify> was an obvious choice, as that single spell was one of the primary reasons Damian had chosen Cleric in the first place.

The limitations remained strict, requiring recent death, a sufficiently intact body, and appropriate circumstances.

But it crossed a line almost nothing else at his level could cross.

Someone Damian loved, or hated, could die, and Damian could say no.

<Glyph of Warding> offered preparation, traps and defensive versatility while <Remove Curse> filled another gap his potion business could not reliably cover.

Finally came Level 4.

The available list contained increasingly serious divine magic, but Damian’s priorities remained clear.

[Level 4 Divine Spells Assigned:

<Banishment>

<Death Ward>

<Guardian of Faith>.]

Damian read the three selections once more.

<Banishment> gave him a powerful answer against problematic targets, especially creatures whose origins or nature made removing them from the battlefield preferable to trading attacks.

<Death Ward> was even more important, as it was literal protection against death taking hold.

Considering the kind of nonsense Damian regularly walked toward voluntarily?

Yes please!

Then <Guardian of Faith> created a persistent divine protector capable of punishing enemies within its guarded area, essentially a visible stand.

That was one battlefield control spell, one defensive spell, and one area denial spell.

It rounded the set out nicely!

Damian leaned back as the final spell structures settled into his soul.

Now there was Mage magic on one side and Divine magic on the other, with Cultivation beneath both and Physical Martial Arts sitting happily in the middle.

At this point, calling him a hybrid build was becoming disrespectful to hybrids.

He was turning into the supernatural equivalent of some lunatic who walked into a buffet, ignored the concept of having one plate and began stacking food on the table itself.

And somehow...

It worked!

Damian stood.

Enough theory and selection of powers.

He had reached Overall Level 11, his Mage progression sitting at Level 10 with access to a Level 5 Spell Slot while his Cleric progression mirrored Level 10 through <Class Merger>, giving him a complete spread of Divine Spell Slots through Level 4.

His Spirit had risen repeatedly, he had gained many new Feats, and his divine Cantrips and prepared prayers were ready.

On top of that, his future Bladesinger dream still needed one extremely important thing.

A proper set of Mage spells, especially Level 4 and Level 5 ones.

Damian left his room, noting that the residence was considerably quieter than usual.

Ronan and Stella had finished the tasks Damian assigned during his previous supply run and had returned to cultivating whenever their duties permitted.

Good, they were actually following instructions unlike that Kellan brat.

"Ronan! Stella!" Damian called.

Footsteps followed soon afterward as the two appeared and immediately straightened when they saw him.

Damian did not waste time.

"Get the carriage ready! We’re going to the Mages Association!" Damian instructed with an eager smile.