Hyper-Dimensional Player-Chapter 446 - 64: Witch, Sea, and the Pyre

After Duncan slightly nodded to indicate that everything was fine, the others, including Hegel, left the room.

If Duncan hadn’t nodded, Hegel probably wouldn’t have left.

Inside the treehouse.

The beautiful witch in front of him nonchalantly raised her hand, her fingers forming a Dharma Seal. As she turned sideways, her lips moved slightly, silently chanting a spell. Soon, an invisible magical wave appeared, and a creature invisible to the naked eye manifested in the room.

——Demon Spirit (Summoned Being) (Magic Pet) (Demon Species) (Two-star Silver Grey).

Almost instinctively, Duncan turned his head to look at the location of the creature, this Demon Species had an innate invisibility ability.

"You indeed have a magic affinity."

The witch Gleya spoke as if discovering a big secret about Duncan, her tone playful: "No wonder when you first came in, I sniffed a trace of dragon-like magic power on you."

The power Duncan engraved was already in effect, a faint magic vortex that only those at a Legendary Level could detect.

For others, it wasn’t noticeable.

But Barbarians, simple-minded, illiterate, battle-mad, good at hacking people, had little ancestral gene for casting spells.

The bloodline gods of this world are somewhat like Nordic Gods, not omnipotent.

The God of Strength - Kod was similar to Thor in the early days, famed for dragon slaying, and is said to have killed many ancient Giant Dragons. Many Furious Gods had their own focus, and it was only in the past few hundred years that they’ve gained the ability to cast various spells.

In this respect, the Gods of Faith were almost omnipotent, without noticeable weaknesses.

Nowadays, with the changing times, the existence of divine spirits will also slowly be phased out.

The bloodlines of the Barbarians are all warriors, and Duncan was obviously a bit abnormal, possessing an unusual magic affinity.

Yet Duncan remained calm at this moment, slowly saying, "I’m not a pure-blooded Usga Barbarian, my mother was a slave from the Northern Land."

Son of a slave.

In this era that values bloodlines, it’s generally very difficult for a human form to emerge.

Gleya’s eyes were surprised, and she softly said, "A Northern Land witch?"

It shouldn’t be.

Northern witches wouldn’t have fallen to becoming slaves of brainless Barbarians.

Duncan shook his head and said, "No."

"Just an ordinary Northern Land commoner, perhaps with a bit of witch bloodline from an ancestor."

The power he engraved, the power of giants, was easy to hide since the God of Strength - Kod liked to woo beautiful giantesses, and Barbarians more or less had a hint of giant bloodline, which could be explained by atavism.

But the Dragon Bloodline, the northern dragons weren’t smart, they’re almost extinct, and very few humans possess dragon magic.

"It indeed smells like a dragon."

The beautiful witch leaned in close to Duncan, sniffing as she muttered softly: "And there’s a scent of ice and north wind."

"It looks like it’s just awakening."

The power that Duncan engraved was manifesting bit by bit, giving her the impression of a fresh awakening.

Gleya turned to pour Duncan a cup of tea, lightly saying, "A talented and gifted person like you, why follow Hegel?"

Duncan smiled at her words.

He lifted the tea cup and drank it in one gulp, looking down at the witch before him, and slowly said, "A witch like you, no matter in which city-state, would be a guest of kings and nobles. So why are you hiding in such a remote place?"

"You knew we were coming, didn’t you?"

Upon hearing this, the witch Gleya squinted slightly, nodding frankly: "Yes. I just didn’t expect you to come so early."

Duncan calmly said, "We have the same goal."

The witch’s expression remained indifferent: "For the legendary level?"

For the Legendary Level.

Sometimes, killing a monster doesn’t grant you enough legendary status.

Duncan shook his head and said, "For honor."

The two were essentially the same type of people, both hitching a ride on Hegel’s coattail, only this witch was casually gaining some legendary status, while Duncan was taking advantage of Hegel to the fullest.

Although he hadn’t yet gained legendary status, traveling with Hegel meant that a variety of legendary events naturally came his way.

"You’re not simple indeed."

The witch Gleya turned with a smile and said, "Interested in collaborating with me?"

This era.

Countless people want to become Ascenders, but in the end, very few truly can be promoted to become one of the Gods of Faith.

Duncan chuckled lightly and said, "Aren’t we already collaborating?"

A cunning man.

Still a Barbarian.

Gleya sighed lightly, "It’s not so easy to seize the power of divine spirits."

"Our origins have destined many things."

This man’s ambition is large, surely not as simple as he appears.

Sometimes.

The witch even thought of him as a mortal emperor, because he was composed and confident enough, even possessing an indescribable influence and commanding power.

This demeanor is only found in high-ranking kings among mortals.

Duncan didn’t respond to her, but softly asked, "Where is the most water in this world?"

This was a simple question.

The witch Gleya furrowed her fine brows and said, "The sea."

Duncan nodded and continued to ask, "Then where does the water ultimately flow?"

The witch Gleya pondered and said, "The sea."

The great river flows east, returning to the sea.

Regardless of legendary status, power, or worldly wealth, they all flow towards those who lack none of these things.

Duncan calmly said, "If you want to find more water, there’s only one place to go."

Witch Gleya slowly said, "The sea."

"So that’s why you stay by Hegel’s side, instead of pursuing a glory and legend of your own?"

Duncan shook his head again.

He said calmly, "A small trickle enters the sea, leaving no trace."

"But when it gathers into the Yangtze River, it’s different."

"Have you been to the estuary?"

"The confluence of rivers, lakes, and streams colliding with the ocean waves—the mingling of clarity and turbidity is the boundary between man and god."

"We, mere mortals, are born in streams and shallows—why rush into the sea to battle the tempest, especially when beneath the waves lie many ancient monsters?"

The flood dragon enters the sea.

The fish and shrimp need to ride the waves and leap over the Dragon Gate; once you make it past, you become a flood dragon and will one day emerge, flooding thousands of miles, returning east to the sea.

By then, you will be a true dragon, and the old monsters won’t have much on you.

They are not the protagonists of the era, and the script has no plans for them.

The tide of the era surges, undercurrents rise, and with it come opportunities—one must at least have the power of a flood dragon to write their own myth and legend.

In this era, not everyone can transform into a dragon, and not everyone can be promoted to a god.

Legendary.

It sounds powerful, but now is the Mythical Era!

As you are gathering legends, you yourself become a legend in others’ eyes. Which of those formidable opponents defeated by heroes of Greek mythology were not epic figures of their own tribes and civilizations?

The Trojan War was fought entirely by mythical heroes.

Even the Amazon queen, often a mere background figure, was a legendary presence of her civilization.

Why is Witch Gleya hidden here?

She knows it herself, and so does Duncan.

Behind Hegel stand the Furious Gods, and the God of Strength, Kod, whose divine grace always watches over him. He can pursue legend and glory without scruple, but Duncan can’t—at least not yet.

Moreover, Hegel is not the sole protagonist of this era. Amid the tides of a world in great contention, he is just one of many mythical heroes.

For now, he rides the tide smoothly.

When he collides with the tidal wave of the era, when he faces other legendary figures of civilizations or mythical heroes of other pantheons, only then will it be clear whether he is a Hercules of Grecian might or a foreign hero defeated by Greek orthodoxy.

Duncan’s words sent the witch Gleya into deep thought. Finally, she slowly raised her head and looked at Duncan in shock, saying, "You surprise me!..."

"You don’t seem like a Barbarian, more like a philosopher."

Hearing this, Duncan raised an eyebrow and suddenly leaned forward, saying, "So, honorable Legendary Witch—Lady Gleya,"

"Would you mind gifting me a few more life-saving items?"

Still the same smooth-talking Barbarian.

Begging and taking.

Shameless.

But this time, Witch Gleya didn’t hesitate in the slightest. She opened a box endowed with magic and, with feigned arrogance, raised her snowy chin, thrust her chest out, and gestured, "Choose for yourself."

"Inside are the alchemical potions I’ve recently concocted."

She seemed quite impoverished.

Gleya expected Duncan to be overjoyed, but seeing him slightly disdainful when he found all potions inside, she was instantly so angry that her teeth itched.

She thought he might get some powerful curiosities!

But it was all potions.

Duncan, however, was not shy, taking more than a dozen bottles and packing them up to go.

Before leaving, he turned to look at the beautiful witch, smiled meaningfully, and noted that she had somehow shifted from neutral to a friendly faction.

Not everyone is qualified to be on the Conferred God List.

The emergence of the Gods of Faith is indeed an opportunity for countless people, but the slots are limited. Just in the past couple of days, Duncan had heard of several beings with similar Love Divine Positions from north to south.

Even a minor Love Divine Position had so many contenders; imagine how fierce the competition for other divine positions must be.

This is an epochal changeover.

Those designated as pseudo-gods from the era of primitive tribes were the first to be eliminated—divine-like powers were the first wave; the next wave would be bloodline gods with legacies stretching back millennia.

Divine positions can’t be monopolized forever by bloodline inheritances. The Gods of Faith will eventually initiate a pantheon war against the old, primordial, and bloodline gods!

Perhaps in millennia ahead,

The Gods of Faith may also transform from dragon slayers to evil dragons, but for now, they are one of the driving forces of this era’s transformation.

Duncan remains a supporting character for now.

That’s because the true script of the era has yet to begin; he’s merely navigating within these mythical mini-dramas, and once he completes the initial accumulation, it’ll be time to bare his fangs at the gods.

Soon.

The group left the witch’s treehouse, heading to find the priest she mentioned.

The profession was still a novelty.

But when they found her, they were taken aback, for the priest they sought was nearly tied to a pyre by the natives.

She had come to preach love, but ended up causing the chieftain’s wife to elope with someone else.

.........