Falma was eagerly listening and taking down notes from the lecture of Eleonora, also known as Ellen.
All n.o.bles of this world had an apt.i.tude for Divine Arts and had a guardian deity.
The guardian deity and the Divine Art attribute were already decided at birth. The guardian deity was appraised during the baptism ceremony at the church. After the baptismal ceremony had finished, the guardian deity had been determined, and the blessings had been received, the Divine Vein would open up inside the body and the Divine Arts could then be used. The amount of divine power was decided at birth, and one couldnât increase the amount of divine power by training.
The Divine Art attributes were; Fire, Water, Wind, Earth and Non-Elemental.
The attributes were further divided into Positive and Negative.
On the off chance that a guardian deity couldnât be determined, the childâs Divine Vein wouldnât open up. The child would the be disowned, and have their rank of being a n.o.ble stripped from them.
Therefore the Aristocratic System was centered around the Divine Arts.
(Even if one is a n.o.ble, it is still quite severe)
Falma focused his mind.
His father, Bruno, his brother, Pilule, and Falmaâs guardian deity were the Deities of Medicine. Their Divine Art attribute was Water (Major). And Ellen taught him.
There were over 100 guardian deities in this world.
It started with the common Sun G.o.d, the Moon G.o.d, Mother Earth, Wind G.o.d, and Sea G.o.d. Also there were occupational deities like Deity of Healing, Deity of Medicine, Deity of Blacksmithing, and so on.
There were not many in the continent that had the Deity of Medicine, which allowed apothecaries to use excellent Divine Arts as their guardian deity.
It was for that reason that his father, Bruno, was appointed as Archduke.
By the way, Ellenâs guardian deity was the Water G.o.d.
(So, the guardian deity has something to do with the Divine Art attribute. This is indeed a world of the occult)
He was a pharmacologist who lived in present day j.a.pan. G.o.ds, ghosts, devils, magics, and Divine Arts were unscientific. He didnât like such things, so he hadnât ever learned them.
âAre we good up to here?â
Ellen asked for confirmation. Falma nodded while looking at the notes he had written down.
âThank you, I understood it well. By the way, what is non-elemental?â
âItâs an attribute that cannot be categorized within the 4 attributes. There have been non-elemental in the past, but the church hasnât heard of any appearing in the last 300 yearsâ
Ellen just gave a wry smile when discussing or rebuking the church.
(Which attribute am I? If itâs not the water attribute, will it match the Deity of Medicine? If I was reincarnated and woke up as a different character, would the attribute not change?)
Falma was in great doubt. Because he could create water, heâd just pretend that his attribute was Water [Positive], butâŚâŚ
âWhat if one can create any substance just by thinking it, what attribute is it?â
âBecause it doesnât fit the definition of the 4 attributes, it would be non-elemental, but there is no such thing as to create any substance. You are only able to create one substance. To create anything you like would not be considered a Divine Art; rather, you would be something like a G.o.d or a monsterâ
(If thatâs the case, what is this ability then)
Falma was getting troubled over this, but he decided to not care about the discussion on attributes for now.
âSo why do I have to learn Divine Art?â
âThere are two reasons for you. First, for self defenseâ
n.o.bles didnât carry swords, they carried Divine Wands, which amplified their Divine Arts, as replacement for swords. It was said that having a sword was a disgrace.
âThis is a sword for usâ
She took a folding wand from her belt on her waist; it looked good.
In war, common soldiers were useless. Strategies and Tactics boiled down to firing off Divine Arts at each other. It was said that an excellent tactician could change the topography and submerge a castle.
âFalma-kun! What is the next most important thing to a n.o.ble?â
âAh!â
He had brought a notebook and a textbook with him, but he had forgotten the important wand. He recalled that there was a box with luxurious ornaments beside his pillow, wherein seemingly, a silver wand was placed. With that, Falma came to understand.
âA Royal Court Apothecary does not have to master Divine Arts and Military Arts like the Holy Knights, but you must not leave your wandâ
It is said that n.o.bles were targeted by the a.s.sa.s.sins not just once or twice. In addition, thieves and thugs always aimed for them in the streets.
âAnother reason to learn Divine Art is because medicines made with Divine Arts have magnificent effects. Itâs a required skill for Royal Court Apothecariesâ
There were three cla.s.ses of apothecaries in this continent; all were under control by the empress.
Royal Court Apothecary: Prestigious Aristocratic Apothecary. They mad and prescribed medicines for the n.o.bles and the royalty. There were 3 on record.
First Cla.s.s/Second Cla.s.s Apothecary: Aristocratic Apothecary. They mad and prescribed medicines to the n.o.bles only. There were 21 on record.
Third Cla.s.s Apothecary: Apothecary of the Commoner, belonging to the Apothecaries Guild. Itâs the Apothecaries Guild that issued this license. They made and prescribed for the commoners only. There were 246 on record.
The 3 people including his father werenât recognized by a license, but by the imperial decree of the Empress as Royal Court Apothecary that they held.
The Royal Court Apothecary, First Cla.s.s, and Second Cla.s.s Apothecary didnât sell medicines, but devoted themselves to healing only. Because Aristocratic Apothecary made medicine with Divine Art, the medicine that the Commoner Apothecaries sold was completely different. Ellen puffs her chest with pride.
âI seeâŚ..â
Falma thought about something accordingly.
(The medicinal herbs of this world, when the n.o.ble⌠or should I say, when the Divine Arts is used to process it, does it becomes more effective?)
At any rate, there was Divine Art in this world.
Perhaps he could not completely deny the old fashioned herbal therapy. Although there were some inaccuracies in the formula on the pharmaceutical book found in the bookshelf of the mansion, there were also traditional Chinese medicines that were effective, and a list of active ingredients from several medicinal herbsâŚâŚ So Falma revised his thinking.
Falma had the ability to create substance, but he couldnât imagine with his mind the composition of a medicine where the structure was complex. Thatâs the weakness in his ability. In that case, he had to perform compounding in a laboratory; perhaps extracting from plants would be more efficient.
There were medicinal herbs and trees planted in the garden. For example the pacific yew tree, where you can get minuscule amounts of Pac.l.i.taxel, an ingredient in anti-cancer drugs. And there are sort of Poppies where you can get opium. He can extractcardiotonic drug from Foxgloves , and so on and so forth. He hadnât given up yet. Ellen called this herbal garden a Treasured Garden.
âWell then, since I will lend you my wand, please face toward the river and try firing off a Lance de lâeau downstream, like this!â
âLance de lâeauâ
When Ellen a.s.sembled the folding wand, it was almost as tall as her. She grasped it tightly, chanted the words quickly, then waved and thrusted it intensely towards the sky.
The wand emitted a stream, and the calm surface of the big river shot straight up for several hundred meters. Eventually it drew an arc and gently fell into the river before disappearing.
âWow! It really looked like a spearâ
Falma shouted with joy.
âNow you do itâ
Because it was a high ranking Divine Art, her staff would be difficult to use. Depending on the situation, she planned to say nothing about it. While thinking so, she lent the wand to Falma.
By the way, to activate the Divine Art technique, he guessed that one had to recite the [Trigger Chant].
âShould I wave it with all my might?â
âYou should do so with all your might. Wait, make sure there are no boatsâ
Ellen verified from afar that there werenât any fishing boats in the river right now, as that would be a violation.
âYouâre good to go, give it all you got. The chant is [Lance de lâeau]â
Falma closed his eyes and focused on the wand. He sent an image of a water shooting out from it, but carelessly left out chanting the Trigger Chant.
Then, the wand was waved in position to the sky, and a pale fluorescence rose up from Falmaâs whole body. The river couldnât hold the large amount of water and quickly swelled, the swirling current approaching the height of the embankment.
Cloud formed over the sky and a storm started to rage.
âKyaaaaaâ?!â
She looked with interest as Falmaâs Divine technique caused some wind pressure and a shock wave, which blew Ellen into the riverbank. The power of the water current was too big, and they were not simple ones either. At this rate, if the dike was destroyed, the town downstream would be flooded; that was the current situation.
âWoah!?â
When Falma threw away the wand, the water finally calmed down.
âFalma-kun, whatâŚ.. have you done?â
Ellen was unsteadily standing up with her gla.s.ses slipping of slantingly.
âSorry, I canât adjust the power. Youâre not hurt right?â
Falma didnât knew the typical power of a Divine technique in this parallel world. It was pointed out that his control was weak.
(When Iâm doing personal training, I must not do it near the sea. It would be dangerous if I hit a coastal house or a bridge)
And so he seriously considered.
âFalma-kun, somethingâs wrong with youâŚâŚyou didnât say the Trigger Chantâ
âEh?â
Presently, it seemed that he had overdone himself because he sensed that Ellenâs reaction had frozen. He got blindsided by that bad comment, so Falma thought of a way to smooth this over.
âEllenâs wand is wonderful!! Itâs a wand that can used high ranking Divine Arts, I was surprisedâ
He tried extremely hard to make excuses while showing a fake smile.