“Thank you, big brother,” the little girl nearby thanked Ogre.
Just now, Ogre had helped her get her cat down from the tree.
“Devil-Claw Cats aren't suitable pets,” Ogre warned the girl as she reached out for the cat.
He didn't want the cat to hurt the girl—perhaps he was thinking of his own mana rabbit.
When it first arrived, it had kicked him a few times, but after Ogre ate a rabbit leg in front of it, it behaved itself.
But creatures like cats were far harder to domesticate than mana rabbits.
“Xiao Miao isn't an ordinary cat.” The girl felt distressed for the cat as she watched Ogre hold it by the scruff of its neck while it clawed the air frantically.
“Fine.” Since she was so stubborn, Ogre didn't say anything more.
After all, her business had nothing to do with him; he had just been reminded a bit of the old days.
“Meow!—Meow...” The moment the Devil-Claw Cat was taken by the girl and left Ogre's hands, it bared its teeth and hissed fiercely at Ogre.
But upon meeting Ogre's ogre-like glare, its fur flattened instantly, and it fell silent...
It felt that this guy really would eat it.
“Thank you, brother. Let's go, Miaomi.” The girl smiled at Ogre, then skipped away.
“She's really energetic,” Ogre sighed from the bottom of his heart.
He saw himself in this child.
If he could have remained carefree forever, perhaps he would be the same way.
Amidst his sentimentality, Ogre patted the dust off his clothes and continued walking toward the Church of Dawn.
Unlike the Church of Truth, which absorbed all kinds of Professionals, the Church of Dawn still adhered to an ancient doctrine that only accepted Knights and rejected Mages.
The Church of Dawn worshipped the God of Dawn.
They claimed that the God of Dawn created all things.
Aside from the mainstream professions, the Church of Dawn also possessed a unique profession of their own—the Divine-Gifted.
They could also be called Priests and Paladins, and they wielded a power called Holy Light.
Ogre didn't know if their power truly came from a god, but he had indeed only seen that distinct group of unique Professionals within the Church of Dawn.
“Little Ogre, you almost came late,” the guard at the back gate of the Church of Dawn teased him in a familiar tone.
“Ran into some stuff on the way.” Ogre rubbed the back of his head, acting the way a boy of his age should.
“Go on in. Lord Yade is waiting for you. Remember to wake up early next time,” the Church of Dawn guard said, gesturing with a nod for Ogre to enter.
He felt great sympathy for the boy.
It was a pity that Ogre lacked the aptitude to be a Knight or a Mind-Imager. The Church of Dawn only recruited Knights and Mind-Imagers; with Ogre's situation, he probably had no way of becoming a Paladin or a Cleric.
Otherwise, he would have genuinely wanted to sponsor Ogre to join the church.
In fact, diligent orphans like Ogre were not rare at all; even the guard himself was an orphan.
This was mostly to blame on the world...
Some of these children were abandoned, some were victims of monsters, and some were the orphans left behind by Professionals.
It was precisely because of these motivated children that the two major churches adopting orphans grew stronger by the day.
It was, admittedly, a form of irony.
“Thank you,” Ogre nodded politely and walked through the back door of the Church of Dawn.
At the back gate of the old temple stood two rows of walls, the murals painted on them already ancient relics.
One could still vaguely sense the past glory of the Church of Dawn from these faded paintings—and this was merely a branch temple in a remote border city.
It was said that thousands of years ago, the Church of Dawn possessed over half of the Transcendent beings on the continent, vast enough to influence the affairs of the entire continent. The legendary Dusk Knight who liberated the slaves supposedly hailed from here.
Ogre's job here was to restore the murals.
Of course, he hadn't actively sought this out, even though he indeed loved painting.
“You went to that arena again.”
“Yes, Teacher Yade. I was just...” Before Ogre could finish, the white-robed man raised his hand to stop him.
“Ogre, as long as you feel you did nothing wrong, there is no need to explain your actions. You do not need to justify yourself,” the white-robed man said word by word, handing Ogre the paint as he spoke.
This white-robed man was the Lord Yade mentioned by the guard. He was the priest of this Dawn branch temple, and also held the dual post of Paladin Commander.
He was a powerful Senior Professional.
Unlike the pioneers of the Church of Truth who pursued their ideals, the Church of Dawn treated all humans equally—though that was strictly limited to humans.
Once they encountered mixed-blood human variants—like werewolves or vampires—they would reveal their cruel side. Burning them alive was the most common method.
Regardless of whether they were born that way or infected later.
‘To be kind to other species is to be cruel to humanity. Every hybrid is a potential criminal!’
This was the slogan of the Church of Dawn. Coupled with their iron-fisted methods, it had earned them quite a bit of support among commoners.
Of course, the Church of Truth's acceptance of highly intelligent other species wasn't very high either, just not as extreme.
“Yes, Teacher Yade,” Ogre lowered his head and nodded as he took the paint brush.
Under any circumstances, one must respect the strong.
This was his father's warning to him.
Moreover, Yade was his mentor. Although Ogre was not qualified to join the Church of Dawn, Yade had still taught him martial techniques and a basic breathing method.
In Yade's words, these did not count as teachings of the Church of Dawn, but were merely his personal instruction.
In exchange, Ogre was also arranged some chores. The pay wasn't high, but it was enough to put food on the table.
Restoring the murals was just one of them. It was just that Ogre's talent for painting was exceptionally high, earning praise from the veteran mural master they had hired. After that, restoring the murals became Ogre's exclusive job.
“Ogre, your hand is not as steady as before. Your mind is restless. Did something happen?”
Yade's talent in painting was mediocre, but his observation of physical changes and movement was top-notch.
This was also related to Ogre's state of mind. He was indeed somewhat absentminded today—he only wanted to go back quickly to practice the new meditation method.
And to quickly complete his next “feeding.”
Once a person had things on their mind, their movements would naturally become a bit off.
“Actually, I managed to get a new meditation method...” Naturally, Ogre could not speak of the feeding. His Ogre's Lunchbox talent had to remain his secret, one he would never tell anyone.
With that, he stopped what he was doing and pulled the meditation method out from his shirt.
A meditation method was highly important for a Martial Apprentice.
But for Knights, it was truly of no use. Knights did not need to balance the three qi; in the process of perfecting their Life Circle, they could completely activate their own exclusive battle qi.
Of course, if you actually made Knights practice a meditation method, it would be difficult too. The efficiency of a Knight's meditation was exceptionally low—supposedly because the flow of battle qi in their bodies would interfere with the meditation process.
“Let me see.”
Yade naturally took the wrapped meditation method from Ogre and flipped through it.
A moment later, he handed the meditation method back. “There is nothing wrong with it. You can give it a try. If you manage to nurture a Mind-Image Seed, I can take it upon myself to recommend you to become a Cleric in the capital city.”
A Cleric...
To be honest, Ogre had no interest. The reason he chose the Church of Dawn over the Church of Truth, aside from some specific reasons...
...was fundamentally to learn how to better deal with the Goblin King and the Ogre Chief. Lacking any relevant aptitude made him completely free, so it was a win-win scenario no matter how he looked at it. If he had entered the Church of Truth, it wouldn't be so easy to leave.
But if he were truly to join the Church of Dawn to become a Cleric, he would pass. He didn't like this role; in fact, he disliked any profession that bound him, as it would interfere with his plans.
Still, he didn't refuse directly and merely nodded.
Observing Ogre's reaction, Yade understood the answer in his heart. He knew that what Ogre wanted most was likely still revenge.
This was what many children who joined the Church of Dawn wanted to do. In the face of blood feuds, faith was often not even worth mentioning.
“Ogre, quiet your heart. Do not let hatred become your everything. Making yourself strong is the foundation of revenge.” Yade turned and took the church's canon from the confessional altar beside him.
“Hatred is an existence born alongside the wisdom granted by the gods. Hatred whips living beings forward, just like charcoal burning in a brazier—intense, yet brief.”
“A piece of wood is most brilliant when it burns, but trees do not exist simply to burn, and a tree should not burn when it is strong.” —《The Divine Words of Dawn》
Yade closed the canon. What he had just read was the church's analysis of hatred.
Those who allowed hatred to dictate their path forward would often fall because of that very hatred.
Hatred must not be forgotten, but one cannot live solely for revenge.
He had arranged these chores for Ogre precisely to quiet his heart.
“Your student understands.”
Ogre put away the meditation method and nodded solemnly.
He was ultimately still a child, and there were bound to be things he overlooked.
“Ogre, put aside your work for today.”
Just as Ogre picked up the brush again, Yade spoke once more. Beneath his golden eyes was an undeniable, gentle authority: “Come with me.”
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