In the age a thousand years ago, when the Gods were active.

Believing in the Gods could truly earn one their favor.

Those renowned Holy Knights and the Archbishops who wielded all sorts of Divine Magic were all people who had received the Gods’ blessings.

In that great era of Magic, these vanguards, bearing the favor and guidance of the Gods, raced across the land, leaving behind stories that would be told for a thousand years. They were, without a doubt, among the most elite few.

Unfortunately, the great power of time is enough to erase everything. The glory of these vanguards belongs only to the past. After the Magic Tide, traces of the Gods became increasingly scarce until they vanished completely, becoming nothing more than myths and legends.

These vanguards also disappeared into the long river of time, and even some of the nations they founded have lain in ruin for countless years.

Evidently, this Mountain Kingdom and the Natural Goddess were among them.

"My Lord, this is the Magic Scroll I found in this cave."

Sam respectfully took a keyboard-sized slab of bluestone from the stone platform.

After taking it, Levi examined it carefully. The Stone Slab was engraved with characters he didn’t recognize.

Although Levi was currently a Warrior, he also longed to become a Close Combat Mage King like Gandalf. ’Unfortunately, after staring at it for a full three minutes, no voice in my ear announced, "He is the chosen one," or anything about passing a test.’

This Stone Slab was just an ordinary piece of bluestone, with no flowing lines of Magic Power.

"The Magic on the scroll requires study, and the prerequisite for that is having Magic Talent," Sam kindly reminded him.

Glancing at him, the Lord tossed the Stone Slab to Zat, telling him to keep it safe, and turned his gaze to the egg on the platform.

"So, you’re saying this thing is connected to the Natural Goddess... You don’t think it could be her love child, do you? Maybe it turned into an egg because Magic Power got scarce and it couldn’t be born properly?"

As someone blind to magic, Levi stroked his chin and began to speculate with a serious face.

After all, according to the Knightly Novels he’d read, the relationships between Gods were also very complicated, and having a few illegitimate children was perfectly normal.

And the only thing an egg could be associated with was nurturing life.

Plus, since the Gods had also gradually disappeared after Magic faded away, Levi felt his wild speculation was well worth investigating.

If a real Mage who was an expert in divine systems were here, they would definitely be hopping mad and cursing at such statements from this "amateur magic enthusiast and blasphemer of the Gods."

Unfortunately, Sam was also a half-assed yokel. He scratched his head and said, "Actually, I’ve already tried all sorts of experiments on it. This egg doesn’t react at all. It’s no different from a real stone."

"My Lord, although I can’t make this egg show anything extraordinary, maybe you can. You should give it a try." Sam’s tone shifted, sounding just like a shady salesman trying to offload cheap spinach.

Sam’s words were sincere. In his eyes, this Lord was deeply mysterious. His Power was like a Giant’s, yet his body was pitifully small, not looking like he could possess such terrifying strength.

It completely defied the most basic Law of Life: that size and Power are proportional.

But reality often defies common sense.

This impossible combination had somehow come together perfectly.

The Lord subtly moved Zat to stand in front of him.

’Are you kidding me! Although this unremarkable Stone Egg is only related to the Natural Goddess and looks completely ordinary, it has existed here for so many years that the surrounding stone walls have developed a weathered crust, yet this egg remains as good as new. That alone is worth considering and proves it’s not as simple as it appears.’

’Besides, even Sam, a genuine descendant of the Mountain Kingdom, can’t make it reveal its true form. What’s the use of me, a Debei Person who’s completely unrelated, rushing forward? This has absolutely nothing to do with being afraid of death; the Lord has simply chosen to follow his heart.’

’If there were a few Archbishop Level Mages from Debei here to protect me, and I had the chance to ’risk a bicycle to win a motorcycle,’ I would have gritted my teeth and done it.’

’But the reality is I’m standing next to a half-assed Shaman and two Beastman Barbarians who get that clear-eyed, clueless look whenever Magic or the Gods are mentioned. Maybe asking them to chop people into meat paste would be no problem, but asking them to guard against this mystical mumbo-jumbo? They’d be utterly useless.’

’This is like insisting on asking Slaanesh for a "guiding hand" to achieve spiritual and physical ecstasy. That isn’t just courting death; it’s a whole new level of suicide.’

"Ahem, I won’t be touching the egg. But since it’s related to the Natural Goddess and is a Sacred Artifact of your Tribe, you should take it with you when we leave."

Levi gave his opinion.

’Although I don’t want to touch the egg, that doesn’t mean I’m going to leave something so obviously related to the Gods behind. It’s probably just my mind playing tricks—too wary to touch it, but too greedy to leave it.’

Sam didn’t insist. He wrapped the Stone Egg in cloth from the stone platform and placed it inside his tunic.

Levi, who had been staring intently, noticed no change in the egg.

Once the goal of their trip was accomplished, the group followed the passageway back to the Evil Fang Tribe’s settlement.

"My Lord, please, you must keep this a secret for the Evil Fang Tribe," Sam pleaded as they emerged. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Levi nodded in agreement.

’In a way, if this egg really is connected to the Gods, its value isn’t much less than that of an iron mine. If the Archbishops and scholars of Debei found out about this... they’d probably lead the Crusader Knight Order on a northern expedition to welcome the noble divine descendant back to a place befitting His status, rather than some poor countryside filled with bumpkins and illiterates.’

Regarding this journey, the Lord felt the tranquil mountain breeze, his heart filled with myriad thoughts.

He hadn’t expected that he had only come to recruit new people and, while he was at it, pick up a Magic Scroll, yet he’d ended up stumbling upon a hidden secret.

Even Gods vanished without a trace in the flow of time. That stone chamber had existed for at least a thousand years, and it was still unknown whether this egg was of any use.

As for the lingering questions—why the stone chamber existed here, and why the egg remained as pristine as if it were placed there yesterday despite the passage of a millennium—the secrets they held had faded with time, now lost to history.

Back at the Feder Tribe, a pile of messy affairs concerning the arrangement and handling of the Evil Fang Tribe made the Lord’s head spin. In the end, he oversaw the general direction and handed off the details to Baisitina, High Cliff Castle’s Chief Steward.

He passed it off as "valuable experience" to help Baisitina grow as quickly as possible.

When night fell, Levi convened the second general meeting of High Cliff Castle.

The theme of this meeting was "High Cliff Castle’s Future Development Strategy and Policy."