章節 2: Ceremony

It had been seven months since Noah found himself in this unfamiliar body and unfamiliar world. All he remembered was taking a short afternoon nap on his sofa in his apartment after his part time job, and then he was waking up in an unfamiliar place.

Yes! Noah was a transmigrator!

At least, that was what he remembered the term to be. People who got transported to another world with the memories of their past life and world were called transmigrators from what he remembered.

It had taken him a while to get used to everything, assimilate the memories of the body his soul had been stuffed into, and make peace with everything. But thankfully, the original owner of his current body was not a particularly social person, so he had been able to handle everything in peace without too many disturbances.

As he had inherited the memories and inherent behavioral tendencies and nuances of the original owner of the body, it did not take him long to be able to seamlessly act like the original owner, achieving a 100% assimilation rate.

"Are you nervous for the ceremony? Do you think you will get picked?" Joseph asked, biting on his fingernails, a sign of his nervousness.

"To be honest, I do want to get picked, but I won't mind it if I miss the opportunity. After all, even many legitimate children, and children of greater noble houses don't get picked." Noah shrugged.

"If I get picked, then my status as an illegitimate son will be null! I won't need to worry about anything! If my Patron God is good enough, then I might even be invited as a retainer by the Royal Family!" Joseph, as though seeing a bright future for himself, began to wave his hands in the air, his eyes wide and bright.

A smirk grew on Noah's face as he also imagined a future where he was picked by a decent Patron God. If that happened, then all his problems in this life would be taken care of. He would not need to worry about his title as an illegitimate son of a Viscount. He would not need to worry about how to provide his mother with a better life.

This world that Noah had been transmigrated into was strange. Not only was it set in some sort of medieval time, but there were also mystical forces at work here. From what Noah had pieced together, this world had once possessed a technological background, much like what he was used to. But about a thousand years ago, there had been a great cataclysm that wiped out all technological devices and forced mankind to revert to using cold weapons. Over time, things came to be as it was now.

However, there was another development.

Every ten years, there would be a worldwide event that took place. In this new world, there were beings who referred to themselves as the Patron Gods of Yore. Apparently, they had been slumbering for a long time, and had awoken. Many people believed that it was their awakening that caused the cataclysm that changed the world. Some resented them, while others gladly accepted the changes that were brought.

The Patron Gods of Yore came with many changes. One of the most important changes was the event that took place every decade. The Patron Gods would select individuals to be their representatives, or 'Avatars'. However, there were limitations. Only individuals above eighteen and below thirty-five were eligible for selection.

These 'Avatars' became the mouthpieces of the Patron Gods, bearing some of the unique powers of whatever Patron God selected them. This turned them into powerful warriors, wise sages, unbelievable clairvoyants, or divine forge masters. The possibilities were endless. The Patron Gods that were known to humanity were already incredibly numerous, but there were also countless other minor Patron Gods that were not as popular as their more well known counterparts.

The great number of possible Patron Gods allowed for a myriad of possibilities, but with this, there were also many mediocre Avatars that were chosen by weak and unknown Patron Gods. For example, there had once been a daughter of a nobleman whose Patron God had been an unknown God of Flowers. She had been bestowed with the ability to make colorful flowers bloom...

Noah held back a chuckle when he thought of the flower Avatar. He hoped he would get chosen, and by a good Patron God at that. He did not want anything to good either, as he did not want too much attention on himself.

It was also worth mentioning that a person could only take part in the ceremony once. After the first try, if they did not get picked by a Patron God, then that was it. They could never get picked again. This was regardless of whether or not they were still in the age range that was permitted for the ceremony.

Amidst the small talk, the procession of carriages from the Orsted Castle made their way to the center of Argast Kingdom, to the Royal Palace, where the grand ceremony would be held. Already, some noble families had gathered for the ceremony, while commoners had been present for a long time already.

The massive square that had been built specifically for the purpose of this grand ceremony was already packed full for people that had come to watch, with some of them hoping that they would be lucky enough to be noticed by a Patron God and picked to be a retainer of the Royal Family.

Noah looked out of the window of the carriage, taking in the crowd. This was the first time he had laid eyes on such a large crowd. Not even the original owner of his body had seen so many people gathered at a time.

The ceremony would start the next day, lasting for twelve hours before ending. It was enough time for all interested Patron Gods to select their Avatars and the powers they would bestow onto the Avatars.