After slowly approaching the Centaur who received him, Ryan discovered that the person who had come to pick him up was an acquaintance, Ferencze. It's just that today's Ferencze is different from usual, he wears a loose white linen robe.

"Welcome, friends of the forest. After saying that, Ferenze put his hand on his chest and bowed slightly, and then led Ryan towards the village.

When I walked into the village of Ryan, I found that the village of the horse people was very distinctive. The buildings in the village are structurally sturdy shacks, which are much larger than human standards.

The buildings are arranged in a ring with entrances facing inward. Ancient Viking wizards believed that this was because they believed that each member of them was no more important than the other, and the circular structure was an obvious manifestation of this equality.

In the center of the ring is a large stone stove, the location of which shows that the horses tried to keep it away from the trees around the village when they chose the site. The stove is communal and can be used by any centaur at any time, although it is generally only used by women when preparing food. In addition, when it is cold, the stove is constantly replenished with firewood to keep the fire burning, ensuring that the whole village can receive a long-lasting supply of heat, no matter how cold it is.

Of course, on this summer evening when the temperature is right, the fire in the stove is extinguished. After Ferenze led them around the fireplace, Ryan saw the place where the horses held their rite of passage: the altar.

The altar is on a hill outside the village and is connected to the village by a forest path. There was a large meadow in front of the altar, and the meadow was now densely packed with horsemen. Led by Ferenze, Ryan made a circle to the place prepared for the guests on the side of the grass.

At this time, Ryan took the opportunity to take a closer look at the altar with the torches around him. Unlike the circular staircase altar where Ryan's life magic was cast, the centaur altar was made of three arches made of mostly unfinished tree stumps, with a large stump behind the arch as an offering table for the offerings. Behind the table is the pitch-black Forbidden Forest.

If it is said that in the magic of life mastered by Lane, the circular staircase altar represents the power to communicate life and death that wanders between heaven and earth. In the natural magic of the centaurs, then, this arch signifies an entrance to the realm of nature, where nature stretches unrestrained.

Because the ritual couldn't start for a while, the bored Ryan had a whim and used the feng shui techniques in the Maoshan Taoist Sutra to observe the feng shui of the altar.

The more he looked at Ryan, the more surprised he became, because the location of the altar was one of the best feng shui he had ever seen, and it could even be said that it was second only to Hogwarts. After applying several observational spells to himself, he found that the entire altar was in a natural energy-dense area, and that the barrier between the real world and the world of the Emerald Dream was very weak.

It seems that this place was also carefully chosen by the horses, and Ryan is becoming more and more interested in the non-wizarding intelligent creatures that are mentioned in the novel.

After waiting for about half an hour, the sound of horses' hooves was heard at the entrance of the village, and the first horse man to participate in the coming-of-age ceremony had returned. Unlike humans, Centaurs are adults at the age of 12, so you can see the Centaurs running with a childish look.

At this moment Aunt Betty came out of the crowd and stood on the edge of the altar, today she was not wearing the leather armor she usually wears, and the second was also wearing a white linen robe. It's just that unlike Ferencze's robe, Aunt Betty's robe is embroidered with various patterns that represent nature.

The first centaur to pass the trial of adulthood had arrived at the altar, holding a rare fluorescent evening primrose in his hand.

Ferenze, who was standing aside, said to Ryan: "The traditional trial before the coming-of-age ritual of our Forbidden Forest-Centaur tribe is to find a designated rare plant, but unfortunately, since the Forbidden Forest has changed more than 40 years ago, our trial content has also become to independently kill an adult eight-eyed giant spider and bring back its fangs. Thanks to your help this time, we were able to regain our cherished traditions. ”

Betty then takes the fluorescent evening primrose from the pony man and respectfully places it on the stump offering table, before chanting a spell. And the centaur also bowed his head under the arch of the altar, and then put his hands into fists on his forehead.

After a few minutes, Ryan felt the power gathered on the altar grow stronger, finally tearing through the barrier that separated the real world from the Emerald Dream. The evening primrose on the table turns into a green dot of light and disappears into the Emerald Dream, and the same green light shoots out from the Emerald Dream and shines on the pony man under the arch.

When the green light fades, Ryan is surprised to find that the pony seems to be stronger, and his overall temperament is more in harmony with nature.

"This is our rite of passage, and now it is my cousin who is naturally baptized, and I envy him. Fei Lun said with some envy next to him.

"Why, isn't your natural baptism different from this?" asked Ryan curiously.

"It's not the same. Because we were fighting the eight-eyed spider at the time, our offerings at that time were the fangs of the eight-eyed spider. Different offerings are strengthened in different directions when they receive a natural baptism, and our reinforcement focuses on the physique and reflexes related to combat. This leaves us with some flaws in the natural affinity that centaurs are proud of. That's why I say thank you for bringing us back to our glory. ”

"But this kind of natural baptism is only once in a creature's life, doesn't this mean that you can't achieve anything in terms of natural affinity in your life?"

"Yes, but it's also a sacrifice we should make. Nature has nurtured us, and we should do something for her. Ferenze said with emotion.

After that, two other horsemen who came of age this year also received a nature baptism. Ryan thought that today's ritual was over, but Aunt Betty, who was standing on the altar, suddenly said to Ryan: "Please come up, our friend, nature tells me tonight that you are the last person to be baptized by nature today." ”

"Me?" Ryan pointed to himself in surprise. Betty nodded firmly: "This is the will of nature, and you are just 12 years old this year, which is exactly the age to receive the baptism of nature." ”

The centaurs made way to the altar, and it seems that Betty, as a shaman, had a very high status among the centaurs. Ryan walked to the altar with trepidation, and then asked, "This is the centaur coming-of-age ceremony, is it really appropriate for me to participate as a human?"

"I don't know. Betty said with some confusion. "After all, this has never happened before, but when I communicated the Emerald Dream during the ceremony, I felt that nature wanted this as a thank you gift. ”

Betty spoke in a loud voice, and several of the older centaurs in the audience nodded when they heard it. According to Ferenze's previous introduction, these centaurs are all able to communicate with the Emerald Dream, and it seems that they have also received this revelation.

It didn't seem like it was harmful, and Ryan made up his mind when he thought of it. "Well, I'm more than happy to accept nature's gifts. ”