"It's a boat, it can carry hundreds of people on the sea, it can also allow people to explore the islands and catch fish."

"If you choose this, then I will teach you how to build ships of different sizes, the art of navigating the seas, and the ability to follow the stars and compass to find directions."

Placing a few pieces on the boat, Ryan blew lightly on the sails, and the boat spun around the edge of the tub.

Looking at this scene, Ander was a little moved.

There was a river next to the tribe, so he knew that it was difficult for humans to stay in the water for long periods of time. But with this thing called 'boat', these problems can be solved.

But after a moment's hesitation, Ender shook his head.

"Priest, I remember that the Creator once said that the great God-King forbade mankind to go near the sea."

Exploring islands and catching fish sounds useful, but all of them are premised on being able to set foot in the ocean, and small rivers don't need that.

But in order to avoid the early leakage of faith-related secrets, Zeus not only did not build a temple for his adoptive parents and advertise their names, but also made the sea a forbidden area for humans.

It is impossible for mortals to disobey the orders of the God King, so this kind of thing called 'boat' is naturally useless.

"Let's take a look at the third one, but this is the last one."

Rejected twice in a row, Ryan still had no intention of getting angry. At this time, the table was already empty, and only portraits of different sizes remained.

Some of them are tall, some are bold and burly, and some are men and women. But for some reason, Ander always felt that they were a bit like the gods in the temple.

"The third is drama. And the ones in front of you, I call them puppets. ”

"A complete drama needs to have 'actors', but puppetry is different. It doesn't need the help of other people, and it's a play that can be performed by just one person. ”

As he spoke, Ryan's fingers quivered slightly. There was no extraordinary power, but the puppets in front of them suddenly moved.

Ander was startled at first, but upon closer inspection, he soon discovered the secret inside.

Thin, transparent threads stretched from Ryan's fingers and bound to the puppet's joints. A slight flick of the finger will cause the puppet to dance.

"Acting out the past, making up lies, you can use puppets instead of life that exists or does not exist in reality, and act out a scene that happened in the past or only exists in your imagination."

"If you choose this, then I will teach you how to choose materials, how to carve, how to make silk threads, and how to arrange the repertoire."

You can choose to use them to sing praises to the gods, or to interpret the world in your mind. Whatever you choose, it's up to you. ”

"Singing the praises of the gods and interpreting the world?"

His eyes lit up, and Ander couldn't help but repeat Ryan's words.

Chess games and sailing are fun, but they all have their drawbacks. In contrast, drama is not only 'valuable', but also interesting, and looking at the puppets jumping on the table, a heartfelt sense of yearning germinates in Ender's young heart.

Although he hasn't tried it yet, he already likes it a little. At your fingertips, everything can be played out the way you want it to, and it sounds extraordinary.

"I'll pick the third one."

"Sure?"

With a smile on his face, Ryan's expression was a little meaningful.

"You can't change what you chose. I will teach you what you have to know to repay you for your hospitality to me these days and in the future. But once you've learned that, you'll have to take the rest of the way. ”

"I'm sure."

Nodding affirmatively, the last of the three choices is undoubtedly the most agreeable.

Learning skills is still such an interesting thing, and he feels at the moment that he has really been favored by the gods recently, and he can actually encounter such a good thing.

"Well, in that case, starting tomorrow, we will officially start classes. But before that, you go chop some wood and come back. ”

With a smile, Ryan gestured to the wooden frame that Ender had just put down.

"As a beginner, learning knowledge is important, but practice is also essential."

"Huh? All right. ”

The little face was a little bitter, but Ander still carried the bamboo basket on his back again.

If you can learn the skill by chopping a little more wood, I don't know how many people will rush to do it.

Walking out of the small courtyard with a bamboo basket on his back, behind him, looking at Ender's distant back, Ryan rubbed the puppet in his hand.

From a purely audience perspective, Ender's choice is not very good.

Humans are forbidden to sail today, but in the future, the ocean will become an indispensable part of humanity, even at the end of the Bronze Age. Nowadays, human beings are not yet able to talk about spiritual enjoyment, but in the future, chess will definitely become a more popular form of entertainment than opera.

But Lane felt that perhaps for Ender, his choice was not wrong.

After all, there are gods in this world, and Ryan won't treat him like he did with Hecate. When you think about it this way, some of the options that seem good are not a mistake.

"And him—"

Tapping lightly on the tabletop, Ryan's gaze looked through the wall and at the stone house beside him.

The owner of the house was named Cologne, the 'second estate' of the bronze humans, a 'craftsman' in charge of making the stove fire, and a pupil of the priest of the temple of Hestia, the god of fire and protection. Of course, the most important thing is that he is the bronze human who refused to let Ryan stay overnight.

The reason why he was 'coincidentally' chosen before was because in Ryan's perception, he was the one with the highest 'qualifications' among the nearby humans. However, even so, Cologne is actually very limited, at least far from being able to directly carry the power of the Godhead.

But now, under Ryan's detached perspective, he unexpectedly discovers that Cologne and Ender have a fateful connection at some point.

Although this connection is still very weak, it is not surprising that the more Ryan 'returns' to Ender, the more obvious the connection will become.

"Fate is really elusive."

Shaking his head slightly, although Ryan could solve this problem in advance, he still didn't do anything. By the day he left, Ender would no longer be the weak child he is now. At that time, he can solve this problem on his own.

So from this day on, Lane, who had acquired his new identity as a 'priest', did not hide his existence, but taught the knowledge of Ender's drama openly.

In this remote settlement of the tribe, there is suddenly an additional priest who does not stay in the temple, but borrows to live in someone else's house, which is an abnormal thing, but under the hint of the heart, the nearby humans naturally accept this.

They were just a little envious, and with one kindness, the kid named Ander got an unexpected harvest.

But that's not all. At this time, the lack of spiritual and material life made the bronze humans have no clear understanding of 'class', and they envy Ender, more because the other party can get in touch with new things that ordinary people don't understand.

Compared with the cookie-cutter life, the freshness and admiration brought by this special skill is the source of human desire for the 'craftsman' class at this time.

In this way, more than 20 years passed in a blink of an eye.

······

"Early, it looks like this year's harvest is pretty good."

"Yes, by the gift of the Creator."

“.”

Wearing a linen robe, walking on the bluestone road, Ander, who had already stepped into the youth, greeted passers-by familiarly.

Over the past ten years, the settlements of the Bronze Humans have been rebuilt repeatedly, and even many smaller strongholds have been separated, occupying the outermost parts of the plain, and Ender has also moved.

Compared to the past, the neighborhood of his new home is much more lively. Although it is still not part of the core of the tribe, it is no longer a periphery.

After all, as a performer of 'puppet shows', Ender is now well-known in the neighborhood, and even many worshippers from nearby temples come here just to enjoy his performances.

In particular, in the drama 'Titan Wars (Part I), Ender uses puppets instead of the gods, and vividly performs the story of how the king of the gods was born in a cave with the help of fate, grew up secretly, met various gods, and finally rescued his brothers and sisters with the help of the ancient gods.

I have to say that although there is a big deviation from the truth, it looks like that at first glance.

Moreover, at this time, human beings had seen this kind of cross-era art, and they were amazed by it, and Ander was sought after because of it, and it was quite the meaning of the first 'star' in ancient times.

There was even more than one priest who had seen Ander's performance say that they would report Ander's existence to the high priest of the main temple and ask him to perform the opera to the gods at the annual festival. But for some reason, when they return to their homes, they always forget about it for some reason.

But it doesn't matter. After all, the priests were not as enthusiastic about 'dedicating the drama to the gods' as they thought, it was just a way for them to show their 'piety'.

It's good to think about, and it doesn't matter if you can't. There were even many priests who felt that drama should be something for them to enjoy.

I have what others don't have, and this can reflect the difference from ordinary people. Some people even think that there should be artificial rules that only priests can have, and others cannot use them casually, so as to reflect the dignity of those who are close to God. It's just that the creator is still there after all, so in the end, no one put this matter on the table.

Ander also knows about this, but for him, he doesn't care so much about who the object of the performance is.

"Uncle Cologne, morning, I didn't expect you to come back here today."

Walking around the corner and nodding his head to say hello to several bronze humans, Ander was surprised to see his old neighbor, but he was only stunned for a moment, and greeted him with a smile first.

Coincidentally, because they are both 'craftsmen', even if they move to a new place, the place where they live is not far away, but they are no longer neighbors.

"Humph!"

However, in the face of Ender's enthusiasm, all that was answered was a cold snort.

Cologne gave Ender a cold look, his lips moved, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he still didn't speak, but turned his head away directly.

"Ahh

sighed, seeing this, Ender didn't say much, after all, Cologne didn't have an opinion about him for a day or two.

At first, it was just a bit of a quarrel, but as Ender's fame grew, Cologne's resentment of him intensified.

Just like fellow priests, the priests in the great temple in charge of the annual festival tend to have a higher status than the others, and the priests in charge of the god-king are higher than the other gods, and the same is true among the craftsmen.

Seeing that he had missed out on a benefit because of his momentary choice, Cologne did not dare to attack the strange priest, but it did not affect him to target Ender.

But this kind of targeting is obviously meaningless, so in recent years, as Ender's fame has grown, Cologne has rarely even returned home.

Fortunately, the construction of stoves in this era was already very difficult, whether it was copper for domestic use or shared stone, it could not be completed in a small room. Therefore, even living in a place where you work on a weekday does not affect life in Cologne very much.

"Mr. Lane, I'm back."

After walking a little further, the door was already in sight. But Ander still knocked on the courtyard door next door first, and then greeted him respectfully.

"Come in, the door is unlocked."

Squeak –

Hearing this, Ander pushed open the wooden door and walked into the hospital.

Because they moved to a new place, Ander and Ryan naturally became neighbors.

Although Ender spent more and more time performing alone outside the home as he learned, he still remembers visiting his teacher for the first time every time he returns, even if the other party never recognized him as a student.

"Mr. Ryan, this is a specialty of Giant Wood Town, and I brought some back to you."

Walking into the small courtyard and looking at Ryan who was sitting on a recliner reading a book, Ander said with a smile.

The term 'town' is only a description of a new settlement, and bears little resemblance to the villages and towns of later generations. Jumu Town is a small, newly built settlement, named after its proximity to ancient forests.

As for the so-called specialty that Ender brought, it is the heart of the ancient wood there, which is used to make wood carvings, which is very suitable.

"You've got a heart."

Nodding his head and motioning for Ender to put things down, Ryan looked away from the book in his hand.

"Since you're here, tell me how you made your trip as usual. Over the years, you've become more and more famous. ”

"It's all thanks to Mr. Lane's teachings, otherwise I wouldn't be where I am today."

The tone was sincere, and Ander did not mean to be complacent, he knew very well where everything he had today came from.

Ander then recounts to Ryan what he saw along the way, including the reason for the establishment of Giant Wood, the dirt roads that connect several settlements, and the 'carts' that can be pulled by livestock to get around.

In the past, it was only heard that the sun god and the moon god had their own chariots, and it is said that one of them was born in the last era and the other was born decades ago, but today's human tribes also have their own chariots.

On this trip, Ander experienced it. However, perhaps because the craftsmanship was not yet complete, he only felt that it was bumpy, but the few people who traveled with him enjoyed the novelty very much.

"Speaking of which, Mr. Lane, I don't know why, but it seems that there have been a few disrespectful things recently."

As if remembering something, Ander couldn't help but say:

"Some people actually think that there is no need to spend so much material to worship the gods, and human beings themselves can live well."

"Don't they know that it is the existence of the gods that keeps the natural disaster from coming, so that the monsters that are gradually increasing do not dare to approach the human dwellings?"

Speaking of which, Ender also couldn't understand what those people were thinking.

During this trip, he learned a lot about things that were difficult to reach in the center of the Aurora Plains, such as how dangerous places outside of human activity can be.

Giant eagles that can manipulate light, water monsters that can flood rivers, and giant beasts that are tens of meters high, some of them have been contaminated with the blood of the gods scattered in the divine war, and some of their bodies contain special cursed substances, which are not as docile and harmless as the livestock that ordinary humans come into contact with.

Although Ender is not afraid of them now, he also knows how harmful it is to ordinary people. If no one stops them, ordinary humans are simply vulnerable to them.

Today, several towns that have expanded have been built under the leadership of the Creator, and when the temple of the gods was built, the new towns were safe.

Those monsters instinctively feared the divine aura left by the gods in the statues, so they stayed away from the human settlements. It is with these things in mind that Ender deeply understands that human beings are actually inseparable from the gods.

"People get used to it, Ender, and humans are so well protected now. They don't understand how dangerous the world is, or how hard their lives are right now. ”

Shaking his head slightly, unlike Ender, Ryan was not surprised that someone would have such an idea.

"By the way, how's your new script?"

"I don't have a clue yet. I wanted to recreate the life of the golden humans in a puppet show so that people could understand the lives of previous generations, but there are too few records of that era. ”

"The Creator seldom tells the story of that time, supposedly, because human beings were limited in their minds at that time?"

said with some distress, and Ander was also a little helpless.

Of course, he could have made one out of order according to his temperament, but Ander didn't want to do such a self-deceptive thing.

"Don't worry, you can make up 'Titan Wars (Part II)' first, and as for the Golden Age, maybe after a while, you can directly bump into a golden human."

Smiling and comforting, as if remembering something, Ryan handed Ander a blank notebook.

"By the way, this is for you."

"What is this, why is there no word in this book?"

Reaching out to take it, Ander was a little curious.

He's seen books. As early as the Golden Age, humans had learned the rudimentary technique of papermaking, but it had never been used on a large scale.

The human demand for paper stems from the need for large-scale writing, for communication and the dissemination of knowledge, but the human beings who live in settlements and have no descendants do not have this need for the time being. Moreover, compared to paper, stone carvings and sheepskins are obviously preserved for a longer period of time.

"This is for you, a blank notebook with no end to the number of pages. You can write your own script on it, which is more portable and easier to write than a parchment roll. ”

With a wave of his hand, Ryan leaned back in the recliner.

"Alright, that's it. You've been out for a long time, hurry back and rest, and I won't delay your time. ”

"Communicating with Mr. Ryan, how can it be considered a delay."

Laughing back, Ander was ready to get up and leave. Walking to the gate of the courtyard, he was turning around to close the door, but looking at Ryan lying in the shade of the tree, he suddenly felt a little dazed.

Bronze humans were created at different ages, even if they were the same species. This time he was invited to perform in a distant place, and he saw a human being who had begun to grow a little old.

His hair was gray, his cheeks were wrinkled, and he was not as strong as he used to be. Looking at each other, Ender was in awe of time and life for the first time.

He didn't know if he would be like this in the future, and although Mr. Lane had said that he would have a long life ahead, he still had some ups and downs.

But Mr. Lane is different. More than 20 years have passed, and he seems to have not changed in the slightest as he did when he first met.

"It is said that priests can be favored by the gods, and perhaps this is the reward that Mr. Lane receives."

"But then again, which priest of God is Mr. Lane?"

Such a thought had just flashed, and then it was subconsciously skimmed. Ander closed the door with his backhand and walked towards his next quarter.

The physical exhaustion is still secondary, and this long trip really made Ander feel a little mentally tired.

Now, he's going to get some good sleep first.

······

Ander returned to his small courtyard, and in his dreams he did not forget the history of the golden age of mankind. Lane said 'seeing a golden human' as a joke, after all, everyone knows that the Golden Age is long gone.

But what he didn't know was that just before and after, not far from Jumu Town, a man wrapped in animal skins was looking at the primitive wooden wall in the distance, stunned.

(End of chapter)