Chapter 23: The Blessing Ceremony Part 1

It was a bit over a month ago when Telah made it back to her village to inform her chief about the news. Everyone knew that she went on a scouting mission with fifteen others, yet she was the only one who made it back.

"Telah? What happened?" Anuwat, the witch, asked

"Where’s the chief? I need to speak with him. You come too."

"He’s in his hut."

Nodding, Telah strode to the hut.

With Anuwat at her side, she pulled back the curtain to see Chief Woton going over his next plan of attack with Tagah. It was only when they noticed Telah and Anuwat that they stopped what they were doing to greet them.

"Telah, nice to see that you’re back. I assume you bring good news? How much damage did the poison do to the Nemean Tribe?" The smile on Woton’s face was full of confidence. All he needed was Telah’s confirmation, and they could move on to the next phase of their attack.

"Nothing." Telah’s voice was rough, full of anger and failure. "The poison did nothing. For a bit, no one left the village, so I assumed that the poison worked well. But then I noticed more and more people leaving to hunt, fish, chop wood, and so on. So, I made a call and attacked to lure out their small numbers."

"And?" Woton needed to know what happened next.

"And I’m the only one who made it back. The poison did absolutely nothing to them. They’re fine, healthy, alive, and well."

"How? How is that possible?! They barely survived the last time we poisoned them! Why are the spirits working against us?!" Woton slammed his hand onto the table with rage, causing it to split in half.

Green energy pulsed off his body, and his tattoos glowed like a torch in darkness.

"Chief, what do we do now? Without them weakened, we won’t be able to launch a full-scale attack."

Woton thought long and hard about their next course of action. They would die soon if they weren’t able to find a new place to call home. Going westward would lead them to the mountains, and if they crossed them, they would die to the rampant monsters.

To the south, there were tribes more powerful than their own, so that wasn’t an option. Going north was a death sentence since beyond the plains was desert, and they couldn’t survive there. So their only option was going east, past the Snakeway River, and taking over the Nemean Tribe’s land.

"We wait." He finally spoke

"Wait? Wait for what?" Tagah wondered.

"We wait until spring. Winter is here, so we cannot risk fighting in the cold. If they were weakened, that wouldn’t have been a problem. But as it stands, we are not able to attack. So we will migrate to a new location, rebuild our forces, and wait until spring. After that, it’s all or nothing. Gather our hunters; we need to stock up on food."

---

"Ahh~Yes~That’s it~Haaah~Just a little more~Mmmnnn~I-I’m cummingg~" Glena was riding Kanan early in the morning before the sun was even up. They had done it last night, and yet she still longed for more.

"Are you okay, Aunt Glena? You’re more wild than normal." Being mounted had its perks, as Kanan was able to see and play with Glena’s large boobs. He would even smother his face in them while giving her a pounding of a lifetime.

"Sorry~" She purred, wiggling her hips with Kanan still inside her. "I was just so excited for today. It’s the Blessing Ceremony, so I can’t wait for you to finally get your role."

That’s right. Today was the day when Kanan would finally learn what role he would play in the village. He was also eager to find out what the system’s true functions were.

It had been three months since Kanan was gifted the system, and during that time, he was able to learn a lot about it, even though it wasn’t fully operational. Such as, its ability to preserve animal corpses and its infinite-sized inventory.

The system also recognized weapons and tools, just like animals, plants, and herbs. This made it easier to learn how to craft and use them, especially coupled with the role description.

Each item in the system was neatly organized alphabetically and by category, so searching for things was seamless. He could also just think of what he wanted to take out of the system, and it would appear in his hand.

If the item was too big for him to carry, he would have to let his hand face the ground, then summon the item.

Lastly, the system did not speak to him. It only had specific functions that correlated with its purpose. Keywords could trigger a response, but regardless of how he phrased a sentence, the keyword would trigger the same response.

He could ask the system questions related to something the system knew about, and it would answer like normal.

Glena leaned forward, feeling the warmth of Kanan’s chest with her own as she stole his lips with her own. They had gotten into the rhythm of making love with each other, being consumed by their lust.

Unfortunately, Glena did not get pregnant despite the countless nights they spent with one another. It was the curse in action, and Kanan only knew that the ceremony today would give him a way to break it.

Still, they didn’t stop, eager to feel each other’s touch, and hopeful that their love would bear fruit.

Viola knew of their relationship; sometimes she would find them in the act when she came over. This, however, didn’t upset her. She saw it as normal; anyone would, and it made her more eager to have Kanan for herself when they would eventually become mates.

"I love you, Kanan."

"I love you too, Aunt Glena."

The two got up and cleaned themselves. It wouldn’t be long before the ceremony started, and they needed to make sure they had their contribution ready.

During the ceremony, it was tradition to offer something to their gods, a tribute. Offering something that was related to your role was given the highest amount of praise, but even if you didn’t, simply contributing was enough.

Those who couldn’t weren’t punished. It simply meant that they were less fortunate to give back, so their gods would watch over them even more to ensure that they could offer something next time.

"Do you have it?" Glena asked

"Yes." Since Kanan’s main occupation was that of a hunter, he decided to offer a boar. It was the most difficult animal he could hunt, so he hoped it was worthy enough for the gods.

As she worked on the village farm, Glena had grown something there on her own: a pumpkin, something that Lord Nemean the Second apparently liked, so she was offering that to him.

"Great. Let’s go."

---

The ceremony took place at the Village Shrine, where the Spirit Totem had been built ages ago. This part of the village was the most well-developed, with structures being built out of stone instead of wood, straw, and clay.

It was also a large center for gatherings when the village was blessed with great fortune.

The largest structure was the Spirit Totem, a pillar of the gods. There, one would be blessed and given a role as well as an ability.

Everyone looked forward to this day, to when their children would grow up, or when said children would get their abilities. Every person had a reason to attend the ceremony, and no one would miss it unless they were sick or something else that was equally important took place.

"Come, Kanan. Let’s put our offering at the altar." The two of them walked toward the altar, greeting people along the way. Tons of offerings were already present, and more were to come.

After placing down their offering, Glena and Kanan went to find a place to sit and wait for the chief to give his annual speech.

"Hey, Kanan." Viola greeted, spotting Kanan and rushing over to sit next to him.

"Viola, hey." They both hugged and sat down while holding hands.

Glena couldn’t help but feel proud of Kanan for already finding a partner.

"Are you nervous?" Viola asked

"I would be lying if I said I wasn’t, but I think I’m more excited than nervous." It was the truth. Regardless of his blessing and role, the system would fully awaken today, and he was eager to find out what it could truly do.

"I was really nervous when it was my time to be blessed."

"I remember." Kanan chuckled. "You tripped on the stairs leading up to the Spirit Totem."

"S-Shut up! Why do you remember that?!"

"Hehehe!"

Once it was time for the ceremony to start, Village Chief Solan walked onto the platform where the Spirit Totem rested and began his speech.