"This.."

Shien completely lost all words as he read the contents of the book.

If that's how it was, then there was basically no more need for him to consider just who his [Blessing of the Highest God] came from.

No, back when he first heard of the existence of a "Highest God", Shien already had some idea just who his blessing, or rather, just who Nien, who granted him his blessing, was.

Now, the contents of the book told Shien the true identity of his blessing as well as that of Nien, who granted him said blessing.

"Each and every one of them really have hid it quite deeply huh."

Shien's mood was slightly unhappy.

That was because the more he understood that, the more Shien recognized that he had been caught in something very big.

"Based on what was written in this book, generally, all lives in the mortal world will gain the blessing from a god. So long as they're mortal, a month after they're born, they'd be taken to a temple by their parents to receive a blessing. If someone with amazing potential was born though, it could even end up attracting a higher classed god to give their blessing."

Under such a situation, supposedly, if an existence on the level of one of the three great goddesses were to come give their blessing, then the blessing could very well completely transform the one so blessed. Their growth rate would be greatly boosted, and they might even get talents and abilities that they didn't originally have, allowing them to learn skills and magic that they originally didn't have. The effects were stunning.

Ever since ancient times, the number of people capable of being granted that level of blessings can be counted on one's fingers. When the Heroes throughout history were summoned to this world, the blessing that they received were granted to them by one of the three great goddesses.

As for the Highest God, it seems that there has never been anyone who had been granted that particular blessing.

Yet, now, no matter how one looks at it, that legendary grade existence seemed to have already fallen into Shien's hands.

Even though all the other Heroes were only able to get one of the three great goddesses' blessing, he himself managed to directly gain the Highest God's blessing.

Shien felt like the reasons behind this wasn't nearly so simple.

"A Hero summoning after a thousand years. Appearing after the war was already over and the three races have been at peace. That in and of itself is abnormal."

Add to that a blessing that no one has ever had, there's no way that Shien would believe that there aren't any deeper reasons behind all this.

"Speaking of though, I don't even have any idea just what kind of effects this blessing has."

Since it was a blessing that no one has ever had before, naturally there wouldn't be anyone who knows just what this blessing actually did.

"Gain the protection of the world."

"Limited to gods, all condition satisfied."

"Limited to gods, all interference can be ignored."

"Limited to gods, all positions can be set."

"Limited to gods, all effects can be gained."

"These effects. Just what do they mean?"

Shien didn't get it at all.

However, there was one thing that he could be sure of.

That was, the blessings of the gods were, to the people of the mortal world, something irreplaceable.

This didn't just mean that mortals can't escape the gods' blessings.

Basically, based on the explanation in the book, blessings are proof that one has the protection of a god. Everyone has it, and unless one has committed an unforgivable sin, only then would the blessing on that person disappear.

Thus, all who have lost their blessing are hated and reviled in the mortal world as well as the divine realm. They'd be considered outlaws within all countries, and even the adventurer's guild did not allow those who have lost their blessing to join. That's why there was a mechanic in the magic scanner that detected whether or not a blessing existed. The reason for that was to determine if the newbie applying to join the adventurer's guild was some kind of terrible criminal.

Also, demons will obviously not have blessings either.

Given all that, having a blessing is a basic requirement of living on among the mortals. The moment that's lost, then all that remains is to be a runaway like Leisha.

As an aside, both gods and demons are races who place a great deal of importance in rank. Based on one's rank, their positions in society are also quite different.

The top of the gods was unquestionably the Highest God, an existence that all gods worshiped and are absolutely obedient to. One can even call her the object of absolute loyalty. Because all gods were lives born from the Highest God, all gods considered her their mother and absolute queen. Right below her were the earliest born three great goddesses. The rest of the gods are split between high class and low class gods, and their position and rank were quite clearly defined.

The top of the demons was unquestionably the Demon King. After the Demon King's death, it was the six great demon lords who lead. Right after them were the high class demons and then low class demons. The ranking was quite similar to that of the gods. What was different though is that the gods determined their ranking and position based on their duty's importance and rarity, whereas the demons determined rankings based purely on power. If a talented existence with power and potential appeared, then they might even be directly taken by one of the six great demon lords as a direct subordinate, and their positions would be set above even the high class demons.

For example, Jillian was a high class demon, and was placed under the control of one of the six great demon lords, the Dragon Demon. His immediate superior was one of the Dragon Demon's direct subordinates. If Jillian continued on to develop quietly, then in a hundred years he might be able to become one of the Dragon Demon's direct subordinates. When that time came, baring the six great demon lords, Jillian's position would be one of the highest within the demon world.

Unfortunately, Jillian ended up joining the Old Demon Faction, and by now, had already left the Dragon Demon and became a wanted criminal.

As for the gods, just previously stated, what determines their rank and position wasn't their power, but rather the importance and rarity of their duties. Thus, there are high class gods without any combat abilities at all, as well as low class gods with exceptional fighting power. Only the three great goddesses have power unmatched by all others, as existences of the same level as the six great demon lords.

"That is to say, after the Demon King's passing and the Highest God's seclusion, the three great goddesses and the six great demon lords are basically at the top of the world, be it in position or raw might, huh?"

Shien more or less understood.

"Based on that, the world of gods and demons aren't all that complicated. Rankings are clear, the organization is simple. Rather, it's the mortals that are complicated."

The mortals are split into humans, dwarves, beastmen, and elves, etc. Each race have different ways of organizing their ranks and positions, and each particular faction have their own way of doing things. Compared to the gods and demons, it was unquestionably more complicated. Even the Mitra Kingdom that Shien was currently in was merely one of many human nations.

"I wonder what level humanity's highest battle power is? Or rather, just who is the strongest human?"

Shien had such thoughts as he returned [Gods' Blessings] back to its bookshelf.

Of course, there are still a lot of stuff that he didn't yet understand, so Shien had no choice but to learn it slowly over time.

Now though, Shien wanted to find some other books.

"I wonder if there are any here."

It could be said that was what Shien was looking forward to the most.historical

With such anticipations, Shien begun browsing around the library.

After about half an hour, Shien happily brought a book out of the library.

The book's title – [Basic Magic].