Training as a Slime(81)
It was just the second day of school and it seemed that so much had already happened; more mysteries to unravel with even more questions unanswered. But all these did not matter in that split moment of a second. Its heart beat furiously, filled with excitement and delight ever since it laid its eyes on Cori. But when the slime bumped into Cori, it felt as if heaven heard its prayers for some form of skinship—the moment the tiny slime's skin touched Cori, its blood pumped furiously and a surge of adrenaline changed the pale-looking slime into several shades of blue and pink.
"Are you okay?" asked Cori, emanating a gentle gold aura like a prince in shining armour, charming the unsuspecting slime. The tiny slime squealed in excitement, giddy and trembling in titillation. When Cori's paw touched the slime's out of concern, the tiny slime felt its tiny heartbeat bursting into overdrive.
"This is too much for my heart! I shall never wash my head again!" the slime thought to itself as it turned invisible out of embarrassment and retreated a few steps out of instinct.
"Where did she go?" Cori wondered.
"I... 'ere... I awight," the small voice squeaked.
"That's good. I was worried. Take good care of yourself alright?" Cori replied gently, his golden sheen casting another charm on the poor little slime.
"Ahhh..." the voice said swooning. But before it could say anything else, Cori assumed it was alright and had already used "Swift Steps" to rush to his class at Alkydrich.
Bursting into classroom 1, everyone turned and stared at the late slime. The angel slime signalled to Cori waving his paw. Cori hurried to his seat as the trainer returned to her lesson.
"Brother, where did you go? Lucky for you, I saved you a seat. How will you repay me?" Shanson joked.
"By giving you a hi-paw, haha..." Cori replied raising his paw.
"A hi paw?" Shanson said.
"Haha, you mean like a hi 5. Hahaha, cute," Shanson replied, smacking Cori's paw with his.
"Excuse me, can everyone quiet down?" Bodicea said in a timid voice. Before Cori could say anything, Shanson put his paws on Cori's lip.
"Thank you," said the rabbit furry softly. "Erm... so can anyone summarise what I just taught?"
If silence were gold, everyone would be rich at this awkward moment.
Bodicea nervously tapped her fit in agitation. "Anyone?" she asked again innocently as the floor trembled.
Fearing the floor would collapse, a slime on the 1st row replied, "The fundamentals of prayers are a sincere heart, relevant god, faith and holy power."
Bodicea's tensed expression softened, and her smile spread across her face as if a weight had momentarily lifted from her shoulders. "Actually... while all the above are right, there's an additional crucial aspect: the right tools and prayers," she explained, her voice soft but firm. "Each deity has specific prayer requirements, so you must study their preferences and quirks. Before praying, you must craft a speech akin to a spell, tailored to the respective god. And then, there are these..." With a bashful gesture, she revealed two crimson crescent-shaped objects. "Moon blocks," she said in her tiny voice. "Observe, one side rounded, the other flat. You cast them after you said your prayers. Should both land uniformly - rounded or flat- it means your prayers are denied. But if one settles rounded and the other flat; your prayers will be answered and bestowed with a portion of divine power."
"All holy sceptres have moon blocks in them but today we will practice with them instead," said Bodicea as she spontaneously tossed a cluster of moon blocks into the air. With impeccable accuracy and precision, the wooden blocks descended onto each trainee's table with a sharp thud.
She then resumed the lesson, while everyone hinged on every word of hers, hoping to catch them. Luckily for Cori, his perfect hearing retained every word with unwavering precision.
"Today, we shall offer our prayers to a lesser, yet significant deity—the god of sparks," Bodicea barely announced. "This god was the first deity to bestow the knowledge of fire upon us, so let us entreat for sparks that do not ignite the room. The sole prerequisite is your power of faith in him."
The excited trainees who heard her closed their eyes and prayed, throwing their moon blocks excitedly in anticipation of a positive answer. While some succeeded on their first try with sparks surrounding them, others failed to gain the minor god's favour.
As the system blared its alarm in a frenzy, Cori received a positive reading from the moon block. "Would you like to form a pact with the god of sparks?" the system inquired.
Noticing the confused expression on some of the trainees' faces, Bodicea guessed the obvious: "If the god of sparks requested to enter a contract with you, please pray to him to thank him and tell him that you will consider it."
Amidst the commotion, multiple trainees swiftly offered prayers again, effectively diffusing the situation. Meanwhile, Cori experienced a different outcome. A minor blessing enveloped him, manifesting in mini-fireworks that danced around him.
System: "You have received a minor blessing of sparks and inspiration from the god of sparks."
"Seems like he's taken quite a shine to you. You must've had some stroke of luck in a past life, huh?" Shanson chuckled, teasing his friend about his fortuitous encounter while some trainees envy silently.
"Well done Cori, it seemed you have an affinity with the divine," Bodicea congratulated, beaming with pride. Her legs trembling with excitement, itching to jump with joy- her first trainee to ever receive a blessing from a god. "He must be a natural talent; I need to take him under my wing," the pugilist mused to herself, envisioning a sacred warrior purging the world of evil demonic forces. Her imagination was soon interrupted by the school's alarm, signifying the end of a lesson.
"All right, everyone, you may keep the moon blocks. Just remember to bring them for the next lesson. In our next lesson, we'll delve into healing practices," the furry tutor announced as the others started packing up and leaving for the upcoming class.
In the meantime, Cori never expected the blessing of mini fireworks to last the whole day.