"It would be pretty stupid of me to not listen when you are trying to help me. I know I am an idiot at times, but I try not to be that stupid."

Lin says "You aren't stupid and you are only an idiot when it comes to emotions. So, are you almost done? I am getting hungry."

"Alright, let me just finish this formation."

I finish the formation, then head inside with Lin, and have dinner with her. Over dinner I talk with Lin about the modifications I am making and get her advice. She still has a much broader understanding and knowledge of magic than I do.

She manages to give me a few more ideas and suggestions to improve the defenses. Thinking about the ideas she has given me also spawns a few more ideas of my own. However, if I put all of them in place then the castle will be better defended than the ship.

"Lin, do you think I am going overboard with the defenses?"

Lin says "Considering that your enemies include demons and all the gods you have pissed off? No, I don't. In fact, with enemies like those I don't think there is such a thing as overboard. The idea is to do whatever it takes for you to feel safe enough that you can relax."

"I'm just worried that I am being paranoid."

Lin says "You aren't being paranoid. You have enemies that are after you."

"Now that you mention it, I wonder how well mana based defenses will work against avatars."

Lin says "I don't know. You should probably ask the goddesses."

"Good idea. Seronia, do you have a minute?"

Seronia appears and says "I always have time for you, Ash. Hello, Lin. So, what's up?"

Lin says "Hello, Seronia. It's nice to see you. Would you like to join us for dinner? Ash has some questions about avatars."

Seronia says "Sure, thank you. What do you want to know, Ash?"

"Lin has convinced me that some of my recent mental problems are from me not relaxing enough. In an attempt to feel safe enough to relax I am upgrading the defenses of the castle. The problem is I don't know how effective they will be against avatars."

Seronia says "With how many gods you pissed off, that is a valid concern. Mana based defenses will work against avatars, they are just less effective than normal. I would say they lose around twenty percent of their power against normal avatars. The avatars of a god of magic would be able to pretty much ignore them."

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"That's not what I was hoping to hear. Is there a way to make the defenses more effective? Or better yet, is there a language for using divine power in formations?"

Seronia says "There is a divine language that has a written form. I don't know that it has ever been used in formations, but it should work. However, I am not going to teach it to you unless you make me a promise."

"What promise?"

Seronia says "You have to promise me you will never mix it with another language. That means no mixed formations, spells, or anything else you think up. Also, you can only use the language with divine power!"

"What else would I use it with? Oh! Origin energy!"

Krenocia appears and says "This is why you shouldn't teach him our language."

Seronia says "Ash keeps his promises. Besides, he doesn't really want to destroy this world. His old world might be a different story."

Lin says "Wait, what's this about destroying the world?!"

Seronia says "Combining the divine language with Origin energy would be able to affect the building blocks of the world. Even a slight mistake could unmake the world."

Krenocia says "Just the kind of thing Ash is likely to stumble upon."

"Um, I guess I can't argue that. I promise to only use the language to create formations and divine spells. I promise not to try and use the language with any other type of energy or language. Is that good enough?"

Seronia says "Yes."

Krenocia says "No."

Lin says "Maybe."

Seronia says "Sister, this is my call. I am teaching him the language."

Krenocia says "Fine!" and disappears."

Lin says "This isn't something I can be a part of, right?"

Seronia says "No. I'm sorry, but you don't have divine power which is required to learn the language."

Lin says "Alright. Ash, I will be in the room."

"Okay."

Lin gets up and heads into our room leaving me alone with Seronia, who looks torn. To me it looks like she is having second thoughts about teaching me the language. Then again, if the language is that powerful, I would hesitate to teach it to me too.

"You don't have to do this. I can probably figure out something else that will handle the avatars."

Seronia says "No. The only other thing that would work would be mixing divine energy and mana. You already know how bad of an idea that is. The main reason I am willing to teach you this is because of just how many deities you have angered. Besides, divine energy is especially useful against demons, even just speaking the language can hurt them."

"That could definitely come in handy. Are you sure about this?"

Seronia says "No. Not even close, but I am going to do it anyway."

Before I can say anything else, or she can reconsider, Seronia leans over and kisses me. That, in itself, isn't surprising, but the pain that comes with it is another story. It hurts way more than when the dragon taught me the magical language.

Hearing me screaming in pain, Lin comes running, only to find me curled up on the floor clutching my head. Seronia quickly reassures her that I will be fine, once I am done absorbing the language. For me, it feels like the language is burning its way into my brain word by word.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Pain Resist has progressed to level 9!

Pain Resist

Level 9

You feel 90% less pain.

Physical damage reduced by 9%.

The skill leveling up helps out quite a bit, but I'd hate to try this without the skill. Just twenty percent of the pain was enough to make me cry like a baby. If I didn't have the skill I can only imagine I would end up in a coma or worse, just from the pain.

Even after the pain finally ends, it takes me a few minutes to catch my breath. When I open my eyes I find my head resting on Lin's lap while she gently strokes my head. Seronia is still here, standing over us watching me, and she smiles when she sees me open my eyes.