Richter was lost in thought for a long time. He temporarily abandoned his plan to follow the sounds and sat on the branch of a large, lush tree, observing the scene below and pondering.

The unexpected blessing, and the flood of information that came with it, left him unsure of his next steps.

…The blessing was real. The power of the gods couldn’t be faked. And the War God was one of the most special deities. As the “God Made of Mortals,” the power he bestowed would have a distinctive quality. It would affect the caster’s mental state. For example, Richter was now feeling an overwhelming surge of confidence, sometimes even having extreme thoughts like “I’ll just cut everything down.”

But the problem was, Richter had no memory of casting this spell.

—In fact, since he’d learned the War God’s spells, he’d hardly used them at all.

He usually used magic, mainly spells like “Luminescence” and “Stunning Strike” that aided his thinking. Occasionally, when magic wasn’t effective, or when divine spells were needed, he’d use spells from the God of Order or the God of Wisdom… The spells from the “Unspeakable God” of the Spirit Tribunal were occasionally used against those with ill intentions who couldn’t be dealt with directly.

But he rarely used the War God’s spells, the spells of the “Undefeated God of War,” the “God of Unwavering Victory.”

On the one hand, there wasn’t much need for combat in Mittal. On the other hand, he didn’t particularly like things that affected his mental state… And to be honest, at low levels, the War God’s spells weren’t that useful. You’d usually lose the fight whether you used the spell or not.

This wasn’t to say the blessing wasn’t powerful, or that its effects weren’t useful.

Though low-level spells had many limitations, requiring a defeat before the blessing could be received, as the caster’s strength increased, these restrictions lessened. The effects became more noticeable and comprehensive, not limited to physical attributes, but also affecting more difficult things to enhance, like intelligence, magical adaptability, and even impacting things like causality and spacetime.

There’s a record of a devout follower of the War God, a superhuman close-combat “City Breaker,” who experienced this:

In a surprise attack, he and his subordinates faced an enemy force three times their size. On the battlefield, he made an unexpected move. He swung his sword without hitting anything. A second later, his second swing split the enemy forces in two, including three of their equally superhuman enemies—his first strike had resulted in a defeat, so his second strike, ignoring armor, strategy, and everything that worked against him, achieved a crushing victory.

This kind of thing is incredibly rare, but it did happen.

But at low levels, the limitations were significant, and the minimal boost from the War God’s spells made them almost useless. Not only did you need to lose a battle to receive the blessing, but by the time you did, your opponent had likely already won. And even if you managed to receive the blessing and the resulting surge of anger, confidence, and excitement, these emotions could cloud your judgment and affect your decision-making during battle.

This wasn’t to say that the blessing wasn’t powerful, or that the effects weren’t real.

Though low-level spells were very limited, requiring defeat before the blessing could be received, as the caster's power increased, these restrictions lessened, and the effects became more noticeable and comprehensive. It wasn’t limited to improving physical attributes. It also improved more difficult aspects like intelligence and magical adaptability, impacting even causality and spacetime.

Devout followers of the War God respected him, but even they found this situation frustrating. Richter had even heard jokes at gatherings, calling the War God the “God of Two Freebies,” or the “God Who Only Bestows Glory After Defeat”… It referred to how many people had used this spell and often received a second chance. Sometimes the opponent got away, and the enhanced abilities were useless, the person claiming the opponent had been too scared.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Richter didn’t comment on this, but he rarely used the War God’s spells.

Unless the situation was dire, and there was no other option. Otherwise, he’d put the War God’s spells at the bottom of his list of priorities.

It’s almost useless at low levels. Not only do you need to lose a battle to get the blessing, but by then, your opponent has already won. And even if you get the enhanced abilities, the resulting surge in anger, confidence, and excitement can cloud your judgment and decision-making.

…And the low-level spells don’t increase your speed that much. If your opponent is too strong, you should just run. A rational person, affected by the spell, wouldn’t be able to catch up.

Devout followers of the War God respect him, but even they find this frustrating. Richter had even heard jokes where the War God was called the “God of Two Freebies” or the “God Who Only Bestows Glory After Defeat”… It meant that many people had used the spell and received a second chance. Sometimes the opponent got away, and the enhanced abilities were useless, the person claiming that the opponent had been too scared.

Richter didn’t comment on this, but he rarely used the War God’s spells.

Unless the situation was dire. Otherwise, he kept it low on his priority list.

The most useful application of this low-level spell was during escapes, sacrificing yourself to buy time for your companions—like the big brothers in those novels.

But considering that I can’t even cast spells properly, I’ll probably just get killed instantly, Richter thought.

Though he was very puzzled, he quickly accepted the fact that he had suffered amnesia, that he’d been in a battle, and had used the War God’s spell before losing his memory.

Since he couldn’t use his enhanced abilities at will, the person who defeated him must be watching him. Strange… Just watching shouldn’t trigger it. Theoretically, I’m currently engaged in a ‘contest’ with him?

He didn’t sense anything unusual. Theoretically, this is a mental battle?

Richter silently cast ten layers of “Iron Will” and ten layers of “Mental Guard” spells on himself.

Then, pointing his hand towards the sky, he whispered,

“I implore the God of Order, the God of the Written Law, the God of Established Rules—bind me.

I will not harm my friends. I will not harm the innocent. I will uphold morality and faith. I will place others above myself. I swear this oath, and I will not break it. May you witness this.”

The symbol of the God of Order silently appeared on the back of his hand, a little distance from the War God’s symbol.

This was insurance. Even if his perceptions and consciousness were subtly altered, the God of Order’s power would prevent him from doing anything harmful.

Having done that, Richter sighed with relief and began to think about what it meant that he had used the War God’s spell.

Though he had no memory of what he’d done, he was certain he hadn’t done anything pointless… After pondering for a moment, he considered a possibility.

—To leave a message.

If something happened, time rewound, memories were erased, then divine magic, which transcended time and space, was the only way to convey information.

And the War God’s spell was very practical in this situation.

The casting time was short. Invoking the War God’s name would be effective. The two-stage activation mechanism guaranteed that the message would be received. Though the enhanced abilities were almost useless in real combat, it would be a different story if he had teammates…

Though this theory was a bit far-fetched, Richter believed this was the truth.

But how did he come to this conclusion? What had he seen and learned during that lost period?

Richter felt uneasy. Realizing he might have experienced a “rewind,” he couldn’t maintain his composure because of the surge of emotions from the War God’s spell.

…If I got a message, what about Selene?

He knew himself very well. If this had happened, the first thing he would do wouldn’t be to leave a message for himself—but to try to preserve Selene’s memories, to make sure she was aware of the situation.

Even without considering his feelings, it made sense from a purely logical perspective.

Because he couldn’t quickly gain Selene’s trust, he couldn’t just tell her, “We’ve already experienced a time rewind or memory erasure.” She wouldn’t believe him.

But there was another way.

Even if she remained somewhat skeptical, he was certain she would trust him.

Two people knowing was always better than one.

The War God’s spell could be used on others, so… Selene, at the very least, should be aware that something was wrong. And when he explained the situation, her ability to accept it would be greater.

That was enough.

Find her.