Chapter 303: Favored by the Muse, promoted to a Five-ring Poet

Passing through the valley guarded by a hundred-eyed giant, an apple orchard appeared before Yeats.

At the entrance to the orchard, there was a wooden sign with the following riddle:

"Nine water nymphs, or Muses, who guard the fountain of inspiration, noble talents, please help me and let me witness the wonders of music."

Yeats ignored the riddle and kept searching with his eyes, and soon found his target.

In this lush orchard stands a single laurel tree, its golden flowers exuding fragrance and its graceful posture like a graceful water fairy.

The God of Light was particularly fond of laurel. He made laurel wreaths from its branches, harps from its wood, and decorated his golden bow with laurel flowers.

After passing the test of the Hundred-Eyed Giant, the key to passing this trial is to find the laurel tree and obtain the [Lyre] sealed in the tree.

"In the original plot, you must first solve the riddle given by the water fairy before you can get the clues related to the laurel tree... Fortunately, I have the advantage of foresight, so I can save you the trouble!"

Thinking of this, Yeats walked quickly towards the eye-catching laurel tree.

This scene was seen by another water fairy in the stream surrounding the orchard. She was stunned, and a trace of surprise flashed in her blue eyes.

——Why doesn’t he play by the rules?

Shouldn't you come to me for help first, and then go and unlock the seal of the laurel tree? Why did you ignore me and go straight to the lyre! "He didn't see the puzzle? That's impossible. The puzzle is right in the most conspicuous place."

When the water nymph saw Yeats put his hand on the trunk of the laurel tree, her expression became more and more confused.

"And how did he know that the lyre was hidden in the tree trunk?"

The moment his hand touched the trunk, Yeats felt surprised by the divine aura surging from the laurel tree.

It is a bright divinity of extremely high purity! Divinity is essentially a kind of energy, and is closely related to [domain] and [blessing].

The light divinity in the material realm is already scarce. I didn’t expect that I could come into contact with the precious light divinity in this trial.

Yeats was not polite and immediately let the mistletoe rooted in the tree of life devour the light divinity. The warm and abundant power fed back to the tree of life, making Yeats' soul seem to be bathed in the sun, and the power of the soul increased accordingly.

[Light] is the source on which all things in the world depend. The scriptures say that God created light first, and then all things came into being.

This was just a trace of divinity from the God of Light, but it made Yeats feel a tremor in his soul. He could hardly imagine what kind of satisfaction it would be to obtain the authority of the God of Light.

Ye Zhi himself had no way to digest the divinity of light, and relied entirely on the [Silver Oak Sword], the weapon that shot and killed the God of Light.

The blasphemous sword that drank the blood of God in turn became a container of divinity, thus giving Yeats the means to control the divinity of light.

Light continued to flow into Yeats' body.

The mistletoe on the Tree of Life looked ever greener and swayed slightly as if it was particularly happy.

At the same moment, Yeats seemed to be communicating directly with the remaining will of the laurel tree, and the questions from the laurel tree emerged in his mind.

"The favorite bird of the God of Light?"

"Swan." Ye Zhi immediately answered according to the strategy content in his memory.

"The plant that the God of Light hates the most?"

"Mistletoe," Yeats muttered.

Even my life depends on the mistletoe, it would be strange if I don't despise it! The voice fell silent and then disappeared.

At the same time, the laurel tree in front of Yeats released brilliant golden light, and gradually turned into the shape of a lyre as the light shone.

The water fairy who was watching from afar had an even more obvious look of surprise in her eyes.

He passed the test without my guidance! Looking at the young man's tall figure, the Water Fairy was filled with mixed feelings and said quietly:

"Really? You don't need me at all."

Yeats stretched out his palm and picked up the slowly falling lyre.

After the light faded, the legendary lyre lay quietly in Yeats's palm.

The seven-stringed lyre of the God of Light was shining with golden light, with strings like silver threads. The body of the lyre was made of laurel wood, and the two curved corners were made of tortoise shell. There were ancient runes, dimly flickering on the seven-stringed lyre.

This is not yet the complete form of the lyre. It must pass the test of the water fairy in the third trial before the runes on the lyre can be restored to their glory and the lyre can be given inspiring power.

The Pan flute is melodious and intoxicating, suitable for seductive songs and lullabies.

The lyre has a motivating effect like sunshine, and is a great help for spells such as Inspiring Song and Heroic Spirit.

Musical instruments to a bard are like the lance in the hands of a knight, and the two best instruments in the world are the flute of the faun and the lyre of the god of light!

At this moment, he was only one step away from officially inheriting the lyre! Yeats suppressed his emotions and thought to himself that the final test was to create a poem to impress the nine water fairies named "Muses".

Muse is the personification of the concept of "inspiration". Bards often call them "Muse". Strictly speaking, they do not belong to the category of gods, but rather fairy creatures such as lake elves and water nymphs. There are nine of them in total.

They are respectively in charge of: heroic epic, history, lyric poetry, dance, love poetry, tragedy, comedy, ode, and astrology.

In the old era, Muses served the God of Light, and later became vassals of the Goddess of Youth. Nine Muses were enshrined in the Temple of Youth in the western capital of the empire.

"The topic of the poem given in the game plot is based on the image of 'swan'..."

The swan is a classic image in Western literary works, and in the East, Haizi's "The Swan" has become a popular poem.

In the game, players only need to choose poems about swans from the three options given to pass the level. Now that he has to create his own work, Yeats plans to be a plagiarist again.

The Irish poet William Butler Yeats is known as the leader of the Irish Renaissance movement. His status in Ireland is second only to the "Three Masters of the Renaissance" represented by Dante, and he has created many famous works with swans as the theme.

Among them, "Lida and the Swan" and "The Wild Swans at Coole Park" are the most famous.

The former breaks the convention and depicts the swan's savagery and cruelty. Such unique works that subvert previous cognition can often become classics, just like "Don Quixote" which subverted the traditional knight novel.

The latter is of romantic style and is more in line with the current era, so Yeats chose "The Wild Swans at Coole Park" as the dedication poem for the third level.

Thinking of this, Yeats could not help but recall the literature appreciation class in his previous life, and sighed in his heart:

"I'm a liberal arts major who traveled through time, so I can only rely on the fact that I've memorized a few poems..."

At this time, the surrounding environment changed again.

Ye Zhi only felt a burst of light enveloping him, and with the fluctuation of teleportation magic, he was already on the top of the mountain in Julier.

The grass is lush, the spring water is clear, the top of the mountain is particularly quiet, and the air is refreshing.

Ye Zhi took a deep breath and caught a glimpse of another teleporting light out of the corner of his eye.

The wandering poet disguised as the messenger god Medis appeared in front of Yeats in a dishevel. He looked around nervously and his eyes were fixed on the harp in Yeats's hand.

"You, you found the lyre?!" Medea shouted.

As the patron saint of thieves, Medis's ability to deceive is one of the best among gods.

Under the influence of Diamond and Daisy, Yeats also learned to lie with open eyes. He put on a humble attitude and smiled, "Luckily, I accidentally touched a laurel tree, and then this lyre fell into my hands."

Medes twitched his lips... Good luck? I see that you clearly knew the specific content of this trial in advance! The God of Light holds the power of [Prophecy].

In Yeats's body, Medea felt close to the divinity of light, and could not help but suspect that there was a deeper cause and effect between him and the God of Light.

But at this moment, Medes did not want to reveal his identity, so he pretended to be a mortal panting and sighed:

"The spell you just used was so powerful that the sunlight shone so brightly that the hundred-eyed giant closed all his eyes!"

Yeats looked up at the sky silently.

Legendary Flash is particularly effective against enemies with many eyes! Angels from heaven have many eyes, which means they know more, and many hands, which means they can do more. Therefore, angels always look strange, and there are many angels with eyes all over their bodies. Thor's Flash is very effective against them!

"I still don't know what the first level of the test will be." Ye Zhi glanced at Medea and said, "Be careful, don't be as reckless as you were the last two times... You don't have the chance to start over again like the gods do."

Medes looked slightly embarrassed, and he exclaimed in his heart. There was something behind his words. Could it be that he had seen through my identity? Impossible! Only a few people could see through my disguise!

At the same moment.

Zuanya snickered and said, "You've kept this guy in the dark. Do you really think he has fooled you?"

Ye Zhi: “…”

The player's prophetic advantage is a weapon of causal level like "future vision".

The subsequent plot development is consistent with what Yeats expected.

In the center of the spring on the top of the mountain, three graceful water fairies danced over.

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They expressed the content of the trial in unison in a harmonious way.

Yeats and Medis were asked to play music on the theme of swans and recite poems dedicated to the god of light.

Regardless of ancient or modern times, at home or abroad, poetry is often linked to chanting.

Medis was clever and cunning, had an eloquent tongue, quick eyes and quick hands, and was a good player of musical instruments, but was relatively inferior in poetry writing.

In contrast, the profession of [Wandering Bard] is known for its extensive knowledge, but it is not as good as the bard who believes in youth and love in poetry creation.

Seeing that the trial was about to end and the time had come for his identity to be revealed, Medes showed a hint of his true nature. Like a passionate shepherd, he played cheerful music, making the three Muses chuckle with their hands covering their mouths.

When it was Yeats' turn to present a poem, he plucked the lyre he had just acquired, as familiarly as if he were playing a lost treasure. The perfect music made a strange light flash in Medis' eyes.

"He just got the lyre, and he's already so good at it?"

Medea knew that Yeats, as an artistic god, was proficient in all musical instruments in the world, but the lyre was a sacred object after all, and it would take some time to get the hang of it.

At this moment, Medis noticed the Muses' favored eyes looking at Yeats, and then he suddenly realized.

Muses, the embodiment of inspiration, love handsome boys, melancholy poets, erudite travelers, passionate musicians... and all of these can be found in Yeats.

The lovely Erato, who is in charge of love poetry, with cheeks like apples, secretly looks at Yeats.

With a basket of flowers in her hands, and lyric poetry in her hands, the happy Euterpe nodded gently to Yeats's melody.

Even Polina, who looked melancholy, wore a veil and was in charge of the ode, had a changed look in her eyes.

It was because of the Muse's favor for Yeats that [inspiration] surrounded Yeats, allowing him to use the lyre for his own benefit as soon as he got it! Medis couldn't help but sigh.

"He can play on a lyre, but I can only play on earthly instruments... I am no match for him in this respect."

Following the melody, Yeats recited the poem softly.

"The Wild Swans of Coole Park" has been passed down for a hundred years and is a rare masterpiece. It takes swans in autumn as its theme, exuding a sense of loneliness in romance.

In the eyes of Muse and Medis, this poem is also Yeats's impromptu work, which makes it even more valuable.

The eyes of the three Muses moved slightly, and their favor became more and more obvious.

Until Yeats's poem ended, the music lingered over the lake for a long time, and the happy Euterpe sighed and said with a smile:

“What an excellent poem.”

Melancholy Polynya nodded silently and cast a questioning look at the lovely Erato with rosy cheeks.

"I agree that he should inherit the lyre!" Erato said softly, and then looked at Medis cautiously, "What do you think?"

As soon as the words came out, Erato immediately realized that he had said something wrong, and covered his mouth with a look of panic.

This remark inadvertently revealed that Medis's status was prominent, which qualified him to be respected by the Muses.

Medis glanced at Yeats, and seeing his gaze, he shook his head helplessly, with a slight smile on his face: "Now that things have come to this, I will reveal my cards. I am actually -"

Ye Zhi interrupted the spell and said, "I know you are the God of Messengers!"

Medes widened his eyes, a trace of surprise flashed across his eyes, the words stuck in his throat, he swallowed them back, nodded stiffly, and whispered:

"Hmm...you guessed it right."

Medis' voice sounded oddly frustrated.

The three Muses looked at each other, smiled, and said in unison: "Please give us your lyre temporarily, and we will use the fountain of inspiration to cleanse it and sweep away the dust of yesterday."

Yeats handed over the lyre, which was enveloped in white light and flew into the hands of the melancholy Polina.

The other two Muses, one holding a clay pot and the other scooping up spring water, patiently watered the lyre.

The body of the lyre became brighter and brighter, shining with a pale golden glow, and the dim runes also shone with brilliance!

Finally, the lyre returned to Yeats's hands.

The moment his fingers touched the lyre, the artistic divinity transformed from the fountain of inspiration poured into Yeats' soul.

At the same moment, ripples appeared in the soul realm.

Buzz——

The bard's career path broke through the bottleneck and officially entered the fifth ring!

The poet who wins the poetry festival is called the Poet Laureate. In addition to the laurel wreath, it is because he is a five-ring bard in the art world and his profession is named "Poet Laureate".

[Poet Laureate] is promoted from [Sword Dancer] and cannot be promoted with the help of potions, but only through rituals. Among the ten five-ring bards, there may not be a Poet Laureate.

During the ancient empire, there was a poet laureate who was punished for writing a poem satirizing the tyrant "Mad King". He left a last word, "You can't silence a poet. Swans will sing elegy until they die."

The Poet Laureate is naturally immune to most negative conditions such as fear, ridicule, and silence, but the duration of being "Charmed" will be increased.

This profession specializes in archery.

Ye Zhi clearly felt that his understanding of archery had advanced to a higher level.

With archery expertise at the quasi-master level, he has officially entered the master category!

"Now the power of thousands of arrows fired at the same time is even stronger!" Ye Zhi sighed to himself.

[You have learned new spells, talents, and blessings! ]

…

(End of this chapter)