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Fortunately, the construction of hearths in this era was inherently difficult, whether they were household bronze or communal stone ones, and they couldn’t be completed within small rooms. Therefore, even if he lived at the place where he worked every day, it hardly affected Kolon’s life.

“Mr. Laine, I have returned.”

Having walked some distance, his home was now in sight. Still, Ande first knocked on the neighboring courtyard gate and then greeted with a respectful tone.

“Come in, the door isn’t locked.”

Creak—

Upon hearing that, Ande pushed open the wooden gate and stepped into the courtyard.

Since moving to a new place to live, Ande and Laine naturally became neighbors.

Although as Ande learned more and more, his time spent performing alone outside was becoming longer, he always remembered to visit his teacher first each time he returned, even though the other party had never formally acknowledged him as a student.

“Mr. Laine, this is a specialty of Giant Wood Town, I’ve brought some back especially for you.”

Entering the courtyard, Ande spoke with a smile, looking at Laine who was sitting and reading in a reclining chair.

The term ‘town’ was merely a description of a new settlement, nothing like the villages and towns of later eras. Giant Wood Town was a newly established small settlement named for its proximity to an ancient forest.

As for the so-called speciality Ande brought, it was the heartwood of those ancient trees, which was perfect for making wooden carvings.

“You are considerate.”

Nodding, indicating Ande to set down the items, Laine shifted his gaze from the book in his hands.

“Since you are here, as usual, tell me about your journey. Over the years, your reputation has indeed grown.”

“It’s all thanks to Mr. Laine’s teachings, otherwise I wouldn’t have reached where I am today.”

Ande’s tone was sincere, without any hint of self-satisfaction; he was very clear about the source of his success today.

Ande then recounted to Laine his recent experiences on the road, including the reasons behind the establishment of Giant Wood Town, the dirt roads connecting several residences, and the ‘cars’ pulled by livestock that could be used for transportation.

In the past, only the Sun God and Moon God were said to have their divine chariots, one supposedly born in a previous age, the other several decades ago, but now the human tribes also had their own vehicles.

On this trip, Ande had the chance to experience them. However, perhaps because the craftsmanship was not yet perfected, he found it rather bumpy, whereas the people traveling with him greatly enjoyed this novel contraption.

“Speaking of which, Mr. Laine, I don’t know why, but there have been several acts of disrespect towards the deities recently.”

As if recalling something, Ande couldn’t help speaking out:

“Some actually believe that it’s not necessary to expend so many resources on worshipping deities, insisting that humans can live well enough on their own.”

“Don’t they know that it is the existence of the gods that keeps natural disasters at bay and prevents the increasingly numerous monsters from approaching human settlements?”

At this point, Ande also found it hard to understand the thinking of those people.

On this long journey, he had learned much that was difficult to come across while staying in the center of the Aurora Plains, like just how dangerous the world could be beyond human activity.

Giant eagles with control over light, water monsters that could cause rivers to overflow, and colossal beasts standing dozens of meters tall—some had been tainted with divine blood scattered during the god wars, while others contained special cursed substances in their bodies. They were nothing like the docile and harmless livestock humans were accustomed to.

Although Ande now actually didn’t fear them, having ways to scare off those creatures, he also knew the great danger they posed to ordinary people. Without intervention, an average human would be no match for them.

Today’s towns expanding from human settlements were all established under the guidance of the Creator, and after The Temple of the gods had been constructed, the new towns were able to settle down safely.

The monsters naturally feared the divine aura left in the gods’ statues and thus kept away from human settlements. It was knowing this that made Ande deeply understand that humans actually couldn’t do without the gods.

“People always adapt, Ande, and modern humans are protected too well. They don’t understand how dangerous the world is, nor how hard-earned their current lives are,”

Shaking his head slightly, unlike Ande, Laine was not surprised that someone would have such thoughts.

“By the way, how’s your new play coming along?”

“I haven’t got much of a clue yet… I want to recreate the life of the Golden Humanity through puppetry, to let people understand the lives of the previous generations of humans, but there are too few records of that era.”

“Even the creator seldom talks about those times. It is said that back then, the humans’ thoughts were restricted?”

Saying this somewhat anxiously, Ande also felt rather helpless.

He, of course, could whip up something on a whim, but Ande did not want to indulge in such self-deception.

“Don’t worry, you can finish ‘Titan War (Part II)’ first. As for the Golden Age—maybe in a while, you might actually bump into a Golden Human.”

Smiling reassuringly, and as if he remembered something, Laine handed a blank notebook to Ande.

“Here, this is for you.”

“What’s this? Why are there no words in this book?”

Curiously taking it in his hand, Ande was a bit curious.

He had seen books before. As early as in the Golden Age, humans had already learned simple papermaking techniques, but it was never widely used.

Humans’ demand for paper stemmed from the need for extensive writing, meant for communication and knowledge dissemination. However, the currently settled humans who were without offspring temporarily had no such need. Moreover, compared to paper, stone carvings and sheepskin had a clearly longer lifespan.

“This is for you, an endless blank notebook. You can write your plays in it. Compared to scrolls, it’s more portable and easier to write on.”

Waving his hand, Laine leaned back in his recliner.

“Alright, that will be all. You’ve been out for a long time; hurry back and rest. I won’t take up more of your time.”

“Speaking with Mr. Laine, how could that be a waste of time.”

Smiling in response, Ande also got ready to leave. As he approached the gate, just as he turned to close it, a sudden sense of reverie overtook him when he looked at Laine, lying in the shade of the trees.

The ages of the Bronze Humanity when they were created were not all the same, even those created in the same batch. On this trip, invited to perform far away, he saw a human who had started to show signs of aging.

Gray hairs appeared amongst the dark ones, wrinkles lined the face, and the strength was no longer what it used to be. Looking at the other, for the first time Ande felt a reverence for time and life.

He did not know if he would end up like this, although Mr. Laine had said that he would have a long life ahead of him, but still, his emotions fluctuated somewhat.

But Mr. Laine was different. Over twenty years had passed, and he seemed to be unchanged since their first meeting, not even by the slightest degree.

“It is said that priests can gain the deities’ special favor; maybe that’s the reward Mr. Laine has received.”

“But then again, which deity’s priest is Mr. Laine?”

No sooner had this thought flashed through his mind than it was subconsciously dismissed. Ande closed the door behind him and walked towards his own dwelling place.

The physical exhaustion was secondary; this journey had truly made Ande feel a bit of mental weariness.

Now, he planned to get a good sleep.

······

Ande returned to his small courtyard and even in his dreams, he was haunted by the history of the Golden Humanity. The ‘encounter with a Golden Human’ Laine mentioned—he took it as a joke because everyone knew the Golden Age had long since perished.

But what he did not know was that, just moments apart, not far from Giant Wood Town, a man wrapped in animal skins was staring blankly at the primitive wooden walls in the distance, lost in thought.