Although Artemis's words had already thrown Alaric's mind into chaos, his hands did not stop.
He continued casting spells to accelerate the growth of nearby plants, trying his best to restore this forest to its original state.
However, a mage was not a druid.
In terms of catalyzing growth, a mage simply could not compare to a powerful druid who could just point somewhere and have tough vines or roots grow instantly to bind enemies, such an exaggerated growth speed was astonishing.
Yet, the druid's "root entanglement" was not true growth; it was only a temporary transformation of the plants.
Or rather, with ordinary spells, whether cast by mages or druids, it was impossible to make such a large patch of land flourish again within a short time, it would take at least several days of growth.
But just because Alaric couldn't do it didn't mean others couldn't.
After watching Alaric cast his spells for a while, Artemis suddenly closed her eyes slightly. Then, a ripple of divine power spread out from her.
The next moment, the land once stripped bare by the fallen starship began trembling in countless spots.
Soon after, tender shoots broke through the soil, rapidly growing before Alaric's eyes.
Within a hundred meters around him, young sprouts appeared everywhere, growing swiftly from the size of a finger to waist-high.
As Alaric continued watching, they showed no sign of stopping. Soon they would tower over him, becoming tall trees.
Of course, not all the sprouts grew into trees. There were also shrubs, vines, and all kinds of plants.
In just tens of minutes, this land once destroyed by the starship was restored to its original state.
This was the power of a god.
Though Artemis was the goddess of hunting and the moon, she also held the office of nature goddess, enabling her to perform such a feat.
"Amazing…" Alaric admired the surrounding forest scenery.
Just now, as Artemis began to unleash her power, he immediately sensed how different it was from his own magic.
Alaric's spells were only manipulation, using magical energy.
But when Artemis moved, all the magic in the world seemed to stir and respond to her commands, as if willingly obeying her.
Magic, plants, earth, nature, all followed the goddess's will, as if they were parts of her own body. Thus, she could achieve her aims effortlessly.
This was the terrifying power of divinity.
Yet, faced with Alaric's praise, Artemis only shook her head.
"No, this is nothing. Your magic is far more impressive."
"But my magic isn't as powerful as yours," Alaric said, gesturing around. "Look, it takes me several days to achieve this effect, but you did it all in a moment, didn't you?"
"No, it's not the same." Artemis shook her head stubbornly.
She pointed at herself.
"I am a god."
Then she pointed at Alaric.
"You are a human. That is the difference."
"I see," Alaric roughly understood her meaning and why magic had flourished in the Age of Gods in the Type-Moon world.
At that time, mages were different from the later magic users.
They pursued magic not to seek truth or origin but because gods existed.
Perhaps they shared the same mindset as Alaric, yearning for divine power but unable to attain it, unwilling to remain weak.
Just as Alaric wanted to say more, the sound of hurried footsteps broke through.
He turned toward the noise and saw a beautiful woman running toward Artemis, human in appearance, with fin-like ears and faintly scaled skin.
Artemis showed no surprise, this was clearly a familiar acquaintance.
The woman reached Artemis and noticed Alaric.
Alaric saw shock on her face, disbelief that a man stood beside Artemis, a goddess who had sworn eternal virginity and showed no mercy to any other males, even killing those who dared look at her twice. Now here she was, casually conversing with a man.
But the woman said nothing about it.
She respectfully bowed to Artemis and said, "Your Highness Artemis, I have been searching for you for a long time."
"Britomartis, what brings you to find me?" Artemis returned to her usual calm demeanor.
Alaric knew Britomartis, a sea nymph and one of Artemis's favorite lesser deities.
Respectfully, the nymph replied, "Yes, Lady Artemis, your father, the King of the Gods, has urgent matters for you."
Mentioning Zeus caught Artemis's attention.
"What does Father want with me?"
"I do not know," Britomartis bowed her head respectfully. "I am but a lesser deity and dare not pry into the secrets of the chief gods.
But when the King of the Gods summoned, the old gods Hephaestus and others gathered.
On my way down from Olympus, I met Hermes, and it seems all the senior gods have been summoned."
"I understand."
Artemis nodded lightly, as if it were nothing serious, then looked at Alaric.
"My Father calls me, I cannot stay here."
She looked straight at Alaric, as if expecting something.
But Alaric didn't know what she was thinking.
"In that case, goodbye, Artemis. It was a pleasure to meet you."
Alaric's calm, equal manner again left Britomartis wide-eyed. She had never seen anyone treat the Moon Goddess this way.
Yet Artemis looked dissatisfied and shook her head.
"No, you cannot leave."
"May I ask why?" Alaric smiled wryly. What strange idea did this willful goddess have now?
"You can go to my temple," Artemis said matter-of-factly. "Wait for me there. I will return soon."
"Thanks, but I can't accept that." Alaric shook his head. "I have my own business to attend to."
"No, you must go." Artemis became truly stubborn at his refusal. "You must wait for me there."
She stepped forward and gently tugged on Alaric's robe.
Being so sweetly begged by a goddess, Alaric felt a moment of reluctance.
But in the end, he resolutely refused.
Right now, he was eager to explore this world, to see its people, and figure out exactly what era it was, why even Artemis had never seen magic before.
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