"Hmm, as expected."
Arthur nodded, looking at Kili who had failed to cast a spell even after picking up a staff and was now sitting on the ground.
After delivering breakfast to Teacher Sellen at the inn, he took Fili and Kili to an open space outside Morne Castle castle.
Teacher Sellen, curious about how the dwarves of this world learned magic, also followed Arthur with her breakfast.
Seeing the dwarf who failed to cast a spell, she said, "Disciple, are you conducting some experiment? One look at their bodies should tell you they have no magic. This has nothing to do with talent; they are simply barred from the door of magic, forever unable to enter. Why bother wasting your effort teaching them magic?"
Although Sellen's voice was not loud, it was enough for Fili and Kili to hear.
Kili showed a disappointed expression again, Fili comforted him for a few moments, then looked at Arthur: "sir Arthur…"
Arthur said, "Teacher Sellen isn't targeting Kili or you; she's simply stating a fact. I was just verifying whether you could use magic with a staff, and now it seems you truly cannot."
Kili angrily slammed his fist on the ground beneath him.
Arthur smiled after seeing this and said, "But don't rush yet. While you truly cannot learn magic, that doesn't mean you can't learn Prayers."
"Prayers? What is that?"
Kili eagerly raised his head to look at Arthur again, and even Fili, who was comforting him, was attracted by Arthur's words.
Sellen, now intrigued, sat on the ground. She wanted to see if her disciple could teach these two dwarves to use Prayers.
Theoretically, if one has no magic within, one certainly cannot cast Prayers either.
Arthur naturally understood this principle. However, when he was in the Blue Mountains, Thorin was able to use the Battle Skill attached to the frozen shell axe normally, so it could be confirmed that dwarves had the possibility of casting The Lands Between Battle Skills, Glintstone Magic, and Prayers without consuming magic.
Now, regarding Battle Skills and Glintstone Magic, the former was confirmed to be castable by expending physical stamina, while the latter was verified as genuinely unusable.
That leaves only Prayers as the unverified method.
Even if Kili couldn't learn Prayers, Arthur had already prepared a weapon capable of casting Battle Skills for him, as a reward for helping eliminate the orcs last night.
He looked at the eager dwarf brothers, and suddenly two silver metal strips shaped like fingers appeared in his hand, their ends fused together like a key ring.
It was the Clawmark Seal, a basic catalyst for casting Prayers, granted by the Finger Maiden.
Arthur held the Clawmark Seal tightly, then golden light emerged from the gaps in his fist, finally spreading outwards in ripples, encompassing Fili and Kili within.
Only when the last, brightest golden light disappeared did Arthur loosen his grip, revealing the Clawmark Seal resting quietly in his palm.
Kili then said in surprise, "I feel full of energy now; I don't have any of the fatigue from fighting all night yesterday."
Fili also nodded: "I feel the same way; my body's fatigue has vanished. sir Arthur, did you just do something?"
Arthur smiled at Fili and Kili, shaking the Clawmark Seal in his hand at them: "This is Prayers. I just cast a small Prayer of recovery on you to restore your stamina. If you were injured, it should heal your wounds. But it seems, for now, it only made your stamina abundant again."
Kili's eyes first lit up, then dimmed as he remembered his previous failure to cast Glintstone Magic: "I hope I can successfully learn this 'Prayer' spell."
Actually, Prayers are not Glintstone Magic; it's more accurate to say they are two completely unrelated fields to Glintstone Magic.
Arthur shrugged, not explaining too much, but instead changed the question: "Kili, do you prefer to fight enemies in close combat, or kill them from afar?"
Kili pondered for a moment, then said decisively, "I still prefer to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with a comrade. Letting me hide behind and have my kinsmen shield me from danger is truly not my habit."
Arthur was a bit surprised. He knew Kili was quite skilled in archery and thought he would choose a fighting style that could kill enemies from a distance, but he didn't expect him to choose close combat.
Hmm, then I'll have to teach him a different Prayer.
Mid-to-close range Prayers, this should be quite suitable for dwarves.
Arthur replaced the Ancient Dragon faith Prayers he had originally prepared to teach with Beast Prayers.
A thick book made of Beast hide suddenly appeared in his hand. As Fili and Kili looked at the book, they seemed to hear a Beast's roar flash by their ears.
At the same time, an oval-shaped gray stone the size of a pebble appeared in Arthur's other hand. The surface of the stone had three hideous marks left by Beast Claws.
The Clawmark Seal was also one of the Prayer catalysts Arthur used in his early days.
In The Lands Between, he exchanged this Prayer catalyst for Deathroot with the Beast Clergyman Gurrang.
This meant that the type of Prayers Arthur intended to teach Kili was the Beast type.
The reason he chose this type of Prayers was because the catalyst for Beast-type Prayers—the Clawmark Seal—is one of the few catalysts that can increase Prayer power based on strength.
Arthur understood dwarves quite well and knew that this race had plenty of strength.
If they learned Beast Prayers, they could also use their own strength to compensate for their lack of magic.
Thinking of this, Arthur held up the thick book containing Beast Prayers, handed it over and bounced it a few times, then smiled and said, "I hope you can understand the text in the book, Kili. The most troublesome part of learning Prayers is that you need to understand the story behind the Prayer's origin, so that you can use it more proficiently when praying. However, it should originally have been Gurrang himself who orally taught it to you, but he's not here now, so for now, let's make do with this book of Beast Prayers that I recorded myself."
Kili's originally excited face immediately fell. Fili quietly pinched him behind his back to remind his brother not to be picky, then reached out to take the book containing Beast Prayers.
Fili then said somewhat apologetically, "Sorry, sir Arthur, my brother doesn't usually like to read much."
Arthur nodded. He could also tell that Kili wasn't fond of reading, as Thorin's way of raising him was to hope Kili would be more free-spirited.
This was completely different from Fili, who was being raised as a crown prince.
"How is it, Kili, can you understand the text in the Prayer book?" Arthur was more concerned about this question.
He had solved the problem of Middle-earth languages with the help of the One.
But whether the intelligent creatures of Middle-earth could understand the script of The Lands Between was another matter.
Kili frowned and flipped through it a few times, then nodded and replied, "Although I don't recognize the characters on it, it's strange that when I see them, their meaning automatically appears in my mind."
Very good, it seems the One's language patch is perfect.
However, Kili quickly made a bitter face again, pointing to a passage and saying, "But, even though I know what this text says, I don't understand what it's trying to say. What does it mean when it says 'Beasts symbolize civilization'? Shouldn't beasts be a symbol of bloodlust and savagery?"
Arthur blinked, then understood what Kili was saying.
He could understand every word, but when they were put together, he couldn't grasp the meaning.
That was probably what Kili was trying to express.
In other words, he needed Arthur to explain the difference between beasts in The Lands Between and Middle-earth, otherwise, according to the knowledge of Middle-earth in Kili's mind, he wouldn't understand the story of The Lands Between recorded in the book.
Arthur came over to Kili and sat directly on the grass. "Let me explain it to you, Fili. If you're interested, you can also come closer and listen. If either of you have any questions, just ask me."
So, in the time that followed, Arthur patiently answered the questions posed by Fili and Kili. Sellen also moved closer after enjoying her breakfast.
Although she wasn't skilled in Prayers, her knowledge of The Lands Between was very rich, and she was occasionally able to help answer some questions that Arthur couldn't quite grasp.
And so, as the sun quietly climbed into the clear sky, shining ever brighter upon the earth, time flew by amidst the conversations of the four people.
About an hour later, Kili finally completely understood the first Prayer recorded in the book.
He exhaled, looking up from the words in the book. "This is probably the longest I've ever read a book since I was born."
Sellen said indifferently, "If you truly immerse yourself in the ocean of knowledge, you will find that a day is as short as morning dew."
Kili shook his head repeatedly. "No, no, no, I'm afraid I'd only drown in the ocean of knowledge."
Arthur tossed the Clawmark Seal to Kili. "Since you think you've mastered it, give it a try. Don't worry about failure. If you can't even cast the Prayer, I've also prepared a special weapon for you, allowing you to use the magical abilities residing within the weapon."
Kili intercepted the Clawmark Seal from mid-air with precise accuracy. "I still hope to be able to cast it, after all, sir Arthur and Ms. Sellen, you've both taught me so patiently. I don't want to disappoint you."
Kili handed the beast hide Prayer book to his brother Fili, then stood up from the grass and dusted off his clothes.
"Whew—"
Kili took a deep breath, gripping the Clawmark Seal tightly, recalling the Prayer lore just recorded in the book.
Arthur pulled Sellen and Fili back a few steps away from Kili, to prevent Kili from accidentally injuring them if he wasn't proficient with the Prayer.
Kili closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and with a low growl, his stamina was absorbed by the Clawmark Seal like a tide.
Then, his body posture was like a fierce beast about to take flight, and the arm holding the Seal was like an extended sharp claw.
A creamy white light suddenly lit up Kili's palm, and within the light, the outline of a Beast Claw was faintly visible. He swung it upwards fiercely, and the light transformed into a sharp claw shadow, tearing through the sky, leaving five deep clawmarks, imprinted on the grass as if solid, with soil overturning and grass flying.
"Hahaha, I succeeded! sir Arthur, I really succeeded!"
Kili opened his eyes, looking at the Clawmark Seal in his hand with excitement and surprise, then he knelt on the ground like a curious child, examining the commotion he had just created.
"Clap, clap, clap, clap."
Arthur was genuinely happy for Kili and applauded him.
"Kili, do you feel any discomfort anywhere in your body?" Arthur asked.
Fili heard Arthur's words and also looked at Kili nervously.
Kili laughed and shook his head. "No, I feel great right now. It just consumed some stamina, but it's no big deal!"
Upon hearing this, Fili breathed a sigh of relief, walked over to Kili, and they hugged each other in celebration.
Sellen, however, tilted her head in surprise. "Hmm, how curious. Is it using stamina consumption instead of magic consumption? But why doesn't magic work that way?"
Arthur heard Sellen's words and, after a brief thought, said, "Perhaps that is the difference between Prayers and Glintstone Magic. Glintstone Magic ultimately requires magic as an energy substance to be cast, while Prayers are more like a degree of conviction in something. As for what is consumed to cast them, anything can work. However, this is just my initial speculation; I haven't figured out the specific reason."
Sellen showed a faint smile and said in an interested tone, "Very interesting. It seems this world won't make me feel too bored."
Arthur then said, "Fili, do you want to try casting a Prayer too? You've also been learning the contents of the Prayer book, so it shouldn't be a problem."
Kili handed the Clawmark Seal in his hand to Fili. "Yes, brother, you try it too. This feeling is truly novel!"
"Alright, then I'll give it a try." Fili took the catalyst Kili handed him, gave him the Prayer book, and then motioned for his brother to step back a little.
The next moment, Fili also cast the Beast Claw Prayer, making the already messy grass even more chaotic.
Kili excitedly pumped his fist. "I knew you could do it too, brother!"
Fili walked over, looking at the catalyst in his hand in disbelief, seemingly not yet recovered from the shock of casting the Prayer.
It wasn't until Kili waved his hand in front of Fili that he snapped out of it.
Fili immediately pulled Kili to Arthur and Sellen, and together with his brother, bowed deeply and respectfully said, "I truly don't know how to thank you. Words cannot express my excitement, sir Arthur, Ms. Sellen. No, I should call you Teacher Arthur, Teacher Sellen!"
Sellen decisively shook her head. "Teacher is unnecessary. I haven't taught you Glintstone Magic, only told some insignificant stories. Just give that title to my apprentice."
Arthur smiled. "Later, when we trade with the dwarves of the Blue Mountains, it would be great if you could give our Erdtree more preferential policies."
Fili straightened up, looked up at Arthur, and nodded vigorously. "I will explain this matter in detail to Uncle Thorin!"
Kili was also beaming with joy, then suddenly looked behind Arthur with a puzzled expression. "Why is sir Dwalin running over so urgently?"
Hmm?
Arthur turned his head and saw Dwalin's smooth forehead with dwarvish tattoos sprinting over.
Before he even reached them, he was already panting and shouting, "Sir Tar-Arthur, it's incredible, truly, truly incredible."
"My fellow countrymen responsible for planting crops told me that the crop seeds planted yesterday afternoon have already sprouted this morning, today!"