Chapter 59 Prayer

  The common language of Middle-earth is alphabetic script, roughly similar to English in the days of John. If you grasp the rules, even if you don't recognize a word, you can roughly understand its pronunciation, and based on the pronunciation, you can also guess the spelling of the word.

  Joni was born and raised for sixteen years, although he couldn't write, he could still speak the common language fluently. Now he clearly remembers the appearance and pronunciation of those thirty-three letters, but when looking at the text on the sacred book in front of him, it's a headache to put them together. He felt dizzy.

  As Joanie was dizzy, Udis wrote down that prayer just now.

  "Scripture, prayer, may Your will be done, guide me..."

  Johnny had given up trying to read the words, his lips moving silently as he mouthed them without making a sound, reciting to himself the bedtime prayer he had just heard. But he found that he was already forgetting some of it.

  Udis soon finished his dictation. He raised his head and saw Johnny's head half-tilted upwards, staring at the ceiling with his mouth slightly open, as if reciting something, so he asked: "What are you doing?"

  Joni snapped back: "Ah, yes, I was reciting the prayer from earlier."

  "Recite it again and listen."

  "Only your will guides me... When night falls, with you I am no longer afraid; for you, I will sleep peacefully. Thank you Odin, when the second day comes, I will strive harder for you, for myself. Freedom!"

  Qiao Ni looked at Udis with full expectation after finishing reciting.

  Udis leaned on his forehead with his hand, let out a deep sigh, and shook his head: "You can recite it after listening to it once, you're quite clever. But the prayer words can't be changed at will, at least when I'm teaching you."

  Did I change? Johnny was somewhat puzzled. It should be this meaning.

  "Sleep peacefully, when a new day arrives, strive for myself." Udis saw Johnny's puzzled face and pointed out, "And you've changed it all."

  Wow, it seems like it's really true, haha!

  Jony had an embarrassed smile on his face.

  He didn't want to hit a smiling face, so Udis didn't say much. He handed the written paper to Johnny and took back the holy book: "Now you come to recognize these words."

  Just like learning English in the past, the teacher explained word by word, and also talked about some phrases and grammar. The students then memorized word by word, along with the grammar and fixed collocations, stuffing them into their brains. Johnny wanted to take notes, but there was nothing to note down. What was it like when he learned Chinese as a kid? He wasn't very clear, but it definitely wasn't this fast.

  "The last word is freedom, which I just mentioned." Udis has now gone through the whole thing from start to finish. "Recite it again and see how much you remember."

  Joni really can't remember how much anymore.

  But after all, it's a language that I can speak myself, and after listening to the explanation once, I can guess it. Joanie pointed at the words with her hand and said their meanings with her mouth. This is simpler than learning to speak, of course, but it's much harder to master.

  Udis was very pleased with Jony's progress. It seemed that this kid, although not as smart as himself, was not stupid either. He nodded and took out another piece of paper, putting Jony aside, and began to write on his own. Jony thought for a moment, knowing that there were other things to test himself, and didn't wait any longer, picking up the paper in his hand to review it.

  Soon, it was written on that side: "Explain the words in this order. Return that paper in your hand to me."

  It's still the same old routine of messing up the order, but for Joanie, this is a must-kill.

  Then, as usual, a "fox's cunning", and then threw Joanie to one side, letting him look at his own back, if he didn't understand, come ask again. Udis himself still had a lot of things to do.

  Joni thought he wasn't stupid, although his native language was barely passable, even when learning Chinese characters for the first time, it was just a matter of writing ten or so digits. Where did this come from, directly dealing with complete articles? This seemingly old-fashioned pastor is too old-fashioned, hey, you're not a good teacher like this!

  Although he thought so, Johnny still honestly picked up the paper and silently recited his bedtime prayer. As he recited, a very strange sense of superiority arose, and Johnny thought about the language lessons he had memorized in his past life, which were only a few sentences long, but made everyone feel headache, some guys spent a week and could only recite the first sentence. He himself was able to recite it roughly after just one listen, indeed a clever person!

  Crossing through time and space to find the bottom line, Joanie's mentality has never changed.

  Today, I learned a lot. The content of the evening prayer is no longer a problem in front of Johnny, whose IQ has been suddenly improved. Udis saw Johnny's high enthusiasm for learning and explained the content of the morning prayer again.

  "Were it not for you, this warm sunlight would bring a day of toil; were it not for you, that endless dark night would have no end. Blessings upon you, my Lord God. I also pray that you bestow blessings upon me, and let me proceed smoothly on the path of seeking freedom. Freedom!"

  It's all about gratitude education! Joanie thought. Won't this lead to a backlash?

  "These are what every disciple must say every day?" Johnny asked.

  "Not necessarily," Uddis shook his head, "These are just random. Only the devout will have a better chance of receiving Odin's blessings, the devout will also get a better life in Odin's kingdom after death, and the devout are always taken care of."

  It was an interest relationship after all, now it makes sense.

  Moreover, Odin is not only the main god but also the national hero of Asgard, the founding father... the god of merit, one of the creators of Asgard, and the idol in the hearts of all the militant northerners. ——This information was extracted from Joni's story on Freedom Day.

  Having understood this point, Joanie completely lost his resistance. Growing up under the red flag, from a young age receiving atheist and ancestor worship education, Joanie gradually began to accept the idea of believing in the true God. Previously, although he acknowledged the existence of the true God and had some reverence for Him, he never took faith seriously. Even after escaping from the giant axe warrior, he only slightly expressed gratitude, just like those people who escaped death in their past lives thanked all the gods and Buddhas in the sky. They thanked them, they prayed to them, they worshiped them, but it was all just for peace of mind.

  But since there will be benefits, and this boss sounds really good, then believe it, thoroughly believe it!

  Maybe I can still get divine magic?

  Just thinking about it feels wonderful.

  "Udis teacher." Jonyi asked again, "If I am pious enough and pray day and night, can I obtain divine magic and become a pastor?"

  Udis was taken aback by the words, looked up and down at Johnny, shook his head: "Become a pastor? No way, not all devout people can become pastors, let alone you don't seem devout. Besides, are you willing to dedicate your life to the church?"

  Dedicate one's life? Dedicate one's youth and children?

  "Didn't Mr. Stefan already retire ahead of time? He didn't dedicate his whole life either." Joey asked, anyway this question wouldn't be offending anyone.

  Udis smiled slightly: "Even among those who have devoted their lives to the church, how many can make contributions as great as my father's? How many people can achieve what he has achieved? There are many geniuses, but only one like my father. And even now, he is still a devout believer. These two days have been relatively quiet, usually there will be people from the temple or the royal capital coming to ask for advice. Dedication is the duty of Pastor Odin, it's an obligation, and also our own choice."

  Joanie couldn't stand being confined and smiled as she continued reciting those words and prayers.

  But those prayers, he would still make them. Not just because Odin might grant his favor, but the ritual itself had enough allure.

  Using magic to aid learning is delightful in the process, but afterwards it leaves one with a sense of loss and fear. It's like using brute force magic to work out, feeling like you have control over the world at the time, but afterwards doubting the effectiveness of the training due to the weakness felt after losing power.

  When Johnny got up, the first thing he did was to take out the paper scraps he brought back last night, looked at the characters written on it, and recalled his learning results.

  Although there's a sense of unfamiliarity, I can recall everything. Jonyi read it twice, then clasped his hands together under his chin, bowed his head and recited: "If not for you, this warm sunlight would bring a day of toil; if not for you, that endless night would have no end. Blessings upon you, my Lord God. I also pray that you bestow blessings upon me, allowing me to proceed smoothly on the path to freedom. Freedom!"

  After finishing his prayers, he stood up and walked out of the door towards the dining hall.

  The feeling of praying is quite good! He thought.

  The next two days were spent in repetitive training to correct basic movements and learning various prayers. Jony learned many words and understood a lot of written grammar. As for the content of his studies, since they were all prayers, he reviewed them every day - he now had a special fondness for this ritualistic thing, and whenever it was time to pray or when he encountered a situation that required prayer, Jony would unhesitatingly clasp his hands together under his chin and recite the appropriate prayer. This made Wales, who was in charge of supervising his training, feel somewhat embarrassed.

  On the fifth day of his arrival, Jony felt that he had completely corrected all the wrong movements. Under Wales' guidance, he found several wooden stakes wrapped in thick cloth for practice.

  "The fabric is used to protect the weapon. The giant axe doesn't matter, but if the giant sword collides hard for a long time, it will still be damaged." Wales introduced.

  “Hurt?” Johnny did understand, but he thought of those wooden stakes that had shattered his own weapons, those wooden stakes that were so fragile under Steven's sword. But he decided to leave this question until tonight, the little boy who was pulled by Lancelot might not know, "I see."

  "In winter, we usually don't use this. This is for when there's work in the fields, and it's left at home for the little kids to chop at and play with. The skills of battle are learned in battle itself. However, since you're still practicing these basic movements... " Wales faced the wooden stake, glancing at Johnny, "That's more suitable."

  "My god, basic moves aren't important anymore? Basic! Basics are the most important! And another thing, were you learning as fast as I was when we were young?" Joanie thought viciously.

  Of course, one plus one equals two is also the foundation of arithmetic. However, this kind of association will be automatically blocked even if it is thought of.

  "Hey! Hah! Yah! Hah!" Joni attacked the wooden stake in front of him with the correct posture, while Wales watched from the side with a hint of mockery.

  Joni ignored the gaze of Wales, he was now savoring his previous moves. The training in the past few days had all been empty swings, although he could feel the progress brought by his posture, but this feeling was not intuitive. He raised his giant sword and swung it a few times with force according to his old habit, the sword momentum was still vigorous, but Joni could feel the difference between the two.

  "Indeed, the correct stance makes it comfortable to swing. Economical, yet the power is not reduced." Jony muttered to himself, then he inserted the giant sword into the ground, with the end of the hilt at his chin height. With both hands clasped on the counterweight ball of the hilt, Jony began to recite a prayer, "Praise you, Odin, your profound martial arts are my goal, your unyielding spirit is my driving force. Glory be to Odin, the true god who controls close combat, may your glory forever shine upon humanity, I wish for your blessing to always accompany me, guide me, teach me, protect me. Freedom!"

  To think about it, that stinky Lancelot was using brute force and fighting with me! What's so great about her?

  "Thinking of this, Jony turned back and asked Wales: 'Where is Lancelot?'"

  "Wales shook his head: 'I can't just say this, Big Sister said I couldn't tell you.'"

  The training was very successful, wasn't it, Xiao Yao? Isn't it just to keep me away from Aisley? We can meet every day for meals anyway, what's the point?

  It seems like it's been a long time since I last had a good chat with Astrid.

  "I've finished practicing, she's my martial arts instructor, I need to get her next guidance." Johnny explained, "Or you go call her over."

  Wales hesitated for a moment, then turned and ran away.

  In no time, Lancelot led Wales over.

  "Are you all practiced up? Let me see a run-through." Lancelot had quite the instructor vibe going on.

  Jonyi began practicing against a wooden stake behind him, his hands, waist and legs coordinating very smoothly, almost fully utilizing the strength of every part of his body.

  "It's okay." Lancelot nodded slightly, but was somewhat surprised in his heart. He had put in a lot of hard work to achieve smooth and perfect movements, how did this young man from the south...

  However, considering Joni's age and the fact that he had been down a similar path before, correcting this issue was relatively simpler compared to starting from scratch. Lancelot's surprise quietly dissipated, just as it had quietly arrived.

  "So, can we start a new practice?" Joni asked eagerly. Surrounded by a group of ordinary farmers with similar combat strength to him, Joni was under great pressure.

  "Since you're so eager, let's get started then." Lancelot replied with a smile, a hint of an arc at the corner of his mouth. "As a warrior, physical strength is crucial, isn't it?"

  Jony nodded and thought to himself, "Isn't this a waste of words?"

  "So next, we'll be practicing physical strength." Lancelot's smile grew more pronounced. "You don't object to weight-bearing runs, do you?"

  What's there to object to? Anyway, it's not that you can't let me carry it, but rather I'm the one who can't carry it. Joanie nodded again.

  "Alright, you'll go with Wales to the lumberyard later and pick out a piece of wood that you can carry without feeling too ashamed. Every place has a lumberyard, especially villages like this one nestled in the mountains. Then wear just your undershirt and run back and forth through the village fifty times a day carrying the wood."

  The village of Weixi is not big, from the head to the end of the village, it takes about a quarter of an hour to walk one way. Coming and going fifty times is not excessive, but why wear single clothes?

  "It's freezing!" Johnny protested.

  Lancelot put on a surprised expression that looked fake: "Huh? Afraid of the cold? That won't do, Ossetin's warriors aren't afraid of the cold, we can even swim in the river in winter. You're not up to it, how will you swim in the river in a few days?"

  What? Down the river? Winter swimming?! Joanie's mouth was bitter, and her facial expression began to stiffen. This weather, although not minus tens of degrees, but without a down jacket now, if he didn't move, he felt cold just standing there, and yet, he actually wanted to jump into the icy river and swim?!

  "What? Afraid? Ah, no wonder, after all you're from the south, it's understandable, it's understandable." Lancelot said mockingly, then pointed to Wales who was gloating at the side, "Now go take a swim in the river."

  "Haha, ah?" Wales' smile hadn't faded yet, happiness and surprise mixed together, his expression was extremely vivid, "Me?"

  "What, do you have an opinion about my words?" Lancelot glared at him, instantly extinguishing the Wales' potential rebellion. He looked at Lancelot with pleading eyes, but only got a stern glare in return. Seeing Johnny gradually relaxing beside him, Wales slowly followed the two to the riverbank and slowly began to undress, looking at Lancelot with pitiful eyes as he did so.

  "Hurry up, you're a man of Ossetin, just be straightforward with me!" Lanselot was very dissatisfied. She noticed that Johnny's expression had begun to relax. What are you afraid of, haven't you ever swum before?

  Of course, I'm scared. Although every man in Oslo is very cold-resistant and swims in the river in winter, the difference between being able to do something and wanting to do it is really huge. It's like a kung fu master, even if you've mastered the iron head skill and can withstand any attack, you still don't want others to randomly grab your head and smash it around, right?

  However, Wales had no idea what a high-ranking martial artist was; all he knew was that he hated the icy water.

  Joni was delighted, although the subsequent training might have been really bitter, but at this moment there was a lively drama to watch, which dispelled the previous shock and fear.

  With a splash, Wales, who was standing by the river and hesitated to get into the water, was kicked in by Lancelot. Fortunately, the river had not completely frozen at this moment, if he had fallen from the ice hole in the thick ice, the unlucky Wales would have completed his historical mission.

  The riverbank echoed with Johnny's hearty laughter and Wales' anguished cries.

  The internet in the dormitory is not working, from 23 minutes to 45 minutes finally found a usable computer, and then wait... It's a computer sent by another dormitory. Today it's estimated that it can't be online... As usual, if you find any unclear or language-related problems, please point out ~ The bounty in the book review area is useful ~