"He was actually convinced that easily?"
Caleb had not gone far. Instead, he watched the giant bear, who had fallen into thought.
"System..."
After hesitating again and again, Caleb still called out to the system.
Because the current situation was simply too absurd. A demigod had listened to him talk about the meaning of life for a while and then fallen into deep thought.
And just like that, Caleb had been able to get away.
Could it be that a demigod's strength and intelligence were not necessarily connected?
Or had this reckless brute really not used his brain for thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of years?
Caleb was a little confused.
"What is your question?"
The system's voice was as cold and mechanical as ever, which instead gave Caleb a hint of reassurance.
"About Volibear..."
"The current Volibear has fallen into a state of confusion. It seems to be related to the entire Freljord."
"Seriously, is my use of skills really that powerful?"
Caleb found it hard to believe.
"He suspects that you may be his brother, or perhaps his sister."
Caleb had originally stuffed a mouthful of snow into his mouth to clear his mind. As a result, that answer made him choke badly.
Originally, it was just a skill that summoned lightning, and Caleb could control whether the electric light filled his body or not. Yet when it came to Volibear, this demigod who had existed as long as the Freljord itself had seen the clues behind the skill.
Unlike the calls of the other Ursine, which required his approval, Caleb's call to lightning was like Volibear's own call to the skies above the Freljord.
The lightning came so naturally, so swiftly, without even going through Volibear's permission.
It was like... the Freljord's fourth child.
But how could that be possible?
A so-called demigod was a collective consciousness formed within a region.
A demigod did not necessarily need to depend on humans to exist, but the faith of intelligent beings like humans could indeed make a demigod stronger.
If the first things to appear in a region were earth and fire, perhaps a god of the forge would be born.
Upon the foundation of earth, water and wood were then born.
And so, Anivia came into being.
At the same time, the storms formed by the wild winds and dark clouds of the sky gave Volibear consciousness.
Only after that came the age when humans began worshiping them, and the era when the Three Sisters tried to obtain power.
Volibear was not actually that stupid, but he had to consider one question.
What if Caleb was the collective consciousness of the humans in this region?
Humans could believe in Ornn, Anivia, Volibear, the Three Sisters, boars, and beast spirits all at once.
But the intelligence of these humans was, without question, the most outstanding among all species.
They did not reproduce by giving birth to twelve at a time, nor were they born with bodies capable of adapting to the environment right away.
And yet these seemingly fragile humans had instead become the rulers of the Freljord.
Not the powerful beasts.
Not the proud demigods.
But all the humans who lived in the Freljord.
Aside from the protection provided by Anivia and the beast spirits, why?
Volibear still thought of the human whose eyes he had once gouged out.
Would the collective consciousness of humans give birth to a newly awakened demigod?
Ornn was not sure, because he had also examined Caleb's physical body.
He had, after all, lived through the age before chaos had fully opened and had seen life from all kinds of domains.
And yet there had never been any life like Caleb.
Strictly speaking, Caleb was human.
Yet he was a human who belonged to no race at all.
That was what confused Volibear the most.
No matter what, this fellow had only acted for the sake of his own people. If Volibear were in his place, he could also understand that kind of choice before becoming aware of one's own identity.
He had no reason to slaughter Caleb.
Of course, once Caleb truly became aware of it, if he did not meet Volibear's expectations, then a great battle, just like the one between him and Ornn, would inevitably begin.
Volibear did not care how many believers would die because of it.
If the collective consciousness of humanity had become a demigod, and if that demigod happened to come from the Freljord, then Volibear would have to do everything he could to win him over.
Just as he had tried to win over Anivia, who was friendly to humans.
If the other side did not agree, it would not be a big deal to Volibear.
Of course, if the other side wanted to stand in his way, for example, refusing to even make a suit of armor for his own brother, then Volibear would have to speak with his claws.
A hard battle would be unavoidable, but before that...
If Caleb truly was their brother, especially if he could so freely call upon the Freljord, then of course Volibear would let him grow fully and become a true demigod.
By then, Caleb would likely have an enormous influence on the people of the Freljord.
...
"So, he just completely overthought it?"
Caleb was partially relieved, though he was still somewhat shaken on the road back.
"In a certain sense, you really can become a demigod of this region."
To prevent the system from shocking him so badly that he choked again, Caleb did not eat or drink anything on the way back despite being starving.
Even so, that answer still startled Caleb quite badly.
"Are you serious, system?"
"If people believe you are, then of course you are."
What the system said did have some logic to it. Otherwise, why had the Three Sisters pursued power and tried to unify the entire Freljord?
And why did Ornn and Anivia not obsess over pursuing followers, while Volibear was so fixated on it?
Caleb still did not understand much about the cultivation systems across the entire continent of Valoran.
It was simply too chaotic.
Ascended in the south, blessings from the Aspects in the west, demigods in the north, and the Vastayashai'rei in the east.
And on some nameless little island, there was even a power belonging exclusively to the underworld, one that would plunge the world into ruin.
Caleb's head hurt.
Fortunately, he had a system, so he did not need to test everything one by one, running in circles like an idiot.
The Winter's Claw had brought hearthbound with them, after all, and he did not know whether that great cauldron was truly that miraculous.
"I hope they brought back the right pot."
Caleb was silently moving from the rear of the hearthbound group toward the Iceborn formation.
He was extremely fast on his feet, so fast that even ordinary hearthbound could tell he was anything but ordinary.
However, if he could silently arrive at the front line of the Iceborn, the hearthbound would not say much.
After all, even scouting was something the Iceborn needed to handle.
The hearthbound only needed to focus on logistics.
And besides, someone of such importance was not a person warmbloods could deal with.
As expected, the great cauldron was still behind Bristle.
Not only were Iceborn pushing it along, but the surrounding guard was also extremely tight.
"Caleb?"
Hearing someone call his name, Caleb finally let out a breath of relief.
He still was not very familiar with many of the warriors here. It would be bad if he was mistaken for an enemy.
But that voice sounded very familiar.
With a layer of frost and snow hanging from his hood, Caleb turned around and saw a crying little cat face.
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