It was certainly easier to find my way out for the second time, but that didn't placate me. I was still ready to trash a church.
It was sometime after lunch when I emerged, fists clenched, decked out in my gear, and practically steaming with anticipation. I found I was in fact hungry, which felt weird, as I hadn't felt anything Human-like since dying. Other than my thoughts of course.
I gathered myself up for a run, ignoring the hunger for now, and sprinted for Hajimari.
I stopped briefly to pick some precious dragon snaps, replacing the flowers I lost, and decided to stop in Hajimari.
No one goes to Hajimari and doesn't get something.
Instead of getting something, I sold my Bronze Ring and Quiver of Wooden Arrows. I ended up giving away the flowers to a ragged little Demi-Human though. I knew she'd sell them, and that was the point.
In total I bargained myself into one Silver and two Coppers, much better than I would get in Owari, and went to spend them at the SSS. It stood for: Spell and Skill Shop.
Inside there were a few Beastkin browsing together, and a Spear Class Mage eyeing up the Weapon Buff Charts.
I went straight for the Fire Affinity Spells, seen as that was the only Affinity I knew I had. There was a bunch of different Fireball Charts, because it was an insanely common and easy Spell, but I already had the best version. Another big portion of the Spells were Stealth Class, that being a Class Weighted toward Fire.
A few caught my eye: one being Cold Fire, and the other Incinerator. Cold Fire was a Fire and Death Affinity Spell that either burned or froze your target, depending on their weakness. Incinerator was a Stealth Magic mixed with the Fire Affinity.
I read the prices, and grinned. The Incinerator Spell Chart was one Silver, so I could buy it! I quickly did just that, and happily made my way to Owari.
I passed up Suzui's place, the Smithy, and even the Guild, finding my destination at the edge of the city. Time to topple a steeple!
The Mikami Church was just as I'd left it, bloodied with still-fresh Priests, and gored to velvet red. Curiously, I didn't see any traces of the Hierophant's corpse or the Black Crown.
I surmised that whoever or whatever had made me a Lich, had also gotten rid of the Hierophant so he couldn't get resurrected by a crazed Healer, and the Crown because it might actually be the reason I could become a Lich. Nobody needed that powerful thing just lying around.
I clapped my hands together and prayed for the dead Priests, because they were truly just victims of the Hierophant, and went back outside to finally eradicate the place.
"Dear whatever-three-gods-this-church-was for, I'm sorry about this..." A moment later, Blue Fireball was in my hand, and I was slam dunking the place. But just as the first sparks of flame lit the roof on fire, I started to feel a slight burning sensation down my spine.
And when the Fireball bombed the Church, I reeled back and fainted.
It took me a while to crawl into a position where I could watch as the fire consumed the church. As it did, the pain continued to fill me, and I wanted to slap myself in the eye.
I was an idiot.
The fucking church was my Phylactery.
I was literally killing myself right now...and watching as it happened.
It was kind of poetic.
Yeah...not happening, sorry. With whatever strength I had left, I Spelled myself some water and put out the church.
The pain stopped, but I was in bad condition, my skin looking like it'd been hard-broiled, and my body just barely able to move. I was about as terrible as the church looked.
I spent the effort to slap myself as I had promised, and slowly got up. I was so, double, dead.
Unfortunately, I couldn't just Magically heal, because that wouldn't turn out well, so what the heck could I do?
I glanced at the church, then looked down at myself, then back at the church. I sighed.
Guess I gotta fix myself...
Okay, I was never thinking that thought again.
If the church was like my soul though, didn't that make it me? So maybe, if I cleaned it up and cleared it out, and made it all brand new again, I'd be just the same.
Well, I didn't need sleep. And I couldn't walk through town resembling a roasted meal.
Fixing the church it was then.
I started with clearing out the charred bits, including the disgusting fried Priest meat, and finished with that around evening time. Next, I cleaned off all the ash and dust from the walls, both inside and outside. I was done with that around nightfall.
Since I was hungry beyond belief, and my strength was almost what it was before, I headed back to hopefully find a bucket of paint to buy. The smell of someone's barbecue quickly got me side-tracked.
I got momentarily disappointed when I remembered I couldn't taste, but I was too damn hungry to care. I went up to the stall and slapped down the Copper I had remaining.
I got a small chicken wing, and happily gulped it down.
Now...I'd expected my hunger to be quenched about halfway, because of my Lich Skills and all, but it was the opposite.
Eating the wing, I tasted nothing, and I got nothing. I cursed. What the heck? I didn't have anymore money with me, and everything else was important Equipment. Even if I bought another wing though, would it do anything?
I was hungry and still weak. I needed food that would actually help, and paint.
I went back to the church, picked all the flowers around it, sold them for two Coppers, bought paint, painted the church, and it was midnight.
I was still hungry. I shoved an extra flower into my mouth. Nope.
I was desperate.
I ate bugs, nothing. None of the plants I ate worked either. What did Liches eat? Skeletons didn't eat as far as I knew, so why would a Lich need to? What the hell was I supposed to eat!?
...Oh...