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/Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!/
"Phew… Finally."
'I think I finished this batch of quests… Now for the next few…'
"Hey! You there! The hardworking outsider!"
Dale turned his head to see a middle-aged woman with a casket on her head.
"Hello miss, nice to meet you." He said politely
She smiled and said:
"It's been a while since I've seen such a hardworking and polite youngster such as yourself… I don't care about your reasons for coming all the way here at the end of the world, but I wanted to thank you for working this hard on such menial tasks."
She took a single fruit from her casket and gave it to him, it looked like a pear but pink.
It had a texture similar to carpet...
"Thanks, but there is no need for this, I'm being paid anyway."
She shook her head.
"Honest work is honest work… Besides, I don't think I've presented myself… I am Illia, owner of the only operating Inn in our village… If that is something to be proud of."
Dale smiled and said:
"Honest work is honest work, right?"
She smiled and looked at him, chuckling slightly.
"Hey! That's my line!"
The two chuckled a little before she offered him a room in her inn, Dale agreed and took a bite from his gift as they parted ways.
He was almost knocked unconscious due to how sweet it was...
The lady laughed as she left in the street...
As he looked at her departing back, Dale said:
"Is this an effect of my rising reputation?... It seems a bit too quick for that."
Dale turned around and ran back to the mercenary Guild.
…
"Again kid? Are you sure you are doing these tasks well?! If I find out you've been doing these half-heartedly…" Said Misgurd with a frown
'Give me a break kid! I just finished sorting the last batch...'
"Guild Head, don't worry, there is no way I can flee even if I wanted to, so please process these while I pick a few more."
"... Sigh, fine kid."
Misgurd turned around as he started to process the papers.
Dale had actually asked why this was necessary, but he said it would be when the inspection team comes.
They only do so once every decade or so due to how remote this place was, and according to him, one such team would be coming soon.
Dale knew there was no way for such a thing to be coincidental, so he immediately understood it must be a part of the Mercenary Guild Questline.
The Quest most likely had a time limit, and if he didn't complete a certain number of quests or achieved something within the necessary time, then he would fail or not pass into its next stage.
There was a lot to consider, that was why Dale was doing as many quests as he could…
[Mercenary Contract, fix the fences N.3 has been completed]
[Mercenary Contract, kill the rat pests on the warehouses has been completed]
[Mercenary Contract, clear the rotting wood and stone debris from the demolished house has been completed]
[Mercenary Contract…]
[+54% Level xp
Resko Reputation +3
You have received 21 Zulls of Iron]
[DING]
[You have Leveled Up]
[All Stats +2]
[Player has achieved Level 10 and is eligible for a Class change]
[Proceed to your closest Church to complete the process]
[You have achieved Level 10, your special privilege has been worn off]
[You were the first to reach Level 10!]
[For being the first to reach Level 10. All forms of Reputation gain have been doubled, and experience gain has been increased by 20%]
[This privilege will last until the player reaches Level 20]
[Would you like to leave your name in the Hall of Fame?]
'No, if I put my name up there for people to see, this may force some of them to act faster, for me, the slower they grow the better…'
"Guild head Misgurd, do we have a church in the village?"
This question caught Misgurd off guard.
"Why do you ask? Are you the religious type?"
"Well… You could say so…"
"Tsk, don't be ambiguous, kid, you either are a follower of a God or you aren't. As for your question, we do have one, however, there is a small problem."
Dale rolled his eyes, of course, there was a problem...
"Our Village used to worship a single God, I wasn't from that time nor am I a religious person, so I can't say much about it, but the Icon of the Church was stolen long ago during the downfall of the village."
"I was small at the time so I don't remember much."
"The villagers still use the Church to pray from time to time but it's only a husk of its former self, I know some believers would consider such a thing heretical, however, the people need their spiritual guidance, so who am I to stop them?" He said as he sat on his chair and stretched his arms
"So only the Icon was stolen?"
Misgurd scoffed, saying:
"No no of course not Kid, everything was stolen. As long as it was made from something valuable, it was stolen."
"... So why wasn't another Icon made?"
Misgurd scoffed once again.
"Icons can't just be made, they need to be carved and confectioned by the best craftsman available, then blessed by a higher authority within the respective Church."
"Only then does it become official... I bet there are several more rituals and boring shit that has to be done in between but even if you learn about it, never tell me unless I am drunk."
"..."
"Just like a church has a hierarchy, the places where they preach also have their own."
"Only an Archpriest can bless the Icon of a Church under the watch of a Cardinal, and only a Cardinal and above can bless an Icon of a Church under the watch of a Bishop and so on."
"As for what is an Icon... It's a medium for the believers to connect with their God... Whatever that means."
"Why not just pray yeah? Seems a bit too much of a hassle for me... Anyway..."
"Our Church used to be filled with priests and Bishops, it has a very long story, and knowing how hot-headed some of these people can be, I am sure that even if you went to the closest city, none of them would be willing to bless a new Icon unless it was in line with our Church history and legacy."
"Not only convincing them... Just leaving this damn place is already impossible, although... You did come here kid, so there might be a chance... Although that is as high as me getting laid at this age buwahaha!"
He got serious again and said:
"Meaning… It's hopeless unless you somehow convince, at minimum, a Cardinal to bless an Icon."
[DING]
[Chain Quest Activated, Lost Icon]
[Description: Without an Icon, the believers cannot commune with their God, nor can you proceed with your plans and get a Class.
If you do find a replacement for it they would be just as grateful nonetheless.
A Church is a vital part of any territory, and a spiritual Pillar is necessary for any territory, especially one in dire conditions.
Find the lost Icon 0/1
Or find a suitable replacement 0/1
]
Reading his new Quest trigger, Dale asked:
"You wouldn't mind if I took a look at it right?"
Misgurd gave him a side glance and said:
"Be my guest recruit, here, take these keys and pick a few contracts while you are it, otherwise you won't even be able to enter that shed of a church."
Dale nodded and selected a few decent contracts before he turned around and left towards the church.
…
"This place is quite eerie…" He said as he looked at the church
'A Church at the corner of an isolated village on top of a small hill, and there is nothing here apart from these dead trees…'
'Who would pray here?! This place is closer to a haunted house than a Church.'
/Creeeek!/
Dale opened the big wooden doors of the church and looked inside.
It had a simple design, a large hall with many long chairs and a big stage at the back, however, despite its size, the only things remaining there were the lectern and the altar.
And Dale soon found out that the reason the altar wasn't stolen was because it was glued to the ground, but he could see that several decorations had been stolen, including… The Icon.
"I'll start by doing my contracts and I'll later search this place for any clues." He said as he shook his head in disappointment
…
/A few hours later.../
The hours passed and Dale did many actions. He fixed the chairs, cleaned the ground, fixed the doors, and removed the dangerous glass pieces from the windows…
"Done… Now, time to search…"
He looked at the window and saw the sun slowly setting.
"The villagers should also be returning, and many more quests are bound to appear. I farmed a rather decent amount of Reputation points, so I should be able to have them look at me in a favorable light at the very least…"
Dale looked around the place, the Church still looked shabby but it was much better than before.
"Even if I try for an entire week, this won't change, the only way to change it would be to commission skilled craftsmen to do the rest…"
'Wood, stone, and metalwork should be possible, but all of that takes time...'
"Time to search for that Icon…"
Dale immediately made his way to the Altar, it was a rectangular box the height of a tall fridge, it was this way so that all of the believers in the Church could see the Icon in all of its glory.
But now, it remains empty…
"Let's see…"
Dale started to check every nook and cranny of the altar, from the bottom to the top…
/10 minutes later…/
/Thud/
Dale sat on the ground with a depressed expression.
"Sigh, it's hopeless… Will I really be unable to change my Class?"
'From what we tested in the Beta, getting to Level 10 allows you to choose your first Class based on your actions and gameplay. This opens up more chances for players to get a decent starting Class instead of being a villager…'
'If I don't get one, I will have to rely on luck to get it… How unsettling.'
"It's all because of a petty thief…"
/Tock!/
"?"
When Dale punched the ground near him, he felt that something was strange.
/TOCK!/
He punched harder but the sounds did not change.
"Is this ground hollow?"
Dale started to knock on the ground all around the Church, and as expected, the sound was only like that on the stage.
Time passed, but Dale only got disappointed as he crashed to the ground.
"Sigh, it's not hollow, it's only due to the fact this is a stage…"
'It's probably made from another material...'
"Where could this be…"
Dale looked one more time towards the Altar and he found something wrong, he looked at its base and he noticed it.
"This isn't nailed to the ground… And it doesn't seem to be glued to it either. So what is keeping it stuck like this?"
Feeling curious, Dale tried to lift the stone slab connected to the Altar, but it didn't budge.
He tried to lift the Altar but he was afraid of breaking it, so in the end, he stopped
"What a pain…" Said Dale as he rested his hand on the Altar
'There is definitely something wrong with it…'
"It won't open like this." Said a voice from the other side of the Church
"?!"
Dale turned around and gazed at the mysterious uninvited guest…
…
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Notes