Bonus chapter from Power stone goal, take a look at the Novel synopsis to learn more.
Tomorrow's chapter will be released as per normal, thank you for reading this far!
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Dale and David eventually arrived at the surface.
"Haaa!"
David took a deep breath and smiled, but the longer he looked at the church the deeper his face fell.
"Not gonna lie but this place looks like crap." He said
Dale continued walking as he dragged Caladgolg behind him, making a long gash on the stone ground.
"It's been a very long time, besides, the village's current condition is very bad… You'll see soon anyway…"
"In any case, this is the time where you go back into prop mode, we can talk more later okay?... You can do that right?"
"Yes, I can… But I will repeat myself once again, my power comes from the prayers of the people. We can't rely on my Boss for this unless the conditions align... So the more people you manage to pray to me, the stronger I will get."
"If we are lucky and gather fast enough, it may be even possible for me to deal with whatever is on the 10th floor on my own… But that is..."
Dale nodded, but the head seemingly remembered something and said:
"Oh yeah… If I am not mistaken, there is something that may help us nearby…"
"How so?"
"You told it myself, this village is secluded but it was still a very important place nonetheless, materials would normally take a long time to arrive, but during the golden days this village was mostly self-sufficient."
"I remember several interesting places that may help this village recover… In the case they don't already know or if it has been destroyed over time…"
Dale thought for a moment and said:
"Are you talking about the mines and such things?"
"Yup… But those are secondary, from what you told me, this is now a small village so even if we found a mine, it would be useless. The most important thing would be… The foundation of this place."
The Golden head stayed silent for some time with a frowning expression.
"Looks like my power wasn't the only thing that was eroded, it seems my memories are a bit jumbled up as well… Give me some time to think, a few days should be enough."
[DING]
[Chain Quest Activated, Golden age]
[Return the Village of Resko to its former glory ???
There are no requirements, this mission can be done however you see fit, the more you do the better its final rewards shall be.
Keep an eye out and do your best!
]
"... I have time to wait…"
With that, David remained still like a statue and even when Dale knocked on its face, it remained unmoving… Although its eyes moved to look at him in annoyance.
With a stiff and painful shoulder due to Caladgolg resting on it, Dale made his way down the mountain carefully…
…
/A few minutes later.../
"..."
"..."
Dale could now be seen in front of the Mercenary Guild, there were people all around him and even several Elders.
These were the people of Resko, around 100 people, most of them were in their middle age, there were about 20 or so old people above the age of 60 and 15 or so children below the age of 16.
This left around 55 to 65 adults if you included the young adults between the ages of 16 and 20.
In front of him was Misgurd, he had an annoyed expression as he didn't know what to think or say.
"Since everyone gathered here on their own I will ask now… What is this all about, kid?" Asked Misgurd as he looked at the sword behind him
He already knew what this was about just by looking at what Dale had on his waist, but he felt the need to hear it from him directly.
Dale nodded and said as he stuck the Caladgolg on the ground.
Together with his heavy armor, he looked like a fairy tale hero as he stood there in front of all of them.
"Earlier today, you asked me to find the Icon of the Church, right? I found it." Said Dale as he raised David in the air for all to see
It was faint, but since it was in the middle of the night, David was surely shining.
"Ohh!..."
"A miracle!"
"This is…"
The villagers had many reactions, a few couldn't believe it, and some even cried, especially the older ones that knew more about the village's history.
Misgurd on the other hand, frowned.
"Kid, I have nothing against you and I know you are being sincere, so tell me how."
Dale nodded, but before he said anything, he looked at a small family on the side.
One old man in a wheelchair being pushed by another old woman, an adult with a crippled leg with a middle-aged woman next to him, and a young teen.
The young teen gave Dale a thumbs up while everyone was distracted, making him annoyed.
'This kid... Really, sigh, what a troublesome family.'
When the rest of his family noticed Dale's gaze, the old man let out a sigh, he asked his wife to push him and he made his way to the center of the circle next to Dale and Misgurd.
"Old Terry? What is this…" Asked Misgurd in confusion
Terry looked at the villagers and his family before he said:
"I can explain this on his behalf… And I also have a confession to make…"
Terry started to go over his story.
He changed a few things, for example, he didn't tell everyone he was the son of the Cardinal, and instead, he said his father learned it from him.
For many years, each descendent of his family tried to retrieve the Icon hidden in the labyrinth, but in the end, they failed.
"I… Didn't want anyone else to risk their lives for something that may not even be there… I…"
"This is enough Terry."
"?"
Dale turned around to look at a Middle aged man, he had a simple but unkempt white shirt and brown pants.
He was tall and strong like Dale, but he had a long beard and a scar on his right eye, he had certainly lived for a rather long time.
His hair was slightly gray but not fully, he looked imposing yet gentle due to his relaxed gaze.
"Village Head!" Said Misgurd in surprise
"?!"
'Village Head?! This guy? He looks younger than my dad!'
The man patted the crying Terry's shoulder and looked at Dale.
"I've heard quite a bit about you young man… Despite it all, I would like to apologize… Normally I would welcome any outsider but I thought you were up to no good and in the end…"
He did a slight bow, making Dale stay there feeling awkward.
"It's nothing, I fully understand your conditions and I would be fine with you not trusting me… I will make you believe in me through my actions and not meaningless words."
"..."
He looked at Dale and smiled.
"Alright… May I see it?" He asked as he looked at David
Dale nodded.
The village Head grabbed David and inspected it for a few minutes, and said:
"It's true… The missing holy Icon!"
The villagers suddenly clamored, some started to pray while some others cried.
Dale felt this to be rather strange but he understood these villagers were probably very religious.
What he found funny was how some of the younger villagers looked at him.
In this sort of place, it was normal for them to marry at the young age of 17, so there weren't that many girls available…
But the few that were, including some even younger, were already looking at him with some interesting glances… Especially the guys.
/Tap…/
The Village Head tapped his shoulder and said with a smile:
"Trully, from the bottom of my heart, thank you…"
But Dale whispered something to him:
"I don't think it's time for you to thank me yet… I really need to talk with you…"
He was a bit surprised but he nodded, saying:
"Everyone! I will now officially reactivate the Church, anyone willing to participate may come, otherwise, goodnight to you all!"
He looked at Dale and then at Misgurd, who immediately understood his intention, dragging Dale towards the Guild.
The Head turned his face and looked forward as he made his way to the church, with a big crowd behind him.
But a few teens remained behind, they stared at Caladgolg with mixed expressions.
"Tsk that arrogant guy… Everyone suddenly treats him like that just because of an old object…" Said one of the teens
He had black hair and sharp eyes, he looked at the sword with longing and envy.
'If I can wield such a thing I can do everything he did as well!'
He, together with some other boys made a line, one after the other, they tried to lift it from the ground, but it was futile.
They almost caused an accident when one of them tried to dig the sword out of the dirt, making it tip to the side and almost squashing one of the girls.
After receiving a beating from the girls, the boys were left agonizing on the ground...
Since then, they were all ignored by the angry girls…
…
/Back in the Guild…/
Dale, Misgurd, Tina, and a few old men and woman were now all waiting for the Village Head to come back
Dale was a bit tense, and also relaxed.
He tried to ask a question but they just said to wait for the Head so he remained silent.
And soon enough…
[DING]
[The Icon has been returned to the Church!]
[The Church of Resko has met the minimum requirements to function]
[The Church has been partly reactivated, please select a priest for it to function properly]
[Class Change is now possible in the Church.
Special features such as the Trade Market can now be accessed through the Church by paying the necessary amount.
The Church will provide blessings and help in dealing with the villagers' stress.
The Church's influence is rising, repelling ferocious beasts and suppressing chaotic forces under its scope.
The Church's Patron God rules over the domains of Stability and Prosperity; its influence is now spreading through the village and its surroundings.
All of the following activities shall receive a boost: Construction speed, Material acquisition speed, fertility, Crop growth speed, Crop quality…
Your reputation rises massively! Resko Reputation +15*2=30
]
"..."
'At least I won't be bored while I wait…'
'But after this… My first stop will be the Church… It's almost time for my items to be sold in the auction… I wonder how well did my items sell?'
'I also want to get my first true Class... Being a Fallen Noble won't help me at all...'
'I can't wait…'
And like that, Dale focused on reading the system messages as everyone waited…
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Notes