As Mortis stepped out of the temple, the dark clouds disappeared and sunlight burst forth, aimed right at Mortis. It almost looked as if the sky was honoring a great warrior who had emerged victorious from a battle.
The paladins and priests standing outside the temple were puzzled by what had just happened. A senior paladin raised his sword among the paladins and pointed it at Mortis, announcing that he was under arrest.
Mortis, however, laughed and said, "You dare to try to arrest me when even your goddess has granted my plea and forgiven me? Who do you think you are? Shall your word be above that of your goddess?"
After this speech, a heated discussion arose among the paladins and priests. Many wondered what they should do now. The Supreme Paladin spoke up, "First prove that you have been forgiven by the Goddess so that it is visible to all, then perhaps we will let it pass." Mortis then beckoned Helga over, who used her abilities to create a sacred shield around them both.
When everyone saw this, there was silence, then noise. Some even seemed to have been blessed by the goddess. The paladin trembled with rage. He did not understand what was going on, but there was nothing he could do. If he took action against them, they might lose their blessing. So he had no choice but to let Mortis go.
As Mortis was about to go on with Helga, silence suddenly fell. An alley formed, but not in the direction of the temple, but towards the castle. The Baron of Gruenburg rode up with his wife and men as escort.
Full of pride and with a broad chest, the Baron got off his horse to inquire about the reason for the commotion. After a brief explanation from the ranking paladins, the baron was silent for a moment and then simply said, "What shall we do if the goddess forgives him? Let them go and don't be resentful. The Goddess will not have given them both such a gift for nothing."
Only now did the Baron look at Mortis more closely, and his jaw almost dropped to the floor when he realized who this young man was in front of the temple. With a smile, the Baron walked up to Mortis as if greeting an old friend. He put his arm around him.
Mortis bowed his head slightly as a sign of respect to this man. But that was all, he would not bow or bend. But it seemed to be enough for the baron, and he directed Mortis to his carriage, where his wife was also seated. Mortis took his wife by the hand and walked with her and the Baron through the crowd to the carriage. There sat a beautiful middle-aged woman with red hair. The Baron introduced his wife, just as he introduced Mortis and Helga to his wife. He then invited Mortis to come with him to his castle.
Mortis reluctantly accepted, as he had other plans for today. There were still things to do, legs that needed to be broken, and the dungeon also interested him. Likewise, his wife's abilities were a mystery to him. But he didn't want to mess with the baron, who had treated her well so far.
The baron's wife made way in the carriage and wondered about peasants coming to her castle with her. But most of all, she wondered why she felt so inferior to Mortis. His attitude and appearance made her and her personal maid nervous, almost more so than with her men. She couldn't understand what that meant. Mortis noticed them both eyeing him, and he smiled inwardly. This passive ability was really powerful. Helga wondered why every woman looked at her husband as if he were a treat. But she finally gave up worrying about it.
At the castle, Mortis and his wife were assigned a room, and a maid was to look after their well-being. After they had settled into their room, the baron wanted to meet the two of them at the training grounds.
There, Mortis introduced them to two young men. The first was Martin, a paladin, and the second was Sandro, a swordsman with two one-handers. Mortis recognized these two faces. Wide eyes made it clear that they too were survivors from the battle in which he had awakened.
"Can this really be the cripple?" the two asked in amazement. "Yes, that's him," the baron replied. Mortis wondered what he was supposed to be doing here, and why he was standing on the training ground with other survivors. At that moment, the Baron looked at Mortis and explained that these two were in his service. He was teaching them, and they were to become stronger. The idea was that his wife, a priestess, should explore dungeons with them. The baron promised to reward Mortis well.
Mortis pretended to think, and at the same time he asked the system about his wife's level and abilities. °She is level 12, but her abilities fit more to a tank. She has high stamina and strength. But I also discovered a special skill that the goddess gave her. It seems that she now receives intelligence permanently, even when she takes out enemies with brute force. Still, she should continue to use her skills daily to get more mana. If she is really your wife and you accept it, I can influence her abilities without her noticing.° "What do you mean by 'real wife'?" °You haven't performed the act of love yet, so she's not really your wife.° "You're doing this on purpose." °Possibly.°
Mortis looked at the other two men and said, "All right, I'll do it. Anyway, my wife has to get used to being an adventuress. She needs someone to teach her how to act as a priestess in different situations. But I can't explore too many dungeons because I have to ascend to the higher realm. I've reached the limit, and I can't kill anything here."
The Baron laughed and said, "That's true for humanoid beings, but in dungeons you can be as high as you want. It's just that the dungeon recognizes how strong you are and gives you better rewards accordingly. But I'm surprised you're that high already. A servant came running with an orb that Mortis knew from the Adventurer's Guild. It was used to check stats. Interestingly, it did not show the actual values, only the default values.
Mortis was mistaken, however, because this orb could display anything, both the values of the equipment and those obtained through potions or other means. The baron was shocked. He could not understand how a peasant could have access to such potions. They were usually rare and obtained from dungeons or sold by high-ranking alchemists at high prices. How many medium and low potions did you take? burst out of him. Mortis just shrugged his shoulders, he didn't know. If he received a potion, he would always ask the system if it was still useful to take it.
After the Baron calmed down, he asked Mortis what he wanted in return for his help. Mortis looked in his store to make sure he wasn't asking for something he could easily get himself. Finally, he said, "A small mana potion, a low intelligence potion, and a medium charisma potion." Then he whispered in the Baron's ear that he also wanted a medium intelligence potion.
The baron looked at Mortis' wife and grinned. Then he whispered to Mortis, "I guess all women are the same." Mortis grinned back. It had been his idea to give his wife potions. She didn't even know that she had already taken a Charisma potion and what it did. She thought it was simply a health potion he had given her.
With a heavy heart, the baron agreed. In return, his niece, a mage, would also participate in the explorations of the dungeons to gain experience. Mortis agreed, especially because it meant they would have a week to train. Mortis and Helga could use some rest while they enjoyed themselves in the castle.
Helga became nervous and excitedly asked the Baron, "Do I have to start right away today? I have other plans for today." At this, she looked at Mortis in love.
The Baron answered in the negative and said, "No, you don't have to start right away. I will find a priest to teach you first. Maybe also an experienced adventurer group to teach you all, since exploring dungeons is different than fighting people." Mortis suddenly snapped to attention and suggested a group he thought would be suitable. He suggested inviting two or three groups as well to get different views.
The Baron noted the names Mortis mentioned and thought the idea of inviting more groups was appropriate. Mortis was pleased, but Helga knew exactly why he had chosen these people. However, she didn't care about their fate. She was more concerned about whether there was a razor in the castle, because she had plans for that night. She went straight to her maid and whispered in her ear what she needed. The maid was surprised, but did not ask further, promising to get it immediately.
Mortis wondered at first what the two women were talking about so intensely, when it was actually about him and the other two. Then it occurred to him what they were probably talking about. He said inwardly, "I guess I'll have to be a 'man' again today." °Yes, I guess you must. It's about time, after a 15-year break.° "Stop snooping around in my old memories." °I'm not. I've always been with you, but I couldn't do anything in your old world because it had no mana and was peaceful. Therefore, I was not needed. But I have witnessed everything since the day you were first born.°
Mortis was shocked, which surprised the Baron. He asked Mortis what class he had anyway. The last time he had a scythe, he heard that Mortis had used skills. Was he a spearman?
Mortis shook his head. "No, I'm not. You could say I'm a different kind of paladin, only with a scythe." "I don't understand what you mean by 'another kind of paladin'." "Quite simply, I too serve a goddess, though not one of light. I fight with a scythe and have abilities with it. Would you like to see them?" The Baron agreed, and Mortis retrieved his scythe from the ring. He showed the ability to Slash on a wooden dummy at the edge of the training area. The baron was impressed. He had never seen anything like it with a scythe. Even in his younger years, when he was in many groups and explored many dungeons, he had not encountered anything like this.
"You'll have to tell me more about it. First we'll have lunch, then maybe we should talk."