After shaking Skye's hand to conclude the deal, Ioki made his way to the Church after asking for direction from Skye.
"Just go past the fountain in the opposite direction of my diner. There, you'll see the Church of Light. Tell Elia I said hi!" Ioki recalled Skye's instructions.
He walked past the fountain for around 20 minutes, making his way through the bustling street of Ruina.
While trying to appreciate the town and its citizens, Ioki bumped into a Beastwoman.
The Beastwoman resembled a Tiger. Her body is covered with orange fur and black stripes. She has eyes the color of bright orange. Strangely, even though animals were rumored to have great sights, she was using eyeglasses.
She wears oriental clothing with revealing sides, and her pants are similar to what martial arts practitioners use. Black, long, cotton pants.
The woman fell to the ground while Ioki just stood there. After seeing the man beside her was trying to help her up, Ioki offered a hand as well.
Ioki saw a bit of her hard-rock abs covered in white fur as her clothes were revealed when she fell.
"I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" Ioki apologized.
"Ah! Not your fault! I wasn't paying attention as well," She replied while tidying her clothes.
"You know... The problem is not whether which one is at fault... The problem is, you fell down as you collided with this boy. Someone that stands toe-to-toe with Sensei Sairiki," The man said as he looked at Ioki.
Hearing what the man just said, Ioki, of course had no clue at all about who is Sensei Sairiki...
Instead, Ioki looked at the man. The way the man smiles and keeps his eyes closed makes Ioki feel cautious around him.
The man was taller than both Ioki and the woman. Colorful strings could be seen wrapping the man's finger.
Long, dark, wavy hair was tied back, revealing a bunch of piercings on the man's ear.
Around the man's waist, a dark-colored utility belt could be seen. It stores kinds of stuff ranging from Potions to rope and some sharp objects.
Ioki then looked at the man again and saw something protruding from behind his clothes; although it was hardly visible, something was there.
Seeing Ioki observing certain parts of his body, the man smiled even wider and donned his robe forward to cover it.
"It doesn't bother me before, but after hearing you say it..." She said as she turned her face to Ioki, "Seeing how you look like this, you must be a Guided Soul, right?"
"Yes? I guess?" Ioki replied ambiguously.
The reason why Ioki replied like that is because he himself doesn't know what Guided Soul means...
"Ahaha!" The man laughed, "What do you mean, you guess?"
"Because I'm not sure myself what Guided Soul means..." Ioki replied with an awkward smile.
The two stared at each other before they went in a circle inspecting Ioki.
Ioki was confused at their inspection all of a sudden. Ioki could only stay still while they were going in circles around him.
The woman was seen adjusting her eyeglasses a few times as she observed Ioki closely. Ioki swore he could feel her sniff Ioki as well...
"There is no way you are not a Guided Soul," The woman stated.
Suddenly, her furry hand could be seen reaching Ioki's abdomen.
"Hnng!" Ioki let out a soft voice because he was startled by the sudden touch of the smooth, furry hand.
"Solid core, low center of gravity might be the reason," The woman suddenly started rambling while her hand was dancing wildly on Ioki's body.
"Ahhh--- Pwease stahp!" Ioki asked while moaning.
Paying no attention to Ioki's plead, the woman keeps letting her hand travel around Ioki's body.
"Tightened muscle on the chest, round shoulder, no sign of callo---" Before she could continue rambling, the man stopped her.
"Rahu, enough! You are stepping out of line, you are making the boy uncomfortable!" The man shouted as he held her wrist.
"Ah! I'm sorry once again! Thanks for stopping me, Gill," The woman apologized.
Slowly, her face turned red, even though it was covered with fur, but her expression could be seen clearly.
"Hey boy, I'm sorry. If she encounters someone she considers interesting, you see what just happened..." The man explained while smiling once again.
"Th--- that's fine..." Ioki replied with a low voice while looking down.
"I'm sorry! It must be because of what I just have done, right?! Did I accidentally touch you with my claws? Does it hurt anywhere?"
"N---no! It's just..." Ioki didn't know how to explain it because the sensation he felt as her hands traveled all over his body was still lingering.
"Hey, I'm sorry, but we need to meet our Guild Master. Go to the Iron Fist Guild and ask for Gill and Rahu; I'll make it up to you for what just happened!" The man dragged the Beastwoman after giving their names.
Ioki, still lost at what to do, tried his hardest to get his brain to work properly again.
"Ah yes, I need to go to the church!" Ioki exclaimed.
Ioki then continued walking, this time cautiously. He doesn't want to go through the same thing again, so he uses his high Dex and small body to maneuver through the crowds nimbly.
Finally, he arrived at the front of the Church.
While on his journey, Ioki imagined how the Church would look. He imagined Gothic-style architecture or Renaissance-styled architecture.
Amazed by what stood before him, Ioki had his jaw dropped.
A small building made of white wood... It's a modest building... Religions teach you to be modest and frugal, but the Follower of Light takes it too seriously.
Ioki opened the wooden door to the Church.
As he went in, he saw a party of people standing before a Nun. They gave a purse to the accompanying Priest standing beside her.
After the Priest took the purse and wrote something on a book, the Nun closed her eyes and prayed.
Glorious light appeared from the top of their heads and enveloped their whole body. Not long after, their weapons started to glow with a white light.
"Ahem, may I ask what's the purpose of your visit?" A chubby Priest approached Ioki.
"I want to make an Identification," Ioki replied.
"You should have come earlier. The administration has been closed. Retu---"
Ioki once again put a purse filled with coins out of his inventory and shook it before the Priest's face.
"I would like to make a donation to the Church of Light. I stand by their cause to spread the light on this cursed land!" Ioki spouted nonsense from his mouth.
"Finally! A Guided Soul with a Blessed Mind! Praise be to the Goddess!" The Priest exclaimed as he slowly opened his palm and signed Ioki to put the purse in his hand.
The Priest's eyes went wide as he opened the purse. He stared at Ioki, stared at the inside of the purse, then shook it up and down.
He took out a coin, and a golden coin came out. He put it on his teeth and tried to bite it.
"Right this way, please, young Guided Soul!" The Priest's personality turned 180 as he guided Ioki to a small desk near the corner.
A quill and ink could be seen on top of the desk, with a bunch of papers stacked on the edge. There are also some documents on top of the desk.
The Priest hurriedly shrugs aside and puts some under the desk. He entered a door, came out with a wooden chair, and asked Ioki to sit there.
"So tell me, what's your name?" The Priest asked with a wide smile.
Seeing how the Priest smiled occasionally after giving him a sum of gold made Ioki feel goofy.
"My name is Ioki, how about you, Mr. Priest?" Ioki replied.
"A mannerful soul, I see! The other Guided Souls never bother to ask my name because they always go and bother Sister Elia instead! My name is---" Before he could finish his sentence, someone approached them and roughly touched Ioki's shoulder.
"Are you Ioki?" The man asked him.