"Hello, Miss Pastor. Do you mind if I join you?" Punk inquired as politely as he could.
"If a lost lamb is willing to bask in the glory of the God of Light, then, of course, it would be the Lamb's honor to... but of course what do I see here? A mage! who is far from deserving redemption. I sincerely hope that the radiance of the Light can aid in purifying this filth." The calm pastor said these words with a sympathetic look on her face, which made Punk very angry.
"These religious lunatics are indeed a pain in the ass." Even though Punk was quite angry, but he was not surprised.
"Since the fall of the Netheril civilization, gods and Mages have always been locked in a state of cold war with each other."
The arrogant and self-centered gods couldn't tolerate the mages because of their ideology of " pursuing the truth," which would undoubtedly cause a massive loss of their believer's foundation.
Most genuine mages leaned toward materialism and were strongly opposed to the influence of gods and their nonsense. They not only refused to believe in gods but, in some extreme cases, even dismissed the goddess of magic, Mystra.
In front of Punk, the female priest appeared to be a brainwashed "pious lamb," showing a strong belief in the God of Light.
Punk could almost feel her dislike for the Mages, as though discovering a bug in your food, a feeling that came from the dept of her heart.
Most of the priests of the gods shared this kind of attitude towards mages. It just happened that Punk also despised this kind of idiot who were entirely brainwashed and incapable of independent thinking. But even though the female priest's words made Punk upset, he did not want to start a fight with this level 3 priest apprentice because of this.
So, Punk just gave a low sneer and made a bonfire for himself, a little far from her.
With the help of magic, the bonfire was lit very soon.
While Punk was heating up the dry food by the crackling fire, he was vigilant toward the female priest who was still praying not far from him. Punk was quite certain that this female priest was also here to locate the undead forest.
Otherwise, it is hard to explain why a priest, who will love nothing but to worship their gods in the church every day, would appear on this desolate and uninhabited wasteland. While coincidences could happen, but in Punk's view, if the church dispatched someone to the Aigma Wasteland for their "Cleanse all evil" mission, it would most likely be someone like this female pastor, an exceedingly devout priest. Punk also suspects that as the only official professional in Konola City, Mage McNeesey, was definitely surrounded by spies from the Church of Light.
Otherwise, it would be quite challenging for the church to acquire information about something that demanded official-level spells to obtain, such as the "forest of the undead."
Or else the church had to ask the official priest of Bidland City, to make the prediction. Who stays in the middle of the Kingdom of Camos, two provinces away from the Konola city.
Punk didn't bother to care about the internal affairs of Mage McNeesey. He just wanted to find the undead forest as soon as possible and record the coordinates. As for the secret fight between the church and the Mage's union...... that's not something that Punk could intervene at present.
Sitting by the warm bonfire, Punk was thinking something deeply while watching the dry wood burn intensely inside the flames, eventually turning into ash that scattered in the wind.
In the end, Punk decided to follow the priest. His fruitless search had left him frustrated, and he realized that, as a Light attribute priest from the Church of Light, she would be more sensitive to the dark power of the Undeads. Her pursuit of the undead forest was undoubtedly more efficient than Punk's somewhat aimless pursuits.
Even when Mages and priests don't get along and may even feel disgusted by each other, as long as they don't have a reason to fight, they usually don't randomly start conflicts. Furthermore, most of the law-abiding priests are upright and stupid characters. Punk tilted his head and glanced at the Holy Priest, thinking, "She's really going to be a generous guide." As he took a bite of the tough and tasteless dry food, he thought to himself: "This fool would be far more useful than that cunning fox Kane..."
"It's just a bit disappointing that despite all that, the old mage still failed to guard against the church's nose!"
"Anyway" Punk felt quite frustrated about the Mage Union's information leak, as it was highly irresponsible toward the member tasked with the mission.
The Mage Union's member selection process is relaxed, and this was only a beginner's mission. But the information leak doesn't match the Mage's usual image of being organized and careful. This data breach doesn't fit with the Mage's regular strict and thorough image.
Punk decided to wait until he found a mentor before leaving the Mage Union, but that was a matter for the future. For now, he needed to focus on solving the task at hand. Although at first Punk wasn't completely sure if following this priest was more efficient than wandering on his own, but after five days in the wasteland with the priest, Punk actually found the undead forest. If he ignores the disdainful gaze of the priestess along the way, the trip wasn't that bad for him.
Originally, Punk's plan was to locate the undead forest, note down its coordinates, and leave. However, now.... In front of Punk stood a small forest, covering an area of approximately 2 or 3 square kilometers. In the middle of that area, all small trees and grass were eroded and created a space about the size of two basketball courts.
On this vast wasteland, this forest barely can be called " The forest of the undead."
The female priest had already cried out loudly: "In the name of the great God of Light, I, the priest's apprentice Irene Marjie, will purify this unholy land!"
Without sparing her a glance, Punk began to observe the undead forest. Punk found many strange places in the distance. This undead forest has characteristics that almost all undead places have, such as grey land, pervasive death, wandering undead creatures...
According to Punk's deductions, the skeletons within the undead forest were likely once human merchants and members of their caravans. Some had also transformed from local animals, like zombie dogs and ghost rabbits. However, for some unknown reason, in this undead forest there were hardly any undead animals. Instead, there was a consistent presence of partially armored skeletons patrolling the area.
They were undoubtedly pure human before their death, and the tattered grey clothes and armor on them prove that they were once a group of soldiers; some of the undead were still holding weapons that they used when they were alive.
These rusted weapons were still sharp and exuding grey smoke, which was emanating a biting chill.
Punk, who had gathered substantial information in Konola City, immediately recognized them with a single glance. These undeads were holding the standard saber of the army of the Kingdom of Camos, and their attire matched the standard-issued soldier's armor from there.
Punk also noticed faint remnants of the Griffin insignia of the Kingdom of Camos on the right breastplate of some of the less damaged armor. His eyes narrowed slightly because these undead were undoubtedly once soldiers from the Kingdom of Camos!