The nun turned around and walked towards the center of the church, with Lind instinctively following her.
"The Ring of Magic shattered, Calamity surged, the flame of life about to extinguish..."
"I know," Lind interrupted the other's speech, which sounded almost like the opening lines of a game. He realized that her mental state wasn't very good, as if she had been greatly shocked.
The nun stopped, turned her head and stared at Lind with eyes that almost bulged out.
It was as if she was saying, "Why don't you tell it, why don't you!
Lind awkwardly smiled and gestured for her to continue.
"The All Gods have fallen into slumber," the nun continued walking. "they have abandoned us or cannot even save themselves. We could still contact Goliath half a year ago."
"What happened? Why can't we contact him now?" Lind immediately asked.
The nun stopped, positioning herself in front of a statue of a Storm Knight swinging a greatsword, letting the sunlight fall on her, enveloping her figure in a golden radiance, making her appear full of divine aura.
"The end of the world, power lost," she said. "They began to pursue an even purer truth, but the truth is always hard to accept."
"Truth?" Lind frowned slightly, not quite understanding.
She led Lind further into the depths of the church and pushed open the iron-studded door, a foul smell hitting him full on.
Covering his nose, Lind looked inside to see several bodies dressed in church robes, with twisted limbs.
It was the first time Lind had seen a person's legs intertwined like a DNA double helix, yet maintaining enough distance that they did not interfere with each other.
Or the arms twisted into spirals, tangled like twisted bread.
There were also spines protruding from the corpses, the whole person hanging by the neck like a puppet on a sunny day.
It seemed as if these bodies were doing their best to twist their forms, creating a rhythm with their bodies to sense the "truth."
Lind also understood why they couldn't contact Goliath, as everyone in the church was dead, leaving only the old nun.
"What truth were they pursuing?" Lind immediately asked.
In the situation where no powerful force could be obtained from the outside with the Ring of Magic unbroken, the church half a year ago still had the chance to pursue a stronger power.
Lind was very intrigued.
After the appearance of players, he was certain he could not be an ordinary person, he had no choice, he must possess power.
"Bathed in the Moon's gaze, the Grim Reaper's watchful eyes, the Sun's illumination, mankind greedily sought from the Gods, not knowing that even a fleeting glance from a divine eye contains wisdom beyond mortal comprehension, that is the truth of power, the truth of magic."
She continued in a chant-like tone, while Lind, after listening for a while, began to look around at the bones, eventually discovering a book amidst the twisted skeletons.
At that moment, the old nun stopped and looked at Lind with bulging, somewhat vacant eyes.
"Praise the Sun"
Lind thought to himself, "Players would definitely love this book."
He pried open the white knuckles clutching the book, picked up the volume, and began to leaf through it.
It was a thin book written with black ink.
A Holy Song?
Not knowing the tune, Lind read it to the rhythm of "Two Tigers," finding it surprisingly fitting.
A bizarre book, as if narrating a piece of history, yet also imparting some knowledge, and even more so, a pure song of praise.
He closed the slim volume and noticed that the old nun was staring at him with tense eyes.
"Can you explain in detail how they became like this?" Lind was uncomfortable under her gaze, feeling as if, in her eyes, he too might twist into some monstrous form the next moment.
She said, "Magic Potion that steals Divine Authority."
"Magic Potion!" Lind was somewhat excited. His former self was no cultivation genius, had no right to become a Church Knight, nor could he be a powerful Flying Escape expert.
Taking drugs to become powerful was perfect for him.
"After taking it, one will perceive the whispers of God," the old nun tried to deter Lind's thoughts, having seen this expression on many people before: "The wise become madder, the foolish offer up their flesh, the obsessed grow more fanatical, only the chosen by God can endure forever."
Her gaze lingered on Lind, as if she deemed him a fool or an obsessed one, not even counting as wise, thus she had no intention of sharing information about the Magic Potion with him.
These physically distorted clergy must all be "fools."
"Yes, of course, God always chooses some peculiar people," Lind nodded, thinking to himself that luckily in his territory there were chosen ones, definitely chosen by God.
He could finally expand his merchandise.
"Excuse me, may I ask how to address you?"
For an old lady who prattled endlessly about divine matters, Lind had a better way to extract information from her.
"Aluna"
"Alright, Aluna." Lind nodded, tucking the book under his arm, "I am Lord Lind of Star Dragon Ridge, where there appeared a group of rather special people. I believe they might be the ones you mentioned as chosen by God, though their conduct is a bit unorthodox," Lind said, "Aluna, if you are interested, I would like to invite you to my territory to continue propagating the doctrines of 'Praise the Sun.'"
He paused and said, "For this, I will provide you with enough food and shelter from the elements."
Aluna's cheeks twitched slightly, then she nodded, "I think, you might also be a chosen one. Please come with me, there might be something you need there."
"Of course, thank you very much!" Lind smiled.
An old lady alone and destitute, staying in a dilapidated church, surely being there until now was her limit, especially since winter is not as forgiving as summer.
Lind was convinced she would not refuse, even if the church really had some food left, it was likely very little after half a year.
Obtaining the so-called Magic Potion of Divine Authority and also recruiting a never-endingly singing, chattering old nun NPC was a deal too good to pass up.
Dear players, I've found you a Poster Girl, though she's all wrinkled and not the best-tempered.
This is just a joke, he wouldn't actually appoint a somewhat mentally unstable old lady as the Poster Girl, unless he wanted to drive away Undead players. For players are creatures of aestheticism; appearances matter most.
An endlessly prattling NPC can satisfy many players' imaginations, providing a sense of hidden storylines. Lind also could take this opportunity to have Aluna issue some specific quests.
But he should definitely not make Aluna the Poster Girl!
Not all quests can be issued by himself; if Lind wants to turn Star Dragon Ridge into a player hub, he must diversify its functionalities, owning a variety of NPC types.
It should truly become the ultimate Newbie Village.
Before officially employing her, he would definitely have a script prepared, trusting that Aluna could handle it since verbal skill is a specialty of church clergy.
Lind followed Aluna to a room at the back of the church, where a collapsed bookshelf lay with a sheepskin tome about 30 centimeters long.
He picked up the so-called "Diary of Divine Authority Theft," gently dusting it off.
"Clore's Diary"