Chapter 7 – Foxtail

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“Shall we disband now?”

In the central square of Foxtail, Isolin looked around at the party members and spoke. Although the disbandment was sudden, no one refused since each had their own tasks to attend to.

In fact, the warriors nodded as if they had been waiting for this.

“Ah, thank you for your hard work!”

“I hope we can meet again.”

After two warriors left, only Isolin and I remained.

Isolin, who had been gazing at the fountain in the square, smiled lightly and spoke.

“Shall I go too?”

“Yeah. Take care.”

We didn’t promise to meet again. We knew we would see each other soon anyway. The small, pink-haired girl walked away like that.

Left alone, I headed to the temple. Finding the way wasn’t difficult. The guards stationed throughout the village kindly gave directions.

“Where can I find the temple?”

“Hmm. You seem lost. Follow this road, and you’ll see the floor tiles gradually turn white. From there, you can see the temple, so it won’t be hard to find.”

“Thank you!”

As the guard said, following the red brick road, the color of the bricks gradually changed. Someone less observant might not even notice the bricks turning white.

Upon stepping onto the pure white brick road, I could see the massive temple rising at the end. White steps led up to it, with bright flames rising from white braziers even in broad daylight.

Shifting my gaze from the braziers to the temple’s interior, I saw nothing. A white haze obscured my view.

Perhaps the interior isn’t shown to outsiders? I tilted my head in confusion but walked towards the temple.

Not only priests sought the temple. NPCs, presumably residents, came to pray or donate at the entrance.

Among the temple’s key figures, there were no players. Naturally, as players had only left the starting village about twelve days ago. It was too soon for any to hold major positions in the temple.

“Welcome! Sister! We’ve been waiting for you!”

As I reached the temple steps, a priest with a bright smile approached me. His demeanor was exceedingly gentle.

“Me…?”

“Yes! The god of abundance, Archeres, spoke. A lamb walking our path would come here. We were asked to help this lamb find the right path.”

“Ah…”

I finally understood the priest’s words. This was standard for all players who just arrived at the temple. I wasn’t special. Every priest player heard the same upon arrival.

Indeed, nearby players showed little interest.

“Come with me. I’ll explain the temple’s basic rules.”

“Ah, okay.”

The NPC priest led me around, explaining the temple’s systems.

First, I learned about the contribution system.

Donating or completing special quests earned contributions, which could be used to buy special items.

Second, skills.

Paying a certain amount of gold allowed learning corresponding skills. Not all skills were available to every priest.

Additionally, there were special benefits for priests, like free lodging and light breakfasts at the temple.

However, using these benefits required an hour of prayer.

Understanding the temple’s systems wasn’t hard, as they resembled common RPG mechanics.

“Did you understand everything?”

The priest who had shown me around asked, bending to meet my gaze. He seemed very kind.

I nodded.

“Yes. I understand.”

“This is a gift from me. If you face difficulties, come find me. I’ll help as much as I can.”

The priest handed me a large lollipop. It had no stats, just an ordinary lollipop.

“Ah, thank you.”

The priest, whose name I didn’t know, hurried off.

The god of abundance, Archeres… Though I became a priest borrowing divine power, I only learned the god’s name today.

I looked up at Archeres’s large statue, while licking the lollipop.

The angelic figure in massive armor looked more like a war god than one of abundance.

“Hmm…”

I had no faith in gods. Even as an apprentice priest, I never sought to learn the god’s name.

I used divine power simply because I could. I took it for granted.

In fact, I doubted if the power I used was divine. [Heal] and [Holy Armor] consumed mana, which could be restored with potions.

So, is mana divine power?

Probably not. Mana isn’t exclusive to priests. Other classes use mana for skills, which wouldn’t make it divine.

But there’s no need to overthink. It’s just game mechanics.

It’s a game. Real, but with game systems.

That’s all.

Shaking off my thoughts, I approached the high priest selling skills and equipment.

“Hello!”

“Welcome, sister. Do you need anything?”

The high priest, Ash, greeted me with a gentle smile, a halo faintly glowing behind him. He seemed very benevolent.

“What skills can I learn?”

“Hmm, the blessings and prayers you can learn are… [Sacred Blessing] and [Reviving Wind].”

“I’ll take both.”

“That’ll be 600 gold.”

600 gold. A significant expense, but not beyond my means. I had earned enough from hunting hundreds of deer over the past week.

Sometimes, bold investments are necessary for a better life. I paid without hesitation.

[Sacred Blessing]

1. Enhances all party members within a certain radius.
2. [All stats increased by 10%]
3. [Duration: 10 minutes] 

[Reviving Wind]

1. Continuously heals party members over time.
2. [Restores 10 HP per second]
3. [Duration: 20 seconds] 

The new skills were a group buff and a heal-over-time. Scanning my skill list, I felt a bit underwhelmed.

Surely not all future skills would be like this? Even if this world follows old RPG structures, priests lacking attack skills doesn’t make sense.

I licked my lollipop and asked Ash.

“Excuse me, do priests have no attack skills?”

“We do. But they’re prayers you can’t use yet.”

“Ah.”

That’s a relief. Nodding, I left the temple.

Though I had gold to spare, as a non-combat class, I felt no urgent need to upgrade my gear. I hadn’t even swung the mace I got upon job change much.

Foxtail, unlike the starting village, wasn’t scarce on priests. I spotted several players in similar attire.

Mages were common too, along with classes unseen in the starting village.

Then, I gasped and stopped. A shocking creature came into view.

Tall and thin-limbed, with cheekbones protruding like horns, a nose reaching the forehead, and eyes stretched into a straight line. Its mouth corners rose, revealing gums and teeth.

A truly horrifying sight. Its glossy purple skin made it look more monster than human.

“Ugh…”

A groan escaped me. It wasn’t just me; everyone avoided the player.

[Level 14]

[Neukmam]

(Tl: 느억맘 – Korean sauce)

I hurried to the inn, avoiding the player.

[Tip: Once set, your character’s appearance cannot be changed!]

Vrslop_translator