"Finally. Come, my disciple. We'll make this quick and get out of here." Abigail, followed by her pure disciple Damien, entered the large, dome-shaped grand temple, ready to quickly meet with the goddess of the magic hero and swiftly retreat.
"Why the rush, master? This place really is grand! It's good to take in the sights every now and then. You can't let the small things in life pass you by." Her disciple stated as he took in the sights in front of him.
The entrance of the temple was extravagant, with marble floors and large pillars holding the mural covered ceiling, depicting each god's rise to greatness.
Large statues of Neel's major gods stood at the back of the large hall, all having an entrance behind them, leading to their respective places of worship.
Abigail wanted to roll her eyes at Damien's words. Though he used the words of her cousin Martin, his previous master, the S-ranked adventurer and sword master. The honest phrase was clearly lost on this disciple of hers. Why?
Because Damiens eyes clearly lingered on a few of the more shapely goddess sculptures as he stated such tranquil words. It was obvious he wanted to stare at those particular statues a bit longer rather than bask in the magnificence of the temple entrance as a whole.
A recurring habit Abigail noticed during their long travel here. After two years of training in her magic tower, Abigail finally noticed a dangerous, albeit small, flaw in her precious disciple's mindset.
Women.
It was not a major issue; Damien would not do anything outside of looking, and he was a growing boy, so it was natural. But Abigail was a former hero, one of the top heroes of her generation, so she knew.
If this mindset was not corrected quickly, Damien would be led by the nose by such temptations when he became a hero.
'He needs a bit more training before he enters the academy.' She decided.
She shook her head at his antics; at least she discovered it during this trip and not at some point down the road. It seemed leaving the tower to travel here was a blessing in disguise; it was clear the isolation had skewed her vision a bit.
'But other than that, he's perfect.'
"Stop gawking; we have many more things to do after this, so-"
"Abigail? Is that you?"
But the magic hero's words were caught in her throat when she heard a familiar voice call out to her from the entrance of one of the statues.
Abigail's mood dropped hearing the familiar voice; she'd recognize the voice of her old classmate anywhere.
She turned to the entrance the voice came from. "Hello, Matilda." She answered curtly.
Matilda, a slender, silver-haired elf, walked out from the entrance of the only elf temple of the grand sanctuary. She was followed by a cute, silver-haired elf girl holding an exquisite staff.
Abigail felt annoyed seeing this elf here. What in the platform were the chances of meeting her here?
The elf covered her mouth in mock surprise. "Oh? After so long in that tower, I'm surprised you haven't lost your ability to speak as well! Haha."
Abigail's face became ugly at that. The 'as well' part was clearly meant to take a jab at her lost magical prowess. Matilda had always been jealous of her; she knew that. And the second she heard Abigail lost most of her abilities, Matilda was jumping in joy; she didn't take a single break reminding her of her weakness.
"..."
"And who is this beside you? An apprentice, perhaps?" Matilda asked, glancing at the boy beside her old rival.
"Yes. His name is Damien." Abigail answered directly; she had no intention of continuing this conversation any more than she had to.
The elf turned to Damien, who, unsurprisingly, was staring at the elf girl in front of him in a daze.
Seeing that, the elf druid wanted to scoff at the boy's presumptuousness. Eyeing her disciple without a single scruple? Humans really were pathetic. Did he really think he had a chance with such an elite?
"Hmph! I see the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." She muttered softly, but quite loud enough for the magic hero to hear. "Come, Talindra, we have much to do. And it seems the former magic hero wishes to pray for her curse removal again today; we shouldn't disturb her any longer."
Hearing that, the small elf girl just turned to her master and nodded; she then turned to the magic hero and gave her a polite nod, turned with her master, and left, not saying anything.
Abigail could feel her anger burning deep down in her heart. For three reasons in particular.
First was the vitriol the druid was sneaking in at every sentence. The mention of her lost powers, the obvious disdain she had for Damien, calling her the 'former' magic hero, and the exposure of her attempts to remove the curse cast on her with no success.
Second was the fact that the elf girl pretended to be polite. Though she gave a nod of acknowledgement, that was it. What person would not even bother to introduce themselves to a hero? A person that looked down on them. It was clear the girl felt no need to form connections with her for any reason. She didn't even state her name. In the past, no such thing would occur in front of the magic hero.
And third…
"Wow, elves! I've never seen one before! Did you know them, Master? Who was that girl with the staff? She looked… very skilled!"
"..."
Her disciple had not noticed the clear ridicule before him. On top of the fact he seemed utterly oblivious that the other party had no respect for the two of them.
In this situation, the dense and whimsical nature of her disciple put a very sour taste in her mouth. She needed a moment alone.
"...Stay here, Damien; you can look around the temple while I speak to my goddess for a bit…"
"Hm? Alright, sounds good. I was curious about the rest of the temple anyways. I'll be here, master." The disciple replied, currently oblivious to the plight of his master as his mind drifted to the beautiful elf he saw just moments ago.
Abigail, seeing Damien's callous behavior, felt a little angry at his reaction. She hoped that he would at least show some concern. In the end that hope was pointless.
But then a realization struck her: why was she getting angry with her disciple?
With all the time she spent in her magic tower, spending all hours of the day with him, teaching and guiding him, she had forgotten one important point about her disciple.
He was still a kid.
Though his talent would make some consider him more capable than most adults, the fact of the matter remains that he was a 14-year-old boy.
'That's right, I shouldn't be relying on Damien. He should be relying on me.'
That thought shifted the mindset of the magic hero. Damien had flaws that would hinder him in the future, and it was her job as a teacher to guide him. Dumping her emotional burdens on him was not a responsible action of a teacher.
The anomalous event in Hellnia that led to Abigail traveling to the capital with Damien, in turn forcing her to touch grass as well as become aware of her disciple's glaring weaknesses, caused her to realize the unprofessional way she had been treating her disciple.
She made up her mind; she would work harder to be a better master for her student.
With that, she calmed her mind and nodded. "Ok, but don't wander off too far; I won't be gone for long, and don't enter any temples alone. The gods are very much active in this place; pledging to one before attending the academy isn't always the best idea; learning about them formally will help you in the future." The magic hero stated seriously.
Though she had mentioned the importance of choosing a god and their system carefully, the wizard felt it important to repeat it once more.
Damien nodded seriously, but his head was still in the clouds as Abigail walked to the entrance of her goddess' temple. He did not hear the words of his master fully.
As Abigail left, Damien gazed around at the temple lobby. The place was filled with golden ornaments, exquisite pictures depicting the gods of Neel, and beautiful sculptures dedicated to their respective temples deeper within.
He especially liked the depiction of the many goddesses here. The soft smile of the goddess of water, the bright presence of the goddess of light, the humble aura of the goddess of nature, he enjoyed observing them all. Their thin gowns and pleasant curves had nothing to do with his piercing gaze; the young man enjoyed the presence of each as a whole. Nothing else.
As he stared intently at each one of the goddess's sculptures meticulously, one sculpture in particular caught his eye. Her face was beautiful, with sharp eyes and a confident smile. She had long hair that reached the small of her back, wore a crown with three white jewels in the center, and her gown was long but thankfully just as thin as the rest. Her right hand held a dazzling long sword, and the other held a thick magical tome.
Damien felt drawn to this goddess in particular; he didn't know why, but he felt his destiny was tied to this goddess. He looked down at the golden plaque, curious about which god this was.
'Magical Sword Maiden, Aife, goddess of Justice.'
Damien felt a surge of excitement reading that. This was his aspiration to the letter! To be a great magic swordsman, to be a deliverer of justice, to be a hero better than any other.
He immediately walked into the temple doors, eager to learn more about this particular goddess. Unbeknownst to Damien, a pair of stone eyes followed his back as he entered deeper into the temple.
As Damien entered the temple, he followed along the fine white carpet leading to the sanctuary. He was inwardly shocked that such a carpet was laid here; did it not have to be constantly cleaned? Gaudy decorations lined the walls, along with different paintings telling the heroic tales of Aife.
As he finally came to the sanctuary, he found it empty; no one was praying at this place. It just had an altar with the goddesses' scriptures and a grand statue in the back, no different from the one he saw at the entrance. He found it a little bewildering. It was the afternoon, yet none were here?
But he shook away those doubts and stepped up to the altar. He slid his hand across the cover of the closed book sitting atop the stand. The book looked and felt like it was made of tiny white crystals, a peculiar sensation.
He opened the book and read the introduction.
[
Scripture of Aife, goddess of absolute justice and destroyer of absolute evil.
The scripture that guides the lost towards what it means to be truth in a world filled with sin.
]
Damien's excitement only grew reading that. This was it, the guidance he needed to walk the path of a true hero, one that recognizes the truth and identifies all sin!
"Are you interested in this scripture, young one?" A melodic voice called out to him.
Damien, startled, snapped his head up towards the sound, but his actions only caused him to stumble back and fall to the ground.
Because as he looked up, standing inches away from his face was the sculpture he gazed at earlier.
"W-what?" He was shocked; the statue had moved! And it was now looking down at him as if it were real!
"Hahaha, do not be afraid, child; this is my sanctuary. It's only natural I'd have a bit of freedom here." The statue laughed as she moved closer, offering a hand to Damien.
As he grabbed the cold marble hand, he looked at the statue in surprise. "You-you're Goddess Aife, right?" He asked cautiously.
The statue nodded. "I am. Goddess of absolute justice and the one that crusades against all evil." she said proudly. "And I ask you again, young one, are you interested in this goddess' scripture?" She asked curiously, keeping his hand in hers as she clasped it close to her stone body, looking up at him hopefully.
*Gulp* "I-I am! I'm interested!" He answered thoughtlessly. Though the goddess was made of stone, her movements and voice were too fluid and real for the young man not to be conscious of her presence.
But the fault was not fully the young Damien's. The goddess gazing kindly at him was well aware of the actions she was doing, and she felt no guilt using such ploys. She needed a user, and quickly; her temple was slowly losing its relevance. With no demon lord appearing in hundreds of years, none prayed to her. Evil was needed to keep her place in the pantheon.
For these gods, immortality was fickle.
"Good, good!" She said, a bit more excited than she wanted to sound. But that only made the young man straighten his back even more. Who didn't like feeling needed?
The goddess, never letting Damien's hand go, led him back to the altar. When they got there, she produced three pieces of paper from thin air and placed them atop her holy scripture.
"Now." She began. "I want you to tell me what you see on these papers." She stated happily. She didn't really care what was on them; her system would guide his path anyways, and she had already appraised his potential.
'S-ranked potential!'
The soul discovery was only a formality. Rules had to be kept. Though poaching a person under the age of 16 was looked down on, it wasn't against the rules, and Aife was running out of time. At this point she didn't care about face.
As she was thinking about how she would utilize the S rank properly down the road, she heard something that put her mind in a daze.
"...and this last one seems to be a line...with branches coming off." the young man said hastily.
"...What?" The goddess asked, turning to the young man before her.
Damien glanced at her, a little more nervous now. "I-I said it's a branch, dear goddess." He said respectfully.
Aife didn't reply; she just stared at Damien, floored by the words.
After a while, she smiled. She leaned in close to him and spoke, a bit more doting than before.
"Would you pledge yourself to this goddess? Young hero?" Her stone form shamelessly pressing against the young man. Had there been any other gods there, their eyes would be filled with disdain…and a bit of jealousy.
Not toward the young man, but toward the beautiful goddess leaning against him.
For they hunted relentlessly for a soul possessing the branch.
The soul of the Anomalous Fate.
Damien, unfortunately overwhelmed by the physical and mental stimuli, nodded without a second thought.
"Excellent! We will immediately perform the ritual, and after, I will tell you the ultimate purpose of being a hero. You are allowed to get boons from other gods, but you must exclusively use my system, understand?" The goddess said quickly, hardly allowing the warrior to ask a single question, not that he had the capacity to do so currently.
Before he could fully process all the words. The goddess continued. "Good! Now let's get started!" She grabbed his hand and led him deeper into the temple, to a section hidden from the eyes of most.
~~~
Damien sat on the roof of a large building, looking out at the sunset in a daze. The goddess had pushed him out as quickly as he was dragged in, but he had more pressing things to think about as he sat there.
He remembered the ritual performed on him back in the temple. It wasn't as grand or holy as he thought it would be; in fact, it was rather painful. The goddess had ruthlessly placed an item over his chest and activated it; once the blinding pain was over, he found himself outside the temple.
He wasn't at the level to peer at his soul yet, but his aptitude was high enough to instinctively tell a difference. He could feel it.
His soul had been branded in some way.
He felt a twinge of guilt making his decision so quickly; he had promised his master he would finish his training and go to the academy before he chose a god to champion as a hero. Though he felt a bit guilty about it, he felt no regret.
No. His instincts were telling him this was the right choice. This was the path he wanted deep down, and he had to be honest about those feelings, even if his master didn't wish to accept it.
He had heard the excited ramblings of his goddess during the ritual; it seemed his soul was special. The 'anomalous fate'. A soul that can change destinies, so he pieced together, through her strategic murmurs before the pain muffled his ears.
He was an exception to the rule. His master had to understand and trust his decision.
Though he got there a little earlier than expected, Damien knew he was ready for the responsibility and the hardship that came with it. He had trained years for this. He would live up to the name of hero and slay the evil that hides beneath the surface.
He would become absolute justice in this world.
DING
[
Special Mission: Evil Beneath the Surface.
Description: Your system has detected an evil presence close to you, hiding and plotting amongst the happy citizens of this peaceful city. Expose that evil and eliminate it swiftly.
Reward: 300 XP, [Superior Pill of Fortitude]
[Superior Pill of Fortitude]: Increase base STR +5 and END +5 (3 uses max under lvl 30)
]
Damien clenched his fist in determination. His first mission has already come. And the reward was some sort of special system currency and a pill to boost his strength. He had yet to learn all the ins and outs of the system, but he understood the two abbreviations had to do with his 'statistics' , the numeral value of his natural talents and understanding of major world laws.
He had been too distracted to figure out the rest, but now wasn't the time to toil over that right now. For now, he had to complete his mission.
Damien hopped up and dashed forward, leaping from rooftop to rooftop wrapped in a layer of transparent chi, his aura.
As he dashed across the roofs, his eyes scanned the areas below; the system said it was close so he stuck to the area and patrolled hastily.
Under the setting sun, his eyes landed on a familiar figure. A short, brown-haired, green-eyed girl. Standing in an alley with another individual. Their path of retreat was blocked by five armored men wrapped in chi and drawn swords.
Damien came to a halt, his eyes wide in surprise. What were the chances?
"Corrine?"