7 Oracle
Though he did his best to maintain a smile, the corner of Cairn's mouth twitched as he felt the bones in his hand creaking. Kai'ankh's Strength stat was only at nineteen, but compared to his measly six, she might as well have been the one towering over him.
"You can let go of my hand now..." said Cairn through gritted teeth, a bead of sweat forming near his temple.
Startled by Cairn's pained expression, Kai'ankh immediately released her grip, a look of concern crossing her face as she expressed, "I apologize, Sir Cairn. I didn't mean to cause you any harm. I just..."
Unable to complete her sentence, Kai'ankh allowed her words to trail off. The truth was that, among Karakuts, complementing one's fur was a way of expressing interest in the opposite sex. She knew that wasn't Cairn's intention, but her body tensed up due to her surprise.
Shaking his slightly throbbing hand, Cairn smiled reassuringly and said, "No worries, it was just unexpected. Just try to be a little more mindful from now on. I only recently arrived in this world, so my Level and stats are rock bottom."
Nodding her head, Kai'ankh's rabbit-like ears twitched in acknowledgment as she replied, "Understood. I will be more careful in the future."
In an effort to ease the awkward tensions, Cairn began to walk toward what he assumed to be the ruins of the village chief's house. Kai'ankh followed behind him, so after a few seconds of silence, he asked, "You mentioned a prophecy involving a Champion from another world. Can you tell me more about it?"
Hearing Cairn's question, Kai'ankh's expression turned solemn as she revealed, "When the world stands upon the precipice of great change, Lady Restia will grant oracles to her chosen followers. Two weeks ago, I received a vision where the world was split in two, one side showing a picturesque view of the Southern Plains and the other showing the same location scorched black, littered with the corpses of the sovereign races and countless monsters..."
Furrowing his brows, Cairn interrupted Kai'ankh's explanation to ask, "Don't monsters disappear when they're killed? If not, what happened with the Longcats...?"
"That is tied to the origin of the monsters themselves," replied Kai'ankh, further clarifying, "With some exceptions, most monsters originate from labyrinthine constructs known as Dungeons. Monsters produced by the Dungeons are no different from summoned Familiars, so when they are killed, their Mana and Life Essence are scattered, some absorbed by the person who slew them, and the rest converted into what you referred to as 'Drop Items.'"
Turning her head to meet Cairn's gaze, Kai'ankh added, "Monsters that manage to escape their Dungeon will gradually attune to the Mana in their environment, ultimately becoming linked with it. Such monsters are much stronger than their counterparts within the Dungeon, but if you can defeat one, the rewards are far greater."
"So they're basically Field Bosses..." muttered Cairn, causing Kai'ankh's ears to twitch. He had broken eye contact with her halfway through her explanation and was standing with his arms crossed, his thoughts racing to form a 'plan' for the future. His lack of a death penalty meant he could take on Field and even World Bosses as many times as he wanted, but the same couldn't be said for Kai'ankh and any additional allies they managed to pick up along their journey...
Pulling out the [Statue of the Goddess, Restia], Cairn held it between his index finger and thumb, asking, "Do you recognize this? And if so, does it have any special effects you're aware of?"
Though she was marginally surprised by Cairn's actions, Kai'ankh quickly nodded in confirmation, answering, "Indeed. That is a special item known as the [Statue of the Goddess, Restia]. If a person sustains a mortal injury while they possess it, they will be transported to the nearest Church upon death. The most valuable item on their person will be left behind, but that is a small price to pay for deliverance."
Leaving Kai'ankh feeling somewhat taken aback, Cairn asked, "Is that all? There aren't any side-effects, like feeling weaker?"
Doing her best to be patient, Kai'ankh averted her eyes from Cairn and took a deep breath before responding to his question, stating, "There are none." in a firm tone. "Lady Restia is a benevolent Goddess, so as long as you are diligent or willing to make an offering at the Church, you need not fear death. And even if your physical body is destroyed, she has prepared a place for all her children in the Garden of Eternity."
"Sounds like a real classy lady," mused Cairn, tensing slightly as a system notification suddenly dinged in his ear, accompanied by Kai'anky directing a narrowed, sidelong glance at him.
--------------------------
Quest Name: The Tower of Ascension
Quest Rank: SSS
Description: There is always a higher mountain and a greater sky beyond. However, even if you can't reach the absolute pinnacle, the view near the top is breathtaking.
Objective(s): Reach Level 100 and enter the Tower of Ascension.
Optional Objective(s): Complete the Main Objective within ten years and help at least nine other enter alongside you.
Rewards: Variable
Failure Condition(s): None, in particular, but something bad might happen if you refuse to enter the tower or do so too late.
--------------------------
("So I'm being monitored...") thought Cairn, simultaneously making a mental note not to say or do anything that might piss off the peeping Goddess. The thought she was using him as a source of entertainment crossed his mind, but he couldn't really fault her as he had played more than a few sim-style games. So long as she rewarded him properly and didn't force him to commit acts that infringed upon his bottom line, he didn't mind serving as her 'Champion.' It beat slaving away in a mine to acquire materials for someone else's benefit; that much was certain...
Catching Kai'ankh by surprise, causing her ears to stand up straight, Cairn casually revealed, "I just received one of those 'oracles' you were talking about. It ordains that we need to recruit eight additional people to enter a place called the Tower of Ascension. I'm assuming you've heard of it...?"
"How could I not have?" replied Kai'ankh. "The Tower of Ascension is the corridor through which all souls travel before birth and after death. It is also where Heroes of the past traveled to commune with Lady Restia directly, receiving her permission to enter the Garden of Eternity to live their remaining days in peaceful serenity, far removed from the strife of the mortal plane."
"Neat," said Cairn, adding, "Well, that's our objective. And according to the oracle, we have ten years to complete it. Any ideas?"
Crossing her arms and adopting a contemplative look, Kai'ankh replied, "If we need to gather allies, the best place to look is the Royal Capital. While tensions between humans and the other races have been increasing as of late, it's the location of the Restia Chuch's Central Sanctum, the Freelance Company's Headquarters, and the Institute of Magical Research. People from all races and walks of life gather there in search of absolution, fame, fortune, and knowledge."
Seemingly remembering something, Kai'ankh's ears and body perked up, a smile developing across her face as she added, "As fate would have it, one of the Central Continent's largest events, the Decennial Tournament of Champions, is scheduled to take place in about six months. Entering and winning is probably impossible, but it would be an excellent place to search for talent."
--------------------------
Quest Name: Diamond in the Rough
Quest Rank: F-SSS
Description: Every ten years, warriors, mages, scholars, and alchemists from across the Central Continent gather to compete for fame and glory. The truly strong rarely take part, but who knows who you might find in the crowd?
Objective(s): Seek out talent at the Decennial Tournament of Champions.
Optional Objective(s): Participate and win the tournament(0/1), Find and recruit at least one person with a Talent Cap exceeding 90(0/1), Earn the favor of the ????(0/1)
Rewards: Variable
Failure Condition(s): You've already figured out I'm watching, so if you can make things interesting, I won't skimp on the rewards.
--------------------------
Seeing the Quest Notification that had appeared before him, a scoffing chuckle emanated from Cairn's throat. Restia was even more shameless than he anticipated, but if he were being honest, he would rather her be open and direct than have her scheming behind his back. It wasn't a lot, but it gave him at least some leverage in their burgeoning relationship as Goddess(Sponsor) and Champion(Streamer)...
"Then that's what we'll do," said Cairn. "But first, we need to reach Austral and secure a source of income. You mentioned something called the Freelance Company. I'm assuming they take on requests to slay monsters and explore Dungeons?"
"Though there are some who do precisely that, the Freelance Company is more of an information, networking, and contracting firm. You can submit just about any request to them, and so long as you can put forth a proper reward, they will act as an intermediary to find someone qualified to take care of it," explained Kai'ankh. "They even coordinate with the Church, the Institute for Magical Research, and the Merchant's Association, Tenebrae. That's one of the reasons I suggested we go to the Capital. They are very dependable."
"I can say the same about you," said Cairn, adopting a cheeky smile as he said, "You're like a little encyclopedia of information."
Furrowing her brows and angling her ears backward, Kai'ankh's pouty voice conveyed her displeasure as she remarked, "I would appreciate it if you didn't disparage my stature. I'm actually considered quite tall among my people. And if I stand on my hind legs, I'm even taller than you..."
Demonstrating her point, Kai'ankh leaned back as if sitting down before raising her upper body until she was well over two meters tall. Cairn didn't know her exact height, but his eyes were level with where her navel would have been if she were human.
Maintaining his cheeky smile, Cairn looked up to meet Kai'ankh's gaze as he mused, "I take it back. You're a big, fluffy encyclopedia. And I'm happy to have you on my side."
Not expecting such a 'sincere' remark, Kai'ankh promptly plopped onto her forelimbs, recrossing her arms as she looked to the side and said, "I'll search the area to make sure no monsters are lurking about. You should get some rest. At our current pace, it will take us an additional three hours to reach the city gates..."
"That's not too bad," replied Cairn, looking away and scanning the area for a place to sit or lie down comfortably. He wasn't particularly sleepy, but he was eager to get off his feet after covering close to thirty kilometers in the span of a few hours. The [Shadowsilk Longboots] made things much, much easier, but he still felt the impact from his strides and the fatigue of having his stamina depleted.
Seeing through Cairn's thoughts, Kai'ankh surprised him by removing the patterned green cloth wrapped around the waist of her upper half like a sash. Fortunately, while he felt a strange sense of incongruency seeing the space between her forelegs uncovered, there was nothing of note to see, just fluffy beige fur. Thus, by process of elimination, he could intuit that her 'lady bits' were located on her back half, concealed beneath her inordinately large and fluffy tail.
"Here, you can use this," said Kai'ankh, handing over the soft, incredibly durable piece of cloth to Cairn. The fabric and clothes worn by members of the Karakut Tribe were handwoven from their fur, so not only were they exceptionally soft, but ordinary blades, fangs, claws, and arrows had no hope of piercing them.
Accepting the blanket-like fabric with a smile, Cairn offered his most sincere "Thanks.". Sincerity seemed to be Kai'ankh's weakness, as the moment he expressed his gratitude, her ears perked up and twitched as she crossed her arms and replied, "It's only natural that companions help one another..." before turning around and fleeing into the night.
...
..
.
(A/N: Stunk be like, "Naruhodo...")
