Chapter 5: Hot Slap

"Huh?" Elias reached out to touch the platform, but his hand simply passed through the floating message box

"What is this? A status bar? But I'm not playing the game, am I?" He leaned closer and read the message again, "What the hell is a free will system?" He muttered

Suddenly the message on the floating platform changed revealing a new message :

[Alert!]

[You have become too comfortable with the workings of fate and as per the direction of the almighty, beautiful, and perfect Goddess of Fate, you would be assigned tasks that are… out of the ordinary.

With each completed task, you will be awarded 'Free will points' (fwp) which you can use to raise your individual and overall stats. Fwps can also be used to purchase items from the store.

Gather enough fwps and you will have one wish granted by the Goddess of Fate]

Elias held his chin after reading the message displayed by the system, "Hmm, so it's like a game, but if the aim of Moera is to help me deviate from my fate, then isn't a system that tells me what to do contradictory?" He mused

"If this works like a game system, then I should be able to see my stats. How do I go about it? Do I talk to the system or just think about it?"

Elias closed his eyes for a few seconds and then the wording that the system displayed changed, showing all his stats.

[ FWP: 0/10,000,000,000

Name: Elias Ashdown

Class: Swordsman, Farmer

Title: Farmer, One blessed by Fate, swordsman, Child of light, Child of Destiny.

————————–————————–

Health: 2000

Mana: 379,000

————————–————————–

Strength: 23

Agility: 18

Speed: 20

Stamina: 78

Intelligence: 43

————————–————————–

(Skills)

–Passive Skills: Blessing of the Goddess of Light, Advanced Farming arts, Mana regeneration(Basic), Elemental Affinity(Basic).

–Active Skills: Stab(Basic), Slash(Basic), Irrigation(Intermediate), Planting(Intermediate), Weed control(Advanced), Fertilisation(Intermediate), Pest Control(Advanced) ]

"Oooh, I guess it works if I just think about it. This is similar to Arcane Days' stats menu, so far everything in this world has been almost exactly like the game, with the only exception being my family.

But I can work with this, I just need to level up the right stats and complete the game, no I'm going to live the game!" Elias said, excitement evident in his words

"You're acting weird today" Nina's immature voice cut Elias' monologue short, she caught him off guard.

Elias instinctively jumped back and assumed a fighting stance, it felt natural to him like he had taken the stance a thousand times.

After seeing that it was just Nina, he lowered his guard and stood normally "Oh it's just you Nina, what are you doing here, aren't you supposed to be helping mum with her chores?"

'I guess she can't see the system's message. That's convenient' He thought to himself

Nina folded her arms and pouted, "Hmph, I'm not meant to be doing chores, I am meant to be a princess and princesses don't do chores"

According to Arcane Days, Nina doesn't have much personality awarded to her except being the usual loose mouth almost spoiled last child, she was just the cute younger sister of the protagonist who was placed in the story as a motivation for Elias whenever he was on a slope and needed a power up, and to appeal to gamers who like the cute girl trope.

Based on the game's story Elias would not see or hear from her after he leaves the farmhouse until the third act, and that was soon because Elias knew exactly why she was here instead of working with Eleanor.

"But you aren't a princess" Elias deadpanned

A frown appeared on Nina's face, "I am too" she pouted, "If you weren't my brother, I would have had you pilloried. Hmph"

"I'm glad you aren't a princess then" Elias muttered

"What was that?" Asked Nina

"Nothing"

"Anyways, Dad told me to come get you. There are some weirdly dressed people asking of you" She said, "I don't like them.." she added, a disapproving look on her face

Elias placed his hand on his sister's head, "Don't worry Nina, I'll be fine. Those people won't hurt me" he assured her

The sight of a group of four people standing before his parents came into view as Elias approached his house, they were clad in flowing robes of pristine white and resplendent gold, and the high quality of the linen and silk of their garments shimmered softly in the evening light, their robes were embroidered with motifs of sun, stars and rays of light.

Around their waists were sashes that were detailed with an emblem—a radiant sun encircled by a halo of light and they all had hoods that masked their faces.

One amongst the group of four stood out from the rest, the color of the sash looped around his waist was golden which was different from the rest who had silver sashes. He was the obvious leader of the group.

"The Church of Eternal Light" Elias muttered

Elias knew why they came, according to the game's sequence, they were going around in search of the one blessed by light; the child of light.

"Ah yes finally, here he comes," Eleanor said as soon as Elias got close enough

Elias walked over to his parents and greeted Godfrey and Eleanor by bowing his, then he turned around and did the same to the white robes.

"Is he the one, the boy?" The golden sash asked, pulling down his hood

He was an old man whose face bore the marks of time, characterized by a strong jawline and chiseled features. His hair, a clean gray contrasted with the vibrant blue of his piercing eyes.

A thick well-groomed mustache adorned his upper lip, his high cheekbones and stern furrowed brow exuded authority and gravitas, yet there was a hint of gentleness set in his eyes

Godfrey stepped forward, "Yes, this is my son, Elias, he is a hard-working and good child but I assure you, he is no child of light" he stated

"We can see, there's no way a farm boy would be the child of light we traveled far and wide in search of. Let us not waste our time here and leave this foul-smelling place, Priest Mathias, it is not fit for Acolytes like us, talk less of a Priest such as yourself " One of the silver-robed followers sneered

Elias simply ignored his remarks, he knew who he was and he had heard that line countless times over the fifteen years he spent playing Arcane Days, since the silver robe was going to be proven wrong, he saw no need to reply.

[Alert!]

[New task: Slap the Silver-robed acolyte who just talked down on you three times.

Reward: 100fwps

Failure: You will be sent back to the clutches of the king of Hell

Status: Ongoing

Time limit: 15 seconds

Good luck! ]

Elias' eyes widened in shock as he read the message displayed by the system, 'What the hell?! Slap the Acolyte?! Is this system broken?! There's no way I'm doing that' He thought to himself

He looked back at the penalty attached to the task should he fail ' "Sent back to the clutches of the king of hell", that doesn't sound very enticing.

I only have 10 seconds left.'

He looked at his family and they stared at him with puzzled expressions.

"Damn it!" He blurted out, then began walking toward the silver acolyte. With each step he took, the beads of sweat on his forehead doubled, even when he worked the fields he never sweated this much.

"What are you doing you filthy farmer, shoo" The acolyte shooed Elias away as he approached

"Watch your words brother Anias, do not talk down to your fellow men. We are all equal in the eyes of our Goddess Lira" Priest Mathias cautioned Anias, the silver-robed acolyte

Anias scoffed, "There's no way I am an equal with this dirty farm brat, look at his family too. They all look like a family of starved peasant rats, they probably share rations with the pigs. Let's just lea—"

Before Anias could complete his words, Elias' hand landed on his cheek with great force causing him to lose his balance, stumble, and his hood to fly off as well.

A shocked expression appeared on everyone's faces as they just witnessed what had happened. Eleanor and Nina both clasped their mouths with their hands, while Godfrey just stood there, taken aback by Elias's unexpected action

Priest Mathias broke out of his trance and quickly stood between Elias and Anias who lay on the floor.

Elias looked at the system's message again, he had only seven seconds left on the clock.

Anias stood up and pushed Priest Mathias out of the way, "How dare you?! You peasant, you dare lay a hand on me?" He said, with tear-filled eyes, Elias' calloused hands had not been good to his face.

"I can accept you talking down on me just fine, but what I won't take is you doing the same to my family as well," Elias said, a scowl etched on his face.

"Shut up you pi—"

Before he could react, Elias landed a second slap on his cheek, this time even harder than the first, and before Anias could fall again, Elias blessed his face with a third and final thunderous slap.

Before he could reach the ground, Anias was already passed out cold.

[Alert!]

[Task: Slap the Silver-robed acolyte who just talked down on you three times.

Reward: 100fwps

Failure: You will be sent back to the clutches of the king of Hell

Status: Completed

Time limit: 1 second

Congratulations! ]

Elias looked at Priest Mathias, "Bring your crystal ball, and let's get this thing over with" he ordered

Priest Mathias looked at him with a curious expression, he looked down at Anias who lay unconscious on the ground and had three bright red hand prints on his face.

"Very well"