004

Alex decided to postpone looking into everything further and continued walking towards the church. The quest he desired, called the 'Vein of Time,' was the only unique quest available in Violet Vein Village. Alex didn't have precise details about the quest, but he knew the reward was a title that had the potential to reach Diamond level or even higher. The ranks of titles ranged from Unranked, Bronze, Iron, Silver, Gold, Diamond, Platinum, Orichalcum, to Adamantine. Until Alex had regressed, the highest known title rank was Diamond, an extremely rare achievement with only three confirmed holders. However, the growing title offered the possibility of reaching Diamond rank or higher.

Finally, Alex reached the church and, before showing his ID, he concealed his affinities. While it might not cause significant problems at the moment, it could create trouble later on. Eventually, the guards allowed him entry. Once inside, Alex found the church empty and dusty, indicating that the villagers seldom used or visited the church. It had rows of connected chairs forming long rows, with a pathway leading up to the altar on a stage in the middle. On either side near the walls, pathways led to stairs ascending the stage. The stage was only a few feet higher than the ground, and stairs on each side allowed access. Behind the altar, painted glass windows depicted the church's holy emblem—a watch. Yes, a watch. The watch displayed a myriad of colors, with white hands, a black background, and Greek numerals. The villagers used to worship Chronos, the ruler of time. To obtain the quest, one needed to pray to the emblem of Chronos. Alex began walking up the stairs on the left side, approaching the emblem hanging over the altar. He knelt down, pressed his palms together, closed his eyes, and began to speak softly,

"Ruler of Time, I seek your wisdom and insight into the element of time."

'Just to be safe, I should speak from the heart. I don't know if it's necessary to catch his attention, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious.'

After finishing his prayer, the emblem started to glow. Soon after, Alex received a notification from the system, asking if he wanted to accept the quest. Once he accepted, the quest details were updated.

[Vein of Time

Difficulty: Unique

After hearing your plea for help from a forgotten place of worship, Chronos has granted you a quest. If you can restore the village's worship of the ruler of time, Chronos, he will reward you with a title and may assist with your problem.

Rewards: Title, potential resolution of your problem (dependent on quest factors)]

Alex stared in astonishment at the quest window. He didn't expect that the person who previously completed the quest had their request resolved. Maybe, he had what request he mad resolved just never publicized it.

"Maybe it's because of my perfect affinity in Time," Alex speculated, though uncertain. He decided not to dwell on it too much, as he had either received an unexpected outcome or nothing new. The quest entailed persuading the villagers to believe in and worship Chronos once more. The previous quest completer discovered that the reason for their discontinued worship was Chronos' lack of involvement. Deities and gods existed in this world, just as devils and demons did. Most deities expressed appreciation to their followers through miracles, powers, visions, and more. Just like how Devils or Demons would use contracts for ones following or soul. However, Chronos took a more hands-off approach. Unfortunately, he learned the hard way that without regular involvement, he rapidly lost followers. Deities' actual strength depended on their followers and believers as much as their personal power. To regain the villagers' belief, a miracle would be necessary. Chronos, being the ruler of time, had his pride as a deity and wouldn't go out of his way just for followers. Nevertheless, there was a simple solution: Alex had to solve a problem the villagers were facing and claim that Chronos had sent him. This might pose future issues for Alex, but he wouldn't actually become an apostle of Chronos. The most significant challenge would be determining what problem he could solve. He needed to look for clues, but he already had something in mind. In a post by the original quest completer, it was revealed that the village was located on a corrupted mana vein. The mana vein had been tainted by a Dark Mage, causing it to turn from its original blue to a purple hue. This corruption could lead to severe consequences, including the loss of magic abilities, insanity, or even death. Cleansing a mana vein was a difficult task, but fortunately, the village already possessed the means to accomplish it. However, Alex had no way to prove that he was telling the truth, so gathering evidence was crucial. Unfortunately, the previous quest completer didn't provide any information on the problem. He only gave vague details about the actual quest itself. The few details that he reveled was that he had found someone corrupted by the mana. He never went further on the details or where he found the corrupted person. Alex wasn't sure where to start to search for this person however he didnt want to be the same this time. Alex wasn't particularly extraordinary or special in the game until now, but he was determined to change that and was willing to put in the effort. He spent a full ten hours inside the game searching for clues about the corrupted mana vein, but as night fell, he came up empty-handed. He felt mentally drained and decided to log out, feeling hungry after spending ten consecutive hours in the game. Alex logged off and woke up in his pod, feeling hungry. He slowly got up and headed to the kitchen to prepare a cheeseburger and a soft drink. After eating his meal, Alex returned to the game to continue his search for clues. Fortunately, after another eight hours of dedicated effort, he finally made a breakthrough.

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A/N

Hey hope you had enjoyed the chapter. Also I wanted to know if you all preferred me to use his name inside the game when he is playing the game. So when he's logged in the game I'll call him Lucifer instead of Alex, of course that's only if you prefer that.

If you like this book so far you should check out my other work, A Last Wish!