Chapter Three Hundred and Forty-Nine. Explanations and tasty treats.

Chapter Three Hundred and Forty-Nine. Explanations and tasty treats.

"I cannot stress strongly enough the importance of keeping your Mana Sight spell at its maximum level," a male voice instructed.

Huron had guided Bob deeper into the Church, and they were nearing a set of double doors.

"While Shadowmancy lacks both effective combat or utility spells, as a ritualist, it is of equal importance to your primary school, be that Animancy, Invocation, or one of the four Elemental schools."

Bob heard another voice, this one indistinct as they arrived at the doors.

"The Divine School of Plant is certainly viable, and I would happily make the argument that it stands as one of the pillars of our society. Without ritualists focused on the Plant School, we would have a great deal of trouble feeding ourselves."

Huron opened the doors, revealing an auditorium. Voren was standing at the lectern, addressing a group of twenty teenagers, a ritual diagram chalked onto the blackboard behind him. His eyes flicked over to the door, but he continued.

"The Gods have granted us the miracle of magic, but the spells and skills granted by the system are only the beginning of what is possible," he continued. "Your first rituals have no doubt been simple affairs, with a single purpose. This is not to say that they aren't important, but as you begin to understand how the rituals work, you'll discover that even the simplest ritual has the potential to be so much more." He smiled at his class. "But, I believe I have a pair of visitors who require my attention for a moment. Please practice sketching your ritual circles."

The students turned to look toward the door as Voren left the lectern and ascended the stairs to meet them, and Bob was able to hear one of them quietly exclaim, "He Who Walks Before!"

With a grimace, he stepped back out of the doorway, where he was joined by first Huron, then Voren, who closed the door behind himself.

"Huron," Voren bowed slightly before turning to Bob, who received a nod, "Bob. What brings you to the Church this morning?"

"I wanted to ensure that both of you were aware of the role the other was taking," Huron said amiably. "I've advised Bob that you'll be stepping in as the High Priest of the Church when I reincarnate, as well as apprising him of the influence he will have in the Church as an object of veneration."

Voren nodded, offering Bob a smile. "I don't think Bob and I share any animosity, and with the Church itself can only welcome a man who has worked so hard to improve the lives of everyone on not just one but two worlds," Voren offered his hand to Bob, who shook it carefully.

"I've never had anything but respect for you," Bob said cautiously. "You dedicated yourself to watching over the Dungeon here, looking out for everyone."

"Excellent," Huron said with a broad grin.

"Will you be staying in Greenwold?" Voren asked. "I know you went away for quite a while after the arrival of the zealots from Parceus."

"I'll probably be back forth," Bob replied.

"Well, you shouldn't have to worry about anymore unpleasantness," Voren said firmly. "Parceus has troubles enough of their own, they won't be looking to borrow more."

"I've heard that a couple of times, but I haven't actually had it explained. What happened?" Bob asked.

Voren and Huron exchanged a look. Huron nodded slowly, and Voren cleared his throat. "Well," Voren began, "as you may be aware, Vi'Radia, Mor'Noctum, and Logos are different from the other gods."

Bob nodded.

"Save for those three, each of the gods may appoint one person as their emissary, the conduit for their power and will. It's voluntary, and not an easy path, requiring adherence to the god's faith, as well as accepting a series of divine blessings, the last of which facilities a direct conversation between the aspirant and the god themselves. Should the aspirant be judged worthy, they take on the mantle of High Priest or Priestess."

"What's the upshot of being a High Priest?" Bob asked. "Not to disparage anyone's faith. I'm sure it's an honor, but I feel like there's more to it."

"As a High Priest or Priestess, you host a spark of the divinity possessed by your god," Huron explained. "This increases the potency of both your divine blessings, and the spells you cast that fall under the authority of your god."Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

"Korldon Astraides had succeeded in becoming the High Priest of not one, but all seven gods of light. As such, he held an incredible amount of power as the divine sparks within him fed into his magics. While he did not have any breadth of spells, those few he had were deep, containing oceans of power. I only have the words of his underlings, but apparently he came to power two millennia ago, and has since established the seven gods of light as the only Church on Parceus, going so far as to discourage the worship of Vi'Radia," Voren shook his head. "When Parceus noted the increased activity of the mana around Thayland, he came to investigate, confident that at tier eleven, he only needed a few underlings to that he planned to appoint as the new theocratic leaders before returning to Parceus."

Endurance Attribute increased by 5 for the next 5 hours.

"Damn, not just tasty, but a nice buff as well," he said.

"You did tell me that if I didn't level up and improve my cooking, that someone else would come along and steal my customers," Renee replied.

"Now I'm torn, on the one hand, I'm hungry and those tacos are delicious, on the other hand, if I keep put them in stasis, I have fifty-five hours of endurance enhancement at the ready," Bob looked at the tacos thoughtfully.

"Chow down, you can, and should, pick up some more tomorrow," Renee encouraged him.

Bob bit into another taco. He was hungry.

"So, I was wondering if there was any chance you were popping back over to Earth any time soon?" Renee asked.

"At some point, but not immediately," Bob replied, finishing the taco and receiving the same notification, noting that the duration had been extended to ten hours. "Why?"

"Well," Renee sighed as she leaned back in her chair to look up at him, "getting back to Earth isn't easy. You've got have a tier seven dimensionalist, and those don't exactly grow on trees. There are a few of them around, but after moving everyone who wanted to go back to Earth, they've kind of disappeared. There's a regular transfer every month, but the cost is crazy, they're charging a hundred mana crystals for every square foot that goes through the portal."

Bob winced. "That is a little pricey," he agreed.

"I was hoping to catch a ride home and back without having to drop three thousand mana crystals each way," she grumbled. "I'm making money, but I'm not making that much money."

Bob nodded. Her tacos were priced at one mana crystal for two, which was triple the price they'd been before, but considering the buff, they were worth it.

"Out of curiosity, what level is your cooking skill?" Bob asked.

"It's capped at twenty-five," she replied happily. "I have cooking capped, alchemy capped, and Animancy capped."

"So you're level twenty-five then," Bob said.

"Yep, I took your advice and started going into the Dungeon that evening," Renee grinned. "I played a few MMO's when I was a kid, and I know the two most in demand roles are tanks and healers. I'm not really the tanky type, so I grabbed Animancy and Anima Blast, then went to town. I built a reputation as a solid healer, so I didn't have any trouble grinding my way up."

"I'm guessing that the buff is coming from Alchemy?" Bob asked.

"It's actually a combination of Cooking and Alchemy," Renee explained. "When I grind and mix my seasoning, I stir in an Alchemy potion. The synergy between the two lets me stretch the potion further and increases the duration of the buff."

"That's really cool," Bob said as he finished his third taco. "I have a good friend who is an alchemist, but he's never taken up cooking."

"It's pretty well known that you can do it," Renee admitted, "before the update I guess it was pretty common for Nobles to help someone level up with the skillset, but now it's a lot harder to do it now. I manage as a healer, but I'm super squishy because I don't have the points for armor or dodge or a shield. I just keep an Effect Over Time Anima Blast running on my the entire delve."

"This is the Wednesday Special," Bob looked at his next taco indecisively. "I'm guessing the other days give other buffs?"

"I can do all five attributes, as well as health regeneration," Renee said proudly. "Endurance is definitely the favorite for Adventurers though, so that's why I setup shop here on Wednesdays." She grinned. "I sell out every time."

"Do you still offer catering?" Bob asked.

"Kinda sorta," Renee replied. "I've got a set schedule now, and people expect the truck to be there, but if you supply a stasis box, I'll fill it with whatever you'd like."

Bob grinned as he grabbed the next taco. "Well, I think I'd like to place an order."