Chapter 1051: Recruitment Notice

Chapter 1051: Recruitment Notice

To prevent any further tragedies like what had happened to Gasper Five, or even worse, the information that memetic monsters had begun to spawn was released to the higher-ups of every military operating outside of the ‘protected space’. These weren’t like void monsters that would lose their powers when entering an area protected by the Hyperlane Network. After all, their powers only imitated the effects of the void, rather than originating there.

Furthermore, there was no ironclad defense against memetic effects. Anti-memes could themselves become dangerous if used improperly. Thus, new protocols were created. First, all active exploration ships were ordered to halt their progress and immediately enter networked systems. Afterwards, they would cease any communication with the outside world to prevent possible transfers of existing memetic effects.

While this was ongoing, a new base was being built on a previously uninhabited world, one that would exist to process potentially contaminated groups. Multiple research groups were called in to help with the planning of memetic screening. With most memetic effects, it was incredibly difficult to tell whether or not someone was under the effect before it fully unleashed its power.

When I heard about this, I was naturally unsettled. From my perspective, the invasion had only just ended, and we were already having to deal with a resurgence in a void-related threat? Worse, because these monsters spawned locally, our normal defenses wouldn’t protect us.

Upon my return to Olympus, I sat in my office, thinking of what I could potentially do. I couldn’t look up any detailed information about the monsters in question, as memetic effects were often transferred via information, no matter the format. Although there was only a low risk of infection, that was still substantial when the consequences were considered.

There was only one way that I could think of to allow my power to be used to help those potentially afflicted by these effects without personally going there and painting a great big target on my back. I was going to need more priests.

Priscilla focused, placing her hand over the body of the young boy that was brought in to the temple. His parents were sobbing as he bled onto the temple’s floor, one of his arms missing. Apparently, he had left the city with some friends, and they had encountered a monster. Though it was a weaker monster, it was more than a match for a group of children. This boy had stayed behind to let the others retreat, and had been badly mangled as a result.

Priscilla thought to herself as she examined the injuries. The Page of Life should be able to let him recover. She smiled gently, a faint light emerging from her hand as the image of a book appeared within her mind.

Such injuries were not difficult for healers to fix, and it was indeed a little overkill to bring the child to the temple to receive treatment, when there were many healers throughout the city. Regardless, when she heard the story of the young boy, Priscilla had immediately volunteered to handle his care personally.

The claw marks on the boy’s chest closed up, the bones and muscles of his missing arm starting to grow out to form a fresh limb. When they saw this, the boy’s parents seemed to grasp a glimmer of hope. When he gave a sudden, deep breath, his eyes opening, they rushed over, voicing their thanks to the priestess.

Priscilla stood, taking a step back to allow the parents to hold their son. This was why she had wanted to become a priestess when she was a child, the simple joy of being able to help those in need. Nowadays, there were too few roles for priests to play in modern society, aside from being the agents of the gods. If someone wanted a healer, they could visit a doctor, who was commonly versed in various healing magics. If they wanted advice, they would consult the internet. The most common function that remained for a temple was that of an orphanage.

It was rare for someone to rush into the temple requiring urgent attention, but while others were taken aback, Priscilla stepped forward to offer any aid that she could. Why else had the gods created temples accessible to all?

Priscilla... Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice permeating her mind, her eyes going wide in shock. She was familiar with this voice now, one that she had only rarely heard since accepting her newest role.

I understand. Once I have chosen the two from Deckan, I will begin my travels to other worlds. To be clear, will I need to acquire priests in the game worlds such as Fragments of Acidia, World Seed, and Vision Expanse?

This time, the Keeper’s response was almost immediate. No, those worlds should be spared from these monsters, as they had been forcibly taken down during V-Day.

Priscilla gave another nod. Immediately turning on her heels, she ignored the confused look of the priest before her, and walked towards her room. Surprisingly, she didn’t look for any of the priests from this temple. While there were many good seedlings there, they did not quite match up to what Priscilla wanted to find for the Keeper’s priests, especially not when told their future missions.

The priests at these temples served as educators and spreaders of the doctrine, but rarely left to handle other matters. Thus, for the priests that would help from Deckan, Priscilla planned to visit those remote villages or smaller cities, where the church played a more active role in helping their communities.

The Keeper hadn’t given her a specific deadline for the mission, but she wanted to get it done as swiftly as she could. The memetic entities would not be waiting for her to finish before they began launching their attacks, so there was no reason for her to wait, either.

As she was packing her belongings, there was a knock on her door. “Sister Priscilla, may I come in?” The familiar voice of the cardinal sounded out. Despite technically being the highest ranked official in the church, the man still needed to address Priscilla as his equal, due to the fact that Priscilla was the only priestess personally chosen by the Keeper.

“Of course, cardinal.” Priscilla answered, though she did not stop grabbing clothes and other necessities to place in her inventory.

“Is something the matter?” The cardinal asked as he entered her quarters, seeing how she seemed to be hurrying to leave.

“The Keeper has issued me a mission to find additional priests to serve him in an upcoming endeavor.” Priscilla explained simply, the cardinal’s eyes widening slightly. “I am preparing to leave immediately to fulfill this mission.”

“Why not choose some of our own?” The cardinal asked, though Priscilla knew what he really meant, wanting to be the one chosen himself. “If this is such an urgent mission, then surely selecting talents closer at hand would be wise?”

Priscilla turned to look at him with a small smile. “You’re right, it would. Then, would you like to volunteer to go to a remote space colony, tending to those afflicted with memetic blights capable of turning their bodies into writhing horrors, knowing that one wrong move, one wrong thought could lead you to the same fate?”

When the cardinal heard this, his eyes went wide, his face drained of color. He reflexively retreated a step. “I-I was obviously not referring to myself, Sister. However, it seems that you already have a target set in mind. I won’t disturb your preparations further.” After he said that, he backed out of her room, and she could hear his footsteps retreating down the hall.

Priscilla simply chuckled to herself, knowing that someone with so little conviction would not be able to complete the mission set forth by the Keeper.