Chapter 35: Priests, Clerics, and What Brings Luck

An ordinary member of the Church, she was unremarkable among the many devout figures.

An ordinary Player with mediocre strength.

Perhaps the only thing that allowed her to hold her head slightly higher was her identity as an Investigator.

An ordinary girl, somewhat fair-looking, but she didn’t stand out in this world.

An ordinary Awakened, possessing the Church’s most common magic-based growth-type Imprint.

Currently, her status was **[Believer, Priest, Rank C]**, and it had been a long, long time since she had advanced.

‘After all, I’m just an ordinary Player. Where would I get enough devout faith to push my Imprint further?’

It was cold, and the snow was heavy, burying everything up to the knees.

However, for the body of a Level 38 Awakened, this was not an obstacle at all.

She had originally been close to Level 50, but because she was in a hurry, she had used secret teleportation arrays several times, causing her to lose many levels.

One night, a figure with an extremely unrefined posture suddenly appeared in her dreams.

She claimed to be the great Goddess of Light and ordered her to go to Howling Valley.

‘The Goddess of Light? How could the great Lady Hera ever hold herself in such a manner!’

She had ignored it, as the nightly Prayer Ritual was far more important.

However, that nuisance seemed to have latched onto her.

She entered her dreams punctually every day, chattering incessantly and making it impossible for her to get a good night’s sleep.

Annoyed beyond belief, she finally came.

After traveling for more than half a month and sleeping in the wild, she finally arrived.

Before her was a vast expanse of white.

Aside from the cold wind and the blinding snow, there was nothing…

Something light was torn from a tree by the wind and smacked onto her face.

It was soft and carried a faint fragrance. She took a deep breath.

It was top-tier lung-filling air!

‘I’m sorry, but this is truly moisturizing!’

Taking a breath made even her sluggish brain feel clear.

The scent was so familiar.

It was clearly the scent that only emanated from the Saint’s holy body!

That pure, soothing milky fragrance!

The fabric was light and translucent, with a top-tier texture.

It was a bit fuzzy, looking like something frequently worn on the body…

‘It’s actually a lost Sacred Heritage!’

‘Maybe the other half is lost nearby?’

In any case, she should look around carefully first.

***

She searched everywhere, but there was nothing else—only this one piece.

She continued forward.

She finally reached Howling Valley, and the sky was growing dark.

‘Is there actually anything here? Even if there were a divine miracle, it would have been completely covered by the wind and snow by now.’

The riverbed wasn’t hard to find.

By following the frozen surface of the river, she didn’t have to worry about getting lost.

Wait… is this it?

In the melting snow lay a longsword.

It seemed to be forged from a rare ore containing fire elements.

Appraisal:

**[Notification: Level 35 Epic Longsword. Once the sidearm of the Hero Gabriel, it has been abandoned by him. It now belongs to you.]**

She carefully observed the traces in the surrounding area.

Although much had been covered by the wind and snow over time, she could still discern that a significant battle had broken out here.

She had heard that Gabriel had embarked on a journey of atonement, but he had ended up as a guard at Crossroads Market with a crippled leg…

‘Did he break here?’

‘Did that person lead me to such a place just to find this Hero’s sword?’

‘Is that exhibitionist truly a Goddess?’

‘No! Absolutely impossible! The great Lady Hera would never be like that!’

She wondered if she would dream of that person again tonight.

Conveniently, there was a cave under a cliff nearby that provided shelter from the wind and snow.

‘A group of goblins wouldn’t be living here, would they?’

She was overthinking things.

Goblins had never appeared in Echo Territory. Inside, there was only a single bear hibernating for the winter.

The owner of the cave was quite friendly…

“Go away! This Sacred Heritage is mine! Move, move!”

…In short, she knocked it unconscious and tied it up.

She finally got a good night’s sleep, even though that nuisance of a deity (or so she assumed) appeared in her dream again.

But this time, she didn’t chatter endlessly.

She only instructed her to deliver the sword to the Little Saintess in the manor.

After giving the instructions, she left.

‘Is that woman… trying to compete with Lady Hera for believers?’

‘Oh, I see!’

When the time came, she would just say, “This is Lady Hera’s wish… please accept it!”

Wouldn’t that work?

Anyway, the Goddesses were both addressed as “Your Crownship.”

Who the Little Saintess thought it was had nothing to do with her.

It was another ordinary winter afternoon, and Lucoco was playing in the manor.

To prevent her little bottom from freezing, she had put on a pair of fuzzy pants this time.

Du Lin was huddled in her room, buried in her studies of the spells in her manual.

Su Yue was still doing the same old routine, training with Sebas first and then beginning her blacksmithing in the evening.

Only Yinuo had gone out hunting with Lucia.

A priest arrived outside the barrier, looking quite familiar.

“Saint, Your Crownship asked me to deliver this.”

“For me?”

“Yes. It belongs to you now.”

“…”

“The item has been delivered. I shall take my leave. Have a wonderful day.”

“Lady Priest, please wait.”

“Yes, Saint?”

“It is said that in the Player’s hometown, they eat this every year on this day.”

“Thank you.”

The priest left, and Lucoco watched her back as she gradually merged into the wind and snow.

Then, she began to study the longsword in her hand.

Oh, it was the very sword that had once cut off her limbs.

Lucoco wondered if she should throw this thing to Sebas and have him reforge it into a different style.

In the end, she gave up on the idea.

If she truly ran into that Hero, she would just return it to him.

Until then, she would use it for herself!

***

She had once been a core member of the Church.

Although she was only Level 40, she held a Boss rank.

She had been a respected priestess, proficient in the magic of Light and Reason.

She was a hundred-plus years old, gentle and elegant—at least on the surface.

A top-tier Awakened, she possessed one of the Church’s rarest magic-based Imprints: **[Elementalist, Rank A]**.

Now, she was just an ordinary Adventurer.

The great Yggdrasil had once appeared in her dream.

She said that she only needed to wait here.

Perhaps in a year, or maybe two, on some unpredictable day, she would follow someone’s footsteps and embark on a journey.

She had never seen such a peaceful and serene village before.

They all smiled from the bottom of their hearts, even in the cold winter.

This should have been a season of hunger and cold.

At least in places outside of Echo Territory, most people had a hard time during the winter.

It was the same in her hometown.

Even after becoming a priestess revered by ten thousand people, she could only barely let the poor children adopted by the Church eat their fill.

The new god of Echo Territory was called “Jing.”

He brought Harvest, health, and a good mood.

It was rare for a new god to evolve a divinity so close to mortals and so understanding of mortal needs.

It was even rarer to find one that could smoothly gather faith and leap to become a truly legitimate deity.

Ninety-nine percent of new gods would freeze and fall during their growth.

After all, they were just beings who had awakened certain Rule Imprints.

These beings were also known as pseudo-gods.

They could be stones, trees, flowers, or even a pool of water.

They could also be the physical manifestation of a concept or a need, just like the one in Echo Territory.

All in all, searching through the mountain of historical scrolls and ruin tablets in the kingdoms of the continent, there had never been a recorded case of an “animal” awakening a Rule Imprint.

The Church placed great importance on this new god, even going so far as to isolate His authority from the outside world at any cost.

Water was the path through which His domain of authority extended.

This new god did not seem to have strong combat capabilities yet.

If He were in a weak stage and accidentally infiltrated the territory of a neighboring wild new god, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Therefore, the Church chose this method of isolation to protect His growth.

A being naturally full of goodwill toward human civilization would surely become an immeasurable asset to the Light Camp if He grew up.

Ultimately, the most important reason was that He possessed the rule-based authority crucial for the continuation of life: Harvest!

That was the continuation of the survival cycle, the cornerstone of Prosperity and expansion, and the lifeline of civilization’s growth.

A Sage once said, “If you’re full, everything will get better, even if what you swallow is warm husks.”

To this day, everyone was still striving for this goal.

Later, the Players arrived, bringing unprecedented knowledge and theories, taking a giant step forward toward this goal.

Unfortunately, the good land described by the Players was still too scarce.

For example, this snow-covered field beneath her feet…

If the Players were to come and do the Farming, the village’s food reserves would surely increase several times over.

Or perhaps, for a village that was more devout, the land beneath their feet would become more fertile?

Regardless, no one in this village needed medical treatment.

Even the lame dog was full of energy.

She prepared to head to the next place.

She wasn’t a wandering physician; it was just that she only had a few copper coins left in her pocket.

If this continued, the beautiful and moving priestess would no longer be beautiful—she would just be “moving” through the cold.

In the dead of winter, magical beasts hid well.

Even with legs that were a feast for the eyes, she couldn’t catch them no matter how fast she ran.

‘What should I do?’

‘Should I work at a tavern?’

She heard that room and board were included, though her bottom and thighs might get greasy.

She might even encounter someone she knew and have to take a tip from her former subordinate…

“Here, this is for you.”

“Thank you, Master!”

She would even have to say thank you.

‘In that case, I might as well go to the Fairy Inn. The more honest you are with your audience, the more the gentlemen below the stage will give.’

‘Or perhaps, I should scout the town and see which carriage looks good.’

‘Then, I could gracefully collapse under the searchlight, acting pitiful like a beautiful runaway young lady about to die in the snowy forest.’

‘Finally, I’d be taken home by some noble boy who has read too many picture books. At worst, after being used up, I could be a maid who cleans ears and rubs backs. At least I’d never have to worry about food and clothing.’

The biting cold wind slapped her face.

After all, it was just a fantasy.

‘Someone, help! There’s a long-lived but still charming, destitute half-elf beauty with nowhere to stay…’

Elves were supposed to become more popular as they got older.

A destitute half-elf should be the same.

The sound of crashing rumbled from afar, accompanied by the noisy roars of magical beasts.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a plot where a golden-haired prince was in danger and needed a passing beautiful girl to save him.

What a fierce battle!

Corpses were strewn all over the ground.

‘Why did these guys come out to fight instead of staying in their nests?’

‘Thank you for nature’s bounty!’

“Judgment… Sword Rain!”

As long as she packed up these magical beast carcasses and dragged them to the Adventurer’s Guild in town to sell, it would be enough to get through this winter.

Working at a tavern?

Let that disgraceful fantasy disappear into the starry sky.

Is that something a noble half-elf would do?

A Fairy Inn?

A pure priestess would never go to such a place.

‘Let’s see, what were these guys fighting over…’

“Oh… Mary… Mother Mary above!”

(Looking left and right)

Whose undergarment is this?!

It was soaking wet.

Had it been fished out of the river recently?

What pure purification power!

It was purer than the holy robes soaked in Holy Water back at the Church!

The rabbit embroidered on it was even glowing!

It suddenly became very clean.

The fabric felt great…

Hiss…

She couldn’t bear to let go of it…

‘Could it be a top-tier fabric product made of alchemical silk thread, with its smoothness enhanced by the legendary Angel’s Saliva?’

(Looking around nervously)

Good, no one saw.

Let’s appraise it first…

**[Saint’s Undergarment – Golden Legend (Unranked). Due to long-term blessings, it possesses the purest purification power. When carried, Luck: +50.]**

You know, the priestess wasn’t some kind of pervert.

So, she would definitely keep it safe.

Oh, by the way, the beautiful priestess’s name was Ale.