<How! How did that work?> Myriad screamed in despair while Ben had his own concerns.

"I maxed out my job before getting the quest reward? So those levels are going to go to the easiest bit of experience for me to get on the next one? That's so lame."

<Ben I cannot begin to express how little that matters! How did you make this work!>

"I mean it fit the qualifications you gave me, why wouldn't it have worked?"

<This isn't a church! It's a jacket! Only a crazy person would call this a church!> Myriad tried to wrap his mind around what he was seeing but kept falling short. The quest shouldn't have been completed, it wasn't possible, but he could feel energy flow from him to Ben to raise his level, and he could sense his divinity from the coat. <Tell me exactly how you made this.> He ordered his believer as calmly as he could manage given the circumstances.

Ben, from the perspective of his god at least, was annoyingly happy to discuss the finer details of his work. "Okay, so my thought process was like this. You want your church to be comfortable on top of safe, right?"

<Sure, I suppose if people enjoy being in it then that would be for the best.>

"Right! So I figured some temperature control would be the way to go, and if it was just a bit on the smaller side it would be less mana intense. But then I thought about how small I could make it, and at what point it would be conceivable to power it with the mythril I have on hand to keep the price down, and then it occurred to me. All it needed was to be something someone would enter with your figure on the outside, then couldn't I make it a jacket? Once I figured that out all I had to do was have some threads enchanted with fire and water spells to control the temp and blend them with a thin mythril wire to power them, then use that to make the jacket lining. I also made the zipper from mythril too, just to be sure the enchantment would get enough power, though honestly I'm pretty sure I overdid it a bit. After that, it just came down to getting a nice strong leather to go with it to complement any boost to defense it gets and put the entire thing together."

<Okay but what about a figure of me? Don't tell me you just stitched something on the inside?>

"No of course not, I couldn't just hide away your representation, and I also wasn’t just going to bedazzle you on. That would be rude and eat at my artistic pride. Well mostly it would make the coat look like crap, so I just went subtle with it. Look."

Ben threw on the jacket and zipped it up, revealing that the zipper itself was shaped like a cube.

<You call that… wait. Is that also made of mythril?>

"Yeah, looks good doesn't it, I figured it matched your sheen."

Myriad wanted to cry. <I think I figured out how you actually managed it. I can barely believe it, but it looks like you really believe what you're telling me. Combining genuine faith with the amount of mythril you used for it and that may have been enough to force this stupid project into working.>

"What does using mythril have to do with anything?"

<For other gods, nothing. But both myself and my race as a whole had a strong connection to the metal. Using a material so deeply bound to me on top of having true faith that you were within the rules probably allowed this to happen.>

"Great, mystery solved. Now mind if I ask a question?"

<What?> After all of this he really wasn't in the mood, but he couldn't just brush off his apostle either.

"What does the sacrilege skill do?"

<Oh all that's good! Of course you gained Sacrilege! Of course!>

"Um, is it bad?"

<It's sacrilege, doesn't that sound bad! It means when you die you're ending up somewhere in the infinite hells!>

"Oh damn." The infinite hells. During his time at the church the topic had come up despite his lack of interest and from what he could remember it was some sort of fractured plane of reality the gods would send the souls of the particularly wicked. It was a scary thought, being trapped there for all of eternity when he died. The only problem was that it was scary in a hypothetical sense, he couldn't actually work up any will to care.

<Is that really all you have to say? How are you not even a little concerned about what I just told you?>

"Well I mean before I got here I was somewhere between an agnostic and an atheist. Being told I'm going to hell just doesn't have a huge impact on me since I didn't even know it was real until I started living in this world."

He could actually hear his god deflate as he spoke. <You're honestly insane aren't you? Alright, ignore what I said, you aren't destined to suffer any eternal damnation, I just wanted to scare you for what you pulled.>

"That doesn't seem super godly."

<Well taking such major liberties with a divine quest isn't very apostly!>

Touché. He wasn't going to try and argue that. Even if he really believed it qualified there was no denying that he knew it wasn't what Myriad had in mind. "So what does it do then?"

<Sacrilege is a skill gained through misusing or violating anything deemed exceptionally sacred. For the most part it allows the skill holder to misuse the gifts of gods to an easier extent. I know people who've gotten it in the past have done so through willfully destroying some of the items the gods have gifted the world or doing things like using a church in a way that doesn't represent the will of its ruling god.> What Myriad tried to skirt around was the fact that it might make it easier for Ben to twist his quests in the future, even without having proper faith that he was in the right. He was sure that if he knew that Ben would immediately start trying to test the limits of his skill. Thankfully his apostle seemed to accept the answer he was given and moved on.

"Okay, so there's no real problem with having the skill either, right?"

Myriad was quiet for a moment, contemplating his answer. <There's nothing inherently wrong with it, it is possible for people to get it by acting in a way inappropriate for the land they are in, even if their actions would be acceptable in their homeland, but it's also a skill others may judge you for possessing. Especially for more formal gods or the incredibly pious, if they were to learn you have that skill you may be viewed as a potential enemy. Revealing you're an apostle may ease any damage revealing that skill could cause, but I'd still recommend keeping you got a level in it secret.>

"Two actually."

<... You're going to get a third if you keep trying to kill me with these surprises. How am I supposed to have my believers make a pilgrimage now? When the other gods find out about this I'm going to be humiliated.>

"Okay look I'm sorry, but can I just ask one more thing."

<What?>

"Does the length they travel matter at all?"

<No, the point is to visit the church and pay proper respects. I could get significantly more power from the prayers that way.>

"And do they have to be inside it while they pray?"

<No. Having a statue outside is perfectly acceptable for praying to.>

"So would it work if I go on a trip to greet your followers? I would assume that every faith has a large number of people who just don't bother making long journeys, but if I'm in the same city as them then a lot more would show up right? Plus I can offer you prayers while I wear it if it will make it more powerful."

There was a long stretch of silence as Myriad thought over what Ben had said. <It's possible.> His voice was filled with cautious optimism. <We'd have to test it to be sure it would really work, but in principle that all makes sense. Okay Ben, as much as I don't like it if you actually created a portable church everything is forgiven.>

 

"Ben, do you hate your god?" Thera asked once he'd explained exactly what he had done and how the coat worked. Even though he'd just been told by Myriad that he should keep his new skill to himself he figured telling her would be fine.

In any case it seemed like Myriad shared her sentiment. <I wonder the same thing constantly.> He spoke in Ben's mind, which he pretended not to hear.

"Me and Myriad get on great, this was just some creative differences after all. So anyway I wanted to ask if you could take me to the nearest job change room, it looks like I managed to complete my current one just in time."

"You've only had this one for a few months! That's ridiculous."

"I finished two quests in a week, it shouldn't be too surprising." He elected not to mention that somehow completing the coat gave him enough experience that his current quest reward was just waiting to go into his next job.

Thera was still giving him a look, but she walked out with him. "There should be one in the craftsmen's guild so let's just go there, I want to hear what weird options you're going to have anyway."

"I only had one or two unusual jobs last time, that's all. What are the chances of getting more?"

She gave him another look but eventually just sighed and spoke about how her training had been going while they walked there.

Once they arrived and were pointed towards the job change room he placed his hands on the crystal and let the options fill his mind.

AVAILABLE JOBS

• Enchanter
• Trap user
• Tree tamer
• Craftsman- alchemy path
• Craftsman- artistic path
• Craftsman- blacksmith path
• Craftsman- cooking path
• Craftsman- stonecraft path
• Craftsman- sewing path
• Priest
• Heretic

 

So maybe a couple more weird ones then. He knew about all of the different craftsman paths from looking into how the craftsman job grew. Each was just an advanced version of his previous job that would allow his crafting skill to level up with greater ease for the specific path, as well as provide more job experience from those activities. It was the other two new ones that left him stumped.

Thankfully it was only him and Thera in the room, so he asked his god aloud. "Hey Myriad, have you ever heard of the priest or heretic jobs?"

"I knew you'd be getting some weird ones," Thera muttered, which Ben chose to gloss over as he heard Myriad's panicked voice in his head.

<Absolutely do not take the heretic job! You've caused me enough stress today!>

"Okay okay fine, but at least tell me about it please."

<It raises the level of sacrilege and increases any skills that are used to go against the will of gods, are you happy?>

It sounded interesting, but not particularly useful. He didn't see himself going against enough gods to really make it worth his while after all.

"In that case what about the priest skill?"

<That one may not actually be a bad choice.> Myriad told him while letting out a long sigh of relief. <It helps you raise the level of the skills for the gods you devote yourself to, so in your case it would help you with leveling connect, and using the skill would give you job experience. You’d also gain experience by completing certain tasks such as gaining worshippers, giving prayers, and completing quests. From what I can tell it may help raise your tolerance level as well.>

"You were able to find out what it does?" He'd asked Myriad about his new skill a few days ago, and while his god wasn't sure of its effect at the time he’d told him he'd ask around.

<It looks like it makes it easier to interact with the gods without suffering any ill effects. The more powerful a god is the harder mortals can find it to be in their presence.>

An interesting skill he guessed. Ben had never felt that he had any issue interacting with Myriad, but at the same time when they met it was safe to say he was probably the world's weakest god. If getting him more followers would make it harder for him to interact with him, then Ben was happy to get the skill. Even if he stressed his god out he still enjoyed his company.

As for the job itself though, it actually sounded useful enough that he wanted to take a moment to think it over. Originally he had planned on taking enchanter, but with the priest job available it seemed like it would be a good way to raise his connect level. 

If only he had gotten something like craftsman enchanting path, but that didn't seem to be an option. While enchanting seemed to be classified as a crafting type skill by the job system it wasn't part of the crafting skill itself. It came down to what he thought would be more immediately useful, enchanting or connecting.

Both skills seemed important for enchanting with other people's skills, and both were necessary for improving Theras armband. Enchanting would be important if he wanted to help make better staves for Thera, connect would help with the goal his god gave of raising its level so he could see whatever future potential the skill has.

He filled Thera in on what Myriad explained for both jobs and asked for both of their opinions.

<I'm in favour of the priest job. You'll get experience for the people you've led to convert, and I suspect that soon a variety of nations will have at least a couple enchanters they’ll want getting my skill. Possibly more from this one too. Not to mention your enchanting will still be receiving the bonuses from your past jobs so it’s not entirely neglected.>

Thera looked thoughtful before giving her opinion. "The priest one sounds good, but have you been given your next quest yet? Maybe you should wait until you know what it will be before you commit?"

"An excellent point. Myriad what do you have for me anyway?"

<Well the good news is you have options now…>

"And the bad news?"

<The rewards aren't the greatest. I can give you the option of completing an achievement in my name for five job levels, or growing my faith again, though this time to an additional hundred believers for 20 job levels.>

Ben thought it over. As nice as 20 job levels could be, growing his faith again was out of the question. He wasn’t sure how many new believers Myriad would be acquiring, but he didn't want to be stuck after getting 40 or something and never being able to complete the quest. As for the first option, the reward didn't seem that bad at least. It was comparable enough to what he’d already gotten, plus the job levels would help him get out of the job a little faster if he took priest and it didn't suit him. There were some clear issues, but he did have a question about it.

"What counts as an achievement? Could I complete Anailias' trial in your name?"

<That would be rather unorthodox, but completing a trial is definitely an achievement. I would be worried about doing such a thing getting you a level of sacrilege, but since you apparently already have two it shouldn't be enough to push you to three.>

"So if we successfully complete it I'll be able to get five levels of job experience. That doesn't sound so bad for something I need to do anyway. Plus if completing it gets me even more job experience then it will pay off. That sounds like a pretty good deal." At worst he would be stuck in it for a couple of years, but as long as he kept selecting quests he thought he had a chance of completing then he should be able to get through it, and his previous jobs had already increased his ability to improve his crafting and enchanting, having bonuses go towards his connect would be a lot of help.

"Alright, in that case I'll complete an achievement for you."

 

<RECEIVED QUEST- GLORY TO GOD>

 

With his new quest selected he placed his hands back on the job crystal. It wasn't what he had been expecting when he came to the job room, but he'd made his choice.

 

<ACQUIRED JOB- PRIEST LEVEL 0>

<BONUSES GRANTED TO IMPROVING VITALITY RECOVERY, MANA RECOVERY, AND INTELLIGENCE>

<ALL SKILLS RELATED TO YOUR FAITH WILL RECEIVE A GROWTH BONUS>

 

Name: Ben Heph

Race: Human

Titles: Apostle of Myriad

Jobs: Priest (lv 8)

Previous Jobs: Apprentice craftsman, Craftsman

Attributes

• Vitality: 162
• Vitality recovery rate: 1/hr
• Mana: 86
• Mana recovery rate: 6/min
• Strength: 140
• Agility: 84
• Stamina: 603
• Intelligence: 211
  

Affinities:

• Light: 3
• Life: 2
• Fire: 4
• Water: 3
• Air: 4
• Earth: 2
• Death: 3
• Dark: 1
• Space: 4
• Time: 5
  

Resistances:

• Light: 68
• Life: 72
• Fire: 75
• Water: 69
• Air: 66
• Earth: 81
• Death: 78
• Dark: 85
• Space: 63
• Time: 61
  

Blessed skills:

• Crafting lv5
• Enchanting lv3
• Focus lv3
  

Passive skills: 

• World speak+
• Tolerance lv0
• Sacrilege lv1

Active skills: 

• Dismantling lv1
• Stealth lv0
• Connect lv3
• Hidden mind lv0

Blessings

• Myriads Blessing

 

Ben felt a slight grimace when he heard what attributes would be enhanced. Intelligence was at least good for his crafting as well, but mana recovery wasn't too useful for him since he wasn't a mage. There was a good chance he'd be using more enchanted tools now that he had a way to make them himself so a faster recovery could be helpful, but his mana pool itself was so dreadfully low he would have much preferred to get some bonuses to that instead. As for vitality recovery, well that was a whole other issue to him. When Ben first got to asking about it he had assumed that it had been as simple as it looked. He would lose a point of vitality and get it back in an hour. Unfortunately it seems significantly more complex than that and he wasn't entirely clear on the rules. It looked like that was his recovery rate if he was in basically perfect health, but the more severe an injury he had the more his recovery rate would be dampened. A bruise could heal in the span of an hour, but some of the more serious injuries he'd had, like anytime something tried to eat him, could be severe enough that it may as well be nonexistent. He knew it did something and it was better than nothing, but he'd also spent more than enough time being treated by Sonya to know not to depend on it.

Still he would just have to try and get through it the best he could. It wasn't like any of his job options would be immediately helpful with the trial anyway.

He zipped up his coat and offered a prayer to Myriad to thank him for his advice before heading back with Thera. They were entering the trail the next morning and with the amount he'd spent preparing in the last couple days he had just wanted to relax.