PART I

 

It was evening, and Mai sat in a room in the temple. She lay on the bed and gazed at the white ceiling.

"I can't leave until all the pearls have been fixed. They said it would be done before midnight."

She sighed, turned to her sides but couldn't sleep. She sat up, stared into the air, and then at Kenta.

"Why are they so secretive in the Spirit Temple?"

It was worse than being in a church, and she couldn't go anywhere without a companion, a temple guard.

"Now I miss my TV."

She thought about her stats, and they appeared in front of her.

Name: Mai
Title: none
Attack: 5
Crit: 4
Pierce: 3
Resilience: 1
Defense: 1
Block: 1

HP: 1

Perception: 5

Charisma: 5

Wisdom: 5

Intelligence: 5

Block bonus: 1%

Crit bonus: 1%

Quest: Heal
Time limit: 1 day

Skill points: 300

"So much new. Wow."

The Heal quest was still there, annoying her.

"How did I get so many points? But it's not much considering 1 hp."

She furrowed her brows.

"Do I really need Intelligence when I'm not a mage? Wisdom suits my heal class fine. Why do I still have no mana?"

She ignored HP again and distributed the points as follows.

Attack: 35
Crit: 34
Pierce: 33
Resilience: 31
Defense: 31
Block: 31
Perception: 35

Charisma: 35

Wisdom: 35

Intelligence: 35

Block bonus: 11%

Crit bonus: 11%

"If it had been a game, I would have saved them for a while until I leveled up, but there's no level indicated. That mana and 1 hp still irritate me."

Was the system trying to mess with her, literally?

"My stats are still low."

She sighed, closed her eyes, and relaxed her body.

The last few days had been hectic, and she hadn't had time to relax properly and gather her thoughts. Suddenly, she saw a chimera face with a hairy man's body.

"Lord Melech? Who is that?" She murmured.

His name clearly indicated that he was an important person.

"So, he's building an army of chimeras? How terrifying."

Her body suddenly shook, and she saw a large army of chimeras on a battlefield with a red sky in the background. Suddenly, a black silhouette of a figure appeared, slowly walking towards her. It looked like a man, his body covered in black smoke, wearing a cloak. His purple eyes glowed, and he had thick black horns on his forehead. She had seen such horns before in movies, especially anime.

"Demon lord?"

Suddenly, the person stopped in front of her and drew a reddish smoke sword.

*Tap*

He poked her forehead, and she felt something invisible push her chest, forcing her to open her eyes abruptly. She stared into the air.

"Was that my own fantasy?"

She had a good fantasy, but this sensation felt real. She touched her forehead and felt something wet, looking at her hand, which was red.

"Did he cut me?"

Suddenly, something dawned on her, and she ran to the mirror.

There was a large red spot on her forehead where blood was flowing.

"What the hell?"

She hurriedly wiped it away with a cloth, but it kept bleeding.

"What the hell?" She repeated, furrowing her brows.

She found a white ribbon and tied it around her head, but the wound immediately bled through. Suddenly, she felt a tingling sensation on her left chest and was reminded of the flower symbol. She touched it gently with her index finger, and suddenly, it appeared in her mind, and she felt the wound on her forehead start to tingle, and the blood now oozed profusely. She found bandages and wrapped them several times around her head, covering the forehead well. Blood seeped through, but it held back.

"Ugh, I look a bit like a cyclops."

She glanced at Kenta.

"Stay here."

She opened the door cautiously.

*Creak*

Damn, why did it have to make a sound now?

She looked slowly to the left and to the right and felt a pit in her stomach. There was a man in a white hooded cloak, staring intensely at her with a sharp gaze.

"Miss, what are you doing?"

She coughed lightly and played dumb.

"I don't know where the bathroom is."

The man pointed to the room to her left.

"If you're still confused, it's right there. Shall I escort you in?"

Mai furrowed her brows. What the hell?! Okay, she admitted her acting wasn't top-notch. Next time, she'd have to prepare better. She pointed to her forehead and made a worried face.

"Look, I got injured when I was lying on the altar."

The man furrowed his brows.

"Miss, are you trying to sneak away?"

Mai shook her head.

"No, I'm injured. Feel here."

She pulled her hand out and grabbed his hand before he could react, placing it on her forehead. When the man felt the blood, he raised his eyebrows.

"Lord Liam said you were cured. How is that possible?"

"It must be a side effect. Don't you have a hospital or something?" Mai made her eyes as big as possible and played cute.

It was now or never. The man furrowed his brows and looked down the dark, long corridor with dim lighting where people in white hooded cloaks walked around in silence.

"You usually need an appointment before you can visit the hospital, but since you're here with Lord Liam, I can make an exception. Come with me."

He made a gesture, and they started walking to the left. As they passed the bathroom, Mai shot it a sharp look. Why the hell are you placed there too?

They walked through many long corridors that seemed like a labyrinth if you didn't know the place. Mai looked around at all the doors, which were identical and jet black, and furrowed her brows.

"How on earth can you navigate here?"

"It requires keen perception and many years of experience," commented the guard.

"It sounds like a boring job," Mai mumbled.

The guard coughed lightly and revealed, "There are perks to living here, such as a higher salary."

Suddenly, Mai considered becoming a temple guard, but when she spotted another door, she withdrew the idea and shook her head. Maybe when she became old and gray.

In front of the hospital hall, Mai waited while the guard went in and informed the staff because it was a rule to notify before arrival. It was a large, bright hall made of marble with various white statues of figures standing around, the five gods. Mai walked around and looked at all of them, reciting them in order as they were placed.

"Griffith, Elaria, Gustir, Valerie, Ezekiel."

She would never meet them in her life, but everyone should know them in the world as it was a rule, just like knowing your country's leader.

"I heard they have disciples, and one of them is Celestia and Alistair."

She glanced at Elaria. Elaria was a woman with long hair down to her hips, wearing a long dress and holding a large pearl in both hands in front of her while smiling.

Celestia was her disciple and known as a copy, for the two really resembled each other in personality. Arrogant and corrupt.

The statue of Valerie had shoulder-length hair, and she held a sword in her right hand with a serious expression. She wore armor with a flowing cape that made her look like a knight.

"If I had to choose, I'd rather be like Alistair."