Vol. 1 - Chapter 24 - Goddess Bless Me!

Getting his minimalistic cleaning tools, Mathias could be seen following Jeanne holding in his hand the large bucket with water that had some soap substance for the cleaning, a cloth fabric used to clean off dust, a mop made from sheep wool, and a brush made of pigs hairs.

Along the way, he kept his quiet while Jeanne was talking, mentioning the locations he was supposed to clean. Nothing out of the ordinary because the locations were the floor of the main hall, cleaning the rows of banches for the parishioners attempting the church services.

It was until the two reached the Cathedral's main hall, and Mathias could see forward the considerable number of seats on the sides, along with the opening to the dome rising up that Mathias stopped.

Staring with an overwhelmed mind, he later heard Jeanne's voice telling him something with a demanding tone.

"For now, you shall clean the floor of the main hall along with climbing the dome and cleaning that area."

Staring up at about 50 meters in the air, he could see the opening of the dome, and after keeping his composure, he asked while his eyes were on the dome.

"Jeanne, is that even possible? I don't see a way to climb up."

"Oh my, wait a minute. Now that you mentioned, this job was Gabrils's, so I didn't really check to see how he was cleaning the dome. However, it shouldn't be a problem for you, right, Mathias?"

Staring at the dome and around the other locations nearby, he could see there were some openings for him to climb up, but it looked too dangerous.

"I don't know Jeanne, did Gabrils really climbed that high to clean there? Are there any scales so I can help myself?"

"Yes, there is at both sides until you climb up the platforms above, but after that, it seems those cheap constructs left us without any scales."

'You could build one yourselves. Bah, it feels like something Ezio would do in those old games grandfather still had around, but the setting would be something akin to a mix of Hagia Sophia and Cologne Cathedral on steroids.'

"Mathias, I know you are capable of doing that, so don't get scared. If Gabrils entrusted you with this job, he knows you are capable of doing it. I'll be here to give you my support if you need it. Also, if you do it without leaving any marks on the mosaics and statues, there is bound to be rewarded for you." mentioned Jeanne with a sweet smile on his face, while pointing with his slender finger toward the dome and the ceiling that was covered in mosaics and statues.

It was at that point that Mathias received the notification of a new quest appearing in his eyes which had him remember about the mentioning of possible unique quests from Jeanne since he got to reach [20] affinity with him/her.

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[Clean the High Dome]

Difficulty: A

Bishop Jeanne encourages you to clean the glass mosaics on the dome platform along with the marble statues. A job that High Paladin Gabrils was entrusted to do by Archbishop Julius, it got handed to you as a precursor to the questline 'Covering the chores of Gabrils'.

Quest Clear Condition: Finish cleaning the dome without destroying the mosaics or any of the statues.

Quest Reward: 5,500 experience / [10x Intermediate Health Potion] / [+10] Affinity with Jeanne.

Quest Failure: [-5] Affinity with Jeanne & [-1] level.

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[Will you accept the quest] -> [Yes/No]

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'Health Potions? That's something new, I guess. You want to buy me with such candies even though you have placed some affinity for me to gain? Tempting.... Fine, I'll do it since it is something from the main questline.'

"Jeanne, it is fine. I don't need an incentive to work. I will first start with the easy work, cleaning the benches and seats. After that, I will go climb toward the dome."

[You accepted the quest.]

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Jeanne nodded his head pleased and moved a bit back to give Mathias space so he could start working. He walked toward the right side of the main prayer hall and got seated on a bench, turning to watch him.

'Don't you have work? I am not some monkey that dances around doing shows for people to watch, okay? Go do your work.'

Yet even after he made this comment in his mind, Jeanne just stood there like nothing busy was on his schedule, watching Mathias, who, after settling down his thought, began to use his cloth rag to clean the benches.

Row by row, minute by minute, Mathias felt his stamina starting to deplete. His archenemy was once again hitting him from the shadows, hindering his progression.

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"How long has it been since I began cleaning in 4 hours? I did only this small part of the hall? Hard to imagine. Did Jeanne went to do his work?"

Turning his head to look for Jeanne, he couldn't see him around the hall, meaning he also took his leave, resuming his initial work.

Supported by the mop in his hand, he took a breath and began his cleaning once again, and as hours passed, the naturally lighted Cathedral started to dimmer, point where a lot of priests began to walk with lit torches and beginning to light the candles at the base floor where he was seating.

One of the priests who saw Mathias cleaning the benches and floor turned to look with a surprised face, asking.

"You are a new recruit of the Church. I haven't seen you around."

"No, I am just a cleaner, doing Gabrils work in his absence."

"Ohh, my respects to you, friend, I didn't know you were Gabrils's friend. You should take a break. No servant of Her Blessed Light works at night." said the priest, while touching his heart, releasing some divine light, dimmer comparable to the illuminating light Jeanne released or the vibrant one of Gabrils, and lastly, the pressuring light coming from the old man that was similar to being drowned. (A/N: Similar to being submerged in abyssal part of the ocean, reaching pressure that could pulverize bodies)

While stopping from his work, Mathias looked at this priest who had his torch put out, but with a thankful expression, he replied simply.

"While I can still work, I will not stop just yet. Thanks for the warm words, priest, but I will continue on."

"I see. If this is your choice, we priests will slowly start descending the light's Cathedral. Stay safe, and may the light be with you."

'If it is advantageous to me, I might be with Rebecca, but knowing those hidden stories from the Archmage, I shall wave carefully around the influences of Gods in this game's story.'

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After ending this brief interaction with the priests, Mathias went back to work, cleaning the main wall and benches and only stopping after his stamina hit [12/100] of his resources.

As he stopped, he looked around himself and could see he was the only one in this large hall where gothic arches and chandeliers made their mark, a dark mark combined with the candles that tried their best to keep this Cathedral illuminated.

"Hah, I am the only one inside the church? Wait, no, don't I have Goddess Rebecca around watching with her grace? I am a bit exhausted from all this work. To be honest, not even at work did I got to clean so much in one go, and I still have the dome and upper levels of the Cathedral."

"I might not be a religious person, but Goddess, if you hear me, can you bless me with some energy blessing, so I don't have to take so many breaks in between my work?"

Waiting for a bit for an answer, there was only the silence and some of his voice echoing in the main hall, which made the atmosphere a bit creepy. With a long sigh, he commented while taking a seat on one of the benches he cleaned close by.

"It seems you are busy too, but weren't gods supposed to be everywhere, especially in their house? So was I taught when little."

With that said, he closed his eyes and leaned back his head, relaxing. At this moment, while his eyes were closed, he started making up the image of a beautiful lady with milky white hair smiling and moving her lips, saying something he couldn't hear.

Only after some attempts at trying to read her lips did he muttered the words "Be Blessed."

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[Ding!] [Goddess Rebecca saw your dedication to fulfil your task even when you could take a break, and while sitting in her '???' she overheard your troubles and responded on her own devices.]

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['Blessing of Atlas' has touched you from '???']

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Opening his eyes quickly breaking the vision of Rebecca, he felt his body hair quickly crawl up, especially when seeing the candles swaying in-between states.

'She really listened to me, like how a 'God' is supposed to do with their followers. But I am not a follower of her belief in the game? I am just complaining like a foolish man about a visible weakness of myself, the stamina system.

It is not like I expect a heavenly hand since I will probably lose all my progress from what the other beta users speculated. This is one of the reasons the players don't even try to explore the game that much anymore, feeling that their progression would be wiped if they stopped their advances outside the world.'

Opening the window for the new buff he received from Rebecca, he could see the effects of the blessing that halted a grin that slowly turned a bit evil.

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[Blessing of Atlas]

Type: Blessing/Passive

Duration: Two Months

Effects: Increase stamina by 20 points, reduce the consumption of the stamina while executing stamina-consuming movements.

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'Interesting. Haha, there exists ways around the stamina system? Twenty points are more than enough for me, and that reduction is ambiguous, so I'll pass it over. I need to think of a way to constantly get this blessing when the live version kicks in.

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Finishing his thought, he felt that something wasn't good with himself since his expression and smile turned into something creepy. Quickly enough, he corrected himself, not showing his bad side for the goddess to see.

Getting on his feet, feeling energized by the blessing received. In this barely illuminated Cathedral, he turned toward the statue of Rebecca inside the Cathedral, and getting on one knee, doing a royal bow, he blurted.

"Goddess of Light, you really know what I lack and opened a small window for me. My prayers to you, as insignificant as they might be, I hope they reach you."

This time, Rebecca's statue didn't show any changes along with his bow and remained the same lifeless form. However, there seemed to be some changes inside the church, as the wind was blowing from nowhere, putting down some candles, leaving only the main hall kindled.

Mathias didn't shift any expression and kept his calm along this creepy atmosphere, and after a minute or so, the extinguished candles were ignited by themselves. It felt as if Rebecca was excusing herself for putting down those burning candles.

Standing straight after things calmed down, he heard the opening of a large door, coming from behind the statue, revealing an old man wearing a white priestly dress that was shining with a pure white light, who asked around with a disinterested expression.

"Did Rebecca send out an oracle by chance, and I didn't receive it when I was sleeping? Bah, she shouldn't be upset that I drank that bottle of wine when I was supposed to do the prayers? Oh, someone is here at this hour? A thief? Nah, I doubt they are so stupid to bother stealing something from the Cathedral."

The old Archbishop kept talking to himself until he passed Rebecca's statue and turned his eyes on Mathias, and seeing his surprised expression, he put a serious expression while extending his hand, spreading out some divine light toward him.

"Really? I thought you didn't care that much about the outsiders and seemed to ignore them even after they kneeled and hit their heads like some morons. Blessing of Atlas? Interesting. Kid, did you step on some shit that you managed to have her throw around blessings like she's doing beggar feedings?"

"Wait, what?? I didn't step on any dejection. Old man, what do you mean?" asked Mathias, whose surprised expression turned completely on its head, morphing to confusion.

"Didn't she play that mimicking game with you? Where you had to say what she was trying to say to you?"

"Stop jesting, Lord Julius. I don't even know what you are talking about. What could a mere mortal like me amount to a goddess? I might be just a mere ant in her eyes, a little kitten or puppy trying to please its master for some benefit. Or simply a beggar like you mentioned."

The Archbishop, hearing Mathias vent that, began laughing out like he heard the best joke ever. Yet as he was laughing, he looked seriously at Mathias, releasing his divine power that pressured onto his body, sending off the alarm for the system.

[You are under the pressure of a being you can't measure, all stats dropped down to 99%]

Dropping to the floor on his stomach, Mathias raised his head and looked at the old man with a confused yet furious expression. He tried to talk with the old man, but he found he couldn't say a single word.

At that moment, he saw the old man move his lips while looking down at him, trying to say something.

'Y.O.U … S. H. O. U. L. D … N.O.T. … G.E.T. … C.L.O.S.E.R … W.I.T.H. … H.E.R.' this is what you want to say, old man?

'Are you some hostage that you can't speak? Wait, the Archmage… parasites. The old man knows something?? But why even bother telling me this? I know what I am doing anyway. I am just like a beggar trying to get rich on a scammer's expenses.'

Once he thought that, his skin crawled up, but this time his skin was like a chicken once he tried to put together those puzzle pieces. (A/N: Quite the mysterious chapter, I shall say)

'Is she like a loan shark? Who once invests in you will slowly take everything from you once you don't get in line? A possible scenario, seen many movies of that type, read books in that regard.'

Looking at the old man, he said while moving his lips so Julius could pick up the signal. 'U.N.D.E.R.S.T.O.O.D'

He could see the Archbishop's eyes flicker a bit, and yet he was still under pressure he was released. Only after a while did he got to relieve the pressure.

"Kid, you shall go home and return in the morning to continue your cleaning. You weren't picked up by those brats who saw fit to take advantage of you."

"No, so far, everything went fine. Jeanne also asked me to clean the dome."

"Ohh, the little doll asked that of yourself? She talked with you?" asked the old man as he moved along with Mathias toward the Cathedral's exit.

"Little doll? You old man sure have your way with words. Can I ask you something if I may?"

"No problem, as long we don't touch a sensible subject." reminded the old man calmly.

"I couldn't ask Jeanne himself because it would seem rude, but is he a girl or a man?"

"The little doll? He is a man … but at the same time, she is a woman. Nature really has its way of cursing and blessing people. Destroying people and making people. Sigh, you made me remember in what shape she arrived at my monastery. If she approaches you, don't turn your back on her, she is a sensible child who suffered enormity under this curse she was born.

To be turned from a healthy young boy to a woman with each year passing. Just imagine the effects it would have on your mind and confidence. There have been many cases going around, but it is my first seeing one such as Jeanne's."

"I see, don't worry, old man. Thank you for telling me this."

"Haha, did it clear your mental blocks, and now you can approach the little doll without feeling strained back?"

*Cough* "That was an unnecessary remark, old man."

"So what kid, Jeanne is like my little princess since being under my supervision. I watched her grow to become a splendid priestess. I have to also watch her personal life, so her happy life isn't destroyed by those bastards lurking like shit flies around her."

Mathias hummed a bit at the old Archbishop's words, making his mental enter in a weird state concerning Jeanne, who seemed to suffer some genetic mutation at birth, or going the fantasy route, a magic curse.

'It is still confusing to me how I should address Jeanne, as she or he? Ahh, man, unnecessary troubles are piling over my head. I will go with SHE, if she doesn't like it, it is none of my business. Once I finish all those quests, I will take it slow and prepare myself for the live version.'

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With that said, Mathias separated from the old man and walked back home to Fayrene's warm house.

Placing his keys in the lock slowly and opening it, he entered inside before closing it and seeing that it was dark inside, could only figure that Fayrene went to sleep. He moved to the kitchen and took some tools to light up a lamp for the shop front.

Doing that, he walked toward the work station taking some fabrics that he knew Fayrene wouldn't use, and along with some pins in his hand, a ruler, and chalk, he started doing the groundwork for the tapestry.

An hour passed, and he had the canvas ready for a petite tapestry. He went to take his threads and needles, along with drawing a sketch for what he had in mind, two kittens, one orange with white colour, while the other one was silver, both gazing at you with their shy feline eyes.

"My drawing skills sure got a bit rusty since I last played out with Cristian and Alex back at home, but this should do it. Let's get started doing the tapestry since I still have a long way to go until my time is over here."

Placing the threads on his needles, he began doing the tapestry following the sketch he drew, and assisted by the lamp's light, Mathias finished in 4 hours the outline of the two kittens and also coloured their faces a bit, to the point where he stopped to take a break.

"Tsk, this sure progresses slower than I expected. Let's take a break for some food since it has already been 5 hours since I entered the game."

He logged out, leaving all his work on the workstation, and while he existed the capsule from Fayrene's private room, she existed rubbing her eyes a bit which seemed to be losing sleep, and while moving like a ghost toward the kitchen, she passed by the workstation and noticed the new changes.

"Mathias returned home? But where he is, did he went out again? Hmm, what is this?" inquired Fayrene while walking in her nightdress toward where, not long sat, Mathias.

Getting on the seat, she could feel that it was still warm, and with her curious violet eyes, she began to check Mathias' work.

"Owww, such cute kittens. Did Mathias really draw this?" asked Fayrene while taking the sketch from the table and bringing it closer to the lamp.

After that, she looked at the still progressing tapestry and could only make out the outline of the kittens and their shy eyes that seemed to peer into your soul.

"This is what Mathias referred to when we discussed ways to diversify the business?"

Checking the needlework on the canvas, she quickly figured out how it was done, and taking the needle in her hand, she continued on some rows following the sketch and Mathias example with a bright smile on her face.

"This is really fun and easy compared to making clothes. Maybe I will try it too after I finish the dress."

She stopped continuing Mathias's work and gently placed everything in the order they were before she came. Fayrene using her sneaky hands cleaned the incriminatory work that would give her away for interfering with Mathias's work, a point where she walked to the kitchen to drink some water before walking back to her private room and going to sleep like a little girl that met Santa Claus.