Shrek. Yeah, Noa could live with a Shrek around. “Like, big, green men with funny ears, right? Or women, them too. Ogres, yeah?”

“Those would be hobgoblins, Young Ardent,” Caradec said, eyeing over Noa’s stats at the altar. “Though I suppose Ogres are big, mostly around the girth. Muscular as well.” He leaned over Noa’s left shoulder, Armael looking over his right. “Now that you mention it, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a female ogre.”

“Maybe they’re like dwarves, can’t tell the women from the men.”

“You say the strangest things, kid,” Armael raised an eyebrow.

“He needs to max this out, quickly,” Caradec diverted. “We need as many [Comforters] as we can get to deal with the ogres.”

“Yesterday brought me pretty close,” Noa said, smiling at his stat sheet. He was pretty proud of his work from the fire, even if he practically passed out by the end of it. Apparently, there was a point where channeling that much aether exhausted a person. Good to know, if a bit lame in his opinion. He never managed to even empty the singular diamond aether stone.

Name Noa Kai

Age 19

Class [Mender] 22

Aether 146

Spells [Lesser Appeal] 40, [Lesser Assessment] 16, [Lesser Examination] 24, [Lesser Mend] 99, [Lesser Restore] 7

Status [Base Class Exp Bonus +30%], [Party Exp Bonus +70%], [Deific Mentor Bonus +200%]

[Total Exp Bonus +300%]

“Not close enough,” Armael said. “Eliaz is at least one level away from adding the [Comforter] class.”

“He can get himself up. Focus solely on Ardent Noa, then on Tin,” Caradec said.

“Oh? I’ll have him off my back then?” Noa grinned, pointing a thumb at his mentor.

“Then you’ll have ogres breathing down your neck,” Caradec said.

Okay, yeah, less exciting. Or more, depending on how one looked at it. “Okay, so these ogres, we━”

“Explain the base class bonus to me,” Caradec interjected.

“Uuum...” Noa droned. I got sucked from another world and whatever did it gave me a silly little boon? Yeah, that’ll go over well, he thought. “I was blessed by Elorn,” he lied. Probably. Certainly whatever was haunting him couldn’t be a god, right?

“It’s not the small amulet you wear?”

“My lock?” Noa asked.

Caradec nodded.

“I had this bonus when I didn’t possess it.” Well, curses, that could have been a halfway decent lie had I rolled with it...

“I suppose it’s not impossible you are Elorn-blessed,” Caradec said. “More reason to keep tabs on you.”

Noa furrowed his brow. “You’re not giving me a babysitter, are you?” he asked.

“No, but I am going to encourage you to hire some trolls for bodyguards. Particularly evolved ones. When’s your next excursion with them?”

“Tomorrow. Today is church,” Armael said.

“Church?” Right, that was a thing now. He had to participate in church. “Wait, why tomorrow?”

“Because you promised them twice a week, and when’s the last time you helped anymore evolve?” Armael asked.

“Okay, tomorrow it is,” Noa grimaced, not looking forward to clinging to another mountain climbing troll for dear life. I’m totally going to have them strap me on this time, he thought.

Caradec motioned to Noa’s hands. “You can remove your hands now,” Caradec said, moving away from the altar as Priest Olwen walked through the front doors with a collection of flowers.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Eliaz and Lila sat in the front pew, too busy with each other to pay attention.

“Evolve all the trolls, and send them down from the mountains to come help build defenses from the ogres while you level,” Caradec said, turning to Olwen. “Priest Olwen, what was the population count on the trolls?” he asked.

Olwen paused as he reached the altar. “Approximately forty-two children and thirty-one adults. Population total is seventy-three, including the three evolved trolls.”

Noa blinked. The trolls didn’t seem that populated when he was in their caves. Damn, what did I sign up for? he thought.

“So twenty-eight evolutions left,” Caradec said.

“What about the kids?” Noa asked.

“They will evolve by extension,” Caradec said.

“Huh?”

Armael gave an amused snort. “I don’t get it either, kid,” he said. “We don’t actually know how it works, just that it happens.”

“Though theorized.” The high prelate raised a finger. “After a troll evolves, they’ll carry excess aether from the transformation and bring it home to the adolescents. Evolution could come from that change in environment. Either way, it is well within Elorn’s design.”

Ah, right, Noa was an ardent, that meant he was supposed to believe in Elorn. At least he didn’t not believe in the god, given the rare instances when he actually prayed, or whatever he did, but he wasn’t sold yet. “I guess that makes some sense,” Noa said. “So I have to evolve more than two dozen trolls? Not hard at all,” his voice dripped with sarcasm, the high prelate smiling.

“Perhaps, Priest Armael,” Caradec said, turning to the priest, “you should make it a trip. Take all the [Menders]. They’re hardly any use directly against the ogres until they’re all [Comforters].”

“And how long will you be taking my husband for?” Lila piped in, a hand clenching Eliaz’s jacket like she was going to fight tooth and nail to keep him put.

“Until all the trolls are evolved,” Caradec said.

Noa groaned, running his hands down his face. He opened his mouth to━

“I need Eliaz here,” Lila said.

Caradec hummed, looking thoughtful as he stared at the baroness. “Very well,” he said, “but the church would like to provide assistance to complete his [Mender] level. And perhaps it would be wise to keep a healer around.”

“I accept.”

“We accept,” Eliaz corrected his wife, who shot him a look. Oh boy, Noa did not want to get in the middle of that.

“So, what about aether?” Noa asked, raising a finger.

“Hm, that is a problem. We used up all our stores from yesterday and have yet to rebuild. However,” Caradec pointed to the lock that still hung from Noa’s neck. “Your Elorn Blessed item might assist with aether gathering while on your excursion. Priest Armael can teach you, but it will add to the time you are there. We can shorten it by sending filled stones to the Trolls’ living quarters.”

“In other words, it won’t reach us up the mountain without a troll to take it,” Armael cringed. “In the meantime, you might have an ogre infestation on your hands.”

“Infestation?” Noa blinked.

Caradec raised his brow. “I will provide you with a book about ogres for you to read while you are away.”

Assuming I’ll have the time, Noa thought.

“As you evolve trolls, send them back here. They will be just as interested as us in buffeting the ogres, and frankly, far more effective,” Caradec said.

“High Prelate, I am a fully realized [Grand Healer]. I could manage the ogres on my own,” Armael noted.

“Indeed, but...” Caradec paused, taking a breath. “There are opportunities here for the church.”

Armael narrowed his eyes. “Sounds like bureaucracy.”

Caradec gave a wan smile.

The priest sighed, shaking his head. “Fine,” he said.

“So, what are the opportunities?” Noa asked.

“The vagueness was on purpose, kid,” Armael said. “Get used to it.”

I’ll get you used to it, Noa huffed, as if his lousy insult would help. Someday, he was sure, he would be able to pry this information out of his higher ups. For now, he would suffer the trip up the mountain with dozens of trolls. Exciting.

“My lock━Elorn Blessed item, or whatever━won’t it run out of its... erm, aetherness at some point?

“Potentially,” Caradec answered.

“Unlikely,” Armael said, turning his head as light spilled in the room, people arriving.

“Elorn Blessed items can be viable for years, especially if a high level spirit was involved at some point; it will keep attracting spirits in multitudes,” Caradec said.

High enough to yeet someone to another world? Noa raised an eyebrow, then tentatively tucked his lock under his shirt. Maybe he shouldn’t have it out so often. Maybe it left, he thought, unsure of the last time he encountered anything ghost-like.

“When do we leave?” Noa asked.

“My hope is first thing in the morning, but I will talk with the troll ambassador to schedule it,” Caradec said.

Still odd to think of Magenta managing in that role, and yet, Noa was hopeful that the troll would thrive in it. He at least was sociable, almost too much.

Nodding, Noa moved to sit beside Lila and Eliaz, the church starting to fill up. Armael moved with Caradec, sitting off to the side━plush seats there reserved for the high prelate and priests.

“So...” Noa elongated, turning his head to Lila, “Why do you need Eliaz here.”

“Reasons,” Lila said, a smile playing across her lips. “What are the chances the trolls will want to remain in their caves after their entire population evolves?”

“You intend to move them to town?”

“Something like that.”