Chapter 6: Time for another crusade!

[Heal] Rank 1 Level 1 -> Level 2

An emissary from Heaven is looking down upon you and wishes to give you a blessing. Would you like to accept his gift?

Yes, Father Drew thought.

A blessing has allowed your class of [Cleric] to skip a grade and evolve into the Rare class [Bishop].

* An evolution along the cleric path, a bishop also acts as a representative of a greater being in delivering their message, spreading the word of their lord.

* Stats per level: +2 Int, +2 Wis, +1 free -> +3 free.

Ability gifted: [Lesser Blessing] Rank 1 Level 1

* Give a blessing unto a being, raising a chosen stat by 2x the level of this ability.

Ability gifted: [Holy Champion] Rank 1 Level 1

* You can call upon others to serve you, bestowing the Rare class of [Holy Champion] to your followers. Requires absolute trust from the follower to cast.

* Can impart to this class unto the same number of followers as the level of the ability.

* As the holy champion you have blessed gains experience, the level of the ability will slowly increase.

It was undeniably a tough battle, and even after all that fighting they could not call themselves the winners. Hiding in the church were 40 people, most exhausted from the battle that took place only an hour ago with a few taking peeks out the stained-glass windows at the carnage outside. Over 200 bodies lay out there, only about 50 of them being the green figures they now knew as a level 4 Goblin after they realized how to [Identify] the beasts. It took many people at once working together to take on the creatures that despite their small stature all seemed to be far stronger and faster than their human opponents, likely due to their higher levels. But now that the battle was over only a tense silence remained and filled the church hall, occasionally broken with the brief sobs of both grief and fear that now filled the group.

Although he wished to delve further into the blessing his god had given him, he was facing bigger issues at the moment. Drew took a quick peek out the stained-glass window and saw about 30 more goblins picking over the bodies, before diving back into his work. There was no way their small group could take them on, as tired and injured as they are. As one of two people in the group capable of healing, he was now swamped with responsibilities as all the participants seemed to bear a wound of some sort from the fighting.

[Heal] Rank 1 Level 2 -> Level 3

Nice, but would be more useful if I could had some more damn mana to cast the heal.

After all the healing, he found himself feeling drained and instinctively unable to pull up any more mana inside him. Knowing that he could be of no more use, he sat down and called up his status.

Status:

Name: Drew Jackson

Race: Human

Class: Bishop (Rare)

Level: 0->3

Strength: 8

Agility: 6

Wisdom: 12 -> 24

Intelligence: 10 -> 22

Vitality: 9

Endurance: 9

Charisma: 8

Unused Stat Points: 12 -> 0

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Each level had given him two points to intelligence, wisdom, and three free points. Taking the advice of that group of students dressed in their baseball outfits, he had put all his free stat points from the three levels into wisdom and intelligence.

With this big increase, he could cast enough [Heal]’s to help almost all the group recover. Only one other member of the group, a young lady who used to work as a doctor, had gained the [Healer] class. Her class was a different variation of the [Cleric] that was not tied to faith, which she gained during the battle and had greatly helped in taking some of the burden off of him during the aftermath.

You have unlocked new [Perks].

You have unlocked new [Abilities].

Perks and Abilities, he thought.

Abilities:

* [Heal] Rank 1 Level 1-> 3

* [Holy Mana Manipulation] Rank 1 Level 1 -> 3

* [Lesser Blessing] Rank 1 Level 1

* [Holy Champion] Rank 1 Level 1

* Empty -

Perks:

* [Adaptive] - +1 free stat points per level.

* [Blessed] - Grants the rare classic [Bishop] and various abilities.

From all the fighting and the job of healing afterwards, it seemed both his [Heal] and [Holy Mana Manipulation] had increased by two levels. He was feeling thankful for the group of students that had helped them find and navigate these menus, saying that it was similar to games they had played before, as without the sheets keeping track of all his stat and ability changes during the heat of a battle would have been difficult.

And he had enough difficult things to deal with right now, his biggest being young William who was rapidly approaching him now.

“Is there anything you need Father, I can help you with anything.”

The desperation Drew could see in the man’s eyes mirrored his own not an hour ago. The same sense of despair from losing someone he loved, and the deep desire to find something to give him direction, a distraction from the pain.

He let out a sigh. Maybe he could help William and give him some direction. Maybe it’s not healthy, but he would have loved someone to do the same in his place.

“I… I have a blessing I can give you, to change your class. What is it you have now?”

“I am a warrior. Should I change? The students told me for the common classes I just need to pick one that I like, and my intent will be felt by the System which will change it for me, but it resets my level. I am only level two, please guide me father, I will take the class you need me to be, I am here to serve you and the word of God.”

Another sigh, but Drew decided to carry it out anyway. “[Holy Champion]” he called out, hoping he hadn’t made a mistake.

Suddenly, Drew heard a loud whisper from a scout perched at the window. “They’re coming, everyone down.”

Breaking their reprieve, the survivors heeded the lookout’s call and quickly laid themselves down behind the wooden pews furthest from the main doors that stood at one end of the church hall. So far, none of the goblins had taken a look inside the old church, but after seeing them break into the various buildings around them, starting from those that looked the most expensive, he knew it was only a matter of time. Drew had seen them walking out carrying everything from silver cutlery to shiny trophies, and so had hid away the golden cross and everything else shiny that was immediately visible so as to not attract attention. It was not a fancy church, no shiny murals or old paintings. Hopefully they would take a glance and pass right through.

‘Thud. Thud.’

The door burst open, and everyone collectively held their breath as the tension filled the room. Three goblins had entered, with two at the front both carrying short swords and a smaller goblin following behind. Father Jackson had held on to the faint hope that they wouldn’t be able to walk inside the church, holy ground or something similar preventing them, but that clearly wasn’t the case. The two leading monsters seemed to immediately lose interest after seeing nothing of value from only a glance around, but the third at the back kept looking as if sensing something was wrong.

And locking eyes with one of the figures hidden at the back of the hall, he found it.

Several [Taunt]s quickly rang out from the students who had already adopted the warrior class and had managed to gain the related ability. Wasting no time, the group of a dozen students carrying weapons looted from the goblins they had killed prior rushed the goblins. He wished he could tell them to stop, knowing now they are only 16 years old and yet running into certain danger, but he was pragmatic enough to realise that someone had to. Not to mention these kids were actually eager to fight, boasting to each other about who had the highest level and so forth. The two monsters that led the pack could only manage two random swings of their long rust-coated short swords before being swamped by hits from all side. Spurred on by the courage of the kids, the rest of the survivors then began to act. One of them, a young girl named Kate who had taken it upon herself to become a [Mage], stood between Jackson and the pack as he began to draw up his mana to cast a spell.

Wanting to help add to her damage, father Jackson decided to cast his [Lesser Blessing] on the mage, but as he drew up the last dregs of his mana and pointed his arm to send out the spell the sound of an explosion rang out and the earth shook. The ground trembled and many of the group fell to the ground from the shock. Unsteady on his feet, Drew felt his [Lesser Blessing] cast but could not see where it went.

With a glance around, the group thankfully discovered that the explosion must have originated from far away, but this fact could only helped add to the fear that they tried to suppress in the back of their minds. What could be strong enough to make the ground shake like that?

The front two goblins were quickly put down, with the third making the surprisingly smart decision to flee from the fight. Knowing that they had now been exposed, the group realized that they had to leave the church and hide elsewhere.

Their fight for survival had only just begun.