Langa took a deep breath as he read the system messages. More karma was always welcome, and he was grateful for it. But he had received over two thousand Sponsorship Challenge Offers from 815 deities! To think that he had been worried that he would not receive any at all. He looked through the list of deities that made those offers, and he did not even have the faintest idea who some of them were, and he had only thirteen minutes to decide.
This was a choice that would define him for his entire life inside the Tower, and he needed to think carefully. If he chose a deity and failed the Challenge, then there would be 26 days when he was not allowed to receive any more Challenges, and that would set him back considerably. He doubted that anyone would continue watching his videos if he failed to produce results. He needed to improve his renown in order to make sure that news about him reached his family.
Langa decided to take a risk. He knew that it was not necessarily the best thing to do, as he'd been told by Liv and read in the library that it was better to bind to a high-tier constellation than a low-tier god, but this was his choice, and he wanted to narrow it down as much as possible. "System, can you filter out all the offers made by constellations?"
He was sorry to constellations like Swiftfoot Anitari who had been watching him from the beginning, but he had made his decision to go for broke. With all the constellations filtered out, the list was reduced to only 32 names. Langa felt the eyes watching him start to decrease, and he guessed that the rejected constellations were offended and stopped watching him. Well, deities were known for their pettiness, so he couldn't really blame them. Some of the constellations stayed, though, and it was good to know that there were no hard feelings between him and every one of them.
"System, filter out all gods whose offered rewards may cause a backlash with my mental resistance," he said, and the list went down to 21.
Langa checked his Affinities and Resistances tab to see what kind of gods he might be compatible with. He figured it would be beneficial for him to play to his strengths, so he decided to go with those disciplines that he had the highest affinities and resistances for. "Okay, now, please list only those who are gods of lightning, air, life, fire, darkness, arcane, and physical body mana disciplines, as well as gods of the related disciplines of those seven."
Finally, the list went down to nine gods. Now this list was manageable, and Langa could work with it. Surprisingly, most of the rejected gods did not turn away from him but continued to watch him curiously to see what Challenge he would choose. Perhaps they were less petty than constellations, or perhaps they did not care as much since they probably had a lot of players bound to them already.
He looked at the shorter list and found that it was mostly made up of the gods that he had interacted with in the past two days. He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that The Lackadaisical Herald was among the gods offering him Sponsorships Challenges. This list only showed the names of the gods and not the content of the Challenges themselves. He could only see the offered Challenges from the final three gods that he would have to choose from. As he looked at the list, Langa could not help but roll his eyes at two undesirable names that had somehow managed to sneak their way into the list despite him trying to filter as many incompatible gods out of his list.
[The Deiwos Clan goddess: The Red Flaming Blade of Menika, would like to offer you a Sponsorship Challenge.]
[The Deiwos Clan god: The Lackadaisical Herald of The Lightning Storm, would like to offer you a Sponsorship Challenge.]
[A Clanless Deity Without A Name, would like to offer you a Sponsorship Challenge.]
[The Onslaught of The Dark Void, would like to offer you a Sponsorship Challenge.]
[The Duat Pantheon god: The True Deathbringer of The Demon Reaper, would like to offer you a Sponsorship Challenge.]
[The Diverse Vodun Pantheon god: Xêbioso; Vodun of Thunder and Speed, would like to offer you a Sponsorship Challenge.]
[The Kwara Orisha Clan god: The Wild Crossroads of Raging Thunder, would like to offer you a Sponsorship Challenge.]
[The Kwara Orisha Clan goddess: Mother of The Nine Winds And Storms, would like to offer you a Sponsorship Challenge.]
[The Ter Netjer Pantheon god: Osiris, would like to offer you a Sponsorship Challenge.]
Langa had known from the beginning that this was not going to be an easy decision for him, but the first two that he wanted to discard were easy. There was no way in hell that he was going to accept a Challenge from Chaos or from Liv's father. He knew without even having to think about it that there was no way his broken mind would be able to handle the power of The Dark Void, it would most certainly destroy him. From his conversation with Liv, he knew that his father had done something terrible to his mother, so he did not want to associate with someone who hurt his friend. Besides, The Demon Reaper's Avatar had destroyed Eniche's world.
"I reject The Dark Void and The Demon Reaper," Langa said immediately. Looking back at the list, there was one more that he had no interest in. "I also reject the nameless god."
He would not want to be bound to someone without an identity. This nameless god had been the first one to look at him when he'd stepped onto the 1st Floor and he didn't know why, but he did not like the feeling of that god's eyes on him. It just seemed to give him the creeps, like he was some kind of stalker wearing a mask but continuously watching him.
[A Clanless Deity Without A Name, is confused by your rejection, but no matter what, he informs you that you will come back to him when the time is right.]
[The Onslaught of The Dark Void, is amused by your rejection.]
[The Duat Pantheon god: The True Deathbringer of The Demon Reaper, wonders why you were so quick to reject him.]
Well, that was good riddance to bad gods; one was creepy, one was crazy, and one was salty. Putting them aside, he continued his cull. For the rest of the gods, Langa was flattered that the leader of the Deiwos Clan had offered him a Challenge, as well as the fact that Osiris was interested in him, being one of the major Egyptian gods that his father had studied. However, Langa did not think that he would be compatible with him, as Osiris was not just a god of life, but of death as well and he had no affinity at all for death magic.
In the end, as Langa looked through the list, he made his choice of the final three. Now that it was down to three gods, the system was able to show him the Challenges that they were offering. He was now only left with five minutes to make his final choice, so he had to think carefully and see which Challenge best suited him.
If there was one thing that he was pleased about, it was that the chosen three had listened to his prayer, if the rewards they offered were any indication. That was a good start, as Langa had no desire to follow a god who did not answer his prayers.
Deity Challenge Level Challenge Reward Time Limit Ọya: Mother of The Nine Winds And Storms Easy
Clear the first level of the spider crypt in Nexka Barrow.
(Solo Challenge)
Sponsorship Contract 1 day Ọya: Mother of The Nine Winds And Storms Normal
Clear the first three levels of the spider crypt in Nexka Barrow and defeat at least (1) mini-boss.
(Solo Challenge)
Sponsorship Contract
Active Skill: Heal Self (B)
2 days Ọya: Mother of The Nine Winds And Storms Hard
Clear all five levels of the spider crypt in Nexka Barrow and defeat the boss monster.
(Solo Challenge)
Sponsorship Contract
Active Skill: Heal Self (B)
Class Change: Unique Class
3 days Adtonifulmin: The Lackadaisical Herald of The Lightning Storm Hard
Kill at least 60 trollimps from Psike's Grotto Dungeon, including (1) mini-boss and collect a total of 50 trollimp healing sacs.
(Solo Challenge)
Sponsorship Contract
Passive Skill: Regenerate (C)
Class Change: Rare Class
3 days Adtonifulmin: The Lackadaisical Herald of The Lightning Storm Hell Kill at least 75 trollimps from Psike's Grotto Dungeon, including (2) mini-bosses, and collect a total of 75 trollimp healing sacs.
Sponsorship Contract
Passive Skill: Regenerate (C)
Class Change: Rare Class
Divine Skill:???
5 days Xêbioso; Vodun of Thunder and Speed Normal Raid and Clear the dungeon 'Nictrat's Ravine' within 35 minutes
Sponsorship Contract
Active Skill: Deep Meditation (C)
1 day Xêbioso; Vodun of Thunder and Speed Hard Raid and Clear the dungeon 'Nictrat's Ravine' breaking the current record of 22min:12sec
Sponsorship Contract
Active Skill: Deep Meditation (B)
Class Change: Rare Class
3 days
From what Langa knew about Ọya from the legends back on Earth, she was a powerful goddess known for causing terrible storms in her wrath, but she was also good with children, always treated them with care, and protected them from harm. If he chose her, he might be able to ask her to look after Khaya for him. But then again, Khaya was nineteen, an adult according to both South African and Tower law, so she might not be able to help her in that case. Besides, there were limits to how much deities could interfere in the lives of mortals not bound to them.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
The Voduns were said to be the children of Nana Buluku in legend, and they dealt extensively with matters of the spirit. If Langa chose Xêbioso, he might be able to help him, not just with his speed but with a way to cure him of his curse. That was one thing that he wanted to gain from the gods as well, freedom from the curse that had plagued him for his entire life. He was also sure that the skill offered by Xêbioso was going to help him with his mental resistance. Xêbioso would undoubtedly be a good choice for him.
However, in the end, out of all the offers, there was only one god that Langa felt a connection to. The Lackadaisical Herald was a god of both lightning and life who would be able to help him grow and help him find clarity of mind, just like he had done before. He knew it was a risk because he had never heard any myths or legends about this god back on Earth, but his heart felt drawn to this god. Myths and legends were just that, and out of all the deities operating inside this Tower, The Lackadaisical Herald was the only one who had been there for him when he needed help. It seemed, in his heart, that he had always known who he would choose.
To Langa, the essence of a good deity, more than answering prayers, more than skills or Blessings, was being able to offer comfort to his followers when they were suffering. For him, who had always felt alone, even when he was among others, he wanted a god that he knew would always be with him, always watching over him. Adtonifulmin had seen him at his most desperate moment in the tutorial, and had been able to pull his chaotic mind out of that detestable Void.
Now that his mind was made up, Langa looked at the Challenges issued by The Lackadaisical Herald, trying to decide which one he would take. While a divine skill would be amazing to have at this stage, Langa did not think he was ready for a hell difficulty Challenge, especially one that had to be completed within 5 days. Besides, he was sure that he would be able to earn divine skills later on, depending on what type of Sponsorship Contract he was offered.
"I accept the Hard Challenge from The Lackadaisical Herald of The Lightning Storm," he said confidently. Tonare vibrated in its sheath, and Langa felt both surprise and acceptance from the other gods that were watching him. Ọya and Xêbioso were not going to abandon him or stop watching him, and he had a feeling that they would offer him Challenges again in the future, as Sponsorship Challenges weren't the only types of Challenges that he could accept.
[A Clanless Deity Without A Name, is mystified by your choice, and laughs.]
[The Deiwos Clan god: The Lackadaisical Herald of The Lightning Storm, is pleased that you accepted his Sponsorship Challenge.]
All the tension that Langa had been feeling all day disappeared. He needed to prepare to hunt the trollimps. He only had five days to complete the Challenge after all, and he knew that the sooner he completed it, the better the rewards would be. He was aiming to become an Avatar, not a Disciple, so he had to do his best. Psike's Grotto was a dungeon that was inside a guild territory, so he couldn't just stroll in there, he needed to do some scouting first. He also needed to learn about what kind of creatures trollimps were so that he would be sufficiently prepared to face them. He also had to plan how he was going to-
[Congratulations! There is Divine Synergy between your Legacy Quest and your Sponsorship Challenge! If both are completed successfully, then a divine nexus may be formed!]
[Congratulations! Your Sponsorship Challenge has automatically been upgraded to Hell difficulty! New Quest generated!]
SPONSORSHIP CHALLENGE AND LEGACY QUEST
Quest Rank: Unique
You have chosen to inherit the Legacy of a temperamental thunderbird. In order to unlock the skills on Thunderbird's Mutable Lightning Glaive as well as the opportunity to obtain a special stat, you must complete his Legacy. Quest Objectives:
-Kill 100 trollimps from Psike's Grotto and collect a total of 100 trollimp healing sacs.
-Raise the skill: Legacy of the Tonare Thunderbird Spearmanship to Intermediate level.
Time Limit: 5 days Quest Limitations:
Only available for players with Legacy of the Tonare Thunderbird Spearmanship and undergoing a Sponsorship Challenge from the mid-tier constellation; Tarquinius or his patron deity.
Cautions: N/A Quest Rewards:
Sponsorship Contract
Passive Skill: Regenerate (?)
Class Change: Legendary Class
Divine Skill:???
Quest Failure Penalty:
Loss of favour with the mid-tier constellation Tarquinius
Player may not accept any new Challenges for (52) days.
No new Legacy Quests will be unlocked until Tier (2)
No new Skills will be unlocked for Thunderbird's Mutable Lightning Glaive until Tier (3)
What?" Langa asked incredulously. What the fuck was that? A synergy? His Sponsorship Challenge had just changed without his consent, and he was not going to stand for it. He had not chosen the Hell difficulty Challenge for a reason. Who the hell was Tarquinius, and why should Langa care about gaining his favour? What was a divine nexus? "Hell no! You can't just do that! System, I reject the quest!"
[Error! This quest cannot be rejected. An automatic failure will be recorded if you do not complete it within 5 days.]
"Yhoo! Kudlaliwe ngami! This is not what I wanted! I'm still learning, and there's no way I will be able to do this," Langa lamented, looking up at the sky. "Why are you doing this to me?" Once again, he felt Tonare vibrating on his waist.
[The Deiwos Clan god: The Lackadaisical Herald of The Lightning Storm, assures you that he will not let you be Challenged beyond your strength. He will present you with only obstacles that are within your means to handle. With this Challenge, he promises to Bless you with something that will give you the strength to survive and defeat your opponents.]
"What the hell does that even mean?" Langa asked, annoyed. He would not be Challenged beyond his strength? Was that just a generic line that all deities gave to their followers when putting them through hardships in order to make them feel better?
Langa weighed his options, if he chose not to complete this Challenge, then he would be stuck without a deity for the next month. Not only would this likely impact his viewership and make it harder for him to make himself known, but it would also put him far behind the other members of the top ten. He was not happy about that. While Langa did not like being at the top, being number one, because it came with a lot of problems, he was also not someone who liked to be at the bottom of the litter either. He was competitive.
He liked being in the top ten. It gave him the strength to move forward, knowing that he was talented and strong enough to stand next to people who were born with power like Liv, people who had trained their whole lives for power like Fi Kindaro III and people who wielded their power with effortless elegance like Vos Kindaro II. He was not willing to give that up.
This Challenge was a test, and only now did Langa realise that it was his resolve that was being tested. Sure, he had taken his first step towards change by coming into the Tower, but what had changed since then? If he only fought battles that were within his comfort zone, battles that he was sure he could win, then how would he grow or find purpose in his life? Throughout his life on Earth, he had experienced the most growth when he pushed himself beyond his limits.
The multiverse and all the Towers in it were full of nothing but competition, and there was nothing that Langa loved more than racing against people of equal talents, chasing those who were better than him, and finally overtaking them. In this Tower, there was always a brighter sun beyond the sun in the sky. Even if he took first place within his tutorial batch, there were stronger players from the other three batches, and even if he conquered this Deiwos Tower, there were other stronger players in other Towers across the multiverse. And even if he grew strong enough to shed his mortal coil and become a deity, he would once again be at the bottom of the ranks, and an infinite race would begin.
Langa laughed at himself. For so many years, he'd used his curse as an excuse to stop living. He had told himself that it was the only thing holding him back from going after the things he wanted, but that was not the honest truth. He'd gone on and on in his head about wanting to stop living passively and wanting to stop allowing life to pass him by, but saying that he wanted to do something and actually doing it were two different things.
Langa took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Once more, he brought his hands together in a prayer motion. “Lackadaisical Herald, if it were up to me, I’d take the hard Challenge, give it my best effort, and become your Avatar or Disciple. That way, I would be strong enough to cruise through the Tower with relatively no problems, complacently doing the bare minimum," he said. "But I do want to change and become a better version of myself. My whole life, I have not been able to give myself the strength to grow and face harder challenges. But I've been given a new life now, and I want more, so I'm gonna put my faith in you, because you saved me once before. So, Lackadaisical Herald, I pray that you show me a better path for my life. Help me to learn how to live for myself so that I can grow."
[The Deiwos Clan god: The Lackadaisical Herald of The Lightning Storm, has heard your prayer.]
[The Deiwos Clan god: The Lackadaisical Herald of The Lightning Storm, gives you the Temporary Blessing: Blessing of Fleeting Life]
[The Deiwos Clan god: The Lackadaisical Herald of The Lightning Storm, asks you to envision in your mind the form that you would wish for the Legacy of The Tonare Thunderbird to take if it were a sapient being.]
What? Why? "Um, okay," Langa pondered the request in his mind for a second, but in the end, what came to mind was the thunderbird that had struck him with lightning back when he had received his Legacy in the tutorial. That thunderbird had said that it was named Tonare, and it had given him his glaive.
As soon as Langa envisioned that thunderbird in his mind and how it had transformed into a humanoid form, Tonare shook on his waist, surprising him. The glaive let out a small streak of electricity from within the sheath. He took it out, and extended the shaft to his preferred size of 1 metre, looking at the glaive curiously.
In the next moment, in front of him, a dark ghostly energy emerged from the glaive and slowly condensed into the form of a person. The spirit appeared translucent and held a shadowy spear in its hands. It looked like a ghostly version of the person he'd met when he received his Calling, with two legs, white wings, red skin and talons on its hands, as well as bird-like feet. It landed on the ground in front of him.
Langa resisted the urge to scream, instead only shuddering. It had just appeared out of nowhere from inside his glaive after all. This thing looked like a ghost, and he'd always been afraid of ghosts. They freaked him out. How the hell was this thing a Blessing?
[The mid-tier constellation: Tarquinius, is watching you with a sorrowful gaze.]
Langa was confused at who this constellation was, until he remembered that this was the constellation that had tried to offer him a Sponsorship Challenge on his first day on the 1st Floor. His punishment must be over. But why was he tied to Langa's Legacy? Looking at the quest description, the only logical explanation he had was that the owner of the Legacy must have been bonded to Tarquinius.
He looked back at the ghostly thunderbird, and wondered if it was possible to scan it or not, and concentrated on its face, scanning it.
[Blessing of Fleeting Life
Type: Temporary
The core essence of the Legacy of The Tonare Thunderbird will guide your path in the spear, by teaching you how to use the skill: Legacy of The Tonare Thunderbird Spearmanship effectively. The essence core will look into your heart, and teach you to become stronger in the Legacy, thereby giving you the strength required to complete the Sponsorship Challenge and Legacy Quest on time.
+250% Learning Speed for the skill: Legacy of The Tonare Thunderbird Spearmanship
Duration: Until the skill: Legacy of The Tonare Thunderbird Spearmanship, reaches Intermediate level (1).
Maximum duration: 5 days.]
The ghostly thunderbird fixed its blank eyes on Langa and walked towards him. It didn't glide, but it walked. Langa wondered what the hell kind of ghost walked on its two feet. He didn't say anything, though, as it approached him.
"You are the one who is carrying on Tonare's Legacy," It said.
"Eh, yeah, that's me. My name is Langa," he said, still cautious. "What about you, what do I call you?"
"I am the personification of the essence core of the Legacy, and you may address me as such," the Legacy said. It moved swiftly until it was standing right in front of him, assessing him with unblinking eyes. "I can see why The Lackadaisical Herald summoned me here. Since he has given me to you as a Temporary Blessing, he will not be able to assist you any further with the Challenge. From what I can see, you truly need this Blessing desperately, and we have a lot of work to do before you can unlock all of the inheritance in that Legacy."
Oh, well, this was just unbelievable. Here was another person who was telling Langa that his spear skills were abysmal as if he did not already know it. What made this feel worse was that the Legacy hadn't even seen him use the skill! "How do you know that I need work? You haven't even seen me in a single fight!" Langa protested, arms folded.
"Your posture alone is telling. You do not have the gait of a seasoned spearman. To my eyes, you are nothing more than a beginner who just stepped onto the path of lightning. You are free to prove me wrong, of course," the Legacy said, its chin raised arrogantly.
Langa glared at it. This fucking ghost was mocking him.
Alright, Langa was already in a training room, and he wanted to put this Legacy core to the test. He had to see if it had any right to act so arrogantly towards him. "Teach me then; how do I raise the level of a passive skill?" he asked.
"Training is best done through combat. Come, take your stance, and show me your strength." The Legacy's spirit spear was in the shape of a glaive reminiscent of Tonare, and it took the basic stance of the Legacy of The Tonare Thunderbird Spearmanship, ready for any attack that Langa might throw at it.
Langa readied his stance as well, as it seemed like they were about to spar. Liv had no spear skills, so he had not been able to teach him much about spearmanship, and he was ready to start learning now. He wanted to see what skills the Legacy had and how they would help him complete his quest.