ch9a.png [https://i.ibb.co/SyZbD9v/ch9a.png]

QUEST COMPLETE

You have found your former companion, Stephanie Aegis, the Priestess of Onyun

Gained 335 Experience points

Focused increased by 18

"Same!" Standing before me was Stephanie, but look at her. She's wearing a very stylish dress, something I've never thought I would see her in. She'd rather die than wear cosplay, and yet... she looks amazing. She approaches me and says, "I can't believe you finally arrived. What happened?"

"What do you mean, what happened? I still don't know myself, and I've been here for a few weeks."

"You were summoned only recently? But didn't you die along with the rest of us."

She just had to remind me of that. It still sends chills down my spine thinking about how that truck killed everyone. "Don't mention that. It still got me all shaken up that we were killed."

"In that case, you got accustomed here, right? Mertyl, explained everything to you, right?"

"Mertyl?"

"You know, the goddess you saw before you were summoned here?"

"What goddess? It was old man Krim who told me everything."

"No, before him..." she sighs, "Never mind. it's just good to see you again."

"Yeah, it's good to see you too, Steph." After she orders the guides to leave us alone, "You adjusted well, 'Priestess'." I say in a playful manner.

"I know, it's weird, isn't it? But in the month I've been here, I really got adjusted to things."

"But what about the rest of our friends? Where are they?"

"Sadly, I don't know. I've sent scouts to look for them, but this world is very ancient for sure. No real reliable methods of traveling. I kind of miss the internet at times. All I know is that everyone ended up being summoned to different Abodes."

"Abodes? Plural? I thought that was just the name of the one we came from."

"Major Abode is just one of many. In this world, they believe in reincarnation, summoning rituals, and have built these abodes for that purpose. They're actually places of worship."

"I see. So everyone is scattered around the world?"

"Pretty much. I was summoned to Major Abode, which is why you managed to find me easily. Well, me and... Ronna."

"Yeah, I heard she was now a villain."

"I was right there along with her when we were summoned here. She had that attitude of hers just like she always does. She was gonna be captured but managed to escape. The next thing I knew, she was working with the evil Overlord."

"And you told everyone I was the destined hero."

"Oh... well... I told them you would wage great battles against her for the sake of our world, ha ha. They wouldn't know what a high school bully is, anyways."

"But did you have to make a big deal out of it?"

"But think about it Same, we have the power to stop her. You know about the stats right?"

"Yeah, I was taught about that, though I have to occasionally look at my notes to refresh my mind."

"I'm sure you have some of your stats higher than others. Your Attack, I'm certain."

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"Because you ate barbecue chips. Those augment your Attack power. In fact, the type of flavor, the type of chip, even how its cooked, it seems to affect your stats in some way, shape, or form. That's why we're the only ones who can defeat the Overlord as well as Ronna. Nobody here has this much power, and we're going to need more. We need to find all the chips we can get, before Ronna does."

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"I'm afraid they may have gotten some already. I ran into some dark looking knights who are worshiping a bag of chips already."

"Cultist?"

"Uh... what?"

"You got to understand that, even though these are regular chips in our world, in here, they're like Divine Articles. These stats are everything to the people here. They determine your position in life. That's why many have tried to alter them by any means, you know, cheat the system. Very few items in this world can increase your stats permanently, but these chips not only increase your stats without any need to grind, they do so at an unbelievable rate. They are the most powerful items here. Considering that, worshiping them and calling them gifts of the divine isn't out of the ordinary ."

"Well, whoever they were, they seemed to work for the Overlord, and were worshiping a bag of Cheddar and Sour Cream flavored chips."

"We can talk about all that soon. Right now, I need your help. I need you to repair a truck."

"And what is a truck in this world?"

"No, you don't understand. In fact, let me take you to see the... uhh.... 'Divine Carriage'."

She and a few guards takes me further into the back of the castle grounds, to an underground chamber. With torches in hand, we go down a spiral set of staircase. Upon reaching the ground, the guards surround the area to give it more light.

"Lo and behold," says one of them, "the Divine Carriage."

ch9b.png [https://i.ibb.co/5TWrBkk/ch9b.png]

As amusing as it was to call this a Divine Carriage, I hold back my laughter.

"Do you remember this truck?" asks Steph.

"Well, I've seen trucks like this passing by before."

"This one in particular is the one that killed us." A jolt of uncomfortable energy ran through me. I hate thinking about that so much. "But look at the side. It's been damaged itself, like something hit it." She was right. The trailer was dinged up pretty badly from the right. Hmm... interesting.

I go up to the front of the truck and pop open the hood. "Nothing seems damaged here. Though it looks like it could use some coolant, but I take it that anti-freeze doesn't exist in this world. I guess water will have to do."

"So you can get it up and running?"

"Maybe. Let me do some tests."

With the best of my abilities, I check the engine, the oil, the battery, the gas, and everything else to make sure the truck is working. Thankfully the key seems to still be available as well, so no hot wiring is necessary.

After tinkering for a good hour, I report, "The only damage to the truck is to the trailer. Everything else is working like it should. It just needs fuel. It's a hybrid so we need gasoline and electricity."

"Do you know how gasoline is made?"

"Kind of, but that wasn't really something I was concerned about."

"But can you tell if something is gasoline or not?"

"Uh... yeah, I guess. What are going on about?"

"I have a group of alchemist work on a substitute, but I have no idea how to go about it. I figured you can help them."

"Yeah... sure, but I'm not too certain if I can recognize gasoline, but I guess I can recall if I try hard enough."

"What about electricity? Can it only run with that alone?"

"Yeah, but it'll only be at half power."

"But it can drive, right?"

"Yeah."

"Perfect!" She turns around and talks to some of her guards, "send in Luna." And in a few moments, a young teenage girl enters the room.

ch9c.png [https://i.ibb.co/gz9yVfk/ch9c.png]

"This is Luna, a sorceress in training."

The girl named Luna runs up to me, all excitingly, "So you're the hero Priestess Aegis has been talking about?"

"Uh... yeah, nice to meet you," and I reach out my hand to shake hers, but she seems confused about this. In fact, she's blushing.

"Same," Steph says, "if you shake her hand, you may end up marrying her," and I immediately pull it back. Steph turns to Luna, "Disregard what he did. We have different cultures, after all."

"I see," says Luna, still embarrassed.

Steph laughs as she addresses me, "I accidentally did that too, so she's kind of embarrassed about it. But anyways, Luna has been training her lightning magic. I even gave her my last chip to increase her magic a bit. Show her, Luna."

"Yes, Priestess," and out comes her stats.

Luna Chuu

Level: 15

Exp: 678

HP: 100/100

MP: 250/300

Attack: 110

Defense: 87

Magic: 547

Focus: 72

Stamina: 124

Vitality: 221

Endurance: 54%

Critical: 33%

Luck: 14%

Strength: 445

Resistance: 43

Agility: 56

Steph continues, "I only know stat altering magic, but she's more of an elemental type. If you need electricity, she'll provide you as much as you need. Luna, demonstrate your powers."

"Sure thing, Priestess." Luna points her staff towards a large boulder as sparks start dancing all over it. The crackling becomes louder and the flicker of light more frantic. With a shout of "Lightning Strike", electricity jumps out of her staff, illuminating the entire room. As quick as a flash, the lightning hits the boulder as it gets smashed into a million pieces.

"No matter how much energy you need," Steph continues, "she'll provide any amount."

I think about it for a bit when I ask Luna, "Can you control how much you can dispense?"

"Of course, Mr. Hero!"

"Then, if I can figure out how many volts the battery needs to charge itself, and translate that in a way you can understand, then it might work. Though we may end up frying the battery, but it's worth a shot, I guess."

"We might as well try anything," says Steph. "If we can get this to work, then we'll have the best form of transportation in this world."

"Okay. I'm all in for it."

"Fantastic! I've already arranged your stay here. If you can get that truck up and running, then we can be on our way to finding our friends."