Chapter 3: Answers
"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth."
- Buddha
----------------------------------------
Duncan and I were seated in the corner of 'The Dwarven Beard', tucking into a stew with some sort of meat, though I couldn't tell what type it was for the life of me. I was so ravenous that I could've eaten our horse, had she not saved us multiple times from imminent death. Something about her was definitely strange, and I intended to find out what it was. For now, she would be called 'Dawn'. She deserved something as radiant a name as that after what she'd been through because of me.
A few travellers were sat at the tables dotted around the inn; the late hour calling most to rest as they continued on their travels in the days to come. Few stayed here for long, except for the owner of course. Hilda actually was a dwarf, much to my surprise even after seeing the name of her establishment. She had curly brown hair and, thankfully, no beard. Though she was half the size of the average human, so the books got that part right! I'd never seen a dwarf before, and I was beginning to feel a recurring theme here - not knowing anything at all and then being astounded when it stared me square in the eyes. Even the first day of our journey really highlighted how woefully unprepared I was for the real world; there was so much I had to learn when we got to Ateria.
"Now, I think it's time for some answers," I said, sitting back after filling my belly to the brim. Duncan took a long sip of his drink.
"We're safe for the time being, so I'll answer anything I'm allowed to, and try and help you understand the gravity of our situation."
"I think understand the 'gravity' perfectly well after being chased and stabbed, thank you very much," I replied sarcastically. Duncan didn't deserve it, he had only done his duty, yet who can you take your anger out on as a 10-year-old if not those around you?
"You're right, my boy, I'm sorry. What's your first question?"
"Question number one, the elephant in the room - you're an Archbishop? That's high in the church, very high, isn't it?"
"It's second only to the 3 Cardinals that run the entire church of Luminaris, so yes. Though you're still technically ranked higher than me, even as weak as you are now, many won't recognise you until you have the power to rule us."
'One down, one billion to go.' I thought to myself with a grin. I was finally getting some answers!
"Ranked higher?" I asked, "What will be expected of me as a Saint if I'm ranked so highly? I'm not interested in that title if it puts a hit on my back as massive as I suspect it already is."
"Not much will be expected of you to begin with. You'll be educated in magic, weapons, etiquette, politics, and scripture at least - and will be expected to learn everything that the clergy has to offer you. We only get a new Saint every millennium, so even we aren't completely sure. However, there are some writings that refer to the Saints and their roles and abilities if I'm not mistaken."
That sounded like a lot of work. I had been hoping to just wave my hands and gain unbelievable skills and magic, but that might've been a little unrealistic now that I thought about it. Well, that might be easy with the skills part, as I remembered back to my [Calm] and [Pain Tolerance] skills. Now that he was being truthful, I might have to come clean about those skills if it meant that he could help.
Despite every fibre of my being telling me not to, I conjured my status and willed it to be visible to Duncan. He looked shocked for a split second before his face returned to its usual calmness. Had he truly been acting and lying to me the whole time I'd been using the testing stone back at home? He'd been so emotive, now he was cool and collected.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
You cannot be deceived when on the path of a divine one.
New Skill Gained - [Observe]
Duncan was unable to contain his shock this time, as he saw [Observe] suddenly be added to my status. I had to admit, that was a fast one to learn.
"Did you just get that skill while observing me? That should've taken you days of effort! And these other skills too, [Calm] and [Pain Tolerance], how did you get those?"
I explained what had happened throughout all of this from my perspective and it seemed to have mollified him for the time being. It looked like you could see every individual cog turning in his brain, his deep grey eyes bottomless depths to explore. I was dying to see the levels and skills of an Archbishop now, though one thing my parents had taught me was that it was rude to ask for someone's status. Turning mine back towards me, I took a look:
Name: Daniel Lightbringer
Age: 10
Class: Saint
Health: 100/100 | Mana: ?/? | Stamina: 43/100
Free Points: 4 (+1)
Skills: [Calm] Lv1, [Pain Tolerance] Lv2, [Observe] Lv1 (+1)
Spells: ?
Strength: 15
Agility: 8
Dexterity: 13
Intelligence: 22
Charisma: 7
Wisdom: 12
I was quite impressed with my skills now, I hadn't tried at all so far, so how powerful would I be with some proper instruction in Ateria? I was even more eager to get some more answers, but then Duncan decided to ruin my ecstasy at that moment.
"Why don't we get some sleep for the evening and I can have a think about your progress so far? I promise I'll answer any questions you have left over at breakfast tomorrow, but I have [Observe] too, at a much higher level than yours, and I can see how low your stamina is running. We both need rest now and then one of my companions is due to arrive in the morning so we should be a bit safer. Okay?"
He sounded just as annoyed as I was, but that was when I saw something - a twitch of the mouth, the pitch of his voice, even his colourless eyes seemed to shout at me. It was becoming painfully obvious that he was deceiving me in some way. For what reason, I had no idea.
[Observe] has levelled up - Lv2 (+1)
[Observe] has levelled up - Lv3 (+1)
Although I knew he was lying, I was beginning to trust Duncan. He had saved my life and had done nothing to hurt me or place me in danger. That was all I really cared about at the moment. And if he kept trying to lie, he'd just feed me levels. I'd win something regardless of what he did; I was beginning to like this [Observe] skill. He must've thought that these lies were protecting me, and maybe they were for all I knew. He was right about my stamina though. It was getting dangerously low and my eyelids felt heavier with each passing second. Duncan paid for only one room, saying that he couldn't protect me if we were on opposite sides of a corridor. I didn't really care; I knew I'd be completely out of action by the time my head hit what passed for a pillow in this inn. Together, we made our way upstairs and, true to word, I was out before I could even count one sheep.
----------------------------------------
Duncan lay there for a while as the child on the bed next to him slept. He was levelling so quickly, it wasn't normal by any stretch of the imagination. He tried to compose himself down there, but he'd almost begun to let it slip. If the boy learned of his true secret, it would raise more questions. Daniel would lose faith in the church, which would be catastrophic when the churches were already on the brink of war. He had the power to singlehandedly upset the entire balance, such was the burden of Luminaris' Saints. He was the most powerful god and that reflected. These were strange times, and in Duncan's long, long life, he had never felt so uneasy when trying to glimpse the future.
The boy had to be protected and trained, but he could never find out about the truth - the truth about The Secret of the Gods.
----------------------------------------
Aravin of Derban got up from the ground and grimaced in pain. He'd been knocked from his horse by that godawful 'Priest' of Luminaris. He spat on the ground in disdain.
'That man was no Priest. From the level of his [Authority] skill, I'd say he's at least a Bishop, if not much greater. Not to mention that I felt the deaths of both of my acolytes...yes, he's definitely stronger. This does not bode well for our church if we can't capture a single child. He'll be heading to Ateria if he wants to find safety, so that's where I'll be, watching and waiting for the right moment.' He grinned, thinking of the power they could take from this child if their plan actually worked.
'However, I must be the one to do it if I have any chance of getting back into the Bishop's good books. And it will be spectacular!'
Casting [Shadow Mend], Aravin repaired himself. He took a few tentative steps to ensure that his tier 2 healing spell had worked, then sprinted off into the night.