'Offering', huh? That would solve the paying problem in my conscience.. though I don't want to imagine the scene of he doing the 'offering' in a fanatic way.
I stop my reaching claws and unconsciously look at the priest. Wait, why am I seeking his approval? There are two choices, and I don't have time to think about them now as I don't want the high priest to think he had control over my action. React fast!
"Okay then..." I pull my claws back then look at the old man. His face is blooming with happiness, but I don't care. Ah, I should have picked the mushroom myself.
The old man bend down to pick up something under the table. It's "small", brown and flat... a sheet of brown paper, probably used to wrap the mushroom. With the paper on his left, as he reaches his right hand to pick up the mushroom on the roasting rack, the high priest grabs the old man's wrist.
"No, we won't let you do that." The Lv60 high priest's STR is just slightly better than the Lv32 old man: Their arms are shaking as the old man tries to break free.
"His Holiness allowed me to do that!" After a few second of shaking back and forth, the old man realizes he couldn't free his arm and resorts to talking solution.
Although I couldn't see the priest's face, I feel like he just flinched. In the view of hundreds of people, could he 'defy my will'.. I mean 'ignore me'? Arghh I don't want to get used to be 'His Holiness'. I'm not Holy in the first place!
"Well, you heard what he said, Mr.." Wait, I haven't learned the priest's name at all! Everyone just call him 'High Priest', but I can't call him like that here..."
Fortunately, before I could think of a solution and before anyone notices my pause, the old man suddenly swings his right arm and break free from the priest's grip.
"You!" The priest blurts out, watching the stall owner swiftly pick the roasted mushrooms onto the wrapping paper. From his Speed and STR, I guess he was a warrior or something. Fire... So he even used his magic to roast mushrooms.
After filling the wrapping paper with all the mushrooms on his table, he steps a step toward the high priest then flinches. Heh, the priest doesn't seem to be happy about this. The old man turns and walks the other way, through the crowd with envy eyes. The Holy Knights hesitate a bit but a growl make them stand aside. Good, as long as there is a crowd, I still have some freedom.
Holding the pile of mushrooms with his both hands, the old man swiftly walk to the front of the platform. Everyone's eyes follow his every step; the knights have their hands on their weapons; but my eyes follow the second meal I'd get in this world. I don't care if he wants to harm me, I just want the mushroom and get away from this world.
"Do NOT kneel." I lightly remind him as he lowers his body.
The old man hesitate for a moment, but his eyes keep looking down on the platform so I can't guess what he is thinking. After a moment, he slightly bows. As long as he doesn't do any fanatical thing, I'd be fine with it.
"I.. I..." He tries to say something.
I'm still laying on my belly. With my height, I could see very far, but it's hard to look at something right in front of me. I could bend down and chomp on the mushrooms just fine, but I really don't want to personally deal any damage to a fanatic. Instead, I open my right palm, facing it upward and place the back of my claws at the edge of the platform, signaling the old man to place the 'offering' on my palm. Well, I'm a bit clumsy (low DEX) at the moment so I don't think I could pick something tiny like that myself.
The old man walks forward, reminding me of how ridiculously big I am. He has to stand between my fingers in order to place the mushroom in my palm. As his bare arms brush pass, scale on my finger turns red. Not the red of blood, but the red of fiery fire. Meanwhile, the scale under the wrapping paper turn green. How weird.
A commotion raises in the crowd. Ah darn...
"It's real!" "The Origin scale!" "I haven't seen it in action my entire life!" "I touched one once when I tested my aptitude, but seeing it on the Origin Dragon himself... Ah, my life is completed."
"No, it's not." I turn to growl at the crowd on the right then on the left. "But my life will end right now from frustration if you don't stop praising!" The crowd quiets down a bit from my words.
Because I'm looking at the left, I didn't see what was happening near my right hand. When I feel it, it was too late. Blood, blood everywhere...
----------------------------------------
Agaric looks at the huge palm in front of him as he places the offering down. He just stands there, in a split second, with his Speed, he reminisces the past.
A magic swordsman, nicknamed Blazing Swiftness. He planned to travel the world. On his journey, he visited the Origin Temple and saw the Origin Dragon in His sleep. Of course no one would let him gets this close to Him. He was just one of the many followers in the hall that time, listening to the preaching of the Gods. It was when a single ray of sunlight coming from the roof's window shone on the body of a female acolyte - his first love. And, like being guided by the hand of the Gods, she saw him too.
The Temple doesn't forbid their acolytes from marrying. In fact, it's one of the source of new Holy Knights and Acolytes. A descendant of a Holy element has very high chance of being Holy element. Agaric and that acolyte's son was, of course, a Holy element with second aptitude for Fire. After having a son, Agaric stopped adventuring. Watching his son growing up was one of his two only-sources of happiness... Soon, the son grew up and inevitably chose to be a Holy Knight.
A few weeks ago, he received a letter from his son. A Farewell letter. Not because his son was going to anywhere dangerous or going somewhere far away. He was going to be one of the first Humans had the honor of being the Origin Dragon's Exp. It was supposed to be a secret, but his son wanted him to come. He told in the letter that he would try to get a ticket to Heaven for his father too. Though the old man couldn't come, he was too old to travel that far...
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Now, the Origin Dragon is right in front of him. His son is just a few steps away from him, yet it's a place so far away. If only the Dragon would squeeze His fingers on him... Various imagination flashes through his mind.
The Dragon looks at his direction.. no, at the crowd to his left. He unconsciously steps a step backward. "Why am I hesitating?" He asks himself. "This is no time to hesitate!"
With his backward step, the dragon's sharp claws enter his vision. He imagine the claw pierces through his body, 'gently' brings his soul to Heaven. But would His Holiness grant him this honor? The Dragon wanted him to quickly leave His sight by telling him not to kneel, and now His Holiness is trying to look away from him...
Agaric quickly comes to a conclusion. He has to do it himself, even if he would incur His wraith...
Everyone is looking at Him. His Holiness is looking to the right and couldn't see him. With a swift step, he steps in front of the tip of a claw. Its sharpness might be questionable, His Holiness wouldn't want to accidentally harm his subjects. But with his own STR, he can do it.. He will do it.
Blood splashes everywhere. His vision darkened. He feels like various voices are echoing around him. And a roar.
----------------------------------------
I roar (scream) at the old man impaled by my finger. No Exp was got. It counts as self-harm just as the first group of knights I met said.
As I notice the gore on the tip of my claw, I hurriedly shake my hand, flinging the old man onto the ground along with my mushrooms... MY MUSHROOMS!
"Go to hell old man! You dirtied MY mushrooms!" I shout at him.. but he isn't moving. He died, just like that? "Luckily I didn't deal the last hit, or he.. Urk!"
A burning feeling swells up in my chest. I roll my eyes left and right, noticing the crowd's stares of pity on the old man. No one dare to say a word. Some think that the old man deserved it and let out a snort of disdain. My darn conscience doesn't think so... It doesn't like it when I disrespect the people sacrifice themselves to me, even though I got nothing in this situation.
I try to divert my thought to something else but the burning feeling only tenses up. Just like the time with the rock-headed knight, should I say something?
"Rest in peace. You've got what you want." I bluntly say, but it only makes the burn intensify. Wrong word, wrong word! He doesn't want this? What the hell?
The knights hurried over to check on my claws. The old man didn't do any harm to me.. except for my mushrooms. Ah, this is not the time for it.. Wait, he offered his mushroom to me for free, but died meaninglessly and didn't get to Heaven? If his soul was mine, I could have driven it into me. This wouldn't work, and it's hard to think as I have to close my eyes to bear this new level of pain. Think! Think!
"I am the dragon of Origin..." I was supposed to use my name too, but I couldn't think clearly. "...I command the Elemental particles belong to the owner of this blood..." I squeeze down my right claws into a punch, feeling the blood on it. "...converges..."
My world suddenly turns dark. I was closing my eyes, so of course it's dark, but I could still feel the light. Now everything is black, even though I opened my eyes.
I'm back in the endless space of blackness, Origin Realm - My realm. The pain was gone. I let out a sigh of relief although I don't understand what is happening. I haven't even finished the spell. Did I fall asleep mid way?
["I'm sorry, Your Holiness.."] I can hear a voice. It's the old man!
"Where are you?" I try to ask with the most gentle voice I can manage. I don't want another lesson from my conscience.
["White, white everywhere... From my limited understanding.. I am in the Soul Realm."]
"Ah, Soul Realm. Sorry I can't get to you. I have my own Soul Realm." I wonder how Vitea dragged me to the endless white space though. Are those the same?
["So this is what happen when you kill yourself. Being a Freed Soul..."]
"Freed Soul?" There is nothing in the game called that. "Ah never mind that. What did you want, trying to kill yourself..?"
["This poor soul humbly apologizes to you, Your Holiness. In my hope to join my son, I blindly killed myself and forgot about the rule."]
"And that troubled me more than you think." I sigh. "I will try to help you join your son. Where is he?"
["He was one of your Knights. A few weeks ago, he sent me a letter, saying he found a way to become a part of you. I blindly thought that I could join him by killing myself with your Graceful Claws."] I feel a slight chill from hearing that. But at least I adapt to it better now. Wait...
'My' Knights - Holy Knights. Fire. Found a way to become part of me while I was asleep. Wasn't that... But Glutton killed him, so he wasn't inside... Scratch that, the old man just wants to be with his son, not being part.. being in the Heaven. This could work!
As I feel the Gravity returns and my belly pressing on the platform again, I continue my chant.
"... converges and reunites with your son!" The spell name appears in my mind. It's nothing the crowd could expect. "Spirit Offering!"