"HE IS BLEEDING! HEAL HIM! HEAL HIM!" Marcus shouted, as Nandita yelled, "GO ON! GO GO GO GO!"
"I'M TRYING TO CONCENTRATE HERE! CAN YOU PLEASE LET ME FOCUS!" Dilek snapped, looking frustrated. He turned to a bystander. "Uh, hello, sir, can you ple—"
He couldn't even finish his request before being ignored. A man was clearly bleeding out, yet nobody gave two shits. People just walked around him, chatting like it was a normal day.
'Screw it.'
Dilek grabbed the wound on the man's stomach and pinched it hard.
Marcus turned to Nandita. "Stop panicking. He can heal people… though it's painful."
"Painful? What do you mean pain—"
"YEOWCHHHH!" The man's eyes flew open before fainting again, as Dilek squeezed his wound tighter.
Skill: Painful Healer (Activated)
The wound started closing slowly, blood staining Dilek's hands. He sighed, stood up, and said, "Fixed it. He kinda lost a lot of blood, so let's just take him to rest."
Then he wiped his hands on Marcus's pants.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Marcus jumped back.
"Cleaning. Every doctor needs to be clean to help people."
"YEAH, THAT'S BEFORE THE SURGERY, ISN'T IT?! DON'T TOUCH ME WITH BLOOD!"
"Well then—" Dilek turned to Nandita, who was holding a fork pointed at him. "Where did you even get the fork?"
They carried the body inside as the innkeeper said, "Oh, that's the guy that was fighting with those people earlier."
"Oh yeah, thanks, I figured," Dilek replied, placing the man down in a corner room. "Hey, innkeeper, get a bucket, will you?"
The innkeeper sighed. "Just call me Duja." He shouted toward the kitchen, "Hela! Can you get a bucket? There's a man dying here!"
"DYING WHERE?"
A young woman rushed out of the kitchen, her black hair tied back loosely. She saw the man, gasped, and hurried to fetch a bucket. When she returned, she handed it to Dilek. "Here, clean him."
"Me?" Dilek pointed at himself.
Duja crossed his arms. "Yes. Since you wanted to save him, then you do it."
Marcus and Nandita stood awkwardly at the door—Marcus looking queasy, Nandita disgusted.
Dilek sighed, grabbed the bucket, and started cleaning the blood.
'Hm. A soft mustache, slightly pale skin, and a decent body. Well… kinda skinny. Maybe that's why he has abs.'
—
The man opened his eyes, blinking at the wooden ceiling. "An unfamiliar ceiling…"
He sat up slowly, noticing the wound on his stomach now sealed.
"You're awake, huh?"
A calm voice spoke. The man turned his head. Dilek sat by the window, sunlight spilling across his face like a divine spotlight.
"Are you alright now?" Dilek asked gently, smiling.
Tears welled in the man's eyes. "A saint…" He dropped to his knees. "Thank you for saving me. I thought I was going to die alone!"
"Please don't get on your knees. You're still wounded—rest, please." Dilek stood and helped the man up. But the moment he did, the man hugged him and started bawling.
"WAHHHH! I REALLY THOUGHT NO ONE CARED ABOUT ME! I WAS FEELING SO SADDDD!"
"What's your name?" Dilek asked calmly, still half-hugging him.
"My name is Diego!" The man sniffled. "Thank you, saint…"
"You're welcome, Diego. It's just my job, given by God—who told me to look after you."
"What?" Tears filled Diego's eyes again. "God didn't give up on me?!" He fell to his knees once more, trembling.
Dilek sighed and helped him up again. "Don't get on your knees. Stand beside me. If you want to thank me, then stay with me. We will worship the God who allows us to help others, right?"
"Of course!" Diego wiped his tears and nodded fervently. "What is the great God's name?"
Dilek froze. 'Ah, fuck. I've been bullshitting my way through. If I say something stupid, will he leave? Oh my god, maybe acting like a saint was a bad idea… Wait, I wasn't even acting—I was just sunbathing! But he thought I was a saint. Still… if I get this guy in my team, it would work out, right?'
"Yaguya," Dilek finally said. "The Goddess Yaguya is with you."
Diego's eyes widened. "Of course! The Goddess! She is with us! I haven't been left to rot after all!"
—
"So that's what you did?" Nandita asked.
"That's what I did," Dilek said casually.
They were sitting in the tavern now, eating breakfast. Diego was at another table devouring enough food to feed a family.
"Kinda scummy, don't you think?" she said.
"Misunderstandings just kept growing. And at one point, I couldn't stop. But still… not like I lied," Dilek pouted.
"Don't do that—it's gross coming from someone who couldn't look cute if his life depended on it," Nandita shot back.
"Rude. Besides, what I said is true. I am a priest, and I have been blessed by a goddess. That's how I got the Berserker skill, you see."
Marcus leaned in. "So… you weren't lying?"
"Not at all," Dilek replied confidently.
'Never thought this could be a good way to increase the BP. I'll even trick them easy—puhahaha.'
"Yeah…" Nandita sighed, then asked, "So what's his class?"
"Class? Oh yeah—he told me he didn't know, but he was really good at fighting."
Marcus frowned. "Pretty sure he was bleeding a lot."
"Good point. But we can't lose a person who might actually deal damage, can we?" Dilek said.
"Well… that's true," they both admitted.
"So should we just take him to the guild and fill out his registration?" Nandita asked.
"Oh yeah, pretty much," Dilek nodded.
As they stood up, Diego looked at them and bowed. "Saint! Are you done with your meeting?"
Nandita and Marcus looked at Dilek like he was absolute trash.
Dilek smiled serenely. "Of course, Diego. Don't bow every time. The Goddess wouldn't want you to treat me as a superior—since, in her eyes, everyone is equal."
"Of course!" Diego smiled brightly. "So what do I need to do?"
"You need to pay up," Duja said from behind the counter.
"Honey, they're new here! Stop scaring them!" Hela shouted, pulling him by the ear. "If you're too strict, people will only come to drink and we won't have regulars!" She turned to the group with a warm smile. "Please, eat a lot and take your time. We hope to be long-time partners."
"Long-time partners?" Marcus raised a brow. "Good point. It's cheap here… I wonder why there are barely any people in this tavern."
"Good question," Dilek said.
—
"So… your new teammate?" Percy asked, arms crossed.
Diego stood beside Dilek, chest puffed out. "OF COURSE! I'M IN A PARTY WITH THE SAINT! DON'T BE JEALOUS! I'M SURE THE SAINT WILL ALLOW YOU IN AS WELL!"
Dilek stood there, visibly embarrassed, while Percy just stared blankly at him.
"I'm not paid enough to care," Percy muttered, handing over a form. "Just fill out his details. This is the party form. You can add more people later, but for now, just write your four names."
Dilek grabbed a pen from his pocket.
Diego gasped. "THE GODDESS GRANTED YOU A PEN AS WELL!"
The nearby adventurers turned to stare. Dilek completely embarrased as, Nandita and Marcus immediately took two steps away, pretending not to know them.
"Diego," Dilek said through a forced smile. "Calm down. We cannot disturb people, can we?"
"Of course!" Diego put a finger over his lips. "I'll be silent."
Dilek filled out the names one by one:
Nandita
Marcus
Dilek
Diego
A screen suddenly popped up in front of him.
Quests:
Quest 1: Gain another person to be part of your team by today. (Complete)
Reward: The main quest details will be given to you.
Sub Quest: ??? (Complete)
Reward: ???
(Finishing the first quest will activate your personal interface of the system.)
The screen turned bright white, text glowing in darker colors. Dilek squinted. "Seriously, that's it?"
Main Quest Unlocked:
Option 1: Start the biggest cult in Orynneya
Option 2: Defeat the Heaven's Tear
Option 3: Defeat Hell's Blood
Option 4: ???
Complete any one of them to finish the quest.
'What? What does any of this even mean?' Dilek frowned. Then another notification appeared.
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