58 Whats Phase Three? (1/2)

[Find a temple of Sterfen, the god of secrecy: incomplete]

[Find and enter a temple of Sterfen, the god of secrecy. Reward: varies on the party's interactions with the temple.]

Jack was intrigued to find an interesting, new achievement. Multiple things were running through his mind at the speed of light.

To find a blessed item and verify the existence of an ancient god's temple was equivalent to discovering a new island off the coast. This news would attract global attention.

There were still some temples of Halmut among the many capital cities across Kartonia. However, they were controlled and regulated by the Religious Council and Jack had found their new customs to be pitiful. Any blessing offered to items or adventurers was only a fraction of the basic blessings he knew in-game, and they were only given to devote followers.

What excited Jack was the particular god they needed to find. Sterfen, the god of secrecy, was previously one of the seven neutral gods that had disappeared from modern history. It wasn't the same god he had pledged to as a gamer, but Jack was sure that a certain hunter he knew would benefit greatly from pledging to such an entity. And that would also greatly benefit Jack by default.

Another interesting part of the achievement was the reward. That was the first time Jack's party as a whole would be able to affect an achievement directly. It implied that anyone in the party would be able to interact or not interact with the temple. And if normal adventurers like Rydel and Maynard could gain blessings directly from a god, like ancient heroes and others discovered the truth, wouldn't Jack's party become the envy of the continent?

”Hey, Jack…”

A whisper sounded in Jack's ear, causing him to open his eyes and face Brunar with an annoyed expression. ”Can I help you?”

”Is it true what you said, about the blessings of the gods?” asked Brunar is a gentle, serious tone.

”Do I have reason to lie?”

”I don't think you're lying, but are you certain that you're right?” Brunar questioned further.

”Hmm…” Jack slowly blinked and leaned in closely. ”There's a lot of things I'm certain of and there's a lot of things that you would never believe, especially if I described them in detail.”

Brunar was taken aback by Jack's answer, finding that hard to believe, but Jack continued, ”I can tell you that pledging to a god directly can be more beneficial than you can imagine. Also, there are more gods than you realize, and that bracer is proof.”

”What do you mean?”

”That resplendent bracer has Sterfen's blessing. It's only at the basic level, but you can already see how powerful such an item is. It's because of that bracer that Slivia was captured so easily and it will also be key for our success in taking the goblin city,” explained Jack.

”Who's Sterfen?” asked Brunar, too caught up on the unfamiliar name to digest everything else.

”Sterfen was the god of secrecy and was one of the seven powerful neutral gods in ancient Kartonia.”

”Neutral gods? I've never heard of those?” Brunar's confusion slowly set in with each question.

”That's cause they didn't participate in the war of the gods and were lost to history, according to my knowledge,” answered Jack. ”You can believe what you want, but I know for a fact that Sterfen was the god who blessed that bracer. And no, I'm not willing to let a priest verify the blessing.”

Brunar was about to ask that when his idea was shot down before conception, removing the only way to prove Jack's reasoning in Brunar's eyes. ”Then… how do I know what you're saying is true?”

Jack chuckled, ”You'll have to take my word for it.”

Taking his time to think before responding, Brunar scratched his head and looked intently at the cave floor between him and Jack. ”So, if I were to believe in everything you've said, what would that mean for me exactly?”

”What are you getting at?”

”Master already told me that after this mission he won't be partying with me anymore, then he said he'd be partying with you for who knows how long. You told him more than you're telling me right now, right?” asked Brunar.