Seeing the response of Loki, Arthur was struck in a hard place. He couldn't answer right away either, as he was thrown off his line of thought.
'If I reject him outright, Loki will definitely find a fault with me. But if I don't reject him, Artemis will not be pleased either.' Arthur didn't know what to do now.
When dealing with deities, things were often complicated when there were several of them conflicting.
"I—" Before Arthur could say anything though, another notification popped up.
<The Trickster who likes Plays says that the player should make a decision after seeing his offer>
"Huh?" Arthur was taken aback. 'He's offering me something?'
<The Mistress of the Beasts says that the Trickster's trickery will not work>
But before the argument could progress, a window popped up in front of Arthur.
<The Trickster who likes Plays offers the player the Veil Of Thousand Skins>
~DING~
——
Name: Veil Of Thousand Skins
[Durability: Unbreakable]
[Equipping Requirement: One's chosen by the Trickster who likes Plays]
<Active Skills>
1. Masquerade of the Trickster
Info: Allows the user to change their being.
Cost: None
Cooldown: Once per day.
——
"What in the…" Seeing the item that the god was offering, Arthur was utterly shocked.
It was something that had never been done before. Even in Arthur's previous life, there was no mention of an item like this.
'The effect is simply… Unbelievable.' Arthur thought.
The description of the skill was vague but Arthur knew that being vague meant that the skill had a lot of potential.
'Perhaps Dragon's Insight would reveal a lot more.' Arthur thought.
As much as he wished to use the skill, he couldn't do it unless he actually had the item in his hand. But to do that, he would have to accept Loki's offer.
At the same time though, Arthur was baffled as to why Loki was doing this.
'It isn't like him to offer an item right away. And even if he does give something, it's after having making the players suffer. What is his angle this time?' Arthur wondered.
Though being Loki, Arthur knew one thing: the deity was certainly playing a trick.
The only question was whether it was being played on him, or someone else…
~huu~
Arthur knew he now had to say something or things might get even more complicated.
"I see the item being offered and I am certainly tempted." Arthur said slowly, enunciating each word. "As such I—" But before Arthur could finish his words, Artemis interrupted.
<The Mistress of the Beasts gives the Trickster, who likes Plays a look of disgust before glancing at the player. She says she won't be insulted by this and will offer something too>
Seeing the new notification, Arthur's lips trembled, but he held back his expression.
'Bingo! I knew her ego won't allow her to fall behind Loki easily.' Arthur thought.
<The Trickster who likes Plays laughs and says good luck trying to match the item that he has offered to the player. He also adds that if the item isn't as good as his, The Mistress of the Beasts would simply be insulting the player and it would be beneath her>
It was clear that the trickster god wasn't done mocking the goddess.
<The Mistress of the Beasts warns The Trickster to shut his mouth. She says her offer won't be anything less than his and that his effort at tricking the Player won't work>
<The Trickster who likes Plays says it is not a trick and that they'll know the truth if the player accepts>
'Huh? He's actually staying firm on it?' Arthur was confused by the deity's strange actions.
But at the same time, he was wondering just what Artemis was willing to offer him.
'The Veil of the Thousand Skins seems to be a reusable disguise type item. Items like these are really expensive and one's offered by a deity should almost be comparable to Epic Grade equipment or higher. For the Goddess to offer something on the same level… I can think of a few things.' Arthur thought.
Unlike Loki, the Mistress of the Beasts had offered many items to the players before this. Because of this, there was a lot more information about them and Arthur could make a decent guess. Or at the very least, he could narrow down the list of items that she might offer.
But Arthur's guess turned out to be way off when he saw the next notification.
<The Mistress of the Beasts offers the Player Arzhur her blessing!>
"What the…" Arthur took a step back, ending up leaning against the solid body of Brambles.
<The Trickster who likes Plays is surprised by the Mistress of the Beasts' offer. He asks whether it is appropriate to give something like that to a player that isn't even under her>
<The Mistress of the Beasts scoffs at the Trickster and says that it is up to her to decide whom she would give her blessing. She advises the Trickster to simply mind his business and if he doesn't like it, he's free to take his leave>
The argument between the two deities only seemed to be getting started.
"This… before I can make the decision, can I know what the blessing would be like?" Arthur questioned.
Most players might jump on the offer just hearing that the goddess was giving them a blessing. But only later would they realize that the blessing given by deities could vary greatly.
There were even players that had been conned by the deities before by being given blessings that were almost useless.
Arthur recalled one of the well known incidents from his past life when a player had spent a lot of effort and time in gaining the favor of a deity. In the end, he managed to obtain a blessing from the said deity, but the effect of the blessing was less than appealing.
The player had gotten a blessing that prevented the player from accidentally stepping on pebbles while walking.
While it had some practical applications while traveling, the blessing was certainly not worth the effort that the player had put in. It had infuriated the player enough that he had cursed the deity and gotten rebuked instead.
Arthur didn't want something like that to happen to him and thus asked beforehand.
'Though considering it is Artemis, and her ego is being challenged by Loki, she won't be doing something like that at least.' Arthur hoped.
<The Mistress of the Beasts offers her blessing>
~DING~
——
Name: Blessing of Understanding
Effect: The player can innately understand their tamed pet and can communicate with them through their minds.
——
And just as Arthur was wondering what the blessing would be like, he was impressed.
'It's actually this?' Arthur had heard about this blessing before.
It was a good blessing that only two players had managed to obtain it in his previous life.
The first player that had done so was a player with a class that specialized in taming pets. It was a blessing that was perfect for that player and suited him. But it was not the same for the second player.
The second player who had obtained it was and archer and did not rely on pets, thus the blessing wasn't as good for him. He had obtained the blessing through pure luck and would have preferred getting something else.
Though a blessing was a blessing and there weren't many players that would reject a blessing that was given for free. At most, they would take it as a passive that they didn't need to pay much attention to.
But for Arthur, the blessing of understanding was useful.
'This'll help me so much more if I can communicate with Brambles directly through our minds.' Arthur could already imagine several application of it in fights.
Not needing to voice out commands would help speed up the battle too, as Brambles would be able to react faster. Not to mention, Arthur would be able to communicate exactly what he wanted and that too very fast.
Expressing complex commands might take long after all, and such a method of instant communication was priceless. The best part of it was also the fact that the blessing didn't have a limit!
'When I get more pets, I would still be able to communicate with them!' Arthur thought.
Having seen the blessing, Arthur now knew he could make his decision.
'Even Loki should understand that my choice is now justified.' Arthur thought to himself.
While there was still a chance that the trickster god would want to find fault with him later, it was a risk he would have to take. As much as the Veil of thousand skins was tempting, Arthur knew not to get swayed.
"I've decided… I shall take the offer of the Mistress of the Beasts." Arthur spoke. "It is simply more beneficial to me than the offer of the Trickster who likes Plays." He justified.
<The Mistress of the Beasts smiles and says the player has made the right choice>
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