Arthur barely had a little over an hour left before it would be time for him to log out. As such, it wouldn't make sense for him to go out to hunt mobs or do any bounties.
He had also finished talking to the Guard Captain and taken the quest for the Black Root Mandrakes.
'Even if I wish to get those, it'll take me at least two hours to reach them, depending on the mobs.' Arthur thought.
With this in mind, Arthur decided to visit the one place where deities had direct influence and often revealed themselves openly: The Church.
"Let's take a look…" Arthur muttered and turned towards the church.
It was next to the Class Change hall, thus it barely took him a minute to stand in front of it.
The church's entrance was about three meters tall and there was no door on it. And yet, if one tried to glance inside it, all they would see is a warm yellow glow.
One wouldn't see the insides of the church at all.
It was strange and yet; it didn't feel eerie. Instead, a warm feeling of comfort could be felt even if one stood outside the church.
"It's certainly a lot different from other ones… No wonder she was so popular among the players." Arthur said as he remembered the other churches he had seen in the game.
Almost every church had a different feeling to it, depending on the deity that it belonged to. The church in front of Arthur belonged to a benevolent deity… a goddess that was beloved by many.
Arthur looked at it for a moment before walking in through the entrance.
The insides of the church were fully revealed to him, showing several benches that were seemingly made out of woven cane. And at the very back of the church, there stood the altar.
It depicted a woman with a wheatish complexion, and a motherly smile decorating her face. Behind her, a bounty of food could be seen, bunches of barley and wheat stacked along with a cornucopia of fruits and berries.
And behind the altar, one could see a gently burning hearth.
The flames of the hearth were strong yet soothing, providing calmness to one's heart.
>Mother of the Hearth looks upon the player with a gentle smile<
"Hestia…" Arthur muttered the goddess' name with gratitude.
<The Mother of the Hearth smiles with satisfaction that the player knows her name>
<The Mother of the Hearth properly reveals her presence to the player and formally announces that she is the goddess of the Hearth, Hestia>
"I greet the goddess of the Hearth," Arthur said, while bowing his head lightly.
Unlike Artemis or Loki, who had kept their actual names hidden till the end, Hestia was quick to reveal it. It showed the difference in the behavior and personalities of the different deities.
Most of the deities had their churches or temples, but some still hid their actual name. They would only reveal it to those that they deemed worthy of knowing it.
But the one's that were the most benevolent would not be like that. They would be very accepting of all players and would take the initiative to reveal their names to the players.
This was also the first time that most players would learn about the deities and interact with them.
In fact, in Arthur's past life players didn't even know the deities could talk to them outside the churches.
Those that had discovered it were surprised, while some were simply shocked by the revelations of the different presences.
After all, it wasn't just deities that could approach the player. Other beings of similar strengths could do the same.
<Hestia observes the player and senses a blessing within him>
<The goddess shows surprise and takes a closer look>
Arthur held his breath after reading this, wondering how the goddess would react.
'Artemis is a neutral deity that is still cordial with the gods of the good alignment. Hestia shouldn't have any problems.' Arthur thought.
<Goddess Hestia finds it unexpected that the player has already obtained the favor of another deity>
<Goddess Hestia recognizes the divinity from the blessing and is familiar with the deity. She's impressed that the player managed to get the Mistress of the Beasts to come out first>
Arthur noticed how she didn't reveal the actual name of Artemis even now.
'They really do watch their words. Unless it's the evil alignment or the chaotic ones…' Arthur noted before speaking. "She simply found my tamed beast interesting and bestowed a blessing upon me, goddess."
<The Goddess furrows her brows before looking closer at Arthur. Her eyes shine in a warm glow peering into the player>
<The Goddess of the Hearth senses the presence of a Dragon's bloodline>
<The Goddess of the Hearth is concerned>
"The tamed beast I have does indeed have a Dragon's bloodline… albeit a diluted one." Arthur answered. "It is a Draconid, a Dragon Horn Beetle."
<Goddess Hestia asks the player to reveal the child to her>
"Of course," Arthur replied. "But will it be fine to do it here?" he said while looking around.
The church was empty, but the benches occupied a decent amount of space.
<The Goddess chuckles and whispers a few words>
As soon as she did that, Arthur felt the area change. The benches all moved, the canes that made them starting to wiggle. They came alive and started to move.
The benches seemingly disassembled themselves, gathering on the sides in the form of a row of hedges.
'Surely… the power of the deities is still quite good.' Arthur hadn't sensed even a single wisp of magic in this.
When a spell was used or even when some skills were used, he was able to sense the magic. It was none other than the mana itself that would be observed by him.
Even when he didn't have a class, Arthur could still tell the mana in the air and now that he had become a Dragomancer it had become even more clear to him.
His sensitivity was higher than before, but despite that, he couldn't tell how Hestia had done it.
'So this is divinity…' Arthur thought.
In both of his lives, this was the first time Arthur was experiencing an act like this first hand.
He had read accounts of it before, but seeing it with both his eyes and feeling it all was massively different.
Arthur also knew that what Hestia had done was basically nothing to her. The power of the deities extended a lot more than this.
"This should be enough space." Arthur replied before summoning the Dragon Horn Beetle. "Come out, Brambles."
The figure of Brambles manifested beside Arthur, his large body fitting perfectly in the space now.
"Krrr?" Brambles seemed to be a bit confused.
It wasn't because he was summoned, but rather the location where he had appeared. It was a place unlike anything he had seen before, and thus the beetle was trying to understand it.
<Goddess Hestia looks upon the innocent beast with fondness>
<The Goddess is pleased that the Dragon Horn Beetle does not have arrogance>
"Arrogance?" Arthur furrowed his brows.
<Goddess Hestia wishes to present a gift to the Player>
"Huh? Really?" Arthur was surprised by this.
After all, he hadn't done anything yet to get the goddess to give something to him like this.
<The Goddess Hestia says that as long as the player can unearth the kindness hidden within the beings, she'll be pleased>
Arthur was a bit confused by the goddess's words but guessed that she was being vague on purpose. A notification appeared before him and he knew that the goddess really was serious about it.
>The Goddess Hestia bestows a blessing upon the player Arzhur!<
'It really is a blessing!' Arthur was excited at what it was going to be.
>Player Arzhur has obtained the blessing of Hestia<
~DING~
——
Name: Blessing of Goodwill
Effect: The deities of the good alignment will have a favorable opinion of Player Arzhur.
Warning: The blessing will be withdrawn if the player is found to have committed grave sins!
—
Looking at the blessing's information, Arthur was a bit confused.
While the blessing seemed favorable for him as it could allow the deities of the good alignment to have better interaction with him, it also meant that the deities of the neutral and evil factions would have some concerns about him.
They might even be suspicious and doubt him.
'I'll have to think more over this…' Arthur didn't know how exactly it was going to work out and thus decided to look into it in detail later.
He had read accounts about other players who had obtained this blessing as well and knew that depending on their actions, the blessing could both help and harm them.
Some quests that involved the action of evil deities would become difficult while those from good deities would become easier.
<The Goddess Hestia wishes the player good luck in his journey. She also reminds the player that she would be happy if the player visits her from time to time>
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