The Missing Squad

What is all this...

Mo Tan sat on the ground, momentarily stunned. The attributes and talents added to his character sheet were strong proof that everything that had just happened wasn't a hallucination or a daydream. However, it seemed the Dawn Goddess had simply wanted to chat with an 'outsider.' The words she spoke to him were completely unhelpful and lacked any context...

He'd think about it later when he had time. Maybe he'd be more interested in these things when he was in a different personality state. But for now, he'd pass. What's wrong with living an easier life?

The old priest, who had been occasionally watching him, quickly walked over and asked Mo Tan, who had just gotten up, with concern, "Are you alright? If I'm not mistaken... were you blessed by the Goddess?"

Mo Tan blinked slightly but immediately recalled the tangible Holy Light that had enveloped him when he first regained consciousness. Judging from the priest's slightly excited reaction, this was no ordinary phenomenon; it was at least a member-level visual effect...

Well, it seemed the Dawn Goddess thought highly of him.

"I don't know if that counts as a blessing," Mo Tan replied, carefully choosing his words in his mind. "I think I heard the Goddess's voice just now, and then my spirit felt much better. I felt quite comfortable all over."

Describing the feeling of gaining three points in both Intelligence and Constitution as 'quite comfortable' should be fine, right?

As expected, the old priest became excited. Upon hearing this, he immediately pulled Mo Tan towards the prayer room behind the church, his woolly beard trembling as he asked, "What did the Goddess say to you?"

Was he even using dialect out of excitement...

For some reason, Mo Tan suddenly thought of that dog-girl whose 'woof' seemed to have an accent~

Tsk, the difference is too great!

"Uh, what did the Goddess say to me..." Mo Tan suddenly blushed inexplicably, then sheepishly scratched his hair. "It's rather embarrassing to talk about."

Clang!

Without a word, the old priest knelt on a nearby cushion before the statue, which was perpetually shrouded in a faint, misty Holy Light. Trembling, he performed a full kowtow and began muttering, "Goddess! Forgive me!" "I really didn't mean to!" "I wasn't thinking anything!" "Goddess, please be magnanimous and don't strike me with divine punishment!" "My heart of faith is pure!"

Mo Tan: "?...!!!"

He suddenly found the old man a bit cute.

After a long while, the old priest stood up, his face pale. He looked up at the ceiling, confirming there were no signs of divine retribution, then turned to Mo Tan, forcing a smile. "Son, think before you speak next time..."

[You're the one who came up with some weird interpretation! How is it my fault!?]

Though he thought this, Mo Tan obviously wouldn't say it. He just nodded solemnly and then spread his hands. "The Goddess thinks my strength is too weak. With my meager skills, traveling the... I mean, traveling the continent, would easily embarrass her."

Here comes the key point~

Mo Tan's previous statement was, in a sense, the truth. After all, the Dawn Goddess had indeed mentioned that he needed to temper his spirit and body, implying she wanted him to become stronger. And why did she want him to become stronger? Naturally, because Mo Tan wasn't strong enough. Not strong enough meant weak!

So, his words made perfect sense!

Like most people, Mo Tan was occasionally cunning at this time, trying to gain some benefits for himself...

"Too weak?" The old priest blinked a couple of times, looking quite troubled. "But as the Goddess's followers, shouldn't our most important duty be to remain steadfast and devout, while also extending a hand to the suffering and the lost sheep? Strength, I believe, should be gradually comprehended... this..."

Mo Tan shrugged. "I don't know what the Goddess was thinking either."

"Hmm... hmm..." The old priest nodded repeatedly. "The will of the gods is not something we mortals can easily fathom. Hmm, let me think."

He pondered for a while, then walked to a cabinet in the corner of the prayer room. He carefully took out a scroll and reverently handed it to Mo Tan.

"This was left by my godfather," the old priest said with a smile. "He was a very powerful Discipline Priest in his youth. This manuscript records some of his insights into faith and divine arts. My talent in this area is rather dull, so I'll entrust it to you from now on. Perhaps this is also the Goddess's will..."

Here it comes!

This is the classic trope: by some fortunate coincidence, the white-bearded old man bestows upon him an unparalleled secret technique. A seemingly ordinary technique holds the hidden potential to slay gods and demons. It's like a street fighting technique that can defeat anyone once maxed out, or perhaps the Nine Solitary Swords that can break all martial arts. At this moment, Mo Tan's heart was pounding, his hands were trembling, and he felt as if he had consumed a miracle fertilizer~!

A white-bearded old man! An ancient and rustic manuscript! The white-bearded old man's godfather, who might be an otherworldly expert!

All the conditions were met!

He reached out and took it, then looked down...

[Neva Faou's Manuscript] Special Item

Use: Learn Skill: Edict: Shield; Activate/Complete Class Quest - Discipline Priest

Quest Conditions: [Perform 20 Critical Heals 0/20], [Perform Pious Prayers 0/20], [Cast Edict: Shield on Ally Target 0/30], [Priest Level 2/15], [Holy Light Knowledge Level 1/7]

Reward: Obtain Class [Discipline Priest]

[Note: Manuscript left by Mr. Neva Faou during his lifetime. Mr. Faou was an ordinary, kind, not very ambitious person who hadn't transcended his base desires. His life was unremarkable... so there's nothing much to say.]

If there's nothing much to say, why write so much! What a lunatic!!

Mo Tan's inner monologue was roaring. It seemed Mr. Faou's unremarkable life had dealt him a heavy blow...

However, if he ignored the unreliable guesses from earlier, this item was actually quite good. After all, in "Innocent World," players could have multiple classes. For Mo Tan, whose original class was Priest, gaining a new, related but different direction class would obviously be beneficial.

To give a simple example, if a player whose main class was Warrior happened to obtain the Mage class, they would find it difficult to learn many skills that required high intelligence unless they diligently trained their Mage skills. But doing so might cause their Strength to lag behind...

Therefore, during the early to mid-game period, having more classes wasn't necessarily better. Not every bald man is Kratos, and not every skilled player has mastered everything.

Moreover, some classes, after leveling up, not only fail to increase overall attributes but might even deduct existing attribute points. After all, powerful mages generally don't have high Strength, and rangers who appear and disappear without a trace are rarely burly men...

Of course, we're talking about the usual situation... the usual situation...

And there will always be some unreasonable people in this world, which is beyond anyone's control~

Well, I've gone off on a tangent again. Let's get back to the topic.

Although completing this class quest in a short period was unrealistic given Mo Tan's current level and Holy Light knowledge, it wasn't entirely without immediate benefits. At least he could learn a skill right away...

[Edict: Shield]

Holy Light School Active Skill

Mastery Requirement: Holy Light Knowledge Level 1

Cost/Restriction: 20 Faith Points

Effect: Creates an absorption shield for the target that is unaffected by any attributes, absorbs a small amount of damage, and reduces all damage taken by 5%. Lasts for 30 seconds, with a 30-second cooldown.

[Remarks: Go! Warrior, go and take more damage for me! In the name of the Goddess, charge forth and get beaten!]

Considering the two support skills Mo Tan had mastered, this damage absorption shield with a mere 30-second cooldown was clearly quite cost-effective.

"Thank you, I will definitely take good care of it," Mo Tan said gratefully to the old priest as he placed Faou's notes into his satchel. "If one day I can fully comprehend it, I will return it to you then."

The old priest stroked his snow-white mustache and smiled, "The Goddess guides you in your pursuit of power, and I happen to have a divine art manuscript from your godfather's lifetime. It seems this is all fate's arrangement."

Interacting with a god's followers had its perks; no matter what happened, they could always explain it away with phrases like 'the Goddess's guidance' or 'fate's arrangement,' never taking things too seriously.

(PS: But please, absolutely do not consider throwing your boyfriend/girlfriend into church life for a period of time. The author bears no responsibility for any extreme consequences resulting from such actions.)

The two continued to chat about the Goddess for a while longer. Soon after, Mo Tan received a series of messages from Shuangye, roughly stating that if he was online, he should return to the base immediately as there seemed to be some trouble.

It was still early, not yet time for Mo Tan's planned account switch, so he quickly bid farewell to the old priest. After replying to Shuangye, he hurried back to the barracks as fast as he could.

Before he even reached the base, Mo Tan noticed the atmosphere around him was somewhat heavy. The usually scarce Autonomous Army soldiers seemed to have suddenly increased in number, and everyone's expressions were grim...

Walking a bit faster, he soon saw the members of the Fenrir Squad standing not far away, all accounted for. They were gathered around Ned, discussing something animatedly. Shuangye stood a little further away, and upon seeing Mo Tan, she immediately waved at him and then turned to say something to Ned.

"You're finally here," Ned strode over, nodding at Mo Tan. "Emergency mission. The Kindling Squad, responsible for patrol today, hasn't returned to report yet. We're having all squads search as quickly as possible. We're in charge of the area southwest of Rockpile City. Prepare to depart."

Yinna, who had walked over with them, rolled her eyes and pouted, muttering, "I don't know what those 'border' people are thinking, making such a fuss over a routine patrol being late..."

"Exactly," Salazar, the Lizardfolk Monk, said as he tucked his hands into his gauntlets. "Maybe they just went off for a drink and slacked off somewhere. It's a waste of my time."

Crab, on the other hand, seemed rather excited. Swinging his seemingly heavy great axe, he chuckled, "It wouldn't be bad if we ran into some trouble. Good way to loosen up!"

"If you keep that up with your jinxes..." Ned glared at him. "I'll loosen you up first."

Crab immediately backed down. He might be quite feisty when bickering with Salazar occasionally, but he had never seen him act so flippantly with Ned. He seemed quite afraid of him.

"Crab and Salazar had a fight when they first arrived~" Yinna whispered into Mo Tan's ear. "The captain ended up beating them both, and then these two troublemakers behaved."

Mo Tan suddenly understood. So, it was a case of forceful suppression...

"Alright, since Hei Fan is here, let's not delay," Ned said gravely. "I also think the border's orders are a bit inexplicable, but since we're taking their money and living on their land, we have to do our jobs when it's time. Let's go."

With that, the group... or rather, scattered... ambled out of the city.

Mo Tan noticed that at least three or four other squads were heading in roughly the same direction as his own, with even more teams heading directly west and south, indicating a clear purpose.

"It seems this emergency situation was anticipated by those 'border' people," Shuangye said softly, having somehow moved to Mo Tan's side. "The objective is too obvious."

Mo Tan shrugged and tilted his head, asking her, "What exactly is the situation?"

"It's what the captain just said," Shuangye pushed up her glasses and spread her hands. "I received the notification while I was hanging around the Mage Guild, and I immediately asked you to come over. Luckily, you were online."

"Yeah, been pretty busy lately..."

As they chatted idly, the squad soon left Rockpile City and began exploring the northwest. Geographically, this area was likely the outermost edge of the Marshall Territory. Since it wasn't an official road and had no trade with the territory beyond the border, it was very desolate, with hardly any pedestrians in sight.

Of course, calling it a search was a bit of a stretch; everyone was just walking and chatting. After all, no one really believed that the patrol team had actually run into trouble. Even Ned was starting to yawn, his mindset focused on a quick sweep to report back.

However, it was precisely at times like these that trouble usually struck, such as...

"Help!!"

CRASH!!!

Ned moved like lightning, a whip kick sending Crab flying several meters. He cursed, "Your damn mouth should be sewn shut! Everyone, defensive positions! Prepare for rescue!!"

WHOOSH!

A fist-sized fireball rose from Shuangye's palm, followed by an oval halo appearing beside her.

Turning his head, Mo Tan had already cast a Fortitude Prayer onto Ned. The glow from his fingertips illuminated the land, which seemed dim in the setting sun.

"Everyone, be careful."

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The End

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