Truth, new quest, and…?

-Around 9 in the morning-

Leaf hugged Travis tightly from behind as they were on Berry’s back. The black bear was rushing through a forest, occasionally coming across a clearing. Wildlife all around didn’t seem to mind their presence in the least, and thankfully, as far as both of them could see, there was not a soul on their path.

‘We’ve already covered nearly 10 kilometers today.’ Travis thought. ‘And we’ve only been traveling like this for an hour or so. Though…’ he grimaced ever so much as he felt Berry move in a wider motion under him. ‘It is a little painful.’

Everyone has their limit of how much discomfort or pain they can allow before they complain, and he was no different. Eventually, he began feeling spikes of pain travel in his thighs as Berry’s shoulder blades were hitting him where he should not be hit. On a few occasions, Travis nearly got hit cleanly in the groin but managed to barely avoid extra pain.

‘I see why she doesn’t travel like this much. Long-term, this will bring nothing but a need to tend to injuries. Herbs she has aren’t infinite.’

“Hey,” he said, turning a little to Leaf. “Do you mind if we transition back to foot?”

“Sure,” she nodded lightly but formed a little smile that seemed to express her relief.

Within seconds, Berry started slowing down, finally coming to a stop near a small clearing. As the bear halted its movements entirely, it bent its knees and lay on its stomach, allowing both its passengers to get down more easily.

Standing on the mire, Travis turned around and took Leaf’s backpack she handed to him. After that, he extended his hand, helping the elf woman in her descent.

“A gentleman has appeared,” she chuckled lightly as she jumped and landed right next to him.

Travis couldn’t help but notice how her chest bounced vividly, and for a moment it looked like one of her mammaries might escape the confines of her clothes. He turned his gaze away before she noticed.

“What gentleman,” he snorted lightly. “We’re working together, it’s natural to help each other, no?”

“Hey, learn to take a compliment, Travis!” she playfully punched him in the shoulder. “I’m not saying this to embarrass you! I appreciate the gesture, is all.”

“I see… thanks, Leaf.”

“Say, we didn’t finish our talk from yesterday, right?” she asked, a pondering expression gracing her face.

“Oh, now that I think about it, yeah, you went to sleep.”

“Sorry…” her voice trailed off a little as she glanced to the side.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Leaf. If you need to rest, just say so. No need to be ashamed of that.”

“…well, what did you want to say yesterday? I think you asked me something?”

“The question was 'What do you know about the gods?', I think,” Travis said.

“Oh, right. Hmm… I don’t know how to put it, but I don’t really know much," the voluptuous elf replied slowly.

“But you know something?”

“The pantheon isn't exactly my area of interest," Leaf shrugged. "I think there’s a trio of main gods? The Goddess of Light - Sia, God of Truth - Yberion, and God of Space – Regan. Other than that, I think there are a dozen or so gods, but I haven’t learned much about them.”

“I see,” he nodded lightly, "You’re right, the main trio is Sia, Yberion, and Regan. And there are, in fact, twelve other gods in the pantheon.”

“But why do you ask?” she looked at him with a glint of curiosity.

Travis looked around ever so little, but there was no need for secrecy here; being in the middle of a forest had its quirks. Still, he lowered his voice a little as he spoke, “Do you think gods interfere in our world?”

“…I don’t think so? I’m not sure,” she replied a bit slowly, as if unsure of what she was speaking. “I think there was a goddess of dungeons? And she was supposed to be responsible for their existence and the appearance of new ones? But then again, does she interfere? Or is it some kind of passive interaction? I don’t know.”

“…”

“But why do you ask? Did you turn into a Sage all of a sudden?” Leaf made a little repulsed expression. “Because if you did, I’m leaving you here.”

“It’s not like that, I promise,” he shook his head a little.

“Then…?”

“I haven’t told you much about myself, because I honestly didn’t know how to say it. My class… I’m not really a Psion, Leaf. I’m something a bit… more.”

“…?” Leaf raised an eyebrow, coming to a halt and waiting for him to finish his thought.

“My class, in reality, is called ‘Apostle of Tricks & Manipulation’. I was chosen by Redion, the God of Tricks & Manipulation. And I’m a part of an event, known as ‘Apostle’s Competition’.”

“Uh…?”

“It’s an event held by gods. Every god except the gods of Truth and Space has chosen a person for themselves. And the thirteen Apostles will compete to see who is the strongest," Travis began explaining, doing his best to speak slowly to allow Leaf to take it in.

“Travis--“

“And we are allowed to form teams to fight,” the man cut her off, wanting to finish his thought first. “And I’d like to ask you to join me, Leaf.”

“…I…”

“I don’t want to **** you to do it. I won’t lie, I don’t know how difficult it will be, but I do know that it won’t be easy. I’m sure that other Apostles are growing stronger day by day. Hell, I’m sure that Forna’s supreme priest is one of them. And one day, I may have to fight him.”

Leaf's eyes glanced over him, her expression visibly confused. Yet, she did not voice a word of protest, waiting for the man to finish his thought.

“So, I want to ask you. Leaf, will you join me?”

She didn’t answer for a long moment, her gaze trailing off to her side.

“…take your time,” he said a bit cautiously, deciding not to pressure her.

“…did… did I…?”

“…?”

“Did I… throw some weird mushrooms into your meal?” she asked, clearly puzzled as she focused on her hands. “Or did I throw some into mine?” she got a hand on her forehead, and the other one on Travis’s.

“…what are you…?”

“Do you feel alright?” she looked straight into his eyes, a gaze full of worry attempting to penetrate into his skull as she awaited his answer.

“I’m fine, Leaf. Why?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Are you sure? You don’t seem to have a temperature… How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Uh… two? But--“

“Are you absolutely sure you’re fine?”

“Yes, but why do you ask?”

“Uh…” she got a hand on her chin for a moment. She took a step back and looked at him from head to toe as if trying to look for something amiss.

“Leaf? Why are you like that? You seem a little weird.”

“Weird? Me? Am I the one who randomly started spouting some things about ‘Apostles’ and whatnot? What kind of bullshit is that?” she looked at him a little fiercely.

“What do you mean ‘bullshit’? Everything I just said is true. I wouldn’t lie to you, Leaf.”

Leaf’s eyes looked away for a short moment before returning to him. "*Sigh* Okay, let me get this straight. You’re saying that gods - who never seem to interfere - just randomly decided to pick people and make them their Apostles, and those ‘Apostles’ are supposed to fight?” Leaf raised an eyebrow and joined her hands as if she were to pray, bringing them under her nose. This gave her an impression of ‘I’m dealing with an idiot'.

“Well… yeah.” ‘She doesn’t seem half-convinced… I thought hypnotizing her would get this issue out of the way?’

“And you’re one of those… Apostles?”

“…you’re not buying it, are you?”

“Not at all,” she shook her head. “How could a person just believe that?”

“But what I’m telling you is the truth!” he replied quickly. His heart was jumping around in his chest; he wasn’t expecting this to fail. For a moment, he felt like he should use <Suggestion> to help himself out here, but there was something in the back of his mind that quietly told him not to.

“*Sigh* Listen, let me tell you something, as a person who’s had a forbidden class for years. I know overcoming difficulties after suffering feels great. It’s an accomplishment in itself, and you should be proud of yourself for that. But it doesn’t mean your class is suddenly some kind of a god’s descendant or whatever, okay?”

“I thought you’d trust me. Why would I even lie?”

“Travis, ‘trusting you’ and ‘believing your words’ are two different things,” she replied, her tone sounding a little defeated. “I trust you don’t have much ill intent toward me despite what’s happened between us, but it doesn’t mean I trust your words.”

“Then why did you want to accompany me?”

“Because I knew from first glance that you’re inexperienced in keeping a low profile. You gave me your real name on our second meeting, without knowing who I was. So, out of this string of respect forbidden classes should have for each other, I wanted to help you survive in the future.”

He wasn’t sure how to respond.

“And I also wanted to amend what I tried to do to you, or at least try to amend,” she looked a little away, her complexion darkening for a moment.

“…”

“Let’s just… let’s pretend this talk never happened,” she proposed. “Let’s just… continue on our way, alright?”

"...alright."

They resumed their walk, and Travis couldn’t help but feel the slight tension that began piling up in the air. It was no wonder; his words were not something that anyone would believe. ‘It was my mistake.’ he thought. ‘Though this tension is going to be super annoying.’ quickly, he decided to unload at least some of it:

“Say.”

“Hmm?”

“Can I ask you what business you have in Midriff?”

“Oh. I’m delivering a piece of runic chalk from Nyxli clan to a buyer in there.”

“Runic chalk?”

“Yeah,” she bobbed her head in a quick nod. “It’s hidden in here,” she pointed at her cosmetic arrow. “Rather expensive stuff, although it’s not illegal, it’s better if not many know about it.”

“What is it, anyway?”

“It’s an item used by witches, but honestly, I don’t really know how it works. From what I heard, they use it for inscriptions that they infuse with mana or something,” she shrugged lightly.

“I see.”

“Why do you ask, though?” she raised an eyebrow. Did she not feel the tension that was in the air just now? Or did she not care?

“I’m just wondering.”

“Okay, so… will you tell me where you’re going, then?”

“Autir,” he replied shortly. “I’m on a quest from my teacher.”

“A teacher? I thought you didn’t have one?”

“I don’t have a Psion teacher. Before I left Silvana, I was a Rogue, and got a quest testing my abilities in class.”

“I see… then why did you set off to do it? You’re no longer a Rogue, so why bother?”

“I just… don’t like leaving things unattended. Especially if I promised to do them,” ‘Plus, the reward is very decent.’ 25 stat points were not something that he’d come across just any day.

“…”

“But if that buyer bought something as expensive, you should be in a hurry to deliver it, no?”

“Kind of, but not really. I set off really early. Even if I spare you a month, so long I’ll be free by May, it’ll all work out without much issue.”

“…By May? I thought you wanted to work with me on long-term?”

“Travis, this is already long-term for me,” Leaf looked at him momentarily. A bit of a conflict appeared on her face before disappearing. “I’m not used to working with anyone for longer than a few days. You know, even between forbidden classes, I sometimes get a stinky eye for being a Necromancer. It’s rare for anyone to treat me like you do,” she made a wry smile. “Eventually, what I ‘want to’ and ‘have to’ do will collide, and I’ll be **** to do the latter. I’m not only responsible for my own ends meeting. But until that happens, I can at least teach you a bit about being a forbidden class, no?”

"...I suppose," he sighed lightly. "But, I thought you'd already say something about teaching me? Why the delay?"

"I just wanted to give you a while to get accustomed to your class," Leaf shrugged. "So long we are safe from the public, we have a while. What I'll teach you won't be much anyway. You'd probably have figured it out yourself."

“Then, how about we go a bit faster? You can tell me on the way,” he raised an eyebrow, visibly waiting for her response.

Leaf smiled lightly in response. It was a smile Travis had yet to see on her. It lacked her typical enthusiasm or playfulness, but it wasn’t **** or wry, either. It was… tender, in a way.

“Alright, let’s go!” she sped up a little.

Travis quickly started going after her. For some reason, he felt a little… disappointed, but at the same time, weirdly relieved. Leaf’s refusal to join him in AC was something he… kind of anticipated. He grimaced a little in dismay. The way things went suddenly went from somewhat good to not so much, but… perhaps this would be a chance? ‘I didn’t expect her to straight up join me anyway, so… it’s not that bad. On the other hand, this is a new lesson to be learned.’ he nodded at his thought as he glanced at the woman by his side. Walking leisurely, she didn’t seem to be bothered at all by anything. Backpack on her back, she held onto the straps, her breasts squished together. Travis averted his gaze slowly, instead thinking.

Right now, knowing how much more time he had left with her, he felt more thankful than ever that he joined hands with this elf woman. A little over a month would probably be enough for him to level up some more. How high a level would he reach by May? He wasn’t sure. The speed of leveling up would diminish over time. He’d need to find suitable, yet unoccupied hunting grounds.

*Ting!*

[You have received a quest!]

He heard the notification and saw a panel appear in his field of view, tinting Leaf with a blue filter. With a surprised expression, he opened the message.

[Quest: The proof]

[Convincing anyone of your words is not easy, especially if you say something ridiculous to what they deem believable. Leaf doesn’t trust your words of being the Apostle of Tricks & Manipulation. However, proper proof might change her attitude.

Objective: Find a way to convince Leaf that your words are true.

Optional: Complete the quest before you part ways with her.

Reward: Leaf will believe your words, and you will have a good chance of recruiting her to your team in the future. 30 stat points.

Optional reward: Instantly level up one random skill by 3 levels.

Failure penalty: Penalty issued by the System. Severity: very low.

NOTE: If you use any skill on Leaf with the intent of completing the quest that way, the quest will automatically fail, and penalty severity will change to ‘high’.]

He closed the notification after a long while.

‘The main reward is a bounty in itself.’ Travis concluded. ‘And the optional reward is just as great, too. What’s worrying me, though, is that there is no apparent time limit.’ so far, no quest he’s received was built like this. Daily Quests had a limit of a single day. Cecilia’s quest had a deadline as well, and so did Apostle’s Competition. While the quest he received in Icla technically didn’t explicitly state a time limit, it didn’t really need it due to its nature. But this? If he didn’t manage to convince Leaf by the time they decided to split ways (and he wasn’t sure exactly how long she’d stick around for, too), he’d be missing out on quite a bit.

‘I wanted to prove my words by showing her how I glitch MIDs, but… that probably wouldn’t have been enough, given the contents of the quest. Then… how DO I prove my words?’ he pondered whilst walking.

The two of them go on walking through a forest in a more-or-less correct direction. Their next target destination, Poiri, was just about 3 days away.

-Meanwhile-

‘Did I just hear something important?’ a woman thought, fixing her position on a tree branch. The gray shawl covering her face paired well with her rather natural-looking clothes, consisting of a brown tunic and loose, gray pants. Her left blue and right green eyes looked with focus at what was below her. Looking down, she saw that man she was told to watch over, going forth with an elf woman.

Shifting her weight on the branch, she quickly used it as a swing and silently shot forward, to another tree. Her raven-black hair of shoulder length was tied in a low ponytail, not allowing them in her field of view for one moment. Without making a sound and just barely visible, she kept on tailing the two.

Her name was Violet. Much like many others who worked under Cedric Dolback, she was taken into the organization when she was still a child abandoned by her parents. There, she trained to become the class that best suited her. While she didn’t have as much freedom as a normal person would (since she had to listen to any order without hesitation), she didn’t mind it. In the first place, she only knew people within the organization and rarely ever went out to explore the world, even if it was for work she had to do.

She was barely into adulthood, having celebrated her 18th birthday mere weeks before her newest work. And yet, she was already knocking on doors to her 1st class advancement, a feat that was undeniably difficult to achieve even by seasoned hunters, should they change their class. She was what people would call a gifted person, while some even gave her the title of a genius. But just talent was not enough to reach new heights. Her teachers were very skilled in giving her pointers on her growth as well. Miss Cecilia was a shrewd teacher who knew exactly when to expect 110% of her when she trained her. Violet's current commander, Tyron, was a wise man as well, giving her multiple pointers as to what to consider when choosing her class advancement.

This job, while unexpected, was a nice change of pace for her. Violet was used to harsh training and difficult missions, but this was hardly challenging. Even though that woman, a Necromancer, had two scouts that examined the terrain, she wasn’t found one time. That man, a Psion, wasn’t aware of her presence at all, either.

‘Having both <Stealth> and <Camouflage> is very useful for stalking.’ she conceded whilst pouncing to another branch. She kept the man within her eyesight at nearly all times, and wouldn’t let him slip without her noticing. Even though the job was bland, she did not complain.

However, for the first time since she found him three days ago, Violet did feel… curious. Before now, nothing noteworthy happened. Even though the man suddenly showed a new skill yesterday, Violet didn’t feel surprised. It was natural to hide your real assets when dealing with strangers and, seeing his interactions with that woman (especially when they went to sleep), they definitely weren’t great friends. A pair of strangers with a common goal (and seemingly some trust issues) was what she would call the duo (but Violet knew not of what transpired between them before she found them).

But that changed today. The man spoke some things that didn’t seem to make much sense at first glance, up until he said something interesting. ‘He says that supreme priest might be an ‘Apostle’ as well?’ of course, it sounded ridiculous to a normal person, but… ‘Supreme priest going out and hunting isn’t something that’s widely known, and he… he sounded like he knew.’ using normal reasoning, it didn’t make sense, considering that this man was still away from Poiri, and didn’t seem to be connected to Leon Klinn in any way. Then… could he be telling the truth? Could there be such a thing as ‘godly interference in the world’?

‘No matter how I look at it, there’s barely any information to work with. I’ll need some assistance. Mister Joseph could pry for some information, but I’ll need to contact Mister Cedric first.’

[[Name: Travis Salliv
Class: Apostle of Tricks & Manipulation
Level: 25
HP: 780/780
MP: 80/80
WP: 176/410]

[Strength: 55
Agility: 80
Intelligence: 40
Endurance: 60
Wisdom: 25
Sense: 30
AP: 0]

[Possessed abilities: Suggestion lvl.2, Hypnosis lvl.1, Mana Bolt lvl.1]

[Current status: No anomalies]]