Chương 127: Chapter 119-A Chosen Statue

Tension, pancakes, and plants that fill up the space. That's what the last couple of hours have been. Mostly the [Cooking] part and some [Gardening]. After all, Helia and I are finally seeding the field. With what? That's a good question. We can't decide. I want sunflowers because then we can sell the seeds later. Helia wants wheat because she thinks it'll be easier to maintain. A heated argument or conversation, as I would call it, occurred.

That got us nowhere, so now we're to the point where we're both standing in opposite corners of the Greenhouse, sulking, or at least she is. I'm not sulking at all; What am I, a child? Flipping the pancake, I watch the bubbles start to form.

"Nice going, Stovey. I can always rely on you." Helia shakes her head in the corner.

"Are you trying to say that I'm not reliable?" she asks.

"Your words, not mine. I mean, you would be correct in saying that a person who doesn't know the difference between wheat and barley probably isn't reliable when it comes to choosing what to plant in the field," I say as I focus on the pancake.

"It was a simple mistake! That we agreed never to talk about again. Also, how reliable is that defective oven of yours if you have to continuously feed it mana for it to even work?" she shoots back.

"How dare you?! Stovey isn't defective. She just needs a little more help than other magical ovens. She can make cookies just as good, nay, better than any other magical oven," I proclaim as I flip the pancake off Stovey and onto a waiting plate. Before Helia can say another word, Viola knocks on the door.

"Hey, is now a bad time?" she asks with a half smile. Helia and I roll our eyes at each other.

"No, of course it isn't. Helia, watch Stovey, please," I say as I lead Viola to the field. Helia answers with a sigh.

"What was that about?" Viola whispers.

"Oh, nothing. Just a bit of club member business. Nothing you should worry about."

"Okay. So, what did you want me to look at?" she asks as we enter the field.

"This. I assume it belongs to the Art Club," I say as I point at the blue statue. Mouth agape, Viola examines the statue. Her eyes flick from the moon in the woman's hands to the smoothed-over face and then over to the base of the statue. What's wrong with her? Doesn't it belong to the Art Club? If it doesn't, I might as well get rid of it. After all, the only reason I'm even holding on to it is because I thought I could get some coin out of it.

"Where did you find this?" Viola asks with a hint of awe.

"Right where it's standing. It was among all the other trash that the Clubs like to leave on our field," I say with a tinge of annoyance.

"Hidden amongst the trash? Amazing! To think it still existed! Do you know what this is?!" she asks as her Elven ears wag furiously.

"A statue?"

"Not just any statue. It's the lost statue of the Faceless Goddess, Lealu. It's been missing for over eight hundred years. To think it would just appear, here of all places," Viola explains. Lealu? That's the Goddess of the Moon, I think. I really need to brush up on my Gods. I'll do it later. What's more important is how many gold coins can I get from this?

"So, it's been gone for eight hundred years. Was it stolen, and by chance is there a reward for… returning it?" I ask, slyly hiding my intentions. Viola crosses her arms as she thinks.

"It was less stolen and more lost during the Era of Strife. If I remember correctly, the Calamity known as Decay had besieged the Cathedral. As a precaution, the Pope at the time sent all of the Holy Relics to other holy sites for safekeeping, but something went wrong during the teleportation process. Which led this statue to be lost," she says as she gently traces the blue stone.

"Holy Relic? What can it do?" I ask as I touch the statue. The same sense of calmness washes over me as the first time I touched it. It feels divine, but not to the level that I would imagine a Holy Relic would be at. Maybe it lost its divinity with time? Cocking my head, I examine the smooth face. Suddenly, a face appears that resembles a Magena woman. I fall backwards out of surprise.

"What in the fuck was that?" I ask as the face disappears. Viola gives a small chuckle.

"The sculptor who made this statue was also an Archmage. She believed that the Gods had no set form, but instead appeared to us in whatever form we found comforting. So, to emulate that, she carved magical circles into the smooth face. The complexity of the magic is beyond my understanding, but I'm sure you can tell what exactly they do," she says.

"Odd. So, about that reward," I say as I focus on the face again, only for it to shift back into the Magena woman from before.

"I'm sure the church would be overjoyed to get this statue back. Although I've never heard anything about a formal reward. I guess you would have to ask the Pope," she jokes before realizing who she's talking to.

"Thanks, Viola. You have been a big help," I say with a devilish smile.

"No problem. Have a good weekend," she says as she leaves. Hmm. This might work out swimmingly. I guess I'll have to stop by the Cathedral over the weekend. Well, I was already going to swing by anyway to see Mateo. Killing two birds with one [Throw]. Neat. Helia walks over from the Greenhouse with a big bag.

"Ok, I've figured out the solution to our problem. Stick your hand in this bag."

"No," I say as I pull back my hand.

"What do you mean, no?"

"I don't know what's in that bag. What if you've gotten fed up with me and have decided to take me out? There could be a deadly scorpion in that bag for all I know," I explain.

"It's just seeds. Mainly sunflower and wheat seeds. Since we can't decide on which one to do, we'll just do a random draw. Now, stick your hand in the bag," Helia orders.

"Fine, but if I lose my hand, you're paying for my new one," I joke.

"Okay," she says seriously. Can she actually buy me a new hand? Nobles. Shaking my head, I reach in and randomly grab a seed. Pulling back, Helia and I patiently await to see whether it'll be sunflowers or wheat. Opening my hand, I see neither.

"What's that?" she asks, even though she set up the bag.

"According to [Gardening]... That's a poppy seed. Helia, how did you-""Not another word. I did not mix up the seeds. I know the difference between sunflower, wheat, and poppy seeds," she defends herself. The memory of that odd vision I saw suddenly comes to mind. The field was filled with Poppies then, too. What in the fuck is happening? I thought it was just a hallucination from almost having my soul slip out of me, but… if it wasn't a hallucination, then what was it?

Well, it's not like I'm going to figure anything out, right now. So, let's put that over to the side. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"I believe you. Let's just go with the poppy seeds. They come in a wide variety of colors, so we can even create some art if we plant them in the right places," I say as I quickly map out the field on a piece of paper.

"Hmm. Fine, that seems like a good idea. Do you know how to draw?" she asks.

"I was hoping you did," I say with an awkward chuckle. We exchange glances and then both nod." VIOLA!"

"By the Gods. You do know that my club is also preparing for the Spring Festival, right?" Viola asks as she sketches out some ideas.

"We are eternally grateful," I say as I flip another pancake.

"Less gratefulness and more pancakes," Viola demands. Helia lazes in a nearby chair.

"You heard her. More pancakes." With a smile, I continue to [Cook]. As I do, I look up at the waiting blue box. Would you like to attempt an [Attribute-Skill Acquisition]? I've never heard of an [Attribute-Skill] before. Then again, it seems like it's only available after getting 50 points into any [Attribute]. There aren't a ton of people like that on the streets, and the few that have reached that point aren't the type to share. Which leaves me in a peculiar situation…

To be fair, my entire situation is odd, so that doesn't mean much. Guess, I'll have to ask.

"Hey, Helia. What's an [Attribute-Skill]?" I ask as I pour some more pancake batter. Helia peeks her head out from under her book.

"Are you First Years already at that point?" she asks with a hint of surprise.

"A couple of us are. Me, Garus, and Princess Penelope, to be exact," Viola says as she focuses on her drawing.

"Hmm. The First Years this time around are quicker than usual," Helia says as she goes back to napping under her book. Clearing my throat.

"Nobody answered my question. What's an [Attribute-Skill]?" I ask again.

"It's a [Skill] tailor-made for you based on your [Attributes]. They're usually very powerful and something that most people keep close to their chest," Helia says, kind of explaining.

"The ace up your sleeve, huh? Do I just pick it from a list of three, like when I hit [Level 15]?" I ask as I look at the floating text. Viola looks up from her drawing and hands it to Helia.

"Nope. You have to pass a test that the [System] designates for you. Depending on how you pass, the [System] will then either assign or create an [Attribute-Skill] for you. You only get one shot to take this test, so many people hold off until they're sure they can pass it."

"Is there no time limit?" I ask as I shut off Stovey. Helia nods at the art that Viola made.

"Sort of. You have to take the test before you reach 100 points in that same [Attribute], but given the fact that it will take a while to get there, the time limit isn't usually a problem." I take a quick glance at my [Stat Window]. Stat Window HP 110/110 MP 150/150 General Information Attributes Name Carlos "CJ" Juárez STR 19 Race Half-Vashrin DEX 27 Title Fake Chosen One (+1) CHA 35 Blessing N/A CON 22 Level 16 INT 30 Age 18 LCK 50 Skill List Name Level Description Throw 7 Throw with skill.

Lie 6 Lie with prowess. Steal 5 Steal with experience. Gardening 5 Garden with experience. Cooking 4 Cook with expertise Poison Res. 3 Resist poison. Disguise 5 Disguise for 25 MP Clean 4 Clean for 5 MP Taunt 5 Taunt with experience Based on what I'm seeing… I have a long way to go until [LCK] gets to 100 points. So, it seems like a problem for later. I walk over and hand Helia and Viola their plates of pancakes.

"Let's eat!"