Chương 263: Chapter 252 - Interlude 25.3 - A new adventure

3 - A new adventure Clarissa had a distinct, though dubious, pleasure to watch as the woman dressed in the red nun habit didn't even wait for their reply, turned around and ran away while happily shouting "The day has come! Rejoice, sisters! The day has come!"

The team just looked at each other with confusion as the garden came alive with the clamor of even more people yelling and cheering while the animals present in the greenery – small birds and rodents – began to rush around as the sudden increase in volume scared them.

Clarissa shook her head and began walking forward, despite very much wanting to turn around and pretend that this entire thing never happened.

'That's why I'm a healer… Healers don't need to deal with cults…' she grumbled inside her mind while her face remained stoic. Isabella caught up to her and leaned a little closer.

"What do you guess, bloodbath with blood sacrifice or they'll try to kill us? The chaos goblin thinks we're going to kill each other in a ritualistic duel to prove our worthiness…"

"I… just want this entire thing over," she admitted.

"Leading a party is exhausting…" The bladedancer thought for a moment before answering.

"You could allow Katie to be in the lead…" Clarissa shuddered at the thought.

"No thanks. I actually like this game…"

"Coward," Isabella whispered with a grin as they left behind the clearing where they emerged and came to a larger field, filled with all sorts of medicinal plants she recognized from her healer and herbology studies. And not far from, stood the entrance to a rather homely-looking building. From the looks, it started out as a church built similar to the Gothic style with its gray colors and pointy arches.

But over the years the stained glass windows were replaced by expertly crafted wooden shutters and on the lower levels there had been several expansions built from brick and other colored stone, creating a mismatch of style and design choices. To Clarissa, it looked like somebody with an architectural design program took the templates for a gothic church and then smashed into it an entire cul-de-sac built out of brick, then sprinkled in some marble and granite with a smattering of clay and hay.

It should have looked like a fever dream, but thanks to the obvious care that went into it, and the decoration and plants placed everywhere, not to mention that painted art of some nebulous figures doing heroic things made the entire thing look welcoming and warm.

Just as she finished her observations, one of the wings of the double doors, probably left behind from the original church – embellished by expertly made carvings of flowers and bees – slammed open and nuns in various dresses (including some intimidating-looking heavy armor) began streaming out, all of them chanting.""" The day has come! Rejoice! The day has come!""" Finally, they fanned out and stood opposite her team, who were all just staring bewildered at the scene before them.

Though, Clarissa couldn't really blame them. It was fucking weird… Then the one in the middle, wearing what looked like a mix between a conservative metal bikini top and a blood-red fluffy skirt, raised a hand and every other person fell silent allowing Clarissa to focus a little more.

'One…two…' she began to quickly count but got lost after three dozen with even more sisters arriving from who knows where.

'Probably more than a hundred…'

"Welcome!" exclaimed the probable leader of this church.

"Welcome to the Church of First Drop!" Clarissa glanced at the others, but they all subtly shook their heads. Sighing, she softly stepped forward and performed an elaborate bow she had learned from Lucy, who learned it for political functions. Based on the sparkle in the NPC's eyes, she did well. She then straightened out and began to speak in a hopefully even tone.

"Thank you for your welcome…" she trailed off, not knowing how to address the clearly crazy person without driving them berserk. She was already exhausted by having to deal with Katie, even though she was much better at following orders or staying where she could be seen than she was at the beginning.

"Ah, yes! You may address me as Mother Blood!" the woman introduced herself proudly. Clarissa ignored the implications (which she had become really good at recently) and continued.

"Yes. Thank you for your enthusiastic welcome, Mother Blood! My team and I took up this journey to reach this place and get cleansed!" she repeated the words Sam gave her and hoped it was the right thing. These people didn't really look like peace-loving priestesses who abhorred blood magic. Once again, Mother Blood's eyes lit up with joy and something more that Clarissa couldn't make out. However, she was still impressed that the game devs managed to create so realistic NPCs.

"Then it is you! You are here to herald the new age! Come to cleanse yourself and unleash a cleansing tide on the unpure maddened beasts corrupted by the old blood!" Before she could untangle that sentence, Mother Blood, and several of her brood rushed toward them and began dragging them inside the former church building.

"Come! Come! All of you who were tainted by filth! Come and be cleansed of the tainted blood!" Entering the church with the rest of the team dragged alongside her by enthusiastic nurses was rather surprising. Clarissa expected a lot of things, pools of blood, candles made of coagulated blood, sacrifices hanging from the rafters, and even more blood.

Instead, she was met with a cozy interior with plants everywhere, cozy armchairs around small tea tables, and a small corner kitchen in the back with everything a tea lover would want. The only places that weren't covered with shaggy rugs and tea cozies were the right side of the left wall where another door was and the middle of the room, where a large circular area was left uncovered, showcasing the original stone that was laid when the church was built.

To Clarissa's dismay, it also contained a carved runic circle. They stopped before the circle and Mother Blood, with excitement radiating from her body, turned to Isabella.

"You, young lady! Ready to become our newest sister?"

"Err, not really looking to join a church…ma'am," she replied awkwardly. The leader of the lunatics just waved it away.

"No worries! Our purity unites us! Once you regain yours, we shall call you our sister!" Isabella nodded.

"That's fine then. What is this actually for?"

"While the blessing of the blood is truly wonderful, your body has been tainted by corrupted sources. We shall use our blessing to strip this corruption from your body and bolster its defenses against further corruption!" came the explanation. To Clarissa's relief, there was no maniacal laughter with it. She watched idly as several priestesses, all of them wearing the full-body habits, spread around the circle while the mana in the air began to move – sluggishly – in a way she wasn't familiar with.

"And what do I have to do for that?" Isabella replied, and the rest of the team watched, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Mother Blood just smiled proudly.

"Nothing, young lady! Our blessing, by the benevolence of our founders, comes at no price to you! Purity is a blessing and right, not a privilege!" she exclaimed.

"As the great founder stated, purity shouldn't be owned by the privileged few, while the rest languishes in abject corruptness. It is time for the pure to rise and share their blessing with everybody else. Together we shall cleanse the world!" Isabella digested the speech, then glanced at Clarissa, who swallowed heavily but nodded. Their instructions were clear: get "blessed and cleansed", learn how to do it, then bring the process back. Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform.

Support original creators! She squared her shoulders, stepped forward, and spoke out.

"Then I'm willing to participate!" Instantly, a cheer rose around them with a small session of clapping. Mother Blood nodded proudly and gestured toward the circle.

"Then step forward, sister, eschew your armor but keep your fate with you and you shall be cleansed of the corrupt blood!" Isabella nodded and quickly removed her outer armor and weapons, but instead of putting them into her inventory, she handed them to Katie to hold. Clarissa thought it was smart. If a fight broke out, then it would be faster to grab it from the berserker than to use the inventory screen. Clarissa then made eye contact with the so-far-silent Dan and gestured for him to be on the lookout.

His eyes widened, and he gripped his club much tighter, but she could see him begin preparing to cast one of his devastating spells. Then the chanting began… Isabella felt ridiculous. Standing in a ritual circle as ridiculously happy (and apparently tea-crazy) priestesses chanted and danced around her while the mana in the air began to build up and she could feel slight shaking under her sock-clad feet.

Then, as the chanting reached its crescendo, the middle of the runic circle began to pour deep dark red blood that ran through the dark channels – thankfully avoiding her – and soon she was standing in the middle of a ritual circle filled with seething and bubbling blood. Which was definitely not unsettling…

'Ugh, Sam is going to so owe me…' she grumbled while trying to keep still. She was not well versed in rituals but she knew that unnecessary movement was usually a bad thing. And while the entire situation was creepy as fuck – the priestesses sitting around small round tables, drinking tea, and watching them were not helping her state of mind – she was quite curious how this ritual would affect her skill set. Like with everybody else, she pounced on the Life of Blood skillbook as it offered too much to ignore it.

She had tried to ignore it and not use it, but as it was a passive skill, that was almost impossible. So over time, she acquired a few subskills for it, though no derivatives. Which, she suspected, would have made this ritual even more complicated, as the blood around her began to rise in the air, forming a continuously swirling ribbon of blood as it continued to go higher and higher until it formed a halo above her head.

Some of her favorite subskills were the Strong Heart, which simply strengthened the effect of the Life Blood skill, and the Enhanced Circulation, which drastically increased her stamina regeneration. Both of which allowed her to reach higher than her peers. Though, that was before meeting Sam…

'And to think I simply wanted to poach him…' The rest of her family went much further, leaning on the skill heavily to carry them through tough situations. She heard through the grapevine that several cousins managed to upgrade the Life Blood skill through some rituals they purchased from their contacts. The only reason she didn't ridicule them more was that she would have probably fallen for the same tricks.

Before Sam explained the issue of using the skill without proper protection, she would have never imagined that something like this would happen. Magic Unbound's system was just so out of the norm – and somewhat purposefully playing up certain tropes to distract people – that she didn't think about people using their own skill against them as an option.

The chanting became loud enough that she couldn't hear anything else then she felt a drop of liquid on her face, then another and another, until she stood, frozen, under a shower of magically charged blood. As blood flowed over her body she didn't really know what to do with all the sensation assaulting her. Disgust warred within her with curiosity. Then the blood began to pool in the ritual circle before the channels did their jobs and once again she was standing over the ritual circle filled with blood.

The entire thing lasted no more than ten seconds, barely affording her time to realize what was happening and come to terms with being 'bathed' in blood before it was over. Blinking in bewilderment, Mother Blood smiled at her and offered her a simple-looking knife that was clearly very old based on the signs of it being sharpened countless times.

"And now, sister, you shall contribute to the great cause of the purity! Share your blood, so others may share in the same blessing! What is yours is ours and what is ours is yours!" she yelled while raising her hands in the air.""" What is yours is ours and what is ours is yours!""" echoed the rest of the priestesses. Not having any other idea, she just shrugged, cut her hand across, and let a few drops fall to the floor, which was instantly swallowed by the blood already there.

After a few seconds of this, the Mother Blood continued.

"And another drop joins the tide of purity, ready to unleash the cleansing wave on the corrupt world!" she finished the sermon and Isabella felt the mana in the air calm down, allowing her to calm down a little. The others also looked relieved that it didn't come to a fight, though the chaos gremlin looked oddly disappointed. As she began to dress back into her armor, she quickly read through her notifications. [You participated in the Cleansing Red Rain ritual!] [Your body has been cleansed by the ritual. You gain +13 VIT, END, STR!] [You lost your Life Blood skill and every one of its subskills!] [You gained the Blood Magic Resistance skill!] [Blood Magic Resistance is now Level 51!] [You gained the Corruption Resistance skill!] [Corruption Resistance is now Level 51!] [You donated blood to the Red Tide, you are granted the title, Sister of Blood!] Sam advocated turning off all notifications and looking at them only sometimes, but she preferred compact notifications immediately.

Then later she would go over them and analyze the results. As she finished, the team gathered around her, and Mother Blood stepped forward.

"Now, my young friends. Who wishes to be the next to be cleansed?" Clarissa re-donned her armor after going through the ritual as the last and made sure that everything was in order. Thankfully, as she stepped out of the ritual circle, one notification caught her eye. [Thanks to carefully observing and participating in it, you learned the Cleansing Red Rain ritual!] Smothering a grin, she looked around and tried to think of a way to get her team out of the church. Somehow, she suspected it wouldn't be easy…

However, before she could speak up, Mother Blood began speaking loudly.

"And now, as the prophecy said, it is time!""""The day is here!""" Katie, bless her chaotic heart, had the presence of mind to ask the question that was on Clarissa's mind.

"Excuse me, but what is this about a prophecy?" Mother Blood just smiled proudly.

"You're our sister in the battle against corruption. Never be afraid to ask questions!""""What is yours is ours and what is ours is yours!""" exclaimed all the watching priestesses at the same time. Clarissa saw Dan jump from fright at the sudden loud noise. Mother Blood just waited patiently for the noise to die down before continuing.

"The prophecy states that one day, curious fellows with a hint of corruption will bring with them the rise of the red tide!"

"That's pretty vague, you know…" Katie pointed out a very valid observation.

"The prophecy also stated that they shall bring with them the Unending Chasm of Nothingness, the Burning Flames of the Frozen Tundra, The Dance of the Sublime Forest, and something called Doomgoose," she stated, and Clarissa could practically hear the capital letters there. Why someone would call her precious Melody a goose, she didn't know. The doom part was pretty accurate, though.

"Wow! The founder must have some pretty good sight for the future!" Katie replied, buttering up the old lady. The NPC just nodded extremely proudly.

"Indeed! The great founder had great foresight and even grander designs!" Clarissa looked around and saw the entire hall filled with priestesses, decked to the nines in equipment, armor, and weapons.

"And now it's time that we begin to build upon those designs!" she called out loudly, sweeping her eyes over the gathered people before turning back to Clarissa and her team.

"Sisters and brother, we thank you for joining us, but it is time for the cleansing blood to sweep over the world and remove the corrupting influence!"

"Er, good luck?" Katie offered.

"Thank you!" She turned back to the gathered priestesses, who looked at her with excited eyes. Some of them were even vibrating in place.

"Death to the unclean!""""Death to the corrupt ones!""" They returned the exclamation, raising tools and weapons in the air.

"Let's go forth and spread the word of the Church of the First Drop! And remember sisters! The first drops shall always come from the enemy!" Then, with a massive burst of mana, a red light enveloped the gathered people, avoiding the team, and after a second or two, the mana dispersed, leaving Clarissa and her team alone with only one priestess near them. Actually, she was the same one who found them arriving from the tunnels. She smiled at them and bowed a little.

"If you wish to rest a little, I can offer you our guest quarters, however, if you wish to leave, I shall lead you to the exit to the Garden of New Life!" Clarissa just blinked, still trying to figure out what the hell just happened. It was Dan who broke the silence.

"Uh oh…"

"Was that really necessary, sir?"

"Come on, Selene! You know as well, that they needed something new to spice up the situation. A communist blood magic cult that wants to indiscriminately kill unclean people will be a very nice addition to the game," he said while sipping his coffee with a self-satisfied smirk while the AI's face was frowning.

"I still don't like that they refused my idea. Sexy vampires are perfectly serviceable. Plus, they are eternally marketable to all demographics. Imagine the hardcover book sales!" His smirk stayed firmly on his face.

"Why did they reject it?"

"They claimed market oversaturation," Selene grumbled, her pouting face showing up on a dozen screens, displaying her displeasure at the decision made by the company. He nodded as he watched as people worked tirelessly, making sure that his 'little' alteration to a small part of the game world would go smoothly. He had to do some groveling and horror of horrors, do a few presentations with graphs and pretty pictures to the people who held the purse strings, but in the end, he got what he wanted.

'Let's see how you dig yourself out of this, you fucker!' He thought he was subtle, but the maniacal laughter didn't really help to hide his intention.