Fire Mage (Web Novel)

Chapter 308: Reward

"Why are you staring at me like you have seen a ghost?" Charles couldn't help but ask.

Meanwhile, Oswald woke up from the shock and shook his head.

"Nothing," He said.

On the other hand, Charles thought of something and spoke.

"Stay here for the next few days and take care of this clone, Mr. Runeth. It will take more than a day to finish the cloning process. Meanwhile, I will go and get the gift from the Goddess of Day and Night."

"Gift? Why would she give you a gift? Moreover, do you really think she would talk you a mortal like you?" Oswald said in disdain.

A mysterious smile appeared on Charles's face as he heard those words.

"First, she is the one who pulled me into this mess by creating a mission through the System." He paused for a moment and added.

"Moreover, I do have some information to exchange."

"Information?" Oswald stared at him in puzzlement.

Meanwhile, Charles shook his head and started to walk towards the staircase.

He soon left the underground basement hall, returned to his room, and changed his clothes into a formal one.

After that, he cast [Flame Teleportation] spell and disappeared from there.

A moment later, he reappeared on the Midnight Street road while startling a few pedestrians and soon covered his face using his right hand.

At that moment, the morning sun glared at him from the east.

Currently, it was around 9 A.M.

Charles moved towards the roadside and then turned his gaze towards the newly built dome-shaped building.

Behind the building were two square towers, which were almost as tall as 20 meters.

One appeared eerie black like the shadow of the Night, while the other one appeared pure white.

No, even the dome-shaped building appeared unique.

The right side appeared in white, while the left side of the building appeared black.

Above the dome was a sizable coin-like circle, half of it being a sun and the other half of it being a moon.

It was a symbol representing Day and Night!

'Day and Night Church…'

Charles took a step forward and started walking towards the Church building.

Soon, he reached the Church's entrance, walked into the building through a large, low porch by the wooden doorway.

Inside, the arch rose into dim darkness, and between them were a few rectangular windows.

Charles walked on the aisle and soon arrived in front of an elevated altar.

At that moment, more than 50 people appeared in the grand hall.

Nuns were making some preparations around the right side corner while tens of believers sat on the front pews and were in the middle of listening to an obese man's preaching.

He wore a white rochet, covering it were black-colored cassock and black tippet. He also wore a white beret over his head and held a sacred book in his right hand.

His long silver hair fell over his shoulder, and he wore a happy look on his face.

His emerald eyes were shining.

At that moment, he recited a verse in the sacred book and explained how life and death play a role in daily life.

"The sun represents the birth of new life. Because of our Divine Lady's grace, we are born in this beautiful world. We rise, struggle, and work harder to achieve our goals. But as time passes, we also started to age and got tired frequently. We become old. Soon, our bodies will start withering and die during the dusk. Eternal darkness will envelop our soul." He paused for a moment and soon added in a solemn tone.

"This is the darkness where our souls get corrupted. Once the corruption reaches some level, our soul will be pulled into the Underworld and then tortured for eternity. Even if you are a pure soul, you will lose in front of this eternal darkness and get pulled by the wicked souls."

At that moment, a young woman raised her hand and asked.

"Is there a way to save ourselves from the Eternal Darkness?"

A confident look appeared on Bishop Myles's face.

"There is a way, my child. Unlike other Gods, our Divine Lady is generous and always saves those who seek help from her. She controls the domain of Night which itself is a sub-domain of darkness! As long as you start worships her from now on, she will definitely pay attention to your request and save you from the eternal darkness." He said in a calm tone.

"Do I have to convert my Elements Religion?"

"No. You don't have to convert your beliefs, little one. Our Divine Lady doesn't care about such matters." Bishop Myles's voice echoed.

'This man sure do loves to preach.' Charles shook his head and turned his gaze towards the front.

A table was placed at the center of the altar.

Multiple materials like blood jars, dishes, a goat's head, human hairs, and a few other things were placed as offerings!

His gaze swept past those weird offering materials and soon landed at the center.

There stood a 2-meter tall female statue in a luxurious gown.

The dress was made of azure duchess satin and embroidered with floral emblems representing mithril and golden thread.

The woman in the statue wore a beautiful silver crown on her head and looked beautiful.

The woman statue had long straight hair, a round face, a slim, curvy body, and appeared to be carved in white crystal.

She stood with closed eyes and held a small girl-child in her arms.

Charles stared at her for a few seconds and then clapped his hand together.

Just as he was about to chant, the surroundings started to distort and transported him into a different area!

Charles soon found himself surrounded by complete darkness.

Although the altar table, the Goddess's statue was still there, he somehow knew that he was not in the Church now.

At that moment, the glass jars began to break one by one.

Then, the blood droplets started to hover up in the air and formed into a reddish blob!

"Thank you for completing the quest mission, mortal. Now, what do you want? I'll grant you a single gift." A pleasant female voice came out of the reddish blob.

Charles hid his nervousness and asked.

"Can you raise my elemental affinity to prodigy level, Divine One?"

"No. Raising one's elemental affinity level is not an easy thing. Only World's Will, nature artifacts, and few other existences are capable of such a feat. Ask another request."

Upon hearing the Goddess's words, Charles was disappointed inside.

He soon thought of something else and asked the next request.

"What about the clues to change my Destiny? Can you help me with that, right?"

Unfortunately, Goddess declined his request.

"No. Gods aren't allowed to involve in mortals' matters. That's the agreement we signed during the planar alliance. If I help you change your Destiny, it might cause some deep variation in the timeline. You are on your own."

'Tsk, why do you even put the gift as a reward in quest mission?' He grumbled inwardly.

As if the Goddess had read his thoughts, she let out a chuckle and spoke.

"Both of your requests involve the future of the whole planet, mortal. Although you saved the kingdom from its doom, it isn't enough for me to give you more benefits. I'm a neutral Goddess and always follow the rules of equivalent exchange."

A frown appeared on Charles's face.

'This is getting nowhere.'

Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind.

"What about giving some clues to increase my Fire Elemental Affinity?" He paused for a moment and then added with a sly smile on his face.

"In exchange for this request, I will also add some important information about Edhen's Children Organization."

"Oh? Important information, is it? I'm listening." For the first time, Charles sensed curiousness in Goddess's tone.

Meanwhile, Charles smiled lightly and tossed the bait.

"I know the Divine's true identity."

A silence appeared in the dark domain.

After a long silence, Goddess Rodia's voice came from the blob of red blood.

"How sure are you?"

Her tone turned deadly serious.

"I'm 90 percent sure," Charles spoke calmly.

"Who is it?" Goddess Rodia asked.

Meanwhile, Charles let out a deep sigh and answered.

"Sasha, the Goddess of Destiny. She is a foreign Goddess from the Elder Plane."

For the first time, a strange invisible pressure descended onto the dark domain.

Soon, Goddess Rodia retracted her power and spoke in a surprised tone.

"This is indeed excellent news. Okay, I'll give you a clue about how to increase your elemental affinity level. 18 years from now on, go to the City of Miracles and participate in the Golden Century's Planar Invasion mission. The one who contributes most in that invasion will get a chance to increase one of their element affinities level to 'Divine' level. Only Rank-5 Mages are allowed to participate in that mission."

'Planar invasion?' Charles's eyes widened.

"Which plane are they going to invade?" He asked in a curious tone.

"It's the Abyss."

Just as she said those words, the whole dark domain breaks into millions of glasses!