The Quest Ends...Or Does It?

Kurai stared at the message that popped up in front of him in surprise. So far, the game hasn't been much help except for giving quests, and it mostly depended on Kurai's own deduction and understanding skills instead of placing a pin on a map and leading him through each step of the quest.

This time, though, it gave him the exact location and person to talk to, and he was sure that there was a lot more to it than simply asking for help:

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Hidden Quest: Rai's Folly

(Quest Level: E+)

Discover the reason for Rai's reluctance to train and find a solution before it is too late. (Complete)

Locate Lady Hozumi at the Central Cathedral and heal Rai. (Currently Tracking)

Reward: 50 gold, 1 intermediate skill, increased reputation with the Hikaru clan

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Kurai glanced at Ren, "Do you know someone named Lady Hozumi at the Central Cathedral? I think she may be able to help Rai."

Ren nodded, but the frown on his face couldn't mean anything good, "There aren't many people that don't know of Lady Hozumi, but if she is the only one that would be able to help Rai, then we have a problem."

Kurai blinked in confusion, "What is the problem? Are there too many people waiting to be healed? Or is it too expensive?"

Ren shook his head with a tired sigh, "She's a Seraph, but…" He hesitated then, "Look, it's hard to explain, so you would have to see it for yourself. The Cathedral is right next to the Guilds Hall, so you can't miss it. Just look for a building with many golden statues."

Ren went into the house to check on Rai, which was understandable, but Kurai started getting worried when he turned to find that all of the warriors had disappeared while he was distracted.

'Wouldn't a Seraph NPC have people climbing over each other just to meet them?'

Then Kurai remembered how the creators of the game changed the fae to have animal ears and a tail, and his mind started running away with the strangest ideas before he put a stop to it.

'The way Ren said it, it just sounded like she was different from other Seraphs, so the only way I would know would be to go there.'

Luckily Kurai tended to carry everything with him, so he simply set out toward the Guilds Hall on the path they had arrived on the previous day, but before he even took a few steps, a voice called out to him, and he saw Hana running toward him.

She stopped in front of him and quickly placed something in his hands. It looked like a talisman of sorts, "If you are going to the cathedral, you are going to need this. Good luck. I hope she will understand."

Hana gave him a nod before she turned and calmly walked back toward the house, and Kurai was left with no other choice but to find the Central Cathedral.

It didn't take very long, but the central square was busy, and for a moment, Kurai wondered whether there were any other players in the square, but he couldn't find anyone out of place.

'Am I the last one? Lin did say that the other players probably rushed through this stage so that they could start farming the dungeons. If they also found the contract, then it's natural that they would try to reach level 100 as soon as possible.'

Finally, he located the cathedral and was pleased to find that there were no waiting lines.

He knocked on the door, and a worried-looking priest opened it slightly, "Sorry, the cathedral is closed at the moment. Please come back in two or three days."

The priest tried to close the door, but something looked off about the entire thing, so Kurai leaned forward to stop the door with his body and narrowed his eyes, "I have a friend that needs a healer, or there is a chance that he will die. How can a cathedral be closed? What if there is an emergency?"

The priest glanced back inside in worry before he adamantly shook his head, "I'm sorry, but we cannot assist you at the moment!"

He tried to close the door again, but Kurai stood firm, "I'm only looking for Lady Hozumi. I need her to heal someone!"

The priest froze, and a look of fear suddenly crossed his face as he leaned in to whisper urgently, "Please, if you value your life, then don't say that name and that word together!"

Kurai frowned, "If she is a healer, then what else would she-"

He didn't even get to finish his sentence as something flew through the air and crashed against the priest from the side, causing the door to slam open with Kurai's weight, and he just barely caught himself from falling face-first into the cathedral.

A glance to the side had Kurai cringing as he saw that the 'something' that flew through the air was actually a 'someone', another priest, to be exact, and one that was currently lying out cold on top of the priest that had opened the door.

His gaze snapped to the direction that the priest had been thrown from, and he fully expected to see one of the Mortviran guards standing there menacingly.

Instead, he found a teenage girl with shoulder-length red hair and blue eyes standing there with her hands on her hips, and it was clear that she was furious as she stepped forward.

She wore white, red, and blue armor that looked like a mix between that of a knight and a kunoichi, but what really caught Kurai's attention was the strange cape she wore, until the cape fanned out as she walked and he was left with the realization that he was looking at six wings instead.

Six wings meant Seraph, and that meant there was a good chance that he was looking at Lady Hozumi in the flesh.

Who also happened to have somehow tossed a full-grown man around as if he'd merely been a toy.

She glared at the priests and seeing that the one she had been talking to previously was knocked out, she leveled her gaze on the priest that had opened the door, "How many times do I have to tell you?! I AM A KNIGHT! I refuse to be hidden away like some damsel in distress while I heal people when I can simply kill the monsters before they can hurt anyone!"

The priest laid his friend to the side and quickly backed away from the angry girl while holding his hands up, "My Lady, your father asked that we-"

He didn't get very far as she withdrew the sword from her waist and leveled it at his neck, "My father should have known better than to expect me to suddenly be a healer when he trained me to be a knight! I never asked for this power to be awakened! I was never given a choice!"

Kurai finally understood why everyone was trying so hard to stay out of her way, and in any other scenario, he would stay away from her and let her be, but Rai needed her power to survive.

His thoughts were interrupted as he felt the tip of a cold blade at his throat, and he found that Lady Hozumi had turned toward him while he'd been distracted by his thoughts, "I said, why are you here? Get out before I roast you along with them."

Kurai swallowed before strengthening his resolve and looking her in the eye, "I was told that you would be able to heal my friend."

The cathedral became deathly quiet, and Kurai could almost sense the priest mentally facepalming at his stupidity.

Lady Hozumi's glare intensified, "Did you not hear what I just said?"

Kurai nodded, "I did, but you are the only one that can help, and I refuse to leave here until you agree."

He winced, 'I shouldn't have added that last part. Oh well.'

Lady Hozumi's eyes widened in surprise before they narrowed once more, "What is your name?"

Kurai placed his right hand on his chest and made a short bow, hoping to at least lessen her anger a bit by being courteous, "Kurai Tachi, my Lady."

She nodded as if deep in thought, and Kurai was relieved that she was thinking about it at least, but then a sinister smirk crossed her face, "Sorry, still no. I did warn you, though."

Kurai frowned in confusion, but then his eyes widened in shock as a ball of fire formed at the base of her blade. He barely had time to blink before she slightly lowered the blade, and the ball of fire struck him square in the chest, sending him crashing into the wall with the force of it.

He closed his eyes, waiting for the pain to hit, but when nothing did, he cautiously opened his eyes. They widened when he saw Hana's talisman floating in front of him, and from it, a shield had formed and covered his entire body.

Lady Hozumi was frozen in shock, and her blade clattered to the floor, "W-w-where did you get that?"

Kurai was about to stay quiet to protect Hana from possible danger and to get her back for possibly trying to kill him, but the genuine look of sadness in her eyes made him do the opposite instead, "Hana, from the eastern training grounds, gave it to me. Her nephew, Rai, is very sick, and we need you to heal him, or he will die."

The sudden anguish on her face made him wonder whether she was close to Rai or Hana, but she shook her head even while her form started trembling, "I can't."

Kurai frowned, "Why? Because you don't want to?" He paused and glanced around at the Mortviran guards that had suddenly appeared at the door, "Or because you aren't allowed to leave?"

His anger rose as a soft sob escaped her before she answered, "It is part of the pact that my clan has with the cathedral. Any Seraph that is born with a healing ability must give up their old lives, including anyone they knew outside of their close family. The contract was made at a time when the races were still at war, and Seraph healers were often targeted, but it still stands even now. I fight against it, but in the end, I will have to abide by the pact or risk a war."

Kurai didn't know what to say to that. If that were the case, then it would be almost impossible to get her to Rai so that she could heal him. He sighed and closed his eyes while holding the bridge of his nose, "It's too bad you cannot simply transfer the ability…"

Everyone froze in surprise before the priests started running toward Lady Hozumi, who immediately swung her sword around to create a ring of fire before she looked Kurai dead in the eye and started chanting something in a different language that he didn't understand.

He didn't expect to see a pulsing blue ball of light leaving her chest before it slammed straight into his own, and then the world went black.