Second Holy Mission (2)

Vivian went over to Ezekiel.

"Brother Ezekiel."

"You've already decided?"

"Yes, I want to take the Bank Account mission -- I mean, Holy Mission. Where should I go?"

Ezekiel took out a token from under the counter and gave it to her.

It looked exactly the same as last time when Vivian took her first Holy Mission -- a small piece of square wood that had the carving of a vertically stretched-out sun symbol.

"The Vault Room is located at the Main Office building. Just tell them you're looking for the Vault Room and show to this token the people there."

"Thank you," Vivian said and then left.

***

Vivian arrived at the main office building.

She was familiar with this building because it was the first building she visited when first arrived in this compound with Joshua. 

She was supposed to be introduced to the headmaster but he was out so it had to be postponed the next morning. But Vivian forgot about it. 

No, she didn't. 

She just didn't care and didn't want to because she was afraid that they would ask her personal questions and she was more interested in getting stronger and earning coins. 

In her eyes, the Temple of Priests was nothing but a tool for her ambitions.

Nothing more, nothing less.

"Hi, excuse me, brother. I'm here for the Vault Room," Vivian said and showed the token to a Priest wearing a Brown Cloak.

"Oh, it's over there," he said and pointed.

"Thank you," she said and went over to the room that the Priest pointed.

When Vivian got to the door, she found herself inside a small office with only 3 people -- a man wearing a Yellow Cloak, a woman wearing a White Cloak and another woman wearing a Brown Cloak -- and each of them had their own desk.

'This is the Vault Room…?'

Her eyes glanced around and she found no vault.

'Maybe there's spatial magic after all…?!'

Knock.

Knock.

She knocked at the door to announce herself and everyone looked at her.

"Hi, I'm here for the Bank Account Holy Mission," she said and showed the token.

"Oh, welcome!" the man greeted and got up before gesturing his hand to one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Please have a seat."

The man was in his late 20s and looked like a kind and trustworthy accountant. He wore glasses, had a very tall and thin frame that he was practically slouching, and had a face that looked like he couldn't break a glass.

Vivian went over to him and sat down.

"Should I give this to you?" she asked and showed him the token.

"Later," he said. "Please call me Brother Lance. I'm in charge of managing the Vault Room. And you are?"

"Vivian."

"Sister Vivian, is this your first time opening a bank account?"

"Yes."

"I see. If I may, please allow me to explain to you how to open a bank account. Unlike normal banks, you don't have to submit any identification or papers. You just need to present the pendant of your necklace and we will register it under your name right away. That will be the key for you to access your bank account. And don't worry, no one is allowed to access your bank account aside from you. And in case you lose your pendant, which happens a lot, the Temple will provide you another one for free anytime."

"Okay, so I just have to give this pendant to you?"

"Please wait for a moment."

He took out an oblong-shaped green crystal that was as large as an adult's head from one of his drawers and placed it on top of the desk.

"Just hold the pendant of your necklace near the crystal."

Vivian took off her necklace and pressed the pendant near the crystal.

The crystal emitted a faint light and some information flashed inside Vivian's head.

'Mana signature registration successful,' a calm and soothing female voice said inside her head.

'What is the name you want to register on this pendant?'

'Vivian…'

Vivian's pendant began to emit a faint golden light and her name written in the Zonian alphabet appeared at the back of her pendant.

'Name registration successful.'

'Bank account registration complete.'

'You have 10 gold coins inside your bank account.'

Vivian knitted her brows and the crystal stopped emitting light.

She turned to the Lance.

"I have 10 gold coins inside my bank account?"

Lance smiled.

"Consider it as a small gift for becoming a member of this Temple and opening a bank account in this Temple."

"I see."

"Now that you've successfully opened a bank account, please allow me to explain further."

Vivian didn't say anything.

"You can use that pendant of yours to purchase things without having to carry coins with you. Unfortunately, aside from our Temple's own shops, only most high-end shops offer such services."

'So basically like a debit or credit card, huh…?'

"I see." 

"Good. There's more."

"More?"

"Are you aware of the concept of lending?"

Vivian's brows knitted together.

"Yes."

"Great! You see, here in our Temple, we understand that all of us come from different walks of life -- some are born rich, others are born poor, some have more options, others have fewer options. However, we all share one goal -- to save humanity from the forces of darkness. And so the Temple developed a system where everyone has an equal chance, regardless of their background and upbringing. Do you know what it is?"

"Lending?"

"Yes, lending! We allow our members to use coins that they don't have right now and pay later. Wonderful, right? But hold on, there's more," Lance said excitedly.

Vivian didn't say anything and just stared at him with a blank face.

"Unlike other banks, our bank has no monthly interest in keeping your coins and items in our bank and we also don't have any loan sharks to hound you about the coins you loaned from the Temple. However! Of course, nothing can be too perfect, right? The only issue here is that the coins you loaned from the Temple's bank can only be paid with the rewards of the Holy Missions."

"What? I'm not following."

"We allow our members to use coins that they don't have right now and pay later --"

"No, no. The part I'm confused about is that I can only pay back the coins I loaned from the Temple's bank using the reward from the Holy Missions."

"Yes. Once a member borrows coins from our bank, they can only pay it back with the rewards from the Holy Missions."

"Why?"

"Because our Temple doesn't care about coins. We care about saving the world from the forces of darkness and giving all of the members an equal chance."

"I see."

"Let me ask you, Sister Vivian.

"Supposing a Priest from a rich noble house borrows coins from us because he wanted to invest in a business. A year later, he became lucky and was able to pay back the coins he borrowed with the earnings of his business.

"On the other hand, a Priest from a poor household borrows coins from us so that he can afford to buy expensive equipment. And in order to pay back the coins he had to do Holy Missions for the next 5 years.

"Tell me, sister, do you think that's fair? How would you feel if you were that Priest from a poor household?"

Vivian became silent.

Lance, on the other hand, stopped talking and let Vivian think about everything he said.

A couple of seconds later, Vivian opened her mouth.

"The borrowed coins can only be paid back using the reward from the Holy Missions, right?"

"That is correct."

"What if someone just lends and lends without limit and doesn't plan to pay for it in the end? As far as I know, doing Holy Missions isn't mandatory."

"That is true. Which is why there is a limit on how much a member can borrow and it depends on the color of their cloak."

"With Brown Cloak at the lowest?"

"Yes."

"What is the limit that a Brown Cloak can borrow?"

"100 gold coins."

"The rest?"

"White Cloaks can borrow up to 1,000 gold coins, Yellow 10,000, and Red and Gray 100,000."

"Let's say I borrowed coins now. How much will be deducted from the reward I get for completing a Holy Mission?"

"50%."

Vivian almost coughed out blood.

"50%?!"

"I know it seems too much compared to the other banks. However, you must understand that we are the only bank that offers such perks. The other banks would hound you down with interest and seize your belongings. Some would even go as far as to sell you to slavery. Such things will never happen here in our Temple."

Vivian's brows knitted.

She remembered Pana telling her that slavery was prohibited.

"I see."

"And even though it's 50%, the owner can choose to make it 100% if they want in order to pay the loan right away."

"I see. Thank you for telling me this."

"One last thing."

Vivian didn't say anything and just stared at him.

"You can buy a complete set of a full-plated mithril armor that's custom-made for you right now at the Blacksmith Shop through a loan. The price is only 50 gold coins which is cheap compared to any set of mithril armor you can find. And in case you're wondering why it's being sold that cheap, it's because the design is based on the standard armor used by Priests."

Vivian recalled the Class Magic Mission where one had to participate in the ranking match at the Training Grounds and reach at least Top 3 in order to win a set of full-plated mithril armor.

She also recalled the other Class Magic Mission about participating in the Holy Crusade and must have a complete set of the Crusader's Armor.

'Does it have something to do with it...?'

"I see."

"Anyhow, please forgive me if I've taken too much of your time, Sister Vivian. It was nice meeting you. And once again, congratulations on completing this Holy Mission. May the God of Light continue to watch over you."

"You too."

Vivian got up and left.