Holy Blood 5

Hey Guys! Enjoying your week!? I want to thank everyone for the support. 

Chapter 5

Hui POV~~~~~

“Lucy!” I called once I reached the open area of the church. 

“Abaddon. What is it?” Lucy asked after she ran up to me. 

“Lucy. Do you trust me?” I asked. I decided just to be straight forward. I couldn’t lie to myself. I didn’t want to stay here, but I didn’t want these people to be left defenseless against the animals that now called this city home. Luckily, I reached level ten earlier in the morning while healing all the people that showed up. 

“Of course! You saved me from a fate worse than death earlier,” Lucy said with a serious face. 

I had to say I was impressed with the AI of this game. Having dealt with several hundred since coming to this game, I knew they all had emotions and could think further than the interaction with the player. I smiled to myself when I thought about how I was basically an AI now. Even with my brain attached to some machine back in a warehouse, it was basically just a hard drive in the computer. 

“I just reached level ten. If you trust me, I’ll make you a priestess. That way you can run the church,” I explained. 

“The Goddess told you then,” Lucy said as her face fell slightly. 

I chuckled and clapped her on the shoulder, “I’m sorry Lucy, but I want to leave the city. I think you will return this church back to its greatness.”

“Alright. I can see there is no stopping you,” Lucy sighed. She reached forward and grabbed my hand.

Lucy would like to class change to your class. Y/N?

I choose yes then watched as a column of light descended over her. The light show only lasted for a few seconds. Lucy emerged wearing a new white robe and a staff. I noticed she already had a deity’s symbol on her brow. It looked like an open book with a shining star above it. 

“Looking good,” I smiled. 

“Thank you,” Lucy bowed. 

Congratulations! You have helped an inhabitant of this world change class. You are the First. Reward: Cooldown for inhabitant class change permanently reduced from three months to one month.

“A tip for going forward. The Displaced will do anything if there is something in it for them. Try to offer them reasons to help the church grow,” I said.

“I will. I would like to thank you and say that you are always welcome here. There will always be a bed for you to rest in if your journey should lead you this way in the future,” Lucy smiled. 

“Thanks,” I said. An image of my little sister flashed through my mind, but I shook it away. 

I helped Lucy heal some people before I made one last prayer to Otris. The EXP I gained waned a little, but it still helped push me up some more. I could probably make it to max level just off healing. I might take a few years, but I had them. 

It had been almost a full day since I left the church and I almost wanted to turn back around when I saw the streets. The players were running wild, there wasn’t a window that wasn’t shattered on the entire street. Outright violence was missing, however, as the Guards would put an arrow in the person before they could sneeze. 

As I was walking along the main street towards were new players arrived, I saw someone I thought I recognized. I ducked my head and tried to avoid him but failed to get past him. He must have noticed me as he ran towards me, in at least nonhostile way.

“My Friend! My group is in need of a priest. Is it possible… HUI!” George shouted when he realized it was me. “Shit! You went Priest?! Why the fuck would you do that?! You’re basically the Bruce Lee of our time!” 

“One of the guards thought it would suit me,” I grimaced. 

“Oh yeah! I heard about you getting triple digits right before you went down,” George whistled. 

“I’m sorry, but I don’t plan on partying,” I said, waving as I tried to start walking again. 

“Don’t say that! I covered my bases, I know the angel race can’t initate combat. Again, it’s a pity since you’re so good at knocking teeth out. We just need a priest and we’ll be set!” George gestured behind him. 

A group of six people stood with a variety of weapons. They looked like they wanted to get out there and start killing monsters, or people. I couldn’t be sure. I was surprised that there were two girls in the group, though one of them looked vaguely familiar. 

“Surely someone else went priest or something that can heal,” I said. 

“In this city there are currently three priests, four counting you. They all belong to the big crime syndicates or mafia gangs. As for other classes that can heal there is only one that possesses something and it’s the spiritualist, but most of those are still going dps,” George explained, “then there are a few more that have something even similar but…”  

“dps?” I asked. It sounded familiar but I wasn’t sure. 

“Sorry, Damage per second. Basically, classes that are really good at dealing the heat,” George answered. 

“What do you guys plan on doing?” I asked. 

“We’re heading into the forest. We want to figure out what we’re actually fighting against. Games tend to exaggerate in the beginning. They say demons, while its really some bunnies with red eyes,” George laughed. 

I rubbed my head as I considered. It would be easier for me to explore outside with an actual party. And I knew George for the most part. I wasn’t too worried about his moral compass. Plus, he knew about my sense of justice so I doubted he would try to push me into anything. 

“Alright… I’ll babysit you for a while,” I chuckled. 

“That’s the way!” George threw a fist into the air then turned back to his party, “I got a healer!” 

“Finally! We can get down to business now,” one of the girls said exasperated. 

I grabbed George and pulled him in close, “Is that who I think it is?!” I asked squeezing his neck. 

“What… what do you mean?” George asked avoiding my eyes. 

I lowered my voice some more, “Why the fuck is your little sister here?!”

“Alright! Alright!” George said then got a sad look, “She was leaving the prison when her car was struck by an oncoming car. She… she was going to die before they could get her to the hospital so they sent her here.” 

“Fuck,” I whispered, “what about your daughter?!”  

“She survived. Thank whatever exists as a God. But, that’s why I need as good a team as I can get! To protect her,” George said. This time the determination in his eyes were much stronger. 

“Alright, I’ll help you babysit for a while,” I smiled, smacking the back of his head. 

“Oh yeah! Here,” George said, remembering something.

L. Wizard has sent you a friend request. Accept? Y/N

“L. Wizard?” I asked when I saw the name. 

“Legendary was taken…” George said, looking slightly pissed off. Then laughed, “Abaddon as in the angel of destruction! Oh, my jut! It fits perfectly!” he said laughing hard. 

“Better than L. Wizard, more like loser wizard,” I shot back. 

“Shit! I forgot people might take it that way,” George groaned. 

“I’m just going to call you Wizard. Let’s get going then,” I said gruffly. 

It was still just before noon so we could explore a good amount if we left now. There were several things to take into account when camping, even more so when you have to be careful of monsters and other people that might attack you. I wanted to find a defensible location before the sun set. 

“No hurry!” George said grabbing my shoulder, “We have a few more supplies we need to round up. Why don’t you hit the library to see if there are any skills you can learn? I already have four, just from spending a few hours in there yesterday,” he suggested, “We’ll leave at first light tomorrow.” 

I possessed three right now, but anything might be helpful in the future. I nodded and George pointed me in the direction. This city really took on the brink of destruction to another level. Even more of the NPCs were in various states of poverty and sickness. I thought about what Otris told me. If the city falls, then we die with it. I shook my head and sped up my pace some more. 

The library was quite amazing. It appeared in almost good condition compared to the rest of the city. There were a solid two rows of guards surrounding the building as well as some giant moving armor. The ground reverberated every time it took a step as it patrolled in front of the library. I whistle then walked past it inside the five-story building. 

Inside was in even better condition. There was a nice-looking maroon carpet along the edges of the tiled entrance way. A few meters in was a large desk with a busy looking man dealing with a line of ten or so people. I was about to walk pass them when I walked straight into some type of barrier. 

Registration required!

I rubbed my forehead then turned back around to join the line. A few of the people in the line were snickering at my mishap while a few others were also rubbing their foreheads. Thankfully, the line moved quickly. 

“Name?” the clerk asked.

“Abaddon.”

“Class and level?” 

Priest and ten,” I answered. 

“Very good. One copper coin please,” the clerk said, holding out his hand. 

I handed him the coin, and he pulled a piece of parchment that glowed for a moment then all my information was shown on it. He handed it to me after confirming the details. 

“Alright, you have access to the first two floors, and the Priest section on the third floor. Please do not attempt to go higher, it will only end painfully for you,” the clerk said tiredly. 

“Understood. Thank you,” I nodded then made my way into the main section of the library. 

I expected it to be crowded but was surprised that only a few dozen was inside. I also didn’t see anyone that was in a heavy weight type class. It looked like there were only mages and wizards in here. People gave me a sharp glare as I passed but left me alone. Of course, the huge statue with glowing eyes that had “Silence!” written on it might have something to do with it. 

There were sections on everything I could think of but given the amount of time I was working with I went straight to the Priest section on the third floor. The bookshelves were white, and all the books were bound in white. My eyes hurt after looking only a few seconds. I rubbed the bridge of my nose then went in. 

Books covering the history of the class as well as the various deities lined the shelves. I pulled one down randomly, ‘The Purity of Holy Light’ I skimmed through it but only found that it talked about Palois, the God of Light. I put it back and looked for one pertaining to Otris. 

I found one a minute later, though the title was something else, ‘The Maiden of Blood’. I grinned and opened to the first page. 

‘Otris, the Goddess of War, bloodshed, and merits. She is feared so much by the other Deities that they sealed her ability to have more than one priest and priestess at a time. She, who once almost brought the realm to ruin through war, was finally limited enough for the other Deities to return the realm to its proper order. Otris vowed she would return to her full power, and once again bring the realm to its knees.’

I shrugged if the author could be believed, then I might have joined the most bloodthirsty Goddess of the bunch. Well, in this Prison game that might be for the best. I closed the book but didn’t put it back. I planned to see if I could rent it or whatever. I found another interesting book, and I knew it was interesting because I got a pop up when I touched it. 

Would you like to learn Purify? Level Required:5 Y/N

I selected yes, and the skill appeared on my status screen. It did as its name implied and cleansed allies of a de-buff. It just had a thirty second cooldown. I nodded pleased with the skill. After that I touched every book on the shelf. When I reached the end of it, ten books had been skill books. The only problem was that they all required a level higher than I was. I was only able to learn one other skill. 

Would you like to learn Holy Radiance? Level Required: 10 Y/N

It was an area effect skill that appeared to project a cone of light in front of me. At least that’s what the book described it as. I made a mental note of the other skills in the library so that I could come back and learn them later. I placed all the other books except two about Otris back then made my way out of the priest section. 

I turned the corner of the hall to head towards the stairs when it felt like I stepped on something soft, yet hard at the same time. I looked down to see a hand emerging from a large pile of books. I quickly stepped back.

“Are you alright?” I asked the person buried. 

I heard some mumbling and the hand tapped the ground, but it was obvious they were trapped under the weight of the books. I sighed then bent down to pull part of the pile off of them. Some of the books were the size of my hand in width. I was actually amazed that someone wanted to try and read it. 

“Thank you,” a voice said as I pulled the last book off them. 

I wanted to whistle, the person underneath the pile was quite beautiful. They literally appeared to be the embodiment of a beautiful woman. I would have been more impressed had I not met Otris, but this person was still in the top five in my mental list. She had long hair that flowed to the small of her back. Wide green eyes, with a model’s face. It made me wonder how much was altered and how much was from the original. The only problem was her height, she was shorter than even Otris. It had to be a different race because if she were human, she would only be a child, but her… assets were that of a fully-grown woman’s. 

“Are you ok?” I asked.

“Yeah. I underestimated the weight of the books. If it wasn’t for you, I might have been trapped under there for hours. Thank you,” she said with bright eyes. 

“No problem. I’ll be on my way then,” I smiled and got up. 

“Wait! Do… Do you have a party already?” the girl asked with wide eyes this time. 

“I do, but I’m not the leader of it,” I said. 

“Do you mind if I tag along? I don’t know anyone here, but I don’t want to stay in the walls,” she asked grabbing my hand, “a party with a priest is almost impossible to find.”

I sighed, so that’s why she was insistent, “Like I said, it’s not up to me. You’ll have to ask the leader.” 

“Then I’ll follow you!” she smiled. 

I shook my head, but there was no way for me to stop her. I couldn’t attack first after all. I stopped by the counter on my way out and was happy to find I could borrow books for a month at which point they will teleport back to the library. I left the library and turned in the direction of the meeting point. Glancing behind me, I found the girl only a few steps back. 

“What’s your name?” I asked my stalker. 

“Lulu Highdrop. Yours?” she asked. 

“Abaddon,” I replied. 

“Oh! Strong and cool! I like it,” she smiled catching up to me. 

I snorted but left it alone, “Why do you want to leave the city so bad?” 

Her face darkened and she appeared to consider for a while. We made it down three streets before she finally started talking, “At the women’s prison I was at I was forced to be some of the other women’s toy. I refuse to go through that again, so I want to get out there and gain actual strength,” she paused then her eyes smoldered for a moment, “I’ll make them pay!” 

“Sounds good to me,” I said with hesitation. Every single player here was a prisoner, some were much worse than others, but they all were in prison for a reason. If you were wrongly imprisoned, well that was tough cookies to you. I wasn’t about to call someone out on revenge when I spent nearly three years on my own. 

“Really?! I thought most people would be put off for someone having such a simple goal,” Lulu said surprised. 

“I think you’re forgetting where you are at. This place is filled with two or three million people that have questionable goals at best,” I said chuckling. 

“What’s your goal?” Lulu asked with her eyes wide. 

“Hm~. What is my goal?” I murmured. 

I thought about it but my only goal before was to get revenge on the gang that had ruined my life. I achieved that and was living listlessly at the prison before now. I wanted to leave the city, but there really wasn’t an end in sight just a kind of go with the flow vibe. 

“Is it that hard? Money? Women? Power?” Lulu smiled. 

“I’m sure that will be nearly everyone’s goal in this place. I’m actually interested to see what this place is like in a year,” I chuckled. 

“If we make it a year. I went to the barrier and was able to see the durability of it, from there I was able to do the math to find we only have about six months before the barrier collapses. I wonder if they’ll do a server reset or something,” Lulu said. 

“Six months, huh. Well I have a feeling that probably the same for all the other cities as well,” I said. 

Lulu and I lapsed into silence as we walked. I really didn’t have anything to talk about and she didn’t know me well enough to bring anything up. Since there were still a few minutes until we reached the meeting point, I decided to check out my status just so I’m always up to date with the information shown. 

Name: Abaddon

Race: Angel: As an angel you will be unable to initiate combat with intelligent life. Self-defense is only allowed after a certain threshold. 

Class: Priest (The linchpin to any party. Unable to initiate combat with intelligent life)

Skills: Holy Light (Damage or Heal dependent on target)

Sanctuary (Area of Effect. Places a barrier around a location that heals or does holy damage to occupants)

Prayer of Strength Blood (Increases the stats of those around the Priest that have given blood to the Goddess Otris. 

Purify Blood Purification (Cleanses debuffes from target and boosts resistance to similar debuffs for a time. 30 second cooldown)

Holy Blood Radiance (Create a cone of light in front of you that deals damage)

Fallen Blood (As your Life points fall the effectiveness of your skills increase.) (Passive)

Level: 10

LP: 2000 AP:2000

Curses: 

Boons: Divinity of Otris

EXP: 13,245/20,355

I was finding it interesting that my abilities were being augmented by my choice of Deity. So far, the augments have only served to increase my power as a priest, but I was worried that something may get augmented in the future that might make it useless, or harder to use. Especially since all her magic revolved around blood. 

“Hey Lulu. What class are you?” I asked offhand. I didn’t get a chance to discuss the game mechanics with George earlier. 

“Hmm? Oh, I’m a witch,” Lulu answered. 

“How’s that different from mage or wizard?” 

“Not much depending on how you choose to progress, mainly curse magic. But well… I found an interesting book in the library, but it’s not easy to test the skills in the city,” Lulu answered. 

“Got it,” I nodded.