Chapter 123: Holy Rewards

The group took a seat, and Karl noticed that the two clerics they had rescued were also there now, but in their new gold and black robes that appeared in the chapel, and not the standard student clergy robes. They somehow seemed more fancy, though they were still the same style as the others, and only had an extra layer that was visible at the collar and sleeves and better construction.

"I will make this simple. The church would like to keep the location of this Holy Relic quiet, so we are asking that all of you don't mention it for at least as long as it remains out of the public sphere.

We will be building a new Dragon Temple at that location, but it will take some years to be ready and staffed. Having a flood of hopeful tourists and pilgrims coming to the site while we are working would be a nightmare for the construction team, and the Holy Relic isn't open for them to go in anyhow." The elderly Priest began.

Then the old woman took over from him. "But that doesn't mean that you won't be rewarded for your find. Your names will be recorded in the Temple as the original team to undergo the trials, and the Matron has prepared a set of gifts for you all.

First, she has prepared a Scale for each of you."

She paused there, and the two young clerics took out a silver tray with small golden dragon scale amulets on them. Karl could sense that they were some sort of Holy Magic, but he couldn't tell exactly what they were supposed to do.

"They are a good luck charm, blessed by the World Dragon's Archbishop at the main temple. The blessings of the World Dragon are many, but you have all shown an affinity for his favour, so these might be just what you need."

The amulets were passed out as the woman began to talk again.

"The next reward that we will grant you might seem trivial to some, or irreplaceable to others. It is a scroll of Holy Light. Use it with an item or an ability for a one-time bonus to its abilities. I would recommend using it on a magical item, as the effects will linger until the enchantment on the item is discharged."

That excited a lot of the students who had gotten magical items from their reward chests, but the Priestess was right, to others it was just a trivial thing. Karl hung the Dragon Scale good luck charm around his neck and tucked it under his uniform. You never knew when you were going to need good luck, and trying to get the charm out after things had already gone wrong was just about pointless.

None of these things was a major reward so far, Karl noticed. If they were going to be privately rewarded for finding a Holy Relic and expected to keep their mouths shut, there was going to have to be something big, something that would equal up to the rewards that they would get for announcing it publicly.

Karl had no intentions of doing that, as he had seen on the Fate Stairs how that would end, but there was no guarantee that others wouldn't try to do the same. They had agreed, but once they were back at the Academy and their progress returned to something closer to normal, they might change their minds.

But even with that in mind, Karl was shocked to see what the two smiling young Dragon Clerics brought out next.

They rolled out an entire cart full of books, skill books handmade by the Transcriptionists of the church, but bound without titles.

"There is a reason we passed out the luck charms first, and I do hope that you're all wearing yours now, or at least before you choose. As you all know, skill books are rare, and a single one can change your growth path. So, we have prepared eight of them today, one for each of you." The elderly Priestess announced.

"Eight? But there are ten of us." One of the students asked, confused.

"Two of you received powerful skills as rewards from the Trial, and it was deemed unwise to simply add another new skill when they haven't adapted to the first one yet. However, we have instead prepared a Holy Relic for them instead."

The old woman's smile set Karl's heart at ease. She was right, with two new skills already this month, a third would have seemed a bit anticlimactic. But a Holy item would be something that he could keep with him for years to come.

"First, choose your skills. The luck charm should guide your hand to the one meant for you. No need to second guess yourselves." The Priestess instructed.

There were far more than eight books on the carts, but most likely it was eight different skills, out of the ten or so that the Inscriptionists could make, according to Overlord Drake.

The students rushed forward and a few began pacing in front of the carts, getting a feeling for the books, to see what might feel lucky. But the others just walked up and grabbed something, trusting to luck that it would be something that they could use.

It looked like the World Dragon's luck was no joke, and every book that was opened vanished. Even those who delayed and second guessed the luck of the charm they were given still managed to activate a new skill from the books.

Karl knew that these would all be basic skills, the equivalent of Slash, Rend, Fireball and such. But that didn't matter to the students. It was a new skill that they could use, and that they didn't have to go through the painstaking process of learning normally.

The more versatile they could be, the easier their lives would become in the future, as an Elite's reputation depended a lot on their personal skills, even more so in some cases than it did on their personality.

Then the carts were taken away, and the elderly Priest left for a moment to collect the two Holy items.

"These were made by our Matron just this afternoon. Or rather, they were enchanted this afternoon with the pair of you in mind. Please, do accept our reward." The Priestess informed them with a gentle smile.

Karl and Dana both took the boxes, mostly to relieve the elderly man of the strain of holding them, and Dana rushed to open her reward.

A simple golden sceptre sat inside the box in her hands, but when she touched it, the weapon lit up with soft white light.

"That will add a touch of Holy Magic to every spell that you cast. A bit more attack, a lot more defence." The elderly Priest explained.

Then Karl opened the chest in front of him and looked at the content with a confused smile.

It was just a simple bracelet, gold, but without a visible mark on it.

Karl put it on, and in his mental spaces, all three pets glowed with the same soft white light that the sceptre did.

"The bracelet is a support item. It will increase the skill power of you and your allies whenever you are wearing it."

The other students gave Karl a jealous look. More skill power for his pets? He was already basically four Elites in one, and now they all got a cheat code buff.

"This will be wonderful. The others and I thank the church for its generosity." Karl informed him with his best imitation of the formal church salute, with the thumbs hooked together, and his fingers spread in front of his chest to imitate dragon wings.

The bracelet would likely improve his ability to train skills as well. The more that he could teach these three, the better. They all had a unique role to play, but the real advantage that they could show in the future would be in their ability to use skills that no wild beast would be able to.

"You seem more enthusiastic about a support role than I would have expected." The elderly Priest noted as he saw Karl's reaction was true and not just him being polite.

"My beasts are also allies, you see. This reward will do them a lot of good, and allow them to make the best use of their abilities in the future. Even if it seems simple, an increase to all of their skill power will stack up to a much larger bonus than just enhancing myself." Karl explained.

The Priestess nodded in satisfaction. "In that case, enjoy your evening everyone, and we hope to see you all again soon. Please don't forget about our students when it is time for your next missions."