Chapter 8 – LV.One Priest Seo Yun – [Three]

After a week had passed, the village was in a festive mood. Though the villagers usually survived on potatoes and turnips, today they had thawed their frozen ready-to-eat meals to set up a feast. Above all, it seemed the prospect of drinking alcohol, which had now become a luxury, had everyone excited. Despite the freezing weather, like Antarctica, everyone was moving about with smiles.

Amid this, the teenagers were not smiling.

Due to the superstition that the energy of the first day of the new year would bring luck, today was also the day for Class Changes.

Meaning, today, the fates of the teenagers gathered here would diverge.

They would be divided into so-called ‘noble Players’ and the remaining ‘commoner farmers.’ No one had explicitly defined it, but implicitly, Players were considered a privileged class. Not only their standing among peers but even their status within the village would be determined today.

“If I fail my Class Change and have to farm while shoveling manure for the rest of my life, I’ll just hang myself and die.”

Wondering who was saying such a thing, Seo Yun looked over and saw it was Park Taeyang.

Park Taeyang, meeting Seo Yun’s gaze, glared at her as usual but only briefly. Soon after, he turned his head away.

Just like during the sword sparring, he seemed ‘intimidated.’

It was understandable. Park Taeyang was short and not particularly skilled in swordsmanship. That meant his chances of a Class Change were low, and compared to those who succeeded, his standing could plummet.

“Honestly, I’m scared… Can we agree not to treat anyone as an idiot whether they succeed or fail?”

Nervous voices could be heard from all around.

Meanwhile, Seo Yun was relaxed, and the next most relaxed was Lee Jongho. Tall and excellent in swordsmanship, Lee Jongho was almost certainly expected to succeed in his Class Change.

Perhaps because of that. Lee Jongho seemed to have the leisure to care about his future comrades.

When Lee Jongho approached and spoke, Seo Yun flinched.

“Not nervous?”

Instantly, all eyes in the room focused on them. Usually, Seo Yun didn’t speak to anyone. No one approached her to talk either. Lee Jongho had broken that unspoken rule. Was his earlier promise to get along not an empty one?

Thinking he was doing something unnecessary again, Seo Yun retorted.

“Not really. Why? If I fail my Class Change, are you going to bully me again?”

“No…”

“Then that’s fine.”

Lee Jongho seemed to want to say more, but Seo Yun turned her head away.

Oh Haengbok was walking through the crowd of children.

The appearance of that massive Orc drew the attention of about seventy people.

More people had gathered than Seo Yun had thought. Not only teenagers who had just turned seventeen but also adults had come hoping for a Class Change.

Oh Haengbok stood before the altar. Looking at the gathered people, he spoke.

“As a representative of the so-called ‘Players’—”

The Orc’s characteristically deep, resonant voice echoed. A voice you couldn’t avoid hearing even if you didn’t want to.

“—becoming a Player doesn’t mean your social status rises. Players do earn more Contribution Points, but that’s just because they do hard and dangerous work. It’s similar to getting paid more for tough manual labor. It doesn’t create a distinction between classes!”

Seo Yun thought.

‘Yet you are this village’s dictator. You act like a king here. Not because of superior education or former high social status, but simply because you are the most powerful Player in Incheon.’

LV.13 Warrior Oh Haengbok concluded his speech.

“So, don’t go around saying Players are nobles or whatever. Cut the nonsense, okay? And after this, don’t burst into tears just because you failed your Class Change. If everyone understands… Alright, Misters? Put down the soul vials…”

People placed glass vials on the altar. It was said those vials contained the souls of monsters hunted by Players.

That was the Tribute. The altar swallowed the souls.

While the lids of the glass vials remained closed, their contents completely vanished.

Finally, everyone could tell the altar had activated, that the Ritual for Class Change had begun.

Oh Haengbok called the name of the first boy to participate in the ritual.

“Lee Jongho, step forward.”

Lee Jongho walked out.

“Kneel and pray.”

Lee Jongho did as instructed.

Behind the altar stood a Goddess Statue, crafted based on the Rulebook’s illustration. Lee Jongho bowed his head toward the Goddess Statue.

A moment later, the Goddess Statue’s eyes glowed red.

“Oh…”

It was a successful Class Change.

As everyone’s eyes lit up, a man who had come with Oh Haengbok muttered something under his breath.

The man was a Mage, and what he had just muttered seemed to be a Magic Spell to discern information about the target. Judging by what he said after finishing.

“Lee Jongho… Warrior.”

A shower of applause erupted, but Lee Jongho was surprisingly impassive. Seeing his reaction, neither happy nor sad, Seo Yun thought, ‘He must have been hoping for a better class?’ It was a well-known fact that there was a hierarchy among classes.

Meanwhile, Oh Haengbok also showed little reaction and called the next person.

“Yang Taeja. Step forward!”

Yang Taeja also offered a prayer before it, but this time, the Goddess Statue did not glow.

It meant he had not received the Goddess’s selection. Meaning, he did not become a Player.

As Yang Taeja hung his head low, Oh Haengbok frowned.

“Damn, don’t be too upset… Someone take him.”

After that, more boys and girls stepped forward.

As expected, most did not succeed in their Class Change. Some were disappointed, some even cried, and each time, Oh Haengbok showed irritation.

“Ah, come on!”

Perhaps because he was mindful of the failed children’s feelings? Even when someone occasionally succeeded, Oh Haengbok didn’t properly praise them.

“Jeon Sangguk… Warrior.”

The tall boy let out a cry of joy, but Oh Haengbok indifferently moved on.

“Next.”

Next, a somewhat chubby girl stepped forward. This time, it was a consecutive success.

“Seong Juri… Warrior.”

After Seong Juri retreated among her friends with a bright smile, Oh Haengbok grumbled.

“As expected, it’s a Warrior field.”

It wasn’t unusual. According to Seo Yun’s knowledge, most who succeeded in Class Change became Warriors. The Warrior class Flavor Text in the Rulebook stated, ‘Most of those blessed by the gods become Warriors,’ and everyone guessed that setting was reflected in reality.

Amid this, someone who was not a Warrior was finally born.Park Taeyang knelt before the altar with hesitant, unconfident steps and offered a prayer.

“Park Taeyang… Priest!”

The Mage’s voice rose. Even Oh Haengbok, who had been indifferent to the Class Change results until now, showed interest.

“What kind of Priest?”

In response to Oh Haengbok’s question, the Mage answered.

“A Sun Priest, it seems?”

As everyone looked at him, Park Taeyang, who had been momentarily dazed, laughed a beat late.

Park Taeyang laughed with such immense joy, then suddenly looked at Seo Yun.

Why at me? As Seo Yun met his gaze, this time Park Taeyang did not look away. He simply smiled even more confidently.

While Seo Yun stared, thinking, ‘Is that bastard crazy?’, Park Taeyang left the altar. Even as he walked, the smile at the corner of his mouth showed no sign of fading.

And then Park Taeyang approached Seo Yun. Passing by her side, he whispered.

“You don’t have to be so scared.”

Seo Yun’s eyes widened.

“Why would I be scared?”

“Pretending to be calm. Hey, it’s okay. I’ll take good care of you…”

Seo Yun was so dumbfounded she didn’t even think to ask what nonsense he was spouting. She just stared blankly at his back as it receded into the distance.

Park Taeyang continued walking with an utterly confident stride, then stopped before his friend Lee Jongho.

Park Taeyang tapped Lee Jongho’s shoulder. At that, Lee Jongho’s shoulders hunched. It was a sight like a large wolf lowering its tail before a small wolf.

After thinking for a moment, Seo Yun understood the situation.

‘So, Priests are nobility, huh? Even among Players. So he’s telling me to know my place and serve him…’

It was disgusting, but well, it was none of her business anyway. After tomorrow, she wouldn’t need to see his face anymore.

After that, several more failures were born, and finally, it was Seo Yun’s turn.

As Seo Yun stood before the altar, Oh Haengbok grinned.

“Oh my, our pretty one. You’re here?”

Kneeling before the altar, Seo Yun glanced at the Goddess Statue over there.

According to the Rulebook, that Goddess should be the Goddess of the Hearth. She offered a prayer as if the Goddess were the Sorting Hat from Harry Potter.

‘Please let me become a Warrior. Paladin or Mage is fine too. Death Knight or Dark Mage is also okay.’

Continuing her prayer, she half-closed her eyes.

‘But Priest and Martial Artist are not okay. Priest and Martial Artist are absolutely not okay. Priest and Martial Artist are not okay…’

And the next moment, Seo Yun’s eyes closed completely on their own, and her consciousness faded.

Just before her consciousness completely vanished, the last thing Seo Yun saw was the Goddess Statue’s eyes glowing red.

The earthquake that day was horrific. So were the fires everywhere caused by the earthquake.

For some reason, cell phones were dead. Not just Seo Yun’s, but all her colleagues’ phones were the same.

Even the fire station hotline was cut off, but it was easy to find places to dispatch to. Since everywhere in sight was chaos, wherever they went was a place where firefighters were needed.

Among them, the fire truck carrying Seo Yun headed to a multi-use commercial building near the fire station.

There was a bathhouse in the basement of the multi-use building, and it seemed the earthquake had ruptured all the gas pipes there.

Seeing the smoke billowing from dozens of windows of that building, even the most ignorant outsider could tell it was a disaster where many people would die. Meanwhile, the bathhouse owner was clearly worried that if the emergency exits were opened, armed rebels would enter and shoot all the customers dead. The tightly locked emergency exit doors were trapping people along with the smoke.

There was no time to blink at the entrance. After rushing into the smoke, she succeeded in getting a few trapped people outside, but Seo Yun herself couldn’t get out. Suffocation from toxic gas.

Seo Yun was at the scene of the day she died.

The foreign sensation of gas filling her lungs, the sting of stomach acid refluxing, the feel of black fluid flowing from her nose—all were vivid. Feeling the sensations she had felt before dying again, Seo Yun thought.

Is this a dream?

Or has the nightmare finally ended?

Staggering and stopping, Seo Yun looked at her own hand.

A large hand—her original hand was there. Even amidst the agony of death, Seo Yun felt relief. She even smiled slightly and thought.

It seems the nightmare is over, after all. That damn nightmare that lasted all these years.

Finally, I can sleep…

Raising her head, Seo Yun blinked again. In that dark corridor—amidst the flames and smoke—wasn’t a woman standing there?

A face she was seeing for the first time, yet somehow familiar… Soon, she could tell who that woman was.

The Goddess of the Hearth. One of the three Chief Gods of the Immortal Kingdom.

The woman she had seen in the Goddess Statue and the Rulebook was standing there. What situation was this now?

Seo Yun muttered without thinking.

“I’ll say it again, but Priest and Martial Artist are absolutely not oka…”

The Goddess of the Hearth paid no heed to Seo Yun’s words.

“Fulfill your role, Angel.”

A voice digging into her head, not her ears. Seo Yun closed her mouth without realizing it.

The Goddess repeated the same words.

“Fulfill your role.”

And the flames swallowed everything.

When she opened her eyes, Seo Yun was back before the altar.

Raising her hand, the firefighter’s hand, which had been as big as a pot lid, was gone, leaving behind a hand less than half its size. Literally, the hand of a tiny girl.

It was a terrible thing, but right now, Seo Yun couldn’t afford to care about that fact.

The Goddess’s words were echoing in her head.

‘Fulfill your role…’

Meanwhile, it seemed almost no time had passed just now.

The Mage’s voice could be heard.

“Seo Yun, Priest!”

Oh Haengbok reacted this time too.

“Oh, what kind of Priest?”

“A Hearth Priest.”

“Oh… Finally!”