Fire Mage

Chapter 4: Bishop Reynolds

"What happened, kid?"

Robb asked as he lifted the wounded Eve Nightwind from John's shoulder.

"I ... I don't remember much. We were kidnapped by some guys and locked up in that mansion."

John said with a worried face and pointed his finger towards the long way mansion. Then he shook his head and muttered:

"This Lady ... My mother is seriously injured. Please help her."

Both nodded their heads at his words and took her inside. Meanwhile, John hurriedly followed them and entered the domed building.

Before him was a large hall with a high ceiling, and benches were arranged neatly in rows along the sides of the aisle. Meanwhile, the sacred Emblem of Life, iron candlesticks, and candles were attached to the front wall.

On the first stage was a white statue of a beautiful woman with large breasts. She was wearing a draped blouse, a long tulip skirt, and shoes. 

She had big blue eyes, long curly hair, and a soft, beautiful smile on her face. The mere sight of the statue made John's heart beat faster. He looked into those big blue eyes and felt that something was wrong!

"Charles, what happened to Eve?"

A pleasant male voice rang out from his right, making him turn his head.

In front of him was a gray-haired man who was about 40 years old. He walked in his direction with long strides and soon looked at Eve with worried eyes. 

He had deep-set amber eyes, a square face, thin eyebrows, and a long hawkish nose. He was wearing a white robe embroidered with gold thread, and in his right hand, he held a white beret and a unique gold pocket watch.

'Bishop Reynolds!'

Without a doubt, John recognized him.

"Father Reynolds, please save my mother!"

He bowed his head and asked anxiously:

"Tell me what happened."

Reynolds signaled to Hunt and Robb to place her on the long table and calmly asked.

John checked her heart rate with a faint smile and then began to tell the whole story, skipping parts of it.

Meanwhile, Bishop Reynolds nodded his head and started muttering some strange incantation.

Then, a white light descended on Eve's body and started healing her wounds.

By the time the Bishop completely healed the wound on Eve's body, John had also finished his speech.

But he was not happy at all.

'If Charles's memory serves right, this Bishop is a greedy and cunning fox. He is also the one who came to offer 2000 gold coins for 23 hectares of land. I've to be careful with words... Hmm? Her wounds have already healed, but why is her pulse not improving?'

As he was in muse, Reynolds let out a deep sigh and opened his mouth.

"I have healed most of her internal injuries. But her soul is weakening. Moreover, she won't wake up anytime soon. If you don't buy the Life Potion from the Holy Cathedral, it's almost impossible to save her."

Reynolds said with regret in his voice.

'Life Potion.'

"How much does it cost, father?"

John asked, frowning.

Hearing his words, Reynolds stared at him like a venomous snake and muttered in a calm yet cold tone.

"500 gold coins."

'I knew it!'

John closed his eyes for a second and asked.

"How many days does she have left?"

"4 hours. But if you get a loan from our Life Church using the 23 hectares of land, you can save her."

Reynolds said with a sly smile.

'What a sly bastard!'

John sighed heavily and asked.

"What is the interest?"

"5% per month. If you do not pay interest for three consecutive months, we will legally confiscate your property. If you do not pay interest for the next 12 months, we will sell it."

Reynolds responded shamelessly.

'25 gold coins per month? With this amount, a commoner can live his life in peace for a year! What a cunning bastard! But I've no choice but to bite it.'

He gazed intently at the Bishop for a second and spoke coldly, turning.

"I will come back with the documents. Until then, take care of my mother."

Hearing his cold tone, Reynolds smiled broadly and nodded his head.

Without waiting for a second, John walked on the smooth aisle and soon left the Life Church.

At that moment, Robb walked over to Bishop Reynolds and asked as he watched John leaving the building.

"Father Reynolds, why did you lie to him? The Life Potion is only worth 40 gold coins, right?"

"I did that for a reason, child. Cardinal Snake once ordered me to buy that land if an opportunity arises. Even I do not know the details. But there is one thing I am sure of it. If we miss this opportunity, we would never get another one. Did you hear his cold tone? He is so angry. Hehe, a cornered hatchling will always act recklessly. "

Reynolds patted Robb on the shoulder and turned his attention to Eve.

...

Meanwhile, John left the Life Church and headed towards El Street, a mile from the Church of Life. On the way, he glanced at the game interface and noticed that the timer had changed from 2 minutes to 4 hours.

'As I expected, this system is not omniscient. It can predict using basic information and turns it into an in-game quest.'

He snorted inwardly.

Then he looked at the main Quest window and curled his lips.

[Main Mission: Escape from the Red Masked Assassin, James.]

[Quest Content: On June 5, 6396 of the Second Secret Era, you and your mother were kidnapped by a mysterious assassin in a red mask and now held in an unknown underground prison. Find a way to escape this masked assassin and then determine the reason for this kidnapping.]

[Mission accomplished!]

[Quest Reward: 500 Exp.]

'500 Experience points! That's good.'

He nodded his head and looked at the tall mansion in the farthest area.

'James and his followers must have already noticed the trail of blood. They will follow it... But they would never dare to enter the Life Church.'

He shook his head.

'This boy's mother is a brave woman. Tsk, I will do my best to keep her alive, Charles.'

He muttered under his breath and walked towards El Street while putting the silver dagger on his belt along with a sheath.

After a few minutes, John reached El Street and began looking for his own home.

'45 Street El.'

He walked along a dirt road and soon found himself in front of a large two-story house.

Unlike other houses, this house was made of white granite rocks and looked more beautiful.

He entered the courtyard, glancing at several ornamental flower trees, and opened the entrance with a key he took from the nearby pillar.

After that, he entered his house and pulled on a long thread hanging from the ceiling.

A second later, several candles began to light one after the other and illuminated the building with a bright yellow light.

'Are these Magic Lamps or Magic Candles?'

He furrowed his brows and headed for the closet. He grabbed a tight black shirt and black trousers and then went to take a shower.

Fifteen minutes later, he left the bathroom and began looking everywhere for the documents.

There was no recollection of these documents in Charles' memory, which complicated his work. But as a skilled assassin and thief, he searched important places and soon found a suitcase under the bed.

It wasn't some elaborate suitcase with a lock, so John quickly opened it.

Two separate documents, filled with complex letters, appeared in his sight.

John opened them and began to read one page after another.

Although the words appeared unfamiliar, he didn't face any problem reading at all.

But after a few seconds, his expression turned grim.

'The house document and that land document... Both of them are attached. If I want to sell that 23 hectares of land, I've to sell this house first. Otherwise, the sale would go invalid.'

The first owner of this house made such a complex document.

'But why did the first owner create a complex document?'

He felt suspicious inside.

'Hmm, what's so special about that land? This Bishop is eyeing 23 hectares of land... And, judging by Charles's memories, Eve also seemed to have predicted something before buying that land. What the damned Bishop is scheming?' He felt confused.

'Wait... He might be after this house!'

A thought flashed through his mind.

'Perhaps! What if the first owner hid something in this house? Hmm, I need to have a long chat with Eve Nightwind later.'

He folded the two documents and was about to put them in his pocket but stopped.

He suddenly felt a slight vibration from the ground.

It was as if 10 to 20 people were running in his direction.

If it were before, he wouldn't have noticed it.

But after he got the [Sixth Sense] skill, his perception improved to another level!

'The enemy! It must be James and his lackeys.'

He drew his silver dagger, made a quick hand movement, and slashed the thread that hung from the ceiling.

The next second, the magic candles began to extinguish one after another, and soon the whole building plunged into dense darkness.

[Chain Quest: Blood for Blood

The mysterious kidnapper, the red-masked James, followed the blood trials and sent 12 professional assassins to finish you off. Someone has already given some of your personal information to the enemy.

1. Find the spy who sold you - Reward: 100 Experience points.

2. Survive the upcoming ordeal - Reward: 300 Experience points.

3. Kill the Red Mask James - Reward: 500 Experience points.

Deadline for completing the assignment: 1 hour.]

'A spy? Hmm, I've slight suspicion on the Bishop. Well, I'll ask him personally once I finish off these assassins.'

'Tsk, I thought about saving some experience to select the main class. But it looks like I've to take a step back now.'

He sighed heavily and added 150 experience points to the Trickster subclass.

...

[150 Exp deduced from the Host!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You are a Level 2 Trickster!]

[1 Free Attribute Point Rewarded!]

[20 skill points rewarded!]

...

'Hmm, 225 experience for the next level up. Luckily, I still have 400 more experience.'

A smile appeared on John's face as he spent another 225 exp points on the subclass.

...

[225 Exp deduced from the Host!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You are a Level 3 Trickster!]

[1 Free Attribute Point Rewarded!]

[20 skill points rewarded!]

...

'Looks good. My HP points have increased as well!'

He nodded pleasantly and added one attribute point to strength and another attribute point towards dexterity.

He then added 19 skill points to [Dark Vision], and the remaining 21 skill points to [Sixth Sense].

[The Sixth Sense Skill has reached its peak stage!]

An electric shock went through John's brain as he felt a change around his surroundings.

In the next instant, his senses sharpened to another level.

'This feels so good.'

He grinned viciously and headed to the kitchen.

'I need make some preparations.'

He nodded his head and soon disappeared into the darkness.

Taking a few knives from the kitchen, he returned to the reception room and waited for the poor 'killers' to stretch their necks!

....