Rohan slowly crawled to a nearby tree and then leaned on it. "Reason to help me? Of course I can give you one."
He reached behind his back as if searching for something, then brought his hand forward again, revealing the item to the man in front of him.
"This is called the Ring of Storms."
With a stern look, he continued, "If you swear your faith to my lord, the Storm God, you can use this item and gain power equal to that of an Indigo-level mage."
The red-haired man's eyes locked onto the ring. "Indigo level?" he muttered. "And all I gotta do is swear to your god? Sounds cheap for that kind of power."
Behind him, the green-haired man walked closer with a frown on his face. "Swear faith… for power."
"David, that's not a gift. That's a chain."
His voice hardened. "Who are we becoming if we accept it?"
David let out a short laugh, not even looking at him.
"Then don't take it."
He then reached for the ring, his eyes still fixed on it.
"Koman, you can stay weak and see where that gets you."
But moments before David could touch the ring, Rohan pulled the ring back. "Swear first, make an oath to the Lord!"
The moment the ring was taken back, David's expression darkened.
"You don't dangle something like that in front of me and then snatch it away," he said.
His gaze locked onto Rohan.
"Make up your mind. Are you offering or playing games?"
Without backing down, Rohan firmly said, "You can't use the ring without swearing your loyalty to my Lord."
David scoffed, shaking his head slightly. "Sounds like bullshit to me. Besides, loyalty isn't something you demand."
His eyes sharpened. "It's something you earn. So what makes your 'Lord' worth it?"
Behind him, Koman's expression hardened. "Power in exchange for obedience."
He shook his head slightly. "You're not offering strength. You're building servants."
Rohan glanced at the two and asked without any hesitation, "So what benefits have the Orthodox gods given to the people? Hundreds of millions worshipped them, and the people received nothing in return."
"As for my lord, the Storm God is a true god among gods. This ring is proof that he's real and rewards his believers with blessings."
At Rohan's words, David let out a short breath.
"I want to know the price before I pay it."
As for Koman, his gaze didn't waver. "Power in exchange for worship… That's not faith! That's dependency!"
Rohan exhaled quietly with a steady expression despite the tension. 'I think I could convince the one named David. As for the other one, it seems difficult to convince him.'
His gaze shifted to Koman first. "Faith, control, dependency… call it whatever you want. People follow power, that's how the world works."
Then his eyes moved to David. "And you already understand that."
He continued calmly. "The price? You serve when you're called and never betray the Lord."
His tone hardened just a little. "In return, you get power and a place where you're not at the bottom anymore."
David was quiet for a moment before a faint smirk tugged at his lips. "Serve when called. Don't betray... That's not loyalty, that's ownership."
He tilted his head slightly. "And I don't belong to anyone."
Koman's gaze also hardened further. "Serve when called... So when your 'Lord' tells you to kill, you will. And you'll call it a fair trade."
Rohan exhaled quietly. "You're both wrong," he said calmly.
His eyes shifted to David. "Ownership? No. It's a contract."
"You take the power and you follow the terms. As long as you don't betray the Lord… you keep everything you gain."
David was silent for a second before he let out a quiet scoff.
"A contract… Yeah. I can work with that."
He stepped forward without asking this time.
"I don't betray," he said flatly. "As long as I get what I'm owed."
Koman glanced at David. "Think about what you're doing."
David didn't even look at him. "I've already made up my mind."
Koman lowered his gaze slightly. "That's how people convince themselves," he murmured.
Ignoring Koman, David firmly made an oath, "I swear my faith to the Storm God."
After David made an oath, Rohan felt a great sense of relief as he saw a notification.
[David has followed you]
[You have 2 followers]
'Two followers. I need eight more before I can upgrade my Soul Essence to Blue.'
A moment later, Rohan handed the ring to David, doing exactly as he promised.
A grin formed on David's face when he took the ring and wore it on his index finger.
Moments after he wore the ring, sparks of lightning slowly appeared around his body.
The lightbulb above his shoulder also became several times brighter.
David then pointed his index finger before he cast a spell, "Fire Ball."
In a second, a fireball the size of a fist formed at the tip of his finger before it quickly launched toward a distant tree.
BOOM!
The explosion destroyed multiple trees and sent a shockwave strong enough to push Koman a few steps back.
'Why would you do that? You'll attract nearby cultists to us!' Rohan protested inwardly.
With a satisfied look, David muttered, "Even a low-level spell can be very destructive when cast by an Indigo mage."
He then glanced at Koman. "You can continue the job, or you can go back to our village and find another partner."
Koman fell silent as he looked at David with a hint of disgust and disappointment on his face. Then, without a word, he slowly walked away, leaving Rohan and David behind.
Ignoring the look on Koman's face, David lifted Rohan and hoisted him onto his right shoulder, not caring about Rohan's blood smeared on his surcoat.
"Let's find out how fast an Indigo mage can run," he said a second before dashing forward.
Once he started running, an exhilarating look appeared on David's face as he kept running faster and faster.
And in just ten minutes, David was able to cover over five miles of distance.
Once they arrived at the city walls, David lowered Rohan to the ground.
Rohan fought the urge to vomit as the journey was anything but pleasant. While he's still writhing on the dirt, Rohan saw David crouch and lean his head toward him.
With a faint smile, David asked, "What is your name?"
"Rohan."
"David." He paused for a moment before he continued, "I want more power. How do I get it?"
Rohan frowned slightly at David's question. "Power isn't something you take whenever you want," he said calmly. His eyes met David's without wavering. "The Lord rewards those who prove their worth."
David stared at him for a second before letting out a short laugh. "Worth, huh?"
He then tapped the ring lightly. "Then give me something worth doing. I don't waste time."
After he heard David's question, Rohan slowly raised his right hand and pointed to the sky while his left hand rested on his chest. He wasn't sure what he was doing, but he believed it would make him look like a devout believer of his own religion.
"Then you should go pray to the Lord and ask Him for guidance, but not here. Go to a water source such as a lake, river, or even better, the sea."
David raised an eyebrow at that. "Pray?"
He let out a short breath, somewhere between a laugh and a scoff. He then shifted his gaze toward the distant horizon. "If that's where the power is, I'll go."
A faint smirk appeared on his face. "Just don't tell me I ran all that way for nothing."
After saying that, David dashed off in the direction Rohan assumed led to the sea.
When David disappeared from view, Rohan let out a long breath.
'That guy is a problem… He's even more obsessed with power than I am.'
Rohan slowly crawled toward the city walls and leaned against them. He could feel his condition improving, but it was still far from ideal. He needed at least half an hour of rest before he could stand.
As he glanced at the wall's surface, he immediately recognized the pattern etched into it.
'This must be the City of Light.'
He let out a quiet sigh as he realized just how far he was from the academy and his hometown.
'This place is nearly three hundred miles away…'
A moment later, Rohan felt a bit less guilty about killing the cultists.
'Not only did they torture me with hunger and thirst until I died… they also dragged me this far from home.'
Just as his hatred for the cult deepened, Rohan slowly closed his eyes and allowed himself to rest, feeling safe now that he was near the city. For obvious reasons, the various cults feared the cities, where orthodox churches maintained a strong presence.
But after a brief moment of peace, Rohan suddenly heard a faint voice in his head. It then gradually became clearer and louder.
When he closed his eyes, he began to see David and the area around him. He saw David stood on a beach with his body turned toward the sea.
"Storm God… You gave me power once."
"Give me more."
"I don't care about faith."
"I care about results."
"So prove you're worth following."
When Rohan heard David's 'prayer', he suddenly felt a slight annoyance. 'Why did he act so arrogant? It seemed like he's acted like an equal to a deity!'
'Well, I'm not an actual deity, but still!'
The thought of smiting David with lightning flashed through his mind. However, Rohan knew it would only make him seem insecure.
'Why would a god be so petty?'
'A god shouldn't be bothered by how his followers act as long as they remain loyal.'
After composing himself, Rohan cleared his throat, doing his best to make his voice sound as majestic as possible.
He then struck the area around David with bolts of lightning, letting the thunder overlap with his voice to make it more godlike.
"Spread my name and build ten shrines within the City of Light."
"Complete your task and prove your worth… and more power shall be yours."
After giving the mission, he immediately cut off the prayer, then let out a quiet chuckle and murmured, "You want power? Work for it!"
Just as he felt a sense of relief, knowing he had left the system's quest to his follower to complete, Rohan's eyelids twitched as a new notification suddenly appeared.
The moment he read it, he screamed inwardly.
'Give me a break already!'