World Online

Jake glanced at the door that she was pointing him toward.

An unassuming door that Jake had been through before. It was just like the church of the god of light, but a little different.

Just like the God of Light had his church, the Gods of Adventure had their own little sanctuary.

And they were responsible for the Tier Ascension that Jake was supposed to go through.

He nodded and walked around the counter to the door.

"Remember. This is going to be a weird experience for a first timer like you, but you should make sure not to resist what is going to happen. The Gods do not like the ignorant." The bartender said, smiling.

Jake nodded, gracious for the tip. He knew, of course. Everyone knew.

For a while, there were posts going up saying that they were given a penalty during their Tier Ascension because they apparently pissed off the gods by resisting the experience or something like that?

So Jake knew to prepare for what was to come.

The door opened on its own, once again.

But he still couldn\'t see what was within. It was completely dark, and nothing within was visible.

The problem was, Jake knew what it was supposed to look like. No god of righteousness would embrace the darkness. So the church itself was supposed to be nice and bright.

"I am just thinking too much." Jake shook his head as he stepped in.

He took a deep breath, but the moment his face crossed the threshold, all of it just escaped.

Pfft!

What he saw was something different.

This was not what he remembered the church of the adventuring gods to be.

It was supposed to be simple, unordained. And yet, he was looking at a purple and green swirl of extravagance.

All around this circular room, statues of the five adventuring gods were standing tall and proud.

They were one of the most important gods in the entire world, for without them, no player could ascend their tier.

Jake looked at the five gods carefully.

If the church had changed, then the gods might have changed as well.

But to Jake relief, the gods were the same.

The same chiseled features, and muscular bodies, these were the images that men wanted to achieve.

They were all statues of stone, so their true features couldn\'t be seen in completion, but this was enough for Jake to sigh with relief.

"Why did the place change so much though? I thought that it was supposed to be plain." Jake murmured as he approached the priest of this place.

"That is because you are in the inner sanctuary. You may have heard the accounts of those who entered the church of the adventuring gods. Well, this is a place reserved for the greatest and the best adventurers. In your latest conquest, you have crossed that threshold." The high priest smiled and explained, as if he could hear everything that Jake had said.

"The Inner Sanctuary? I have never heard of something like this." Jake said, shocked.

"That is no surprise. Once you leave this place, after all, you will forget that you have even been here. The Inner Sanctuary is a secret that we cannot afford to let others know of. So even if you come here, once you leave, you will have to regain the qualifications to enter." The high priest said.

"I have to regain my qualifications? Didn\'t I do that?" Jake asked.

"All your adventures till now allowed you one entry. Only after you have done something substantial, like conquering part of the evil lands, or something like that, can you truly be allowed into the Inner Sanctuary." The high priest said.

Jake shook his head, his mind returning to the original matter at hand.

"I am here to-"

"Get your tier ascension. I am well aware." The high priest nodded as he pointed to a certain pedestal that Jake was supposed to step on top of.

"It has been quite some time since a knight of sin has entered through these doors, coming to ascend his tier." The priest clicked his tongue, shaking his head.

"Oh, those were times of peace. I hope that since you have come here, those times of peace will return once more." The priest said.

This time, Jake had it.

"If you don\'t mind, can you please tell me more about these knights of sin? Who are they? And why does everyone call me the leader of the knights of sin? I don\'t even know who they are." Jake asked.

"That is not something that I can tell you. The ones who can give you that answer, well the two who have guided your path will be the ones to open your eyes." The priest said.

"The instructor at the training camp? The hollow knight? I can\'t meet both of them, goddamn it." Jake cursed.

Once someone left the training camp, they couldn\'t return. That was basic knowledge that everyone knew.

"Well then, do you wish to know more about the knights of sin? You can trade the tier ascension for that information. But to take the ascension quest again, you will have to wait. A few weeks." The priest said.

"No thank you. I will find a way to get this information on my own. For now, the tier ascension is more important. The quest was hard enough." Jake shook his head almost instantly.

"Well then, please, stand on the pedestal."

Jake nodded and he removed his boots, placing them in his inventory before standing on the rock pedestal.

"A noble with manners. How very nice and poetic." The priest smiled as he turned around to face the adventuring god statue that was behind them.

"God of Farin. Please bless this one and show him the way." The priest put his hands together and closed his eyes.

A green light emanated from the statue of god, and covered Jake in an uncomfortable and slimy feeling that Jake did not fight even one bit.

[You have completed the Tier Ascension Quest.]

[You are now in the Second Tier]

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