Chapter 2101: In The Care Of The Church

Karl carefully handed the pill to the Oracle, who stared at nothing with a bemused expression.

"Your Guild can just hand these out as welcoming gifts for invalids?" He asked.

Karl shrugged. "They’re made with locally sourced ingredients. So, the bottleneck is not material cost, but the skill required to make them. That one is made by our Immortal Rank head Alchemist. If it’s not enough I can ask our Supreme Pill Master to make a batch, but it will take some time.

You’re in the care of the World Dragon Church now, and the Darklight Host takes care of their own."

The Oracle smiled vaguely, his mind occupied with memories of the past.

Like many others, he had once spent time on the Divine Battlefields, and had only been retired by his Clan when his visions became a crippling liability. That was how he ended up on this world, where they weren’t as bad. But like all Oracles, they only got worse as he got more powerful.

So, his memories of the Darklight Host were not ones of fond camaraderie, they were memories of war, with the Demigods of his Church squaring off against the Demigods of their Guild.

While there was no ingrained animosity between the two, that didn’t mean that they were on the same team when it came down to a pair of Demigods looking to ascend. In that conflict, there were no real allies, only matches of convenience, and subordinates who could not challenge for true power.

And his leader was one who could challenge for true Divinity.

"In that case, I will be in your care, Branch Leader. Thank you for extending your hospitality to so many of our Elder members."

Karl made a dismissive gesture. "This is the church’s choice, not mine. You can thank the clerics for all the hard work that they’re doing, or about to be doing.

However, there are a few things to go over first.

The whole temple is coded with incense. When you move between areas, you will notice the change in scents. They will explain what each of them means. There are also guide rails on the walls, engraved with braille before each door.

The actual door placards are in their usual spot to the left, around shoulder height.

Other than that, you can follow your nose to the kitchen and dining hall, but that is unreliable, because Lala likes to walk around delivering snacks, and you might just end up following a bunny through the temple."

The blind man chuckled at the thought of getting himself lost following a bunny instead of going to the actual dining hall.

But even that was a strange thought. Normally Oracles ended up needing room service in new places for weeks, until they could memorize their way around. But this whole building had been designed for them.

"Are there any others here, but the Oracles and the bunnies?"

"There are a bunch of mostly human and dragon kin Clerics. They’ll introduce themselves, but you can pick them out by the shoes. Lala wears hard soles, they wear indoor slippers."

The Oracle smiled. "You sound like you have experience with sightlessness."

"Nope, I just have sensitive hearing. But mostly I tell who is near me through presence sense. I know that some Oracles have a similar ability. I tried giving some of them Thermal Vision or Echolocation, but apparently the System doesn’t think that is funny, and won’t let me," Karl joked.

The Oracle nodded. "Indeed, there are no known sight skills that work with the class. The only things that I’ve seen work are advancing the class to one that doesn’t have the restriction, or forcibly changing the Oracle’s species to one that’s not compatible with the Class, which leaves them in limbo until they can change their Class."

"So, the options are either don’t be an oracle or don’t be an oracle but with scales? I can see how that would be a thing."

The oracle chuckled, knowing the history of the World Dragon involved at least one case where that was exactly the solution provided. The World Dragon was well known for his innovative changes to everything, including the Systems that had been introduced on other worlds.

While he was known as a System God, the World Dragon was more properly a God of Change. At least in the eyes of the God of Justice from the human Gods’ pantheon.

The Clerics waiting by the door took the opportunity to come inside, and the Oracle turned at the sound of footsteps.

"Soft slippers, that must be the Priestess that Branch Leader Karl informed us of. You’re right, it’s easy to tell who is who. The bunnies have light steps and hard soles, but the clerics have soft slippers.

Thank you for taking us in, Priestess."

The woman smiled. "How did you know I wasn’t a Priest?"

"You smell like lavender body wash and mint. But mostly by the way that you walk."

She nodded in satisfaction, assured that the Supreme Ranked Oracle was of relatively sound mind. They would probably not be able to shut down his visions instantly, as they did for so many others these days, so having him be sane in between them was a huge bonus.

Plus, they could always call Karl or Cara over.

They could use [Nullify] at a high enough level that they wouldn’t have to worry too much about failing to stop an ongoing vision. Though, sending the Succubus would work too. Their innate [Charm] ability was enough to derail a vision at their own level.

An Oracle’s vision was essentially a mind control ability that activated on themselves. So, applying another one cancelled it out, and both would fail.

After a moment, the other five new arrivals were brought in, so they could all go through the orientation together. That was Karl’s signal that their work here was done, and he rose from the sofa.

"Well Ladies and Gentlemen, I will let you adjust to your new home. Lord Eryman, would you like to stay for a while?"

The Legend shook his head. "No, I will come with you, and let them meet all the lovely ladies of the Church. They don’t need us around distracting them when they’re supposed to be memorizing things.

Why don’t we head over to the hotel for a beverage and a show? We still have much to discuss."