I'm The Only One With Cancer-Chapter 174: Quest Board

"Pardon me for asking, but are you an otherworlder?"

The young nun asked as she led the way.

Zen nodded in response, "Yes. I just joined recently and am still a level 1."

"That’s fantastic! You know, we of the Temple of Light like otherworlders, so we prepare a gift for those who would be descending here via the System’s random designation."

The young nun became excited as she continued, "In addition, we treat otherworlders who descend here as blessings from the God of Light Himself. So, you can expect that the people here will be more welcoming and kind than in other places."

"That’s good to know..." Zen replied with a polite smile, feeling a little refreshed at the nun’s attitude.

After all, all he ever heard about other temples from Arthur was the fact that they were betrayers and all kinds of bad things about them.

Therefore, he could not help but see what reality was.

’It’s like this in history too. Sure, there are many bad forces that waged war and became the source of suffering for countless people. But not everyone in that "bad force" is bad. Maybe they don’t have a choice and have their own reasons.’

Zen’s thoughts wandered aimlessly while following the young nun quietly, ’Of course, I know that, no matter how hard I try to empathize with them, there’s no way I can fully understand what they’re feeling. After all, I’m merely stating what I think through a privileged point of view...’

"Here we are!"

The young nun’s excited voice snapped him out of his daze as he looked to where she was pointing with her fingers, "This is the Grand Cathedral of Light’s Quest Board."

"Quest Board...?" Zen repeated under his breath, his eyes shining with interest. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

In front of him was a large wooden board that had countless flyers pinned on it, looking like a bulletin board where announcements were often disseminated.

The only difference was the fact that this Quest Board seemed to emit some kind of magical feeling.

Seeing his expression, the young nun giggled, "Hehe... You can see the available quests over to the right side. Most of the flyers have the specific details of quests, while others only state their requirements, and the other details may have to be requested due to confidentiality."

"Since Mister has said that you had only descended onto the Free World recently, please bear in mind the reminders and instructions located here on the far left of the Quest Board." She continued after a slight pause.

Zen nodded attentively and said, "Alright, thank you for guiding the way."

"It is my utmost pleasure as the servant of the God of Light. I will be going on my way now, but please feel free to look for me or any other servants of the temple if you ever require assistance."

"By the way, can I ask you something?"

Hearing Zen’s inquiry, the young nun replied energetically, "Of course, how may I help you?"

"I’m just wondering if there’s something called a magic tower in this city?"

At his words, an awkward expression appeared on the young nun’s face before her expression immediately recovered.

’Something’s fishy...’ Of course, this did not escape Zen’s perception.

Oblivious to his thoughts, the young nun smiled vibrantly, "Yes, there’s one outside the city. It should be in Listarte, one of the nearest cities to here."

"..." Her mouth then opened, as if she wanted to say something else.

The young nun sneakily looked left and right before whispering, "Also, I know that Mister is just a new otherworlder, but please refrain from mentioning the words ’magic tower’ to any servants of the temple. You happened to be lucky because I’m kinder than the others."

At the end of her words, the young nun flashed a mischievous wink towards Zen.

"I will keep that in mind. Thank you again."

Hearing his sincere gratitude, the young nun smiled, "May the God of Light bless you."

"..."

Seeing her walking away, Zen could not help but wryly smile, ’I don’t think I can accept your blessing... since your god and I are bound to be enemies.’

’Holy sh*t, that line was so cool!’

Realizing that he had just inadvertently said a "cool" monologue in his mind, he could not help but become excited.

"Now, let’s see what we have here..."

Zen first gazed at the instructions written in the left corner of the Quest Board.

Choose a quest flyer and submit your application at the reception area.

Multiple quests may be accepted simultaneously, depending on their requirements.

Flyers marked with a red indicator denote urgent quests.

...

...

...

Zen continued reading the information written on the far left corner of the Quest Board.

Aside from the instructions for taking quests, there’s also general information about the city they were in, as well as a map that indicates their current location.

’This is pretty convenient...’

Although he had the detailed world map of the Free World from Arthur, it was more helpful in travelling between settlements than it was in detailed navigation in cities.

This was why he still took his chance to memorize this map, along with all the other information.

’Now that that’s done...’

Zen took a few minutes to memorize everything, as being enhanced by his Intelligence Stat made his already good memory even better.

’Even though I would like to explore the Kingdom of Light, I only have a week of real-world time to surprise Sera in her tournament...’

’With the difference of time between the two worlds, I only have two weeks now...’

Zen though deeply.

After all, while Sera only mentioned the tournament in passing, he still wanted to surprise her.

’I’ll just lie that there’s no magic tower nearby and will have to travel on foot...’

In the next moment, he tilted his head with his eyes shining with a mischievous glint, ’Well, it’s not like I’m really lying. After all, I really do have to travel on foot, and there’s really no magic tower nearby...’

Zen nodded in satisfaction as he successfully gaslighted himself.

’Now, let’s look for a suitable quest for me...’

He thought excitedly as he tried to look for any escort mission towards Listarte, or at very least, in its direction.

As for why an escort mission specifically?

’No matter what fantasy anime or show I watched, there’s always a scene wherein the main character will take on an escort mission, then it will turn out that the other mercenaries in their team have been bought out by bandits, and then I will have no choice but to reveal my power and then...’

Zen’s thoughts involuntarily wandered as he could not help but be excited at the thought of personally experiencing the cliché scenes in the shows that he had watched.

’Speaking of... I should’ve listed the scenes I wanted to reenact, hehe...’

His creepy giggle caught the attention of some of the servants of the temple, making them unconsciously do the sign of the light.

***

While Zen was carefully choosing his quest...

A woman with white hair and golden eyes skillfully wielded her longsword and shield as she fended off the attacks from two high-level ogres who both wielded sturdy wooden clubs.

Furthermore, both of the ogres she was facing had two heads and a necklace made of skulls.

Thud— Thud— Thud—

Shik— Shik— Shik—

The woman tried her best to fend off the twin-headed ogres’ attacks with her shield while using her longsword to deal damage to her opponents.

Unfortunately, despite being a few levels higher than both the ogres, her race as a human was what ultimately held her back.

Nevertheless, the determination in her eyes remained prominent.

It was none other than Sera, who’s now in the form of her in-game character: Horror.

The loose sleeves of her robe-like attire waved in the air with every movement, while her fitted pants did not hinder her in any way.

This attire was a gift from her master.

In the distance, a blindfolded woman with light orange hair was observing the other from above a tree branch.

’She’s really a monster to be taking two level 70 Ogre Chieftains despite being level 75. Normally, humans would need to be at least 20 levels higher to deal with normal level 70 ogres easily. That’s only the case for a normal monster, as for elite and boss monsters... the situation changes drastically.’

The woman was none other than Helena, who was currently keenly observing her disciple below.

’To think that she would go this far just to prove her determination, it’s really commendable.’

Despite her admiring thoughts, Helena’s expression turned serious as she remembered what Sera wanted to do, ’Still, I can’t help but feel like she’s being reckless...’

’Anyways, it’s not like I’ll let her die. Let’s just observe what she does for now.’

Below the tree branch, Sera was fighting with everything she had.

However, upon closer observation, not once had she decided to activate any kind of skill.

Glancing at her master, who was sitting on the tree branch with a relaxed expression, Sera could not help but click her tongue.