Game of the World Tree

【 TRIAL TO BECOMEA PRIEST 】

After logging off in a hurry, Jasmine returned to the real world.

Unlike the fullness she felt after having snacks and ale inside the game, a wave of intense hunger struck her the moment she left the virtual pod.

“It would be nice if eating in the game could fill me up in real life too.”

She muttered to herself, stretched lazily, and began ordering takeout.

After placing the order, she left the virtual pod to wash up.

Jasmine, whose real name was Su Lili, was a 24-year-old university graduate who had been in the workforce for three years.

Single and employed at a government-affiliated institution, her favorite pastime was gaming.

Her skills in games were top-notch.

However, while games were undeniably interesting, Jasmine had always been drawn to one thing above all else:

Combat.

Especially fast-paced, visceral melee battles.

The stronger the impact, the more she enjoyed it.

With virtual reality games sweeping across the globe, Su Lili had, like many others, become addicted to immersive VR games. Elven Kingdom was her latest discovery, a hidden gem she stumbled upon only recently.

To her regret, she hadn’t been able to catch the game’s initial release.

“It’s all because I was too busy with work recently and was addicted to other games. Otherwise, I would not have missed Elven Kingdom’ first beta!”

“But it’s not too late now. Starting late just makes it more challenging—and that’s even better!”

A faint smile tugged at her lips as she thought of this.

Su Lili thrived on challenges—provided they didn’t involve long, tedious storylines.

In games, she always skipped its plot as her focus was entirely on leveling up and PvP.

However, Elven Kingdom’ PvP had its drawbacks.

Battles required specific arenas and cost contribution points, which irked her slightly.

Fortunately, despite her disdain for PvE, the monster system in Elven Kingdom was exceptional.

The combat felt incredibly realistic, and the thrilling fights rivaled traditional PvP.

Thus, she found herself surprisingly hooked.

It was unlike the repetitive grind of other games. In Elven Kingdom, every fight against a monster felt really unique.

At first, even Jasmine struggled to adapt to the hyper-realistic combat, fumbling through her early encounters.

Of course, like most skilled players, she caught onto it pretty quickly soon enough.

Now, she sometimes felt as if the combat techniques she’d honed in the game might work in real life.

Then again, given her online bravado and crippling social anxiety, she’d probably freeze up if it ever came to that.

Not that she minded.

As long as she could shine in the game, her reality didn’t matter so to speak.

Her goal she set for herself was to climb to the top of the power rankings before the next beta or public release, defeating the long-reigning champion, “Boxlunch.”

Fortunately for her, today happened to be the weekend, which meant she had no work and plenty of free time to indulged herself in games.

After a shower, she ate her takeout, used the bathroom, skimmed through entertainment news, and took care of personal matters that could only be resolved in reality.

Finally, Su Lili climbed back into the virtual pod.

The server maintenance for the big update was completed and she could now log in again.

Placing the helmet on her head, she uttered the familiar voice command she’d repeated countless times:

“Launch—Elven Kingdom!”

【

】

【Game connection successful…】

【New version detected: Elven Kingdom 1.9】

Update Log V1: Priest Class Unlocked…

Update Log V2: Preaching System Introduced…

Update Log V3: Divine Favor System Available…

Updating…

【Update Complete】

Logging in…

【Game Username: Jasmineunderthemoon 】

Chosen One, welcome back to Elven Kingdom!

With the familiar system voice, Jasmine was back in the virtual world of Elven Kingdom.

Her visual screen darkened as the opening animation for Elven Kingdom began.

Typically, Su Lili would just skip it as she’d only ever watch the opening animations the first time she played a game.

But as her hand hovered, ready to skip, something made her pause.

The opening animation had changed yet again.

“The devs really love redoing these intros, huh? Changing these cutscenes every time they implemented an update.”

She grumbled to herself but decided not to skip it.

While she didn’t care for the game’s storyline or interacting with the NPCs, Elven Kingdom did have a flair for cutscenes that made them somewhat worth watching.

In any case, Jasmine thought that using players’ contributions to advance the storyline and incorporating them into opening animations was quite a thoughtful design.

However, just as she assumed that today’s cutscene would once again ‘highlight’ the players’ achievements, something unexpected happened.

As ethereal yet solemn background music played, the cutscene slowly unfolded…

A deep, resonant voice accompanied the visuals:

“For the return of Her Grace, the Divine Matriarch, I am willing to pay any price.”

The scene brightened gradually, revealing a dilapidated cathedral. A strikingly handsome half-elf stood before a statue, fervently praying.

Behind him, hundreds of hooded elves knelt with solemn expressions, their bags packed as though they were preparing for a long journey.

“Who’s that? An NPC?”

Jasmine frowned in confusion.

As she began to feel that this new cutscene was somewhat different, the screen abruptly lit up, and she found herself back in the tavern room where she had logged off earlier.

“…That’s it? Just one character?”

Jasmine blinked in surprise.

This didn’t seem like Elven Kingdom’ usual style.

Weren’t their opening animations supposed to last at least thirty seconds to a minute?

And didn’t they always feature players’ actions as part of its history?

After all, players took great pride in seeing themselves appear in these new cutscenes.

So why did this new one simply introduce a character and just abruptly end it like that?

Could it be… a teaser for a new storyline?

Jasmine wondered.

Despite her curiosity, she didn’t care much.

“Hmm, it’s probably just a prelude to some main quest. I’m not that interested anyway. I’ll just join the group battles when needed and collect some EXP when the time comes.”

Shaking her head, she climbed out of bed and began equipping her armor.

Taking off one’s gear before logging out was basic common sense in Elven Kingdom.

Perhaps in an effort to simulate reality, resting in armor affected stamina regeneration, and sometimes players even logged back in to find their legs feeling “numb” if they had forgone removing it.

To Jasmine, details like these to which some players hailed as immersive realism are simply unnecessary in her opinion.

“Honestly, they could’ve put that effort into balancing the job classes instead. I mean, just look at the current state: there are dozens of combat classes, but the closest thing to a healer is the Druid, which barely counts as half a healer.”

At least now the Priest class had finally been unlocked.

Thinking of this, Jasmine pulled up the job class panel.

As expected, the once-grayed-out Priest icon had finally lit up.

The Priest’s symbol was a scepter which was also the current insignia of the Goddess of Life.

Wasting no time, Jasmine opened the Priest class introduction to see what becoming one entailed and whether it would affect progression in other classes.

“Hm? To become a Priest, anyone who wants to be one needs to complete a trial in the demi-realm of Ouros? And only after finishing this trial, could aspirants become a ‘Apprentice Priest’?”

“What’s this? Novice Priest doesn’t count as a level yet? Aspirants need to complete preaching tasks to advance to ‘Apprentice Priest,’ which is levels 1-10, then come Iron Priest, Silver Priest…”

“The Priest class can either be a secondary class or a main class, with differences in experience requirements and task progression…”

“If one chooses to become a Priest as their secondary class, its level can’t surpass their main class level, and the main class progression isn’t affected. Secondary Priests don’t require experience points to level up—just the completion of certain proselytizing tasks.”

“If one chooses Priest as their main class, its level can exceed the levels of other classes, effectively replacing their current level. This means… main-class Priests can level up solely through the Priest progression!”

“Main-class Priests require experience points, but they only need a third of what other classes do. However, advancing to higher ranks mandates completing certain amounts of proselytizing tasks.”

After carefully reading through the Priest class introduction, Jasmine finally understood how it worked.

“I see. So if I choose it as a secondary class, it’s basically just a side gig—I level it up through tasks, but it won’t surpass my main class or help me gain levels. It’s just an extra class in my arsenal.”

“But if I make it my main class, the Priest level will replace my current level, and I can level up much faster thanks to the reduced EXP requirements. Although the catch is… I have to complete those annoying proselytizing tasks.”

“This leveling mechanic is kind of interesting. It looks perfect for new players to level up quickly—assuming they figure out the tricks. But… it doesn’t really suit me. All those tasks sound like a huge hassle.”

Jasmine scratched her head.

Still, she had already boasted in front of Caesar that she would take him with her to try out this new content. Even if she found it troublesome now, she had no choice but to go through with it.

“Since being a part-time priest won’t have much impact, let’s change my primary job class first.”

Having made up her mind, Jasmine decided to complete her promotion to Silver-rank Warrior.

Whilst facing the World Tree in the distance, she began a familiar prayer within her mind:

“Praise nature, praise life, praise the great Goddess Eve!”

Her vision immediately shifted, and she entered the jobclass interface.

The Warrior class had four specialization paths: Weapon Mastery, Guardian Mastery, Agility Mastery, and Arcane Martial Arts Mastery.

Weapon Mastery focused on offense, allowing players to quickly master almost any weapon while significantly enhancing attack skills.

Guardian Mastery specialized in defense, with high durability and access to supportive protective skills.

Agility Mastery felt somewhat similar to the Hunter class, offering nimbleness and precision.

Lastly, Arcane Martial Arts Mastery combined magic and combat—though in practice, it only provided slight magic enhancements and access to a few instant-cast utility spells.

Clearly, each specialization had its own pros and cons.

However for Jasmine who loved combat and thrived in close-quarters battles, the choice was pretty obvious:

Weapon Mastery.

After successfully changing her class, Jasmine returned to the agreed meeting spot with Caesar—the central plaza.

By the time she arrived, Caesar had already been waiting for quite a while.

The male Druid player quickly perked up as soon as he saw her, exclaiming excitedly:

“Jasmine, did you see? If you choose the Priest class as your main class, the EXP requirements for leveling up are reduced by two-thirds! I’ll finally be able to catch up to you!”

“Psh, I’m already a Silver-ranker. Talk to me again when you hit level 40.”

“…”

Caesar gave Jasmine a incredulous look, forced out a dry laugh, and said:

“Anyway, shall we go to the demi-realm of Ouros for the trial quest together? Have you accepted the quest yet? Heh, there’s a little surprise when you do!”

A surprise?

Jasmine raised an eyebrow at him, puzzled.

“Hold on, I haven’t accepted it yet.”

Turning around, Jasmine once again faced the World Tree at the edge of the plaza. Lowering her voice in prayer, she reopened the class interface.

The Priest trial quest wasn’t issued by an NPC but was instead selected within the jobclass interface.

The moment Jasmine chose to accept the trial, her mind grew hazy. She felt as though she glimpsed a sacred figure seated upon a divine throne.

It was the Goddess Eve.

The Goddess seemed to smile faintly at her, and a holy, ethereal voice echoed softly within her ears:

“Chosen One, may you triumph in your trial and serve as my instrument to spread my faith throughout the land.”

Her vision blurred for a moment before returning to normal.

So that’s the surprise Caesar was talking about, she thought.

It must have been “seeing” the Goddess during the class trial acceptance process.

Unlike other players who were practically fanatical about the Goddess, Jasmine liked this NPC but wasn’t as obsessed.

Still, she had to admit—the Goddess was indeed quite the feast for the eyes.

“Let’s go. I already accepted the trial quest. Let’s head now to Ouros.”

She turned to Caesar.

“Okay!”

༺⟐༻

The teleportation array between Kenorland and Chosen City had already been constructed.

As a result, the two of them quickly teleported over.

With the latest update unlocking the Priest class, countless players were also interested in trying it out.

So when Jasmine and Caesar finally arrived in Kenorland, the entire city was already packed to the brim with people.

Even the portal to the demi-realm of Ouros had a queue.

“This is ridiculous! Why are there so many people?!”

Caesar gawked in disbelief.

“Well this new class can be a secondary one,” Jasmine explained. “and there’s no downside to taking it, so everyone wants to try it out. Plus, the Priest class’s healing and protective abilities are really useful.”

While both of them hadn’t played as Priests before, they had certainly seen the Priest NPCs in action. Alice and others had shown off their abilities more than enough to make players envious.

Whether it was the near-resurrection-level [Holy Healing] or the [Soul of Restoration] which could heal a group of people, these spells were enough to make anyone drool.

And that’s not even mentioning the various divine buffs available!

In short, the Priest class perfectly combined the supportive and healing strengths of the Druid class but took it to a whole new level.

Naturally, players were eager to try it out.

It took Jasmine and Caesar nearly twenty minutes of waiting in line before they finally passed through the portal to the demi-realm of Ouros.

Since Eve had become the ruler of this demi-realm, the portal’s teleportation coordinates had been altered.

Players no longer appeared mid-air over the forest; instead, they now arrived at the Temple of Life in the City of Seigües, which was currently under reconstruction.

Of course, it was no longer called the Church of Creation and was now renamed as the Church of Life.

After half a month, the natives of Ouros seemed to have grown accustomed to the constant appearance of elves.

Many still referred to the players as “Divine Beings,” but thanks to corrections and guidance from Eve’s envoys, such as Aél, the term “elf” was slowly gaining recognition.

The local people of this realm viewed elves as envoys of the higher realm and treated them with deep reverence, of which some players found uncomfortable.

Jasmine was one of them.

As she and Caesar walked through the city, every passing local stopped to respectfully bow in their direction.

Jasmine couldn’t help but feel awkward witnessing their behavior.

In any case, the trial quest to become a priest was fairly simple.

It involved searching the city for several NPCs and helping them with their tasks.

Among these NPCs were former members of the Church of Creation, impoverished citizens, retired guards, and elderly scholars studying the history of the Ouros demi-realm.

Unbeknownst to Jasmine and Caesar, these NPCs were not ordinary and were specially created by Eve specifically for this trial alone.

The required tasks were pretty straightforward:

Help these NPCs while listening to any stories they had to share.

In reality, the NPCs created by Eve didn’t truly exist.

When players entered the designated locations, it was as if they stepped into a “PK Virtual Space”, entering a mental world constructed by Eve.

These NPCs were all products of these mental space.

Of course, players remained completely unaware of this and assumed they were still in the game’s physical world.

The reason Evé implemented this was to handle the logistical difficulties of large groups of players completing quests simultaneously.

In this mental world, players could undertake the trials together. If these NPCs existed in the city itself, then the players would have to line up and complete the quests one by one.

After all, having to queue just to listen to a story for a class trial would be far too inefficient.

After searching around for a little bit, Jasmine and Caesar finally arrived at their first designated location.

“Another storyline? Ugh, I hate story quests. Can’t we just skip this?”

Jasmine grumbled impatiently.

“Just bear with it. It’s a trial quest, after all, and ElvKing has never allowed skipping story content. You might as well treat it like a break.”

Caesar tried to comfort her.

Jasmine sighed but reluctantly accepted her fate.

The tasks for the trial weren’t difficult—just moving some objects, repairing houses, or caring for the NPCs, for instance.

During this process, however, players would hear stories from these NPCs.

However, Jasmine wasn’t remotely interested in listening to the stories and spent most of the time zoning out and browsing online guides for weapon mastery instead…

Since they were in a party, Caesar ended up guiding the entire trial quest.

Jasmine had no complaints.

She genuinely disliked doing quests, despite having initially claimed she’d be the one to “carry” Caesar.

But everyone has their strengths, right?

Since Caesar enjoyed stuffs like these, then she’ll gladly let him handle it.

She’d return the favor after they acquired the priest class.

The trial progressed smoothly—largely thanks to Caesar taking the lead.

However, as Jasmine absentmindedly followed him while browsing forums, she couldn’t help but notice that Caesar, who had been chatting excitedly earlier, had suddenly grown quiet.

“What’s wrong? You seem a bit down,” she asked.

“Ugh… the story from this trial is just too moving. After learning about the origins of this demi-realm, how could I not feel sad?” Caesar sighed.

He paused for a moment before adding wistfully:

“Ouros… He was such a great hero.”

Ouros? A hero?

Jasmine frowned slightly.

She knew who Ouros was—the boss of the Heart of Life questline. He was a demigod who had betrayed the Goddess and the creator of this demi-realm.

But… a hero?

Wasn’t he a corrupted evil god, tainted by the Abyss?

Had she missed something?

Was it part of the story?

With her curiosity piqued, she glanced at Caesar, but her slightly stubborn nature made her dismissively reply:

“Come on, it’s just a make-believe story.”

Caesar shot her an exasperated look.

“Jasmine, were you zoning out during the trial just now?”

“Uh…”

Jasmine’s face turned slightly awkward.

Caesar sighed.

“You really should check out the story’s content, you know? There’s a summary of the story in the trial quest log, including the history of this demi-realm and Ouros’ story.”

“If you don’t, it might affect your trial evaluation.”

After some hesitation, Jasmine finally opened the trial interface and pulled up the records.

The very first line she saw immediately caught her eye, striking a chord of familiarity:

“For the return of Her Grace, the Divine Matriarch, I am willing to pay any price.”

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