Chapter 78: Ch 78: Your ability is Precious

Caelion participated in 3-4 more tournaments over the course of a week before they decided that it was time for them to head back.

They had spent far too long away from the temple and the main village, which was a little worrying. Aiden felt like it was finally time for them to head back.

However...

"Is something wrong, Priest Aiden?"

Caelion asked, immediately noticing the frown on Aiden’s face.

"I wanted to recruit some teachers for my village, but so far, I have not seen anyone who can help us out. They don’t even have to follow Goddess Apophis. As long as they are able to teach well, I won’t mind hiring them."

The reason Aiden did not mind hiring teachers that belonged to other faiths was simple- he trusted his village’s people not to abandon their goddess.

Besides, the teachers he was hiring were not there to teach faith but other important subjects.

"There is only so much we can do with the village people who have limited education. Specialized subjects like building and electrical work can be taught by experts, but as for everyday subjects...it will be better to get a scholar."

Aiden wanted to get a teacher that specialized in languages, mainly because he knew that the burden currently fell on Ethan River. And he was not the most patient person in the world.

That kid was currently teaching because he was forced to, not because he was suited for it. And even then, he was more suited to teach maths than reading comprehension.

"Ugh, if you want a teacher and don’t mind their faith, then I might be able to help you. As you know, half-phoenixes like us get cast out regularly, so we have formed our own village. We can ask for help there."

Sasha proposed with a hopeful look on her face, and Aiden saw the system’s flash out of the corner of his eyes.

[Current Mission: Gaining the trust of a potential god]

[Convince Sasha Beil to become a follower of either yourself or Goddess Apophis]

[Reward: A loyal companion who may one day save your life.]

[Failure: None]

The fact that this message had not been cleared meant that Sasha had not come around to accepting him or Goddess Apophis as her gods.

So her request was worth listening to if it meant that it would help them gain her trust.

Besides, having more phoenixes around the village won’t hurt. They were excellent potion makers due to their infinite patience and long lifespan.

’I was looking into expanding the herb business anyway. If I have the phoenixes make potions, it would be even better.’

Well, things had a way of working themselves out, and the system’s interference once again gave Aiden an advantage.

It was easy for him to accept this offer of help, and the system agreed.

[New Mission update: Invite Half-Phoenix clan to your Goddess’s village and gain more followers]

[Reward: +0.5% faith. A blooming potion industry]

[Failure: Lose access to some of the best potion makers in the world.]

Well, the system had made the decision for Aiden, and it was time to start working on convincing the phoenixes to join him.

...

Aiden had expected it to take days or even months to reach the half-phoenix village based on the current transportation methods. But since he had been living with humans for so long, he had forgotten that there were other species that could use magic.

And the phoenixes were one such species.

"I will need a few hours as well as some ingredients before I can open the gate to our village. I was supposed to have the supplies, but I accidentally lost them..."

Somehow, Aiden had a feeling that Sasha had not lost her supplies, but rather sold them for money in order to continue her journey.

But he chose not to say these words aloud because he did not want to embarrass the young child.

"A-Anyway, once we have the ingredients, I can start drawing the gate and force it open. So just give me some time..."

"What ingredients do you want? I might have some in stock."

And by that Aiden meant that the system would have some in stock. It was only a matter of how much he would have to spend.

Honestly, he was running low on funds right now because he had been spending a lot but had not gotten many offerings in return. The offerings were all back at the temple, but he could not go back and grab them.

But Aiden could also not allow his goddess to stay in shabby places, so he had to improvise...

"Ah, the list? Let me see!"

Sasha quickly recited the things she needed, and luckily, it was still within Aiden’s budget.

It felt a little bad to spend coins on these ingredients, but the payoff was good enough to the point where he could ignore all that and continue.

He placed the ingredients in Sasha’s hands, which made her look shocked and then suspicious.

"Why do you have all this? None of these are normal ingredients. Many of them are poisonous as well. What if you get poisoned?"

Sasha sounded genuinely worried before hearing Aiden chuckle.

"My goddess is Lady Apophis. Do you really think I am afraid of some low-grade poison? As for these plants...you have no idea what else I have with me. This does not even scratch the surface."

Well, the system had almost everything. It was only a matter of paying the cost. That technically meant that Aiden had almost everything available at his fingertips at all times.

"I don’t get what you mean, but you better start hiding the fact. There are forces in this world who are greedy for such things and have an unlimited source of rare materials like yours. And I don’t only mean those who live in this world."

Sasha was hinting that even gods might get greedy for Aiden’s abilities, which was slightly concerning.

After all, he did not want to use his abilities for anyone who was not his goddess.