When he woke up, Rohan saw the morning sun rising over the horizon. Looking around, he realized he wasn't at sea or the shore, but somehow lying inside a carriage.
As he slowly pushed himself up to sit, he noticed a man sitting not far from him.
"Hey, you're finally awake."
Rohan didn't respond as he was still dealing with the pain and trying to make sense of what had happened.
And moments later, he finally recalled, 'Right, I lost consciousness after that fight.'
Despite getting no response from Rohan, the man continued speaking. "Let me tell you something. My daughter patched you up real good. You'd be in a world of hurt right now if it wasn't for her. Girl's got a little talent with healing magic, and today, that talent saved your life."
Rohan looked toward the front of the carriage and saw a gray tiger pulling it, with a red-haired girl riding on its back.
He then looked at his shoulder and thigh, slightly surprised to see that the wounds had almost fully healed.
Naturally, as a well-mannered person, Rohan immediately expressed his sincere gratitude and thanks to the man and the girl.
After he thanked them, Rohan asked, "How did you find me?"
"My daughter, yeah my daughter, she's the one who found your sorry self just floating out there in the sea. Just drifting like yesterday's trash."
"Now we all took one look at you and said, that's it. This poor soul's checked out. Thought you were dead."
"But here's the twist, my friend. Against all logic, against all expectation, hell, against common sense, you're still breathing."
"So yeah. Welcome back to the land of the living."
The man smiled, without giving Rohan the time to respond, he then asked, "Where's your home? You see, we're on our way to the City of Light. So if your home lies somewhere along that path, you best say it now."
Since Rohan could not reveal where he truly lived, he asked them to let him off near the city gate
Along the way, the three of them introduced themselves. The old man was Dunn, and his daughter was Riona.
At some point, Riona asked him, "You weren't drifting randomly… were you?"
Rohan met her gaze for a brief moment before looking away. "Let's just say I ran into some trouble."
Riona tilted her head slightly. "That kind of trouble doesn't usually let people go."
'I know that...' Rohan agreed inwardly.
After that, Riona fell silent, offering no more questions. The conversation drifted naturally, settling between Dunn and Rohan as if she had stepped out of it entirely. Dunn spoke at length, his tone steady and unhurried, recounting how he and his daughter had cleared a Tower Labyrinth near the Kingdom's capital.
As he listened, Rohan felt a quiet unease take root. These two were not ordinary people. That much was obvious. Nor were they mere low-level mages stumbling through danger by luck alone. And yet, he could not grasp the extent of their strength.
Dunn continued, describing the countless Skeleguards he had cut down within the Tower, each word carrying the weight of experience rather than boast. He spoke of the climb, of pushing higher and higher, until he casually mentioned reaching the tenth floor.
Rohan's eyelids twitched.
Only then did it truly sink in. Reaching the tenth floor wasn't something people talked about casually. If Dunn was telling the truth, then both he and Riona had to be at least a Cyan-level mage, one level higher than Ron.
Of course, there was always the possibility that Dunn was lying. People exaggerated. They boasted. They spun stories to elevate themselves.
Rohan was not someone who doubted others easily. Unless he had a reason to.
Each time he met someone new, he chose to believe them first, and only reconsidered later.
After a while, the carriage came to a stop. When he looked ahead, Rohan noticed the city gate not far away. For a moment, he felt confused about why the girl had stopped the carriage at some distance from the gate instead of going all the way there.
However, he did not complain. He stepped down and once again expressed his gratitude. As he watched the carriage move forward and approach the city gate, Rohan noticed that the guards were acting strangely, as if they were seeing someone important on it.
At that moment, Rohan assumed that Riona and Dunn must be significant figures within the city for the guards to react in such a manner.
But he did not let his thoughts about Riona and Dunn linger any further in his mind. Right now, he needed to focus on how to eliminate a man named Gherman. He did not even want to dwell on the Rivia Academy and its connection to the Shadow Cult. For now, his priority was his quest.
With that in mind, Rohan made his way toward Edmund's house. After passing through the city gate and walking deeper into the city, he eventually arrived there.
When he realized the house was empty, Rohan began tracking Edmund and David's location using his authority as the Storm God.
After confirming that the two of them were safe, he leaned back and sat on the lawn of Edmund's house. There, he decided to check his system interface.
[Storm God Authority: 1 Fragment]
[Number of Followers: 68]
●
[Primary Quest: Convert 1000 followers]
[Time Limit: 28 days]
[Reward: Soul Essence Upgrade]
[Failure: Paralyzed for 30 days]
●
[Quest: Build your first church]
[Time limit: 28 days]
[Reward: A fragment of the Storm God's authority]
[Failure: Paralyzed for 30 days]
●
[Emergency Quest: Eliminate 3 influential members of the Shadow God Cult hidden within the City of Light]
[Time Limit: 28 Days]
[Reward: Spear of Storm]
[Failure: Paralyzed for 30,000 days]
After carefully reading the system interface, Rohan felt uneasy when he noticed that his follower growth was still not improving.
'At this rate, I will be paralyzed for thirty days...'
He realized he needed to quickly finish the emergency task so he could focus more on the primary quest.
'And other than that, I also have to build a church.'
But Rohan did not feel down for long. He knew things had not been easy, and the fight with his former teacher had nearly cost him his life. Even so, the benefits of the system were truly inconceivable.
Rohan would rather have this kind of life, where he was constantly under the threat of danger and punishment, but at the same time had many opportunities to grow stronger.
'What is the value of a safe life if it leads to nothing? For me, a life without risk is just a life without progress.'