Afterlife Dream

The test scenario differed from job to job as it was tailored to the nature of the job itself. Only the final boss remained the same.

In an exaggerated manner, it was not wrong to say that the Red Asura was moving in a slow-motion compared to the other bosses. I was not even comparing him to the Fire Golem. I was comparing him to General Aardvark. According to DragonTalon, the final boss for the Third Job Advancement Test, which was introduced as Evil Mantis Lord, was even faster and deadlier. And I had to face him alone. Wonderful.

While the second job advancement NPCs hovered in the air gracefully, the third job advancement NPCs sat in lavish thrones made of white marbles. Colorful gems were used to decorate the edges. They sat with their backs facing each other. All four thrones stood on a white marble disk that slowly rotated when I entered the hut and stopped when the NPC in charge of my advancement was facing me.

The NPC looked up at me and gave me an emotionless smile.

"Good day, [Healer]. It has been a while since we last saw you. You have improved greatly in your quests to protect the Afterlife Dream realm. We thank you greatly for your effort."

A melodious but also mystical-sounding BGM started to play in the background.

"Have you come here to undergo the Third Job Advancement?"

Yes.

"The third job [High Priest] is the next step after [Healer]. The tasks of a [High Priest] go beyond the noble tasks of a [Healer]. Dear Adventurer, are you ready to become a [High Priest]?"

Yes, I am.

"This lowly one shall be the judge for that. [Healer], are you ready to take your Third Job Advancement Test?"

Yes.

"Very well. If you fail, you must pray for seven days to gain enlightenment before you attempt the next test. [Healer], please step into the light."

The NPC was pointing to the floor to my left side. I turned my head and saw a circular spot of light on the floor. I gingerly stepped into the circle and looked up at the NPC expectantly. The NPC looked at me with empty eyes and said nothing. From far away, I heard a whooshing sound that gradually grew louder. And then, the hut ceiling opened up in a flash and a gigantic pelican bird swooped downward in my direction.

"AHHHHHH!!!!"

My first instinct was to jump off the circle and throw myself on the floor. I had one foot in the air, but it never landed out of the circle. Instead, both of my feet left the ground. The gigantic pelican bird grabbed my shoulders with its talons and took me away. My body swayed a little in the air when I struggled to free myself, but then I caught sight of the scene beneath my feet and turned pale. I thus decided to stop moving and remain obedient. It was an eerie experience, but I would not choose to describe it as unpleasant. It was refreshing to have the warm wind blow against my face. It was almost too comfortable that my eyes started to close and I started to nod off.

I did not fall asleep in the end, as the gigantic pelican bird chose the very moment to fly downward and headed for the ground at high speed. I opened my eyes wide in a fit of panic. At a two-meter height, it dropped me and flew right back into the sky. I stumbled forward a few steps on my shaky feet and stared at its distancing silhouette for a while before I shook my head vigorously for a few seconds to refocus. I looked around to see where the bird dropped me off to.

I was in the middle of a sandy beach with an astounding view of the ocean. Behind me was the jungle. The mechanical voice rang out in the air.

"Adventurer, you have been equipped with all the skills of a [High Priest] for the purpose of the test. Each skill has one skill point. You are free to test the skills as you see fit."

Awesome. I finally had some useful skills. Scratch that. I meant, some offensive skills for grinding and bossing purposes.

"For centuries, Paradise Island has been the home to the Waikiki Tribe. The Waikiki Tribespeople live in harmony and keep to themselves. They do not associate themselves with strangers. Recently, a group of explorers from the New Continent landed at the beach of Paradise Island. Upon seeing that the island is fertile and has abundant resources, they decided to invade Paradise Island in the name of the New Continent.

[Healer], please use the skills you have as [High Priest] to lead your Waikiki Tribe toward victory!"

...

Did the game accidentally give me a scenario for a warrior job? As far as I knew from books and stories, warriors made the best war generals. When had a High Priest ever led a war? Was the game trolling me?

Behind me, about a hundred tribespeople materialized out of nowhere. They each had a spear, and they were eager to use the spears. There were green HP bars above their heads. I widened my eyes in surprise. The game had put me in a party that consisted of hundred something people! Or better said hundred something NPC.

"UGA! UGA UGA BOOGA!!!" one of them shouted when he caught sight of me, and the others quickly followed.

"UGA BOOGA!!!"

"UGA UGA BOOGAHHH!!!"

...

I knew they were tribespeople, but must we also have a language barrier? How was I supposed to "lead" a bunch of soldiers who did not understand my commands? Should I learn to use body language to communicate with them??

I did not have much time to wallow in despair, as our opponents, the explorers, quickly emerged in front of us. The so-called explorers turned out to be twenty-something modern people in light brown safari clothing and black sunglasses. If they had had cameras or binoculars around their necks, they would have been perfect. The modern people arranged themselves in a formation made of two rows. One of them shouted something unintelligible, apparently something similar to a command. Upon hearing the command, they all grabbed at their belts and pulled at something. I squinted my eyes to see clearly, but it was unnecessary. When the explorers faced us again, all of them were already holding glowing lightsabers with both hands. Just like those from Star Wars.

I gulped.

The explorers came upon us with a war cry. My tribespeople also ran toward them courageously while screaming at the top of their lungs, "BOOOGAAAAA!!!!"

I as their leader naturally could not just stay back. I thus joined my tribespeople in the confrontation.

"BOOGAAAAA!!!" I screamed as well, whatever that meant.

I should have seen it coming, to be honest. I meant... lightsabers vs. spears. What did you expect, right?

Okay, I was kidding. Of course, I knew what to do. I just had to prove that I could perform as a High Priest, and could lead a war. Please fire the war generals, thanks.

Divine Guard worked wonders for my troops. That and continuous Heal as I teleported every two meters to heal whoever I could reach.

"Dear Adventurer, great job holding up so far. Please prepare for the arrival of the Poison Master."

Poison what...?

Before the so-called Poison Master arrived, mysterious dark green balls were launched toward my troops. As soon as they hit the sandy ground, they exploded with a loud bang, sending green smoke to swallow everyone in the vicinity.

I accidentally inhaled a lungful of the poison and tried to cough it out to no avail. All around me, my tribespeople were screaming from pain. The first thing that came to my mind was "Purification". This skill could purify all party members within a certain distance. But how to gather my ooga booga troops near me? I might have some chance if they could see me, but not if we were surrounded by thick poison smoke.

Our HPs quickly decreased by 200 every second. Thankfully the tribespeople, possibly because they were warriors, had high base HP. The poison effect cut their HP bars to some extent, but not enough to kill them because I could still heal them in time while teleporting around frantically. Meanwhile, the poison bombs kept coming. I nervously glanced up to the sky and saw the digital timer counting down the time that I had left. Of the initial 30 minutes, only 20 were left. I bit into my lip indignantly. I could not keep teleporting around to heal them until the timer went to zero. I had to do something!

A brilliant idea came to my mind as I listed down all the High Priest skills in my head.

Of course.

There was one skill that I could use to get my tribespeople to come near me. It should still be visible even if we were completely engulfed in waves of thick green smoke.