The Paladin's Donation Quest
“Uh… okay. Got it.”
“Saintess… ehehe.”
She’s hilarious. This kind of roleplay is actually pretty fun. Who knew I’d get to do this with a friend… Thanks, Maru. Anyway, I’m the paladin, so I have to wear all the weapons and armor. The Saintess doesn’t carry anything. She just prays all day.
“Saintess. So take it all off. Just pray. Let’s dump every piece of gear on one person. Since I’m the paladin, I’ll carry everything.”
Brilliant idea. And since I came up with it, I’d say it’s a solid 150 IQ move. I feel like a genius right now. Mwahahaha.
“Huh? Why?”
“Because I’m the paladin. I’ll do the fighting. You just pray!!”
“I want to fight too.”
“Uh… that’s a problem.”
In every manga, novel, drama, and movie, the Saintess never fights. She’s always in a pure white dress, hands clasped, praying nonstop.
“Why? I still want to fight.”
“That’s tough… The Saintess is supposed to stay in the back.”
“Then I’m not being the Saintess.”
“Ah… Then… fine.”
Raming’s sharp. Right. If she doesn’t want to be the Saintess, she doesn’t have to. We can both be paladins. Problem solved.
“Perfect. Then you be a paladin too, Raming. So who’s the Saintess?”
“Saintess? We can make Moddeok do it when she shows up.”
“Oh…!! 200 IQ.”
She’s seriously smart. Love it.
“Role assignments complete. Solved. So Moddeok’s the Saintess of the Maru Church, and you and I are the paladins.”
“Ooh… But is that allowed?”
“Yeah!! Bana said she can make the system if we want.”
“Why?”
“Why? How would I know?”
I have no idea what Bana’s thinking. She just said she’d do it. That’s why I’m letting my imagination run wild right now. This is the fantasy I’ve wanted for ages.
Back in middle school, I overheard some kids talking about an RPG. They were dividing roles—tank, mage, healer—planning to grind like crazy over break and take down a boss. I was so jealous. I wanted to play like that too. It was my dream. And now I’m finally living it, thanks to my friends… Hahaha.
“Anyway, I’m the paladin. I’m heading out to collect offerings.”
“Go ahead.”
“Raming, what are you doing?”
“Me? I’m still decorating the house.”
“Can I give feedback?”
“Feedback on what?”
“The house. No, from now on it’s the church. Let’s lock in the concept.”
“Pfft… Mmph… Ah. Yeah. Sure. Should we hang up a cross?”
Great idea. I clapped. How does she keep coming up with stuff like this? Raming’s really clever.
“Love it. A cross is perfect. Let’s put up a big one.”
“Yeah. Let’s do that.”
“Then I’m off to collect offerings. How much do we need?”
“We don’t need money…”
“No, we do.”
What is she talking about? Money is everything. Aren’t we going to upgrade gear? Buy scrolls? If we’re doing this properly, we need a ton of cash, you dummy!! She’s great at everything except economics. Still, I can’t scold her. A good friend fills in where the other is lacking. I’ll be that friend.
“Huh? Why? We don’t really need it.”
“No. Aren’t you going to upgrade? Buy scrolls? Hire people? Everything in this world needs money.”
“I already have plenty.”
“…What? Who?”
“I’ve got tons. It’s piled up at home. If you want more upgrade materials, just use them.”
“…”
“And I’ve got plenty of scrolls too. Maybe I should try upgrading myself?”
I was the fool. I’d underestimated a mid-tier player’s resources. Of course she has a lot. I don’t. I didn’t get much handed to me, so I have to buy everything with in-game money. Tch.
“I don’t have any… I’m not going to beg. I’ll collect the offerings myself.”
I’ve already received so much. I’m not going to shamelessly ask for more. I’ll earn it with my own hands.
“Collecting offerings… You’re doing it the ethical way, right?”
“Yeah. Of course.”
“You’re not, like, stealing it or anything?”
“Not at all.”
She’s got the wrong idea. I would never steal. I’m on the side of the weak. Offerings are given voluntarily. I’m not taking anything by force.
“What if they don’t give?”
“They’ll give. Don’t worry.”
“Ooh. That’s kinda scary… I’m scared.”
“It’s not scary. Don’t worry. Raming, just focus on your work. I’ll be back.”
I headed to the Wild Server. I quickly checked the chat to see if I’d done anything too unhinged.
The chat was split. Still, I couldn’t help it. I wanted to roleplay with my friend. I wanted to do a raid.
“Tch… Everyone, let me have a little fun.”
I said it honestly. When else would I get to do something like this? Back when I was a small-time streamer, I never got to play like this. You know what I did during my Minecraft small-time days? I just mined wood in silence and died. I couldn’t even ask for it back. My friends… if they said anything, they all died. They just handed everything over. At least the healing server was better, but even then it was lonely. I was always building houses on the outskirts by myself—wood house, then stone house… I worked so hard on that YouTube edition build, but I never got to show it off. When everyone else was going for elytra, I was just making stone houses!! Nobody wanted to play with me. That’s why I’m so excited now. I finally get to do it!! I’m different. I’m the one going to play with others. Do you know how sad that was?!
“I’m going.”
If I have to make a decision… I’ll do it.
I wandered the Wild Server for over an hour and met a lot of people. Surprisingly, this server had a lot of serious players. Even the small-timers were doing role assignments. It was very organized. Like an ant colony. Some focused only on wood, others on ores… some were pure RPG players. It was a fascinating world.
“Hey. Hey. Which group are you with?”
“Huh? Me?”
I grabbed a nearby player and quickly checked their profile. A streamer from another platform with around 200 viewers.
“I’ve been walking around for an hour. It feels like an ant colony.”
“Ah… Yeah. I’m busy.”
“Oh. Okay.”
I don’t stop people who want to leave. I’m a good person, after all. I kept looking around, but everyone was incredibly busy. There was no room for me. It was nothing like what I’d imagined. They were all just forming their own teams and farming. I felt out of place. This wasn’t how it used to be. Has the world really changed this much? Now even small-timers get teams and chances to talk? I couldn’t close my mouth at the sight of such progress.
While I was standing there blankly—
“Ehi? Seon-a. It’s Seon-a. Hehehehe.”
A familiar laugh. I turned around and saw Maem.
“You’re doing this too, Maem?”
“I’m doing it right now. Hehehe.”
“That laugh never gets old.”
“But… your gear looks really good? It’s shining.”
“It’s nothing special… Hehe. Only +8… I need to hit +10 soon.”
“Oh!! Awesome. So cool.”
“Mwahahaha.”
Heh. Fun. This is exactly what I wanted—to show off while wandering around. But the world’s changed.
“How did you get it? Did you already save up money?”
“Ah…! That’s… Oh!! More importantly, do you have an ant colony too, Maem?”
“What’s an ant colony?”
“You know, like worker ants, queen ants, male ants… teams divided like that.”
“Oh. You mean a guild? I don’t have one. I’m a solo player.”
“Those people over there have one.”
I pointed at a group of four moving together. They were so organized I had nothing to say. I’d already seen more than five teams like that. Is this how raiding servers work?
“Huh…? Ah! They’re from other platforms. They do a lot of collabs over there, so teams form easily. There’s even a guild with 15 members already.”
“Ah… I see? Really? Then what are they doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean… what’s their content?”
“Them? Probably preparing for war.”
“War… like actual fighting?”
“Probably? They’re gearing up hard for it.”
“Whoa…!!”
The scale was insane. But I was getting sleepy. I’d been streaming for too long and my eyes were closing. The original plan was to collect some offerings and then log off.
“So right now everyone’s farming like crazy. They’re probably going to do a huge upgrade showcase with all that stuff.”
“That’s amazing.”
“But honestly, it’s better to stay away.”
“Why? It sounds fun.”
“It’s 100% going to blow up… You won’t be able to handle it. Things get really chaotic. Even the viewers get way too into it and it becomes a mess.”
“Ooh…!!”
“So it’s best to stay neutral and keep your distance.”
I see. Incredible. I’m glad someone who knows this stuff is around. I really had no idea. I almost made everyone my enemy without realizing it. Whew… Huh. Right.
“Maem. Follow me…!!”
“Me? Why?”
“I’m appointing you as the Maru Church’s information broker starting today.”
“Me? Hahaha. Me?”
“Yeah. That was really good info. So I’ll tell you. From now on, you’re on our side.”
Keeping tabs on the enemy is crucial. We need people like this. Good. But my eyes are closing. I’m so sleepy.
“Huh? Me?”
“Yeah. I’m the paladin of the Maru Church right now. I’m supposed to be collecting offerings for the church… so you do it instead, Maem.”
“Then what about you, Seon-a?”
“I’m going to sleep. I’ve been on for a long time… Please.”
“Huh? M-Me?”
“If anything comes up, there’s Raming. Ask her for help. Thank you.”
“W-Wait. Hehehe. No way.”
“I’m begging you. My eyes are closing.”
I’ll just do it tomorrow. I can’t today.