Favor-Farming Quest (2)
Agra is the evil god of the Soul Academy universe.
Agra is the reason dungeons exist in Soul Academy. Agra is the reason monsters appear. In short, this was the kind of deity who got blamed for basically anything bad that happened — the England of the divine world, the eternal fall guy.
So what, exactly, is the Curse of Agra this creature loves to scatter about?
To sum it up in a single word: jealousy.
Jealousy toward anyone blessed with the love of Armadi, whom Agra despises and hates with every fiber of its being.
The Curse of Agra descends upon those who receive Armadi's favor. Bit by bit, it gnaws away at the grace its host was granted, and the moment that favor is completely devoured, it steals away the human's life.
If this child really had been cursed by Agra, no ordinary method could cure him. Divine curses aren't the kind of thing you can just wave away, after all.
Raising my Mercy of Armadi proficiency to its absolute peak would eventually let me dispel an evil god's curse too — but that was a future far, far beyond the horizon. This boy would never last that long.
As of right now, though, I did have a way to save him. Tucked inside my coat was a potion containing a miracle of healing.
The potion Grandfather had handed over as a token of goodwill after flattening me with that minotaur last time had still been on my person when I emerged from the Trial.
Its effects: removal of all status ailments, plus an immediate fifty percent health restoration. And all status ailments included the Curse of Agra.
In the actual game, it was one of the standard methods for lifting Agra's curse, so there was no doubt it would heal this child.
And yet I hesitated — not because the potion was precious to me.
Don't get me wrong. It's true this potion had plenty of uses. But if you asked me whether a disposable consumable or a human life was more valuable, obviously I'd say the human life. So why the hesitation?
Because of the hidden quest that triggers when you cure the Curse of Agra.
The hidden quest The Curse of Agra is acquired automatically the first time a player dispels the curse. The content itself is nothing special — you're simply asked to heal people suffering from Agra's curse across various regions.
The problem lies elsewhere. The moment you accept this hidden quest, Agra fixes its gaze upon you.
Petty and spiteful as befits an evil god, Agra does not forgive the mortals who erase its curses. Every time you set foot in a dungeon within its sphere of influence, it piles on extra hazards purely to torment you.
It's not for nothing that every Soul Academy speedrun guide says: do not cure Agra's Curse in the early game.
With adequate preparation, the mid-to-late game can chew through dungeons regardless of the risk. The early game is another matter entirely. Get hit with Agra's Curse while you're still under-geared and under-leveled, and the difficulty curve shoots straight through the roof.
When I was playing, I never cared whether I picked up the curse or not. Whatever threats came my way, I had complete confidence I could clear the game.
But now? Now I'm living in reality, where dead means dead — no respawns, no reloads.
In a situation like this, is it really fine for me to draw Agra's attention? Me, the girl who got pummeled half to death because she couldn't take down a single minotaur?
I gazed at the boy's face, relaxed and breathing easy under the blessing of Mercy, and let out a long sigh.
...Was I seriously just going to let him die?
All right. Fine. Let's look on the bright side.
At the very least, this reputation quest does its job properly.
Curing the Curse of Agra means reducing an evil god's influence on the world — something the Church of the Main God is pouring everything into even as we speak. Report a cured case to the Church, and my standing with them skyrockets.
And just what is the Church of the Main God? The single most influential religion on the continent! Get on their good side, and my reputation improves across the entire continent as a natural consequence!
By the time I'd lifted four of Agra's curses, I'd be treated as a hero wherever I went!
Granted, with Lucy's infamy being what it was, one measly cured curse wasn't going to overturn all of it. Still, it ought to soften the edges somewhat. At the very least, the odds of my record turning into a liability once I entered the Academy would drop considerably.
Yeah. So the dungeon gets harder. It's still just a dungeon.
Nothing stands a chance against a rotten-water veteran with ten thousand hours of playtime. If the price of harder dungeons is a better reputation, that's a bargain.
Having made up my mind, I drew the potion bottle from inside my coat and held it out to the woman.
"My lady? What is this?"
Um...
"Pathetic commoner. Feed this to that little runt of yours."
"Such a rare-looking potion, for him...?"
Yes...
"Hmph. It's wasted on the likes of you, but I suppose I can spare it. You'd better be grateful."
"...Thank you so very much, my lady! Truly!"
Taking the potion from my hands, the woman carefully fed it to the boy. Perhaps because he'd already been steadied by the Mercy miracle, the boy swallowed down whatever she gave him without protest. And the moment the last drop of the potion passed his lips—
"...Mom?"
The boy opened his eyes.
The Curse of Agra had been dispelled.
"Chili!"
As the woman clutched him to her chest and wept, the boy looked over her shoulder at us, utterly bewildered. But not one of us — not me, not Carl, not the maid — bothered to explain. We simply smiled.
While the boy was busy asking the woman what was wrong, I turned my attention to the message window floating in front of me.
You have dispelled the Curse of Agra for the first time.
A quest has been unlocked.
「The Curse of Agra」
The evil god Agra, seeking to bring ruin to those favored by Armadi...
Heal those afflicted by Agra's curse across the land.
Reward: ???
So it was Agra's curse that had been tormenting this boy after all.
Which meant more messages were coming.
Agra has become aware of your existence.
Ah, for the love of—
Agra will now watch you, who have erased its curse.
I knew this was coming, and I'd done it anyway — but seeing it spelled out in an actual message still made my breath catch in my throat.
Haaah. And so I enter hard mode, just like that. Is this the fate of the rotten water?
If only I were a colder, more thick-skinned human being.
- Ding!
Just as I was drowning in self-recrimination over the message window, yet another one popped up. This time, though, it had nothing to do with Agra.
Armadi has taken interest in your deed.
...I'm sorry, who?
The only Armadi I know is that Chief God up in the sky. Are we talking about the same person here?
Armadi praises your deed of fearing not the evil god Agra.
A reward shall be granted.
The proficiency of Mercy of Armadi has increased.
Part of the power sealed within Ruel's Mace has been unsealed.
Power sealed inside the mace?
That message has NEVER appeared in the game?! No, wait, hold on — Armadi never once made a direct on-screen appearance in the game, period! The entire SoulAka community's favorite running joke was roasting the Chief God for sitting on his hands while the evil god ran amok! And now you're telling me a game that hasn't received an update in years had content I never knew about?! Absolutely NOT! No way in hell!
There is no element in Soul Academy that a rotten-water veteran like me doesn't know! This has to be something that changed when the game became reality! It HAS to be!
"Hmm?"
Just as my veteran pride was bleeding out and I was busy denying reality, the voice of a gravely old man reached me. It didn't arrive through my ears.
It was a voice that punched straight through my skull and delivered itself directly into my brain.
"Awakening me already, are you? Tell me, what has happened?"
That voice — it was unmistakably Grandfather's, the one I'd heard in the Trial not long ago.
Why. Why. Why does another element I don't know about keep crawling out of the woodwork?! And who even are you?! Don't tell me "we'll meet again" meant THIS?! You were sealed inside the mace this whole time?! The description of Ruel's Mace did say "it seems the soul of Ruel dwells within" — was that foreshadowing?! Was that FORESHADOWING?!
My head was spinning. Unknown unknowns kept piling up one after another, and there was no way I could stay calm.
Dammit.
If this content existed, they should've released it as DLC! You absolute bastards of a dev studio!
"So, in other words..."
"So you're telling me Grandfather's soul has been asleep inside this mace?"
Having escaped the boy's house and returned to our lodging, I addressed myself to Ruel's Mace. Had the manor's maid witnessed the scene, she'd have screamed, The young mistress has lost her mind! — but this once, she'd have been wrong. The mace answered.
"Indeed. I was to awaken once my bearer's power had grown sufficiently strong."
I had 100-percented Soul Academy's achievement list, dug up every single Easter egg, and even bought and combed through the official lore compendium — and this was the first I'd ever heard of it. There was a line about a soul, sure, but nowhere — nowhere — was there any mention of a personality!
And yet if this old man was telling the truth, it explained why the mace's passive perks — the blunt-weapon proficiency boost and the like — had never felt noticeable in-game. Those bonuses existed because this old man had been coaching his wielder from the sidelines.
He's a lecherous, petty, crusty old geezer with a garbage personality, true — but this man is still a holy knight who was once called a hero. Of course you'd handle a blunt weapon better with someone like him advising you. The reason I'd never felt those effects before was simply that he hadn't been awake.
"Early for me to wake, I'll grant — but surely this, too, is the gods' guidance."
Listening to the old man brazen it out made my blood boil.
"Grandfather. Don't you have something to say to me?"
"Crusty old coot. Got anything to say for yourself?"
"I confess I cannot fathom what answer you seek."
"The minotaur. In the Trial of the Guardian. You summoned it."
"The blockhead you dragged into the Trial of the Guardian. Don't tell me you've gone senile and forgotten."
"Ah, that affair? It was a test of you."
According to Grandfather, I hadn't appeared to be struggling all that badly against the goblins in the Trial of the Guardian. Judging that goblins alone couldn't put my Guardian's Heart to the test, the spirit had summoned a minotaur — an ordeal he believed I could not overcome, purely to put me through my paces.
"Seeing me deemed worthy, the trial opened the door to the next challenge for you."
"And the time limit—"
"Wasn't it the time limit that made the blockhead disappear?"
"Time limit? What nonsense are you spouting?"
Oh. Ohh. So... there was never actually a time limit on the Trial of the Guardian.
It was just a game-logic convention, or something along those lines. Fine. That one I can write off as a detail that changed when the game became reality.
But wait — if that's true, then if Grandfather hadn't changed his mind, I'd have died to that minotaur, period. Great. So how exactly do I get revenge on this damned old man?
Perhaps reading something in my expression, Grandfather hurriedly pressed on.
"I never intended for you to die! I swear it on my soul!"
Oh, is that right?
"A holy knight who stands beneath the god would never take a life! I merely sought to push you to your limits!"
Understood, Grandfather. I'll be sure to hear out that alibi of yours.
But it seems mesugaki Lucy thinks rather differently, doesn't she?
Ahaha! Like I'd ever forgive that perverted old man? ♡
I so want to see him sobbing and wailing, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! ♡
Now then, how shall I break this damned old man in, I wonder? ♡
As I gripped the mace with the old man sealed inside and started humming a cheery little tune, his voice cracked with urgency.
"W-Wait! Young lady! Why on earth do the words inside your heart and the words from your mouth differ so?!"
"...Hm?"
"...Grandfather. Say that again."
Seeing me freeze mid-hum, the old man pounced on the hope like a drowning man.
"I mean — why do you speak so courteously within your own mind, yet behave out loud like some snotty little brat?!"
Hold on. Grandfather.
Can you hear what I'm thinking?