Chapter 14: The Missionary’s Dilemma

Was his stomach a bottomless pit? Zhou Min had cooked this meal using a full unit of food—the smallest divisible amount of any resource, enough to feed a villager for an entire day. Yet, this old missionary devoured it all in one swift sitting, not a grain left behind.

Li Zhan was quietly astonished.

When Zheng Jun heard that a missionary had come to the village center, he hurried back from the docks. Seeing the way the missionary ate, he couldn’t help but frown and tease, “Old man, with an appetite like that, you don’t look like someone who’s just lost a companion.”

The missionary swallowed hurriedly and replied, “Companion? What companion?”

“You know, Tom. Didn’t you say he left you for heaven?” Zheng Jun looked at Li Zhan, confused. Li Zhan was just as baffled—was the old man senile?

“Oh, you mean Tom.” The missionary stuffed down another mouthful and went on, “That was a donkey. I named him Tom.”

Well, that explained it.

After he finally finished eating, the missionary gazed longingly at the empty wooden bowl, even picking up a fish bone to pick his teeth. With a satisfied sigh, he said, “Not bad, not bad. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a delicious meal. Almighty Lord, thank you for your grace and for granting your servant new life once more.” Then he made the sign of the cross.

Li Zhan cursed inwardly: I’m the one feeding you, and you thank your Lord? Have you no conscience? Never mind, time to get some work out of you.

He cleared his throat. “Ahem! Mr. Missionary, my villagers are still waiting for your aid.”

The missionary paused, then seemed to remember and offered an apologetic smile. “Ah, yes, I almost forgot. Getting old, you know—memory’s not what it was.” He got up and went to the wounded villagers, inspecting their injuries. “Superficial wounds, easily dealt with.”

He took a thick book from his backpack, licked his finger, flipped a few pages, and suddenly stopped, murmuring, “Here it is, found it.” Holding the book in one hand, he reached out to the villager with the other, chanting something incomprehensible in a strong, resonant voice. In just a few seconds, the injured villager was completely healed.

Li Zhan and Zheng Jun exchanged a look, both amazed.

The treatments continued in the same fashion until, after healing the fourth villager, the missionary stopped. Zheng Jun asked, “What’s the matter?”

The missionary replied, “I’m out of mental energy—need to recover for a bit.”

“How long will that take?” Zheng Jun asked casually.

“About a day, I suppose,” the missionary answered offhandedly.

Well, that was unexpected.

Li Zhan finally snapped out of his surprise. “Why does it take you so long to recover your mental strength?”

The missionary sighed, “I never managed to learn the Meditation skill. For over ten years, I’ve tried to master it, but it always eludes me. It’s my lifelong regret—I wonder if I’ll take it with me to the grave.”

Meditation was an essential auxiliary skill for monks and missionaries, whose roles consumed vast amounts of mental energy. Without it, replenishing their strength was an arduous process. Normally, a missionary could heal seven to ten seriously injured villagers in a row, but this one had exhausted himself after treating just four with minor wounds.

“What do you think is holding you back from learning the skill?” Li Zhan asked curiously.

“Would you be willing to help me?” The missionary’s eyes lit up at this question, staring intently at Li Zhan.

Just then, a system notification chimed: “Dear player, you have triggered the hidden quest ‘The Missionary’s Dilemma.’ Please confirm whether you wish to accept the quest before the timer runs out—10…”

“Hidden quest? How do I complete it?” Li Zhan asked the missionary.

8…

“Hey, what’s the reward for this quest?”

6…

“It won’t have side effects, right? I won’t get trapped, will I?”

3…

No matter how Li Zhan pressed him, the missionary only stared at him expectantly, saying nothing. Zheng Jun, unaware of the conversation, looked back and forth between them in confusion.

Forget it—hidden quests usually offer great rewards. I’ll take it!

As the timer reached 1, Li Zhan finally clicked confirm.

System message: “Dear player, you have accepted the hidden quest ‘The Missionary’s Dilemma.’ Good luck!”

As the translucent message vanished, the missionary snapped out of his statue-like trance, beaming with gratitude. “Thank you, kind soul. The Lord will bless you. Your spirit has gained divine favor, and you now possess—”

Li Zhan waved him off impatiently. He had no time for flowery praise. “Just tell me—how can I help you?”

At the mention of the quest, the missionary’s expression turned solemn again. “I need you to build me a monastery.”

“A monastery?” Li Zhan stared at him. “That’s a Castle Age building—I’m still in the Dark Age. How am I supposed to build it?”

“Then wait until you reach the Castle Age. I’m in no rush,” the missionary shrugged, with a look that said, If I’m not worried, why should you be?

Not in a rush? Li Zhan opened the quest log to check the time limit. In bold letters, it read: Unlimited.

Seeing those words, a sense of foreboding crept over him. He asked tentatively, “Where will you stay until the quest is done?”

“Why, right here, of course. You’ve accepted my quest; I can hardly go elsewhere, can I?” The missionary continued picking his teeth with the fish bone, looking entirely at home.

Heaven and earth, why must you torment me so! Li Zhan’s heart cried out in despair.

One meal wiped out an entire unit of food, and that seemed just an appetizer. This missionary was as much of a burden as three villagers combined and couldn’t even work…

Wait. No, that’s not right. Li Zhan suddenly realized something.

Ah, yes, that was it. As the idea took shape, excitement welled up inside him.

A monastery could only be built in the Castle Age, which meant other players couldn’t train monks until then. But he, still in the Dark Age, already had a missionary (monks and missionaries were similar, both able to convert enemies and heal allies). Though this one lacked the Meditation skill and burned through mental energy quickly, he was still a healer. From now on, whenever villagers or soldiers were injured, there would be no need to garrison them in buildings—they could be treated directly and efficiently. For that alone, even if he consumed three units of food daily—let alone thirty—it would be enough to make other players green with envy.

With this thought, Li Zhan’s mood did a complete turnaround, becoming astonishingly bright.