“Yes.”
Teffania still hadn’t moved. Ludo chuckled in his mind. Her expression brought up a memory of a very confused child trying to understand something it couldn’t wrap its head around.
“You’re a god,” she said.
“I believe we’ve already covered that.” Ludo sighed as he tilted his head. Sure, he could understand why that would be mind-blowing. Just imagine if some god popped up in your room one day.
Teffania gripped the bedframe tighter as her eyes narrowed. “What kind of god?”
Huh?
The question caught him completely off guard.
What kind?
Honestly, he thought of hundreds of other questions she might’ve asked. Like, what’s the meaning of life and so on. Never in a million years would he have guessed that question to be her first. What was this? A job interview?
“Games,” he said. Not knowing how else he was supposed to reply.
She blinked. “Games?”
“The God of Games.” Saying that out loud felt a bit weird. It really made him question what kind of person he was to be dreaming about this. Well, if it really was a dream.
Teffania finally let go of the bed and settled her weight on her heels. She looked incredibly cute with her frown as she tapped her chin.
What is she thinking about?
“Why are you here?” she asked slowly.
Great.
Ludo struggled not to facepalm himself.
Has she got short-term memory loss or something?
“I heard you. You were praying, right?” Ludo watched her as he reminded her of this fact.
I should give her a break. This has to be a lot to take in.
“I decided to answer it. But, I need to know what kind of help you’re asking for.”
“Oh,” Teffania’s cheeks flushed as she realised her blunder. However, her embarrassment didn’t last long as a scowl appeared on her face. “Aren’t you a god? Shouldn’t you already know?”
That’s… actually a fair question. Hmm.
It was then he realised that he’d already thrown his plan of trying to sound grand and powerful right out the window.
Well, that’s not really my style anyway.
At least, he thought it wasn’t.
“I’m new,” he readily admitted.
“New?”
“Yeah, recently formed and all that. Still figuring things out.” He grinned at her utterly baffled expression. “Learning on the job, so to speak.”
Was that how it worked? Teffania wasn’t so sure. But then again, she’d never met any other gods, so how was she to know? She studied him for a long moment before she seemed to make up her mind.
“Both of my parents are dead,” she said. “My mother died of a fever two years ago and my father six months later. But I have a sister. Lusa. She’s twelve. I didn’t know what to do, so I borrowed some money to keep us fed and have a roof over our heads.”
Shit. That’s heavy.
He could pretty much guess the rest. She was probably due to pay off the debt and didn’t have the money.
Can I even do anything about that?
Ludo rubbed his head as he stared at the ceiling.
“How much?”
“Too much,” she sobbed. “More than I can earn working at any of the stalls. Something called
interest.
They said that’s why I owe more than I borrowed.”
Ah.
That triggered another memory. He was familiar with the concept, though he couldn’t remember if he’d ever taken out a loan himself.
Analysing…
Hm? What are you doing now?
“But, there’s a tournament,” Teffania blurted out. “It’s going to start soon, and the prize money could pay off my debt. This village is one of the locations for the first round.”
Eh? That’s a desperate attempt to clear debt.
Ludo frowned.
If it’s a gambling tournament, there’s a high chance she’d only make her situation worse.
“What kind of tournament is it?”
“Games.” She suddenly laughed. “I suppose that’s why you’re here.”
Tutorial Quest: Test of Worth - Establish a bond with your follower through a trial of skill.
Reward: Faith
Penalty: None
You have unlocked the Quest skill.
Quest: Grant a quest to a follower. Successful completion will allow you to grant them a boon.
Cost: Variable amount of Faith
Ludo had a feeling that he only had to say the skill name with the intent to activate it to make it work. He also gained an influx of knowledge of how the skill worked. For example, once he activated it, he could set the quest conditions and rewards. However, the cost would increase with the value of the rewards. But that could be countered with the difficulty of the conditions he set.
I can work with this.
“Let’s make a deal,” Ludo said with a grin.
Teffania’s wide eyes snapped to where his face should be. “A deal?”
“I’ll grant you a quest, nothing too difficult.” Ludo paused as he let his plan fully take shape. “Think of it as a little game between us. A small… wager. I win if you fail, and if you win, I can grant you a boon.”
She surprised Ludo by not jumping at his offer right away.
I guess she’s learned from being burned once before.
He smiled.
Maybe there’s some hope for her.
She stared at him for a few long moments as she chewed her soft, pink lips.
“What kind of boon?”
Ludo chuckled as he checked his menu, expanding his skill to display the rest of the hidden information.
Ah, they’re all classed as minor boons. This is rather… shallow. Do I need to level up or something for better options?
“It would be something minor,” he admitted. After all, if they were going to play this game, it was important to be fair with her. “I don’t have much to work with yet.”
“Yet?”
“New god, remember?” He laughed while pointing at himself.
Ludo looked down on her as her face scrunched up. She was clearly weighing her options.
“What’s the game?” she finally asked.
“A little bet. On your own skill. Since you’re taking part in a tournament, let’s bet on whether you can beat your first opponent. Obviously, you’ll be betting on yourself.”
Well, it’s all I could come up with. I don’t know anything about this world yet.
“What happens if I fail?”
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. You just need to pray to me, become my believer. It’s a small price to pay, right?”
The hint of a smile pulled at her lips. “I guess not. Would your boon help me in the tournament?”
“Definitely,” Ludo nodded. Sure, the things he could offer were pretty abysmal. But they’d still increase her chances. It should be enough to give her an edge in a small village tournament. At least, he hoped so. “Just to be clear, it will be temporary.”
“I accept!”
Ludo’s eyebrows rose as a new window appeared in front of him. Right there, at the very top, it read
Quest Log.
Follower: Teffania
Quest: Test of Worth
Status: Active
“It’s done,” Ludo said. “I recognise your acceptance.”
Teffania frowned again as she flexed her fingers. “I don’t feel any different.”
“What did you expect?” Ludo chuckled. “You haven’t earned by blessing yet.”
“Right,” She placed her hands in her lap. “But, I still thought I’d feel something, you know?”
The golden light emanating from Ludo began to dim.
Ugh, why do I feel… exhausted?
I don’t think I have much time left.
He silently worried he would end up back in the void.
I should give her a push to do her best.
“Teffania,” he said. “I’ll be watching. Give it your all. I hope you win.”
Teffania burst out in laughter. “I’ve never heard of a God that wants to lose.”
“Well, I guess you could say I’m different.”
At that moment, the candle finally went out at the same time as Ludo vanished from sight. Teffania was left alone in the small room, wondering if everything with the strange god really happened. And then, there was a sharp knock at the door.
Her head turned toward the sound, and she noticed the first rays of light through the window shutters. That’s when she realised she’d been kneeling on the floor for the entire night.
“Teffania?” A woman’s voice called out. “Are you awake? It’s already sunrise, you don’t want to be late.”
“I’m awake,” she replied while she scrambled to her feet. “Ah.”
Her knees ached as she stretched her legs. “I’m coming. Go on ahead.”
She stared at the empty room. “Ludo. What a strange name. Where does it come from?”
She’d never heard a name like it before. So she was almost certain it wasn’t native to the kingdom. Admittedly, she wasn’t as freaked out as she should’ve been. It wasn’t unheard of for gods to make appearances and bless people. She just never thought she’d be someone worthy of their attention.
“I have to go now,” she said quietly. Hoping he could still hear her.
Little did she know, a small orb she couldn’t see still floated where the golden god had been.
Hell yeah!
Ludo tried to pump his fist just to discover he no longer had a human body.
Well, it’s better than that void.
He couldn’t feel the cool air anymore, but at least he could see. It was best not to think about how that was possible without eyes.
Wait for me!
It took him a moment to realise Teffania already had one foot out the door. He couldn’t help but be excited. What was this new world like? Surely there were a ton of amazing things to see. He really couldn’t wait to explore.
Oh.
Needless to say, he was disappointed. The village definitely seemed small. In fact, it was an overstatement to call the houses, well, houses. They were more like small wooden huts. The pathways were little more than trampled mud that had seen a lot of traffic. At that moment, he was rather glad he couldn’t smell anything.
Most of the people he passed while floating beside Teffania had dirt caked into their hands and faces.
Do they not take baths?
Wait. Do baths even exist here?
He took a closer look at Teffania and realised she was very clean. Soon, he began to notice a few other folk had clearly cleaned themselves up.
Hm, is it for the tournament? Maybe they want to look their best? That would make sense.
Ludo suddenly became speechless. From around a corner up ahead came his first confirmation that he was in a fantasy world. Ignoring the fact that he was a literal god now. A large, humanoid rabbit with dirty white fur, trousers made from hide, and a vest to match walked by. It was hard not to stare.
But nobody else seemed to care. As if this were a common sight. Now, he really wanted to know what else was out there.