"I see. So this kind of Oath is also possible," Alex muttered when he saw the other Oaths meant for the Deities of the world of Arcana.
"With the Fool’s leap, our journey starts. A Wanderer with an open heart."
Choosing this Oath will give you the following benefits.
— Those who receive the blessings of The Fool will treat you as a sworn friend and will help you in any way possible.
— The Church of The Fool will become your steadfast supporters.
— You will gain +20 Stats to Strength, Intelligence, Agility, Dexterity, and Constitution.
— When defending anyone related to The Fool, your defense will increase by 300%
— You will automatically learn the skills, Leap of Faith, Fool’s Protection, and Fool’s Rhythm.
— You will be rewarded with two High-Grade Magic Crystals, unlocking your Magic Stat.
P.S. Choosing this Oath might make you addicted to parkour, for the Leap of Faith allows you to jump from any height, and land perfectly unharmed on the ground.
Alex then glanced at the next Oath, which pretty much followed the same template as The Fool’s.
< The Magician’s Oath >
"The Magician’s will, so strong and true, shapes the world with a wand’s swift cue."
Choosing this Oath will give you the following benefits.
— Those who receive the blessings of The Magician will treat you as a sworn friend and will help you in any way possible.
— The Tower of Magic will become your ally and allow you access to its vast collection of magical spells inside its Arcane Library.
— You will gain +20 Stats to Strength, Intelligence, Agility, Dexterity, and Constitution.
— When defending anyone related to The Magician, your defense will increase by 300%
— You will automatically learn the skills, Enchant Element, Elemental Shield, and Arcane Defense.
— You will be rewarded with four Middle-Grade Crystals and three High-Grade Magic Crystals, unlocking your Magic Stat.
Note: You will unlock the route of a certain Arch Wizard who can only cast Explosion Spells.
The corner of Alex’s lips twitched. Arch Wizard who can only cast Explosion Spells? That sounded veeeeeeeery familiar.
Upon checking the list, he noticed that all the Deities of the Major Arcana offered similar benefits with each other.
Since he didn’t want to be tied down to a single faction, the young man scanned the list and saw a particular Oath that made him pause.
< Oath of the Heart - (Sacred Path) >
"I follow no crown nor creed. I protect because my heart tells me so."
Choosing this Oath will give you the following benefits.
– The Oath of the heart will give you the strength to protect those whom you wish to protect.
– You will gain +10 Stats to Strength, Intelligence, Agility, Dexterity, and Constitution.
– You will gain +20 to Luck.
– When defending anyone whom you genuinely wish to protect, defense will increase by 200%
– You will automatically learn the skills, Oathkeeper’s Duty, Shield [EX], and Shield Bash
– You will be rewarded with one High-Grade Magic Crystal, unlocking your Magic Stat.
– You will learn Shield-related skills much faster.
Note: "Tell me, Oathkeeper... How long will you shield others before your own heart cracks beneath the weight? How long will it take before you break this Oath? Tell me, future Oathbreaker, is choosing this profession worth it?"
< Oathkeeper’s Duty >
Effect: If a nearby ally is about to die from a lethal blow, you may intercept the damage by instantly teleporting to their side.
— This skill can be used once every hour.
— You will not die from this attack, but your health will be reduced to 1 HP.
— When you block using Oathkeeper’s Duty, the attacker would be Stunned for three seconds regardless of Stun Immunity.
— Summon a magical shield that costs 5 Mana Points.
— This Skill can allow you to unlock other types of shield-related skills as long as the necessary conditions are met.
— This Skill costs 5 Stamina Points.
— Deal damage equal to the defense of your shield.
— Has a 20% chance to inflict Stun upon the target for three seconds.
— If you use Shield Bash and hit the opponent’s head, the chance of inflicting Stun on the target increases to 30%.
— Using Shield Bash on a hostile creature a hundred times will unlock the skill Shield Charge.
— This skill costs 10 Stamina Points.
— Charge into a straight line, increasing movement speed by 300%
— Damage dealt is equivalent to Shield Defense + Agility Stat + Strength Stat
— has a 20% chance to inflict Stun upon the target for three seconds.
— If you use Shield Bash and hit the opponent’s head, the chance of Stunning the target increases to 30%.
Upon reading the note under the information of the Oath of the Heart, Alex remained silent.
When he had still been a Shield Savant, people praised him for his ability to tank the attack of Boss Monsters, keeping those at the rear safe. However, at the end of every battle, everyone would tell him, "It’s the role that you play, so you can’t complain about it."
He understood it was indeed his role to tank hits while the other members dealt damage to the enemy.
It was because they had different roles to play that made ELO a wonderful and immersive adventure.
But at the end of the day, Alex understood.
Not everyone was grateful to be protected.
For them, it was his duty to protect.
It was his job, his profession, and the role of his existence.
But when he had still been on Earth, he hadn’t carried any shields to protect himself from the harshness of reality.
During the darkest moments in his life,
When he had been the one who needed protecting,
When he had been the one who needed saving,
Had there been anyone to protect him?
Had there been anyone who protected his heart?
The image of a young lady, who was about the same age as him, flashed inside Alex’s head.
"Dim Dim?" Sensing Alex’s sadness, Dim Dim reached out to touch the young man’s cheek.
"I just thought about some stuff from the past, Dim Dim," Alex replied. "I’ll be fine."
Despite the sadness and loneliness he felt, he still remembered that hand that was smaller than his own.
He remembered her, who shone like a star in the darkness.
She was none other than...
"Death Kiss," Alex muttered, remembering his Guildmaster, who had reached out her hand when he had needed it the most.
"We help not because we’re asked, but because we know it’s the right thing to do," the young lady, whom Alex admired, had told him in the past. "Just like how we help an old lady cross the street. We do it not because she asked us to help her, but because we know that it’s what makes us human."
"But not everyone deserves to be helped," Alex commented. "You can’t help those who don’t want to help themselves."
"You’re right," the young lady replied. "But unless you make the first move, you’ll never know if that person wants to be helped or not.
"Just like how some authors touch the lives of their readers, making them wish that they could also touch the lives of others in the same way. Do you know? Some people started writing because they were inspired by the stories that they had read."
"Are you one of them?" Alex asked.
"No," the young lady replied. "But, my favorite author, Ely, was the same. He started writing because a story touched him in ways that made him wish that he could do the same for others."
As that memory faded, Alex took a deep breath and made a decision.
"I don’t know if I’ll break my Oath in the future or not," Alex said softly as he raised his hand to choose the Oath he wished to take. "I’ll just cross that bridge when I get there. Besides, an Oathbreaker sounds cool as well."
Dim Dim giggled and told Alex that he shouldn’t worry too much. Regardless of what happened in the future, the Dim Sum God would accompany the young man in the world of Arcana, where countless possibilities and endings existed.