Chapter 244 (2): Try, Die
“There are mandrills in Ostarrichi? That can’t be right...”
The more Wayne thought about it, the stranger it seemed. He examined the colorful primate before him carefully and was shocked to discover that it had a Nature Domain similar to his. It blended into the surroundings perfectly like an unremarkable plant. Without looking at the mandrill with his eyes, he wouldn’t have detected it.
“As expected of the headquarters of the Church of Nature, even a monkey here is terrifyingly talented,” Wayne grumbled. That was a blow to his pride. He schooled his expression and asked tentatively, “High Prophet?”
Correct answer!
The mandrill rose to a standing posture with the glint of intelligence in its eyes. Its aura transformed dramatically, resembling a learned sage after shedding its wild nature.
“Candidate Wayne, a pleasure to meet you. I’m the High Prophet of the Church of Nature. You may call me Tubert.” The mandrill spoke in human language.
“Tube—High Prophet Tubert. I’m honored to meet you at my doorstep.” Wayne believed the mandrill was a magical creature that served a similar purpose to a messenger bird. While others kept pigeons and owls, the High Prophet kept a primate and attached his thoughts to it with magic.
“I was delayed on the way here. You must have met with Oracle High Reverend Senna.”
The mandrill sounded resigned. “Your master is Oracle High Reverend Senna’s student, so it stands to reason that you’ll have more trust for her than for me. That’s my disadvantage. However, I hope you’ll remember what I’m going to say and think carefully about who truly has your best interest at heart.”
That’ll be a waste of our time. Neither of you is a good person.
“High Prophet Tubert, I’m deeply honored to receive your teachings,” Wayne said politely. “Please go on.”
The mandrill seemed pressed for time and rattled off the High Prophet’s authority, duties, and importance to the church, cherry-picking only the positives in an attempt to make the job post desirable to Wayne. Then the mandrill brought up their shared talent in communicating with nature, stating that Wayne still had untapped potential.