My bloodline is so eager to improve.

Good morning, Otto.

But just as she was greeting them, Tessa seemed to suddenly realize something. She immediately threw the brown bear back into her room and then hurriedly cleared her throat, explaining in a flustered manner.

“That, that was the gift I originally intended to give to the children in the church.”

You, you mustn't misunderstand!

Upon hearing this, Otto simply nodded.

"Okay, go pack your luggage."

Goren seems to have gone out; we can leave once he returns.

Otto wanted to talk to Goren again, but Goren wasn't in the barracks; he must have gone out earlier.

Sure enough, not long after, Goren returned from afar.

But judging from his expression, something seemed to be going wrong.

"What's up?

What trouble did you encounter?

Can I help?

Otto stepped forward and greeted Goren.

Looking at the boy in front of him, Goren simply let out a long sigh.

"No, it's not a big deal."

I originally wanted to report the situation to the guild leader in charge here, since we've encountered quite a bit of trouble this time.

But I learned from them that Frederick and the others from the Rabbit Feet Squad did not return.

In fact, when Goren saw Sabrina all alone, he already had a bad feeling.

At the time, he only thought that Sabrina had shaken off the three members of the Rabbit Foot Squad. He never expected that they would be left in the Blackthorn Forest forever.

The girl was clearly more dangerous than she appeared.

However, Goren did not voice his conjecture, but simply said leisurely.

"That's fine, those three guys weren't exactly decent people to begin with."

The town might be a bit more harmonious without them. I guess they've gone on a long journey; anyway, nobody expects them to come back.

Goren once again revealed his signature serrated teeth and smile, which still looked ferocious and terrifying, but fortunately Otto was used to it.

He knew this was Goren's way of expressing goodwill; after all, the burly man in front of him looked too fierce, and he could only use a smile to ease the atmosphere. However, he himself probably didn't realize how frightening his smile was.

"Tessa, are you ready?"

"We should go."

Goren shouted into the barracks.

As for Tessa, she simply stuffed all the things in her room into her storage pocket and then quickly walked out of the barracks.

Many adventurers are heading back to Oaktown today, so there's no need to be too cautious on the road.

Tessa didn't wear her signature plate armor; she simply followed the two toward Oak Town, chatting with some familiar adventurers along the way.

Seeing the two getting along well with everyone, Goren simply nodded, seemingly quite satisfied.

"Talk to adventurers of your level more often; the upcoming level-up tests will require teamwork."

Upon hearing this, Otto asked with some curiosity.

“I had heard from Maika that he would tell me the details of the expedition after I passed the upgrade test.”

Is this upgrade exam difficult?

Upon hearing this, Goren gave an affirmative answer.

"It depends on the person."

The Adventurers' Guild's assessment is not complicated. Adventurers who have accumulated enough merit can participate in the guild's regularly held upgrade assessments.

The specific content of the assessment is determined by drawing lots, but it must be completed in teams, usually with four to five people forming an assessment team.

Those who pass the assessment will be promoted directly, while those who fail will simply retain their original rating.

I think that after this mission, you and Tessa should have accumulated enough merits to apply for promotion assessment.

Goren felt that the quality of Otto and Tessa's missions and accumulated merits far exceeded those of adventurers of the same level, and applying for the upgrade test would not be difficult at all.

Looking at the two of them so affectionately, Tessa hesitated for a moment and said softly.

"I... I probably don't want to participate."

Her idea was actually very simple.

First of all, she was a priestess, and her participation in adventurers' activities was merely to broaden her horizons and accumulate experience.

Besides, she's already being targeted. The promotion exam is crowded with people, and it might be the perfect opportunity for her enemies to attack. She doesn't want to drag others down with her.

Otto was not surprised by Tessa's choice.

Although Tessa appears much more mature than her peers, she is essentially a thoughtful and considerate young girl who always puts others first.

Therefore, she probably really doesn't want to participate in activities that might involve others.

As for Otto himself, he was quite happy to participate in such an evaluation.

Adventurers with higher ratings are also more likely to join other, better adventurer teams.

Otto knew in his heart that the Dragon Slayers would eventually be disbanded.

He just wants to use the time he has now to try to get a higher rating.

That way, in the future, he can join better adventurer squads or even renowned warbands.

As Otto pondered this, he consulted with Goren about the specifics of the upgrade assessment.

Before they knew it, the three of them had returned to Oak Town.

When they returned to the forging workshop, they found that the other three members of the Dragonbreaker Blade were there, including Eileen, who seemed to have been waiting for them.

Upon seeing this, Goren immediately understood and asked.

"Looks like you've found something, right?"

Upon hearing this, Maika nodded and then placed the tattoo design that Otto had previously sketched on the table.

He spoke slowly, his face bearing a complex expression.

"This matter is probably related to a shaman who had ulterior motives."

Chapter 82 Shamanism and Ritual

Upon seeing the three return, Maika immediately explained to them his recent activities.

After obtaining the clues, the members of the Dragonbreaker team got busy and also negotiated and exchanged information with Eileen.

Earlier, they finally found a clue to the tattoo.

Eileen took over Michael's words and continued to explain.

"After getting this tattoo, I immediately inquired with my acquaintances and got some information."

This is not a simple tattoo, but a savage totem and symbol known as the mountain spirit Elias.

His totem was not originally divided like this, but was a single, complete mountain.

Those who inscribe their faith onto their bodies are generally considered shamans; this is definitely not something a normal priest would do.

As Eileen continued her explanation, Tessa simply pulled Otto to find a place to sit down. They didn't know much about shamans, so it was best to listen patiently to Eileen's explanation. As for Goren, he leaned against the door frame and voiced his doubts.

"You mean, a shaman who worships mountain spirits did these things?"

What does this have to do with Grac?

Besides, it's not like I haven't had contact with shamans before; how dare they desecrate the totems of their own faith?

Goren is no novice adventurer. Over the years, he has teamed up with many people and met many extraordinary professionals, including shamans.

"From what I understand, although the shamanic profession has evolved differently depending on the choice between order and chaos, the general tone is the same."

With the original blessing from the source of faith as the core, and the protection of the heroic spirits of the tribal ancestors and the resonance of magic as the auxiliary, a so-called trinity is achieved.

Destroying totems is itself a form of desecration of the source of faith; what shaman would do such a thing?

Eileen was not surprised by Goren's question.

"Actually, before you came back, Maika and the others asked the same question, and the answer was yes."

In certain special circumstances, shamans will intentionally destroy their own tattoos, specifically their source totems of faith.

Eileen let out a long sigh of relief and slowly explained.

"If the god who is the source of faith dies, the power of the shaman will gradually collapse."

At this point, the shamans had no choice but to seek new gods as their source of faith.

This is the trouble we've encountered: a shaman driven to the brink of desperation!

Upon hearing this, Goren felt extremely troubled, but soon, he had a new question.

"Are your intelligence sources reliable?"

Goren didn't distrust Eileen; it was just that even Michael had never heard of such a thing. How could a priest who was only there for his shift know about it?

But Otto, sitting in the corner, did believe the news was true.

Tessa once told Otto that she and Erin were actually from the Inquisition.

It was an organization independent of any church, and only obeyed the temple union.

Such an organization must have an incredibly rich source of intelligence.

Otto suspected that not only the current information about shamans, but also the intelligence channels used to investigate Grak were probably related to the Inquisition.

This is why Eileen was able to gather information that even this dwarf, who had gone on adventures for decades, did not know.

While Otto was pondering this, Eileen simply explained.

"The source of information is the bard I mentioned before."

He had a friend who was a shaman who had experienced a similar event.

As Eileen explained, she revealed more information related to the matter.

"According to that shaman, the god worshipped by their tribe at the time was killed by a rival god. Although the tribe barely escaped with the god's protection, the shaman's power was gradually dissipating, and they could only try to worship a new god."

At this point, Eileen held up three fingers.

"He told me that the ceremony has three steps."

The first step is to find a new source of faith. It shouldn't be a powerful deity like the Six Kingdoms Gods, whose followers are easily swayed; rather, it should be a well-known deity.

Upon hearing this, Tessa, who was sitting in the corner, immediately raised her hand.

"Teacher Eileen, why is that?"

What if you choose a relatively weak god and encounter similar troubles again?

As Tessa listened to Eileen's explanation, she subconsciously treated the place as a classroom and immediately voiced her doubts to Eileen.

But Eileen simply explained.

"The reason is simple. First, the six gods of the kingdom cannot allow a single tribe or individual to monopolize the faith, as this would be fatal to the shaman and his tribe."

Furthermore, changing one's source of faith can, to some extent, disrupt and reconstruct the original path to transcendence, and the impact of a powerful deity is also immense.

In order to ensure the success of the ritual of changing the source of faith and to save their own lives, shamans with such needs will only choose weak barbarian gods to perform the ritual.

"In this respect, the barbarian god Grak is very suitable; he's so obscure that I had to find a specialist to investigate before I even learned of his existence."

Eileen chuckled as she finished speaking.

That damned bard tricked Irene out of countless gold Thorns because of this, and even she felt a pang of heartache.

However, at least now there is some hope of breaking the deadlock, and Eileen can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

With that in mind, Eileen continued to talk about the parts that needed to be paid attention to later.