The morning sun bathed Ragnar’s face as he strolled down to the meeting spot with a smile on his face. His heart rate increased as he anticipated the rewards he would get this time.
The settlement was very busy at the moment as everyone ransacked their houses, searching for something valuable to offer.
A few women brought out beautiful jewelry and precious stones; one of them even had a pure diamond — something that signifies genuine wealth. Unfortunately, after the war, jewelry and precious items like that began to lose value.
Food truly became the only thing of true worth as everyone struggled simply to survive.
As for the men, they gathered fresh harvest from their farms in baskets.
Some even thought about offering their livestock, but Ragnar quickly rejected it.
Well, although the system wouldn’t mind livestock or other living things as sacrifice, Ragnar decided to exclude them for now.
Ragnar finally arrived at the meeting spot where many of his people could be seen chattering among themselves.
"The ancestors have decided to answer us directly after a very long time."
"What would these offerings bring us?"
Fortunately, none of the conversations seemed to doubt the credibility of the sacrifice. Only the eagerness of the people could be heard in their anticipatory, silent voices.
When they spotted Ragnar, they all turned to him with smiles.
Ragnar smiled back and strolled to the middle of the gathering.
"You have proven to the ancestors why it is beneficial for them to ," Ragnar began. "Although you only knew about the sacrifice for a short while, you believed and even showed up with offerings."
Ragnar spent the first minute appreciating them — why not? These people were about to make him richer and stronger.
He also proceeded to claim that the ancestors had asked him to praise their beliefs and hard work.
After he was done, he asked everyone to place the items they had brought on the ground in front of him.
Baskets of fruits, jewelry, seeds, diamonds, gold coins, and many other items were placed in front of Ragnar.
"This is incredible," Ragnar muttered as he observed everything gathered on the ground. "Onyx, run an analysis and tell me the grade of this offering."
|| Running full analysis... ||
Items: 4 baskets containing a total of 133 fruits and foodstuffs in good condition; 5 gold necklaces; 1 gemstone; 1 rusted sword...
Grade: 2-star (mid-tier)
"Wow! It managed to reach 2-star," Ragnar was amazed.
The crowd around him was still murmuring as they observed the items gathered in front of their young leader.
"It is time to see what the ancestors have in store for us this time," Ragnar said.
Everyone paid closer attention to see how he was going to make the offering.
Fortunately, Ragnar had already devised a way to act to make the people believe him.
"Follow me," he said.
Then he knelt down slowly.
Everyone complied without a single complaint.
The twins were at the front of the crowd, their eyes fixated on Ragnar. Old man James was all smiles as he witnessed his apprentice’s seriousness; he felt proud seeing that the ancestors were acting through him.
"At this moment, open your mouth and silently whisper your prayers to the ancestors," Ragnar instructed. "Tell them everything you want done—let them in on your secret pain and wash it away as your suffering is cleansed."
Following this instruction, soft whispers were heard.
The people began whispering their prayers silently.
The family of the farmer who lost his life yesterday pleaded with the ancestors for comfort. The little boy prayed that they bring his father back to life as they did with Ragnar.
The parents of the baby who died on the day Ragnar transmigrated also prayed for comfort.
The other villagers — the men prayed for better harvests and the women prayed for peace.
While they prayed in whispers, Ragnar could already guess what they were praying about.
"I pray I receive some high-quality active skills to increase my physique, and I also want XP rewards to level up faster," Ragnar prayed as well.
Since everyone was watching, he figured it would be better if he was seen praying too.
Ragnar waited for about two minutes, then called everyone to a halt in their prayers and asked them to stand back up.
"Your prayers will be answered gradually," he lied with a smile. "Now it is time for the ancestors to take their offerings."
Ragnar lifted his hands to the sky, copying what he saw other religious leaders do on TV on Earth.
The crowd went silent as everyone fixed their gaze on him.
"Activate Sacrifice!" Ragnar muttered in a low tone.
|| Sacrifice sequence activated ||
|| Analyzing grade and quantity... analysis complete ||
|| Quantity: 140, Collective Grade: 2-star (mid-tier) ||
Following the last prompt, under everyone’s gaze the items on the ground began to glow in a faint blue hue.
"It is the hands of the ancestors!"
"I never believed I would be able to see something so miraculous before I die."
Eyes widened and mouths opened as the people watched the ethereal scene unfold.
|| Sacrifice accepted ||
|| Calculating rewards. 0%..2% ||
|| Calculating rewards... Complete, revealing rewards.... ||
—X1 Common-grade skill scroll
—X2 Basic-grade skill scrolls
—X1 Random reward card
—X5 Basic-grade swords
—X50 Canned food (random)
|| Rewards have been allocated to your [🎒 Inventory] ||