Just Collected Reward Money from the Imperial Army, and Now I Can Embezzle Our Army's Funds Again!

This blessing can be retained and converted into five Life Points.

Like the Faith Points granted by the Holy Light Goddess, the Mother Goddess of Life also had corresponding Life Points. Essentially, they were both points used to exchange for rewards.

The only difference was that Faith Points could also be converted into Magic Points at a ratio of ten to one—the mana used by mages.

Life Points, on the other hand, could improve the physical condition of the blessed.

Physical condition was tied to the War Ash Points of professions such as warriors. They were another similar system. They had no magic; instead, they used "War Ash," which was likewise limited by Memory Slots.

Believing in the Holy Light increased mana. Believing in Life strengthened the body.

Believing in both made one a Faith Warrior.

This frail body of Ansu's had been weak and sickly since birth. He would be out of breath after running just a couple of steps.

Doing three sets of papers a day was enough to exhaust him. Who knew when he might suddenly croak, so improving his physical condition was rather important.

Compared to the gentle, magnificent holy light of the Divine Blessing, the Mother God's Blessing was far bloodier and more painful.

Ansu felt the blood throughout his body boiling, every inch of Bone twisting and reshaping with a series of creaks.

His heart had never pounded so fiercely. Vigorous blood vessels carried immense Life Force, washing over his internal organs with every flow of blood.

That moment seemed eternal, yet it passed in an instant.

Ansu saw a sea of blood. Fresh, living beings rose and sank within that sea of flesh and blood, while that magnificent, great existence stood at its far end. She extended a hand, as though inviting Ansu.

He blinked, and the sea of blood vanished like an illusion.

Ansu was still on that dim, gloomy altar. Thunder crashed down from the heavens again and again, bleaching the surrounding scenery white time after time.

The pain receded swiftly like the tide. Ansu instinctively moved his limbs and felt better than he ever had before, more refreshed than ever.

If it came down to a straight-up fight, he felt he could take on three of his former selves now.

He could even do three more sets of questions tonight!

Even so, five Life Points landing in Ansu's frail body only made the slightest splash.

His War Ash Points were still zero.

Ansu was not disappointed. Drops filled the bucket, after all.

"Your expression just now..."

Miss Enya had appeared behind Ansu at some point. She tilted her head, her smooth, lead-black hair draping over the opposite shoulder. Her movements were elegant, but her words were not.

"...It looked like you had been trying to take a dump forever and finally managed it."

This girl's tongue was vicious.

"Could your analogy be a little more refined?" Ansu could not help complaining.

"Actually, what I wanted to say was..." Enya tucked a stray lock behind her ear. "Your expression looked like you had been jerking off forever and finally came."

"...You filthy girl." Black lines covered Ansu's face. "Could you stop making dirty jokes about us guys?"

He sighed softly and took a fresh robe from Enya, draping it over himself. His custom-made high school uniform was already soaked in blood.

What a pity. That outfit had felt so good against his skin.

The altar was filthy, covered in chunks of dead flesh that gave off the stench of rotting corpses.

After getting dressed, Ansu paused, then suddenly said to Enya, "I was actually waiting for you to ask questions."

"Ask what?" Enya tilted her head again.

"Like how I sacrificed those Esoteric Cultists, or why I did it. Things like that," Ansu said. "And whether I am a follower of the Mother Goddess."

"Why should I care?"

Enya was puzzled. "You killed them, so you killed them. If you want to kill anyone else, I can help you do it. Whether it is sacrifice or assassination, they are essentially the same thing."

As expected, Enya's moral standards were very different from those of ordinary people.

She lacked even the most basic understanding of life. Other than the people she cared about, everyone else's life held no value to Enya. The moral rules of universal values had nothing to do with her, either.

She did not care at all whether Ansu performed sacrifices.

Enya calmly stood atop the altar covered in flesh and blood. Beneath the hem of her black Lolita dress were brown boots, now stained with a little blood. With her head tilted, she looked like a kitten.

"I thought you would be at least a little surprised," Ansu said, brushing the dust from his clothes. "Let's go back."

"To be honest, I only felt disappointed."

Enya said calmly, "I thought you were going to run away with me, but it turned out you were just killing people."

"Don't tell anyone about what happened today," Ansu said.

"Can I use it to blackmail you?" Enya tilted her head again. "Young Master, you would not want the church to find out about your sacrifices, would you?"

"You filthy girl."

By the time they returned home, dawn was already breaking, and the rain had mostly stopped.

After the rain, the air at Morningstar Manor was clean and crystal-clear. The pale blue sky reflected in the puddles of the courtyard, as though a piece of the sky had gone missing and fallen into this luxurious manor.

The moment he got home, Ansu was met with Count Carlo's satisfied smile.

"Good, good, good. Your second night away from home. You've got promise."

He patted Ansu's shoulder approvingly and rattled on without pause.

"You've finally got half my flair. You haven't disappointed me. Your Father knows you best—you were never born for studying. If you ask me, you should hurry up and carry on our family line—"

"You couldn't keep studying after just two weeks. Just as your Father expected—wait, where are you going after packing your books again?"

"To the church."

After returning home, Ansu took a refreshing bath, changed into a light blue shirt, casually ate a few pieces of bread, packed his things, and prepared to head out again.

"I still have to attend Morning Prayer."

He left briskly, paying no attention whatsoever to Count Carlo's curses of "unfilial son" and "disgrace to the family."

There were not many people at the church in the early morning. Warm sunlight lay spread across the glass dome.

What a refreshing morning.

Mr. Danny, the old priest watching the entrance, had brewed a pot of black tea. He lounged lazily in a wicker chair, reading today's Seaside City Herald, in quite a good mood.

But when he looked up and saw those three words, The Newborn, walking toward him from afar, his refreshing morning instantly became constipated.

"Good morning." That bastard's smile was bright and cheerful, at least.

"Morning."

Danny forced a smile, not daring to stop Ansu again.

"May the morning sunlight shine upon your path. Here to pray again today? Mr. Ansu truly is devout."

"After all, I am the Goddess's most loyal follower."

Ansu, who had just collected compensation from the Mother Goddess, replied with a bright and cheerful smile.

He walked straight into the church, came before the statue, dropped to one knee, and began to pray.

Ansu

Magic Points: 4

Reserve Saint

Current Faith Points: Five (eliminated fifteen First-tier Cultists of the Mother Goddess of Life and one second-tier priest)

Reserve Saints can exchange for a Low-tier blessing or add points to their body

Five Faith Points could be exchanged for one Low-tier blessing.

Or he could save another five points and add more to his Mana Bar again.

A harvest-like joy appeared at the corner of Ansu's mouth. He had just collected reward money from the Imperial Army, and now he could embezzle military funds from our army again!

After all, there were far more than two Esoteric Cultist hideouts around the Border City.

This was the thrill of grinding levels!