Faith Guidance

Naimus exchanged a few polite words with the Old Priest, then left directly.

He still had much to do and no time to waste here.

A stream of information flowed through his mind.

[Precept Updated]

[Main Precept: Oath Keeper]

[Precept Feedback: Pact Vessel gains a new effect—Bloodline Connection: The Pact Vessel's transmission function as a medium is strengthened, allowing it to influence bloodlines with greater precision.]

That was right. This Precept Feedback had come from his verbal contract with the Old Priest.

The Old Priest had hoped he would spare Jacques and offered all manner of deals.

In the end, when Naimus chose to agree, the contract had already been formed.

"However, the more powerful the Precept Feedback, the higher the required completion level of the contract." Naimus summarized the circumstances of this feedback.

Normally, once an Oath Keeper Precept formed a contract and he fulfilled his side of it, he could gain benefits from keeping the oath.

But this time was different. The Precept was only truly completed after he received the tangible item the Old Priest had promised.

"This ability is powerful. It will be of great use in Pur's further transformation and in building my own forces." Naimus was fairly satisfied with it.

At the same time, Naimus examined the Divine Sword he had just acquired.

It contained a total of eleven Divine Script characters, granting the sword three ordinary traits—sharpness, toughness, and Incentive—as well as an advanced trait called Holy Power.

"It can guide my own strength and imbue it with sacred attributes, allowing it to deal extra damage to evil creatures." Naimus could feel his body becoming more active because of it, especially the Holy Bone he had just acquired and the Holy Nail closely connected to it.

"The Holy Nail is already half-fused with my bones, and my Aura of Life has recovered considerably because of it."

"And it isn't that further fusion is impossible. I simply need a clear opportunity."

With multiple factors coming together, Naimus had seemingly obtained a Divine Miracle, removing the aftereffects of becoming a Paladin of Precepts. Yet the changes did not stop there.

"As long as I guide it, the Power of Faith within the Holy Nail will completely melt away, and I'll gain a special power from it." As Naimus sensed the changes in the Holy Nail, he vaguely felt as though he could do anything.

That feeling was an illusion, but it was not without basis.

What people admired most about gods was their divine power.

To a certain extent, divine power was omnipotent, much like a wishing machine.

As long as there was enough divine power, anything one desired could be achieved.

"And faith is a supplement to divine power."

"So purified Power of Faith is also a kind of quasi-omnipotent force."

"But it is not true divine power in the end, nor can it grant wishes. I still need relevant knowledge to make this thing truly useful."

The family secret art Jacques had used earlier flashed through Naimus's mind.

Jacques had spoken the Divine Secret Language, using it to stir the Power of Faith and strengthen himself.

If not for that, Naimus would not have fought him for so long.

He had done so in order to more carefully observe the flow of faith within Jacques's body during the battle.

Jacques, a Paladin who had yet to reach the Steel Breed level, had relied on a Holy Bone and several lines of Divine Secret Language to gain such immensely powerful traits.

That was the wonder of faith: when the power of faith was driven in a specific direction, it became a trait formed according to that direction.

"Simply imagining a direction is far too inefficient a way to use the Power of Faith." For example, Naimus could now mobilize the Power of Faith from the seven Holy Nails in his body—twenty-one years' worth—to fulfill his own wishes.

For instance, becoming strong and healthy.

That faith would then completely merge into his body and accumulate naturally, forming traits.

Naimus was certain that the traits formed under those circumstances would be exceedingly ordinary.

"The Dartmenly Family used the deeds of their ancestors and Holy Bones as guides, fixing the power toward those particular traits and thereby maximizing the use of faith."

It was like constructing a building. One could not simply pile up materials; one needed a plan, as well as other materials mixed in as supporting "steel reinforcement."

Within the Dartmenly Family's inherited secret art, the Divine Secret Language was the blueprint. The Holy Bone Jacques carried not only stirred the Power of Faith, but also served as the core.

"And at present, I also have two guides—the Precepts and the Holy Bones." Naimus could sense that only by channeling the Power of Faith into these two guides and planning carefully could he bring out its fullest potential.

"Still, this is meticulous work. It cannot be completed quickly." Naimus also intended to slow his pace somewhat.

Naimus was indeed busy, but the more it was like this, the less he could afford to rush. Rushing would only lead to mistakes.

Being busy was an arrangement, ensuring that one had something to do every moment.

Being rushed was a state of mind, one that neglected the quality of things to a certain degree in pursuit of efficiency.

That was precisely Naimus's current situation. His schedule was already full.

Research into the Power of Faith.

Increasing his Precepts.

Researching Whale-ification Disease.

Making arrangements to secretly develop his forces.

And investigating the secrets of the Old Priest, Otto, and the others.

Yet Naimus did not find it tiresome. He only felt exceptionally fulfilled.

Because everything he had now was preparation for his future climb to the summit.

"Waiting is a required lesson." Naimus returned to his residence and began to wait.

In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.

In the basement, Pur stood up. After meeting Naimus's gaze, he gave a slight nod, his expression tightening as he activated Whale-ification.

Large black spots emerged across his body, then rapidly changed.

At that moment, Pur's skin became tough, like a layer of rubber.

At the same time, those black spots stretched and warped into patterns.

His entire body swelled by more than a full size during the process, yet he did not appear bloated. Instead, he possessed only the sturdy feeling of a Colossus.

His brownish-yellow skin was covered in countless black patterns resembling flower petals and cloud motifs.

Simply standing there, he exuded an oppressive presence.

After all, his head was already lightly pressing against the basement ceiling.

"This basically qualifies." Naimus nodded in relative satisfaction.

Pur's stat had now reached eight, not much higher than his previous stat after Whale-ification.

But he had already gained two traits.

Colossus: Strength receives an approximately fifty percent bonus and can exceed its limit.

Thus, Pur's stat in his current state was twelve.

Tough Skin: Gains extremely strong resistance to external attacks, ignoring some blade and sword damage with a value below ten.

This trait could even be called a weaker version of the Gift of Forgiveness.

With the combination of these two traits, Whale-ification could finally be considered a qualified method of increasing strength.

Please keep following along. Thank you.