Shadow God's Chosen

This peculiar pattern reminded Noven of some games he had played in his previous life.

He had once wondered why players in games always had to find skill trainers to learn the corresponding skills.

Logically speaking, if skills were knowledge that could be mastered, then anyone ought to be able to become a "skill trainer," so long as they passed that knowledge on.

The more Noven explored, the stranger he found this world's operating principles.

These rules that his two existing believers had discovered were not restrictions imposed by Noven. Rather, he sensed that some mechanism seemed to be operating on its own within this Divine Kingdom. He could even vaguely sense the general direction of its source within the Divine Kingdom.

But whenever he tried to explore in that direction, the boundless gray mist filling the Divine Kingdom obstructed him.

Whenever he stepped into the gray mist, he lost all sense of direction. No matter how he walked, he would ultimately return to the small area where he had awakened.

Only this small area was not covered by the gray mist.

Noven tried to drive away the gray mist that hindered his perception, and he actually received a response:

Divine power required.

He could disperse this gray mist with divine power.

After checking the divine power that had been almost entirely depleted when he helped Pete escape danger earlier, Noven sighed.

The faith Pete and Rena could generate in a single day would only be enough to clear an area the size of a palm. It was a drop in the bucket.

I should keep looking for ways to expand the number of believers!

"Great Phil, God of Justice!"

"Your scales hang high, weighing the good and evil of the world!"

"Your sword is gripped in hand, judging all unjust deeds!"

"Please bestow the divine power of witness and judge this person's talents!"

"Bear witness!"

Rena knelt in the center of the circular magic array. Infused paint had formed a standard equilateral triangle within the array, along with many strange runes whose meanings Pete could not understand.

The prepared statue of Phil, God of Justice, was placed at the triangle's apex before Rena, while a silver scale and sword occupied the other two points.

As Pete recited the prayer for the divine spell according to the prescribed format, the atmosphere in the underground wine cellar grew solemn. A pressure gradually filled the air, and a feeling of being watched descended upon the place.

This feeling of being watched was exactly the same as the class aptitude test Pete had personally undergone before!

In a divine ritual, this meant Phil, God of Justice, had received His believer's summons. He had turned His gaze upon the person being tested in the array, using a god's might to fairly judge the degree of affinity the subject possessed with different gods!

Once Phil, God of Justice, had finished judging, different colors or traits would appear upon His statue as markers according to the subject's affinities with different gods.

Pete felt nothing but shock now—the utterly unbelievable kind of shock.

"It actually worked!"

Even though he had mentally prepared himself, watching it truly happen still felt incredibly unreal to Pete.

Back when he underwent his class aptitude test, it had shown that his affinity with the God of Justice was not low. If he persevered and worked hard for many years, there was a good chance he could become one of Phil's true believers.

But the Church of Justice's doctrines were simply too hard for Pete to accept. He could not stand that lifestyle of restraining himself at every moment.

Besides, only classes with combat ability could receive ratings and fulfill the Rayak Kingdom's noble inheritance law requiring a Tier 3 class. Thus, Pete ultimately did not choose the God of Justice as his primary faith. He instead believed in the Goddess of Magic and became a mage.

He was not even a shallow believer of the God of Justice now, yet with the method Noven had given him, he had successfully cast a divine spell that only true believers could use—and had truly gained Phil, God of Justice's attention!

What was this supposed to mean?

So many shallow believers of the God of Justice strictly observed the doctrines day after day, even year after year, all in order to earn Phil's recognition, become His true believers, receive blessings, and gain the chance to cast divine spells.

And Pete?

He had undergone no ascetic cultivation and made no effort to restrain his behavior. He had nothing whatsoever to do with the God of Justice's doctrines, and he had even done things that violated the doctrines of justice before!

Logically, the God of Justice should not have paid any attention to the ritual he was conducting!

Yet the other party had come running over to cast His gaze the moment Pete finished reciting the appropriate prayer, like one of those prostitutes in Greenport's Lower City red-light district, coming when called and leaving when dismissed!

The contrast was so absurd that Pete could barely believe it.

"How did the God of Knowledge even do this? This is way too untheological!"

Pete felt that ever since he started believing in Noven, God of Knowledge, his worldview had been shattered more times than he could count.

If nonbelievers did not need to follow all kinds of doctrines or gain the corresponding god's recognition, and could use divine spells originally exclusive to a church's true believers merely by believing in Noven, God of Knowledge, then what was the point of all the other churches?

Everyone might as well convert to the God of Knowledge!

After all, believing in Noven was the same as believing in every god!

While Pete was lost in thought, light began to slowly emerge from the small statue of Phil, God of Justice.

First came the hazy purple mist-light symbolizing affinity with the Goddess of Magic. Just as Rena had said, her affinity with the Goddess of Magic was extremely low. If one did not look closely, the faint mist-light was nearly impossible to see.

With talent at this level, she clearly was not suited to the path of a mage. Even if she forced herself to study it, she would likely never break through the rank of magic apprentice in her lifetime, perhaps unable even to cast a Tier 1 spell.

Next, golden-red light symbolizing the God of Radiance, dark-green light symbolizing the God of Hunting, and other lights flashed by in turn. They were equally faint, with most of their limits only reaching around Tier 1 or Tier 2.

However, with gods who did not belong to the path of classes and whose blessings possessed little offensive power—such as the God of Wine and the God of Art—Rena's affinity was generally quite good.

In other words, if combat was not considered, Rena would have considerable talent for becoming a brewer, painter, or something similar, and would find it easier to gain the favor of the corresponding gods.

One beam of light after another flashed past, until at one moment, blackish-gray darkness suddenly burst from the small statue of Phil, God of Justice!

The intensity of that blackish-gray darkness far surpassed every light before it. In that instant, the entire underground wine cellar was swallowed by darkness. Whether it was the bright moonlight streaming through the skylight or the dim yellow candlelight, both abruptly faded beneath the pressure of the blackish-gray darkness!

Every light source seemed to have been draped in a veil!

Pete's eyes flew wide open.

"God of Knowledge above!"

"Her affinity with the God of Shadow is way too outrageous!"

"Damn it, she has to be a Chosen of the God of Shadow at the very least, right?!"