The Stealth Path, but the God of Knowledge

The God of Shadow, Murphy, appeared as a short, middle-aged man holding a dagger. A bulging satchel hung at his waist, and a gray-black cloak draped over his back.

Seeing Rena's exceptionally high affinity with the God of Shadow, Pete's feelings were somewhat complicated.

After all, the God of Shadow's reputation... was not very good.

This deity was known as the patron of thieves, swindlers, burglars, and pickpockets. He bestowed blessings upon those who walked in darkness, making them better at concealing themselves, more nimble in their movements, and swifter in action.

There was no denying that the basic blessing effects were excellent. The problem was that none of those trades were respectable professions. In fact, they were the kind people despised.

When followers of other gods introduced themselves, they were either devout priests, esteemed archmages, or, at worst, experienced old hunters or skilled farmers.

But when it came to followers of the God of Shadow?

"I'm a professional thief. I usually go to everyone's homes and steal your valuables."

If someone dared say that to people's faces, they would be lucky not to get beaten up!

Although walking this path could indeed make one a ranked professional, and mortals favored by the God of Shadow, Murphy, could gradually gain the ability to control darkness and blend into shadows, becoming Stealth practitioners who walked in darkness, Stealth practitioners still did not have a particularly good reputation.

Pete studied the girl, Rena, who sat quietly on her knees in the middle of the ritual circle.

She wore no exquisite accessories, and her clothes were plain—the outfit of an ordinary girl from an ordinary family. Her slightly old clothes had been washed clean, and she was dressed very neatly.

It was truly difficult to associate her with a thief or swindler who picked locks and slipped into homes.

She clearly looked like a sunny, cheerful, warmhearted, and simple girl. Why was her affinity with the God of Shadow so high?

In Pete's impression, those who worshiped the God of Shadow were all furtive, shifty-eyed types. The feeling Rena gave him was worlds apart from that.

Once the divine talent assessment spell had completely ended and the imposing atmosphere of the God of Justice slowly faded from the underground wine cellar, Pete fully explained Rena's various talents to her.

"That's the situation."

"If you want to become a ranked professional, the best fit for you is the God of Shadow. You can embark on the path of Stealth."

"Your affinity with the God of Shadow, Murphy, is extremely high. Put simply, if you choose this path, you have the potential to reach Tier 6 and become a legend."

"However... the God of Shadow's path may not be very welcome. As you grow stronger, more and more people and factions may reject you. You may become increasingly alone, able only to keep company with shadows."

Pete had learned that in the Starosh district of the royal capital of the Rayak Kingdom, followers of the God of Shadow above Tier 3 were forbidden from entering without special permission.

Greenport had similar regulations. Any follower of the God of Shadow with a Tier 3 ranking who wished to enter Greenport had to register relevant information and carry a device that could locate them at any time.

If they snuck in and were discovered, they would automatically be presumed to be plotting a crime. Whether it was the royal court of the Rayak Kingdom or Greenport, they would call upon local high-tier professionals to capture them together.

The Stealth professional path possessed extremely powerful concealment abilities and short-term burst potential. If their target was unprepared, they could seize an opportunity to cross several ranked tiers and carry out an assassination.

There was no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days.

In the end, most factions simply chose to keep their distance from followers of the God of Shadow. It was best not to let them get close unless necessary.

"Because followers of the God of Shadow aren't very welcome, their churches are often well hidden."

"At least, I don't know where to find a guide who can lead you onto the professional path."

"So whether you choose this path is up to you."

Pete spread his hands, signaling for Rena to consider it herself.

Rena looked somewhat bewildered. "But, Mr. Pete..."

"The one who guided me to take the professional talent test was the God of Knowledge. You also said that the God of Knowledge once taught you spells. In that case, why can't I ask the God of Knowledge to bestow guidance again and become my professional guide?"

Pete instinctively began to explain. "Because there are only so many professional paths, and only the power of those few recognized gods can allow mortals to embark on professional cultivation... Wait, no, that's not right!"

"?!"

Pete suddenly realized something.

He had fallen into the trap of habitual thinking again.

When Rena underwent her talent assessment, all Pete had thought about were the few recognized professional paths:

Mages, rangers, warriors, paladins, priests, Stealth practitioners, and sorcerers, whose reputation was even worse than that of Stealth practitioners.

Just as mages corresponded to faith in the Goddess of Magic, paladins to the God of Radiance, and Stealth practitioners to the God of Shadow;

Aside from warriors, who tempered themselves and controlled their rage without needing faith in a god, other professionals needed the recognition of their corresponding deity and had to undergo trials before they could gain the power of their profession and advance.

Pete's thinking had remained at that stage.

But Rena's words changed his line of thought.

He was a follower of the Goddess of Magic, so he could walk the path of a mage. No problem there.

He was not a follower of the God of Justice, yet he could cast divine spells that only the God of Justice's followers could use. That was a huge problem!

Previously, Pete had always believed that the God of Knowledge's power was on a lower level than those recognized major gods.

The God of Knowledge simply favored him more, which was why He had allowed him to use this unique new method to cast mage spells.

Pete had thought he first needed the blessing of the Goddess of Magic to gain permission to use the Weave.

For example, some followers of outer gods could also master special spells granted by those outer gods, spells that were not limited by the Goddess of Magic's spell slots.

But those people still needed to be shallow believers in the Goddess of Magic—mage professionals blessed by the Goddess who could use the Weave. That was an unavoidable prerequisite.

If they abandoned their faith in the Goddess of Magic, the Weave would no longer respond to the caster, and spells that required the Weave to construct spell models could not be used.

The same applied to divine spells. Becoming a deity's follower was the basic requirement. Otherwise, using them was simply impossible.

Yet Pete could cast the God of Justice's divine spells. That undoubtedly shattered this rule!

A flash of inspiration crossed Pete's mind.

"Could it be that the God of Knowledge's power allows His followers to use the blessings bestowed by other gods?!"

"If that's really the case..."

"Rena, give it a try. Pray to the God of Knowledge and ask Him to tell you how to cultivate the Stealth path!"

Pete's excited voice was slightly distorted.