Evil God! Heretic!

Brandon Robert spent the entire daytime of Fireday feeling restless.

His first reaction to what was written on the note was, naturally, disbelief.

It sounded like one of those roadside swindlers who set up a stall offering free fortune-telling, opening with, "You possess exceptional talent and limitless potential. You are destined to become a legendary figure. All you need to do now is give me ten silver coins, and I'll show you the right path to reach the pinnacle of life."

But this time was different.

The note had clearly written his name on it.

After much thought, Brandon finally came up with a possibility he found somewhat hard to believe:

Perhaps... someone had taken a liking to him!

Anyone who knew his name must have specifically sent someone to investigate him!

There was no need for a prank to go that far. Maybe someone had really discovered his "potential" and intended to recruit and train him?

Thinking of this, Brandon could not help letting his imagination run wild:

"Could it be... that I really have some talent I don't know about?"

"Is it possible that I'm actually a genius?"

Brandon's upbringing had been simple. His parents were from the Rayak Kingdom and had come to Greenport for work, where they had Brandon.

In other words, Brandon was a child who had grown up in Greenport.

Ever since he was young, he had watched all kinds of adventurers accept commissions from employers, escort caravans, search for items, and settle disputes. Seeing how freely they could choose their own way of life, Brandon had envied them terribly.

He had once fantasized about taking up the finest sword in his home, becoming a powerful adventurer, and leaving behind a legend of his own on the continent.

Ideals were plump; reality was bony.

Even for the warrior path, which had the lowest requirements, registering at the Warrior Guild to train required one to bring or purchase weapons and armor that met the standards.

Brandon's actual situation was that his family did not even own a wooden sword, much less a good one.

Not to mention the outrageously expensive armor.

With the spare money he had painstakingly saved from odd jobs, Brandon had planned to first buy a weapon that suited him so he could practice battle technique movements at home.

He did not even need to consider the weapons sold at the trade market or the Warrior Guild. He simply could not afford them.

Standard longswords forged from refined steel by professional dwarven craftsmen were naturally priced in gold coins.

For Brandon, even looking at one for too long was practically a crime!

Given his circumstances, he could only try his luck at the black market in the Lower District, hoping to find some cheap inferior goods, or illicit merchandise of unknown origin that had to be sold off at a low price.

Without some unexpected stroke of luck, it would be difficult for him to complete the transition from an ordinary person to an adventurer.

Yet now, someone had suddenly told him there was a way for him to become a powerful adventurer.

And it did not seem like a prank!

Brandon was tempted.

There were quite a few others with experiences similar to Brandon's.

That night, at Moni Brothers Tavern.

Brandon warily surveyed his surroundings.

The location of Moni Brothers Tavern was not hard to find. Ask any errand boy in the Lower District, and they would know.

When Brandon arrived, a young girl dressed in a black church nun's habit motioned for him to follow her and led him down to the tavern's underground wine cellar.

Brandon counted. Besides himself, there were four other people present.

"Please wait a moment."

The girl gestured to Brandon.

When the distant, melodious bells of midnight rang out, the girl lightly clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention.

"Everyone, I presume you have come here because you wish to become adventurers."

"Walking the path of an adventurer requires talent, but even more than that, it requires wealth."

"You have all been selected. As long as you are willing to work hard, talent will not limit you."

"As for wealth... please rest assured, our faith is willing to help you resolve that problem."

The moment he heard the word "faith," Brandon immediately became alert.

Apart from the orthodox churches of the major gods, there were all sorts of minor sects devoted to foreign gods, and even cults that worshipped evil gods while plotting all kinds of schemes in the shadows.

Since they had been able to write his name on the note, they had clearly come prepared.

An orthodox church certainly would not hold its gathering in the underground wine cellar of some small tavern in the Lower District.

So this so-called faith was either a gathering place for followers of some foreign god, or... worse still, a nest of an evil god!

While Brandon's thoughts ran wild, the girl continued.

"To allow you all to witness our faith's sincerity."

"Even if you do not intend to join us, you may still undergo one free adventurer talent assessment here."

"This is an initiation benefit offered by our faith. An adventurer talent assessment can tell you which career path is most suitable for you."

"Because this is our first time recruiting believers in Greenport, everyone has the chance to experience it for free."

Brandon's heart skipped a beat.

This was bad!

Had he stumbled into an evil god's cult?!

Though he was only an ordinary person, he had at least seen enough to know how things worked!

He knew that adventurer talent assessments were a divine art exclusive to the Church of Phil, God of Justice, and were notorious for their high fees!

Logically speaking, only true believers of the God of Justice could use that divine art.

Anyone daring to offer something like that as an "initiation benefit" might be peddling an evil god's lie, using it to lure in ignorant ordinary people!

"Evil god! Heretic!"

Before Brandon could figure out how to escape this suspected evil god's cult hideout, a young man beside him suddenly shouted in anger.

"Adventurer talent assessment is a great power belonging to Phil, God of Justice! You are not a believer of the God of Justice. You are lying!"

Brandon was dumbfounded.

No, man, were you really that reckless?

Even if he knew this was an evil god's facade, should they not all pretend to know nothing, play along for the moment, find a way to leave quickly, and report them to an orthodox church?

By shouting like that, had he not torn off all pretenses?

Once they knew their identities had been exposed, would they not silence them on the spot and sacrifice all these unlucky fools they had lured here?

However, upon hearing the accusation, the girl remained entirely calm.

"Sir, I believe you have misunderstood something."

"Our faith is guided by a great god."

"Though He is not the God of Justice, His power is highly unusual. Therefore, believers of our faith may likewise receive Phil's recognition and use the divine arts that belong to Him."

"If you do not believe me, I can demonstrate the divine art to you right now. Everyone present may serve as witnesses."

After hearing the explanation, the young man who had earlier shouted "evil god, heretic" asked with lingering doubt:

"You can demonstrate it right now, here?"

"If I feel that something is wrong, I can leave whenever I want, correct?"

The girl smiled and nodded. "Of course."

"In my lord's name, I guarantee it."