Such a Ritual Brings Great Returns!

On the outskirts of the Graycastle Empire's capital.

Archmage Andrew stood at the center of a newly built altar. More than a hundred followers of the Magic Goddess sat cross-legged around him in a circle, reciting the prayers to the Magic Goddess and the Technology God that they had just learned and compiled from the War God Church, the Nature Church, and several other churches.

As a Legendary Mage, he possessed extensive knowledge, countless spells, and great power, yet he knew absolutely nothing about prayer.

Fortunately, with an imperial decree from His Majesty, every church had courteously sent high-ranking priests, and even popes themselves, to teach them.

The entire process went fairly smoothly.

Low, solemn prayers echoed across the altar as an indescribable aura spread out from its center.

The cold wind of Chilly Moon howled, yet it had no effect on them.

That was not merely because they were extraordinary beings, but because Faith Power had already begun to surge.

Even the magic power seemed to have been stirred.

The surrounding magic particles became exceptionally active.

Every mage felt their body and mind growing exhilarated!

Gradually, the magic power condensed into specks of light like fireflies, dancing freely around the altar.

The most immediate impression was that this place seemed to have changed from an ordinary area into a Magic Anomaly Zone. Any mage here would receive a substantial boost to their magic recovery speed and meditation efficiency.

All the mages grew excited.

This was the first time they had learned that praying to the Magic Goddess could cause such changes in the surroundings...

Fervor.

Every face was filled with fervor!

Although they knew that prayers capable of summoning miracles required a certain price, practically an "equivalent exchange," it did nothing to diminish their fervor.

The prayer had continued for a long time and was nearing its end.

Even Archmage Andrew, with his Legendary strength, could not stop beads of sweat from forming on his forehead. This was the first time he had received a response from the Magic Goddess through prayer.

This was the first task the Magic Goddess had given him.

As a devout believer, the pressure he felt was easy to imagine...

Fortunately, at last, just as it was about to end, he felt it. They all felt it—a strange sensation of being watched.

Just as the priests of the War God Church, the Nature Church, and other divine churches had described, it was the gaze of a god.

The Magic Goddess, who had never responded to mortals, had actually turned her gaze upon them.

They had succeeded!

They had succeeded in the end!

Archmage Andrew immediately breathed a sigh of relief, only to tense up again soon afterward.

This was not over yet!

This was no time to relax...

The instant the final line of the prayer was spoken, everyone cried out, "O God! Please bestow a miracle upon us!"

The magical power on the altar became active to the extreme. Even the headquarters of the Graycastle Empire's Royal Mage Association did not possess even one-tenth of this place's activity.

Countless points of light formed from magic particles bounced frantically.

An unusual force that they could not sense also seemed to be surging around them.

Suddenly, the mountain of refined iron piled before them vanished completely, replaced by a small hill of rings.

Rings engraved with all manner of runes.

They were identical to the rings Shadow had brought back from the border of the Dawn Kingdom.

Archmage Andrew thought so...

"Gasp—holding a gathering like this produces so much Faith Power?!"

Within the Divine Kingdom, Roger felt a dense stream of Faith Power rushing toward him. Watching drops of Faith Essence rapidly form within the Blank Divine Core, he could not help exclaiming, "The faith of just over a hundred of them is actually comparable to ten thousand people in the Dawn Kingdom using Magic Net Rings for a whole day. No wonder those gods with powerful faith establish religious organizations and hold events like this so often."

"Lord Roger, I believe you may have misunderstood. Faith events like this are not common. Even the War God Church might only hold one once every few years. While a miracle occurs, a certain price is extracted from them. Most mage believers remain curious, and that is the most important reason driving them to come..."

"You mean an event like this costs far more than when that old man in the Dawn Kingdom prays and we give him Magic Net Rings?" Roger frowned slightly.

"Of course." Betty cut in directly. "Take the War God Church, for example. They usually only initiate prayers like this during large-scale wars. However, our scale this time was relatively small, and they paid a large amount of refined iron while all we provided were Magic Net Rings. So the cost to them was not particularly great—at the very least, it was not irreversible."

"God Approachers are no longer human. That is no joke. The closer one gets to gods, and the more contact one has with them, the more terrifying the cost becomes."

"Then it seems we cannot have Andrew organize such an event too often." Roger frowned slightly.

The fact that the Graycastle Empire had a devout Legendary Mage believer—and one who was also a renowned great noble—was absolutely an unexpected delight.

The stronger a mortal was, the less likely they were to readily offer up their faith.

Roger wanted this man to properly assist him in establishing a foothold in Gray Fortress. He could not allow him to suffer any harm.

"Don't worry. The cost to him this time is negligible." Betty said with a smile. "This is a fair trade. If the price were too high, the goddess would not permit it. Next time, he only needs to gather some other believers again."

"Come to think of it, I suddenly noticed something. It seems that the more Faith Power is gathered, the faster it is transmitted from the mortal world to me. Is there such a rule as well?"

Roger carefully sensed the changes in the Divinity within him and could not help asking.

Just then.

The magic particles atop the altar gradually began to settle, and that indescribable aura receded like a tide.

"Is this the legendary Magic Net Ring? Can it really be used to communicate with places far away?"

The pressure vanished completely, and the active magic power began to calm. Some mages who had just finished praying immediately grew curious.

Whether it was the Magic Net Rings before them or the experience they had just undergone, everything was simply far too novel to them!