The instant he fell into darkness, Lin Ye's feet touched the ground. The world flipped, and he stood on the white flagstone path again.
"I was ready to take a gamble. Didn't expect to get lucky."
Lin Ye hadn't actually been sure. There were three obvious ways to escape, and he had simply chosen the most likely one. If he had chosen wrong, he was prepared to face the consequences.
Looking around, he found that the Abyss church had vanished. He had been teleported outside a dilapidated dark red church.
"Huh?"
Lin Ye carefully examined the patterns carved into the church's outer walls and noticed some resemblance to the symbols on the Crimson Nun's habit.
"If you had something arranged, couldn't you have just sent me straight here?"
Lin Ye couldn't help grumbling.
Of course, he didn't believe the Crimson Nun could influence the system to that extent. He wasn't even sure whether this abandoned church had anything to do with her.
Still, Lin Ye pushed open the abandoned church's doors.
The church's interior wasn't much better than its exterior. One wall had disappeared entirely, and red-and-black plants covered the remaining walls. There was no wind here, yet the plants trembled slightly, like insects lying end to end along the walls.
Several broken pews stood in the middle of the church, and a monster sat on the frontmost one.
It looked like a haphazardly assembled lump of flesh, with fleshy tendrils growing from its body.
Lin Ye approached the monster. He couldn't tell what tier of Mutated Creature it was. With his current physical capabilities, he couldn't beat one of any tier, so he was ready to start over.
"Hello."
The monster was unexpectedly polite, and its voice was pleasant, too-the voice of a young woman.
"Hello."
After passing through the previous churches, Lin Ye had gained some understanding of this place, so he was in no hurry to speak.
"This is a church without a god. I can't send you out. You can leave."
The monster spoke very directly.
"Then what are you doing here?"
Lin Ye sat down beside the monster. To him, this place was much safer than those churches with gods.
"Do you know what having no god means? It means I'm not bound by any restrictions. In other words, I can kill you at any moment."
The monster neither answered Lin Ye's question nor attacked him. It simply didn't want to be disturbed.
"The Crimson Nun sent me here. Do you know what she wants me to do?"
Lin Ye decided to get straight to the point, as he always did.
"...Are you sure?"
The monster suddenly grew solemn. Long, narrow tendrils surrounded Lin Ye, and the plants on the walls slowly shifted, repeating endlessly like breathing and a heartbeat.
"I'm sure."
Lin Ye was ready to kill himself at any moment.
"Good. You must inherit the divine seat and become the god of this church."
The monster was equally direct.
"...Are you joking?"
For a moment, Lin Ye didn't know how to react. He really couldn't associate himself with a god.
"Gods are beacons in the spiritual world. Our god was devoured by the Abyss, so we need a new god. Once the beacon reappears, perhaps our god can return from the Abyss."
"I don't know why the nun chose you as the new god, but I respect her choice. After all, she was once the person closest to our god."
The monster wasted no words and offered no obscure theories. Instead, it explained their purpose in just a few sentences.
"What do I have to give, and what do I get?"
As long as the price was right, Lin Ye didn't mind taking on a new job.
"You know about runes, right? If you inherit the divine seat, you can gain systematic knowledge of runes through it, and even knowledge beyond runes. As for the price, the divine seat itself is the price. You will become a beacon and will no longer be able to worship other gods. Also, since our god was devoured by the Abyss, the divine seat was naturally polluted as well. But you're already connected to the Abyss, so that part isn't so important."
Having finished, the monster looked at Lin Ye and waited for his decision.
"How is the divine seat being polluted by the Abyss not important?"
Lin Ye challenged it.
"Once contact with the Abyss exceeds a certain threshold, becoming a god is the only way to resist its erosion. This has nothing to do with time, distance, or dosage, only mental will. Of course, some powerful relics and certain beings can also block this erosion."
The monster glanced at Lin Ye and continued pointedly:
"You've been lucky, but you won't always be this lucky."
"I agree."
Lin Ye didn't think the system could protect him forever, either. The Gate to the Abyss was right there on the shelter wall. Sooner or later, he would have to take control of that gate himself.
Besides, from the monster's description, being a god seemed like a profession with its own rune system. This was much like changing his class to god.
"Good. It's a deal."
The monster tore open its own body, took a shining mote of light from inside, and placed it atop Lin Ye's head.
The mote flowed into Lin Ye's body like liquid. He felt nothing at all, as though the mote didn't exist.
"...That's it?"
Lin Ye felt cheated. Why did becoming a god with neither ceremony nor sensation feel so much like a scam?
"You are too weak. Right now, you aren't even qualified to connect to the divine seat. If you forced a connection, your brain would explode. But rest assured, you are already the god of this church. Simply walk out of the church, and you can leave this place and return to your original world."
The monster zipped the flesh of its chest shut like a zipper, then pulled a card from a pocket-like stomach sac at its side and handed it to Lin Ye.
"This is a gift, my god. I will remain here and pray for you always."
[You have received a gift. Complete the simulation while carrying the gift to bring it back to the shelter.]
Lin Ye took the card. He wanted to ask the monster some questions about advancement, but he felt a wave of discomfort.
"You must leave. The entrant has obtained a divine seat, and the connection is about to be severed. If you don't leave now, you will have to remain here forever."
"Goodbye."
Lin Ye rose and walked to the church entrance. Before pushing open the doors, he turned back and said:
"My name is Lin Ye. I still don't know yours."
"You may call me the Saintess. As for my name, I forgot it long ago."
When he stepped out of the church, the prison wagon and the guards were still where they had been. They clearly hadn't expected Lin Ye to come out alive.
[Simulation ended] [Remaining simulations: 10] [No simulation attempt consumed. Retrieve core items?]
"Retrieve."
[Obtained core item: Polluted Divine Seat ×1] [Obtained Mr. Gray's gift ×1] [Obtained the Saintess's gift ×1] [Obtained title: God]
Lin Ye woke up in bed. The Crimson Nun was still kneeling in the same spot, and neither her posture nor the breakfast beside her had changed at all.
Before you continue