Cheek's Ring

Above Sefirah Castle, Klein was somewhat speechless as he watched what Wilt was doing.

The difference is just too great!

I don't have many requirements for prayer rituals, but you didn't prepare anything at all and just set up a simplified ritual...

Yet for the Eternal Blazing Sun, you carefully arranged the ritual, used spiritual materials to please a God, and offered an exceptionally devout prayer...

You're openly applying a double standard and treating us differently. Does the Fool really have so little standing?

"Hmm?" Klein turned his gaze toward Wilt, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

Wilt failed!

Ahem, no, I shouldn't gloat!

But Wilt isn't a believer of the Eternal Blazing Sun. No matter how well he prepared the ritual or how beautifully he phrased his prayer, wouldn't it be normal for him to fail?

But Old Neil said you shouldn't casually pray to a God you don't believe in, or it would be considered blasphemy. Is Wilt really going to be all right praying like that? Isn't he afraid the Eternal Blazing Sun will punish him?

In the real world, Wilt stared at the ruined materials on the ritual altar, stunned for a few seconds.

Although he had long known the chances of success were slim, he still felt the loss keenly when he actually failed.

"The last batch of materials is gone, just like that."

"Was I not sincere enough, or was my prayer posture not proper enough...?"

"Are the automatic responses of normal Gods all this smart? They can even identify a false believer like me?"

Wilt took another batch of spiritual materials out of his suitcase. This time, he was going to pray to a less normal God.

"One deep-dark bat, one black mushroom, ten drops of wild rose hydrosol, a hundred milliliters of red wine, and ten drops of begonia essential oil."

"Perfect. Now to add a few things the True Creator likes... Done!"

After checking that everything was in order, Wilt began reciting the True Creator's Honorific Name: "The Lord that Created Everything, you are the Lord who Reigns Behind the Curtain of Shadows, the Degenerate Nature of all Living Things..."

A minute later, two black charms appeared before Wilt.

"It worked again!"

"Good. On to the next batch of materials!"

Then Wilt took a third batch of materials out of his suitcase...

Above the Gray Fog, Klein watched in astonishment.

He witnessed Wilt recite one Honorific Name after another, from true Gods to evil Gods: the Eternal Blazing Sun, the Lord of Storms, the True Creator, the Primordial Demoness, and the Hidden Sage. Wilt performed one ritual after another.

Having consumed too much Spirituality, Klein couldn't hold on until the final result and returned to the real world first.

As for Wilt, since he could only use the monocle for five minutes at a time, he had to stop and rest, waiting for his Spirituality to recover. In the end, it took him nearly four hours to use up all the materials.

He performed the charm-making ritual thirty-two times in total. Most of the prayers failed, with only five succeeding.

After confirming that Klein wasn't peeking, Wilt entered the Key of Light with all the charms. He wanted to divine their uses.

"Ten charms in total: five from the Apprentice Pathway, two from the Secrets Suppliant Pathway, and one each from the Sailor, Mystery Pryer, and Assassin Pathways."

"Of the Apprentice Pathway charms, three are for Door Opening, one produces a flash, and one is a tripping spell. The Secrets Suppliant charms control shadows, the Sailor charm can summon lightning, the Mystery Pryer charm can clear the user's mind and help them absorb and understand knowledge better, and the Assassin Pathway charm is Feather Fall, which makes the body as light as a feather."

Wilt set activation incantations for the charms, then returned to the real world and used a bestowal ritual to retrieve a bag of jewelry stored in the Key of Light and bring it into the hotel.

Afterward, he sacrificed the jewelry to Klein and asked the Hanged Man to help dispose of it.

Only after everything that needed doing was done did Wilt leave the hotel and return to where he was staying.

Above the Gray Fog, Klein stared blankly at the bag of jewelry. Its radiance was almost enough to blind him.

Wilt actually stole so much! This has to be worth tens of thousands of pounds at least!

A thought Klein had only recently suppressed resurfaced: Maybe I should steal a few things too?

I'm a Seer. As long as I divine in advance, make preparations, choose the right moment, and plan my route, I definitely won't be discovered. I might even be able to digest my Potion that way.

Even if I don't steal anything, I could take one piece from this bag of jewelry. Just one small piece, worth around a hundred pounds...

There's so much jewelry that Wilt surely wouldn't care about such a tiny loss. Besides, this is ill-gotten wealth. As the Fool, I facilitate their transactions, so what's wrong with charging a small platform fee?

Even if Wilt does notice something wrong afterward, I can always claim the Fool's power hasn't fully recovered and that a minor mistake during the transfer caused it...

While Klein was caught in an internal struggle, Wilt returned to the hotel where he had originally been staying.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw Trissy, who had arrived ahead of him and was waiting inside.

"Vincent, where did you go?"

"I've been waiting here for nearly..." Trissy suddenly stopped before she could finish. She looked down at her right hand. Something that had been there was now gone.

Trissy looked at Wilt angrily. "Vincent, you actually stole my Sealed Artifact!!!"

Faced with Trissy's accusation, Wilt calmly took a ring out of his pocket. It was made of translucent, pale red amber, with a blood-red gemstone set in the top.

A flicker passed through Wilt's eyes, but he quickly became calm again. He tossed the ring to Trissy. "Sorry. That's a negative effect of a Sealed Artifact I have on me."

"As long as I use it for more than five minutes, things on people around me will randomly appear on me."

Trissy looked surprised. "That's a negative effect? Why does it feel more like a random ability of the Sealed Artifact?"

"The negative effects of other Sealed Artifacts make their users pay a price. How come yours benefits you instead?"

Wilt didn't answer her. Instead, he casually asked Trissy another question. "Is that ring a Sealed Artifact? How come I didn't see you use it last time? Did you just get it?"

"That's right!" Trissy said proudly.

"I got it for joining the Demoness Sect. They saw my talent and acknowledged me, so they gave me this Sealed Artifact."

"Madam Sharon said it's a demigod-level Sealed Artifact called Cheek's Ring. It can use all the abilities of a Demoness of Despair, and its negative effects are very minor!"

Wilt: "..."

And you're proud of it. Do you know you're going farther and farther down the path of becoming a Divine Descent Vessel?