Blasphemers

"Who is summoning me?" Victor used his last bit of strength to stand up and looked into the distance in fear.

"If you are some god or demon, then give up your futile deception. I will not believe in demons or evil gods, and even if you are a real god, I will not believe in you. Your words are all lies, your voices are poison." He shouted loudly, seemingly to bolster his courage, or perhaps to vent his anger.

"Victor, come to us, come quickly, we have everything you want."

The voice seemed benevolent. Victor stood up shakily, leaning on his wooden cane, and walked towards the sound. He was filled with anger, muttering Curse as he passed through a thick fog. Before him stood a withered tree, starkly contrasting against the desolate wilderness. Its branches had long since lost all life, yet they still stubbornly grew, resembling a twisted human figure. In the middle of the withered tree, the dry bark outlined a pattern like a human face.

The sound came from the mouth of the human-face pattern.

Victor was initially filled with rage, seemingly ready to unleash a torrent of curses at anyone he encountered, but upon seeing this eerie old tree, he hesitated.

"Who are you?"

The old tree did not answer his question, but instead asked in return, "Tell me, Victor, do you believe in any god?"

"I don't have faith."

"Don't you bow or bend your head to any god?"

"I will never submit to the gods. They are nothing more than powerful beings who have gained their strength through despicable means. They are neither holy nor worthy of reverence. I will never beg from them, nor will I offer them my soul," Victor said viciously.

"Very good, Victor, very good, you are exactly the person we are looking for." The old tree's voice had an echoing quality, as if it were composed of several different voices.

Before Victor could ask any further questions, the old tree continued.

"We are [Blasphemers], people who despise the gods. We do not belong in this world and are rejected by the people. Therefore, we must act in secret. Our goal is to destroy all the gods and free people from the lies of the gods."

The power of the gods comes from people's faith in them, a faith that they obtain through deception and intimidation. Since we are going to oppose the gods, we should steal their Power of Faith.

Join us, and we will grant you this power. But remember, once you become a Blasphemers, you will never be able to worship any god again. You will be rejected by the gods, and any god and their followers will relentlessly hunt you down once they know your true identity. Are you willing to join us?

Victor, however, became unusually excited upon hearing this. "I'm willing! I'm no longer going to be subservient to this world. In that case, I might as well go all the way against them."

The old tree said, "Listen carefully, the Words of Blasphemy are like this—"

You vile gods, I loathe you, I hate you, Curse you! Your names mean nothing to me, your divine titles are worthless to me! Your power will surely be mine! Now, I will seize your divine power...

Xiao Yu strained his ears, afraid of missing a single word, but it turned out to be completely unnecessary, because the system would record the entire conversation.

The old tree quickly finished reciting the Words of Blasphemy, "By reciting these words aloud, you will become a Blasphemers."

Victor repeated it once, and suddenly a change occurred in him, as if some kind of power had disappeared from him.

The old tree seemed pleased. "Very good, you are no longer under the control of the gods. Next, I will teach you how to seize the gods' power for your own use."

Xiao Yu continued to listen attentively, realizing that he seemed to have embarked on some very rare hidden mission.

There are three types of spells for seizing divine power: [Divine Power Drawing], [Divine Power Theft], and [Divine Power Seizure].

The first type is called [Divine Power Drawing], which grants the ability to use universal divine magic. This incantation is mainly used by the gods, and what is taken is the Power of Faith brought about by people's awe of the gods.

Although this incantation targets all deities, using it is relatively safe because none of the gods can currently utilize this power. Theoretically, only the God-King possesses this ability, but since there is no God-King now, this power is essentially unsupervised. Therefore, you can steal it at will without worrying about any consequences. The incantation is recited as follows...

"The second type of spell is called [Divine Power Theft], which steals the power of a specific deity. This spell is more dangerous."

Because once this spell is used, the divine power of the deity whose power you are stealing will be reduced, albeit by a very small amount. If this is discovered, it will trigger divine punishment. Therefore, when using this spell, you must try to steal the power of different deities to avoid stealing too much power from one deity and being discovered.

However, this spell is much more powerful, because the divine spells mastered by the gods in their respective domains are often far more powerful than those general divine spells.

The incantation is pronounced like this. "For example, 'What you wish to steal is the power of the sun god Pelor—'"

However, before the old tree could finish reciting the second part of the incantation, the scene before them changed again.

Xiao Yu thought to himself, "Damn it, is this some kind of scam? What exactly is the second part of the incantation? And what's the concept of the third part? By the way, can the Soul Fire be rewound?"

But no matter how anxious he was, it was no use.

Before me stood a church, a familiar sight from the Poli Village.

Victor had completely changed his appearance. He was dressed in a solemn black robe, which, although not particularly luxurious, exuded a dignified and righteous aura and gave him a very sacred feel. However, he still held the wooden staff in his hand.

"Priest Victor, thank you so much for staying. Poli Village is the last sanctuary in the Death Wilderness. With your help, we might be able to hold out until the gods free this land from the Curse."

Victor nodded slightly, but Xiao Yu could hear his thoughts.

--Isn't the god of death one of the gods? The Curse on this land is the work of the god of God of Death.

"Oh, by the way, I wonder which god Lord Victor worships?" the village chief asked.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you about the god I believe in; it concerns a secret mission. Of course, I understand if you don't want me to stay."

"No, no, no, Priest Victor, please stay," the people in the church hurriedly said.

"Then I'll stay," Victor said. "Everyone, please go back; I need to rest."

After everyone left, Victor went to the basin of holy water in the church, seemingly wanting to wash his face. But when he looked into the basin, Xiao Yu saw a skull face reflected in it.

Xiao Yu was startled, and the next second he realized that it was his current appearance in the game. The illusion disappeared, and Xiao Yu found himself standing in the Great Graveyard again.

System notification: The special event [Blasphemers] has been triggered.

Event Introduction: You have read Victor's memories and learned of the existence of the Blasphemers organization. As someone who has not yet found any faith to rely on, you are subtly moved.

This event has been recorded in your game log.

System notification: You have gained new skills [Words of Blasphemy] and [Divine Power Drawing] by absorbing fragments of Soul Fire.

Skill Name: Words of Blasphemy

Skill usage requirements: Intelligent beings without divine affiliation.

Skill Description: A spell specifically created for blasphemy, revealing your contempt for the gods. Upon use, you will gain Blasphemers level 1. Once you become Blasphemers, you can never gain the favor of the gods and will become an enemy of them.

Skill Name: Divine Power Drawing

Skill Usage Conditions: This skill is exclusive to the Blasphemers class.

Skill Description: Draw upon the Power of Faith in the gods, gaining Priest rank equal to your Blasphemers class rank, and the ability to use general divine spells.

Xiao Yu stared at the two skills, his mouth agape in astonishment. "Damn, what kind of luck is this? I actually stumbled upon a hidden profession that I can do part-time!" And it just so happens that he's someone without any religious faith. Otherwise, he probably would have missed out and just treated it as a hidden quest, completing it and collecting some rewards.

The most exciting time in playing games isn't when you kill a boss and get some overpowered gear, but rather when you uncover hidden storylines.

After a brief moment of excitement, he quickly calmed down. Having weathered many storms, he was now able to view hidden storylines and hidden professions with equanimity.

Although the Blasphemers sounds arrogant and domineering, the price is heavy. Going against the gods is no easy feat.

So, should I change jobs? Or should I change jobs? Or should I change jobs?