Messenger of God

"Bishop, what's this about a Messenger of God?" Lin Qi asked, looking puzzled.

Xiaoduo walked over to him again, his brow tightly furrowed.

"I met you when you were little, and I knew how precocious you were. Why didn't I realize you were the Messenger of God? If I had kept you by my side and taught you back then, you would be even more outstanding than you are now."

"Uh..."

Astonishment was written all over Lin Qi's face, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief. Good thing you didn't. Otherwise, I'd have been brainwashed by the church's dogma since childhood. Just thinking about that life makes my scalp tingle.

Xiaoduo didn't notice what he was thinking and remained lost in his own thoughts.

"Child, ordinary people blessed by the gods merely receive a little favor from them. But the Messenger of God is different. He is personally chosen by a god to bear the ultimate prophecy and carry out a core mission."

If anyone else had spouted such religious mumbo jumbo, Lin Qi would have scoffed at it.

But the one saying it was Xiaoduo, the bishop of the Furnace Church and a member of one of the kingdom's most exceptional groups.

"A mission? What mission?"

"No one knows the specifics of the mission." Xiaoduo shook his head, but his gaze grew even more solemn.

"But the god will surely bestow upon him miracles and guidance meant for him alone, and even allow him to call upon the god's core power at the most crucial moment."

"Oh?" Lin Qi's eyes lit up at once.

He didn't care about the mission, but he was extremely interested in calling upon a god's core power.

"Bishop, what power can I call upon? Will you give me that power?"

Seeing his reaction, Xiaoduo nodded in satisfaction, taking it as a sign that he was eager to return to the god's embrace. His tone softened.

"Don't worry, child. The god's power has always been with you."

"Uh..." Lin Qi was instantly at a loss for words.

So this help is just talk? He's not giving me anything useful at all!

But the next second, Xiaoduo's words struck him like a thunderclap, making his heart jolt.

"If you weren't blessed with divine power, how could your Natal Card have transformed from an ordinary bone into the Hellfire Skeleton it is today?"

Xiaoduo spoke with certainty. "The Power of the Inferno was the God of the Flame Hell's core divine power, yet he bestowed it upon you. You are unquestionably the Messenger of God."

For some reason, Lin Qi's heart skipped a beat. Even he began to waver.

Could it be that the God of the Flame Hell gave me the Fusion Card?

But his doubt lasted only an instant before he came to his senses.

Wait, that's not right! The Hellfire Skeleton was the result of my experiment with Exploding Fireball. What the hell does that have to do with the God of the Flame Hell? If there really is a god, I should be the Messenger of the God of Fusion!

Putting those distracting thoughts aside, Lin Qi steered the conversation back to the most practical question.

"Bishop, doesn't being the Messenger of God come with any more practical privileges?"

Xiaoduo froze for a moment, looking puzzled. "For example?"

Lin Qi rubbed his hands together, a little embarrassed. "For example, how many Source Crystals the church gives me each month, or what kind of preferential treatment I can get at churches in other towns."

Only then did Xiaoduo understand. So Lin Qi was after such material possessions.

He chuckled, then said seriously, "Naturally, you'll have those things. But more than material possessions, I want to pass on all the knowledge I've accumulated over my lifetime to you!"

Lin Qi stroked his chin thoughtfully. Well, that doesn't sound too bad!

Compared with Ka'en and Source Crystals, Lin Qi felt that on a continent that was essentially a feudal society, knowledge was the truly scarce asset that could provide a lasting foothold. Xiaoduo seemed very learned, so being able to learn from him would be far more useful than Source Crystals.

Seeing his interest, Xiaoduo assumed it was his thirst for knowledge that had moved him and nodded repeatedly in satisfaction.

"From now on, you may come and go from the church as you please. Remember to come here for lessons every Sunday. I'll teach you everything I know."

"Bishop, aren't you free at other times? I'd like more time to study," Lin Qi pressed.

Xiaoduo was pleased by Lin Qi's eagerness to learn, but still offered him some earnest reassurance. "Child, knowledge may not be food, but it still takes time to digest. Learning step by step is the best approach."

Lin Qi agreed on the surface, but inwardly decided that when the time came, he would give Xiaoduo a thorough face-slapping!

He had won over his private tutor in less than a month. Though Xiaoduo was more learned, he had confidence in his photographic memory!

"By the way, Bishop, I have a question I'd like to ask you right now." Lin Qi changed the subject, deciding to solve the problem at hand first.

"Oh? Go ahead." Xiaoduo assumed a listening posture.

Lin Qi recalled the Hellfire Skeleton to his card slot space and summoned the Wind Chime Cat.

"Bishop, I'd like to know the Wind Chime Cat's evolution paths."

Xiaoduo looked at the Wind Chime Cat, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

"A Wind Chime Cat? It's a good pet, but its growth potential is very limited..."

In his view, the Messenger of the God of the Flame Hell ought to have a powerful fire-attribute Card Beast. But Stone Iron City was on the frontier and lacked resources, so it was no small feat for Lin Qi to have a Card Beast like this. He said no more on the matter.

"As far as I know, the Wind Chime Cat has two evolution paths. It's up to you which one to choose."

Xiaoduo then explained the Wind Chime Cat's evolution paths to Lin Qi.

The first path was to evolve into a Moonlight Bell Cat.

It was a mid-tier Card Beast suited to support and control. The materials required for its evolution were not excessively difficult to obtain, but were still quite rare. First was moonlight moss, a glowing moss that grew only deep in the Silent Forest, where moonlight shone directly throughout the year. It contained pure moonlight energy. Next was a flowing wind feather, which had to be a feather naturally shed by a high-tier wind-element Card Beast and imbued with pure wind-element power. Finally, ten Source Crystals were needed to provide ample Source Power for the Card Beast's evolution.

The second path was more violent. After evolving, it would become a Rending Wind Demon Cat, a mid-tier Card Beast suited to speed and explosive power.

The corresponding materials were even rarer. The first was a storm crystal core, either taken from the body of a high-tier storm-element Card Beast or formed by condensation in a naturally occurring eye of a storm. Both were extremely rare. The second was Nekomata tail down, the down from the tip of a Nekomata's tail. The Nekomata was a cunning dark-element Card Beast, and its down contained the dual powers of illusion and agility. Likewise, ten Source Crystals were needed as a basic resource.

Lin Qi was stunned as he listened. Of all those materials, the only ones he could produce were the ten Source Crystals.

"Bishop, does the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion sell these evolution materials?"

Xiaoduo smiled and shook his head. "Child, if advancement materials were that easy to find, wouldn't powerful Card Masters be everywhere? Although I know these two advancement paths, my knowledge is only theoretical. I've never verified them myself.

"Of course, Alicia is very fond of Card Beasts. She must have advancement materials for a Wind Chime Cat, so you can ask her for a set. But I still suggest you don't focus on the Wind Chime Cat."

"Uh... after all that, I still can't get around Alicia."

Lin Qi felt somewhat helpless. The advancement materials Alicia had given him before would at most raise the Wind Chime Cat to three stars, while its quality would still be green. That wasn't what he wanted.

"Child, although I don't have any materials to help you, take this."

While Lin Qi was troubled, Xiaoduo suddenly took a fist-sized Source Crystal from the pocket of his voluminous robe.

"Isn't this the Source Crystal everyone uses to awaken their Natal Cards?"

Lin Qi remembered this Source Crystal. You could say everyone who had awakened a Natal Card had touched it.

"Bishop, this is too valuable."

Though Lin Qi wanted it very much, he knew even better that this thing was central to Stone Iron City. Without this awakening Source Crystal, it would be difficult for others to awaken their Natal Cards in the future.

But Xiaoduo smiled and waved a hand, speaking lightly. "Don't worry, take it. The Card Master Association sends Stone Iron City one of these awakening Source Crystals every year. Since the town's population dropped sharply twenty years ago, one Source Crystal has been enough to support the city's awakening ceremonies for three years. I have no shortage of them for the time being."

Hearing that, Lin Qi's eyes lit up brilliantly.

Good heavens, doesn't that mean the bishop has a lot more Source Crystals this big?

He had thought Xiaoduo was a wise man of vast learning but little wealth. He hadn't expected him to be secretly rich, and this unexpected delight filled him with joy.

"Then I'll accept it. Thank you, Bishop. You truly are the God of the Flame Hell's most devout believer." Lin Qi immediately took the Source Crystal, his flattering tone especially sincere.

"Hahaha, as long as you understand."

Xiaoduo patted him on the shoulder. "There's also a study in the church. You're free to browse any of the books inside. I have some church affairs to attend to, so I'll excuse myself. Remember, you must come to class on Sunday."

With that, Xiaoduo turned and left, his voluminous robe gradually receding into the church's shadows.

Clutching the Source Crystal, Lin Qi looked up at the towering statue of the God of the Flame Hell in the center of the church, his heart full of emotion.

"The God of the Flame Hell... I never expected this trip to the church to bring me such a huge unexpected windfall."