“What’s wrong, Leon? Is what I said too difficult to understand?” Watson asked.
“It is indeed a little.”
Leon nodded in a daze. “Young Master Watson, you asked me to believe in you. I’m a little confused.”
He could not understand. It was one thing to believe in the gods—he could pray to the gods in the prayer room and burn incense for them. What could he do for Watson? Would he need to pray to Watson in the same way?
“It seems like I was not clear enough; let me put it this way. You can treat me the same as how you treated the gods of your faith. Because I can do what the gods can do for you.”
“Young Master Watson, I’m not an educated person. Please don’t lie to me.”
“Don’t worry about it; just try.”
There was an unfathomable expression on Watson’s face when he heard Leon’s incredulous question.
Even though Leon did not believe Watson, he still maintained his half-kneel position. He crossed his hands in front of his chest, “Great God… Great Master Watson, I am your humble servant, Leon, and I am here to offer my faith to you. I am willing to become your servant and walk this world on your behalf, just like how you would walk in your kingdom. Please give me courage and strength.”
As his voice fell, Leon maintained his praying posture; he did not have any other reaction. That was a common way to pray to the gods, and most beginner priests used it.
“Why is this person kneeling on the ground? Is he praying for the church? Is he sick?”
“He is wearing a priest’s outfit, but he is praying to a child. Are they playing some shameful roles?”
Passers-by gave Leon an odd look and discussed it animatedly.
Leon’s face reddened when he heard their discussions. He felt as if Watson had toyed with him when he asked him to do such shameful acts in front of so many people. If there were a hole nearby, he would jump into it.
It was all Watson’s fault for using the fusion magic to raise their level to gold-tier with the potions. He was so shocked by the potions’ efficacy that he thought that Watson was omnipotent. He had no problem with replacing the god of his faith with Watson, but he had an issue with his age—he was too young. No matter his strength, he was only a child. How could he compare to a god?
“Young Master Watson, I’m sorry. I really don’t—”
Leon struggled to get up. He wanted to say, “I can’t do it.” However, at that moment, a tender hand touched his forehead.
“My servant Leon, I have received your request. Now, I will bless you.”
Watson caressed Leon’s forehead and spoke with his eyes closed. His body emitted a divine radiance, and behind him, there seemed to be projections of many gods.
Leon was drawn to Watson. Then he felt a strong and holy force enter his forehead, rapidly coursing through his limbs and bones and warmed his heart. His mind had been crammed with a great deal of knowledge.
Boom!
Leon’s body erupted with a muffled, peak gold-tier aura.
He opened his eyes slowly, and he had a look of disbelief on his face. Then, he lowered his head and looked at his hands. “I… I’ve advanced to peak gold-tier?”
That was not what astounded him; it was the knowledge in his mind. It was unfamiliar to him, but he had information about Absolute Explosion, Absolute Seal, Absolute Defense, and many others. He did not understand all of them, but they seemed very familiar. Those abilities could be divided into curses and blessings that gold-tier priests could use.
‘Did Young Master Watson give me this knowledge?’
Leon quickly reacted and looked in Watson’s direction. He had not had any knowledge about that, but the information had appeared in his mind after Watson touched him. There was only one possibility.
At that moment, Watson was enveloped in a divine light. He muttered, “I see, I understand.” Then, he opened his eyes slowly. A layer of color appeared in his initially clear and bright eyes, just like the fog that floated on the river in the early morning. It gave him an additional hint of reverence.
“Now, I understand why the gods would establish a church in the mortal country and grant their followers’ requests.”
Watson opened his eyes. He felt the source of the chaos-elemental magic hidden in his soul had suddenly increased in capacity; it had risen from diamond-tier to peak diamond-level. Furthermore, a life force had appeared in the source. Previously, Watson could only expand the source by absorbing energy. Then, the source seemed to have a life of its own, spontaneously absorbing the energy from the outside world to evolve.
At the same time, Watson felt a soul aura around the magical source, and that aura belonged to Leon.
The man had prayed to the gods all year round, so his soul habitat flickered with a faint golden color and emitted a strange fluctuation. It made Watson feel very comfortable, and his brain worked faster too.
‘System, help me test this power.’
[Yes, Master.]
[The test was successful.]
[Special Energy: Power of Faith]
[Effects: special energy produced by the souls of living beings, divided into different levels like iron, bronze, silver, and starlight. The Power of Faith has the effect of increasing the host’s ability and cultivation speed. At the same time, the host can use the Power of Faith to obtain all five senses of the prayers and give a part of their own ability. The higher the quality, the stronger the effect.]
[Additional effects: The Kingdom of God’s Construction (the Power of Faith is the raw material to build a divine kingdom).]
‘No wonder I can push the rules I control into Leon’s mind and see myself through his eyes.’
With that thought, Watson extended his soul into Leon’s Power of Faith and immediately saw himself. He also saw the shocked gazes of the people on the street behind him. A few dining passers-by were unaware that the food in their hands had fallen to their feet.
Leon, who had just prayed to Watson in front of those passers-by, must have been a jester. However, when those passers-by sensed Leon’s peak gold-tier aura, their perceptions shifted. Regardless of who promoted Leon, they no longer saw him as the clown. Instead, they saw him as a strong person with a personality.
“It seems like I have gone too far.”
Watson reclaimed the soul that had infiltrated Leon’s Power of Faith. Then, he reached out and grabbed Leon’s shoulder. A teleportation array with a space transfer layer appeared beneath his feet and sent them away, leaving a group of confused passers-by on both sides of the street—they rubbed their eyes as if they had seen a ghost.
Whoosh!
Watson appeared in the Golden Quill Pavilion with a hand on Leon’s arm with a light sound. He seemed excited. He was already doubtful when he was the god’s projection in the church.
Why would such a powerful existence interfere with mortal creatures? Therefore, he was prepared to let Leon pray to him. It would be great if it worked, and if it failed, he would take it as a joke. He could also compensate Leon for it.
Fortunately, he had succeeded—he had obtained the secret of the gods.
In general, a starlight elite would be sufficient to become a god.
Since the gods were too powerful, they were forced to leave the continent. However, they still used various methods to influence the people there. There was only one reason for that—they needed the Power of Faith to build a godly kingdom.
‘A divine kingdom is something that only starlight-tier elites can achieve. Obviously, it’s more advanced than the rules for the diamond-tier elites. Even though I’m still so far behind, and I don’t know what it’s for, there’s no harm in collecting the faith in advance.”
Watson clenched his fists and made up his mind. In addition to clearing the maze in the City of Steel, he finally found another reason to be there.
