Chapter 25

Chapter 25: The Missing Piece

They were certainly not kneeling to Mo Tan. As Temple Knights qualified to stand guard at the church, even if the City Lord of Pato City himself came here, they would have to treat the two guests with courtesy. They were kneeling to the gods they each believed in...

As an organization leaning toward Lawful and Good alignments, none of the sects united under the Holy Alliance had any of the rules Mo Tan had just mentioned. Leaving aside the fact that ordinary people could also pray and worship in the church, even the so-called "evil gods" in most people's eyes would not reject any potential believer.

Therefore, although their behavior just now seemed merely an overreaction, if they examined their own hearts, it could already be considered a violation of their doctrines.

Of course, as for which specific doctrine of their respective deities they had violated, or whether they had broken one or two, Mo Tan neither cared nor had any interest. He was merely using this small incident to prove something.

That was just how great an influence the Unbeliever's talent could have on others.

After all, the description of this talent was far too vague...

[Unbeliever: You cannot choose a faith, because you simply cannot hold any reverence for any higher existence. No missionary will waste their time on you! None!]

Since this talent was forcibly imposed on Mo Tan by the system, it had not shown any practical effect so far. From the description, he roughly guessed that he would definitely not be approached by religious figures for proselytizing, but the specific circumstances were still unknown.

This talent might not have much impact on him now, but it was already enough to become a hidden danger. At any time, in some situation, it might trigger an unexpected chain of events.

And although Mo Tan liked and welcomed change, he hated any unforeseen circumstances.

Rational people were not scary, because their thought patterns were too easy to deduce...

Intelligent people were not scary, because with careful observation, one could discover the ideas behind every step they took...

Madmen were even less scary—after all, they were already insane~

But a person who was both rational and intelligent, while also having thought patterns that were unfathomable and unpredictable, was somewhat frightening.

[Devout believers will feel slight aversion and wariness toward me, but as long as I don't do anything extreme, they won't actively develop strong hostility toward me. However, they probably won't believe a single word I say either.]

Mo Tan narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked down at the two guards who were praying softly, begging their deities for forgiveness, while pondering...

[Experience, intelligence, and rationality all have the potential to correct their behavior. That older one just now clearly thought more than the other simpleton, but he couldn't completely block out the influence of the talent.]

"I apologize. I went too far with what I said." Mo Tan walked up to the two of them, kneeling on one knee before them, his tone carrying a hint of regret as he said, "I've had some troubles at home, so I wanted to come to the church in our city to pray. I didn't mean to cause trouble for either of you. It's probably because my mother is seriously ill that I've been a bit unsettled... I let my emotions get the better of me..."

[If I take the initiative to show goodwill while they're emotionally vulnerable and display enough kindness...]

"No, it was my rudeness earlier." The young temple knight lowered his head, speaking with shame, "I didn't expect your..."

"Little Luo!" The older warrior cut him off with a stern voice, "Don't get it wrong. What we violated was the Teaching Book... You should first feel ashamed for going against the will and teachings of the gods!"

[It's working, but it has little effect on those with strong faith. This might be related to my Charm and Eloquence attributes, but I can't verify that now. What I can be sure of is that whether positive or negative influence, the stronger the believer, the less effective it becomes. However, subconscious doubt is more troublesome... Hah... interesting. Let's stop here for now...]

"So, may I ask, can I go in now?" Mo Tan stood up and asked politely, "I want to pray for my family."

The older warrior had already finished his prayer by then, and seemed to have received some kind of response, letting out a sigh of relief as he said, "Please go ahead, but please follow the rules here."

"Well..." Mo Tan immediately put on a slightly awkward expression like a country bumpkin, fidgeting as he adjusted his clothes and hair, as if he were a shy provincial visiting the city for the first time, turning his face away and muttering, "The rules and all... I might not be particularly..."

This 'clumsy' way of diffusing awkwardness was far too easy to see through. The warrior sighed helplessly and said to the young man beside him, "Little Luo, take him inside to pray. I'll keep watch here."

"Yes, senior." The temple knight called Little Luo quickly responded, then nodded at Mo Tan, "Please follow me."

In truth, there weren't many taboos in the churchs of the Holy Alliance. After all, this wasn't an independent sect worshiping a single deity, but a relatively loose alliance. Unless someone committed an act of blasphemy in public, there weren't many rules to break.

But that temple knight couldn't quite put his finger on why he felt uneasy about this fair-skinned fellow in front of him. Blasphemy or something... what if he actually pulled it off?!

So it was better to keep an eye on him.

And this was exactly what Mo Tan had hoped for~

"This knight, I'm really sorry about earlier." As soon as he stepped into the church, Mo Tan smiled at Little Luo beside him, "No offense intended. Please don't take it to heart."

"Not at all!" Little Luo immediately waved his hand, "It was my fault earlier, and I'm far from qualified to be called a knight within the Holy Church..."

As the two spoke, they had already arrived at the center of the church. Although this place appeared relatively simple, its scale and floor area were several times larger than the nearby City Lord's mansion. The surrounding walls were covered with exquisite reliefs, interspersed with a large number of prayers and the doctrines of many deities. Every dozen or so steps, there was a depiction of a divine miracle, generally telling the chaotic deeds of the deities worshipped by the Holy Alliance—saving people from famine, suffering, drought, floods, mudslides, and the like...

"Is being a knight really that difficult?" Mo Tan barely suppressed the urge to roll his eyes at the surrounding reliefs and statues of the gods, saying to Little Luo in surprise, "Our town has produced a few knights, and they didn't seem as dignified as you."

Everyone loves to hear praise. If someone truly doesn't, it's only because the words are laced with thorns or the flattery is too clumsy—everyone understands this principle.

And Mo Tan's seemingly simple compliment undoubtedly made the young man a little happy. After all, given his seniority, he rarely had the chance to be praised. Though he gently shook his head, the corners of his mouth involuntarily lifted: "It's very difficult to earn the title of knight within our Holy Alliance. Being granted the name 'Paladin' is my dream, but it's certainly impossible in the near future..."

As they spoke, the two had arrived at the center of the church, where a massive Statue of the Gods stood before them. The halo of light seeping through the skylight cast a sacred glow upon it, making it appear solemn and holy.

It was said that every Statue of the Gods in the Holy Alliance had been personally blessed by figures at the level of High Priest or above from various denominations, imbuing them with multiple divine natures—whether this was true or not remained unknown.

"Most people pray here," Little Luo said, first bowing in a gesture of respect from some unknown denomination, then smiling at Mo Tan. "As for the methods, they vary widely. The gods are merciful and don't demand too much, especially since you're not a believer..."

Mo Tan nodded at him gratefully. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Then I'll just... uh..." Little Luo hesitated, as if deliberating over something, before finally saying, "I'll wait for you a bit farther away, and later I'll accompany you out."

In truth, he had originally planned to say he would leave first. But looking at this seemingly magnanimous and easygoing Half-Elf before him, for some reason, he felt a bit uneasy, with a lingering sense of resistance in his heart.

Here, we must offer a defense for the "Unbeliever" talent. This wasn't caused by the talent itself; the key point was that when Mo Tan logged in as the character Tan Mo, he always carried an indescribable aura. If one had to describe it...

It was chaos, extreme chaos.

This innate rift with the Lawful alignment, combined with the Unbeliever aura that NPCs perceived in Mo Tan, made it impossible for anyone to fully trust him.

In any case, the Temple Knight Little Luo thus left the center of the church, walked to a slightly farther spot, and casually chatted with others.

Although it was still morning and there weren't many people coming to worship and pray, many clergy members of the Holy Alliance had already arrived at the church, carrying out daily prayers, guarding, and cleaning duties.

Mo Tan, on the other hand, pretentiously closed his eyes, feigning prayers for his 'family'—whom only the heavens knew when he had fabricated—while rapidly calculating the known information he had gathered so far in his mind...

Dave Sager was a baptized active believer, worshipping the patron deity of knights, warriors, and judges: the God of Justice and Courage, Haimer.

But Dave had betrayed and plotted to kill his fellow student from the knight academy for some scheme, which was absolutely unforgivable by the god he believed in.

Dave had not suffered divine punishment...

The end of the records once noted that he had been striving to become a paladin. Although he hadn't yet met the requirements, the martial talent he had displayed in recent years far surpassed that of his peers.

Yet he was supposed to be a young man with no extraordinary talent.

The conditions for becoming a paladin were unclear for now, but they shouldn't be a secret and could be found out in a short time.

But even if I knew...

"I still feel like I'm missing two pieces of the puzzle..." Mo Tan muttered softly, rubbing his forehead. "It would be simple to make Dave fall, but since I've already noticed such a big inconsistency, ignoring it would be too boring. This unique quest really has some depth to it."

Destroying the 'Hero' Dave—the reward for this quest was three question marks. Mo Tan felt this wasn't the system being deliberately mysterious; rather, the reward would depend on his level of completion. Although he didn't care much about the quest itself, given his current personality, he would naturally strive for maximum enjoyment, and usually, enjoyment and difficulty go hand in hand.

Oh well, a bit harder is better—after all, more challenge makes it more interesting~

"I knew that guy didn't look like anything good!"

Just as Mo Tan was about to end his pretentious prayer, a deliberately lowered mutter reached his ears.

This wasn't because Mo Tan had extraordinary talent or special training, nor was it thanks to the relatively keen hearing of a half-elf—it was simply because that Mammoth Half-Orc priestess's 'mutter' was far too loud.

Almost everyone in the church was drawn to her.

"Glyptodon!" Little Luo, standing beside the mammoth lady, was almost in tears, his face flushed as he looked up and whispered fiercely, "Keep it down! Keep it down!!"

"I'm already quiet enough!" The lady, completely oblivious, snorted toward the center of the church where Mo Tan was. "Doesn't he look like one of those heretics full of crooked ideas?"

Heretics?! Crooked ideas?!

Something seemed to flash through Mo Tan's mind...

Two minutes later, at the church entrance

"I'm really sorry..." Little Luo said, blushing as he lowered his voice to Mo Tan. "That little priest is a new intern; she doesn't think before she speaks."

Mo Tan blinked and said, "That 'little' priest is almost taller than the two of us stacked together."

Little Luo shrugged at him.

"Don't worry, I don't mind." Mo Tan smiled slightly. "Speaking of which, I don't even know what a heretic is..."

Little Luo's expression immediately turned serious. "Those are terrible heretics. They are insane and commit every evil deed imaginable, admiring all kinds of vile abominations and even calling them 'gods.' Some heretics don't even have any object of faith at all; they simply act on their own mad, evil thoughts. Murder and blood sacrifices are routine for them. Driven by their evil thoughts, those heretics will do anything. Even the most wicked deities are a thousand times better than the false idols they worship... Ugh, I don't want to talk about it anymore. Even discussing them is a form of disrespect to the gods."

"Oh?" Mo Tan stopped in his tracks just as he was about to leave the church and turned to Little Luo with curiosity. "Then what benefits do they get? For instance..."

Skill activated — [Tempt]

"The ability to control monsters? Or a massive increase in talents and all kinds of abilities?"

In Little Luo's ears, Mo Tan's voice suddenly became incredibly familiar, like that of an old friend he had known for years and could talk to about anything. Before his mind could react, his mouth had already answered instinctively: "Well, the abilities of various heretics are all bizarre. They can forcibly obtain multiple kinds of power by paying various prices or holding cruel rituals, but those are all evil paths... Huh?!"

Little Luo's eyes suddenly cleared, and he was a bit stunned.

But by then, Mo Tan had already walked out of the church without looking back, casually saying, "Thanks, buddy~"

And then he melted into the dense crowd of people outside the church...

Chapter 25: The End