Chapter 25: Malicious Fun
Dave Sager was born in an unnamed small town near Patuo City. His parents were ordinary merchants, and his family was quite average. He himself had never been found to possess any extraordinary talents or abilities. If things had followed a normal trajectory, Dave might never have achieved much in his life, let alone had the opportunity to study at a well-known and important academy like Pading Knight Academy (which, though not too far, was significant compared to its village-level counterparts).
All of this did not come easily...
Thirteen years ago, a Plague descended on that small town of less than three hundred households without warning. In less than two days, almost everyone died in a strictly ritualistic order. Their bodies were uncorrupted, yet their faces bore incredibly bizarre smiles, as if experiencing extreme pleasure amidst their suffering.
Although the Holy Church United had dispatched people as quickly as possible, all was in vain. It is said that when the High Priest leading the team arrived, there were still dozens of living people in the town, but the moment he stepped into the town's boundaries, they all simultaneously exploded... died suddenly.
Of the two hundred and ninety-six people in the town, only one boy, who had just turned seven, survived.
That child was Dave Sager...
Discovered in a haystack, he returned with the advance team to the Holy Church United headquarters, the Light Capital, located in the northeast of the continent, downstream of the Jin Hui River. After some twists and turns, he was eventually sent to the Holy Church United branch in Patuo City.
“Take good care of this child, even if he is not outstanding.” These were the words a regional bishop personally instructed the Grand Priest of Patuo City: “As the sole survivor, he carries the hopes and trusts of two hundred and ninety-five deceased people.”
Thus, Dave grew up year by year in the United Church and was baptized at the age of Fourteen, naturally becoming a believer, worshipping Heimdall, the God of Justice and Courage.
“Holy Church United…” Mo Tan softly repeated the information he had previously learned from Mag’s notes: “It is an organization formed by the union of believers and sects of many deities, such as Dawn Goddess Pakesi, Heimdall the God of Justice and Law, Serella the Goddess of Harvest, Tisu the sun god, and Eren the God of Creation. It is also one of the most influential entities in the northeast of the continent. Haha, I wonder how those so-called ‘Gods’ view this deformed and bloated alliance?”
However, even though Mo Tan seemed to be casually speaking some innocuous words, he had in fact noticed a particularly jarring inconsistency, at least to him, it was glaringly inconsistent.
“A follower of the God of Justice and Courage?” He rolled his eyes: “If that young man who can casually kill his companions can be a believer of him, then I, from any perspective, can be considered a good person with a righteous moral compass.”
It seems Mo Tan still knew that his moral compass wasn’t quite straight at the moment...
However, his previous statement was not a joke. Although the character of Tan Mo had been labeled as an ‘Incredulous’ by the system, unable to believe in any deity, the Absolute Neutral Black Vatican had already become a believer of Dawn Goddess Pakesi and was even scammed out of 20 copper coins.
Mo Tan still clearly remembered those two system prompts:
【Do you agree to become a believer of Dawn Goddess Pakesi?】
【Reminder: Betraying your faith will incur a great price.】
Whatever that so-called price specifically entailed, only one thing was certain: it would definitely not be good!
Although no one had told him what kind of self-destructive behavior constituted ‘betraying one’s faith,’ this did not prevent Mo Tan from making his own deductions.
First, the direct kind, which is easiest to explain. For example, if someone suddenly went insane, cursed the God they believed in, smashed churches, stomped on idols, killed priests, or played with Holy Maidens, it would definitely be a taboo among taboos. The price paid should be immense, such as being struck by lightning.
Of course, if you are a lancer, you might be struck by lightning in any situation, simply because your weapon is long, sharp, and conductive, not because of some unfounded superstition like luck values or anything... right...?
Then there’s the indirect kind. Mo Tan thought there might also be a situation where two friendly sects might have some internal circulation, leading to a result similar to a peaceful breakup. The probability of this happening is very low, but definitely not zero. Assuming the relationship between two Gods (regardless of their followers) is genuinely good, then it’s highly likely no price would be paid.
Of course, this assumption does not apply to Dave. This is based on Mo Tan’s third highly probable deduction.
Indirect and direct betrayal!
The game Innocent World has an extreme classification of player stances, and this extremism should also apply to the NPCs within it, including deities. From the available information, Heimdall, the God of Justice and Courage, looks very much like a lawful neutral or lawful good aligned big shot, and Dave’s actions absolutely cannot meet the standards of his believers. So the question is…
Don't worry, I'm not going to talk about excavators.
Would any deity allow a contradiction between their believers and their own moral values?
Absolutely not!
No matter how tolerant or honest Heimdall the deity is, Dave’s actions have absolutely violated a large number of rules in his doctrine!
“This is very interesting~” Mo Tan’s lips curved into a wicked smile. He subconsciously tapped the low table in front of him, musing, “I initially thought that with the human witness secured and some physical evidence collected, everything would be settled, but it seems things aren’t that simple after all…”
As if some incredible motivation had been sparked, over the next ten minutes, Mo Tan, with an extremely rare seriousness, quickly read all of Dave Sager’s information, then closed his eyes in contemplation.
After a while, he opened his eyes, reined in his slightly malicious smile, casually pushed the documents aside, and picked up the Black-Skin pouch next to him, examining it for a moment.
【Intermediate Poison Kit】
Quality: Excellent
Weight: 1.3 kg
Contains: Paralysis Poison * 1, Wound Poison * 1, Slow Poison * 1, Silence Poison * 1, Purified Bufotenin * 1, Chameleon Corrosive Poison * 1
【Note: For home travel and murder, the essential tool is a machete, not these little trinkets. They are only used for more technical matters! ...What! How much! ? Alright, I'll even poison the Chicken God at the village entrance in the dark for you!】
“Hmm…” Mo Tan shook his head, trying to forget some things he experienced in Riverwood while playing an old game back then. He then clicked on the hyperlink for the poison kit, took a look, and nodded with satisfaction.
Four types of status-reducing poisons, plus two bottles of potent damaging toxins. It seems that the not-so-bright bald man didn't play any tricks here.
Here, we must offer a sigh of relief for Bao De. If he had really given Mo Tan some inferior goods, thinking ‘this kid probably won’t notice,’ then the person who could see item attributes would definitely use it as an excuse to extort him mercilessly again.
Humming a tune, Mo Tan put away the poison kit and continued to inventory his spoils, which were the few handwritten pages Bao De had just finished.
They recorded some skills that apprentice Thieves could master, which in a wuxia world would be low-level martial arts manuals, and in a game, would be non-consumable skill books.
Mo Tan particularly liked two skills~
【Backhand Spin Stab】
Cunning School Active Skill
Mastery Requirements: Cunning School Level 3, Dexterity 10
Cost/Restriction: 60 Acuity, Dual-wield melee weapons
Effect: Block one physical attack from the front, reducing the damage dealt to you by 50%, and perform a very fast turning stab with an amplitude of no less than 90°, gaining theoretically double inertia impact bonus, and dealing an additional 20% damage. Cooldown: 1 minute
【Note: Wind up your arm and thrust it through! White blade in, red blade out! Red blade in again, red blade out again!】
The cost-effectiveness of this skill is excellent. It combines blocking and counter-attacking, and the cooldown is very short. It’s very useful for Cunning-type professions who are weak in direct confrontation.
Then there's...
【Kidney Shot】
Cunning School Active Skill
Mastery Requirements: Cunning School Level 5, Dexterity 7
Cost/Restriction: 10 Acuity, Sharp Eyes, Certain Degree of Dynamic Vision, Ruthless Execution
Effect: Deliver a powerful blow to the target’s (humanoid creatures only) kidney with an elbow or knee, 100% interrupting a spell cast. If your Strength is greater than one-third of the target’s Constitution, there is a high chance to trigger a 1-5 second stun. There is a certain chance to cause irreversible damage to NPCs and generate a large amount of aggro. Cooldown: 10 minutes.
【Note: Hmm… Kidneys… I love kidneys…】
This skill can be said to be the most suitable skill for Mo Tan (chaotic neutral) so far. Although the seemingly not-too-high mastery requirements hide conditions like ‘sharp eyes’ and ‘a certain degree of dynamic vision,’ which are easier said than done, and there’s a long cooldown of ten minutes, he still really, really likes this skill~
After all, the Kidney Shot skill not only has a low cost and high reward, but it’s also particularly insidious!
There were also three other skills: 【Throat Slice】, 【Escape】, and 【Swift Stab】. Mo Tan had already automatically learned the first one when he acquired the Thief profession. The other two will not be detailed here and will be described when they are first used, as space is limited.
After finishing these tasks, Mo Tan did not linger. He returned the documents to the grim-faced Bao De and immediately left, as online time was precious, and he still had many things to do.
It is necessary to mention here that the reason Dave’s personal information was available was due to the special nature of his story. Whether it was being the sole survivor of a town of nearly three hundred people, or being the only Warm Sun Squad member to return alive to Patuo City, both held a certain intelligence value. This is why the Thieves' Guild had this information that Mo Tan had just reviewed.
As for other individuals without intelligence value, they cannot be found here… After all, although Innocent World is a game, its logic and rationality are flawless. If you want to look up some “Old Wang from next door,” unless he had a nickname like “Illusion Killer” back in the day, there would definitely be no relevant information…
...
A moment later, Mo Tan appeared at the entrance of the Holy Church United Chapel in Patuo City’s central district. He looked left and right for a long time, clicked his tongue, and then stepped inside.
“Please wait!” Two low-ranking Holy Church Warriors in light armor immediately blocked his path. One of them stared cautiously at Mo Tan’s harmless, even somewhat elegant face at the moment, and asked, “What do you intend to do?”
Mo Tan blinked, took another step forward, and pointed to his nose, surprised, “Me?”
“That’s right.” The other person nodded, his hand already on the hilt of his sword at his waist, and he asked in a low, stern voice, “Who are you?”
Mo Tan smiled wryly and scratched his hair: “I’m just here to worship.”
“Worship?!” The Holy Church Warrior’s eyes widened like brass bells: “Whose deity are you a follower of?”
“Can’t I worship if I’m not a believer?” Mo Tan looked flustered and quickly retreated two steps: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, no one told me about this rule…”
“No…” The other man, who looked a few years older, shook his head, his expression a bit awkward: “It’s not that you can’t worship if you’re not a believer.”
A hint of mischief flashed in Mo Tan’s eyes, but his face appeared quite puzzled: “Oh? Then why did you two look so intimidating just now? You made me think I was going to be arrested.”
He was asking knowingly. Their sudden vigilance was naturally due to Mo Tan’s ‘Incredulous’ talent. To put it plainly, in the eyes of these devout believers, someone completely insulated from faith doesn’t seem like a good person!
God knows if this guy was carrying a stack of forbidden curse scrolls, planning to tear them up inside for fun, or commit a terrorist attack or something!
But...
You can't really turn someone away by saying, 'Your vibe is off, I think you're trouble,' can you?
“Anyone can worship.” The Holy Church Warrior who spoke first suddenly lost his momentum and stammered, “But…”
“But you don’t want me to go in?” Mo Tan’s expression instantly darkened. He sneered, “Not because of rules, and entirely without reason, merely because of your personal mood or thoughts, you blocked me at the gate, and… drew your weapon?”
The young man’s hand immediately sprang back from his sword as if he had been electrocuted, his face flushed, unable to utter a single word.
“Sir!” The other, more mature man quickly tried to mediate: “We are not…”
“Not what?!” Mo Tan’s gaze, like a venomous snake, fixed on him, carrying a chilling savagery: “Not so? Not what I thought? You were also among those who came forward to stop me just now, weren’t you?”
This one also immediately choked up…
Mo Tan paused for a moment, then suddenly spread his arms, surveying the surrounding statues of Gods. He then turned back to the two men and shouted, “Which deity do you worship? Who gave you the right to turn away potential believers at the door? And even prepare to draw swords against him!!”
Clang!!
The two Holy Church Warriors’ legs gave out, and they both fell to their knees simultaneously…
Chapter 24: End
