Miss Witch’s Devotion Has Gone… Twisted

If the requirements weren’t too complicated, an outer god’s ritual was very simple. All it needed was reciting the outer god’s true name and a hastily made altar. The simplest Pleasure God only required the name; once, Loren had treated the Pleasure God Cassian’s ritual like an instant-cast skill.

At the same time it was extremely dangerous. Even a mortal who silently mouthed an outer god’s name could be tainted, and even angels—the highest-ranked beings under true gods—weren’t immune. Fortunately, Loren still retained his player-tier high rank, so he didn’t need to worry too much. The contamination at worst would just apply a debuff to him; they weren’t going to actually drive a player insane.

A ritual required a sacrificial victim who could not resist, and the massive pulpy tree of flesh on the stage fit that description perfectly. They were immediately swallowed by starlight, and to everyone watching it looked as if an invisible monster was devouring them bite by bite.

The hymn was interrupted, and the congregation fell into panic until the Scarecrows stepped forward to restore order.

”The ritual has gone wrong! Protect the Master Mentor!”

Scarecrows lurking in every direction instantly surrounded Loren. The ritual completed in an instant; Loren obtained what he wanted, but theatrics had to be done properly. Loren reflexively pulled both witches into his arms and scanned the surroundings with guarded vigilance.

Only then did Loren realize that Naclis had gone rigid, frozen since the moment the ritual began.

Although Naclis appeared like a commanding older sister type, she was timid; when she was a child she could only sleep well while curled up next to Loren.

Loren had overlooked one thing: the ritual itself was truly horrifying. The common folk of this world had long since become numb to such things, and Loren, acting with a player’s detached mindset, didn’t much care. Naclis, however, had little exposure to the world’s gruesome customs and still had a relatively normal moral compass, so a scene like this naturally terrified her.

”Don’t be afraid…”Loren pressed Naclis’s face against his chest and held her, letting her feel his warmth. Gradually she returned to herself, and only then did tears begin to fall.

Anna, by contrast, seemed much calmer. She clung to Loren tightly. She wasn’t afraid, she simply wanted to stay close to him.

Holding two witches, Loren began to sense his own changes and opened his status panel.

Finale’s leveling was more like soul-floating; leveling only granted a single attribute point, so the boost to combat power was limited. Weighing pros and cons, Loren chose to endure rather than actively grind monsters to level up. He planned to hide and lay his schemes slowly.

Today was the moment his layout began to take effect.

Name: Loren

Level: 2

Strength: 7

Vitality: 8

Agility: 10

Intelligence: 14

Mana: 5060/5060

Accessory: None

Blessing: [Truth Discernment]

An ordinary adult’s base stats were five across the board. Over the years Loren hadn’t had many chances to level up; he had been plotting, and improving his stats through training was already pretty good.

Mana was the most precious attribute in this game. Besides gaining mana from leveling, the only other ways to get it were equipment and accessories. The higher your level, the harder it was to raise. Compared to wish-granting for immediate combat power, investing in mana was a longer-term choice.

This time he had gained a full five thousand mana points. To put that in perspective, an ultra-tier destructive spell capable of obliterating a city required only around a thousand-plus mana. Even so, in the game Loren had needed many temporary mana-boosting items before he could successfully cast such spells.

As for the [Truth Discernment] blessing, its effect only allowed him to hit certain illusions and unreal things. Only a practical Greed God would grant such a boon. It seemed useless at first glance, and in many ways it was, but a side quest boss that could normally only be cleared in the very late game became much easier with this blessing. The boss’s drops were powerful, which was why Loren used it as a speedrun tactic.

”This is an outer god! Quickly pray to the God of Bountiful Harvest!”

Loren also offered a solution in time, though it was mostly for his own benefit.

The Greed God wouldn’t be so generous as to directly grant Loren enough mana to surpass angels, even if Loren had sacrificed nearly a hundred thousand people to Him.

A beam of starlight shone onto Loren, but his mana hadn’t yet been reclaimed when the surrounding unified chorus of prayers made the blood-red moonlight shine even brighter, ultimately overwhelming the starlight.

Being crazed had its advantages. With such a huge event, these fanatical believers were able to reorganize and follow discipline immediately, beginning orderly prayers and successfully securing the God of Bountiful Harvest’s aid.

Loren glanced at the sky. The stars were unusually bright. Having learned the plot, he knew these so-called stars were actually the eyes of the outer gods, while the crimson moon symbolized the true god.

”Master Mentor, is it safe?”

Seeing the situation stabilize, a Scarecrow beside Loren asked. Only after Loren nodded did it breathe a sigh of relief.

Outer gods were more terrifying than true gods, but outer gods were bound by the world’s rules and suffered many constraints. Unless someone provided coordinates like Loren had just done, an outer god could not interfere with this world. That was why true gods could suppress outer gods.

”The ritual failed. There’s no point in staying here; it’s actually dangerous. Those lunatics who worship outer gods won’t hesitate at any cost.

”Return home. The merciful God of Bountiful Harvest will not punish us.”

That was the benefit of high status—no one doubted Loren. With a few words he could disperse the crowd; if an investigation were needed, it would be him investigating himself.

In fact, these Scarecrows, as divine envoys, even escorted Loren—the one responsible—home.

Along the way, Naclis gripped Loren’s hand tightly. She dared not look at the Scarecrows escorting them; she only stared at Loren’s hand and followed close behind, afraid of falling behind.

...

Back home, Anna collapsed onto the sofa and casually tossed her removed white thigh-high stockings onto the floor. Only when Loren lightly tapped her head did she bother to pick them up properly.

Compared to Anna, Naclis was much more ladylike. Her movement removing her stockings was elegant, unlike Anna, who grabbed at her toes and ripped them off forcefully before balling them up.

At that moment Loren did not see the maid. It wasn’t until he went to the bathroom—grateful that this world had toilets—that he found his maid kneeling in front of the bowl. Her face was expressionless, mouth wide open with her tongue out, as if waiting for Loren to do something. Embarrassed, Loren shut the door and backed away.

The maid’s name was Mirrorheart. In the game she always wore a solemn face, dressed in black robes with hair covering her left eye, only one red eye visible. Players assumed she was an aloof, icy character, but after becoming Loren’s maid he truly saw her for who she was.

She was secretly perverse to the extreme, constantly performing odd acts with that cold expression, and her fetishes were so bizarre they could even kill Loren’s desire... What had just happened was actually tame by comparison.

”Master Mentor, I’m hungry…”

Anna grabbed Loren’s hand again and started to sway, acting cute. Since they were at home with no outsiders, she could call him whatever she liked.

”Mirrorheart’s in the bathroom. If she’s finished cosplay-ing the toilet, tell her to cook. Remind her I won’t be using utensils…”

Loren dismissed Anna offhandedly and began to plan his next move.

His sacrifice to the Greed God Pluto could be hidden from the Bountiful Church, but not from Pluto’s followers. They would surely be able to track him down by the aura Pluto left on him.

Loren knew many ways to solve that problem, but it was all part of his plan. The side quest boss he intended to eliminate was a follower of Pluto.

He currently had abundant mana but didn’t yet know any powerful spells, which didn’t matter. Loren reached beneath the table and when he withdrew his hand he held a shotgun.

In this world there were not only magic and martial arts but also firearms. Guns couldn’t compete at the highest levels, but not everyone was an angel. Most mages were still flesh and blood and couldn’t withstand a bullet.