Chapter 32: The Problem of Individual Faith |
Ten days was a fairly decent pace. Since he could cheat his own advancement using precepts and other methods, it was naturally fine for things to move a bit faster.
However, an unfamiliar field like this still required careful and meticulous refinement.
"Next, you need to further draw out the power of the Deep Well Water within your body, and then continuously strengthen your foundational attribute values."
"Once your foundational values reach a certain level, advancing to the Iron Rank will be when your Whale Transformation truly erupts."
Nemus collected some of Purr''s flesh and blood, keeping them as specimens.
The main reason he could complete this further modification so quickly within ten days was largely due to the old pastor''s help.
The effect of the Oath Rope''s new trait, Bloodline Connection, was exceptionally formidable.
His Oath Rope originally existed as cords slightly thicker than a thumb.
But as more and more special effects were added to it, and as he formed more covenants, the length and variations of the Oath Rope rapidly increased.
Now, it had become even more refined. After the Oath Rope split into fine threads, the tips of those threads extended into microscopic "lines".
These lines could exert a certain degree of influence over a living being''s bloodline.
''Unfortunately, this requires extremely powerful microscopic vision and incredibly sharp manipulation skills.''
''If this ability could be upgraded a few more tiers, I might be able to use it to directly edit bloodline genetics.'' Nemus had not brought absolutely everything from his past life into this world.
The people of this world might have things like bloodlines and genes, but many aspects could not possibly be identical to his past life.
The existence of the floating whale alone would shatter the biological sciences of his previous life.
Science also needed to respect objective laws; it was simply a method of observing, summarizing, and concluding the objective universe.
Nemus''s current problem was that his observational capabilities and precision were both lacking.
He could not utilize this special tool to its absolute limit.
''What I need now is a true opportunity, an opportunity to explosively integrate my powers.'' Nemus could sense that his current foray into the Material Plane, having seized this identity, had entered a critical phase.
As long as he could complete the coalescence, he would be able to unleash his full power without needing to cover his body with his Demon Body or form a physical medium.
Nemus had roughly completed his utilization model for the Power of Faith. Once activated, the newly born trait would become a bridge, connecting all of his strength together.
''There is only one problem right now—the Power of Faith is insufficient!''
''The Holy Nails formed from twenty-one years of the Power of Faith, according to my estimates, completely fail to support the formation of the trait I desire.''
''Furthermore, because I need to mobilize the powers of both the Demon Body and the Holy Knight identity, I require two different types of faith.''
''About a hundred and fifty years'' worth of faith in the God of Precepts, and roughly twenty years'' worth of faith in myself should be enough.''
''The faith in the God of Precepts is easy to obtain; the faith gathered on the church''s Divine Idol has never been drawn upon.''
''The difficulty lies with the old pastor. He is always guarding the church and almost never goes out. I need to find a way to lure him away.''
''And that twenty years'' worth of Power of Faith directed at myself is even more troublesome. The production of this kind of faith is far too low.'' Nemus currently only had three and a half believers.
Downs, Purr, the Watchman, and the general populace.
Downs was considered a standard Nominal Believer; in one year of time, he could produce one year''s worth of the Power of Faith.
Purr, on the other hand, was a devout believer. The quality of the Power of Faith he produced was extremely high. Trading quality for quantity, the Power of Faith he generated in one year equaled about five to six years'' worth, and as Purr''s strength grew, his faith production was steadily rising.
The Watchman was a broad-sense believer. Because of his unease toward evil, he had chosen to be embraced by Nemus, thereby generating a fear-based Power of Faith directed at evil. This type of Power of Faith came in explosive bursts.
Normally, the Watchman produced almost no Power of Faith. Only when he committed evil, or witnessed the existence of evil, would it explosively grow by a magnitude of half a month to a full month''s worth. The remaining "half" a believer was the entire population of Finback Village.
When they occasionally saw Nemus and greeted him, they would project a bit of reverence and envy toward his identity as a Holy Knight.
These sentiments could also be considered the Power of Faith in a broad sense, but refining them was far too tedious.
''At the current rate, gathering twenty years'' worth of the Power of Faith will probably take seven or eight years.''
''To speed up the process, I can only increase the quantity and quality of my believers.''
However, Nemus hadn''t been idle these past few days. He had already begun preparations to establish a secret cult.
There were over five hundred people in the village, the vast majority of whom were simple, unadorned villagers.
They had lived their entire lives in this small village and had almost never left. Their mindsets and beliefs were already rigid and unyielding.
In their hearts, there was only their small plot of land and the basic daily necessities required for their future survival.
Unless a major upheaval occurred, it would be fundamentally difficult for individuals like them to change their way of thinking.
The rest of the population consisted mostly of adolescents and youths.
''They still harbor dreams of leaving the village and going out into the outside world. They don''t want to stay here their whole lives, forced to either gather herbs on the mountain or toil in the fields.''
''During this time, a few have noticed that I am approachable and have tried to join the Church through me.''
''With the right amount of enticement, I am quite confident I can lure some of them to my side.''
''It''s just that this will drastically increase the risk of exposure.'' Nemus knew that Jacques and Isabella were still watching them.
Those two seemed to have gone quiet, but in reality, they were simply biding their time and waiting for an opportunity.
They were trying hard to blend into the village, silently observing any anomalies hidden within the mundanity of daily life.
Isabella had even probed Downs.
Fortunately, although Downs was brimming with hedonistic desires, he had not been entirely blinded by them.
His terror of Nemus allowed him to suppress his "lust" for Isabella, ensuring he did not leak any sensitive information.
On the other side, Opper was also waiting—waiting for fewer people to be in his way.
Sure enough, just today, an official transfer order came down regarding Jacques. Due to his unauthorized actions and conflict with Nemus, he was ordered to return to Tail Fin Town immediately.
Jacques had no choice but to bid his farewells and prepare to leave Finback Village within the next few days.
Although his heart was filled with indignation, Jacques knew he had no other option.
After receiving the transfer order, Jacques packed his belongings and left by himself early in the morning.
Opper''s caravan was still in the middle of preparations. Usually, a trip was organized only once every month or two, carrying a sufficient load of herbs, animal pelts, and other goods to Tail Fin Town or Longback Town.
There, they would exchange them for enough living supplies before bringing everything back to the village.
The departure date was already approaching. In fact, after learning of Jacques''s situation, Opper even offered to let him wait a couple of days so they could travel together.
However, Jacques insisted on leaving immediately, so Opper did not stop him.
Leaving the village, Jacques glanced back over his shoulder. Once he was sure no one was watching, he decisively stepped off the main road and slipped into the adjacent woods.