Of course, they weren't kneeling to Mo Tan. As Holy Church Warriors qualified to guard the chapel, even the City Lord of Pato City would have to be polite to them. They were kneeling to the gods they believed in…
As the Holy Church United, which leaned towards order and good, none of the sects united within it had the rules Mo Tan had just mentioned. Not to mention that ordinary people could pray in the chapel, even the ‘Evil Gods’ in most people's eyes would not refuse any potential believer.
Therefore, although their actions just now seemed like an overreaction, if they were to honestly examine themselves, it could already be considered a violation of doctrine.
Of course, as for which doctrine of their respective deities they violated, whether it was one or two, Mo Tan didn't care and had no interest whatsoever. He merely used this small incident to prove certain things.
That is, how much influence the Incredulous talent can have on others.
After all, the description of this talent was simply too vague…
【Incredulous: You cannot choose a belief, because you simply do not hold reverence for any higher existence. No missionary will waste time on you! None!】
Since this talent was forcibly placed on Mo Tan by the system, it had not shown any practical effect so far. From the description, he probably guessed that religious figures would definitely not actively seek him out for proselytization, but the specific situation was still unknown.
This talent might not affect him much now, but it was already enough to become a hidden danger. It might lead to a series of unexpected changes in some situation at any time.
And at this moment, while Mo Tan liked and was happy to see changes, he disliked any unexpected situations occurring.
Rational people are not scary, because their thinking patterns are too easy to deduce…
Smart people are not scary, because as long as you carefully ponder, you will discover the thoughts behind their every step…
Madmen are even less scary, since they're already mad~
However, a person who is both rational and intelligent, and whose thinking patterns are also sufficiently unfathomable, is a bit scary.
【Devout believers will feel a slight dislike and vigilance towards me, but they will not actively show strong hostility before I make any drastic moves. However, they probably won't believe a single word I say.】
Mo Tan narrowed his eyes slightly, looking down at the two guards who were softly praying, asking for their deity's forgiveness, and thinking…
【Experience, wisdom, and rationality can all correct their actions. The older fellow just now clearly thought more than the other simpleton, but he couldn't completely block the influence brought by the talent.】
“Sorry, I went a bit too far,” Mo Tan walked up to the two, knelt down in front of them, and said with a hint of apology in his voice, “Because of some troubling family matters, I wanted to come to our city’s chapel to pray. I didn’t mean to make things difficult for you two. Perhaps it’s because my mother is seriously ill that I’ve been a bit restless. I got emotional…”
【If I show goodwill when they are emotionally vulnerable, and demonstrate sufficient kindness…】
“No, it was I who offended you earlier.” The young Holy Church Warrior lowered his head and said shamefully, “I didn’t expect your…”
“Xiao Luo!” The older Warrior interrupted in a deep voice, “Don’t get it wrong, what we violated was the scripture… You should first feel ashamed for violating the will and precepts of God!”
【It works, but it has little effect on people with strong faith. This might be related to my charisma and eloquence attributes, but it cannot be verified now. What is certain is that, whether it is a positive or negative influence, it is less effective against stronger believers, but the subconscious doubt is more troublesome… Hehe… Interesting, let’s stop here for now…】
“Then, may I ask, can I enter now?” Mo Tan stood up and asked politely, “I want to pray for my family.”
The older one had finished his prayer by now, and seemed to have truly received some kind of feedback, letting out a sigh of relief, “Please, but please abide by the rules here.”
“This…” Mo Tan immediately showed a slightly awkward, country bumpkin expression, awkwardly tidying his clothes and hairstyle, as if a thin-skinned country bumpkin was entering the city for the first time, turning his face and whispering, “Rules and such… I might not be particularly…”
This ‘clumsy’ way of alleviating awkwardness was too easy to see through. The Warrior sighed helplessly and said to the young man beside him, “Xiao Luo, you take him inside to pray. I’ll watch here for now.”
“Alright, Senior.” The Holy Church Warrior called Xiao Luo quickly responded, then nodded to Mo Tan, “Please follow me.”
In fact, there weren't many taboos in the Holy Church United's chapels. After all, this was not a single independent sect that only enshrined one deity, but a relatively loose alliance. Unless someone committed blasphemy in public, there generally wouldn't be too many rules to violate.
But for some reason, that Holy Church Warrior always felt that this clean-looking fellow in front of him was a bit unsettling. Blasphemy or something… what if he really could do it?!
So it was better to have someone watch him.
And this was exactly what Mo Tan wanted to see~
“Sir Knight, I’m truly sorry about earlier.” As soon as they stepped into the chapel, Mo Tan smiled at Xiao Luo beside him, “No offense intended, please don’t take it to heart.”
“Not at all!” Xiao Luo immediately waved his hand, “It was clearly my fault just now, and I’m far from qualified to be called a Knight in the Holy Church…”
As they spoke, the two had already arrived at the central part of the chapel. Although this place looked relatively simple, its scale and area were several times larger than the City Lord’s Mansion not far away. The surrounding walls were covered with exquisite bas-reliefs, interspersed with a large number of prayers and the doctrines of various deities. Every ten steps or so, there was a depiction of a miracle, generally narrating the deeds of the deities enshrined in the Holy Church United, such as rescuing from famines, suffering, droughts, floods, mudslides, and other miscellaneous events…
“Is being a Knight that difficult?” Mo Tan suppressed the urge to roll his eyes at the surrounding reliefs and statues, and asked Xiao Luo in surprise, “Our town even produced a few Knights, and they don’t look as distinguished as you.”
No one dislikes hearing compliments. If someone truly dislikes them, it's either because the words are barbed or the flattery is too clumsy. Everyone understands this principle.
And Mo Tan’s pure-faced compliment undoubtedly made this young man a little happy. After all, with his qualifications, he usually didn’t have many opportunities to be praised. Although he was gently shaking his head, the corners of his mouth still unconsciously curved upwards: “It’s very difficult to obtain the title of Knight in our Holy Church United. It’s my dream to be awarded the name of ‘Holy Knight,’ but it’s definitely not possible in the near future…”
As they spoke, the two had already arrived at the center of the chapel. In front of them was a massive statue of the gods, bathed in a sacred glow from the skylight, looking solemn and divine.
It was said that every statue of the gods in the Holy Church United was personally blessed by individuals above the High Priest level from each sect, possessing multiple divine properties, though whether this was true or not was unknown.
“Most ordinary people pray here.” Xiao Luo first bowed with a gesture from some unknown sect, then smiled at Mo Tan, “As for the method, it varies. The gods are merciful and do not demand too much, especially since you are not a believer…”
Mo Tan nodded gratefully to him: “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, then I’ll just… uh…” Xiao Luo hesitated for a moment, as if deliberating something, and finally said, “I’ll wait for you a little further away, and then accompany you out later.”
Actually, he had originally intended to say he would leave, but looking at the seemingly generous and easygoing The half elf in front of him, for some reason, he just couldn't feel entirely at ease, with a subtle sense of resistance lingering in his heart.
Here, we need to make an excuse for the ‘Incredulous’ talent. This is not caused by the talent itself. The key is that when Mo Tan logs in as Tan Mo, he always exudes an inexplicable aura. If one had to describe it, it would be…
Chaos, extreme Chaos.
This inherent estrangement from the orderly alignment, coupled with Mo Tan’s Incredulous aura in the eyes of NPCs, how could anyone completely trust him?
In short, the Holy Church Warrior Xiao Luo thus left the center of the chapel and walked to a slightly more distant place, casually chatting with people.
Although it was morning, there weren't many people coming to worship and pray, but many Holy Church United clergy had already arrived at the chapel, performing their daily prayers, as well as duties like guarding and cleaning.
Mo Tan, meanwhile, feigned closing his eyes, pretending to pray for the ‘family’ he had no idea when he’d concocted, but was actually rapidly calculating the known information he had gathered so far in his mind…
Dave Sager is a baptized, active believer, whose deity is Heimdall, the guardian of Knights, Warriors, and judges: the God of Justice and Courage.
However, Dave betrayed and conspired to kill his peer from the Knight Academy for some plan, which is absolutely unforgivable by the deity he worships.
Dave was not punished by God…
The end of the data once recorded that he had been working hard towards becoming a Holy Knight. Although he had not yet met the requirements, his martial arts talent displayed in recent years was far superior to that of his peers.
But he should have been a young man with no extraordinary talent.
The conditions for becoming a Holy Knight are currently unknown, but they should not be a secret and can be inquired about in a short time.
But even if he knew…
“I always feel like two pieces of the puzzle are still missing…” Mo Tan muttered softly, rubbing his forehead, “It’s easy to ruin Dave, but since I’ve found such a huge sense of incongruity, ignoring it would be too boring. This unique quest is truly profound.”
Destroying ‘Hero’ Dave, the reward for this quest was three question marks. Mo Tan felt that this was not the system being deliberately mysterious, but rather that the reward would be determined by his completion level. Although he didn't care about the quest itself, with Mo Tan's current personality, he would naturally strive for the maximum amount of fun, and usually, fun and difficulty are often correlated.
Forget it, a little more difficult is actually better, after all, a greater challenge is more interesting~
“I knew at first glance that guy wasn’t good news!”
Just as Mo Tan was about to end his feigned prayer, a deliberately hushed grumble reached his ears.
This wasn't due to Mo Tan's extraordinary talent or special training, nor was it thanks to The half elf's relatively superior hearing. It was simply that the Mammoth Half-Orc Priestess's 'grumble' was a bit too loud.
Almost the entire chapel's attention was drawn to him.
“Glyptodon!” Xiao Luo, standing beside the mammoth big sister, was almost in tears, his face flushed red as he looked up and whispered, “Keep it down! Keep your voice down!!”
“My voice is quiet enough!” The big sister, however, was completely oblivious, and even nudged her nose towards the center of the chapel where Mo Tan was, “Doesn’t he look like one of those Evil Cultists full of crooked ideas?”
Evil Cultists?! Crooked ideas?!
Something seemed to flash through Mo Tan's mind…
Two minutes later, at the chapel entrance.
“I’m truly sorry…” Xiao Luo said to Mo Tan in a low voice, his face red, “That little Priestess is a new intern, she doesn’t think before she speaks.”
Mo Tan blinked: “That ‘little’ Priestess is almost taller than both of us stacked together.”
Xiao Luo shrugged at him.
“Don’t worry, I don’t mind.” Mo Tan smiled slightly, “By the way, I don’t even know what an Evil Cultists is…”
Xiao Luo’s expression instantly became serious: “Those are terrifying heretics. They are deranged, commit all sorts of evil, admire various vile evil beings, and even crown them with the name ‘God.’ Some Evil Cultists don’t even have an object of faith; they simply act for their own insane evil thoughts. Murder and blood sacrifices are commonplace for them. Driven by evil thoughts, those heretics can do anything. Even the most Evil God is a thousand times better than the illusions they worship… Hmm, I don’t want to talk about them anymore. Even discussing them is a disrespect to the gods.”
“Oh?” Mo Tan, however, stopped just a second before leaving the chapel, turning to Xiao Luo and asking curiously, “Then what benefits do they have? For example…”
Skill Activated—【Bewitch】
“Can they command monsters? Or greatly increase their talents and various abilities?”
In Xiao Luo’s ears, Mo Tan’s voice suddenly became very intimate, as if he were an old friend known for many years, with whom he could talk about anything. Before his mind could react, his mouth had already unconsciously replied, “Hmm, the abilities of various Evil Cultists are bizarre. They can gain various powers by paying various prices or performing cruel rituals, but those are all Evil ways… Uh?!”
Xiao Luo, whose eyes instantly cleared, suddenly looked a bit dazed.
Mo Tan, at this point, was already walking out of the chapel without looking back, saying, “Thanks, buddy~”
And then he blended into the dense crowd of people coming and going outside the chapel…
Chapter Twenty-Five: End