The more they oppose, the more it shows that I am doing the right thing Chapter 20 - 19 Gradual Dawn

[Sacrificed a hundred Low Rank Cultists, ten Second Order Cultists]

[Affected by the titles 'Blood Moon' and 'Newborn', the sacrificial effect has increased by forty percent]

[Total Life Points gained: 60]

[Life Points can be exchanged for blessings, or used to enhance the body]

[Today's generous birthday gift has filled the Mother Goddess of Life with joy and delight, and She has bestowed upon you a divine title]

[Title: Death's Rising Dawn]

[Title Effect: You can stack one identical dark magic buff effect on a target, can only be used once per day]

An Su was very satisfied.

In just one night, he had reaped more than he had in the past few weeks.

Just the Life Points alone amounted to sixty.

Even without the title and the Blood Moon Day's enhancent, he would have had at least forty faith points from the Radiant Holy See.

Enough for him to beco a Second Order Magician!

But An Su knew such an opportunity only ca once a year.

Only during the three days of Blood Moon Day would the Cultists massively sacrifice at their stronghold; at other tis, such an attempt would likely end in vain.

Blood Moon Day was a grand festival, and the Church would also organize Holy Knights to conduct large-scale witch hunts during these days.

However, An Su knew that it would be difficult for the Church to gain much this ti.

Receiving the new title was an unexpected pleasure, an offensive type of title, different from resource type titles like 'Life Sacrificer at the Outset'.

It could stack a dark magic buff.

For example, if you cast a curse on an enemy that reduced their defense by twenty percent, you could use this title.

You could cast the sa curse on them again, and the effects would stack, reducing the defense by forty percent.

However, this was just a conventional use, sothing regular players might do.

An Su, who had a more sophisticated mind for mischievous play, instantly thought of many more interesting combinations for this title.

It felt like it was going to be very interesting... An Su thought secretly to himself.

It was going to be very amusing.

First, use the renaming magic [Baptism] to change the title's na... it can only be three characters long.

The words 'Rising Dawn' sound quite positive and can be kept, making it two words.

'Death' must definitely be removed.

From 'Death's Rising Dawn', pick one word.

He felt none of them were quite right, so he simply decided to follow his own inclinations, choosing whatever felt right; let's pick 'Rising'.

'Rising Dawn'

The gradually rising dawn in the east felt pretty positive, and upon hearing it, one would assu he was a respectable person belonging to the Mixed Orthodoxy.

Moreover, An Su did indeed need a new title, as he was currently hunting Cultists using the new identity 'Xianzong', undertaking a detestable task.

Although he had masked his face, the title 'Newborn' above his head was not sothing he could hide.

If his whereabouts were exposed and soone used Scouting Magic to discover the Newborn, looking through the entire border town, who else would be the Newborn?

Naturally, it would only be him, An Su.

Once a title is worn, it cannot be removed, but it can be changed.

A new identity required a new title, 'Rising Dawn' was An Su's tily rain.

Having organized his thoughts, the day had already brightened.

Pale dawn light completely dispelled the remnants of the Blood Moon's glow, and the sky was divided into several colored patches:

The innermost was the orange-white sky, accompanied by mountains and the rising sun; the middle layer was a grey-white sky, and the outermost layer was still a dark, night sky.

A few sparse and faint stars still clung to the grey-white sky, hanging between the dark and orange-white, intermixed between night and day, belonging neither to day nor night, faintly twinkling their light; there's a proverb that perfectly describes this: 'sparse as the morning stars'.

----

An Su took off his imitation mask, changed into new clothes, and returned to the church to receive the goddess's reward.

It was only just dawn, yet the church was far from empty: aside from a few believers who ca for morning prayers, there were many more who were just there for the excitent, all waiting for the return of the Holy Knight.

Last night was Blood Moon Day, and it was also the day for the collective witch hunt led by the 'Radiant One,' the son of the Priest, Saint Kavensis, which was full of anticipation.

They were all on tiptoes, craning their necks, eagerly waiting for the hero's return and ready to offer cheers and applause.

So even held flowers in their hands.

Most of these were young girls in the throes of spring.

"When will Saint Kavensis triumphantly return?"

"I don't know..."

"He must have slain many evil villains."

They chattered and giggled amongst themselves, occasionally letting out bright, crisp laughter: It seed that Kavensis was quite popular among the girls.

"Good morning, my young master, did you sleep well last night?"

Priest Danny spotted An Su from afar and spoke with a hint of sarcasm, "You must have slept quite well, after all, we had real saints protecting our night."

"I slept wonderfully last night."

An Su smiled brightly, as if he hadn't picked up on the Priest's insinuation at all, showing no signs of anger or insult,

"We truly must thank those heroes, but I do hope the heroes can get so sleep tonight as well."

"Hmph..." Priest Danny snorted inwardly, putting on a show.

Clearly, Priest Danny had not picked up on An Su's implied aning either.

"See you in a bit."

An Su walked straight into the church, knelt on one knee before the statue, put his hands together, and began to pray.

[An Su]

[Magic Points: 6]

[Near-Believer, exchangeable for Low Rank blessings, or to add points to the body]

[Faith Points 42 (eliminating 100 First Order cultists, ten Second Order cultists, and one Third Order cultist)]

Very well.

It was just enough to beco a Second Order Magician.

He smiled to himself.

To go from a First Order Magician to a Second Order one in a month was like riding a rocket - it would shock people if word got out.

After all, his way of leveling up was entirely different from the other saints, purely through kill after kill after kill.

The other saints... they didn't get to sacrifice enough cultists to level up.

The bulk was taken by the noble families within the Church.

Their way of leveling up was through daily exercise and prayer, gradually increasing their magic points.

Even if they occasionally killed a few cultists, they were reluctant to use them for leveling up, often choosing to exchange them for blessing magic instead.

The biggest advantage of becoming a Second Order Magician was that the soul could carry two more mory slots.

A First Order Magician had four mory slots; a Second Order had six.

So now, An Su could equip up to six spells.

The distribution and use of mory slots was of utmost importance.

After reaching Second Order, the exchange rate between faith points and magic points also changed to 20:1.

But those were worries for later.

"Exchange."

An Su felt lighter all over, his soul breathing in the fresh air of the early morning, exhaling the faint light of dawn.

He could sense that his perception and reaction ti had both reached their peak, with every cell in his body singing with joy.

He could feel the waves of cheers coming from the entrance:

Oh, it seed the great hero Kavensis had returned.

Hopefully, they could get so sleep.