Chapter 15: A Strange Village, A Strange God

The setting sun hung low in the west as Lucoco patted her round belly, lying lazily on the deck of the ship’s bow to digest her meal.

She had scavenged several crates of “treasures” from the remaining intact cabins, allowing her to enjoy a “Royal Feast.”

‘With enough seasoning, even stewed leather shoes would taste good!’

*Burp.*

She felt as if the food was backed up to her throat.

With a light swipe of her small hand, she expanded her list of imprints.

A mischievous grin spread across her face as she looked at the newly unlocked powers within the **[Demon King]** imprint.

The seventh power had awakened during her deep sleep after she had turned into a crystal lump and subsequently revived.

**[7: Special Individual, certain functions pre-activated. Opened [Demon King’s Treasury], obtained skill [Styx Ferry], unlocked [Believer] network. — — — — Remaining functions cannot be unlocked at this time.]**

Lucoco had already figured out the basics of these three new features.

The description for **[Styx Ferry]** only said: **[Within the range of the Abyss flow, consciousness may be projected, and souls may be ferried.]**

The details were vague, but Lucoco discovered that this skill needed to be performed while she was asleep.

Her consciousness could follow the river’s currents to project itself to distant places, manifesting in the form of a mist.

As for her understanding of the skill, Lucoco was currently only using it to play ghost and mess with NPCs.

She used the opportunities to absorb a small amount of experience points.

The **[Believer]** network description read: **[Collect faith for your own use.]**

It was also frustratingly brief.

In short, it was for collecting the faith of followers.

What use that gathered faith had, Lucoco didn’t know, nor had she found where it was stored.

As for how to collect it, she had to use the **[Demon King’s Treasury]**.

**[Demon King’s Treasury]**: Inherit the treasury of Demon King — — —. Can create **[Treasure Chests]** of random quality, set traps, train talent (such as Heroes or Saints), reward believers, etc.

The Demon King could not use the created treasure chests herself.

Perhaps she was too full, or perhaps the sunset was too warm.

Drowsiness surged over her like a tide.

Lucoco’s eyelids grew heavy, her head tilted to the side, and she drifted off to sleep.

Lucia approached silently, gently picking her up to carry her back to the soft bed left behind by Princess Lino.

She left a soft kiss on the girl’s cheek and leaned against the edge of the bed, watching the little one sleep soundly.

***

In a small village called Flower Village, located by a branch of the Echo Tombs river system.

At the entrance of the village, a young female warrior squinted at the female mage beside her, her tone suspicious.

“Is this the village?”

“That’s right. Remember to change into this in a bit.”

The mage handed her a box, a mischievous glint flashing in her eyes.

“What is it?”

Su Yue asked.

“Ceremonial clothes,” Du Lin replied.

“I need ceremonial clothes for this?”

Su Yue took the box, placed it into her player inventory, and opened it.

In the next second, her face turned pale.

Her teeth ground together as she squeezed out a low growl, “Du Lin!”

“What’s wrong? If you can’t do it… you don’t have to force yourself,” the girl named Du Lin said, crossing her arms over her chest with a playful, mocking grin.

“You call this junk ceremonial clothes?!”

Su Yue snapped her head up.

A white light flashed in her hand as she pulled out… a roll of bandages?

“Wow! Su Yue, you pulled the Purple-quality Glory edition!”

Du Lin cried out as she stared at the roll of bandages, her eyes sparkling as if she were looking at a rare treasure.

Su Yue narrowed her eyes and shook out the so-called “ceremonial clothes.”

After looking them up and down, a sneer curled her lips.

“Glory edition? This is just stringy lingerie! You can get this for thirty-nine dollars on a discount site!”

“You’ve bought it before?”

Du Lin gave a thievish laugh, her eyes curving into crescents.

“No, no, no! It was just a recommendation!”

Su Yue’s face turned even redder.

She glared at Du Lin as if she were about to pounce and bite her.

“Oh— — —,” Du Lin drawled, her laughter growing louder.

“And you? Where are your ceremonial clothes? Let me see them!”

Su Yue quickly changed the subject, reaching out to demand the item.

Du Lin laughed freely and tugged at the collar of her robe, revealing a patch of fair skin.

She narrowed her eyes and intentionally leaned in close.

“I’m already wearing them. Golden-quality Heaven edition. Three ‘band-aids.’ Want to see?”

“…No need.”

Su Yue’s mouth twitched.

She waved her hand decisively, though her eyes couldn’t help but steal a glance.

***

By the lakeside, the reeds swayed gently.

A light breeze brushed past, creating fine ripples of light on the water’s surface.

Night had fallen.

Most of the people in the village were shrouded in an invisible magic, falling into an abnormally deep sleep.

They had smiles on their faces, as if they were reuniting with missed relatives or reclaiming the regrets of their youth.

Meanwhile, the young women of the village, cloaked in moonlight, gathered one after another by the lake to prepare for the mysterious “God-Gifted Ritual.”

Under the moonlight, the lake water was as clear as a mirror.

Su Yue was wrapped in the “bandages,” barely covering the essential areas.

Her face was flushed as she crouched in the deeper water.

She only let her wary eyes show, glaring at the mischievous Du Lin beside her.

“Their ceremonial clothes look perfectly normal!”

Du Lin tilted her head and smiled, looking nonchalant.

Her three “band-aids” were applied haphazardly, and she stretched her impressive figure in the water with an air of confidence.

“Isn’t this great? It’s cool!”

Looking around, many girls had gathered on the lakeshore.

Some were shyly splashing in the water, whispering to their companions in low voices.

Others were helping each other adjust their various, youthful-looking ceremonial clothes.

A few had already boldly stepped onto the shallow rocky beach, using the firelight to tentatively stretch their bodies and practice graceful or cute dance moves.

Bonfires were lit along the shore, their flickering flames making the lake’s surface look warm and inviting.

It made the girls look like something out of a dream—like spirits of the night, agile and charming.

“They say that ‘newborn god’ is a little girl. She likes lively, interesting performances and aesthetically pleasing dances,” Du Lin said, stretching her body as if warming up.

Su Yue scoffed.

‘A little girl? More like some old, perverted archdevil in disguise,’ she thought with utter disdain.

Du Lin leaned down and dropped a dagger into Su Yue’s hand.

“But she really gives out the goods. Last night, I got this Level 20 Purple-quality dagger from four treasure chests.”

She then pointed to a figure by the water in the distance.

“Look at that one over there, the one who’s basically streaking. She’s that missing Church Investigator. The night before last, she performed a ‘Sincere Rite’ under the moon, and she got a Level 40 Epic-quality staff!”

“The items in the chests scale with your level?”

Su Yue was stunned.

She turned to look at Du Lin, the shyness and reluctance in her eyes quickly suppressed by a light called “expectation.”

“Exactly. So it’s not worth it to open them now; you have to stockpile them.”

Seeing the changing expressions on Su Yue’s face, the corners of Du Lin’s mouth curled up, as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“Ahem!”

Su Yue coughed uncomfortably, her face flushing a few shades darker.

Her voice was as thin as a mosquito’s buzz.

“What… what do I have to do?”

“Hehehe.”

Du Lin immediately leaned in, her warm breath brushing against Su Yue’s ear.

“What? Finally interested?”

“Believe it or not, I’ll bite you!”

Su Yue flinched, baring her teeth and making a show of pouncing.

“Oh, I’ll stop teasing you.”

Du Lin waved her hand, looking mysterious.

“If you want the chests, it’s simple! Just get that ‘god’ in the middle of the lake to notice you and make her praise you.”

“Then could you…”

Su Yue’s eyes flickered elsewhere, her voice getting smaller and smaller.

“Could you perform first…?”

“Hahaha, don’t be in such a hurry. The time hasn’t come yet. Wait a little longer.”

Du Lin’s gaze shifted toward the area where the moonlight and ripples blurred together.

Something seemed to be slowly manifesting there.