Plan in action

"Where were you?!" Dike shouts

Right as Mike was entering the inn once more Dike was screaming at him to find out where he had been and why he had been out so long.

"Well I met a fallen paladin in the slums as I was testing something so I being the helpful person I was decided to help her out to do that I decided to convert a group of random people in the street into heretics and naysayers of their goddess before we both trap them and she does her thing," Mike says casually as he sits down at the table Dike was sitting out

"If you are going to lie at least make it plausible, so tell me the truth," Dike says not buying Mike's explanation

Mike just shows a forced smile before saying, "I was at a brothel all day and I lost track of time"

"Alright then at least now I know," Dike says as he starts eating again

'Jeez how did I end up with him as my master'

Mike orders something for himself to eat and something for Orion out of habit.

"Hey, where is Orion?" Mike asks as he does not see him under the table

"I thought he was with you" Dike answers clearly confused

Mike stands up and rushes upstairs into his room to check on him to see if Orion is alright. Mike pushes open the door to his room to see Orion sitting exactly where he was once before when Mike left him.

"Orion?" Mike says

Orion does not move at all and just stays there as still as a statue not moving in the slightest at Mike's voice.

'Abbey is Orion alright?' Mike asks clearly worried as Orion was not responding

"He seems to be fine just at a first glance but I cannot really check anything about him since he is not made from the system directly" Abbey responds

'Well does this seem to be good or bad for him?'

"From what I can see I don't really know right now so you will just have to wait for a while to see the results," Abbey says

'Well is there anything I can or should do?'

"Just leave him alone and make sure to have plenty of food for him when he wakes up as he will defiantly be hungry by then," Abbey says

'Alright then...' Mike says a bit worried as he closes the door and heads back downstairs

"Everything alright with him?" Dike asks seeing Mike return

"Yeah he just fell asleep in my room and won't wake up for now so I guess he won't be getting anything to eat right now," Mike answers

"Alright then I guess we will just share that meat you got for him for now and not let it go to waste," Dike says as he finishes his food

Mike sits down and once his food is brought out to him along with what should have been Orion's plate of meat they both start eating.

"So *Munch* I am gonna be gone all day tomorrow *Munch* gotta complete those quests of mine," Mike says as he takes a few pieces of meat from the Orions plate to eat

"Didn't your mother *Munch* ever teach you manners *Munch*?" Dike asks

"Could say the same to you"

"Alright, I get it but still your only going to be completing those quests tomorrow right? Nothing else?" Dike asks

"Yes"

13

Dikes looks at Mike suspiciously

"Anything else?" Dike asks

"Um... I was also planning to go to that brothel I mentioned before in the slums," Mike adds

"Ah to be young again... alright you can go to blow off some steam, but be careful understood I don't want you to be taken again alright?" Dike asks

"Since when have I never been careful?" Mike asks

"Far point but you know what I mean don't take any unnecessary risks tomorrow alright?"

"I won't you can trust me on that," Mike says

"Good now then you probably need to recharge your stamina from today so off to bed now," Dike says

"Um... sure," Mike says as he leaves the table and heads back upstairs into his room

"Hey Orion," Mike says even though he does not respond in the slightest

'He kinda looks like a stuffed wolf' Mike thinks to himself as he lies down on his bed after taking off his new armor and placing it in his inventory

"So what are going to do now?" Abbey asks

"Dunno I got a lot of stuff I can do, but I think that I should first get through tomorrow as I am gonna need to do a lot"

"Need anything from me?"

"No, however, I do need to say sorry for snapping at you when I do. I didn't mean it but I just kinda let my emotions get the best of me," Mike tells her

"Apology accepted"

Mike just lies on his bed for a moment to think and reflect on what he has been through this past week alone causing his life to change so much.

"Oh hey, Abbey I noticed that I dealt more damage when I used [Ice Blast] earlier today why was that?" Mike asks as he remembers how when at the beginning of his speech he cast it and it dealt more damage than usual

"Take a look at the spell description" Was her response

Mike opens his system and navigates it to the spells that he has and takes a look at the [Ice Blast] spell which was now slightly different.

___________________

Ice Blast

You conjure a blast of frost from your hand to slow down and damage your target making them easier to strike at.

-10% movement speed

2-5 frost damage (Doubles against flame Enemies)

Spell Mastery: 16/500

Uses 0 mana

___________________

"It improved?" Mike says as he sees the spell had increased in max damage

"Yep all spells will improve as you increase your intelligence score which will, in turn, increase the damage of spells and duration of them over time," Abbey says

"How does that work?"

"As your intelligence score increases the spells will grow with them and until you gain complete mastery over them then you can bring out the most of them," Abbey says

"Still did not answer my question"

"Alright then here you grow yes?" Abbey asks out of nowhere

"Yes, I grow what does that have to do with anything?" Mike asks confused

"Well as you grow so will your spells as you can gain more of the intelligence stat your spells will improve with you by increasing the damage, duration, and other factors that I mentioned," Abbey says

"How come that is why?"

"Don't really know but you know what they say knowledge is power and in this case, it really is" Abbey answers

"Is there ways to increase these base stats besides leveling up?"

"Of course there is you just gotta work hard as everyone else does and as you do you will increase your stats naturally up till a certain point"

"There is a limit?" Mike asks

"Of course there is as the human body can only improve itself naturally up to a certain point there is no way that it can increase for forever," Abbey says while giggling a bit

"Well, what is the highest limit a human can get to?" Mike asks a bit curious

"You don't need to know as you have a long way to go till you get there," Abbey says

"Alright then..." Mike says defeated as he knows he cannot pry everything out of her easily

"So then how would I increase my intelligence then?" Mike asks

"Learning new things is the best way to do so and the more difficult it is the better rewards to your intelligence" Abbey replies

"So if I were to learn the [Ancient Wood Elf Archery] it would increase my intelligence?"

"Yep and your dexterity as well since it involves archery you will need to test everything out to improve yourself over time and to fully understand the technique," Abbey says

"Well I guess the first thing I should do is just learn how to read and write this worlds language"

"That is a good start then after that you can learn something else after that alright?" Abbey asks

"Yeah, I guess for now that is..." Mike says as he starts thinking again before drifting to sleep

...

Mike woke up in the early morning and got up to see Orion still sitting there in the same position as before when Mike found him.

"Hey, Abbey I can touch him right?" Mike asks

"You should be fine to do so but still be careful since I don't really know what is going on with him"

Mike getting the go-ahead from Abbey pats Orion's head which causes his tail to wag slightly.

"Is he waking up?" Mike asks excitedly as he sees this

"No that is just a natural reaction that he is going to do whenever you rub his head, his body will move when it involves something touching him or petting him" Abbey shoots down Mikes hopes

"Alright but at least I know that he is still in their"

Mike gets off his bed and puts on a new set of clothes as well as the suit of armor that he got two days before.

"Another day and I get my new gear," Mike mumbles to himself as he leaves his room and out into the hallway

Mike did not bother to talk to Dike and tell him what was happening as he already knew that Mike would be gone again today. Mike leaves the building and walks to the slums once more and into the brothel from yesterday.

"I am here to see Synthia she is expecting me," Mike says to the lady at the front and she nods her head and brings him into the building

The lady brings him into a regular room this time instead of a VIP premium room that Mike had bought to use last time. Inside there is just a dancer's pole which the employees here would use whenever someone bought their 'services' for an hour while there were a few wooden chairs around the pole. Inside there was no one except for Synthia who was just sitting down at one of the chairs in the room with her full suit of armor on.

"You paid for my services right?" Mike asks as he enters

"Wha... Mike?!" Synthia exclaims

"Ahahaha! Your reaction is priceless!" Mike laughs out loud as he is witnessing Synthia's reaction although Mike could not see her facial expression so Mike could only use his imagination

"Shut up you bastard!" Synthia shouts as she gets up and with her gauntlet fist slams it down onto Mike's head

Mike has taken 10 bludgeoning damage

"OW!" Mike shouts out in pain in an attempt to make it seem like he was extremely injured as he falls to the floor while grabbing his head

His [Intermidiate Pain Resistance] was active all the time making him only feel less pain from the hit to the point where it felt as if someone just punched his head with their fist instead of a gauntlet from a paladin.

"Suck it up!" Was Synthia's response to him

"Jeez, you really don't care for me now do you?" Mike asks as he stops pretending to be critically wounded and gets off of the floor

"Shut it alright!"

"Alright, then I will shut up for now. You ready to go now?" Mike asks

"Yes I am ready to go, here is your mask," Synthia says while taking out his [Fear Mask] and handing it over to him

"Alright then so you remember the plan right?" Mike asks

"Yes I remember the plan we went over it countless times before so you don't need to remind me alright," Synthia says

"Gottcha, now then has the streets we gonna be taking been cleared?" Mike asks

"Yes no one will go near there for a long time so we will have enough time to do what is needed"

"Alright then let's get going then," Mike says as he puts on his mask and leaves the room with Synthia following behind him

They both leave the brothel before going to the same street as yesterday by the time it was mid-morning and people were moving around the street same as yesterday with it being just as busy as before but this time a few people were lingering in the streets as if waiting for someone or something. Mike and Synthia were in the same alleyway as yesterday before Mike started turning the people against Synthia's church.

"So you ready?" Mike asks

Synthia nods her head and does not say anything to him.

"Just so you know anything I say or do up there I don't mean it is all just an act alright," Mike says again

"I know that..." Synthia replies

"I know that you know but just making sure that you are ready to do this"

Mike gives her a thumbs up before he moves out of the alleyway and out onto the street towards the same barrel that he used last time to speak to the masses. He climbs out and this time just like before he casts [Ice Blast] once again to gain the attention of everyone on the street.

"Ladies and gentlemen I have returned from the evil church which worships the goddess Drohdia!" Mike proclaims drawing forth some people towards him and as he does the amulet that Synthia gave to him once again starts glowing a solid violet color

This proclamation brought forth a large group of people ranging in near 50 people of various races with the most predominant of them being human of course.

"My fellow brothers and sisters who have heard the truth today I bring to you the proof of my claims that there is a cult of the goddess Drohdia!" Mike shouts as he takes out a piece of parchment that was forged by Synthia since she could actually write and also because if Mike tried he would have had to roll to fake its authenticity

Murmuring is heard from the people that are surrounding Mike now that he has shown them 'proof' of this church in the city that he is now labeling as a cult.

"In my hands are the documents that my compatriot and I had uncovered when we sneaked in last night revealing the details of what deeds that they had done," Mike claims

10

"How did you get those documents from them? Do you really expect us to believe that you just found them now do ya?" A voice rings out from someone

"Of course not I sneaked into their so-called church and they were going to be sent to the firepit below the church to be incinerated before they came to light but I got my hands on them and replaced them with regular parchment before they were lost to the annals of time," Mike claims

20

'YES!'

The crowd starts murmuring about this development and actually supporting his case as they believe him to be something worth supporting as he just seems to be so charismatic and trustworthy.

"Now then if you wish to see these documents I will hand one to the crowd if further proof is needed," Mike offers

"There is no need to do that we trust your word!" A man shouts from the crowd

"Very well then if you trust my words then I ask all of you to follow me to the slums of this city to drive them out of here for good and once and for all!" Mike shouts out

"..." The murmuring stops as Mike's words settle in amongst the crowd

15

"Yeah!" Someone shouts out loud causing more cheers of approval to resound from the crowd

"Good to see that you support me and do not worry about your safety as the city guards are by my side and are willing to help protect you all!" Mike shouts above the crowd

15

More cheers of approval ring out as Mike climbs down from his barrel and starts leading the crowd behind him with it growing as they move through the streets towards the slums and growing en masse from 50 to about 100 people before they even reach the slums and towards the abandoned church Synthia showed him last night.

As they are moving through the slums Mike is hyping up the people as best they can to make sure that they would not notice any odd details... such as the street they were on being devoid of life and anything else. Mike had Synthia pull some strings with some of the local gangs to prevent people from going down the streets they would be taking for a few hours at most to make the mob from growing and making the plan fail.

As they are making their way down the streets of the slums, Synthia appears from one of the alleyways and starts walking next to Mike.

"Are the guards ready?" Mike asks her

She does not say anything but just nods her head towards him

The number of people stayed relatively the same but some of them had even armed themselves with broken wood and bricks on the ground with the intent of dealing with these fake church members in their own violent way.

Still, the church was now in view of everyone to see. The church was a bit run-down looking on the outside with the singular spire of the church tilting slightly to the side which reminded Mike of the leaning tower of Piza when he first saw it. The inside was in a bit of a worse condition but it would soon serve its purpose for Mike and Synthia. Before they entered the church though Mike stops at the steps of the victorian era looking church to address the crowd.

"To all those gathered here, I thank you for following me to expel the evil that this church has brought upon to others and this city, however, for those that are faint of heart I ask you now to turn back for once you do you will not be able to leave once we begin," Mike says

A few seconds pass by and no one leaves prompting Mike to speak again.

"Very well I see you are all true to my cause so once this is over I invite those to the nearest tavern for a round on me!" Mike proclaims causing cheers of joy to resound from all the alcoholics that were in the crowd

"Now then follow me!" Mike shouts out as he runs up the stairs of the church and throws the doors wide open before rushing inside

Cheers and shouts of joy follow behind him as the people also rush up the stairs after Mike. As the first of the people rush into the church they see Mike looking back at them with his mask still on while in his hand is Sarenthia and before anyone can register or say anything Mike cuts a piece of rope that was held down by a rock that led into the lower rafters of the church. Before anyone that entered the church first can register what was happening they fall into the floor and Mike's trap. With the crowd of people moving forward they could not stop as more and more people fell into the trap that Mike had set for them right as they fell forward and if a few of them actually got past the pitfall Sarenthia was flying around and able to knock them in easily before anything else could happen.

Synthia did not rush forward like Mike did as she was in charge of the rear of the crowd to make sure that they were able to get enough people possible inside the pit. Now how did this pit get made in one night and how big is it? Well, Mike made the pit 20 feet deep with 2 feet of it being filled with pillows and other soft objects to make sure no one was severely injured from the fall and as for the width well it looked 20 feet wide at the top but down below it was 200 feet allowing enough space for about people to move around a little. The underground area was mainly dugout when the church was built so all Mike had to really do was clean it up a bit and block all exits to prevent the people from leaving there once they fell in. All that was really needed was for the pitfall to be dug out and thanks to Synthia's magic they were able to do so quite fast before making fake flooring and the mechanism to prevent anyone from falling there just from walking over the floor.

Eventually, everyone that decided to follow Mike was now in the pit and successfully captured by him.

'Ding'

Task 1: Find 200 heretics and sinners of the goddess Drohdia [Completed]

Rewards will be available once all of the tasks have been completed

Task 2: Complete cleansing ritual with Paladin Synthia on all of the heretics and sinners of the goddess Drohdia

'So that is what is next' Mike thinks to himself as he moves over to Synthia who was on the other side

Mike has to go through a window to get to her but at least this was the same window that they used when they first came into the church so Mike was pretty good with getting through it.

"So what now?" Mike asks as they had completed the goal of capturing 200 sinners and heretic's

"We will have to cleanse their sins and belief towards my goddess," Synthia says

"What do you need then?" Mike asks as he looks down the pit and hears some muffled curses directed towards him and Synthia coming from down below

"A lot of magic power... I am not sure that I will be able to finish in one go if I use all my available mana at hand," Synthia says

"Can mine be of some use?"

"I might help but not by much..." Synthia says

"Let's just try it how can I transfer my mana to you?" Mike asks

"Just hold my hand and I will be able to draw your mana"

"That simple?" Mike asks a little dumbfounded

"Yes it is not everything in the world is overly complicated," Synthia says while holding out her hand

Mike places his right hand on hers and Synthia begins chanting as she holds onto it tight. As she does her body starts to glow in a dark light which Mike sees attaches to his hand and advances across his own body. Mike does not feel anything happening to himself or the mana inside his body.

[Warning!]

[Mana from the system is being drained at a rapid rate and the system is now entering lockdown mode until mana reserves are resupplied]

'Wait what!'

Mike now feels the mana in his body being taken away from himself at a rapid rate and before he knows it his mana reserve is dry and he feels extremely fatigued and tired before he realizes that Synthia is still draining mana from him!

Everything had mana in them but if that is drained that thing will die which was happening to Mike right now so Mike attempts to pry himself from Synthia's grasp.

8

Mike cannot free himself in his weakened state so he relies on Sarenthia.

'Sarenthia cut my hand off!' Mike shouts to her

"What?!"

"Just do it!"

Sarenthia feeling Mike's pain slices Mike's hand off cleanly causing blood to flow out of Mike's stump.

"Augh!" Mike shouts out in pain as it seems to him that it is the worst thing he has ever experienced before

'Where is my pain resistance!' Mike shouts out as his arm hurts like hell before Mike quickly faints from the pain and exhaustion attacking his body and mind.