[Divine message received from ???]
Suddenly, I received something.
I opened up the message to see what it was.
[Divine message from The God of Purity
Greetings, Dear Contender, I have been observing your actions till now.
As you might be aware, the next Task that lies ahead of you requires Divine Intervention.
I am willing to be your Main Sponsor under the following condition:
•Enter the Trial of Purity.
Benefits of the sponsorship include:
•1000 RP per day.
•Assistance to clear the Integrated Trial of Destiny.
If you agree to enter the Trial, exit will not be possible till the end of First Task of Trial of Purity.
Sponsorship will not end even after exit from the Trial of Purity and will continue till the Integrated Trial of Destiny ends.
Sign below, if you find the terms reasonable.
I, player 'Ray', have read the terms and conditions and agree to have The God of Purity as my sponsor : (insert soul frame signature) ]
'The God of Purity?!', Lianne screamed in my head.
'...calm down. Who is this God?'
'His Grace is the ONLY one that hasn't sponsored anyone till date. Being a new and young God, replacing the older God of Purity, His Grace chose you as the first person to sponsor! And that too as a Main Sponsor!'
'What does that mean? Does he think I have a chance to win this?'
'It means that His Grace is willing to support you in this Round of Games. If you accept, you'll have his backing in the higher dimensions!'
I looked at the Terms again.
'1000 Rp per day. He seems more generous than that cunning Goddess.'
'That is a lot, Ray. Oh my, I still can't believe this. He chose you, and you aren't pure at all!'
'...focus Lianne...'
'Being the First Chosen of a God is a huge matter, Ray! It means His Grace may appoint you as a Divine Familiar Spirit at the very least but most likely, you'll get a chance to join His Grace's Council! That is equivalent to being a Lower God! This is your ticket to Ascension!'
Lianne was speaking some gibberish which I really couldn't understand.
I was already preoccupied with two Trials.
Did she want me to accept another?
'Lianne, three at a time is too much...'
'Plus it also mentions that His Grace will help in the Trial of Destiny and completing the Trial of Purity isn't mandatory', Lianne kept trying to convince me.
Yeah, they were good terms. But why were they sent my way?
"So, Saint Ray Astraeus? What do you say?"
While I was busy looking at the agreement, the douche and the bald guy had been busy cooking up something unpleasant.
"Do you wish to engage in this spar?", the bald man slyly smiled at me.
'Ray, you should accept. Listen to me, it's huge!', Lianne was still on about the offer.
I closed my eyes.
Although this God seemed more friendly, I couldn't trust an unknown God so easily.
I have no idea what he wants from me. If providing good terms to eventually make me a slave is his plan, I don't think I'll be accepting.
I don't even know what the First Task in this New Trial is going to be.
Inside my closed eyes, my screen opened up again.
[-Trial of Purity-
First Task:
Ash Hopkins, son of Belford Hopkins, is destined to be a thorn in Baek Taeyang's future.
He has also taken the purities of multiple young boys.
Accept his challenge and crush him now.
Rewards:
Temporary Soulframe Swap ×1
10,000 RP
Failure: Nil]
Ah...I knew my thoughts could be seen.
Well, if you present such goodwill, I cannot decline.
'Ray! For Heaven's sake! Accept!', Lianne was going bonkers.
"My Saint, you do not have to accept the challenge", I heard Collete's voice.
Slowly opening my eyes, I smiled.
"I accept."
I had decided.
...
[Baek Taeyang's POV]
"Why did Ray send me this message to be careful?"
He said it was due to some premonition he received. Well, I don't think that he is lying.
But I'm not really going out of my house.
"Hm..."
After thinking for a while, I took out my trusty Beretta and also brought Catherine to my desk.
He also asked me to dig up about Ichika Mukai and John Elton.
I knew both of them.
Ichika is in the Department of Elementalism. She is Enna's best friend and quite well known as a model student. Her grades are always in the top 5 every term.
And John Elton is the aloof Chemistry professor that rarely interacts with other students.
Well, Ray did ask me so I should try to find whatever I can.
I started by collecting all the public documents of John Elton.
"Nothing out of the ordinary here."
Next, I started tapping into John Elton's private phone.
"Ah, it'll take a while, so I should also start tapping into the devices connected to his home."
Beep
My phone buzzed.
"Did Ray text me again?"
[Track my device. I'm dropping it on a person. I'll come to you soon]
What does he mean by 'dropping it on a person'?
Quickly, I turned on the location tracker and the remote voice recorder feature I had installed just in case Ray ever turned out to be someone suspicious.
I had dug up about Ray, but the only closest face match I got was from a noble family in Auspercia.
Although it was a match, when I checked the picture, the person looked very different. He was malnourished and had dark circles on his face.
Ray, on the other hand, was tall and handsome.
It was also suspicious how he had claimed to be able to cure Sophie...
But... I don't think he's a bad guy.
Sigh...
"I didn't think I'd be using it like this..."
Ping
"Oh, is it done?"
I turned to look at my tablet screen where I had started the decryption of Elton's phone.
"What...is this?"