Oliver stacked Sister Marta's corpse alongside the rotting witch's, then unfastened the gourd from his waist, revealing a special liquid inside.
As he unscrewed the gourd, a jasmine scent filled the fetid cellar—this fragrant yet pungent liquid was none other than the "Bone and Blood Melter."
This was a substance used by the church to dispose of the corpses of the tainted.
Originally intended for witches' corpses, it now served an additional purpose.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle.
The sickening sounds and sharp smells filled the air.
In mere moments, the two corpses began to dissolve at a speed visible to the naked eye, until nothing remained.
Well, not nothing. A pile of silver coins and a thumb-sized silver block emerged.
It was shaped like a coiled serpent—The Divine Circuit, which had been embedded in Sister Marta's back.
[Props: Twisted The Divine Circuit (owned by Marta Thyssen)]]
The Divine Circuit!
This item, made Oliver's eyes light up instinctively.
In fact, the Stripped The Divine Circuit, had been bought by someone on the black market at a high price, which was worth at least 500 silver coins, and it was rumored that if it was specially processed, the Stripped The Divine Circuit, could be installed into another person's body.
If it was before, Oliver would definitely be interested in this.
But now, realizing that the Divine Circuit was little more than a form of slave contract, it seemed far less enticing.
To him, it was just a pile of silver coins.
Of course, the spoils of killing Sister Marta were far more than that.
[Successfully killed cleric, False Believer (2/10)]
[Acquired Props: Silver Staff, Divine Talisman Amulet, 143 Silver Coins]
Oliver fancied the silver staff—it could amplify his Spirit Sharpshooter power. Yet as conspicuous contraband, he couldn't wield it immediately.
Alternatively, he might sell it on the black market.
Oliver was particularly pleased with the 143 silver coins.
This was money he could use right away.
His "atonement shift" job earned him only 7 silver coins a week, so these 143 coins would cover him for half a year!
That was an enormous amount of money.
Marta, as expected of a divine magician, carried such an impressive fortune even in small change!
In addition to what Marta had on her, the Blasphemy Codex had provided some surprising feedback.
Firstly, his False Believer rank had increased from (1/10) to (2/10).
It wasn't just a number change.
Oliver could feel the increase in his soul and physical strength after the upgrade.
He quickly opened his panel, and the stats confirmed it:
Physical strength: 100 → 200
Soul power: 200 → 300
Oliver could clearly feel that his body was filled with power, his mind was clear, and his perception had increased greatly.
If he was allowed to kill Sister Marta now, it would become much easier, In fact, his presence alone would likely overwhelm her, making Marta feel a huge threat.
The False Believer rank had ten levels, and killing someone as insignificant as Marta had boosted him to level 2—how powerful would he be at level 10?
If he were promoted further, from False Believer to Knight of the Oath of Reckoning, how formidable would that make him?
But the Blasphemy Codex had more to say, as a series of system prompts appeared in his mind.
[Condition 1: Killed Cleric, reading relevant individual information... Memory Vesicles unlocked.]
▷ Decoding progress: 13%
▷ Fragments read: "His Eminence the Bishop needs more virgins for his Midnight Mass..."
[Condition 2: Witnessed the true form of the divine offspring.]
[Blasphemy Ritual Analysis in Progress... suggests performing a reverse feeding procedure to draw nourishment from The Mastermind.]
[Blasphemy Quest Trigger: Directional Feeding of The Mastermind]
[Elsa's Church, the holiest place in Glensorne City, is a site of devout worship. But unbeknownst to the masses, the idol they revere is not a benevolent figure—it's a giant parasite that feeds on the souls and flesh of both the clergy and the general public...]
Was this about dealing with that divine offspring?
Oliver's heart raced. That entity was not something to take lightly. Its umbilical network seemed to connect almost every member of the church's clergy.
As far as Oliver knew, Elsa's Church even had level 3 Divine Practitioners, whose strength was terrifying. A single divine spell from one of them could obliterate a house.
The Mastermind, capable of feeding off them, was certainly no slouch—likely matched a level 3 or 4 Divine Artist.
For a Divine Race to only have this strength, it seemed a bit unbelievable.
Yet its juvenile state explained the vulnerability. Otherwise, hunting Oliver wouldn't demand such effort.
although this mission was dangerous, the rewards should also be extremely generous if it was successful!
Just devouring a fragment of the brain tissue from that entity had doubled his soul strength—from 100 to 200.
This brought his soul power to the level of a rank 1 Divine Artist.
With that boost, his spells had become incredibly potent.
If devouring just a small piece had yielded such results, what could he gain from consuming The Mastermind itself? The possibilities were staggering.
[Warning! Warning! The Mastermind intensifies its search.You are in immediate danger. The Mastermind is expected to locate your true identity within 35-60 days.]
[Complete the Blasphemy Ceremony quickly to suppress its growth, or you risk your life.]
The Codex's prompts continued.
Oliver took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the situation.
This was both a crisis and an opportunity.
The Mastermind's juvenile form was the perfect target for a novice like him. Its growth was incomplete—otherwise, it wouldn't take so long to track him down.
This was a rare chance.
If successful, the rewards would be immense.
As Oliver considered this, he scanned the Blasphemy Codex for further details on how to execute the backfeeding process.
▶ Objective 1: Sever The Mastermind's link to the three secondary altars.
▶ Objective 2:Decrypt Elsa Church's Divine Circuit; reverse umbilical energy flow.
▶ Objective 3: Hunt senior clerics, obtain key memory vesicles, and earn Blasphemy Points to exchange for forbidden divine arts.
▶ Objective 4: Strengthen yourself. As a False Believer (2/10), your chances of devouring The Mastermind are low. You need to reach at least level 7, ideally level 10.
Oliver had much to do.
But for now, he needed to deal with the immediate challenge: getting rid of any suspicion regarding Sister Marta's death.
But, it might take some time before this is discovered.because Oliver had taken care of Sister Marta's body flawlessly, leaving little evidence.
By the time the church noticed she was missing, it would be at least four or five days.
And at this moment, what Oliver had to do was to digest the harvest he got from this time.
He needed to buy some food and weapons to continue strengthening himself.
Then, in search of his next target!