Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 336 Mission Impossible

"You're such a busy person, how come you have time to come see me?"

Chatting and laughing, Victoria placed a cup of coffee and freshly baked bear-shaped cookies in front of Rean.

"Of course I want to. Okay, contacting you is part of my job."

Rean had initially planned to just casually exchange pleasantries, but remembering the Dark Elves' reputation for being "too casual" in this regard, he decided it was better to avoid any chance of their friendship turning sour.

"Oh, is there something you need? I'm quite busy."

"It's not you who's busy."

Rean glanced at the trading area outside the store, and there were indeed quite a few customers. But those brooms, cabinets, and the like, which had hands, feet, and faces, not only traded and handled cash, but even went out to solicit customers.

That bouncy "bunny girl" looks like a female mannequin doll? Now she's waving a sign around, attracting the attention of passersby.

"You're awake?" After thinking for a moment, Rean still used that word.

Previously, Victoria had been in a state of cognitive impairment and schizophrenia. Despite the many abnormalities around her that made others' scalps tingle, she herself felt nothing.

Now, although she hasn't changed much on the surface, she not only doesn't mind the shop herself, leaving the work to her creation, but her words and actions also seem to have become clearer.

"Hmm," the female elf touched her head; she had only fully awakened in the last two days.

To be precise, it is the complete awakening of the mind and soul that renders the original self-protective cognitive barriers ineffective, thus allowing one to see the abnormalities around them clearly.

Rean didn't ask her about the specifics of her situation, nor did he probe her abilities. Even if she was a friend, it was safer to keep such vital information to a minimum.

"Speak up, what is it? Let's make it clear first, I'm weak, not good at fighting, and I have no money."

Rean turned his head and looked at the arguing noise inside the shop. Two trash cans stood up and were beating a group of adventurers to a pulp.

Yeah, I'm not good at fighting, whatever you say.

Looking at Victoria's tired face, Rean seemed to be deep in thought. If Kuku's heroic spirit inheritance was underway, the ultimate victor would most likely be the person in front of him.

Others who received the "inheritance" either used it to supplement their own abilities or mechanically used the "multitasking" ability. Only she used it as the core to incubate a seemingly infinitely potential soul ability.

The key point remains the elusive concept of "compatibility." Victoria, who almost perfectly inherited the potential of the Heroic Soul and was capable of mass-producing life, was the Heroic Soul inheritor who truly shattered "common sense."

She is alone on this path, and if she keeps going, she is destined to reach the top of the world.

Rean is in no hurry; he will patiently wait for these candidates to grow. But for now, he probably needs Victoria's "knowledge."

“Look at this holy emblem. It belongs to the next heroic spirit. He can rise from the dead for a short time. I plan to take this opportunity to establish a church.”

Rean didn't lie; he told the truth directly.

Though brief, the words were a shocking conspiracy.

"puff!"

The other person almost spat out a mouthful of coffee onto Rean's face.

"cough cough"

Rean quickly helped her wipe it, but the other person looked at him with a horrified expression.

"What blasphemy! You intend to steal the power of the gods. No, you intend to steal everything from the gods!"

"Uh, if you're not interested, then forget it."

"No, I have it! Absolutely! The secrets of the gods! The secrets of faith! I can even steal divine magic to construct a domain, how could I possibly refuse!"

The female alchemist was even more excited than Rean. She stood up and took Rean's hand in return.

How could researchers who pursue truth and knowledge not be interested in the gods of the greatest "miracles"?

However, any research into its essence could easily anger the gods. What Rean did was tantamount to directly raising a dead god from the dead and negotiating with him to borrow his body. Although it was blasphemous, after thinking about it, it didn't seem to be very dangerous.

If the gods refused, that was one thing, but if they didn't refuse, no alchemist could refuse the opportunity to study a "divine corpse" that couldn't resist or go berserk. Looking at Victoria, who suddenly became excited and even acted a bit strangely, Rean was both amused and exasperated. He wondered if he had picked the wrong person.

"Well, since you're interested, let's work together. I need knowledge and connections related to priests, which you should have, right?"

Victoria is an alchemist, but also a priestess of the Mirror Maiden. This is a custom among the dark elves in theocratic society; any noblewoman from a family is bound to be a priestess, as all power naturally overlaps with divine authority.

But looking at her lazy and unambitious appearance, and knowing that she, as a priest, couldn't even find a single idol or religious symbol, Rean knew that she was definitely not a devout believer.

A pastor from a theocratic society must have received a full religious and theological education, and this would also help her avoid brainwashing. Rean was very interested to know how she came to know God.

"Perhaps they are advanced individuals in a special form of existence. They do not seem to be purely material beings. If they can be changed by the prayers and perceptions of believers, it means that they may not even exist in the material dimension, but have already reached the level of consciousness."

When it comes to blasphemy and utter disrespect, alchemists are the real experts. Victoria's words could offend all the churches of the true God, and might even land her at the stake.

"That's good. This time, using divine power and a divine corpse, I need an accomplice, but I lack the knowledge in this area."

Priests may not all be devout, but turning away from God is tantamount to cutting off one's future. Rean is not confident in persuading normal priests to cooperate with him and refuse, but the possibility of leaking information is absolutely unacceptable.

After much thought, Rean meticulously reviewed his network of contacts and discovered that Victoria seemed to be the only one who met the requirements.

This is a rare example of a Dark Elf priest who has betrayed the Dark Elf society. And for the Dark Elf society to betray divine authority is tantamount to betraying the Dark Elf gods.

Even the goddess sisters are not an option. As members of the divine lineage, if they betray the Mirror Maiden, they will likely be completely doomed.

“Interesting. Wait a moment, I’ll go get some religious texts and missionary books.”

Right in front of Rean, Victoria began rummaging through drawers and cupboards, searching for religious books she hadn't read since moving in. Finally, she found them in a pile of books on a table mat under the desk.

Patting the Book of Ecclesiastes, the dark elf coughed from the ash and forced himself to turn a few pages.
"Or, I might go find Alexie."

Rean glanced at it and immediately understood that one side was full of alchemical formulas, while the other side was full of graffiti.

I must say, the stick figure girl fighting the evil dragon is actually quite interesting.

Rean looked at Victoria with a subtle expression. He roughly knew what this person was doing while praying to the Mirror Woman and performing religious rituals.

"No rush, there's something else."

That's actually the key point.

"If nothing unexpected happens, after the inheritance of the heroic spirits, some religious superhumans will be recruited, including several priests."

These people, barring any unforeseen circumstances, should become the core leadership of the New God Church.

Rean has tried his best to elevate the status of paladins, but compared to paladins who wield swords, priests who rely on words will ultimately have no less influence.

“Cough, I can’t trust a complete stranger, especially if they stick together and might exclude outsiders.” Rean didn’t want to be the unlucky one who was excluded. It would be too shameful to work so hard to build the church and then be sidelined or even kicked out.

“I need someone to blend in. Don’t worry, the spirit won’t expose her; she must also be a priest.”

Victoria was immediately dumbfounded. You're actually planting spies among the successors of the Heroic Spirits?! How could you even think of that? But it seems like it might actually work.

There is no certification or succession among the successors of the Heroic Spirits. Once they enter the Hall of Fame, the previous successors can blend in with the new successors. In fact, they can actually inherit the legacy.

The key point is that her identity cannot be exposed, and Victoria has always been very careful. At least the most recent group of hero heirs do not know her true identity. Rean is also confident that he can prevent Dimon and the others from exposing her.

So, what can you gain from Victoria's adventure?
"A struggle for the succession of a hero's soul? The core of a new church seems to have no reason to refuse, but I'm busy."

Victoria thought about it for a moment and decided to refuse.

She really benefited a lot from her involvement, but she probably won't have time to do research anymore.

Rean was a little disappointed, but he didn't try to persuade him further; this matter required the other party's full cooperation.
"Wait, is it enough to just blend in? I have a way I can try."

As she spoke, Victoria snapped her fingers. A "magical puppet" walked in; it was the "bunny girl" who greeted guests.

"Can I bring her back to life and let her blend in?!"

(End of this chapter)