Just became an evil god and was summoned by the saint.

Chapter 532 Mission Master
The first-tier mutated Misaka Scorpion and Sandworm posed no challenge to Celia.

Soon, she had gathered enough, and returned to the village with the tail of the mutated scorpion and the crystal core from the sandworm's head. She went to the village chief's door and handed them over to the two guards.

Just as Celia was about to say something, she suddenly sensed something and looked up at the Ascension Staircase in the sky.

Just as she was handing over the items, she felt the Ascension Staircase become a little more solid.

A guess popped into her mind.

"Could it be that this ascension trial is just about me completing one 'task' after another?"

Thinking about it, Celia shook her head again.

That's not right either. If things continue like this, it won't be long before the monsters outside become so powerful that they're difficult to kill. At that point... I'm afraid I'll fail the Ascension Trial, right?

Ross watched the whole time, occasionally saying a word, but he didn't interfere with Celia's choices or guesses.

Celia had no intention of asking Ross for guidance; the ascension trial was her own business. If she had to rely on the gods for that, what difference would she have from a salted fish?

After obtaining the item, the guards made way for Celia to enter.

"Please come in, the village chief is already waiting for you inside, traveler from the outside world."

"Thank you."

Celia walked into the courtyard and looked at the house in front of her; the gate was already open.

Although she didn't know why the village had wooden doors, she didn't think much of it since this wasn't the real world.

Before Celia went into the house, an old man, about fifty or sixty years old, came out with a cane.

The other person looked Celia up and down and said, "Welcome to Misha Town, traveler from afar. I am the village chief of Misha Town. You can call me the village chief of Misha Town."

Celia: "..."

Okay, although the name is a bit outrageous, it's still within the normal range compared to the two 'tasks' we encountered.

Celia pointed to the heavenly staircase and asked directly, "Village Chief, I came here in search of the heavenly staircase. Could you tell me about it and how to climb it?"

The village chief looked up at the illusory figure ascending the long staircase and sighed, "Well asked, traveler from afar. You are not the first traveler to seek it out, nor will you be the last."

"Legend has it that this staircase is called the Ascension Staircase to Godhood. Those who can climb it will possess unparalleled power, comparable to that of the gods. Everyone is drawn to it, but in the end... they all return empty-handed."

Celia asked, "Is there a way to get up there?"

“I don’t know how to get up there either.” The village chief sighed. “Legend has it that only the lucky ones blessed by the gods can go up there; legend has it that only sorcerers who know how to use the power of the gods can go up there; legend has it…”

Celia listened patiently to the village chief's rambling, silently extracting what she needed from it.

After some questioning, Celia gleaned a number of clues from the village chief's ramblings.

The steps to godhood are intangible and only gradually solidify under certain specific circumstances.

After it has completely solidified, it will emit light. After a period of time, the light will dim and turn into a mirage-like phantom.

In other words, after the solidification, you need to climb up within a limited time, otherwise you will lose the opportunity.

The consequences of missing an opportunity are obvious.

In these specific circumstances, besides completing various tasks within the village, it is necessary to utilize unique external conditions.

The village chief's response was ambiguous, and Celia had no idea what the strange conditions from the outside world referred to.

As for quests, the village chief said that some travelers had been doing quests like crazy, which made the Ascension Steps gradually solidify, but in the end, the Ascension Steps did not complete their solidification.

In other words, simply completing tasks is not enough; one must also seek out 'unusual external conditions'.

In addition, the village chief mentioned something else.

Even if it solidifies, it's impossible to get up there. As for how to get up there, the village chief doesn't know.

"Should we solidify the Ascension Staircase first?"

Celia fell into deep thought.

There are two steps to completing the Ascending Trial: solidifying the stairs and climbing them.

The former has a lead, but the latter knows nothing at all.

Compared to the former, the latter is actually the most important.

After a moment's thought, Celia thought of the various animals hiding in the sand outside and asked, "Village Chief, if we continue to kill those sand scorpions and the like, will they become stronger and stronger, without any limit?"

The village chief nodded: "Yes, the monsters outside will get stronger and stronger. When you kill 10,000 of them, each scorpion will have the power to destroy Misha Town."

Celia nodded. "Thank you."

After bidding farewell to the village chief, Celia looked at the phantom of the divine staircase in the sky and sighed.

"This is so troublesome. Why can't we just kill the monsters?"

All the knowledge from the Divine Realm Simulation Course is completely useless in the Deep Divine Realm.

Given her current situation, even if she solidifies the Divine Ascension Steps, she will ultimately be unable to ascend.

Since the Ascension Steps are high in the sky, at least several hundred meters high, the method used by those in the shallower divine realms to condense steps under their feet with magic is obviously not feasible.

"Or could we build a spiral staircase up there?"

Celia had a bold idea.

But a spiral staircase, hundreds of meters high... Celia felt that she probably couldn't control herself to that extent.

Destruction with magic is much easier than construction; this kind of delicate work is perhaps only possible after reaching the fourth rank.

Just as Celia was frowning, Ross chuckled and said, "Have you forgotten the difference between the third and fourth tiers?"

"Using external magic... Does Lord Ross mean that using external magic can solve the problem?"

Ross shook his head: "Of course it's not that simple. I'm just giving you a heads-up."

He looked up at the ascending staircase in the sky and smiled slightly: "Instead of guessing here, why not solidify it first and experience it for yourself?"

"Lord Ross is right. Although the time limit is after it is solidified, if we don't call it out, we can't complete the Ascension Trial by just watching it."

So, Celia took action.

Following the village chief's instructions, she began to wander around the village, completing tasks assigned by one villager after another.

The villagers had all sorts of tasks, most of which involved hunting various small animals outside, including sand scorpions, sandworms, lizards, ants, spiders, and a whole host of others.

As Celia hunts, the various small animals outside gradually grow larger.

Before long, all the small animals turned into monsters and possessed the strength of the third tier.

Its size also changed from the size of a palm to the size of a head.

At the same time, the ascension staircase in the sky slowly solidified, just one step away from being completely solidified as the village chief had said.

"The peculiar external conditions seem to indicate that it involves the use of external magic."

Celia raised her hand, and ice blades appeared in her palm. She slowly sensed the magic power in the outside world and used her meager ice magic power.

As it was activated, the steps leading to the divine palace slowly began to glow.

(End of this chapter)