Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 7 The Clergy

The system's enlightenment allowed Lu Ran to see the possibility of magic, but based on the information he currently had, he felt that the extraordinary that Anthony spoke of was not magic, but another completely different path to transcendence.

Upon hearing Lu Ran's question, Anthony chuckled twice, but made no attempt to hide anything.

"Those who are extraordinary can also be called clergy. After taking the potion, they can integrate the potion with their understanding of the gods and continuously advance in rank. However, the formula for this kind of divinely bestowed potion is currently only available in the seven major churches. The Abundance Sanctuary and the Holy Light Church each have one, and the corresponding gods are the Mother of Life and the Lord of Holy Light, respectively."

Lu Ran asked curiously.

"Is your current natural association considered one of the seven major churches?"

"No, the foundation of the seven churches is the god they believe in, and the potion is also a gift from the god to believers. Our current association is nothing more than a rabble of people who escaped due to differing beliefs and reunited."

Lu Ran was stunned.

"So, extraordinary advancement depends entirely on the church; they can only grant you advancement if they allow it?"

Anthony frowned and denied it, saying, "It doesn't depend on the church, but on God. If one doesn't have a proper understanding of God's system of knowledge and takes potions indiscriminately, one will only lose control and die."

Lu Ran rolled his eyes, instinctively wanting to say that this was not the same thing, but noticing Anthony's displeasure, he decided not to argue with him about it and went along with it.

"Then how do I obtain the potion?"

Anthony glanced at Lu Ran, as if he had seen through his thoughts: "The gods have not granted any beings other than humans the right to worship. Even if you get the potion, you can't take it. Besides, with my current identity, I can't get my hands on a first-stage potion."

Lu Ran choked, somewhat puzzled, and said, "So you went through all that trouble to make animals intelligent just so they could chat with you? I thought it was to build an army of extraordinary animals."

"My goal is harmony with nature, not to start new wars."

Anthony squinted and looked at Lu Ran meaningfully.

Why did you come up with this idea?

Lu Ran's heart pounded as she realized she had said the wrong thing.

The guy in front of me was actually just putting his beliefs into practice; he didn't actually want animals to acquire supernatural abilities.

While feeling tense, I also inexplicably felt a sense of relief.

Doesn't this mean that the enlightenment from his own system, his own transmigration, and his ritual were unrelated, and that the other party's judgment of him was actually based on the original body of that ordinary mouse who possessed intelligence?

Thinking this to himself, he hurriedly explained, "I've been watching too much news. They say there are constant border clashes with the Holy Orion Empire, and they often spread alarmist rumors about some secret weapon."

Anthony stared calmly at Lu Ran, then looked away.

"However, your current thinking is very close to that of a human. In this situation, the gods may allow your faith. If you are not afraid of death, you can try it when you have the opportunity."

"Chance?"

Lu Ran looked at Anthony with a puzzled expression, but the other party just said casually.

"You don't need to worry about that for now. Just focus on being Sherlock the detective. If I don't tell you some things, you'll keep getting involved in supernatural events. Now that you understand the pros and cons, it's time to put an end to this coin incident."

While Lu Ran remained silent, Anthony unknowingly circled around and led Lu Ran back to the entrance of the original medium's shop. This time, however, they did not stop but went straight inside.

"Although you stumbled upon this medium's shop by accident, you did manage to find one of their offices for recruiting new church members. You were discovered as soon as you arrived at the door, Mr. Sherlock, who is so self-important."

Anthony's tone was warning.

crunch.

The door opened, and when Lu Ran saw the interior, his eyes widened in shock.

Inside the room, a woman dressed as a psychic, wearing a black hood and with her face painted, was tightly bound by thorny vines. Her eyes were bulging, and she was lifeless. It seemed that she had silently dealt with Anthony while he was talking to her.

"I've solved it for you this time. Don't be so reckless with the unknown next time."

Lu Ran's heart was pounding wildly.

Was this a threat to him? Before he could think further, Anthony looked at him warmly again and gently put him down on the ground.

"Now I'm going to leave some traces of our presence. You can go back and digest today's conversation. If you have time, you can mobilize your rat swarm to help me search the sewers and see if you can find the sacred relic I lost. As for its appearance, it's a green seed. You can also call it the Seed of Abundance."

"Okay, definitely."

Lu Ran agreed repeatedly, but showed no intention of leaving, standing there looking as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

Anthony asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"

Lu Ran pointed sheepishly to the coin Anthony was playing with in his hand: "That...mine..."

Anthony was taken aback and looked at Lu Ran to remind him.

"Keeping this thing around will do more harm than good to you. If you can't bear to part with it, then keep it. I wouldn't steal such a basic relic from you."

After saying that, he casually tossed it out.

"However, if you use it recklessly and cause a life-threatening disaster, I won't be there to clean up your mess."

Lu Ran said awkwardly, "The main reason is that the commission requires this coin."

"Ah."

Anthony didn't seem to believe it or not, but he changed the subject.

“Speaking of cases,” Anthony cautioned. “Your firm is registered using my information. Recently, some private investigators have been trying to find out more about it and ended up at my firm. I took care of a few cases myself. If they’re not satisfied, they might come back for more. Be careful.”

Lu Ran paused for a few seconds, nodded his thanks, then picked up the coin and ran out the door. As soon as he left the medium shop, he urged the other mice to run away quickly, not daring to rest for a moment.

This guy is a complete wolf in sheep's clothing.

Despite his seemingly gentle and welcoming demeanor, Lu Ran felt uneasy, as if he were dealing with a tiger, worried that this guy might kill him at any moment.

I don't know how much of what this person says can be believed.

"call."

Lu Ran let out a long sigh to relieve the pressure in his heart. He had learned a lot, but it seemed that he had fallen into an even bigger vortex of mystery. This feeling was really uncomfortable.

One-Ear asked worriedly, "Boss, are you alright?"

Lu Ran smiled and waved his hand: "It's nothing, it's nothing, I just thought of some things that are bothering me."

One-Ear said dejectedly, "I'm sorry, I... I can't help you."

"What are you saying?" Lu Ran chuckled, rubbing the hairy head of One-Ear. "You've already helped me a lot, but some external factors come suddenly and can't be solved by us at this stage. Just like that person who manipulated us so easily, he also has his own worries and fears. You don't need to feel guilty about it."

One ear was still looking down, and it was unclear whether it was listening at all.

Lu Ran remembered Anthony's last reminder and spoke up.

Have you noticed any strange people around the office lately?

One-Ear's attention was clearly diverted, and he looked bewildered: "I...I'll go back and ask a few Sentinel Rats."

Lu Ran nodded, then gave One Ear a good rub on its head as encouragement.

"Don't miss any details, especially those who linger at the door, even if it's not a repeat face. Observe carefully."

The rats might have overlooked this kind of complex information before, only observing that a hostile, armed target was approaching. I wonder if this special reminder will make them pay more attention. After all, Anthony has said so much, so it's not like he would let such a small thing slip by unnecessarily.

"understand!"

(End of this chapter)