Just became an evil god and was summoned by the saint

Her attitude made Doris even more depressed.

I completely crushed Celia's puppet, so why am I not happy at all? Damn it!

Celia went over to check the puppet's condition and was thinking about how to repair it when Abros's voice came from the side: "Your puppet's materials are too poor, there's no need to repair it. Put away the important parts, make a damage list and give it to Doris, and have her compensate you with one."

Celia looked up and quickly stood up: "Professor Abros."

"Keep the Puppet Heart and the Spell Core safe. The Arcane Forge... it's the school's standard forge, forget about it. This spine is made of decent material, keep it safe. Make a list of the other parts," Abros said with a smile.

Celia was slightly taken aback, feeling that what Abros was saying was a bit out of character, but she still nodded: "Thank you. By the way, Professor Abros, I had some questions during my sparring session just now. Could you help me answer them?"

"of course can."

……

That evening, Doris delivered all the materials to Celia's dormitory according to the list she had given her.

There is also a 1 gold coin compensation, as rune compensation—Chilia requested that these materials not be pre-stamped with runes.

Celia's smile never stopped as she looked at these materials.

"It's decided, from now on, she'll be called Doris the Money-Giving Girl!"

With Ross's guidance and assistance, Celia worked herself to the bone all night.

Because the materials Doris provided were much better than those from the school, they couldn't carve all the runes in one night, only one-fifth of them.

"Are these materials mixed with mithril the same materials used for Doris's puppets? They're so hard to carve."

"No, these materials are not as good as the materials used in her magic puppet, but they are enough for you."

“Hmm…” Celia recalled the overwhelming power of Doris’s puppet’s magic that afternoon, and couldn’t help but mutter, “Is the difference really that big? It felt even more powerful than High Priest Dylan.”

Ross smiled faintly: "If you faced that high priest directly, you wouldn't have said such a thing. Besides, that high priest's puppet uses an artificial puppet heart, which is far weaker than a natural puppet heart."

Even with all its might, an artificially created deity cannot match a single natural deity.

"The Heart of the Natural Puppet greatly amplifies magic. Doris only used basic fire enchantment to create such power, which even surpasses the power of second-tier magic used by sorcerers."

Ross couldn't help but sigh.

It's no wonder that the world is focusing so much on developing puppet technology while neglecting its own spiritual cultivation.

Even the most talented sorcerer's fireball spell cannot compare to the "Divine Fireball" spell enhanced by divine power.

The advancement of sorcerers and the replacement of materials are all in service of better aligning with divine status.

"Why don't I feel any improvement at all?" Celia looked at the Puppet Heart.

"You don't actually think that just because you're a first-tier mage, you can freely shape the Mage's Hand and turn it into a mental probe to lock onto a target, do you?" Ross chuckled.

"Isn't it possible?"

Celia tried it on the spot, and finally finished by turning her mage's hand into a mage's staff, which greatly depleted her mental energy.

"Okay, that won't work."

……

Over the next few days and the weekend, Celia spent all her time, apart from attending classes, making new magical puppets.

Doris's puppet ignited a strong desire in her to catch up, and she finally became more diligent.

However, progress was still slow, and the brand-new puppet was not completed until Sunday.

Except for the Puppet Heart, the Spell Core, and the Spine, all other parts were replaced.

The brand-new puppet, Celia, was designed with Ross's image in mind, and it bears a striking resemblance.

Seeing this, Ross couldn't help but laugh and said, "Aren't you afraid that if you make a puppet in my image, the heretics will find out and think you're a heretic?"

“No.” Celia chuckled. “Whether it’s the Holy Court or a heretic, the image of the evil god Ross recorded is different from yours.”

Ross thought about it and agreed.

The twelve main gods went to great lengths to seal him away, and they certainly wouldn't allow him to break through using external forces. His portrait has probably long been buried in the dust of history.

All later portraits are based on imagination using erroneous written descriptions.

After the puppet was completed, Celia immediately went to the library and applied to the school for the magical memory crystals she needed to transfer them into the puppet's spell core.

The school's memory crystals are not free; the starting price is 10 gold coins, and the price varies depending on the rarity and tier.

However, since Celia is a prospective saintess, she doesn't need to pay yet; she can pay later when she has the money, or she can get it for free after becoming a saintess.

"There are three spells in total: Slowing Water, Ice Wall, and Ice Blade Impact. These provide slowing, defense, and area-of-effect attacks. Combined with the lock-on effect of Mage's Hand, and the Ice Spike and Holy Word spells I've learned, I should be able to put up a fight."

"The Mage's Hand is the core skill; using it merely as a bullet time is a waste of its potential," Ross said.

Is it really the core?

Celia expressed skepticism about this magic that only allowed her to steal other people's things.

Ross didn't speak, but simply controlled the puppet to use the Mage's Hand, aiming it at a piece of metal plate that had been cut off and mixed with mithril.

bass!

The mithril metal, which had been poked with a chisel for a long time without being able to make a hole, was immediately pierced with a hole, just like it had been pierced by a bullet.

"See that? Once you've fully mastered the Mage's Hand, it can help you open the lid on your enemy's forehead."

Celia stared at the hole she had punched, remaining silent for a long time before whispering, "It's so useful... why didn't you use it to drill holes in metal earlier?"

Ross: "?"

Chapter 47 Clues to Heretical Strongholds

The puppet was completely renovated, and the first thing to do was to familiarize myself with everything about it.

However, before Celia could get used to it for long, a message came through her bracelet.

It wasn't Celia's own bracelet; it was obtained in Bea Village, and it was a purified Duke bracelet.

Celia always carried the bracelet with the Duke spirit ring.

It wasn't that she liked collecting things related to the dead, but rather that Duke's father, Emma, ​​wanted Celia to find Duke's brother, Eric, to confirm his situation and whether he had truly joined the cult.

If someone joins a heretical sect, try to persuade them to repent. If you can't persuade them, then...

Emma didn't say anything more, but Celia understood what she wanted to say.

Their only way of contacting Eric was through the bracelet he gave them.

Duke would go to Cedar Town at specific times to buy necessities and see if Eric had messaged him.

And now, Celia has finally gotten what she's been waiting for.

“Eric doesn’t know what happened in Bea Village yet, that makes things easier.”

Celia read the message Eric sent her.

Upon hearing about the unusual phenomena at Lake Baikal, the other party requested that Duke provide some samples so that he could take them to the organization he had joined for research.

Upon seeing the message, Celia waited until the time Emma specified before replying, saying that she would bring the items over the next day and asking where they should be delivered.

"Take some samples of white fish and send them to Crimson Town."

Upon seeing Eric's reply, Celia was slightly taken aback. "It's not Cedar Town after all."

She checked the location of Crimson Town, which is between Snowflake Town and Ember City, about 300 kilometers away from Ember City, neither too close nor too far.

"This distance only takes a few hours to fly there. Let's set off tomorrow!" Celia exclaimed excitedly.

Dealing with heretics can be done at any time, and the Holy See will use it as a performance evaluation criterion.

Eric can be confirmed to be only a first-tier mage, and has only been a mage for about a year.

If she couldn't even handle heretics of this caliber, Celia felt she shouldn't even dream of becoming a saint.

"Is one heretic enough to satisfy you?" Ross's leisurely voice came.

Celia, who was about to pack her things, paused. "What do you mean?"

"Currently, Eric is unaware of what's happening in the village. He's planning to take samples for research, so why not just take down his stronghold?"

Celia's hand trembled. "Take down the stronghold?"

"Of course, the other side is caught off guard, which is the best opportunity."

"I think I..."

"what are you worried about?"

"I'm worried they have powerful sorcerers and puppets, and I'll get myself into trouble."

"No need to worry about those below the third tier of magic."

"What about the fourth level?"

"I'm asking you, what level is a fourth-tier mage?"

"Very strong. At the university, the minimum requirement for a mentor is fourth-level."

"Do you think fourth-tier is common, especially in a small town?"

"Then...go?"

“Of course I’ll go.” Ross said without room for argument. “I’ll teach you disguise. Tomorrow you’ll disguise yourself as Eric’s brother and go to the outpost with him.”

"..."

The next day, Celia asked for leave from school, saying she wanted to continue taking on commissions.

Taking into account Celia's special circumstances (referring to poverty), the school approved her leave of absence, but required her not to fall behind in her studies.

After a while, Celia arrived at Crimson Town, which Eric had mentioned.

This small town is named after a red spring called "Crimson Spring" located nearby.

"It is said that this crimson spring was formed during the great battle between the twelve main gods and the evil god. The evil god's heart fell into this place and turned into a spring, which forever gushes out crimson water."

Celia explains the origin of the Crimson Spring to Ross:

"The water that originally gushed from the deep red spring was heavily polluted. Later, through the persistent purification efforts of the gods, the spring was no longer polluted, but only possessed rich magic."

"However, the magic of the source cannot be absorbed directly. It requires complex processing, which is too costly. As a result, no nobles or sorcerers are willing to take on this purification work, so it is left to flow freely."

"Later, although no one processed the Crimson Spring, many people settled here because of the research on the Crimson Spring, and it became the Crimson Town we know today."

Rose became interested in the Crimson Fountain.

"After this is all over, let's go check out the Crimson Spring."

"Do you want to see your corpse?" Celia blurted out, then realized her mistake and quickly added, "I meant..."

“Yes,” Ross interrupted her explanation, laughing, “I just want to know what my ‘corpse’ looks like.”

He really wanted to see what the gods were really talking about.

Let's see what this crimson spring is all about, and whether it's really that sinister.

After arriving in Crimson Town, Celia's appearance had already changed.

The disguise technique that Ross taught Celia was not a physical disguise, but a disguise achieved using mental power and magic. It belonged to the dark magic school, which used magic to distort light and simulate shaping to become the appearance of someone else.

Mental power is used to alter one's voice, transforming it into the sound the target wants to hear after being enhanced by mental power, which is equivalent to casting an illusion on the target.

Duke's wristband contained a video of him, pretending that Duke had not encountered any difficulties.

The only difficulty was that the magic might not be enough, but Ross easily solved that.

"I'll control the puppet. You go and make contact with Eric yourself. After all, you're his 'brother' now, a swordsman who has just become a first-tier mage."

Ross controlled the puppet to wave at Celia and cast a disguise spell on himself, then strolled around the town.

"Celia's mental strength has improved somewhat after this period of training, and the puppet's range of activity has expanded, which is not bad."

Ross assessed the general range of the puppet's movement and was quite satisfied.

With the help of the Mage's Hand and the Sleep Meditation Technique, both Celia's magical power and mental strength are steadily improving.

"At this rate, in a few months I will be able to attempt to ascend to the second stage of the Divine Ascension Path and become a second-tier mage."

"Speaking of which, the gods have fallen silent, and the cultivation system is still the same as ascending to godhood and advancing through the ranks. As a result, there are very few people who can surpass the human limit of the sixth rank, let alone reach the tenth rank to condense a divine spark and ascend to godhood."

Ross strongly suspects that before the gods fell silent, they imposed some special restrictions to limit humanity from surpassing its limits.