Chapter 4: Fertility Goddess
Everyone was dumbfounded.
As everyone knew, a person might be given the wrong name, but they were never given the wrong nickname.
"Fertility Goddess" was the players' mocking moniker for the "Offspring Priest" class. When Priests of [Birth] blessed or healed their companions, there was a chance their targets would "become pregnant," hence the name.
This side effect from the god's blessing didn't actually make anyone truly pregnant. The impregnated organ wasn't limited to the uterus, the thing being conceived was never anything resembling a proper life form, and the taxonomy was a free-for-all across kingdoms, phyla, orders, and families. The appearances ranged far and wide, limited only by imagination.
The will of [Birth] exalted reproduction, which was why channeling divine power could trigger all sorts of laugh-or-cry scenarios of "passive conception."
But don't underestimate this accidental "impregnation." For every "new life" gestating inside the healed target, the healing effect they received increased by an additional thirty percent.
That made Offspring Priests healers with an extraordinarily generous output.
Song Yawen waved his hands frantically, shaking his head as fast as a desk fan.
"Brother, I'm begging you, don't heal me. I'd rather take my chances with a Priest of opposing faith than let you swell up my belly!"
How could he show his face in public after something like that?
Was he supposed to tell people he'd been "impregnated" by a male teammate's "child"?
Nangong was also stunned. She was grateful that Cheng Shi had voluntarily exposed his faith to help the team accept her, but with the other two members' beliefs still unknown, she still didn't dare reveal her own.
After all, players of the [Corruption] Destiny were widely maligned.
Even if she and Cheng Shi weren't opposed.
Xia Wan, standing to the side, noticed Nangong's internal struggle. This told her that Nangong wasn't an enemy of [Birth], which came as an unexpected relief. Her face remained frozen, but she stated flatly:
"I'm a Genesis Hunter."
A Genesis Hunter: a Hunter who worshipped [Birth].
"?"
Everyone was surprised that someone as icy as Xia Wan had chosen to follow [Birth]. Only Song Yawen's expression darkened.
He had also realized that Nangong was no enemy of [Birth], but the [Life] and [Corruption] Destinies each contained only three gods, which meant there was a fifty-percent chance she was his enemy.
Just as he was agonizing over whether to confess his faith, Chen Chong waved a hand and cut through the chatter.
"Destiny conflicts aren't our fault, and we don't need to shoulder undue pressure over them. Since the two Priests aren't opposed, we simply split the healing duties."
He pointed at Nangong, then indicated himself and Cao Sansui:
"Nangong covers the Mage and me. As for the [Life] believers, sort yourselves out."
He then turned to Xia Wan:
"Since you're one of His followers, I assume you won't object to Cheng Shi?"
Xia Wan cast a passing glance at the reasonably attractive Offspring Priest. Her expression didn't change as she gave a faint nod.
"…"
The Hunter's icy face betrayed no embarrassment. It was Cheng Shi's expression that turned exceedingly delicate.
And the even more delicate one was Song Yawen.
It appeared he would have to accept healing from a Fertility Goddess after all.
Chen Chong naturally assumed command of the group. Seeing no objections, he continued:
"Enough chitchat. The trial includes a preparation period. We don't yet understand the cause of this war, so it's unwise to leave our spawn point rashly. During the prep window, everyone should complete their [Rite of Communion] as quickly as possible, and then we'll find a suitable defensive position."
The [Rite of Communion] was the ceremony through which players beseeched their respective gods for blessing.
When a player chose to worship a particular god, that god would grant an initial [Faith Talent], essentially a game skill. As players reached different ranking tiers, the talent cap would unlock, and higher-tier Faith Talents would be bestowed.
These talents would dramatically enhance a player's combat ability, and even serve as the foundation for each player's unique class build.
Naturally, talents were divided into active and passive. To use active talents during a trial, players had to first perform their god's Rite of Communion at the start of every trial.
For example, [Birth]'s Rite of Communion was "Embrace reproduction; create new life."
In plain terms: mate.
Want to get stronger? Start mating.
As the foremost god of the [Life] Destiny, [Birth] was both the prelude to existence and the origin of all things. He[1] united yin and yang and exalted reproduction.
To seek His blessing, one had to lead by example.
But since trials were randomly matched and everyone was a stranger, no one was going to overcome their awkwardness and shame to help out simply because "a follower of [Birth] really needs to mate."
Consequently, this [Rite of Communion] was notoriously difficult to fulfill perfectly.
But humans were nothing if not resourceful.
When a problem couldn't be solved through conventional means, people inevitably devised all manner of unorthodox workarounds and circuitous solutions.
On the matter of mating, there existed many operations that differed in form but captured the same spirit. For instance…
Self-gratification.
This magnificent invention had saved countless introverted followers of [Birth], yet it had also drawn the ire of certain players.
Someone had once taken to [Birth]'s faith channel to publicly denounce the player who devised this workaround, furiously calling it blasphemy against the divine.
But this accusation was swatted back by a coalition of silver-tongued "heretics" from a most peculiar angle.
They argued:
When performing [Birth]'s Rite of Communion, as long as one's thoughts were focused on [Him], then it was not blasphemy but an offering.
As for what was being offered…
Cough, those who knew, knew.
No one could say for certain whether He liked it, but no one dared to say He didn't, since He exalted reproduction.
However… today's situation was different.
Here, in the flesh, were two followers of [Birth].
One male, one female.
Everyone took this in stride, tacitly dispersed, and began preparing their individual Rites of Communion.
Only Cheng Shi and Xia Wan remained rooted in place, motionless, neither uttering a word.
The awkwardness was of the toe-curling, cramp-inducing variety.
Cheng Shi wore a smile, but his face was essentially frozen stiff.
He never in a million years expected that this glacial Huntress was a follower of [Birth]. If he'd known it would come to this, he might as well have revealed his true faith.
What a disaster!
Fortunately, Xia Wan didn't seem the least bit awkward. Her face remained as frigid as ever. Seeing that Cheng Shi hadn't spoken up for ages, she actually broke the silence first:
"Together, or separately?"
Truth be told, Xia Wan was attractive.
Short hair, clean and sharp, with striking, angular features. Since the lady herself wasn't opposed, perhaps…
"Separately. I like men."
Cheng Shi rubbed his hands together coyly as he delivered this line.
"?"
Xia Wan's frozen expression cracked for the first time. Her suspicious gaze swept up and down Cheng Shi's body for a long moment before she let out an odd "Mm" and turned away.
Only when she was gone did Cheng Shi quietly exhale in relief.
Good lord, he'd nearly talked himself into a trap.
If he'd actually agreed, then failed to receive [Birth]'s blessing after performing the Rite, wouldn't his entire lie have been wasted?
Being caught in a lie was secondary. Impersonating a follower of [Birth] to complete the Rite of Communion…
Looked at from any angle, it smacked of obtaining certain favors under false pretenses.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and was about to begin his own Rite when he suddenly frowned, turned to one side, and murmured toward a certain corner:
"Enjoying the show?"
"…"
Song Yawen, hidden in the shadows, never expected Cheng Shi to have noticed him. Recoiling as though he'd seen a ghost, he retreated while shaking his head frantically:
"Sorry, force of habit. Not good-looking. No, no, no, I'm not good-looking, you're good-looking. Brother, I like women, really, we're not a match, a forced melon is never sweet, I'm leaving now, haven't finished my Rite yet, bye!"
Song Yawen scrambled away in a panic. Cheng Shi frowned at the spot where the man had been hiding: a triangular shadow formed by an intact wall foundation.
He walked over thoughtfully, kicked aside the rubble beneath the shadow with his foot, and discovered a freshly dead white mouse beneath the ruins.
"A follower of [Death]. Interesting."
This brief interlude didn't disrupt Cheng Shi's rhythm much. He scanned his surroundings, confirmed no one was watching, and slowly unfurled his right hand.
In the blink of an eye, a six-sided die materialized on his palm from thin air.
The die's faces were pale as bone, but the pips gleamed like gold.
Cheng Shi's lips curled into a playful arc as he prayed to the die with deep reverence:
"Lies of yesterday, scorned by today.
Yesterday I deceived a follower of [Birth], so today…
I am a follower of [Birth]."
The words had barely faded when an invisible, ethereal ripple pulsed outward from the die, gradually enveloping Cheng Shi's entire body.
A flash of sharp light sparked in Cheng Shi's eyes as the radiance of [Birth] surged within his pupils.
[Rite of Communion] complete. Blessing received.
Today, Cheng Shi was a follower of [Birth]: an Offspring Priest.
…
[1]: The original Chinese uses 祂 (the divine pronoun) throughout this passage, which is gender-neutral. The English rendering uses "He" and "Him" in imitation of the capitalized pronoun convention used for deities, while preserving the sense of formal worship.
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