Just became an evil god and was summoned by the saint

“It’s a trap,” Ross said. “The magic circle at this base has a self-destruct rune added to it, and it’s already triggered, just waiting for the last condition to be met.”

"What's the last condition?"

"Fighting within the magic circle will cause chaotic magic to instantly activate the circle's self-destruct runes, burying everyone underground."

Celia, who was surveying her surroundings, suddenly narrowed her eyes. "So Eric deliberately leaked this to me, so that I could lead Principal Blake and the others into the base and then bury us all?"

"No, that kid is a pure 50... cough, a pure traitor. The one who activated the self-destruct array was that fleeing shark. He ran away quickly; once one stronghold was discovered, he abandoned the others."

Even Rose was somewhat impressed.

Such a cautious person, why not do something else but become a heretic?

Just as Celia was hesitating about whether to go in, Blake and the others noticed their situation and rushed over.

"Where's the shark? Why hasn't it appeared?" Elena asked, looking at Eric behind Celia with a puzzled expression.

“I don’t know,” Eric answered honestly.

"You don't know?" Elena frowned and reached out to press her hand on his head from a distance.

After a long pause, she put her hand down. "The pollution has penetrated to the bone marrow. There's no saving her. Just wait to die."

"That bastard, he didn't even know how to take advantage of such a good opportunity. There's no other way but to go in and find him." Principal Blake said, holding a Holy Light spell and examining the entrance to the tree hole.

Celia quickly said, "Don't rush in. That shark has already activated the self-destruct rune of this stronghold's magic circle. If you go in, you'll be buried alive."

"What?" The knights and Eric were taken aback.

"That bastard is too cunning! Did they know we were coming all along?"

"Could there be a traitor among us?"

"Really? I don't believe the cave can self-destruct. I want to go in and see."

"..."

Blake turned around and looked at Celia. "How did you know?"

"I...I know a little about magic arrays."

Celia lowered her head slightly.

When she said she had some knowledge of magic arrays in front of a group of fourth-tier experts, Celia's cheeks turned bright red.

How embarrassing! I'll be laughed at, won't I?

To everyone's surprise, Blake didn't say anything, and none of the other knights raised any objections; they just looked at each other, seemingly lost in thought.

Finally, Blake spoke up: "So, none of you specialize in magic arrays?"

The knights lowered their heads in shame.

As knights, they only believed in the sword in their hands; they had no time to study magic circles.

Let alone magic arrays, even with magic puppets, people only know how to use them but not their principles or how they are made.

This is normal, though, because it's like they're all good at programming, but none of them know how to build a computer.

The higher the level of the rune, the more complex it is. Apart from puppeteers, sorcerers, and array masters who specialize in runes, very few other people can understand magic circles.

Finally, Blake had no choice but to look at Celia again.

"Let's have our Saintess handle this. You said the magic circle at this base has activated a self-destruct rune. Is there any way to remove the self-destruct rune?"

Celia remained silent for a long time, seemingly doing nothing.

However, everyone present was very patient, and no one urged her.

Knights who only know how to fight have always respected the support-oriented mage profession, because their armor, swords, puppets, and even magic were all developed by those people.

After a long while, Celia finally asked Ross to help her resolve the self-destruct rune, and she looked up with a smile that said, "I've worked so hard."

"Phew~ I prayed to the gods and got a way to get rid of the self-destruct rune. Watch 'my' work!"

Chapter 57 Faith and Spiritual Objects

Celia led the way, with Blake following behind, as they entered the cave hidden in the tree hollow.

Elena stood behind Blake, looking at Celia's back with some confusion.

As her mentor, Elena had a lot of contact with Celia, and she felt that Celia was a little different at this moment.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's as if I've lost some of my innocence and gained more confidence and an arrogance that looks down on everything...?

However, due to her busy schedule with schoolwork and cult-related tasks, Elena wasn't very familiar with Celia and only felt that she had grown up.

As for the others, they only met Celia today, so they are even less aware of Celia's changes.

She hasn't changed much, except that she's now fighting under an evil god.

"The final trigger condition for the self-destruct rune is fighting inside the stronghold. There should be many assassins waiting for us inside the stronghold now, so we can't fight them."

"Celia," or rather, "Ross said as he walked."

He walked at a fast pace, as if he didn't care about the self-destruct rune at all.

He certainly didn't take it seriously.

Seeing his expression, the others were no longer so worried.

Except for Blake.

As soon as he entered, he sensed a faint but palpable sense of danger. Unlike the others who were relaxed, he was now on high alert, carefully sensing everything around him.

At the slightest sign of trouble, he would immediately use the hidden protective scroll and summon a golem to resist the power of the self-destruct rune, buying time to escape.

"Your name is Eric, right? Do you know the layout of this base?"

Blake turned to look at Eric, who was being watched by the two knights on either side, and asked.

Eric was not only being watched, but all his magic was also sealed.

This was done to ensure that Eric wouldn't suddenly betray them and use a spell after they had penetrated deep into the stronghold, causing the self-destruct rune to be triggered.

"I don't know. I've only been here once. I just remember that after a few more turns, we should reach the base gate. You guys keep an eye out... Huh?"

As he spoke, Eric suddenly paused, looked around, and asked in confusion, "This place seems unfamiliar. I remember it wasn't like this last time I came. Was there a second passage?"

Blake's expression changed, and he immediately summoned the puppet.

"Attention all!"

Ross glanced at them. "This is the passage for maintaining the magic circle. It's normal that he doesn't know. You guys keep quiet. I'm modifying the magic circle to prevent 'Shark' from discovering our arrival."

"Oh, that's how it is."

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Blake's face, but he didn't put the puppet away.

"Are sharks in this stronghold?" a knight asked curiously.

"Are you asking me?" Ross turned around.

The other person nodded.

"do not know."

"..."

Before long, Ross arrived at the same place as the magic circle core of the previous stronghold.

Inside a stone house, filled with runes, one wall shimmered with a red light.

Ross took a close look at the plate on the central table of the stone house. On it lay something that looked like fish scales, quietly.

The fish scales were so unassuming that everyone else was drawn to the shimmering runes and didn't notice them.

Only Blake glanced at it thoughtfully, but ultimately said nothing, turning his head to look at the flashing runes.

"This is the self-destruct rune. Wait for me a moment." Ross then picked up the fish scales and put them in Celia's small bag, and said to everyone.

As he spoke, he took out his carving knife, preparing to use his mental power to lift Celia's body and float up. But thinking of Celia's strength, he turned back to Elena and said, "Teacher Elena, please use your magic to lift me up. I need to go to the upper left corner."

“Okay.” Elena did as she was told and used wind magic.

Just then, the stone wall runes that were slowly flashing red light suddenly began to flash violently.

"Oh no, the self-destruct rune has been triggered!" Elena's expression changed.

Others were also stunned.

No, I came here very carefully, but at the last moment I used a little magic and the self-destruct rune was triggered?

There's a sense of bewilderment, like when you've painstakingly simmered Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, only to accidentally spill the whole pot at the last minute before opening it.

Everyone summoned their puppets in preparation for the magic circle to explode.

Only Ross was unaffected. He felt Elena lift him up with her wind magic, then she made a few cuts on the magic circle. The red runes that were flashing were instantly destroyed, and the red light slowly dimmed.

After finishing, he returned to the ground. "What a fuss! It's all settled. We can move on now."

After saying that, he returned control of his body to Celia.

"Keep the fish scale I just took safe, don't lose it."

"Oh, okay." Celia, having just regained control of her body, paused for a moment, feeling the cold temperature of the fish scales seeping through her bag, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "What are these fish scales?"

“Collecting spiritual objects of faith. There are people in this Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association who collect faith.”

"Collecting faith...? What's the use?"

"It's for becoming a god, but it's not very useful. For me, its only function is to locate the absorber."

"Is becoming a god useless?"

Celia subconsciously touched the small bag.

For a fleeting moment, she was captivated by the fish scale.

The cultivation system in this world is called the Ascension to Godhood, which has a total of ten steps.

To determine whether someone can become a sorcerer, one must see whether, after meditation, they see a very, very, very long staircase in their mind.

Standing on the first step makes you a first-tier mage. What you need to do next is accumulate power until you can step onto the next step and then climb to an even higher one.

Each step you take elevates you to a higher rank, granting access to more powerful spells, stronger puppets, and enhanced abilities of the Puppet Heart.

No sorcerer doesn't want to become a god, but the limit that ordinary humans can reach is only the sixth rank, which is four ranks away from becoming a god, and then that's it.

The limits of humanity are too far removed from Celia's reality, but every sorcerer who has just embarked on the path to godhood is drawn to the divine positions above the tenth rank.

Celia was the same, so when she heard Ross say that the fish scale was used to become a god, she was tempted.

Ross sensed her excitement and tension and chuckled, "Don't even think about it. Becoming a god isn't that simple. Otherwise, why haven't we seen any new gods born since the Age of Calamity?"

"Don't be too ambitious. This thing may be something that the Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association uses to try to push the limits of humanity, but unfortunately, they will never succeed. Getting involved with faith too early will only make you a puppet of faith."

Unless it's an old god collecting faith. Ross added to himself.

He cannot yet determine whether the fish scale is a sacred object used by the sea god to collect faith.

Although there were traces of the sea god here, perhaps the stronghold on the other side alerted him, causing him to withdraw his divine power here as well.

Ross didn't know what he was afraid of.

But it doesn't matter, with a spirit object, there's a way to track it.

Having just returned from the place where he was brutally beaten, he's determined to get revenge on everyone involved!

Chapter 58 The Fisherman's Self-Cultivation

Deep within the stronghold, a large number of heretics stood ready for battle.

Earlier, they were told by the shark that the Holy See might know about this stronghold, and that if they discovered any outsiders breaking in or any unusual activity, they should prepare for battle.

"The arrival of Hai Si must not be interrupted. This is a divine guidance. The deep sea protects us, and we will surely defeat all powerful enemies and welcome the arrival of Hai Si!"

A heretic walked around the group of combatants, encouraging them with words.

"You all sensed the commotion just now. The Holy Court's lackeys are breaking in. We must not let them interrupt the ceremony."

"Lord Shark has made thorough preparations; once they enter, they will surely be buried here!"

"And you will all return to the embrace of the deep sea, to the embrace of Rost, the King of the Deep Sea!"