Chapter 554 — Acting as God

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Above the gray fog, inside the palace that looked like a giant’s residence.

Seated in The Fool’s chair, Klein raised his right hand, allowing the Sea God Scepter to fly out of the junk pile and land in his palm.

He originally planned on placing this Sealed Artifact, that was on the level of a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact, beside his chair. This was to show respect to a demigod item, but after careful consideration, he believed that the Sea God Scepter was still unable to match up with the mysterious and powerful Fool, who was able to fight against the True Creator and Primordial Demoness. Only a Card of Blasphemy was barely qualified to match his status. Therefore, he threw the Sea God Scepter into the junk pile.

Looking at the blue dots surrounding the white bone staff, Klein willed them to split into preliminary categories.

Just as he had expected, those blue dots of light automatically split according to his will. Those that merely praised Sea God and were prayers with no clear reason sank to the bottom and then rapidly disappeared. Those regarding confessions and pleas floated upward and came closer to Klein’s palm.

Following his spiritual intuition, he “tapped” one of the latter.

All of a sudden, he saw tall, surging waves and heard the violent whistling of a gust of wind.

A fishing boat was bobbing up and down in the undulating deep blue sea, as though it was ready to capsize at any moment.

Above the fishing boat, the natives were either hugging the mast or pulling on ropes, making their last-ditch efforts to survive. Many of them were panicking as they chanted the honorific name of Sea God.

Noticing that this was an ongoing prayer, Klein lifted the milky-white scepter.

At the tip of the scepter, the blue-colored “gems” emitted a halo of light one after another before they connected into one and shone onto the scene.

The fishermen were gradually losing all hope when all of a sudden, they felt the ship which had been thrown into the air stabilize.

They looked around in amazement and saw that the mountain-like waves had calmed down at some point, and the raging winds were slowly calming down, turning as mild as Zarhar beer.

The overbearing dark clouds in the sky dissipated, and a storm was forcefully pushed back by a mysterious force before it could fully assume its full form.

The fishermen quickly recovered from their dazed states and understood what had happened.

Sea God has protected everyone! Sea God has shown his majesty!

Plop! Plop! Plop!

All of them prostrated themselves on the deck, spread their hands, and placed them to their mouths, reciting the honorific name of Sea God in an irregular fashion.

“Thank you, praise you. Adorer of the sea and spirit world, guardian of the Rorsted Archipelago, ruler of the undersea creatures, master of tsunamis and storms, the great Kalvetua!”

Above the gray fog, Klein felt a little depressed.

I was the one who saved you, so why are you thanking Kalvetua?

That sea serpent will only deliberately create hurricanes, set off waves, and intimidate you so that you would piously believe in it...

Klein fell silent for two seconds, then he suddenly burst out laughing.

Kalvetua is already dead, and the current Kalvetua is another one of my identities.

Why should I be in a bad mood when people are thanking my other identity?

This is something a Faceless has to take note of when acting for real? To fully immerse oneself in the role, treating all emotions one receives as their own, but also never forgetting who they really are... This is difficult to accomplish. Failure to pay attention to it can result in an abnormal state of mind. And once a Beyonder’s state of mind becomes abnormal, they won’t be far from losing control...

After thinking for a while, Klein let out a sigh and chuckled to himself.

Acting the role of Sea God has been quite rewarding after all.

Although such acting doesn’t provide feedback due to the gray fog’s screening and isolation nor does it facilitate the digestion of the Faceless potion, it can provide me with experience and lessons, helping me figure out a safer and more effective way of acting.

Wrapping up his thoughts, Klein spread his spirituality to another point of light.

This time, the plea came from under a bridge. A woman with tattered clothes and a festering body was leaning against a corner, mumbling the honorific name of Sea God as she made her final confession.

Through her descriptions, Klein seemed to have witnessed her short life.

She was a native woman whose parents believed in Sea God. As a result, she inherited the faith of Sea God. In the first decade or so, her father worked as a miner, repairing roads and laying the rails, while her mother focused on temporary jobs—sewing, doing laundry, helping out at the docks, and occasionally working as a street girl. Only then did the family barely survive.

An abrupt change occurred two years ago. Her father had died during a road repair accident, and the Rorsted Railroad Company had offered only a pittance of compensation. This pushed the family onto a path of no return.

Subsequently, the girl was sold to the Red Theater by her mother and became a legal prostitute.

Although Emperor Roselle had long invented the condom, many pirates and adventurers were unwilling to use one in their desire for momentary pleasure. And since the Red Theater didn’t enforce the use of condoms, the girl’s resistance was ineffective. All she could do was submit, eventually getting infected with some disease.

The manager of the Red Theater had tried to provide her some simple treatment, but seeing that she wasn’t getting any better, she was chased out because the cost of the follow-up treatment was obviously much higher than the cost of buying another girl.

Not only was the ill girl unable to find a new job, but she didn’t even have the money to rent a house. Her mother and younger siblings had long since disappeared, perhaps already dead or abducted to become slaves.

The girl became a tramp and lived under the bridge. She managed to survive for some time thanks to the food and free medicine provided by charity organizations.

But it was ultimately a short period of time. Her illness got worse and worse, and her body became weaker and weaker. Very quickly, she reached the end of her life.

At that moment, she recalled the days when she was the most well-fed and dressed. She recalled the words that the pirates and adventurers would occasionally say. She whispered and prayed to Sea God, “I want to live like a human being...”

Klein once again raised his staff, but he found that this Sealed Artifact didn’t possess the ability to cure diseases.

He thought of purchasing some medicine from Emlyn White via The World, but he found that the prayer scene happened at noon. The girl had already passed away under the bridge, in mud and dirt, her body filled with agony and intense hunger.

Klein was silent for a moment, then he raised the angle of the prayer screen to reveal the location of the bridge.

After memorizing the characteristics of the nearby streets and the surrounding area, Klein leaned back in his chair, sighed, and said with an insincere smile, “What a humble wish.

“There isn’t much of an opportunity to act... I’ll try my best to bury you like a human being...”

He retracted his attention and scanned the other points of light, searching for someone he could act as, but he found nothing.

During this process, Klein noticed that Kalat, Edmonton, and the other members of the Resistance were carrying out a ritual. They had placed a batch of items on the altar, and they prayed for Sea God to imbue them with power.

So that’s how they receive the Beyonder items they use for trade... To be at the level of a demigod is truly different... Moreover, they’re used to not receiving any immediate replies. It’s as if they plan to leave the items on the altar the entire night... Apparently, that sea serpent, Kalvetua, didn’t respond immediately either. It depends on its mood, or whether it was asleep or not. Otherwise, it could only respond instinctively, unable to produce any Beyonder items in batches... Klein picked up the Sea God Scepter, making the blue “gems” shine again.

Boundless spirituality magically merged together, gushing into the prayer scene with transcendent vibes and randomly fusing with various items.

Some of them are Electric Shock charms, some that allow people to swim in the sea like fish, some that allow a gale to blow... Within three months, their spirituality would gradually decline to nothingness... Klein half-closed his eyes, feeling the changes in the items.

Although he had only responded twice, he was already rather exhausted despite mainly relying on the power of the Sea God Scepter. However, the first response had to do with him forcibly dispersing a storm and calming the waves, while the second response was to simultaneously provide an “enchantment” to dozens of items. They were all at the level of a demigod, so it was rather draining on his spirituality.

Even if I frequently use the Sea God Scepter, I wouldn’t be able to last very long... On the other hand, the negative side effects wouldn’t be a burden on me. I can attempt to use it at times...

Yes, the situation with the Resistance reminded me. I can also pray to myself and make a bunch of charms, mainly to allow me to do things underwater. This way, even if I find myself in a sea battle, I wouldn’t be so restrained. Oh right, I still don’t know how to make lightning charms. I need to seek out the corresponding mysticism information, and with it, I can deal with enemies who have air superiority...

Klein silently muttered a few sentences and threw the Sea God Scepter back into the junk pile while swiftly returning to the real world.

...

East Chester County. By the side door of a huge manor in the vast and beautiful countryside.

Audrey Hall was dressed in a waist-fitting black riding suit with a simple blouse lining her insides. She skillfully sat on the back of a brownish-red mare without showing the slightest sign of wobbling.

Her black leather boots were in the stirrups, with her white trousers slightly tucked into them. She smiled at Susie, who had a leather bag on her back.

“I’ll wait for you at the edge of the woods!”

With that, she bent down with the whip in her hand and let the brownish-red mare gallop across the open field.

Compared to the gorgeous yet gloomy family castle, Audrey preferred the beautiful manor and the scenery of the countryside.

One handsome horse after another came running out. The riders were servants and maidservants, and their only mission was to protect Miss Audrey.

Susie was also running happily, a feeling she couldn’t experience in Backlund.

Moreover, she and Audrey would have a little adventure today, and that was exploring an ancient tower in the forest that had collapsed a long time ago. The valuable items there had long been taken away, but there had never been any accidents that happened there. It was a perfect place for an inexperienced person to practice her various abilities.

The only problem was that it would be dark in two hours, and there might not be enough time.