NOVEL WEB Chapter 97
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Where on earth are they gathering all those people? I’ve been trying to figure it out.
I couldn’t quite identify anything odd about the newcomers. In fact, their mental scores were higher than before. It was as if they were experiencing some kind of enlightenment.
The students weren’t exactly foolish either. Watching others join, they each devised their own strategies. Some charged at that Sky Ring Church, while others used magic to shield their minds.
Yet even those eventually got swept into that group. They were clearly on guard, so why did that happen? I simply couldn’t wrap my head around it.
After a lot of pondering, I finally caught onto something when their numbers hit seventeen.
I stared at the gigantic blackboard in front of me. There, the traces of those twenty were clearly laid out. The person who joined them today had only been shuttling between the Tower and residences. Suddenly, they had plunged into that religion.
There was no significant overlap between this Sky Ring Church and the Victims. Not in the Tower, or outside of it. The students had avoided them, and after the recruitment attempts failed, the group hadn’t chased after the students.
Something was happening in an area I didn’t understand. I felt compelled to dig deeply and eventually uncovered their methods.
At that moment, the Mirror Bug buzzed. It soared up and displayed a screen. On it, a treasure board appeared. The treasures had once again posted a request for monsters.
Even while I investigated, the Tower’s routine flowed as it always did. I’d need to head over to the monster area and fetch a few more monsters. After all, the treasures claimed they were quite tasty.
Can you believe how easily monsters can be procured? What a convenient situation. Regardless of what ulterior motives the Sky Ring Church had, that power was undeniably useful.
Right, that power. Therein lay the problem.
None of their movements overlapped. But what about the monsters they summoned?
The board revealed the routes of the monsters I had tracked over the past two days. They consistently flowed to one destination—the monster area.
They were cultivating monsters and continued to do so. In that process, they created a place to efficiently store these monsters. That was the monster area, primarily managed by them, the Sky Ring Church.
That was where the answer would likely lie. With that thought in my mind, I had dug into that area over the past few days. And gradually, the blurry parts began to connect clearly.
Those Victims were all individuals who had raised a ton of monsters. Whenever their monsters finished hunting, they would always return to the monster area.
It was only natural. There wasn’t enough space to unleash monsters in either the Tower or their residences. There had to be a reason Hao created such an area.
Hao had his sights set on those monsters. He visited the monster area several times a day. At night, all his followers would gather there to pray towards the Sky Ring.
The first time I saw it, I thought the prayers were meant for themselves, to reinforce their faith and will.
But that wasn’t it. Hao was targeting the monsters that filled that space. Those monsters enjoyed peace within the happiness given by their owner.
Hao then categorized those monsters and drew the Victims’ monsters to him. Today’s victim was such a case. The owner’s monsters listened to Hao and, in the end, the owner also joined the cult.
Yes, they were collecting the students’ monsters and instilling faith in the Sky Ring into their minds. It could be described as a spread from below.
Hao said that if he made the monsters happier, they would make us happy too. Following that logic, he made the students’ monsters even more blissful.
By sharing the tale of the Sky Ring, they found happiness. And that faith towards the Sky Ring reached their owners through the channel of their monsters’ joy.
In fact, this wasn’t a standard method. It couldn’t even be called magic. This spread of belief was solely a result of Hao’s power— that intense, captivating aura radiating from him.
The monsters were enchanted by it and fully accepted the stories he told. They perceived it as their happiness. It was like a double-layered happiness clinging to the monsters.
And that happiness began to naturally alter the thoughts of their owners as well. In this way, the owners fostered a kind of trust in the Sky Ring, which quickly transformed into belief.
This situation lacked any sort of magical coercion or compulsion. Thus, there was no contamination. Rather, they achieved significant mental growth under the shared value of happiness.
I hadn’t realized just how profoundly Hao’s power could act. Who would have thought it could turn the monsters’ will against them like that? But the results were proving otherwise. A tide of belief, starting from the bottom with Hao at its center, surged all the way to the top.
Understanding the results and the cause clarified the whole process for me. I also realized why they sought to spread their beliefs. They wanted to firmly implant the idea of the Sky Ring Church in those newcomers.
Through that, I could guess their purpose, albeit vaguely.
If it were something they could do by themselves, there’d be no need to gather people. This meant they needed a significant number of people, specifically those granted powers from the Sky Ring.
Thus, I shouldn’t just think from my perspective. I had to view this from Hao’s angle.
Hao spoke of faith to the monsters and transmitted happiness to the students through that connection. Already, twenty had been drawn in. What if forty people were gathered in total?
Each of them possessed a fragment gifted by the Sky Ring. Yet that was simply a chunk of power. Alone, it could do nothing.
Furthermore, once that power was granted to them, its nature changed. Every mage has their unique traits, making it impossible to manipulate that power itself.
But what if, within the confines of the Sky Ring Church, they each shared the same intent and thoughts, dreaming of the same happiness? I began to imagine that sight.
If they wished to manifest what they believed in through magic, then those fragments would unite to form one shape—the treasure they envisioned, the form of the Sky Ring.
The being created in that manner might not be the Sky Ring itself. It would merely be a kind of projection. But that alone would be enough for the Sky Ring to dwell within it. I felt confident about this. That was the purpose of the Sky Ring Church.
However, there was one slight issue that made me frown. The Sky Ring didn’t seem like it wanted to go out of its way like other treasures. Quite the opposite; it seemed to avoid it.
It was managing the treasures in storage, allowing their power to grow naturally. That storage served as its kind of breeding ground. There was no reason for it to abandon that to reside in a projection.
Moreover, the manner in which this was progressing felt quite slapdash. Were I the Sky Ring, I wouldn’t use such an obvious approach. I would conduct things more insidiously, more discreetly. After all, five years had passed.
I stopped my thoughts there and shook my head. Though there were strange aspects, I had managed to glean their methods and motives. Now I needed to shut them down.
That was my role in this board game. It was unacceptable to ruin the Tower I’d painstakingly built. Like the Sky Ring, this Tower was my breeding ground.
“Hmm, should I completely seal off the monster area? So those kids can’t move anymore.”
Mira said with a grin. It was a splendid idea. I nodded along. It was already beginning to pique my interest. There was no reason to pass up such a good opportunity.
That afternoon, we sealed off the entire monster area. Mira’s mist enveloped it fully.
“From now on, I’ll take control of this area.”
I said to Hao. He looked like he was about to say something with an excited face but shook his head and let me speak first.
“It’s unfortunate, but I have to report that you’re forcibly dragging our students into your religion using their monsters. As someone managing the Tower, I can’t allow such actions. This relates to their basic rights.”
At my words, Hao paused for a moment. He glanced at us and started stammering.
“Wh-what do you mean?”
I pulled out the Mirror Bug and showed him. It held all the information I had gathered so far. How the Sky Ring Church had lured in the Victims, and why the monster area was structured as it was, etc.
He seemed somewhat flustered as he looked at it. I offered him a gentle smile.
“I was pondering whether to inform others about this, but I’ve decided to halt it here. Everyone here is our students, aren’t they? Just leave this monster area to us, and cease that preaching from now on.”
Hao’s mouth flapped open and closed. But he couldn’t string together a coherent response. This evidence made it undeniably difficult for him to make excuses.
With a rigid face, Hao glared at the Mirror Bug. Then he sighed, closed his eyes, and nodded quietly as he turned to leave. He looked quite deflated.
“Oh dear, he’s not fighting back. I was kinda hoping to get a taste of that for a bit.”
Mira sighed beside me. I glanced at her.
Mira licked her lips while watching Hao’s retreating figure. She was radiating magic from every pore. That was precisely why Hao left without any protests. And it was the reason I had brought her along.
Without any major friction, the monster area fell into our hands. I dispatched Shadow Dolls to fill the monster area. The dolls began managing the monsters with skilled hands.
In exchange for management, I received some monsters and points, while the students had an easier time managing their monsters. It was such an ideal relationship.
I regretted not thinking of this from the start. Nonetheless, it was now entirely in my grasp, so I could manage it perfectly under my control.
Moreover, I had also managed to halt the spread of the Sky Ring Church—it was a two-for-one deal. I had firmly grasped their means. I squinted and watched Hao’s fading figure.
Now, how would they move next? I calmly began predicting what the Sky Ring would do next. It was clear they would employ another tactic. They might act in ways I hadn’t anticipated, so I had to prepare thoroughly.
And my thoughts proved correct.
The following evening, the Sky Ring acted immediately. It contacted me directly.
I peered at the Mirror Bug with a hint of tension. The screen flickered and began capturing words. The Sky Ring was writing through the mirror bug.
-I reached out because I need help.
“What sort of help?”
I tilted my head, wondering if they were seeking a little mutual concession. Maybe allowing the creation of its projection in exchange for something I could gain.
However, I had no reason to accept such an offer. What if I got caught by the Professor? Maintaining her trust was way more important than a small benefit.
Thus, whatever the Sky Ring said, I needed to resolutely decline. With my mind made up, I patiently awaited the next message.
The Sky Ring hesitated for a moment before continuing to type. I couldn’t help but blink at the sight. Mira, who was beside me, was similarly stunned.
-Did you say Hao? I was hoping you could stop him.
“…Are you referring to Hao?”
-Yes. That kid is trying to force me to descend. Ugh, he doesn’t listen to me now. He’s claiming I’m the Devil sent by the storage keeper. How could he say such a thing? I was only trying to convey happiness.
Unraveling that nonsense, I directed my will into the Mirror Bug. It flickered for a moment before recording the image. It was the first floor, where the Sky Ring Church held mass.
This was the result of tracking Hao’s location. He was yelling at the Mirror Bug in front of him with the believers behind him, his face flushed red with excitement.
“You’ve blocked our preaching, stolen the sanctuary, and now even obstructed communications with the Sky Ring. The Sky Ring doesn’t resist descending! The Sky Ring we know would never do such a thing! You’re undoubtedly a fake!”
-But I am the real Sky Ring…
“Do you think I would fall for that? You blasphemous demon! Wait for me, Sky Ring. I will surely rescue you!”
Hao’s eyes gleamed with a firm conviction. The believers behind him had the same look. Watching this bizarre spectacle, I simply blinked.
Suddenly, I heard a hissing sound from Mira beside me. I turned to look and saw her bouncing around with laughter. I held my throbbing forehead. I hadn’t anticipated this turn of events.
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