Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  Beast couldn’t believe his eyes. A superior Devil brought a Goblin to let him test the Power of Sacred Light?

  Was he being fooled?

  Since when could the Power of Sacred Light be discussed in such grandiose? And with that many creatures? How many creatures were there? Hundreds to thousands?

  Beast was nervous. He thought Sherlock was fooling him. He was tricked once during the Ancient Ruins incident. He thought his belief in Sacred Light would be secret, but Sherlock got to know this, and even his father-in-law knew about it.

  A Goblin dashed forward and said to Beast devoutly, “Ah! Senior Beast! I’m willing to accept your Baptism! The Sacred Light Baptism!”


  The creatures at the side started shouting.

  “Gosh! It’s preposterous and stinky!”


  “This Dungeon stinks! I don’t wish to stay any longer!”


  “Wah, with this kind of a name, how can I be a Sacred Knight?”


  “It’s Grand Priest.”


  “Can I use red tea?”


  “Hahahaha, what a good laughing point for the game.”
……

  The gamers didn’t chat for long as Sherlock exerted his dominant aura to restrain them. Sherlock walked out and said to Beast, “This is the Winterfell believer of the Holy Lord. The Power of Sacred Light is not welcomed in the Underworld, but to defeat the Void Legion, we have to resort to this power. Beast, please bestow the power on them. They need you! They need the Power of Sacred Light!”


  The gamers recovered their speech and started shouting.

  “D*mn! The stench is killing me! Why are you called Beast?”


  “I don’t care about the Ancient Gods or Void Legion. I want to complain about the NPC’s name.”


  “I reject such a stinking Sacred Light.”


  “I feel it’s pretty good. I don’t see any problem.”
……

  Sherlock smiled and said to Beast, “See, they’re welcoming you warmly.”


  Beast looked at the green-skinned creatures who set up a huge cauldron filled with water. Then they formed a circle with Sherlock at the side.

  Beast thought Sherlock was fooling him, but he saw that the gamers were extremely respectful towards him and passionate about the Sacred Light. He was touched. Though it was dangerous to preach the Sacred Light to the Underworld inhabitants, he was already in a precarious situation, and he couldn’t care less. Sherlock knew his background. If he didn’t cooperate, Sherlock could report his crime to the Merchant Alliance. Would he not be doomed?

  The main point was that, as a Holy Lord believer, if he had the chance to preach the Holy Lord’s Gospel and the Power of Sacred Light, who could resist such temptation?

  “Since you are earnest in receiving the Sacred Lord’s love, then be mentally prepared,” Beast said devoutly.

  “Later, I’ll bless this cauldron of underground water and use the water to baptize you. During the process, you’ll relive your life process. If Heaven thinks that you’re kind and qualified, then you’ll be halfway through the Sacred Light Gateway. When you worship the Sacred Light, you’ll be fully through the gateway. Are you ready, Goblin?”


  “I’m ready!” The Goblin, ChangzhouWinterHorse, nodded solemnly.

  “There are neither Chapel nor Baptism tools here, and the conditions are crude, but if you’re devout, there’ll be no problem. Come forward, Goblin,” Beast said. He drew a triangle on his chest. Then he held ChangzhouWinterHorse’s hand and closed his eyes. After, he asked sincerely, “What do you wish for?”


  “I wish for power, equipment, Reputation Points, and game coins! If possible, I hope to be reincarnated as a cool superior Devil, like Sherlie.”


  Beast frowned and asked, “What benefits do they bring you?”


  “I can be cool,” ChangzhouWinterHorse replied.

  “Be cool? Forget it, if you want to worship the Sacred Lord and be his servant, listen to his Gospel. You shall not scold or attack Holy Lord believers. Be progressive and learn diligently. Then you’ll get full marks in science subjects and be a useful person in society. Can you do that?” Beast asked seriously.

  “What the heck? That difficult?” ChangzhouWinterHorse blurted out, but he quickly said, “No problem, I like learning. I’ll be in discomfort if I don’t learn for a day.”


  The gathered gamers spoke in agreement.

  “666!”


  “You’re awesome!”


  “You’re like me, a philomath.”


  “Only learning can show our true value.”


  “I feel like cutting down a tall tree.”


  “Leave the calculus to me! Don’t compete with me.”


  The gamers’ discussion stopped very soon as Sherlock raised his hand to beckon them to be silent. They had to give Sherlie face.

  After everyone became quiet, Beast said, “Always remember your vows. Child, you’ll receive my Baptism. What you’ve done over your entire life will be judged fairly. Even if you pay with your life, you’ll not regret it.”


  “That’s right! I’ll not regret it!” ChangzhouWinterHorse said seriously.

  “Very good, my child. May the Holy Lord bless you.”


  Beast put his hand into the water, and Sacred Light illuminated Beast’s body. Then, the Sacred Light went into the water.

  Sherlock was illuminated by the reflected rays of the Sacred Light. He stepped back silently and hid in the shadows.

  Beast cupped some water in his hands and scattered the water on ChangzhouWinterHorse’s face.

  “Has it ended?”


  Just as ChangzhouWinterHorse finished speaking, Beast held the back of his skull and pushed his head into the water.

  ChangzhouWinterHorse struggled for a while, but he remembered he felt no pain. He remained submerged in the water and held his breath. His mind flashed with various images……

  When he was young, he played with fire at night and put the stink bug into the flames……

  When he was young, he played with firecrackers and put them in the cow feces……

  When he was in kindergarten, he lifted the girls’ skirts……

  When he was in elementary school, he stole stationery from his classmate……

  When he was in middle school, he cheated……

  When he saw an old granny fall down, he didn’t help her……

  He intentionally ran red lights, spat and smoked in public, drank liquor at an illegal age, visited internet cafes, failed examinations, bickered with his mom, wasted food, didn’t help with household chores, and had a procrastination habit……

  When his mind flashed with images that looked like a slideshow, he recalled all the bad things he had done. Of course, there were some good things as well.

  He reported his classmate’s cheating and his dormitory mate for skipping classes. He caused the elementary students to lose a competition and gloated for reporting all the students in the internet cafe. When he met pretty gals selling expensive fake wine, he used his credit card to pay so that they could have a good life……

  When all was peaceful, ChangzhouWinterHorse saw himself sitting in a classroom. An object with brilliance stood before him, and a voice came from afar.

  “Huanggang examination set one with a duration of an hour.”


  ChangzhouWinterHorse lowered his head and looked at the examination script.

  “D*mn……”
……

  In the game world, after some time, Beast pulled up the motionless ChangzhouWinterHorse and muttered unintelligibly. Beast placed him on the ground and touched him a few times. When he was sure ChangzhouWinterHorse couldn’t be saved, he announced with regret, “My friend here didn’t pass the Sacred Lord’s test. He didn’t have a passionate, learning, and open heart, so he was eliminated from this world. Remember, it’s not only your choice of selecting the Sacred Light, the Sacred Light is also selecting you. Be a choice of the Sacred Light, then you’ll have the qualification to use the Power of Sacred Light!”


  “It’s a cruel Baptism process.” Sherlock nodded and clapped his hands. He said to the gaping gamers, “Okay, the Sacred Light Baptism shall end for today. Everyone, please go back and prepare. I believe you’ll do better the next time.”


  The gamers left noisily, dragging the drowned ChangzhouWinterHorse to Brainiac for revival.

  After most of the gamers had left, Sherlock spoke to Beast for a while before leaving.

  “Tsk, tsk, it’s a difficult test. This is the first time I saw a Baptism. Did those wielders of Sacred Light go through the same ritual?” Bru asked when Sherlock arrived at the Dungeon Lord Main Hall.

  “This is my first experience too. The feeling is mystical,” Sherlock said thoughtfully.

  “ChangzhouWinterHorse looked like he was in agony. I’m very curious.” Bru said with regret, “In regards to the Sacred Light update, we may have to wait longer. Lord Sherlock, we have to ensure that the gamers are able to receive the Power of Sacred Light.”