Chapter 191: Your Item Is Not Growing Because You Don’t Have Materials (Serious)

Although Gou Dan couldn’t determine the strength of those Secret Eye cultists, Xi Wei saw through them immediately from his Divine Kingdom.

“Demons hatched from demonic roes? No, that’s not it… these things are less powerful than Angora’s eldest brother, Cecil—and he was only halfway through his demonization back then.”

On that note, one shouldn’t be too harsh on how Cecil was instakilled by Angora—he simply had a sacred item combining Xi Wei and Aslan’s powers, and that thing could wipe out Edward’s party immediately too.

Meanwhile, the Secret Eye cultists who were now chasing after Gou Dan does have some demonic scent to them with each of them looking like double images from Xi Wei’s perspective, they were much weaker. That was especially evident in how Gou Dan was caught off guard, and yet their combined barrage still didn’t blow him up.

“Their combat ability would rank around Level 28 on average then.”

Xi Wei concluded after observing the cultists’ powers, deciding that they were more or less equally matched to the second-rate Players of his church.

However, they were not like him as the Secret Eye had been working in the shadows for years and were spread throughout various corners of the Eastern Continent. Their members must have reached an alarming number, and there would certainly be a lot of them who possess such level of power as well.

Xi Wei immediately felt the threat from that very thought.

Still, it wasn’t as serious as that when he thought more about it. After all, they could only send out people of this standard, especially for an operation of luring and stealing the elves’ greatest treasure which risks incurring the wrath of all wood elves. There weren’t too many of them either, which means there might not be many of them with such level of ability…

“But are the gods all blind that they would allow a group controlled by demons to operate for so long in this world?!” Xi Wei muttered in annoyance once he thought about that.

The God of Games hadn’t open business for that long and they’ve already run into the Secret Eye repeatedly, and used the Players’ strength to thwart their evil schemes.

But before all this, the deities of every other religion seemed not to have noticed—or even know about them at all!

Still, it made sense for a warped world like this one if one thought about it: it revolves around the gods, and claiming belief mattered most for all the deities and religion, whereas each of the primordial gods were as reclusive as the next.

In comparison, none of the other gods—aside from Aslan, the God of Justice—would care about a faction like the Secret Eye Society which requires no belief, not to mention that they were a messy group of random people that allows any person of any faith to join.

The Secret Eye was perfectly aware of their circumstances as well: they understood how the churches were not a threat to them, and could use various benefits to attract their believers to strengthen their organization. They would also be cautious of religion that were actively destroying evils such as Temple of Justice, giving them a wide berth and keeping their operations away from them, allowing Aslan the Great Lion God of Justice no chance of detecting their presence.

On the other hand, they naturally wouldn’t fear the Players since Xi Wei’s Church of Games was a newly founded religion without strong depth. They would mostly choose to kill any and silence any Player who inadvertently stumbled into their plot. Naturally, the Players were not the kind of people to take provocations lying down either, which in turn led to them being continuously at odds with the Secret Eye Society.

‘That said, Gou Dan’s quest could count as complete. Let’s have the quest chain proceed…’ Xi Wei thought, and sneakily sent down a bit of his divine power down to the mortal realm.

***

[Ding!]

[Side Quest completed: The Greatest Treasure of the Elves I completed]

[Side Quest unlocked: The Greatest Treasure of the Elves II started]

[You have seen the true face of the culprit: It is indeed the Secret Eye Society that is guilty of every possible misdeed. Though you know not what plans they could have for the elves’ greatest treasure, it clearly wouldn’t be anything good. Furthermore, you should be able to sense the evil power wafting from the cultists’ bodies, therefore realizing that they had been corrupted by demonic powers into demonoids and are no longer human. To protect the elves’ greatest pressure, you must combine the powers you and your companions have to defeat every vile demonoid immediately]

[Quest objective: Slay demonoids (0/21), reclaim the elves’ greatest treasure (0/1)]

[Quest rewards: Unlocks quest ‘The Elves’ Greatest Treasure III’, certain EXP, certain Game Coins and rare item: Elven Quiver (décor)]

[Note: ‘The demonoids can no longer stop you. Make haste, brave youth, to create your miracle…’]

Even as he fled, Gou Dan suddenly noticed the jingle of the quest update notification. He could not help feeling pleased as he glanced at the message that the quest had progressed to the second phase despite how preoccupied he was.

He was even more delighted when he saw the little detail that read ‘you must combine the powers you and your companions have’. It meant that he was right to lead those monsters towards Edward and the others!

As expected of him, to make the best decision despite the urgency of the situation!

Promptly morphing into a leopard once more, Gou Dan could feel the colors of his coat becoming more vibrant.

Still, he felt a little troubled with the quest objective.

“Reclaim the treasure… easy for you to say…”

The enemy’s barrage had blown off half of his thick load of HP in his Earthen Ursa form. On the other hand, if he had to withstand that same level of firepower and save the girl, he might last just three seconds before changing Lord Xi Wei’s title to Dawg Xi Wei.

It seems that he would need Edward and the others helping if he was to finish his quest.

“That said, the Divine Spear Sefarim must be the elves’ divine relic… really, there’s so much difference between divine relics.”

That was certainly what Gou Dan thought once he remembered Joe’s greatsword Giant’s Toe which he hugged to sleep and his AWM which he had yet to receive delivery.

“Still, there’s no telling what Sefarim is capable of…”

Even though the legendary items that Players had obtained by killing monsters counted as divine relics and had high stats, the most special thing about them were that they strengthen in tandem with their user and were a growing weapon.

That said, it was the same for proud wallet warriors who had the money and the materials and could keep strengthening their items as they leveled up, as any item would also have potential for growth thanks to that.

In the next split second, Gou Dan suddenly felt an unusual sensation—his heart beating and his body pulsating as if some horrific monster was leering at him.