NOVEL NEXT CHAPTER 102: TAINTED II
Nemesis frowned. He realized the beast was getting stronger—well, not stronger, but its defenses were getting more compact. It seemed as if its body was becoming denser and evolving.
"How problematic," Nemesis sighed. The buff had already finished. "It was fun while this battle lasted, but I'm sorry—I don't have infinite stamina like you," Nemesis muttered, activating the second active skill of Heaven Defier: Defying Heaven.
[Defying Heaven (Active): Using this skill grants a 1000% increase in all stats for one minute. (Cooldown: 24 hours)]
User: Nemesis
Title: God of Dragons and Sea Creatures
Job: N/A
Level: 58 (6,600,000/7,000,000 EXP)
Health: 120,000
Strength: 248 +124
Speed: 236 +118
Stamina: 282
Intelligence: 188
Constitution: 223
Divinity: 58
Free Attribute Points: 0
Talent:
Ex rank – 100% dodge rate
Ex rank – God of Wealth
S rank – Talent Share
Primordial Dragon Bloodline
Primordial Sea Dragon Bloodline
Using Heaven's Defier, his stats once more skyrocketed. The feeling was extremely intoxicating and refreshing for Nemesis.
User: Nemesis
Title: God of Dragons and Sea Creatures
Job: N/A
Level: 58 (6,600,000/7,000,000 EXP)
Health: 120,000
Strength: 248 +124 +2480
Speed: 236 +118 +2360
Stamina: 282 +2820
Intelligence: 188 +1880
Constitution: 223 +2230
Divinity: 58 +580
Free Attribute Points: 0
Talent:
Ex rank – 100% dodge rate
Ex rank – God of Wealth
S rank – Talent Share
Primordial Dragon Bloodline
Primordial Sea Dragon Bloodline
"Hah, this feels refreshing. But system, why don't I unlock any divine skills, even if only temporarily?" Nemesis asked. Surprisingly, he got a response.
[You haven't chosen your path of godhood.]
"I see. How do I do that?"
[You need to gain at least a thousand believers to obtain information on that.]
"Oh, thanks. But wait—I never knew you could converse with the system," Nemesis was shocked by his new discovery. Unknown to him, the system never replied to players, especially for inquiries. Nemesis was an exception for reasons unknown.
"Guess I will have to hasten the process of gaining followers," Nemesis muttered, facing the beast. "Goodbye," he said, a smile on his face. He swung Heaven's Defier casually at the beast, splitting it in two. The monstrous HP of the beast bottomed out instantly.
[Congratulations! You have killed a ??? Level Tainted Demon.]
[Level up!]
"That should do it," Nemesis muttered with a smile. Checking the loot in his inventory, he found only rare equipment and potions. Despite the beast's high stats, the dropped items were of the same value as those from the weak Cumba. It seemed that fighting tainted beasts wasn't profitable—sure, they gave large amounts of EXP, but the loot was subpar.
[Heaven's Defier has triggered the ten percent probability and plundered the stats of the beast.]
"Hahahaha," Nemesis couldn't help but laugh, extremely ecstatic. "Guess the battle wasn't pointless after all. I made a killing," he said, super pleased.
User: Nemesis
Title: God of Dragons and Sea Creatures
Job: N/A
Level: 59 (7,289,562/7,500,000 EXP)
Health: 120,000
Strength: 436 +218
Speed: 403 +201
Stamina: 645
Intelligence: 340
Constitution: 579
Divinity: 58
Free Attribute Points: 0
Talent:
Ex rank – 100% dodge rate
Ex rank – God of Wealth
S rank – Talent Share
Primordial Dragon Bloodline
Primordial Sea Dragon Bloodline
"Great god, congratulations, and thank you for saving us once more," the demon orcs and goblins chorused, every single one of them bowing their heads in reverence.
"Of course. Now prepare yourselves—we march to the Kobold mine and subdue them!" Nemesis ordered, earning cheers from his believers.
Prince Jason was together with Bishop Kelly, paying him a visit.
"So? Any news on Nemesis? My father is getting impatient and has begun secretly supporting my siblings. That old gizzard—even the war isn't stopping his schemes," Prince Jason complained.
"I wish he could just die the same way my brother did. I would be truly indebted to the demons if that happened."
"There has been no news about him. It seems he didn't join any camp—smart enough to remain in the neutral camp."
"Tsk, I knew he would likely choose independence. My job would have been much easier if he had done otherwise. Tsk," Prince Jason complained.
"So, no news of his whereabouts?"
"There is. It's been reported that he was spotted heading toward the demon camp. We believe he might have sneaked through and passed through the rift into the demon realm."
"The demon realm, huh? He is crazy for wanting to go to the realm of those crazies. Not my business, though—I couldn't care less. He's a foreigner; he has plenty of lives to spare. Guess we will have to go with plan B to take him under our control. Condemn him as a blasphemer and tainted—his going to the demon realm isn't so bad after all. It will make the narrative more convincing."
"Should we really push him that far? He has two Supremes under him that can flatten us as easily as blinking," Bishop Kelly voiced his concern.
"It's fine. The Supremes can't interfere with our world unless we disrespect them or offend them ourselves."
"And touching the one they accepted as their patron isn't doing that?"
"Nah, I'm sure they'll be happy we're dealing with the reason for their disgrace. I don't know what sorcery or trick he used to get them under him, but I doubt they'll obey his commands or even care what happens to him. If they did, they should have shown up when he went to the demon realm to talk him out of that suicide mission."
"Very well then. The blame is on you if this doesn't go as planned."
"We label him a tainted—an SSS-class level tainted. I doubt the dragon gods will want to wage war with the priests of the Celestials. That's why the Celestial Temple must get involved. Then, a capture order of the highest level will be issued. He'll be captured, brought to the dungeon, and educated until he pledges allegiance to me. After that, his cleansing will be announced—the end. Quite an easy job."
Prince Jason smiled brightly.
"The jobs called 'easy' are usually the ones that cause the biggest headaches," Bishop Kelly stated, unconvinced by the plan. But knowing Prince Jason and his near-perfect strategies, he couldn't help but go along with it.