Chapter 28 | My Lady Goddess, I Swear I'm a True Believer!

In Starfall Forest, around the Temple of Light.

In just a few short days, this area had undergone a complete transformation, bidding farewell to the desolation and ruin of previous days.

With the help of magic and skills, combined with the players' unceasing efforts, the player camp surrounding the Temple of Light had transformed dramatically, gradually taking on the early shape of a human town.

All of this was thanks to players like Bing Lin, Sacred Fire Meowmeow, Energetic Foxfox, and Tao-chan, who took the lead in accepting the construction quests.

Of course, simply accepting quests without knowing how to build wouldn't work, but that was no obstacle for them.

Among the player base, there were many who had studied architecture and construction.

Word had it that the player Tao-chan was even a Minecraft blogger on a streaming platform, boasting over a hundred thousand followers—a true top-tier figure in the field.

Under Tao-chan's direction, the players had clear divisions of labor, working orderly in small groups.

It was precisely thanks to these players' godlike efficiency that a town could rise from the ground in just a few days.

The instinct of infrastructure fiends truly lived up to its reputation.

In the center of the town, the magnificent Temple of Light stood tall and imposing. The former sight of dilapidated ruins was completely gone; carefully restored by the players, the temple was now exquisite, gorgeous, and radiating sacredness.

Directly in front of the temple, players had specially cleared a spacious Temple Square capable of holding over a thousand people, which also served as the respawn point for the entire camp.

With the Temple Square as the central hub, several paved stone roads radiated outward, lined with row upon row of unique wooden cabins, each belonging to a different player.

At this moment, the center of Temple Square was bustling and alive with noise.

Countless players gathered to form parties, their shouts and recruitment calls echoing back and forth in a noisy yet vibrant atmosphere.

“4/5! Need one solid tank! No slacker!”

“Any healer ladies who pulled a healing skill? Free carry for hunting kobolds!”

“Looking for a Mage player with crowd control! Male only!”

Having all seen the server announcement, everyone was thrilled, rubbing their hands together in anticipation and eager to grab their weapons and head out to slay kobolds immediately.

Just then, a commotion erupted near the temple entrance as a huge crowd of players swarmed over, packing the area shoulder-to-shoulder.

“Holy crap! Look! It's Big Shot Hao Bai and his party—the ones who triggered the main quest!”

“Big Shot Hao Bai, did you get to see the Goddess?!”

“Big Shot Hao Bai, please carry me!”

“Big shots, is your party still looking for members? I can tank and deal damage!”

“Whoa! Is that the exclusive title from triggering the main questline? Guardian of Light? That's so cool!”

“Holy crap?! I'm so jealous!”

The players' voices were filled with curiosity and excitement, making the scene look remarkably like a fan meet-and-greet.

“Holy shit?! Why are there so many people gathered around?!” Surrounded in the center of the crowd, a player with white hair looked completely dumbfounded.

Above his head hung the bright green in-game nickname “Little Star,” and floating above the name was a glittering silver exclusive title, “Guardian of Light,” rendered in fancy, cool typography with glowing visual effects.

“Duh!” Beside him, a player with an afro of purple hair stamped his feet in excitement, rolling his eyes dramatically. “We're the very first chosen party across the server to trigger the main questline! Isn't getting famous just basic operations?”

Above his head, the in-game nickname “Momozi” was clearly displayed, along with the same exclusive title, “Guardian of Light,” floating above it just like Little Star's.

“Hey, Captain, how come you don't have any reaction when so many people are idolizing you? I'm floating on cloud nine here!”

Seeing their party leader standing at the front with an utterly calm expression despite all the envious stares, Momozi found it thoroughly baffling.

And the person Momozi referred to as Captain had the in-game nickname “Hao Bai” hanging prominently above his head.

At this moment, he stood at the center of the crowd, looking indifferent, as though the surrounding cheers had nothing to do with him.

Hearing this, Hao Bai fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly, his tone dead serious. “Perhaps it's because... I've long gotten used to it.”

Momozi: “...”

His smile gradually froze, and for some reason, his fists clenched tight.

Little Star burst out laughing. “I gotta admit, Captain is really good at acting cool. And he's so smooth with it too—a true veteran actor.”

...

Meanwhile, Nan Cheng, Bruce, and their five-person pioneer party finally returned to camp as well.

“Damn it! Finally back! Running all this way almost broke my legs, I swear!”

“Tell me about it! Having a map this huge isn't all good. It'd be perfect if we had teleportation arrays.”

“By the way, what's going on over there? Why are there so many people crowding around the temple entrance?”

“Who knows? Maybe accepting quests?”

The party members chimed in one after another, all complaining about the long trek.

“Let's go take a look,” Nan Cheng spoke up at the right moment. “While we're at it, we can head inside the temple to get the quest map and accept the main quest.”

Just as Nan Cheng was about to step forward, Bruce's voice drifted over:

“Brother Cheng, wait for me! My slimes—I don't know what's wrong with them, but they've lost their appetite and look all droopy!”

Nan Cheng turned around, his pupils shrinking in absolute horror—

He saw Bruce pull out a purple wild berry from who-knows-where, take a big bite out of it himself, and then pucker his lips and lean close to the slime, lovingly trying to feed it mouth-to-mouth.

His expression was the spitting image of a devoted male lead feeding medicine to the female lead in an idol drama.

“Mu-mu!! Mu-mu!!”

The two slimes on his left and right recoiled in utter terror, the blue one's chubby body squeezing almost out of shape, while the pink one even performed a full “vomiting” effect on the spot—turning its head away and spitting out a string of bubbles with a pop.

Nan Cheng: “...”

The corners of his mouth twitched violently, as if hit by an electric shock.

If he were in their place, he'd lose his appetite too.

Ew, gross~

Delayed by this little interlude, by the time Nan Cheng's group arrived at the temple entrance, the crowd of players that had packed the area earlier had long since dispersed.

Nan Cheng shrugged helplessly and simply led his party members straight into the temple, planning to get the quest map and accept the main quest first.

The interior of the Temple of Light was vast and holy, though at the moment, it was rather noisy due to the influx of players.

In the center of the temple stood an altar, atop which rested a holy statue of the Goddess of Light.

Lilith was gently guiding players to pray to the Goddess while West stood off to the side maintaining order. Both of them looked up and saw Nan Cheng's group entering the doorway.

Following behind Nan Cheng, Bruce and the others looked left and right, their heads turning like rattles as they stared curiously at everything inside the temple. After all, none of them had been inside before.

“Miss Lilith,” Nan Cheng raised a hand to greet her politely, his composure smooth.

Lilith gave a soft smile and asked gently, “Have you also come to pray to Her Grace the Goddess?”

“Yes, sorry to bother you, Miss Lilith,” Nan Cheng nodded in response.

Just at that moment, the previous player finished praying, stood up to leave with an excited smile still lingering on his face.

Seeing this, Lilith nodded.

“Please step forward.”

Saying so, she turned, walked over to the statue, and knelt respectfully on one knee before turning her head to signal Nan Cheng's group.

Seeing her gesture, Nan Cheng, Bruce, and the others hurried forward, taking a few quick steps to kneel on one knee before the statue as well.

Seeing that everyone was ready, Lilith softly drew a wing-shaped symbol representing angels over her chest and recited piously:

“Praise the Goddess of Light, praise the Mother of Life, praise the great Ruler of Angels and Lord of Humanity—Iluvia Devilitafil!”

After finishing her prayer, she turned her head once more, indicating for them to repeat after her.

Nan Cheng and the others paused briefly before catching on. Mimicking Lilith, they clumsily traced wing-shaped symbols over their chests and shouted at the top of their lungs, though they looked rather comical doing it:

“Praise the Goddess of Light, praise the Mother of Life, praise the great Ruler of Angels and Lord of Humanity—Iluvia Devilitafil!”

The instant those words left their mouths, the statue of the Goddess of Light burst with brilliant golden light, enveloping all of them in a warm, glowing radiance!

Nan Cheng felt a strange force yank at his consciousness. In the next instant, his field of vision flashed completely white, and control over his body was stripped away.