Seeing the surprised looks on their faces, Nan Cheng was instantly overjoyed.
Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to farm favorability?!
He had to leave a perfect first impression of being “devout, reliable, and full of passion” on these new NPCs. That would surely send their favorability skyrocketing!
As for not being a believer of the Goddess... Who said they weren't believers?
You've got to be kidding. I'm a super-believer of Her Divine Majesty, alright!
After all, the Goddess was amazing—the absolute peak of beauty, strength, and gentleness. Who wouldn't love her?
“Ahem...”
At this thought, Nan Cheng quickly cleared his throat, switching his expression from “casual mode” to “devout saint mode” in a mere 0.3 seconds.
Furrowing his brows slightly, he looked into the distance with a deep, solemn gaze. Tilting his chin up exactly fifteen degrees, his entire body radiated a majestic aura that practically screamed, “I have the light in my heart.”
Then, he spoke.
“I sincerely believe in Her Goddess Ladyship.”
His voice was low and solemn, each word sounding as if it had been purified by his very soul.
“She is the sole faith in my heart. Ever since I accepted the summon to this world and learned of the suffering you have endured, a voice in my heart has been telling me...”
He paused for a second, lowering his eyes at just the right moment, as if suppressing some deep emotion.
“...that I must put an end to the suffering of this world.”
“To rebuild Our Home! And for Her Goddess Ladyship! I am willing to give my all! I will go through fire and water without hesitation!”
He paused again, raising his voice slightly as he delivered each word with deliberate weight:
“Even if my soul scatters... even if I must sacrifice my life, I will...”
“...have no regrets.”
He deliberately slowed down for the final words. Combined with his exceptionally earnest face illuminated by the “light of faith,” the performance was flawless.
The temple fell silent for two seconds.
Standing beside him, Bing Lin's eyes twitched. She shot him a side-glance that clearly said:
“Is that really necessary? Putting on such a show just to farm favorability? It's a shame you didn't become an actor with those skills.”
But the six newcomers were obviously unfamiliar with Nan Cheng's usual antics.
Selby was completely stunned. Looking at the young man before him, he felt as if he were seeing the paladins of old who possessed truly devout faith.
His face filled with emotion, and his voice even trembled slightly:
“I did not expect your faith in Her Goddess Ladyship to be so devout! Good! Good child!”
Levinel studied Nan Cheng intently before slowly nodding. Though he remained silent, his eyes were full of approval.
Shiruya's eyes sparkled as she looked at Nan Cheng, secretly adding him to her list of trustworthy people.
Phelin and the two young knights also cast looks of admiration his way.
Only Lilith, standing to the side, had a subtle, bizarre expression on her delicate face.
She opened her mouth as if to speak, but ultimately chose to remain silent.
At the same time, a crisp system notification chimed in Nan Cheng's ears:
【Ding—Selby's favorability toward you has increased by 40. Current favorability: Friendly】
【Ding—Levinel's favorability toward you has increased by 40. Current favorability: Friendly】
【Ding—Shiruya's favorability toward you has increased by 60. Current favorability: Trusted】
【Ding—Phelin's favorability toward you has increased by 40. Current favorability: Friendly】
【Ding—...】
【Your personal Reputation has increased】
Nan Cheng's lips almost twitched. Desperately exerting control over his facial muscles, he forced down the grin of pure triumph and maintained his devout, holy expression.
This was an absolute jackpot!
The brief temple meeting concluded successfully, with all resettlement, reception, and relocation tasks finalized.
Under Lilith's instructions, Nan Cheng and Bing Lin walked out of the temple doors side by side.
The moment Nan Cheng stepped over the temple threshold, the system's signature server-wide announcement exploded in his ears.
At the same time, the players waiting outside the temple erupted in excitement, their cheers echoing one after another.
“Holy crap! A large-scale storyline quest?! We can exchange Reputation for exclusive gear?!”
“Isn't this a massive win? Let's go, boys!”
Nan Cheng stopped in his tracks, freezing for a second before the corners of his mouth curled up uncontrollably.
Exchanging Reputation for exclusive gear! What an incredible synergy! He had just farmed the NPCs' favorability inside the temple, boosting his Reputation significantly, and now he was immediately greeted by the benefit of exchanging it for exclusive gear!
He was practically rolling in profit!
Realizing a massive wave of NPCs would arrive soon, he quickly opened his friend list and spammed his guild chat, tagging everyone: “Attention everyone! Assemble at the guild base! Come quick! We've got a big operation!”
...
An hour later, in the center of Temple Square, at the foot of the Goddess Statue.
A super-long-distance spatial teleportation array, spanning dozens of meters and covered in intricate, magnificent runes, was fully completed.
Shimmering magical lines flowed and intersected, carrying stable spatial laws, looking grand and divine.
Levinel looked solemn, not daring to let his guard down for a second. He turned to instruct his apprentice:
“Phelin, carefully inspect the lines of the array. Do not miss a single inch. This is a super-long-distance teleportation array; even the slightest error could trigger a spatial collapse.”
“Yes, Teacher!”
Phelin nodded and squatted down, checking the edge of the array inch by inch.
Before long, he looked up and said, “Teacher, the rune inscriptions are fine, but I suggest adding another layer of spatial reinforcement. The spatial fluctuations of a super-long-distance teleportation are too strong. If it's not stable, spatial disruption is highly likely, which could cause the teleportation to fail.”
Levinel pondered for a moment upon hearing this and nodded. “Indeed. I was just thinking about that as well.”
The problem was, among the materials they carried, there was nothing that could reinforce a teleportation array.
Levinel frowned, but then a sudden realization flashed through his mind.
“Right! Deep-sea pearls!”
He immediately turned his head, scanning the crowd until his gaze landed on the half-elf girl who was surrounded not far away.
Then, he froze.
Shiruya was completely mobbed.
Surrounded by layer after layer of players, the petite half-elf girl was treated like a rare treasure. Their faces were full of enthusiasm:
“Miss Elf! Do you have any quests? Do you need my help?”
“Miss Elf, what's your name? Can we get to know each other?”
“Wow! Those emerald eyes are so beautiful! I'm dying!”
“She's so tiny and cute! Miss Elf, can I touch your ears?”
“With such a petite figure, she's practically a walking action figure! Too cute!!”
Poor Shiruya had never seen such a scene before. Instantly resembling a startled fawn, she stood there flustered, her pointed half-elf ears drooping nervously. Her fair face flushed bright red, and she waved her hands in embarrassment:
“I-I'm really not as great as you say...”
“Wow!!! She's blushing!!”
“Kawaii—!!”
“Quick, take a screenshot! This expression is too precious! I have to save this!”
“Help! A blushing elf girl is just too cute!”
The players were instantly struck by her cuteness, and their cheering grew even louder.
Levinel stood in the distance, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.
He finally couldn't watch any longer.
These God-Chosen Ones...
Helplessly, he took a couple of steps forward, rescuing the embarrassed Shiruya from the crowd and blocking off the enthusiastic players.
Shiruya looked up at Levinel, her eyes filled with genuine gratitude as she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Levinel patted her shoulder, cleared his throat, and said seriously, “Shiruya, did you bring any materials to reinforce the magic array?”
“Yes! I brought some!”
Hearing this, Shiruya immediately pulled a delicate white seashell from the pouch at her waist. Opening it, she revealed a few round pearls that radiated a dense aura of water-element magic.
Upon closer inspection, the quantity was indeed quite small, as she had already given most of them to the mages at Windhaven Town's Mage Tower to reinforce the defensive barrier.
She handed the seashell over. “Uncle Levinel, are these enough?”
“It's plenty, Shiruya. Thanks to you.”
Levinel took several of the highest-quality deep-sea pearls and quickly integrated them into the lines of the teleportation array before returning the seashell.
Pure spatial magic spread along the lines, instantly making the once-ordinary array stable and heavy. The spatial fluctuations were locked down tight, completely eliminating the risk of disruption or collapse.
A few minutes later, the reinforcement process was fully completed.
Levinel straightened his back, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and let out a long sigh of relief. “Phew... It's finally done. Next, we can prepare for activation.”
Now, everything was ready except for the final step—filling it with magical energy.
“Phelin, magic stones.”
“Coming, Teacher.”
Phelin replied, pouring out a large pile of sparkling magic stones from his bag and placing them one by one into the energy slots of the array.
The moment the last magic stone was placed—
Wrum—!
A low, soft hum vibrated from deep underground.
The entire circular array suddenly lit up with a soft white glow. The runes lit up one by one along the lines, and faint spatial fluctuations slowly spread across the center of the square.
The super-long-distance teleportation array was officially complete.
The spectating players let out gasps of admiration, craning their necks to get a better look.
“So this is a super-long-distance teleportation array? It's way more intricate and complex than our previous teleportation array!”
“Are we going to see the new NPCs soon?”
Levinel let out a long breath as he watched the stable operation of the array.
He looked up in the direction of Windhaven Town, his eyes filled with anticipation and solemnity.
They were ready.
Old friends, it is time to come home.
Rate on N.U.
