For a mage, the high priest had been surprisingly well-equipped—far more extravagant than Punk himself. Just the ten-cubic-meter space ring alone was vastly superior to the three-cubic-meter ring he had inherited from Menesi.
Inside the ring, Punk found at least five hundred gold coins and a collection of precious alchemical materials. However, these items weren't what truly caught his attention. No mage would inscribe a self-destruct mechanism on their ring just to protect gold and reagents.
There were also several pieces of alchemical equipment, hastily stuffed inside. Punk speculated that the high priest must have thrown them in at the last moment, likely when he realized his secret chamber was being breached. This explained why the supposed mage's laboratory had been stripped bare—there hadn't been any equipment left in the room.
But what truly intrigued Punk were five peculiar objects:
Two sealed tin jars
A crumpled letter
A damaged book with many pages torn out
And a stone carving in the shape of a spider
The Sealed Jars
Punk cautiously retrieved the two identical jars. Unlike proper magical artifacts, they lacked any defensive inscriptions—only a simple rune to suppress magical fluctuations.
This was an amateurish trick, effective only against those below the official level. To Punk, it was little more than decoration.
Through his mental perception, he detected a viscous, gel-like substance inside, exuding faint magical energy.
"Now isn't the time to open them. I'll analyze them properly once I return to the White Pagoda."
With that thought, he placed the jars back inside the ring.
The Spell Book
From what his system could reconstruct, the book had originally contained two spells. However, one had been deliberately sabotaged—its key model descriptions were torn out, leaving only a single learnable spell.
Increasing the brightness of his light sphere, Punk carefully examined the scribbled text with his azure eyes.
"Official-tier… Prophecy spell… Filth… Foresight?"
Even with systematic analysis, deciphering the handwriting was a challenge. It reminded him of the illegible prescriptions written by doctors in his past life.
"Foul Foresight? Could this be related to visceral divination?"
Punk's thoughts drifted back to the crude yet effective internal divination method he had once used as an apprentice.
"Regardless, this will require further study later."
After a quick scan, he stored the book away.
The Letter
Unlike the other items, the letter wasn't magical at all—just an ordinary piece of parchment. Judging by its crumpled state, it had been hidden in a tight space.
The handwriting was refined, written in an elegant noble script.
To His Excellency, the High Priest of Bielon,
The execution of our recent plan has proceeded smoothly. The heads of the Locke Chamber of Commerce, Gezi and Kando, have already drunk the "sacred water." They are now fully under the influence of the great Goddess Tishachar and are willing to contribute to Her cause.
However, a new chamber of commerce—the Minohorn Chamber of Commerce—has emerged in Dolez City. Our investigation suggests that its leader is the daughter of a noble named Luo Taran.
Behind this chamber stands an official-tier mage named Punk-Si'an.
As of now, they have shown no signs of interfering with the "plan." Should we take action against Talan Minohorn? I await your command.
—Your loyal servant, Zweig Koala.
Punk narrowed his eyes. The letter provided a wealth of information.
He carefully folded the parchment and began analyzing its contents.
Unraveling the Conspiracy
"So, there's some hidden scheme at play. No surprise there."
The sudden emergence of the Church of Tishachar clearly hadn't been just for charity sermons. They were weaving a conspiracy.
However, this particular plot seemed to revolve around noble influence and commercial power.
The Locke Chamber of Commerce had already fallen under their control, while some traitorous noble had seemingly turned against Dolazi City for reasons yet unknown. Now, they were debating whether to deal with Luo Taran's Minohorn Chamber of Commerce.
And the only reason they had hesitated so far?
His presence.
"They've marked my assets… but they haven't dared to act because they think I'm just a reclusive mage?"
Punk's expression turned glacial.
Before he had abandoned the path of a hermit mage in favor of looting and conquest, the Minohorn Chamber of Commerce had been an essential source of income for him.
And now these people dared to target his property?
"What gives them the confidence to do something so reckless?"
"Do they think I'm easy to push around just because I prefer solitude?"
His killing intent sharpened.
Without a word, he returned the letter to the ring and turned his attention to the final item.
The Enigmatic Spider Statue
Unlike the other objects, this wasn't merely a magical item—it was a fully functional artifact.
With his knowledge as a mage, Punk immediately recognized the ability imbued within it.
"Projection magic…?"
His brows knitted together.
"Which imbecile of a deity is so lowly that they personally converse with an official-tier believer?"
This puzzled him.
He had already suspected that this so-called Goddess Tishachar wasn't an orthodox deity. But seeing this communication artifact still came as a surprise.
Normally, projection artifacts allowed a god to appear before their followers as a powerless image, enabling communication while consuming very little faith energy.
But orthodox gods rarely used such methods.
They preferred to maintain distance from mortals, preserving their aura of divine supremacy.
Why would a true deity lower themselves to speak personally with an official-tier follower?
Punk examined the faith energy stored inside the statue.
His brow furrowed.
"Wait… this isn't right."
The power of faith within the artifact was strange.
Unlike the pure and refined divine power found in traditional church relics, this energy was chaotic, filled with violence, greed, and madness.
It hadn't been purified by any priesthood.
If anything, absorbing it would corrupt the user's mind.
This created a dangerous contradiction.
"Faith energy can only be gathered and absorbed by divine beings."
"But this energy hasn't been refined… meaning it wasn't processed by a god's priesthood."
"How is that possible?"
Punk's expression darkened.
A Simple Solution: Summon the "Goddess"
Rather than wasting time speculating, Punk chose a direct approach.
"Why keep guessing when I can simply summon 'Tishachar' through this statue?"
If this entity was truly a god, she wouldn't dare violate the laws of the multiverse—direct intervention would invite divine punishment.
But if she wasn't a god…
Then there was nothing to fear.
Calming his thoughts, Punk began channeling magic into the statue, activating its projection ability.
The world was full of mysteries.
His parents had only been master-tier mages—their inherited knowledge was but a drop in the ocean.
But the unknown?
The unknown was meant to be explored.