That's why the Warlock Restaurant on the surface is so popular—because transporting usable cooking ingredients up from the deeper layers of the Dungeon is anything but easy.

And for that very reason, the Dungeon has become a place countless people flock to.

Here, even a greenhorn fresh out of the nest, as long as they're willing to swing their weapon and fight steadily, can earn enough to make a living; and for the strong, there's no need to waste effort handling the corpses of Magic Creatures—they can just directly take the most essential parts.

By contrast, on the surface, Adventurers may spend days wiping out a band of Goblins and still walk away with nothing, while in the Dungeon, no matter how weak a Magic Creature is, as long as you hunt it, there's some gain.

Besides, on the surface, killing a Magic Creature is often not the end, but the beginning of another round of hard labor. For example, even if a Mage proficient in Spirit Magic can directly erase a Steel Golem's mind, they often have no way to deal with that sturdy iron shell, can't even get the Demon Core out, and end up working for nothing.

However, with the new Saintess taking office, and the Church's newly implemented policies, Adventurers' enthusiasm for hunting low-level Magic Creatures in the wild on the surface—especially Goblins—has risen dramatically.

"Big Sister, are you planning to take these to the Church for points?" Catcher stared at the few small Magic Stones in Mute Girl's hand, unable to resist asking.

"Of course not, you idiot." Mute Girl snorted coldly. "Watch carefully. This is how you're supposed to use these things."

Her gaze shifted to the golden page quietly floating in the air.

"Ah, you're going to offer Goblin Magic Stones to a God?" Catcher grasped her intent almost instantly, but that only made him more flustered. "Isn't… isn't that blasphemy…"

"Shut up and just watch." After glaring at him, Mute Girl straightened up and turned back, expression solemn.

Then her long hair lifted though there was no wind, and a deep aura of Magic Power bloomed from her.

"O Hunter of Books—I offer up the deaths of these inferior Magic Creatures as proof of my deeds. The Wisdom you have bestowed shall be used to root out these petty evils."

The few Magic Stones, not even as big as a fingernail, floated up, shattered before the page, turned into pure Magic Element, and, in a spotless form, sank into the page, sent back into Reincarnation.

A moment later, though the voice was still indifferent, there was a faint trace of joy to be heard.

"—Good."

The page then bloomed with Soft Radiance, transforming into countless tiny motes of light, falling like rain and all sinking into Mute Girl's body.

"…It actually works?" Shield Woman watched all this from the side, her tone barely concealing her astonishment. "Even if we can't be sure that really is a God, it even accepts Goblin Magic Stones?"

"What's wrong with that?" Mute Girl shrugged. "When you go to the Church for points, aren't Goblins the hottest commodity?"

"You know, Goblin ears are worth more points than their Magic Stones."

"How are those even comparable… But the Church's points are tied to Lady Saintess… So which is stronger, that external God or Lady Saintess…?" Catcher scratched his hair beside them, falling into confusion for a moment.

After the Shining World Saintess took office, the Church, at the urging of an ancient chapel, rolled out an entirely new points system.

In this system, Goblins became the most cost-effective prey among Low-level Demons; compared to Slimes of the same rank, the points they could be exchanged for were a full ten times higher.

These points can't be directly converted into money, but they can be used, at relatively low discounted rates, to redeem various services offered by the Church, and even some extremely rare gifts—like the Saintess's personal autograph, or the qualification to enter the Cathedral to pray.

Not long ago, the tickets to that nationwide-sensation "performance of the century" were also added to the redemption list, causing Goblin sightings in the Kingdom to drop by several orders of magnitude.

Of course, if anyone deliberately let Goblins breed because of this, once discovered, they would be sent straight to the stake with no room for excuses, so no such horrifying incident has yet come to light.

Goblins are still living creatures, after all; without an Arcane Surge, they can only reproduce naturally, and once subjected to this kind of intensive extermination, a sharp decline in their numbers is only to be expected.

Even if a few slip through the net, they'll instinctively flee the human living sphere.

Thus, the Dungeon, which can "generate" Goblins in an endless stream, has instead become a holy land in the eyes of those point Hunters—so much so that Goblin Magic Stones redeemed from the Dungeon are worth fewer points than Goblin ears.

This is meant to encourage Adventurers to hunt Goblins that breed naturally in the wild, rather than Dungeon Goblins.

However, this very Trait has also brought another layer of unease, leading to both the Church and the Divine Basin Sect falling into a shared state of Panic the moment the Shining World Saintess truly set foot in the Plain Ancient City.

—What if the Saintess decides the Dungeon is a Goblin nest…

The guess sounds absurd, yet no one dares treat it as a joke; even now it still hangs over the heads of the knowledgeable like a lingering dark cloud.

That's why the Divine Basin Sect was willing to risk exposure to hold that utterly meaningless assembly.

Though the Church is powerful and has long been ranked first among the Six Major Guilds, because of geographical and ideological constraints, its influence has always been limited to the Kingdom's borders; it has never interfered in national politics or forcibly spread its faith.

Therefore, even with its deep roots, the Church is still far from the point where everyone is a believer.

Even so, its many doctrines, cultivated over long years, have deeply influenced the Kingdom and woven themselves into people's daily lives, so that even those who don't follow any denomination at all accept them as common sense.

The most fundamental of these is this: in this world, there is no such thing as an absolutely absolute God.

Or, more precisely, even if there is, it is not some supreme being that must be worshipped unconditionally on one's knees.

To Kingdom people, so‑called Gods might just be powerful lives from Otherworlds. They might be Magic Creatures that have crossed boundaries, or Great Elves who master the very origins of the Elements…

But whatever they are, they can ultimately be classified into some category that can be understood. Powerful, but not untouchable; lofty, but not unreachable.

And in recent years, the various miracles displayed by the Saintess have driven these ideas even deeper into people's hearts.

Thus, even when they personally saw Mute Girl obtain Blessings from the Dungeon, or even from Otherworld beings, via some method or other, Catcher and Shield Woman were shaken, but did not find the sight all that hard to accept.

If the Dungeon and the Saintess were to fight, no one can say who would win.

In that case, what's so strange about someone receiving gifts from the Dungeon?

After all, if you go to the Church now, you can even use points to get the Saintess's autograph.

Moreover, Shield Woman hadn't missed the details in Mute Girl's first prayer.

"Come to think of it, the first time you prayed, you mentioned that Saintess by her formal title."

The space on the third floor had already expanded to the size of a small town, and the nearest stairway was quite some distance away.

After Mute Girl passed the trial on the third floor, the group walked on in silence for a while. At last Shield Woman couldn't hold herself back; she stepped closer, curiosity bleeding through her tone.

"So this is the Church's plan? To use powers from Otherworlds to conquer the Dungeon? Are there more people like you? Is that why they started purging heterodox sects that worship the Dungeon, to eliminate unstable factors?"

"You sure have a lot of questions." Mute Girl rolled her eyes, sounding a bit impatient. "I said I'd invite you to be my Vanguard, not that I'd tell you everything.

"Still, in consideration of your halfway decent powers of observation, you can think of me as that one's 'Deputy'."

[Upon entering the Dungeon's fourth floor, Mute Girl receives a Blessing from——]

1~4. God of Books

5. Dragon God

6. Star God

7. Drama God

8. Mechanical God

9. Anchor

10. Great Success/Great Failure

D10=6

♛: Star God's Blessing

1~3. Wearing Stars and Moon: Gain the Star Dress buff, lasting until you suffer a fatal wound, and recover Constitution.

4~6. Star Shifting: Forced displacement; make an Agility check, and on success you can Transfer the opponent's Attack.

7~9. Lucky Star: Luck +1; when the opponent rolls under 30%, there is a 1/3 chance to nullify that damage.

10. Great Success/Great Failure

D10=10

D2=2

[Extreme Failure~]

1~3. Prankster Star

4~6. Interference from another

7~9. Underground City Uprising!

D10=5

[Who is it? (Simultaneously determining the Blessing obtained)]

1~3. Assassination by an even more fanatical Dungeon worshiper

4~6. Suspicious Winged Boy (?)

7~9. Bro

10. Great Success/Great Failure

D10=4

♛: Suspicious Winged Boy

[Winged Boy's Status]

D70+10=(66)=76