Healing to Kill

"You have so many Red Ram horns! It seems the gods are watching over you."

Upon receiving Jiang Chen's horns, the old man in the gray robe looked astonished.

Soon, the old man's expression returned to normal.

He clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and muttered a few strange words.

Immediately, a red light enveloped Jiang Chen.

Gray-robed old man: "Adventurer, this is a conduit to the gods, condensed from the Red Ram horns. Next, pray devoutly before the statue, and the gods will hear your voice."

[You have obtained a Special Effect: Conduit to the Gods.]

[Hint: Stand before the statue and wait to receive the Deity's Blessing.]

"I wonder what kind of buff I'll get?"

Jiang Chen thought to himself as he walked to the center of the dilapidated temple, staring blankly at the broken statues in front of him.

In his impression, the so-called Deity's Blessing was just a beneficial buff.

And the buffs each person received were different.

Most players who completed this quest only had a few horns and could only get the lowest tier buffs, such as:

Increase drop rate by 1% when in a party.

Increase monster experience by 1% when soloing.

Increase movement speed by 1% during combat.

Increase health regeneration by 1% when standing still.

All of these buffs had specific trigger conditions.

Of course, a few people handed in dozens of horns.

The buff's enhancement ratio would also increase significantly.

In his previous life, Jiang Chen heard that the player who handed in the most horns was "Seven Kills," the vice president of the guild "Immortal Myth."

He handed in 100 horns.

And the buff he received was: Increase movement speed by 30% and attack speed by 30% when health points are below 50%.

This buff perfectly suited his Assassin class.

To a large extent, Seven Kills relied on this buff to advance rapidly and eventually ranked in the top ten of the Assassin leaderboard.

Jiang Chen was filled with anticipation for this Deity's Blessing.

After all, he handed in 705 horns!

***

"Why is it taking so long? Do I really have to pray devoutly?"

Jiang Chen had been waiting in front of the statue for almost half a minute.

In the dilapidated temple, players were coming and going constantly.

But Jiang Chen was the only one waiting for the blessing.

"Hello, handsome. You saw the Limited Quest too, right? Want to team up?"

A female player noticed Jiang Chen, her eyes lighting up as she walked over to invite him to team up.

"No time." Jiang Chen replied curtly.

Seeing this, the female player left disappointed.

Afterward, three more players came over to invite Jiang Chen to hunt Red Ram horns.

All were female players.

Even though Jiang Chen was just standing there silently, his looks were hard to ignore.

"Hello, can we team up?"

Another girl, a Knight holding a long sword and shield, walked over.

The girl looked about twenty years old, with a very pretty face, the pure and sweet type.

"No time."

Jiang Chen didn't even look at her, giving a perfunctory reply.

He was now staring at the statue, his mind full of confusion. Why, after several minutes, was there no reaction from the blessing?

The Knight girl stood to the side, blinking her big eyes and staring straight at Jiang Chen: "When will you have time?"

Jiang Chen didn't reply.

"How about we add each other as friends first? When you have time, we can play together.

Don't think I'm just a girl; I'm really good and won't drag you down.

Why aren't you saying anything?"

The girl kept talking non-stop.

Jiang Chen looked at the girl with the ID "Qing Ying" and said helplessly: "I didn't say you'd drag me down. I just don't like teaming up with girls."

"Ah!"

The Knight girl Qing Ying opened her mouth slightly, looking surprised: "You... you're gay?"

"..."

Hearing this, Jiang Chen almost lost it.

What kind of logic is that?

Suppressing his urge to hit someone, he took a deep breath and calmly said: "Yes, I'm gay."

Jiang Chen's thoughts were simple: if saying he's gay would stop them from bothering him, so be it. Besides, being gay isn't a bad thing!

"Sorry, I didn't know. I'll go do my quest then."

Qing Ying's shocked eyes showed a hint of disappointment.

She didn't expect that the handsome guy she finally met would turn out to be gay?

Before leaving, she glanced back at Jiang Chen.

Unfortunately, Jiang Chen's eyes were still on the statue, his mind full of thoughts about the blessing.

How long would this Deity's Blessing take?

Could something have gone wrong?

It shouldn't be!

Jiang Chen was getting anxious.

Suddenly, one of the statues emitted a faint light that only Jiang Chen could see.

The glowing, worn statue's features were unclear, but its form was harmonious and beautiful, with an almost perfect figure.

At the same time, a melodious voice like heavenly music sounded in Jiang Chen's mind: "Child from another world, may you always believe in love."

[You have obtained a hidden buff: Blessing of the Love Deity.]

"Finally!"

Jiang Chen was excited and began to check the buff's effects.

[Blessing of the Love Deity: When teamed up with the opposite sex, gain the following benefits: ① Skill cooldown time reduced by 50%; ② Mana consumption reduced by 50%; ③ Drop quality +1.]

[Each time you reach maximum intimacy with a member of the opposite sex, you can remove one team requirement for the buff.]

[When you reach maximum intimacy with three members of the opposite sex, you can remove all team requirements for the buff.]

Seeing the detailed description of the buff, Jiang Chen was dumbfounded.

He had just said he didn't like teaming up with girls, and now...

How could he not team up?

With such a terrifying buff, he had to team up no matter what!

And, as long as he reached maximum intimacy with three girls, there would be no team requirements.

So... he just needed to increase intimacy?

But why did it have to be with girls?

Jiang Chen didn't understand.

At this moment, the melodious voice sounded again: "Go, child. You should like girls and find true love."

Jiang Chen was stunned.

Was this... the voice of the Love Deity?

Like girls?

Did the Love Deity hear what I just said?

So...

Jiang Chen couldn't help but laugh and cry.

This was all a misunderstanding!

I'm really not gay!

Indeed, there are gods three feet above your head; one must be cautious in words and actions.

"Praise the Love Deity, love the Love Deity!"

Jiang Chen said devoutly, whether he meant it or not, at least he made it look sincere.

After all, it seemed he could communicate with the deity.

He wanted to see if he could get some more benefits.

The meaning of his words was clear: Can I have some more?

---

Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan