Slime Leveling [Litrpg, Timeloop]-Chapter 190—Faith

"Can I meet her?" Giliberu uttered, his eyes wide open. "Is meeting a god even possible?"

The old man grinned widely. "Hahaha."

Giliberu blankly stared at the laughing old man.

The old man shook his head and replied sternly, "No."

"Then why did you mention—ask her in person?" Giliberu asked, clenching his jaw. "Don't play with me."

The old man stood up and walked towards the right wall, passing through the frozen people like they were statues.

Giliberu followed.

The old man stopped, facing the right side wall.

The wall had more than ten beautiful paintings, they were large enough to be seen from anywhere in the hall, and a distance of a meter between each of them.

'They are like the modern photos,' Giliberu noticed that there were photos of actual beings. 'It's not a painted portrait.'

The old man pointed towards a painting in the middle, in the upper corner, and asked, "Do you know who she is?"

Giliberu glanced at the painting.

An old woman with gray hair, clad in a ragged robe, knelt on her knees, placing her palms together, thumbs against her chest, bowing her head slightly.

A towering blue female shadow stood in front of her. Blue light fell down on the old woman from the sky.

The shadow gave off a motherly temperament while feeling vast and heavy at the same time.

"Is she getting a blessing?" Giliberu asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes," the old man nodded. "This woman had 14 miscarriages in her life."

"14," Giliberu clicked his tongue.

"She was disowned by her own husband and forced to return to her parents," the old man continued with a sigh.

"Just how ruthless they are," Giliberu frowned.

The old man narrowed his eyes. "Yes. They are indeed ruthless. So what do you think this woman did?"

"Pray to the Creation Goddess?" Giliberu asked, musing, 'It's obvious since they had a photo of her… and she should be one of the greatest.'

"Only a god could help her in that situation," the old man replied. "This woman—her name is Veronica. She's not an ordinary woman. She was a princess of a country. After her miscarriages, she gave up her material life and devoted her life solely to the Creation Goddess."

He paused, as a gleam of appreciation flashed in his eyes. "Her faith was so powerful that the Creation Goddess had no choice but to respond by granting her wish."

"Faith can make gods grant a wish?" Giliberu exclaimed.

He thought, 'It's like gods from my previous life.'

"Yes. They have no choice but to respond," the old man replied. "Faith is the most powerful force, yet the weakest force."

'Faith…' Giliberu recalled when he helped Oakfield village—the villagers thanked him, and he gained a ray of faith.

'Damn it… Eternal Mastery took it before I could feel that power,' he yelled internally.

Then he asked, "Why is faith so weak, yet powerful at the same time?"

"Faith comes from a person's obsession, willingness to give up something, and letting go of everything… will, faith is simply the manifestation of strong will," the old man said.

Pointing towards the woman, he continued, "This lady, Veronica, had given up her royal life. She gave up material life. She performed severe penance for more than a thousand years, with no food, standing on a single toe…"

He turned to Giliberu and questioned, "Now do you think gods wouldn't be forced to react to a severe penance?"

"But aren't gods ruthless?" Giliberu asked, frowning. "Gods plainly watch people die like ants. So would they care about someone's faith?"

"No. Not every god is like that," the old man shook his head. "And faith itself is the mysterious power which can bend the world to a person's will. Many gods have no choice but to respond and react to their devotees' faith."

"Be careful, by the way," the old man paused with a sigh. "There are many gods who don't care to respond to faith, and just simply take away the faith their devotees grant them."

"Faith was a power manifested from will?" Giliberu inquired, wanting to understand it in a simpler way.

The old man nodded. "Yes, you got it right. If will is weak, then faith is weak. But if will is extraordinary, and if faith is born from a strong obsession, it'll be very strong."

Giliberu nodded, understanding. "So what did Veronica wish for?"

The old man pivoted and glanced at Giliberu with a small grin. "She wished for an extraordinary son in her next life."

"Next life? Why next life?" Giliberu asked. "Couldn't she ask for that in the same life? With the power of faith and the Creation Goddess's power, she could have turned into a young person."

The old man shook his head. "She was tired of living."

He sighed, glancing at the kid beside him, who slipped his foot and had frozen mid-fall.

Giliberu fell silent.

After a moment, he asked, "So you want me to do the penance and force the Creation Goddess to respond?"

"Yes," the old man nodded. "It's better to know it directly from the creator itself, doesn't it?" He clapped his hands and continued. "If your faith is strong, you can also wish for wiping out the curse goblins carry, or any other thing you want."

Giliberu fell into thought. 'Is this the only way?'

He recalled how everyone responded to him when he mentioned goblins and their problems.

"Yes. This is the only way," the old man said, reading his mind.

Giliberu frowned. "It's not good manners to read someone's mind."

The old man grinned lightly. "You are too weak. Your thoughts are spilling out.... I don't want to read them."

Giliberu sighed. 'He's too powerful.'

The old man said, "Among the gods, the Creation Goddess responds the fastest."

Giliberu clicked his tongue. 'It seemed he was hell-bent on making me pray to her.'

He glanced around the hall and noticed figures in the paintings. "Isn't she the Creation Goddess? Why is there a vampire?" he asked, pointing towards a painting at the corner of the right wall.

A werewolf with bleeding arms stood in front of a strikingly handsome young vampire, who was clad in a black and white suit.

The vampire's temperament was chilly and bloodthirsty, as if waiting to drink anyone's blood.

The red blood from the werewolf dripped onto the young, black-haired vampire's feet. A blue light descended on the werewolf from the sky.

The old man grinned. "The Creation Goddess has no form nor shape. She comes in the form devotees desire."

Giliberu nodded. "So he believed the Creation Goddess is a vampire."

The old man nodded. "Yes. He believed the creator is a primordial progenitor." He paused, pointed his finger at another painting, and continued, "Some believe the creator is a primordial titan."

He pointed towards paintings in a flow, "A primordial spirit… primordial dragon."

Giliberu nodded and asked, "So, how do I gain the faith and do the penance?"

The old man proceeded to explain. "…"

Then the old man clenched his fist, brought his palm towards his mouth, and muttered, "I…"

His hand shone with bright blue light.

As he waved his palm, a flash of blue light rushed towards Giliberu.

'What the…' Giliberu scowled.