Lord of Prayer

Chapter 403: Chapter 260: Eradicate Sickness and Pain from the World

·

"Good evening, Mr. Lamp God."

In the solemn and stately Round Table Hall, Lin Ya was the first to rise and offer her greeting. Nearly a month had passed, and her Spiritual Power had grown considerably. In another month or two, she should be able to advance to Tier Two.

"Mr. Lamp God, are the two newcomers I recommended qualified?" Soron asked from the side, a bit impatiently.

The Lamp God, seated on the main throne, gave a slight nod, his voice mysterious and distant. "All the newcomers you recommended meet the standards."

’They all meet the standards...’ Hearing this, Colin grew thoughtful. He subconsciously began to analyze the commonalities among the newcomers. One of them was his own teammate from the White House Squad, Shane Elizabeth. The other two were Ascenders he had met on past missions. They were all filled with a sense of justice and kindness; they weren’t bad people by any measure.

’It seems Mr. Lamp God is a relatively positive entity...’ Colin felt a little more at ease and asked, "Mr. Lamp God, when are you planning to bring in the new members? I have a few questions for you."

The Lamp God nodded, signaling for him to ask.

"The newcomer I recommended is a friend of mine in the real world, but I don’t want to expose my identity. Is there any way to maintain secrecy?" Colin asked in a steady voice.

This was something Zhou Chen had already considered. "I will create an interference. Even a husband and wife from the real world sitting here wouldn’t recognize each other. You can rest assured that your identities will not be exposed. Are there any other questions?"

’Cognitive interference... As long as I don’t actively reveal myself, it should be fine...’ Colin shook his head. "None for now."

"And the rest of you?" The Lamp God’s gaze swept over the others. They all shook their heads as well.

"In that case, let’s welcome the new members," the Lamp God said with a light chuckle.

Long before the gathering began, he had already contacted all the newcomers. He had briefed them on the relevant matters, giving them a "heads-up" to prevent any embarrassing situations arising from their lack of knowledge.

Each of these newcomers held a strong, unfulfilled desire in their hearts, so it didn’t take much effort for him to "entice" them into provisionally joining this secret gathering to see what it was about.

With a mere thought, ten figures materialized out of thin air onto the Obsidian Thrones. The once-spacious Round Table Hall was instantly filled.

"Welcome to the Round Table Hall. Here, you can exchange information, trade items, engage in simulated combat, buy and sell Artifacts, and fulfill the wishes of your hearts," the Lamp God said with a welcoming smile.

The newcomers looked around curiously, their movements cautious.

’So this is the so-called Round Table Hall? It’s quite magnificent...’ Enveloped in a white mist, Chengzi cautiously looked around, observing her surroundings and the every move of the other members.

Just moments ago, she had been at home binge-watching a drama when she suddenly grew overwhelmingly tired and fell asleep. Her consciousness was then pulled into a Mysterious Space where she met a fellow who called himself the Lamp God. He rambled on and on, and when she finally heard that he could grant her wish, she decided to join this secret gathering on a "let’s-see" basis.

When the Lamp God mentioned he could grant wishes, her first thought was of Zhou Chen. That guy had obtained an Extraordinary Artifact from Old Jack that let him Transform into Santa Claus. And in the public consciousness, Santa Claus was undoubtedly linked to wishes.

At first, Chengzi thought it was a prank by Zhou Chen, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case. In fact, there was a high probability that Zhou Chen had been pulled in as well.

"You said you can grant our wishes?"

Just then, a hoarse voice broke the silence.

The member with the codename "No. 12" raised his left arm. His forearm was completely gone. "I lost my arm in an accident. A Curse from the Abyss still lingers on the wound. I’ve tried many methods, but nothing could restore my arm. Even mechanical prosthetics are corroded by the Curse. For all these years, my only wish has been to get my arm back. If you can help me restore it, from this day forward, I will be the Round Table Hall’s most loyal member."

"No. 12, you’ve misunderstood one thing,"

the Lamp God said with what seemed to be a smile. "It is not I who will restore your arm for you, but you yourself."

"I believe in the principle of equivalent exchange. As long as you have enough Prayer Value, you can exchange it with me for any wish. Whether or not you can accumulate enough Prayer Value is entirely up to your own abilities."

No. 12 spoke again. "How do I know you won’t ask for an exorbitant price? Or deliberately inflate the required amount of Prayer Value?"

SNAP. The Lamp God snapped his fingers, and a System Panel immediately appeared before each new member. "You have all now been loaded into the Prayer System. Enter the wish you want to fulfill, and you can see the corresponding Prayer Value required. Believe me, the prices are very fair."

No. 12 immediately tried it out. He entered his wish to restore his arm and learned that it would require eighty Prayer Value points to be fulfilled.

"How long would it take to save up eighty Prayer Value points?" No. 12 asked.

"If you find the right method, three days... no, maybe even two would be enough," Lin Ya answered proactively, feeling she should help Mr. Lamp God share some of the workload.

"Two days?" No. 12 paused, finding it hard to believe.

"That’s assuming you find the right method. If you don’t, it could take a month, or even two," Soron chimed in. He still hadn’t managed to save up eighty Prayer Value points, whereas Lin Ya’s total had likely surpassed one hundred long ago.

"What are the methods?" No. 12 asked impatiently. He had been troubled by the disability of his missing arm for many years and desperately wanted a whole arm again.

"You can look at the files in the Library. My own experiences are in there... but it costs," Lin Ya said, blushing slightly. As an introverted girl, she felt a bit like a profiteer.

The newcomers opened the system’s Library and saw the experience log inside. It required three Prayer Value points to view.

"Hmm... there’s also a Weapon Forging system?" Chengzi clicked on the Forging function and her eyes widened. "This customization page is way too detailed, isn’t it?"

As a Blacksmith, she felt a bit of resistance toward this thing. It could easily put her out of a job!

But on second thought, it didn’t seem like it would steal her business that easily. Activating the Forging function required Prayer Value, and Prayer Value was clearly the "currency" of the Round Table Hall—incredibly precious. By comparison, people would surely prefer to spend money to have a Blacksmith forge their weapons, saving their Prayer Value for more important matters.

"As long as we grant the wishes of others, we can earn Prayer Value. And we can then use that Prayer Value to grant our own wishes..."

The female member with the number "13" muttered to herself while looking at the System Panel, then turned to the Lamp God on the main throne. "I’m a doctor. My wish is to expel all sickness and pain from this world. Can you make that happen?"

"As long as you have enough Prayer Value, any wish can be fulfilled," the Lamp God replied in an incredibly mystical, charlatan-like tone.

No. 13 fell into deep thought.

"What about advancing one’s own tier?" No. 8 asked.

"As long as you have enough Prayer Value, any wish can be fulfilled," the Lamp God repeated in a calm tone.

Silence fell once more as the newcomers digested this information. They were all Ascenders, but since entering the Extraordinary World, they had never encountered anything so... miraculous.

It was like an omnipotent wishing machine; as long as you had enough coins, you could have any wish granted.

"Will the wishes be fulfilled in a twisted way?" No. 7 asked carefully.

There were other powers in the world capable of granting wishes, such as Demons.

However, they wouldn’t grant wishes properly. Instead, they would make the wishes come true in a twisted fashion. For example, if you wished for money, you would indeed get it, but you would inevitably lose something important, like your family, your lover, or even your own life.

"No. Mr. Lamp God is a kind person." The one who answered was Lin Ya. She seemed to recall something and smiled faintly. "The few wishes I’ve made have all been fulfilled normally, including increasing my Spiritual Power and recovering from injuries. If you don’t believe it, you can start by making some small wishes to try it out."

No. 12 lowered his eyes to his severed arm, remaining silent.

The other newcomers were also lost in thought, weighing the pros and cons in their minds, analyzing the potential gains and losses.

It didn’t take long for everyone to make their decision:

—They would join the Round Table Hall.

Because they all had wishes they yearned to fulfill.