50. Temple & Blessings

Jake juggles a telepathic exchange with Miranda and a tour with Chris inside Haven’s Temple. Miranda reports her D-grade evolution, profession upgrade, and a rare, Jake-only communication skill with limited duration, promising to visit soon. Jake and Chris move from the west wing’s non-infused statues—largely crafted by Felix—to the east wing’s infused ones radiating varied divine auras.

Noting trainees straining under the auras, Jake remains unaffected. Urged by the Malefic Viper, a crushing Primordial aura sweeps the hall for seconds, silencing the statues and dropping nearly everyone to their knees or unconscious. Panic follows, while Jake and Chris recover; the Viper admits it was a territorial flex felt by the depicted gods.

When Chris suggests praying for a buff, Jake declines, already blessed. At the Viper’s prompting, Jake touches Chris and channels mana as the Viper adds power, conferring a lesser blessing. Overwhelmed, Chris hugs Jake and offers repayment, but Jake sets no conditions. They briefly view the Ladies of the Verdant Lagoon statue, whose aura ignores them, likely due to Viper affiliation.

As they exit, sculptor Felix rushes over, ecstatic after sensing a lingering Primordial aura from the earlier display. Misreading the source, Felix proclaims Chris the one blessed by a Primordial and begs his help in capturing such brilliance, leaving Chris the sudden focus of divine-level artistic ambition.