"Is she cheating?"
Alistair looked at the ring on his finger, guessing that Professor Ariel Hatsufuji's dark purple bangle might be generating some kind of feedback loop with the ring on her hand, thereby enhancing her physical capabilities. However, this enhancement was likely temporary, unlike Alistair's permanent upgrades.
This also suggested one crucial thing: that religion had the capability to manufacture supernatural items. This was highly problematic, as they could create one, then a second, and a third. Setting aside other uses, if they could produce many items that enhance overall physical attributes, like Professor Ariel Hatsufuji's bangle, they could form a terrorist organization, never mind just a religious one.
Another point was that if this was just a low-tier item, the situation was even worse. Who knew what kind of artifacts the core figures possessed? If they had objects that influenced the mind, Alistair couldn't just casually investigate, as he only had Za Warudo (Time Stop) at his disposal, and the cost was significant. So far, Alistair had only managed to store fifteen seconds of [Time]; once used up, it was gone, unless he overdrafted his [Mysticism] and used his essence as fuel to sustain it. However, that would essentially negate all of Alistair's (supposed) hard work.
In a sense, using Time Stop to counter mental abilities would be overkill. However, based on what Alistair currently knew, physical-enhancement abilities weren't uncommon, even among human ability users, who could achieve effects similar to Professor Ariel Hatsufuji's accessory.
If those religious artifacts were manufactured with a strength level comparable to the majority of human abilities, Alistair wouldn't be too worried. This was because the power level of human mental ability users generally adhered to a process similar to a mental roll in a game.
If the mental strength was roughly equal, the effect would be normal. If the user's mental strength was greater than the target's, the effect would be more pronounced. If the target's mental strength was significantly stronger, the ability would not only fail but would also naturally increase the target's hostility towards the user.
While this possibility seemed manageable, the normal effect would, at most, be to implant a mental suggestion or induce mental fatigue. Furthermore, these effects were influenced by the mental state of both the user and the target.
For instance, a mentally fatigued user employing an ability on a bright-eyed elementary school student would, at best, cause the child to pause momentarily, after which they would resume their activity without any lingering effects. Consequently, most real-world mental ability users tended to become psychologists or similar professionals, as their abilities were otherwise quite limited. Only during school years could they act like scumbags, manipulating girls as Rinji Matsuoka did. Once in society, where people were highly guarded, how effective could such an ability truly be?
Don't let novels mislead you with powerful and rare mental abilities. In reality, they are often too niche unless one intends to pursue a career like psychology. Otherwise, their main use in society is exploiting emotionally vulnerable girls after a breakup.
Returning to the main point: if the mental artifacts of that religion only had the strength level of human abilities, Alistair had nothing to fear. Was his double soul strength, resulting from the soul fusion after transmigration, a joke? Any attempt to use such an ability would likely only fuel Alistair's rage.
However, since they had the ability to manufacture anomalous objects, they must possess a profound understanding of naturally occurring artifacts. This understanding could only be gained through research on artifacts, which strongly suggested that this religion probably possessed a significant number of artifacts.
From the information revealed when the ring was unsealed, eleven artifacts were the minimum requirement for a breakthrough. Alistair's process of refining his life essence could also be termed the elevation of his [Mysticism]. The absorption of "Desire" was merely the most suitable function for this ring, as it was forged from the complete body of a deep-sea demon representing desire. After all, one couldn't expect an item made from a Great Demon to promote good deeds, could they? That would be ridiculous.
Refining one's essence entirely through artifacts was the best way, but artifacts themselves were rare, and their abilities were diverse and often bizarre, with varying trigger conditions. Some objects might have sat in a normal person's home for centuries without showing any anomaly, yet they were artifacts whose trigger conditions had never been met. Furthermore, when artifacts activated, they didn't produce any obvious fluctuations, making them hard to detect.
With strange trigger conditions, scarcity, and utterly bizarre forms, plus the unknown nature of most of their effects, searching for artifacts was like looking for a needle in a haystack. One could only rely on sheer luck.
What was particularly unique was that Alistair gained the ability of every artifact he absorbed, and these abilities were modified based on his own nature. For example, the first artifact, the Stone Mask, granted Alistair the ability to heal his body by drinking blood. The second, the Pheromone Tree, gave Alistair the ability to generate Pheromones.
When absorbing the Pheromone Tree, the first ability was also enhanced: the blood-healing ability was strengthened, and his overall physical attributes were improved. Although the increase was slight, it was definite. This proved that Alistair's body gained the artifact's ability upon absorption and simultaneously increased his [Mysticism]. Moreover, subsequently absorbed artifacts could also enhance the abilities granted by previous ones—perhaps not just the previous one, but all preceding abilities.
According to the information gleaned from the ring, no other individual or creature had ever exhibited this phenomenon, suggesting Alistair's situation was unique. However, the abilities of many artifacts were strange, and few were of great practical use. Therefore, if Alistair wanted greater potential, it was better to screen the artifacts he found.
Even without screening, Alistair would acquire more abilities to cope with various situations. The Pheromones alone have provided significant help, generally used to influence and quickly claim girls.
As for dating? That's hilarious. First ride, then pay—that was the correct code of conduct in this world. Otherwise, while you were dating, she might already be thoroughly explored by others, as Alistair has consistently done. Only by claiming first could he ensure he wouldn't lose out. Plus, Pheromones had a slow cognitive altering effect; the more times he played, the longer they stayed together, naturally making the woman belong only to Alistair.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Trying to force the world to adapt to you when you can't adapt to the world is idiotic unless you are a deity who can do as they please. The correct approach is to apply the right rules in the right environment. Of course, if your strength is sufficient, slightly bending the rules is acceptable.
For example, in this part of the world, where regulations were lax, Alistair's grandfather could likely smooth over anything short of an earth-shattering incident. Within the school environment, Alistair could essentially do whatever he wanted. As long as he didn't too blatantly challenge the higher-ups or engage in overly sensitive activities, they wouldn't trouble him, and ordinary students couldn't afford to provoke Alistair. So, Alistair was largely free to act as he wished, provided he didn't get too reckless.
Though cruel, this was reality. With power, authority, and strength, especially in this capitalistic society, Alistair was practically a campus tyrant.
That said, this status was only effective when bullying others. When facing Professor Ariel Hatsufuji, Hikari Matsuda, or Senior Madoka, if they weren't familiar with him, they weren't familiar. At most, he could avoid them. Thus, Alistair couldn't directly coerce them for information about the religion.
Moreover, according to Senior Shizuku Hatsufuji, these items were only given to devout believers. Since they were "devout," they would certainly treat the tenets as truth. As these items were rewards for faithful followers, they definitely wouldn't reveal much to ordinary believers or non-believers. And given Shizuku's own experience, it seemed this religion didn't spread indiscriminately but selected specific targets for recruitment, meaning they wouldn't casually disclose information.
Regarding the mentality of religious followers, Alistair had some prior experience from before his transmigration.
Alistair knew a person before he crossed over—not closely, perhaps just a casual friend. Later, that person somehow joined some religion. Since the religion caused no harm, had little influence, didn't sell anything, and its doctrine lacked self-harming activities, the authorities left it alone.
Therefore, his friend performed religious rituals without interference.
Alistair wasn't clear about the religion's specific tenets, only vaguely knowing philosophical concepts like seeking self and truth, so he didn't pay it much mind.
Alistair only truly learned about his friend's situation again after a certain "religious act."
After compiling various sources of information, Alistair generally understood the entire sequence of events regarding his friend.
First, his friend requested leave from work, combining all available holidays, including annual leave, totaling about half a month. Another friend working there told Alistair, fearing his friend's family might be in trouble.
Then, he called his parents, saying he needed to go on a business trip for about two weeks and wouldn't be reachable, asking them not to worry.
Next, his friend bought some fruit, went home, shut off the utilities, and turned off his phone.
The leave quickly ended, and his friend didn't return to the company. The company first tried calling, but couldn't get through, so they contacted his family, who were also confused. They ended up calling the police. Finally, they found him at his house, sitting naked on the living room floor. His already thin body was emaciated, and his eyes were vacant. A few apples were placed not far in front of him, one with a bite taken out.
Alistair didn't know the exact details afterward, but he heard his friend did it to seek the true world and experience his true self. The specific reasons were unclear. However, given the might of the country before his transmigration, previous incidents were thoroughly investigated, and this religion was also exposed.
It was because of this incident that local governments cracked down slightly on philosophical religions, at least to prevent similar occurrences.
When Alistair saw his friend again later, his mental state seemed fine. He told Alistair that he had tasted the true flavor of the apple.