#7. Crafting the First Holy Relic

I opened the Status Window.

Without hesitation, I activated the one-day job change.

I immediately opened the Status Window after the job change. For reference, becoming a Partner didn't mean I couldn't use Heal. The fact that Cleric was listed under common skills meant all B-rank jobs could use Cleric skills.

I scrolled down to the middle of the Status Window and stared.

There they were—the job skills perfect for a Partner. Several skills, but the one I needed right now was the first.

Without hesitation, I tried it on the data I was working on.

It worked!

Amazingly, Divine Power had been imbued into the program.

I quickly checked my Divine Power. Originally maxed at 2,000, I'd used 1,000 for the job change and 300 for relic creation, leaving 712. Why not 700? Because in that time, my Yeonok-dong believers had prayed for me, filling it up a bit.

Out of idle curiosity, I used the Holy Relic Creation skill once more.

Multiple uses work?

Amazingly, it applied again.

After that, I coded as slowly as possible to stretch out the full 24 hours. Every time Divine Power hit 300, I immediately used Holy Relic Creation. The day as a Partner flew by. Midway, Heo Jae-su checked in, so I told him I was doing a two-day retreat in seclusion. Heo Yu-na insisted on bringing lunch, which I barely talked her out of.

After about 15 uses of Holy Relic Creation, the usage limit finally appeared. Shortly after, the day ended.

And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠just like that, I switched back from Partner to Priest. By then, the app was complete.

Should I sprinkle some blessings and baptisms on this data blob?

As a Priest, I decided to bless and baptize the chunk of data in front of me.

This app had some conscience—it only accepted one Baptism and one Blessing. The problem was...

Luck criticals triggered three times in a row.

"What the hell? This is scary."

At this point, even I was afraid of what kind of app was about to be born.

I glanced out the small window of my one-room. The dawn sky was visible.

"Mother... what kind of prank are you pulling?"

This couldn't be explained by mere luck. The Mother of All Things had clearly intervened.

Four days later.

The first formal service was held at the Yeonok-dong seniors' center. Including Yu-mi, who praised me with pure sincerity, there were 12 devout believers, 2 fanatics showing wild faith, over 100 general believers still on the fence, and 50 ordinary folks tagging along with them—all gathered here.

"Our Providence Church worships the Mother of All Things, the Weaver of Providence."

"Aaaah!"

"As Providence wills."

"As Providence wills."

The Priest's Warm Conversation (B), evolved from Warm Conversation (C), had an incredible effect. With just the first words, most listeners' eyes glazed over in bliss.

"Today is the historic first formal service. Far in the future, billions of brothers and sisters around the world might commemorate this day with rest or events."

"As Providence wills."

"As Providence wills."

Every time I finished a sentence, the response chant of "As Providence wills" echoed from the devout believers at the core. It spread gradually until even general believers murmured it here and there. Quite a few were already making the Providence Church sign of the cross, too.

No matter how much cheat-like Divine Power or god-tier Status Window you have, without this, it'd be a shaky religion at best.

Doctrines.

"As a servant bound to the Mother of All Things and Providence, I shall convey a few miracles and several doctrines to you all."

Bibles, Qurans, Buddhist sutras, and more. Earth is full of doctrines.

They were pretty well-made, too.

Of course, my previous life's church had doctrines. Just not as deep as Earth's. The reason? Divine Power. With clear proof like Divine Power, doctrines weren't crucial. Earth, lacking Divine Power, had to lean hard on them.

Bringing past-life doctrines here verbatim would doom us. No game. Copy-pasting Earth's feels off, too.

In other words, I needed to craft new Providence Church doctrines suited to modern Earth.

"First, let me share a few doctrines."

Crafting doctrines wasn't as hard as I'd thought.

"Do not proselytize the Mother of All Things and the Weaver of Providence. I won't, either."

First line: Gently scratch the entry barrier modern nonbelievers have toward religion.

"Do not proselytize. Simply help the needy and stand by them—that's enough. Never reveal the Mother or us before the suffering. Act only with pure love."

No matter how profound Earth's religions' doctrines, some didn't fit the modern world.

"But if they seek to enter our embrace, welcome them sincerely."

This was what I aimed for.

"And if later they feel stifled and wish to leave, do not stop them. Just bless their departing back."

This was doctrine born of overwhelming confidence from Divine Power and the Status Window.

"If the wanderer later returns to our embrace, receive them as you would a runaway child coming home—without fuss."

"As Providence wills."

"As Providence wills."

People's eyes sparkled at the strange yet fresh doctrines.

"Never forgive a perpetrator without the victim's consent. Do not forgive enemies on your own whim."

Some doctrines came from my past life. They fit today's punishment-craving world well. Earth's famous "love your enemies" or "hate the sin, not the sinner"? Insane in a world teeming with magic, Divine Power, demons, and monsters. Such doctrines wouldn't survive Icadia. Same for modern society's jungle.

"Even if a great sinner truly repents, do not forgive or embrace them lightly. We have no right—neither I nor we—to forgive or accept that sinner."

Some of Earth's religions declined by overusing "forgive sins and love" doctrines.

"The right to forgive belongs solely to the wounded victim. Only they can forgive and embrace the sinner."

Later, when Emotion Reading evolves to soul-reading, I'd spot purely evil souls sometimes. They're cunning actors, exploiting human goodness. That's why I wary of "forgive sinners, love enemies" doctrines.

"Providence Church will embrace only the righteous with true faith. Righteousness will be proven by Divine Power, the evidence of Mother's Providence."

Maybe it's moral gatekeeping. But I saw it as fine. Better than backlash from half-hearted repenters.

"Before judging, think from their perspective. Who benefits from that hate? But know this: the more you hate, the more you will suffer."

Next, doctrines tuned to modern sensibilities—for the weary of competition, SNS, hate, and materialism.

"Don't push too hard, don't run till you break, don't overdo it. It's okay to give up sometimes. Rest in Providence's embrace and surrender."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

This part? ChatGPT spat it out convincingly on request. Mashup of Shorts videos and feel-good speeches. But infused with Divine Power, it rang true.

"Don't obsess over others' show-offs. The moment you compare or criticize, you become the ugliest."

No clear solutions, heavy on emotion over reason—but who cares.

"Escape vanity, abandon material attachment. Fill yourself with spiritual abundance. Pity those wasting life on vanity, comparison, luxury."

In modern Earth, religion's a service for comfort, belonging, life direction. How many churchgoers truly grasp their doctrines? Not many. Providence's would hit modern hearts harder. Familiar taste.

"As Providence wills!"

"As Providence wills!"

The sermon, laced with passive Warm Conversation (B), worked wonders. Even dressed-up platitudes left the crowd dazed and happy. Devout believers' emotions deepened. General ones shifted from casual to reverent gazes. Some teared up, deeply moved. Heo Yu-na and Heo Jae-su, the two fanatics, just stood firm.

"Now, for the baptism."

Sermon done, time for the highlight: baptism. Providence Church's true idol would debut.

"First. Those meeting me or Providence Church for the first time today, please raise your hands."

Before baptism, I separated those not even general believers yet.

"If you're interested in Providence Church and want to participate more actively, could you install this app on your phones?"

I proposed app installation to them.

"Of course, it's entirely free choice. If it's burdensome or suspicious, no need."

It was the app I'd whipped up at home over the past few days. A super-holy data blob, showered with multiple baptisms and blessings on mere code. An idol for nonbelievers unaware of Providence Church!

The Status Window app: Providence: Raise a Cleric.