[NR] Both Belief AND Free Will - Chapter 796 (Patreon)

Rosha, “Okay, fair enough. Though before we forget. What is the other reason this is a bad place to stay? You know, besides the fact that there are likely evil cults, both to deities and others, hanging around?”

Jason shrugs, “Think door-to-door salesmen, but worse.”

Rosha, “I haven’t really experienced anyone being pushy about religion? Sure, there are a few religions kicking about, including a couple imported from irl.

“If I remember correctly, those organizations got a bit testy when the System provided facsimiles of their deities in NeoRealm.

“But there hasn’t been any real push? No preachers on the street corners or any other proselytisation. Sure, there are more people who would be willing to talk about their deity dejure. But why do you think it will be bad?”

Jason, “If we weren’t staying long, that’d be one thing. They don’t want to chase away traders. But we won’t be simply passing through. We’ll be here for a while!

“And you know what they’ll notice? That we don’t go to services, to temples or churches. That we don’t pray to any shrine or obelisk. That no matter the imagery or hymns we pass by, we make no signs or bow our heads.

“It might take a while. There are more than enough holy sites that as long as we wander around a bit, they’ll think maybe we haven’t found our specific flavor of religion. But eventually they’ll realize we’re free agents. That we aren’t a part of a specific cult. And then they’ll be like sharks sensing blood in the water.

“An unwritten rule that keeps a place like this thriving? That keeps the place peaceful? You don’t actively poach from other sects, cults, ect. Oh, sure, you can preach loudly, make big displays of faith, and generally try to spread your flavor of faith to others. But you can’t specifically target people who are already ‘taken’. We aren’t and so will not be protected by that unwritten rule.”

Rosha, “How bad can it be?”

Jason shrugs, “Who knows? That will depend entirely on which groups are in town. It isn’t even based on the cult involved, but which group within a cult. Some will be more, shall we say, militant about inducting new members. In theory, it won’t go all the way, but some groups are fine with non-consensual conversions.

“Which just to state right out, is a stupid thing to do. Not just stupid, but counterproductive! You can not gain faith from those forced against their will. Inherently, faith is created at the intersection of belief and free will. That’s why angels don’t provide faith. No matter how much they believe in their deity, they don’t have a choice about it.

“If forcing people to believe worked? The System would have long ago forced all the locals to worship it and only it. This city would not exist as it stands because the System would allow no alternatives. Every place more permanent than a campsite meant for a few days at most would have some kind of altar or idol to the System. And no one would think it weird.”

Courtney frowns, “Why wouldn’t anyone find it strange?”

Jason shrugs, “Well, for one, I doubt the System would have them worship it directly. Instead, using proxy identities. A tactic used by many, especially Devils and Fae, to get a toehold in areas that normally wouldn’t allow them. Though more to the point, as players we respawn at the last place we stayed.

“Right now? There isn’t really anything to mark this, but the System could easily use the age-old trope of heroes respawning at the church. After all, the Isekai storyline we basically function under here screams ‘and so God brought in heroes to save the world’. Which would easily lead into us spawning at said ‘God’s’ place of worship, and that would necessitate idols and altars anywhere a person would respawn.

“Honestly? The System would probably have us spreading idols to it all over the place in the name of making new respawn points. Simply have monsters attack them out in the wild and people would defend them as their lifeline, building up defenses around them.”

Courtney frowns, “I can certainly see that. Though that does bring up the question, what says that isn’t the case already? Why do all the deities NeoRealm has kicking around have to be actual beings and not just System proxies?”

Jason, “Because all the various clerics and their divine spells feel different. Have you ever read a story where a deity has some sort of unique speech or other way that confirms who they are? That’s basically how divinity works. Each deity has a different ‘flavor’ of divinity as it is based on their soul.

“Sure, a trickster divinity can hide their divinity, but no one can mimic another deity’s divinity. So if a cleric is casting divine spells without a divine aura to said spell? That might not confirm who the divinity backing that cleric is, but it limits you to non-divine options and deities with a portfolio involving lies or trickery.

“Oh, and any deity who personally shows up can hide their divinity when throwing it around. What can’t be hidden is when someone or something else channels their divinity. Oh, and the no-imitation thing holds true across the board. Not even the tricksie-est trickster can mimic another’s deity’s divinity.

“They usually get around this by not revealing their divinity and just making claims. People can be too willing to believe people who look the part. Admittedly, mortals tend not to do this kind of trick. Deities don’t look kindly on such interlopers, even trickster deities. So yeah, people don’t think to look out for it.”

Courtney, “Is that why the few streams that have been captured of church leaders making an announcement, there’s a bunch of aura effects?”

Jason shrugs, “That is mostly showboating. Divinity isn’t something you can literally see in a way a stream would pick up. Though it might be an illusion used to visualize what’s happening. Even if that is about as accurate as every time they show thermal vision as shades of red and blue.”