Mark Stuart, a 21st-century Chinese university graduate who died in a workplace accident, transmigrates into the body of an eighteen-year-old failed priest on the Holy Dragon Continent. He inherits the decaying Stuart Church in Champagne Town and a personal system panel that reveals his pathetic state: Level 1, six attributes around the average adult standard, a faith value of 7/100 teetering on collapse, and a special status of Holy Light Aversion, meaning the Holy Light despises him for trying to bribe it with cheap bread. In this world every sentient being possesses a similar system, but these systems are largely useless—they give no quests, sign-in rewards, or hidden treasure detection. Mark’s church is nearly bankrupt after the sudden death of his father, a third-rank professional who died while praying for a noble, and the disappearance of his mother the same night. The original Mark failed his job change to priest multiple times and had to sell the church’s holy artifacts for bread. Now Mark must find a way to advance and escape this predicament.While exploring his possessions, Mark finds the Gloomy Cross Necklace, a family heirloom that lost its original luster after its last owner was scared to death by a nightmare. Despite its current ordinary grade, Mark senses its hidden value. He decides to attempt a job change, ignoring his father’s warning against using the third method. To his shock, an unknown being opposed to the Holy Light instantly transfers him into a newly created ■■Holy Order, doubling all his attributes to 8-12 and granting three blacked-out skills: Holy Judgment■, Holy Light Healing■, and Holy Light Protection■. His faith value becomes 0/100, and his special status changes to Holy Light Aversion (Deceptive), with a cryptic message stating that every bastard who hates the Holy Light receives His gifts and that he must find “Him” for more power. The cross necklace also transforms into a Mythic-grade accessory, concealed by a mysterious aura, but he needs a professional appraiser to unlock its effects. Realizing he has been marked by an entity hostile to the Holy Light Church, Mark understands that staying in Champagne Town as a priest would be suicide. He resolves to become an adventurer or mercenary to earn money and avoid the church’s attention.Back at the church, Mark is confronted by Bishop Miller from the prosperous St. John’s Cathedral. Miller delivers an ultimatum: Stuart Church owes 100 gold in back church taxes and penalties for dereliction of duty over the past two years, including service fees for forty-three funerals, nine exorcisms, and barrier maintenance performed by St. John’s. He offers to forgive the debt and help Mark retain his priest status if Mark transfers the church land to him. Mark sees through the extortion but cannot argue against the clauses of Holy Law. He adopts a deadbeat attitude, daring Miller to report him to the Inquisition, but Miller’s hints about unnatural deaths and the surge in supernatural incidents suggest that a monster is targeting the Stuart family. After Miller leaves, Sister Eileen, the only other occupant of the church and a second-rank professional, reveals that she knows the truth: a monster killed Mark’s father and likely caused the original Mark’s death. She orders Mark to stay indoors tonight and not come out, no matter what he hears, indicating she plans to confront the monster herself.That evening Mark hides in his room but secretly plans to observe the confrontation. He spends hours in the church study, attempting to activate his new skills by imitating the prayers and gestures of ordinary priests, but he fails to release any of his blacked-out abilities. As the church bells ring the evening service, he notices the half bottle of holy water in his pocket emitting a faint, eerie glow, signaling the monster’s approach. Armed with only the mythic cross necklace and his untrained status, Mark waits in the darkness, unsure of what will happen but determined to survive and learn the truth behind his father’s death and the mystery of his new existence. The story stands at the precipice of a dangerous night that will test Mark’s resolve and shape his future on the Holy Dragon Continent.
