Most people might not grasp the significance of "feminization," but Jason Kin knew exactly what it meant. Before crossing over, he had been a devoted and very bald Azur Lane player. In that game, ship girls were completely anthropomorphized into young women. Once he realized this, of course he was excited about the divine art Mechanical Life Awakening.
The catch was, until he ignited his divine fire, the skill could only be used inside his own divine realm the Domain of Life. That was why he had given his priest the oracle to offer up the Benson-class destroyer in the first place. Because he wanted to create a ship girl of his very own. And not just ship girls with this ability, any mechanical being could be awakened into a mechanical maiden. According to the system, any creation born from his awakening would start out at Apostle rank.
An Apostle was a rank above even a fanatic someone who would throw themselves into fire or battle without hesitation if it was for their god. The faith power provided by an Apostle was far greater than that of ordinary followers. If he succeeded, he wouldn't just gain a powerful combat asset he'd gain a constant source of faith. No wonder he was impatient to get started.
As the last words of his followers' prayers faded, Jason Kin felt a mysterious link form between himself and the congregation. With that connection, he could easily draw the offering into his divine realm, or bestow blessings, or manifest divine power. Without hesitation, he summoned the Benson-class destroyer into his domain.
Back at the harbor in the mortal world, a sudden pillar of seven-colored divine light descended from the heavens, enveloping the massive ship. In an instant, the warship floating in the water vanished completely. Gasps broke out among the believers. They stared wide-eyed at the now-empty waters, their disbelief plain. Many of them had only joined the Church out of curiosity, their faith lukewarm at best their "shallow believer" status made that clear enough. But now, what they had just witnessed shattered all doubt.
The massive destroyer had vanished into thin air. This wasn't a trick. This was a miracle. Heads bowed low, foreheads pressing to the ground.
"The great Lord of Life has manifested!"
"May your power be eternal, your divine fire never extinguished!"
"Thank you for accepting our offering!"
"Please bless your humble followers!"
The priest prayed with fervor, and the crowd followed this time, their devotion was genuine.
In the Domain of Life, Jason Kin sat beneath the ten-meter-tall Life Tree at the center of his realm, eyes half-closed. His divine sense reached beyond the realm's border, where the seven-colored light surrounded the massive warship the offering from his followers. With a thought, he claimed it.
[Log]: Your followers have held a devout sacrificial ceremony.
[Log]: Your followers have offered a retired, damaged Elite-grade Benson-class destroyer.
[Log]: You have gained 101 Faith Points.
[System]: Your offering has triggered the system's Critical Reward. Quality has been increased one hundredfold.
[System]: You have obtained a Tier 6 Skyborne-class Destroyer.
"Skyborne-class?! Critical reward?! Don't tell me… this is my cheat ability?"
Excitement surged through Jason Kin. Not only was he the Marvel Universe's only god, but now he had a system the Infinite Critical Reward System. As the name implied, it could critically upgrade offerings, multiplying their quality and rank without limit. A moment ago, his followers had sacrificed nothing more than a worn-out Elite-grade destroyer. With the system's boost, it was now a pristine Tier 6 Skyborne-class Destroyer.
From Elite to Skyborne in one leap four full tiers! The improvement was absurd. For context, most Marvel superheroes topped out around Tier 4. His destroyer's combat level had just jumped past them. If he awakened it into a ship girl, she could crush most Earth-based heroes with ease. The thought alone had him grinning.
"I wonder… what exactly has been upgraded?" He pulled up the offering's stats.
Offering Details:
Name: Benson-class Destroyer
Tier: 6 Skyborne
Equipment: Phased Array Radar, Advanced Sonar
Weapons 1: Twin 127mm dual-purpose gun, twin 105mm SKC improved AA gun, quintuple 533mm magnetic torpedo launcher
Weapons 2: High-energy laser cannon, railgun
The only thing left now… was to awaken her.