After handing over all the evidence to Jeffrey and sending Hailey home—who had become taciturn after finishing her conversation with her best friend—
York, having handled everything, returned to the church.
Since he had performed a mass directly but hadn't completed his daily fixed tasks yet, York went straight to the base of the Jesus Statue.
Habitually reviewing the day, York subconsciously recalled Hailey's silence on the way home and his previous deductions, gaining a bit of insight in his heart.
"I need to pay more attention to these matters in the future. After all, one pervert equals one attribute point."
Summarizing the day's events, York stared at the Jesus Statue, closed his eyes, and began to pray, recounting what had happened as he always did.
Aside from Hailey's few memorable 'lineage-ending' kicks, nothing else from today had really left a mark on him; his state of mind remained calm and unruffled.
[...]
[Prayer: Daily Prayer (Completed)]
[Reward: +0.5 Points issued]
[...]
The notification of the task's completion rang in his ears. York opened his eyes and made the sign of the cross over his chest.
"Amen."
Glancing back at the empty hall, York stood up and sat in his usual spot, preparing to allocate the attribute points he had gained today.
Calling up his personal panel and looking at the available points column, York continued to add these 1.5 attribute points into Health.
[...]
[Allocation Successful]
[Health increased from 120 to 121.5]
[...]
Listening to the prompts, York looked at his personal data. Compared to Mana, which steadily maintained the highest value, Health had always been in second place.
A value of 121.5 was now quite considerable.
He had always known that Health was linked to life and his physical body, so as Health accumulated to this level, York also began to feel that his body was becoming somewhat different.
As for what was different...
York raised his hand and clenched it into a fist. Staring at his tight fist and feeling the power flowing within, he fell into deep thought for a moment.
Likely, his flesh had become denser, bringing with it a higher defense value than before.
Regarding this, he felt that when Health accumulated to a certain value, his body might become like the 'Indestructible Body' mentioned in some movies.
At the same time, this change would allow him to move freely without too much restriction even if he sustained injuries that would render a normal human immobile.
Because of this, York always associated it with the Health bars of characters in games he had played in his previous life.
In those games, it represented the character's life status; when Health decreased to a certain point, the character would be in a critical state.
Furthermore, Health could affect a character's mobility; when Health was low, the character's speed and attack power would drop.
This aligned with his previous guesses, which was why he had always prioritized it; he didn't want to fall into a state of exhaustion or weakness when injured.
"..."
York relaxed his fist, his gaze deep.
Of course, this wasn't the only benefit. The increasingly abundant vitality in his body meant he would never feel fatigued again.
At the same time, his recovery power had become more formidable. What might have taken an hour to recover before might now only take half an hour.
Perhaps there was one more thing—he seemed to have become younger.
"I won't end up regressing into a young boy, will I..."
York shook his head. Hearing footsteps, he looked toward the door.
A few seconds later, three believers walked in. They nodded to him and silently sat on the pews to rest with their eyes closed, whether in repentance or prayer.
York didn't mind. As long as no one specifically came to find him, he generally wouldn't take the initiative to disturb the believers' peace.
Sometimes, what some believers needed most was simply a quiet place.
Feeling the sensation of the point allocation fade within him, York stood up and walked toward the lounge.
Taking advantage of this free time, he planned to stock up on holy water. It was rare to have performed a mass baptism today, and there was a high probability no one would disturb his actions now.
Although consecrated holy water only lasted for twenty days, it was inevitable that he would consume a large amount one day.
Just like the battle at the Jesse Building combined with the traditional exorcism performed on an old acquaintance, it had nearly exhausted his reserves.
So no matter what, he had to prepare some holy water in advance to handle any situation.
One must always be psychologically prepared for potential trouble; York had a very clear understanding of this principle.
He took the tools for making holy water from the lounge—such as silver cups, purified water, salt, and a backpack for storage—and returned to the altar.
Looking up at the hall, he noticed a few more believers had unknowingly joined those sitting on the closely packed pews.
Seeing that they didn't come forward to disturb him, York was happy to leave them be. He lowered his head and began mixing, preparing a full cup. Then, like the believers before him, he closed his eyes and silently recited biblical passages to consecrate the silver cup in front of him.
In the quiet hall at the altar, the Jesus Statue watched it all.
On one side were believers with closed eyes repenting or praying, and on the other was a priest with closed eyes performing a consecration. Under the candlelight, the two scenes complemented each other.
In this atmosphere, York successfully produced cup after cup of holy water.
After some time, the materials were quickly used up. The result of his efforts was six bottles of holy water scattered across the altar, having directly used up all the church's reserves, materials, and the Holy Light Energy within the church.
"Twenty days of effect... this should be enough to last for a while." York muttered to himself as he looked up again.
By now, it was late afternoon. There weren't many believers left in the hall, only a few very patient old believers who continued to pray with closed eyes and devout expressions.
York was long accustomed to such scenes. He silently packed the holy water bottles into the backpack beneath the altar and then took out his phone, placing it on the surface.
"Now, time to verify a hypothesis."
Recalling the results he had tested during the exorcism of his old acquaintance, York prepared to attempt to consecrate the phone according to that day's idea.
When he encountered a supernatural event or a possessed demon again, he could continue to experiment with the possibility of recordings.
If the recording worked, the means he could use in the future would become even more diverse, which would help him deal with any sudden situations.
However, before he could begin the consecration, the phone rang instead. York immediately saw the caller's name.
"Jeffrey? Is there a result?"
Thinking of that man-eating demon who looked so much like Ed Warren, York stopped his consecration rhythm and silently tapped the green phone icon.
"Father Yorkes..." When the call connected, Jeffrey's voice sounded simultaneously.
York responded calmly, "Yes."
"I thought about it, and I still wanted to tell you about that Jeff's situation,"
Jeffrey's voice traveled through the phone speaker into his ear.