My Goddess is Good at Pretending

Chapter 113: Unable to Measure

The magma black dragon landed on a hill near a forest filled with dense negative energy and hallucinatory fog.

Ely looked back. The red sky of the Demon Realm was still bright during the day. The sunlight couldn’t penetrate the thick fog and negative energy within the mysterious forest before him.

It was like a shadow realm integrated with the outside world. Everything had a shadow even though there was no light. No demons or monsters could be seen there, only ghosts and evil spirits.

"Hmm..." Ely used her Sacred Vision to observe the hidden danger.

The fog obscured her vision. It was like how one tried to see the riverbed, but the water was murky. She could barely see anything outside her observation zone, but she could still see everything within a two-kilometer radius.

"Is this the place? The fog contains hallucinogens. It will cause hallucinations if we breathe in that dark ghost forest." Evelyn used her magic item to measure a specific substance in the air.

"We can always block the harmful substance with our magical energy." Sylvia created a spiritual barrier to cover everyone.

"So many ghosts and evil spirits. What kind of accursed place is this?" Kirara subconsciously took a step back.

"Are you scared, little girl? You are a sword maiden with the capabilities of a priestess. You can always exorcist or eliminate the evil like Saintess Ely did, right?" Sylvia grinned with a hint of sarcasm.

"Yes, but not a whole nation of ghosts and evil spirits..." Kirara gulped her saliva nervously.

She got invited to help Ely in the Demon Realm because she could eliminate the ghost and evil spirits with her light.

Their encounters in Drocogalla Secret Realm were relatively easy, and she could perform well since there were few ghosts and monsters. However, the threats were heavy in the dark, foggy forest before her.

"Then, this good devil shall protect you. You don’t need to worry." Sylvia nodded slightly.

"..." Ely’s disciples were prepared with their exorcism talismans and many artifacts to fight ghosts.

"We are not here to wipe out all the evil spirits and ghosts from that forest." Ely shook her head. She had no idea why her disciples and Kirara thought they would do a mass purge.

She then checked one of her storage pouches. She had almost forgotten that she needed to release her spider guide, the burgundy spider demon. However, she would only do that when she returned to the Ancient Night Secret Realm.

For now, she needed to check on the spider’s well-being. Several hours ago, she placed some dead demonic insects near the little cage, but the spider didn’t touch them.

It was upside down, like dead, but she knew the spider was still alive.

’Does this spider not eat insects? Maybe vegetable, fruit, or maybe meat?’ Ely muttered in her mind and placed some other food around the spider.

"!!!" The Little Spider Queen awoke at the smell of a delicious piece of fresh meat. She immediately pulled it close and devoured it.

’Hic, hic, I can’t even break free from this cheap cage. I am the Spider Queen... That scary demon knight still has a heart. How could this queen eat those lowly insects for dinner.’ The Little Spider Queen sobbed while eating her dinner. She almost starved to death.

’Hmm, this is delicious!’ The Little Spider Queen received an ecstasy-like delight with every bite. It was just a piece of roast beef, yet she immediately fell in love with it.

*Plop* *Plop* *Plop*

Several fruits, vegetables, and meats fell from the sky. The Little Spider Queen was surprised and glanced up, but the storage pouch had already been closed.

’You bastard! You said that you will free me!?’ The Little Spider Queen grumbled while pointing her spider legs up. She then returned to devouring the meat again.

During that moment, she kept thinking of ways to free her Spider Queen’s body from the silk bundle. Her soul essence couldn’t penetrate it, but the first thing she needed to do before anything got out of this cheap cage.

"Phew." Ely wiped off her nonexistent sweat. She was glad the spider was eating voraciously. That spider needed to wait some more time before she would release it into the forest where she found it.

Several moments later, Ely and everyone entered the dark, foggy forest.

---

*Clink* *Tink-ling*

Ely used her Kagura Verity to create a sound wave to chase away ghosts and evil spirits. However, she also controlled dozens of demon-slaying talismans to clear the path.

The fog limited her vision, and repelling threats was the best option. Nevertheless, there were still some ghosts and evil spirits that challenged her.

She did all the work this time as she had to farm for more stat points. She eliminated any approaching threat.

Her disciples and friends didn’t need to do anything. They flew deeper into the dark, foggy forest unhindered.

"We are almost there. Near the entrance, there are no ghosts or evil spirits." Sylvia told everyone.

A while later, they arrived at the mentioned ancient ruins. Nobody could tell the place because it was just a barren hill with scorched soil.

"That is the entrance. Inside the small cave over there. There is a portal to the Hell Realm." Sylvia pointed at a hidden cave. The entrance was small, and one had to crawl in.

"So, it’s a secret realm’s portal. The Hell Secret Realm?" Ely muttered softly and opened her grimoire. She wanted to check her updated quests for more detail regarding what she should do, but everyone suddenly stared at her.

"What is it? I’m always wondering because you occasionally open that book and read something that isn’t there, Ely." Sylvia asked while checking everyone’s expressions. She could tell that nobody could give her any clue because they were as clueless as her.

"My grimoire can assist me with many things. No one can read a grimoire except the owner. If you’re lucky, you can get one at a magic shop, but they’re not cheap." Ely came up with a reasonable answer as she didn’t want to explain it in detail.

"Hmm..." Sylvia folded her arms and rubbed her chin. She gave Evelyn a questioning look.

"Any mage can buy it if they’re lucky. It’s not always around and quite expensive, even for the trash-tier ones. Ely’s grimoire is special and powerful. It’s a Mythical-tier magic item. Only elite mages can possess a grimoire." Evelyn gave a little explanation. After all, her other job class was a mage.

"Do you have one? I mean, the grimoire."

"No."

"Then, you are poor."

"I don’t have one because I don’t need it, you hear me!?"

"Hou~"

Sylvia rolled her eyes, and that irritated Evelyn even more.

Even so, Evelyn immediately took a deep breath to calm herself down. When compared to Ely, she was indeed poor...

Ely focused on her grimoire and was worried because the follow-up event would obviously be dangerous and would not go smoothly. It was the Hell Secret Realm.

[Clear the Hell Trial][Reward: Artificial Hell Core]

[Conquer the Hell Trial Realm][Reward: Super big harvest]

[Kill the Evil God of Artificial Hell’s soul remnant][Reward: HP +19K, CON +1, SP +140K, MP +300K]

[Help Sylvia to refine her God-tier demonic arts to perfection][Reward: Sylvia’s half-godhood ascension]

[Return home without casualty][Reward: Everyone is safe]

She had never heard of the Hell Trial from Sylvia, and Sylvia definitely hadn’t entered deep enough into that secret realm. Helping Sylvia was what she would do, but killing an Evil God... Even if it was a soul remnant, she would require a lot of preparation.

About the tempting reward from conquering or clearing the Hell Trial, she didn’t bother with that as she had no plans to go there.

The fifth mission on the list made her feel anxious. It was a secret realm with a high risk of death for sure.

Their team had two 10th Rank powerful aides, a 10th Rank magma black dragon, an 8th Rank mage, a 7th Rank sword maiden, and ten talented disciples... And yet, the quest reminded her to return without casualty.

If she could return without casualty, then everyone was safe. That was indeed true, and there was nothing wrong with it... However, her grimoire was giving out information, and it was not just random nonsense.

She then prayed in her mind, and Lost Prayer answered it.

[The Artificial Hell Realm is highly deadly and dangerous]

’Please answer my prayer. What are the chances for us to return safely without casualty?’ Ely stated another prayer.

[Full exploration: 49%][Minimal exploration: 99%]

’Gulp...’ Ely gulped her saliva. She then asked about the chances for her to kill the Evil God without casualties.

[Error. Unable to measure. Please try again with the higher-grade grimoire]

"..." Ely sighed. She couldn’t use her grimoire to measure or dig up information for any being above mortal level.

She had one SSS Rank grimoire in her inner space, but it refused to answer her call. In the last five years, it only awakened twice and was brief.

Even though she could summon it, she wasn’t sure she could control it, just like her other God-tier weapons and artifacts. She wasn’t yet fit to use them, perhaps. Thus, Ely just shrugged her shoulders.

’Just you wait. When I successfully unseal my Goddess Master, I will report this matter to her. She left you all with me, but you’re all just lazy. Hmph!’ Ely threw her tantrum in her mind.

She then returned to the current matter. Everything would be fine since the minimal exploration had a reasonable survival rate. However, she could not ignore the risk.

"We need to split the group into two. Group one will go with Sylvi and me into the Artificial Hell Realm, and group two will be our backup for our retreat." Ely announced her decision.