His purpose this time was followers.


    What would be the best way to get followers? Especially for an evil god?


    Lovecraftian worlds had answered it long ago. It would be to create a cult. Every cult requires a charming leader. Timothy did not fit the requirements at all. He was ordinary at best, and compared to Ka, He was a completely blank NPC. There was a world of difference between them, one was already a valuable alchemist who had proven his combat ability and wisdom, and the other was a young man seeking to become a night. Though his scholarly background might have some value, it still was not enough for him to work so hard, create a plan, and if all goes well make him an apostle. It certainly, was not enough for a cult leader. Worst of all he had a heroic spirit. It would be a great trait for a regular organization but a cult had to be hidden to achieve something. If there was one thing that could be fortunate, it was that he did want riches and recognition.


    He had already decided on a playing style as an evil god, suited to the mortal realm. He had already done it. Although some aspects would need to be worked out slowly, the gist of it was clear. A growing hidden cult and occasional disasters for generating influence. On a small scale, Ka and Elisa formed the cult and the beholder was the disaster.


    He admitted to himself. Choosing Timothy for this is more emotional. He would not regret doing this since he valued his emotions but it would be better if it was not a recurring occurrence. In a short period of time, he needed Timothy to take revenge, grow, and lose the heroic spirit. For that as unfortunate as it was he could not drive the middle ages man mad like he planned.


    He started working. Through the night, some of these guys had boasted of their expeditions to the dangerous forest located near the town. The other surprise had a theme. They would often wonder things like “That forest is the source of the beast tides How did you survive.”.


    He made most of them dream of Timothy finding great treasures in the forest. Finishing with this he hurried to find Timothy. He made his dream of a castle not overly bright but not dark. He then entered the dream. Immediately after he had the urge to curse Eve and the developers. As soon as he entered the dream, the scene darkened and vilified. He had the urge to one day ask one of them ”Are you a 3-year-old child who believes in good and evil for god’s sake?!”.


    “Who are you?” Timothy questioned.


    The changes in his dream made the question change entirely.


    “Are you an Evil God?!!!” exclaimed Timothy now trembling by fear.


    “Yes I am,” said Elijah resigned. Still, he tried his best to start role-playing.


    “Whyy.. arre.. you herre in my drream” his speech was nearly becoming incomprehensible from shaking. So much for the bravery of the youth seeking knighthood.


    “Simple, I saw your hatred when you were bullied. I saw your desire for endless wealth and power. I saw you wanting to be a knight despite being suited for scholarly pursuits. I can give them all to you. However here is the question Are you willing to fight for your desire? Are you willing to follow an evil god for your ambition?, Do you have the determination necessary for paying the price of following one?”


    Throughout the speech, Timothy''s expression changes from fear to anger, anger to depression, and finally hope but it is not enough.


    “What would become of me?”


    He had to take a gamble here. Timothy was neglected by his family. He needed a promise.


    “If you pass the tests, you would be my apostle. As an apostle, you would belong to me. Your power will make kings bow down to their knees” Despite saying this Elijah was actually thinking how could you teach the importance of cult secrecy to a man with a desperate need for recognition. Still, It was great of him to be able to get his bearing after whatever terrifying aura the developers may have added to the evil camp.


    “What should I do” Timothy spoke with more determination.


    “Waking up you will be stronger. With that you know this dream is real. Go to the forest. When you get there wear a blindfold. With my powers, I will conjure illusions of bandits attacking you. This is the test. They will be realistic beyond your imagination defend yourself and with your newfound power, kill them. Do it with a sword that has value to you.” Elijah was specific with Timothy.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    He did not have much trust in the NPC. Perhaps it was unfair to him but he was way past the morality of gaming at this point. The last part was a test. In mythologies, the blessing of an item was a common theme. He wanted to know if he could somehow gain a skill like that.


    Despite being unlocked by Elisa’s belief, the blessing skill had no belief or follow condition. Blessing Timothy, He went to the forest to prepare the stage.


    He had reached a milestone in his rune studies. He had pretty much isolated some runes'' meanings. Of them, the fear rune was one suited to his purpose. One of the incantations he made using the rune was called fear dominion. Its use was for taming creatures. He searched the forest. It was dangerous as they claimed. He found monsters but none were suitable. It was not until he found a pack of wolf monsters that he knew he had found the missing piece. He used fear domination one by one and tamed the entire wolf pack.


    Everything was ready. Timothy woke up terrified. After collecting himself, he realized his body had changed and become stronger. His expressions told everything you needed to know. Fortunately, Elijah discovered this soon. It seemed masks were going to be an essential cult accessory. It fits with the Nyarlathotep theme well. Nyarthalotep too, was an outer god with thousands of avatars and appearing in different faces every time.


    Timothy continued to the forest. He blindfolded himself. Despite hesitation, he did go deeper and deeper into the forest.


    He was being followed. Looked like the tavern guys had taken the bait. Not trusting his level 2 blessing skill, and Timothy’s skills, He had the wolf pack attack those guys. Guiding them to kill the guys that seemed powerful. The rest were too busy to notice that wolves let the humans go a few each time in Timothy''s direction. They also made sure that the weaker ones escaped first. This was Elijah’s master plan, the leveling arena. The leveling arena was designed to give Timothy a little power. He did not know how NPCs leveled or got classes, so this was the best he could do.


    He had to whisper to Timothy occasionally to keep the spirit. He knew there was a chance he would realize they were real, hesitate, and be killed. The reason some of the most intelligent and wise people in history were sometimes fooled was because they wanted to believe the lie. He needed Timothy to want this. “You defeated this many, you were made to be a knight”, “You were meant to be a champion, otherwise why would a god contact you”, and simple “You can do it” worked marvels.


    In the end, only Timothy remained, and the corpses of men and wolves. He dismissed the remaining wolves and some humans himself.


    “You have passed the first test, the second is simple open the blindfold and do not close your eyes,” He said manifesting without changing his appearance.


    Timothy opened the blindfold. He nearly fainted but he did not close his eyes. Elijah was genuinely impressed. He was beginning to be hopeful for him, but then he began throwing up. Realism was not always good.


    Timothy regained his composure.


    “You have exceeded my expectations, I thought you would faint. Timothy”


    “I am Nyarlathotep, the evil god of nightmares, I promised you power and I blessed you with it and there is more to come. I promised you wealth and I fulfilled it. Among the corpses are pouches filled with gold. I felt your hatred towards your bullies. Now, look among the people you killed are familiar faces. You fought courageously with a sword and defeated many enemies alone. I think you are well deserved to be a knight.”


    “You!!! , I wished to become a knight, to kill monsters threatening humans. Now I have become a monster who killed humans. Knights have virtues and I have none. I don’t care if I have to serve you but I am no knight”


    <table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td valign="top" width="100%">


    Timothy has become a follower of you. You gain 10 influence.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Elijah had predicted many outcomes, even a suicide like Ka was possible, but a lecture on values in Arthurian legends was not one of them. Timothy’s priorities never ceased to amaze him.


    “Do knights not kill bandits?” He interrupted the talk of virtue.


    “Yes but because their greed has made them monsters wearing skins of humans”


    It seemed the scholarly background showed itself a little sometimes at least.


    “Do you know why they were in this forest? I showed them a dream of you finding treasures here. I did not lie, since you did find treasures. They were here to kill you and steal the treasure. By your logic, you did the same thing as the knight”


    “They were here to kill me?”


    “Yes, and in your own words, You killed the monsters wearing human skins”


    “I know, I know I am a monster. I killed humans. I am standing on their corpses. I am following an evil god out of my greed. Knights are honorable they would never do this…. but they were here to kill me. I defended myself. They were greedy,...a knight would do the same thing. I didn’t want this. I didn’t want to kill people but if knights do it too. Was I admiring murderers? I am not good but are they? Are they good?”


    Elijah seemed to see the world shatter for Timothy. He seemed broken for a while till he seemed to reach an idea. He looked at him with an intensity he did not expect.


    “Why are you an evil god Nyarlathotep? What does it mean? There are no books where there is an explanation. It just says evil gods are evil, and enemies of the Good gods. What makes a god good or bad.”


    “I will answer you but why do you ask?” He was now genuinely curious.


    “Because in the books of old, followers of good gods are called good and noble and those following evil gods as bad and cruel. I want to know what is at the heart of the matter. What makes gods differ?”


    “You are brave to ask that. No from the first time, you were brave. To talk to an evil god like that, you do have potential. Because of that, I will tell the truth about gods”


    He decided to answer truthfully. At least what he believed was the likely scenario.


    “The best way to think about the gods is that they are of another race. Imagine gods like dragons or great beings. Great because they wield many means, power, and knowledge. However, they are still limited. They have their own needs. That is why they gather faith, followers, and believers”


    “Evil gods are ready to put their needs and desires first. They may destroy a mortal city to gather faith or people’s worship through fear. However, there is not the vast difference you are imagining. A good god may also cause a disaster to show their divine wrath.”


    “What about you specifically Nyarlathotep? Why are you an evil god?”


    “I helped my first apostle, an alchemist named Ka, get revenge by summoning a beholder”


    “Summoning a demon?!! No…. The story is not that simple. I never thought to ask "Why did evil guys do evil". I won''t make the same mistake anymore. Why did he want revenge?”


    “The villagers were going to burn his daughter alive. Accusing him of being a warlock and his daughter, a witch.” He agreed to be truthful about gods, not the rest.