Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 5] Chapter 311

[Vol. 5] Chapter 311: The City of puppets

“Oh… what a spectacular sight.”

As the “elevator platform” reached its deepest point, the black-haired girl stepped forward slowly, her gaze full of curiosity as she took in the sprawling, modernized underground scenery before her.

If not witnessed firsthand, no one would ever have believed it.

Beneath the Angel City, the capital of the Holy Empire and headquarters of the world’s most powerful religion, the Goddess Church, renowned for its faith and theology, lay an underground city. Though not vast enough to be called majestic, it still rivaled the entirety of the Holy Court in scale.

This, perhaps, was the deepest and most guarded secret of the Church under the leadership of the Holy Order.

—The birthplace of faith-based magic.

“We’ve arrived, Miss Violet. As you can see, this is the final legacy left behind by that man, Vast Dream, before he disappeared. His greatest creation. The foundation of a monumental deception that has fooled the Holy Empire and the entire world for three hundred years.”

The one speaking, Loknisa Cecilia, turned back after stepping off the platform first. Beside her walked Minchen, who had largely recovered from his injuries with the help of the priestess. His eyes lifted to the sight he had likely seen many times before, and he let out a quiet sigh.

“Vast Dream… he never forgot the promise we made back then. What was merely an idle conversation, where he joked about one day bringing the scenery of his homeland into this magical, fantastical world. He truly brought it to life, despite us laughing it off.”

Following their gaze, Violet surveyed the surroundings, taking in everything around her.

This was a mechanized city.

The countless floating mechanical spheres once seen along the Holy Spirit Trail flitted across the sky, darting about like swarms of migrating birds. At the same time, they moved with the precision of soldiers following a predetermined trajectory—flying, circling, ascending, and descending.

The city was filled with modern buildings, not huge but pretty tall. Meanwhile, various types of puppets, differing slightly in appearance but sharing at least seventy percent similarity in their designs. Just from the view at the city’s entrance, Violet could see hundreds, perhaps thousands, of them.

If these doll-like beings are spread out evenly throughout the entire underground city, there must be at least tens of thousands of them here.

If this incredible feat had all been accomplished solely by Vast Dream, even Violet couldn’t help but feel a twinge of admiration for him.

Shortly after stepping off the platform, a puppet girl who had been waiting nearby approached and bowed respectfully to the group of three. Naturally, her primary attention was directed toward the priestess, who was clearly visiting for the first time.

“Welcome to [Dungeon No. 00001]. I am the [Guide Unit 00039]. Under the directive of the [Divine Network Final Form Unit 0], I am here to provide guidance. Should you have any questions, feel free to consult me at any time.”

This puppet girl looked much the same as the others Violet had seen, dressed in a simple yet professional modern uniform. Her features were delicate, her long hair flowing neatly over her shoulders, and the number [00039] was prominently marked on her neck. She gave off a professional and capable demeanor.

Unlike combat puppets, whose expressions were perpetually frozen in cold indifference, this guide wore a natural, gentle smile that made an excellent first impression.

This surprised the priestess.

“Guide? Are you this city’s tour guide? But this place doesn’t seem like it gets many visitors, does it?”

Guide Unit 00039 nodded, her smile unwavering.

“Detecting a permissible question. Answer: The [Guide Model] is one of the functional categories designed by [Father] during the construction of the [Dungeon Series]. Its primary role is to guide non-Dungeon visitors, assist with sightseeing, and prevent unauthorized access to dangerous areas or restricted locations.”

“The Dungeon Series was originally equipped to provide external tours. According to the initial rules set by [Father], at least one-third of the Dungeons were intended to be opened as tourist attractions. However, due to subsequent rule modifications, all Dungeons have entered a semi-closed state. Currently, in [Dungeon No. 00001], I am the only Guide Model still active.”

“……?”

Violet didn’t respond immediately to the puppet’s detailed explanation. Instead, she frowned slightly and turned her gaze toward Loknisa and Minchen standing beside her.

“Does this puppet operate the same way as those combat models I encountered before?”

It felt… unnatural.

Though the puppet’s initial kind and gentle smile had left Violet with a positive impression, just a few exchanges were enough for her to sense something was off.

It wasn’t outright fake, just that the smile wasn’t a genuine emotional expression. Rather, it seemed like a mechanical imitation of human behavior, producing a specific facial expression designed for its purpose.

This puppet likely didn’t understand what a “smile” truly represented. It was simply programmed, from its design stage, to display that specific expression when interacting with guests.

As a result, the smile lacked liveliness and didn’t adapt based on the conversation. Instead, it carried a subtle yet unmistakable stiffness, a feeling of dissonance that was hard to ignore.

In other words, this puppet didn’t actually possess genuine emotions.

It reminded Violet of a familiar topic from the Earth she once lived on, a debate that arose alongside the rapid development of intelligent machines and advanced technology.

When robots possess AI advanced enough to coexist and communicate with humans, should they be considered real living beings?

This debate had existed for a very long time, and even by the time Violet had crossed over, there was no definitive answer. In [Illusory World], the hyper-realistic game she had been playing, similar concerns had led to strict limits on the intelligence of in-game pets and auxiliary creatures. Even Xiao Guang, her top-tier SSS-grade pet, was no exception.

Thus, when Violet first crossed over and discovered that her dragon companion had somehow gained true self-awareness and emotions, she was profoundly shocked.

How should one interact with machines that possess intelligence but lack emotions?

However, Violet had indeed encountered machines with emotions before, the [Spirit Puppet Tribe] in the Ten Thousand Demons Mountains.

By now, the origins of the Spirit Puppet Tribe were no longer a mystery. It was clear they were early creations of that mysterious [Father] during his experiments with resurrection. They were designed as assistants, or perhaps test subjects, to help him achieve his goal of creating or recreating souls.

The results of these experiments were undoubtedly failures. As the Spirit Puppet Tribe’s leader, Ini, had once explained, while the Puppets had been endowed with intelligence and even emotions akin to those of living beings, they fundamentally lacked souls. They were still magical constructs, driven by a central core mechanism.

It was likely upon realizing this truth that [Father], the one referred to as [Vast Dream], abandoned his original plans and shifted to exploring other methods.

Here, in the Holy Empire, the puppets also bore his mark. But these puppets, at least all those Violet had encountered so far, including the one that fought Avrilia Constantius and even Xiaoqi, who served the Redemption Saintess, were fundamentally different from the Spirit Puppet Tribe.

They were a purer form of creation, crafted solely to fulfill their intended purposes. It’s a “tool”, created for a specific task.