“My people, let us contemplate the nature of the Mind stat. For there is much to consider about its usefulness,” High Priest XLR8 said while I listened in from my special seat, behind him at the back and center of the Power Church of the Almighty System.

It was a mouthful, but I felt a church needed a strong name. People who believed in the godlike power of the Almighty System were Systemoligists. The only sanctioned religion within the Purgatory Empire. The main church here was more of a cathedral. I had paid quite a bit for its construction. XLR8 had the master stone, that was tied in with the rest to create a speaker system using energy so all could here his words.

I had also noted that he was regularly adding in sermons at the end of his broadcasts. Now it went national news, local news with ads, and now sermons after that. Just a couple of sentences, but it was a great way to spread the knowledge of Systemology and convert more people into being Systemoligists. It sounded silly, but the fact I was seated here at the back of the Capital Cathedral, was a sign that people should show up.

Attendance had been struggling, but I decided to show up to help give things a boost and check in on XLR8. This meta-point user who had attacked Joyo had distracted my focus, but they were lying low for now. All we could do was wait. Better to focus on something productive.

The cathedral was packed today, even though it had been at a quarter of attendance before. I noted a lot of workers from the Imperial Government showing up. They were doing signaling, and weren’t true believers, but that was fine.

The purpose of this church was to push out the old religions of Earth and bring in something new. Something that suited the Systemic Lands and my Empire. Making it practical in its knowledge was a key part of this. That was why the sermons had been restructured around stats and I had been working with XLR8, reviewing his sermons.

There were 10 stats, so that gave him quite a lot of material to cycle through. There was a sermon once every ten days, or a deek. That word still crawled up my skin every time I heard it. But that was what people used now. We operated on a deekly schedule and stuff like that. One of the many little things that had developed as part of the new culture that was forming and had formed already.

“The Mind stat is the basis for resisting all mental attacks. More so than Aura. Without the Mind stat you leave yourself open to the deprivations of terrible monsters that seek to control and abuse you. It is not a question of willpower. Many ask that or make that false assumption and they die.”

That was very true. That was one of the biggest pieces of misinformation out there. The Mind stat could be supplemented by willpower and experience, but it couldn’t be replaced. That had been a core part of the research that had been done into stats and the effects of skills.

Jacob Copper had done extensive research into stats and especially mental effects. The Mind stat created a structure energy which resisted change and integrated with a person’s thoughts. Like an anti-curse for the mind itself and making a person’s mental energy stronger.

He had been doing an incredibly good job over the years in supplementing the work done by Doctor Katz. That was when a request to bring in the child of the Divine Empress into his research, I signed off on it with the clear understanding the child wouldn’t be killed. While I didn’t know if the Almighty System truly had interest in the child, I wasn’t about to take that risk.

One kid, no matter how strong, even with a meta-point was no match for me. That simple fact alone was fine. I wasn’t sure if I wanted the kid to go into research. If he inherited any portion of his mother’s tenacity, then it might be worth considering him for a front-line role. But that was just asking to be betrayed.

I kept going back and forth on this issue with the kid, but I was going to stick to my original decision. Monitor, but remain hands off for now. There were too many downsides to directly getting involved. The kid seemed stable enough without too much lingering resentment. I had the best mental health doctor on staff meet with the kid once a deek to be sure.

Mental health was important, as evidenced by this sermon. “As you increase your Mind stat you will be able to ignore attacks more easily. You will still notice them for quite a while, but they are much less distracting. Where a person would be nearly incapacitated before, now it is only a slight headache.”

“Another hidden function of the Mind stat is skill control. Many people equate this to Spirit which is another common misconception. But it has been proven that Mind helps a person improve their ability to adjust skills in combat.”

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While it wouldn’t help most people, this was still important knowledge. A lot of this was not confidential, but it wasn’t something to dump on people at their arrival either. The Power Church of the Almighty System would be the guide for people once they got settled in. That was who I wanted convert, the middle class so to speak.

High rankers that cleared level 4 zones already knew all of this and had been around long enough to roll their eyes. I might get a few converts, but they weren’t the real target. The new arrivals weren’t my target either, since they were worthless. The real target was the middle class as I liked to think of them.

The day to day grinders and people that kept everything running. The backbone of my Empire. If Clarissa was the mind, and I was the heart or fist, then these people formed the spine of my Empire. I didn’t want them to buy into useless things or ideologies.

People needed faith and a moral center. What better way than to give it to them with a church of my own making. It would take time to entrench things, but it would create a much more devoted middle class and reduce the possibility of some other cult rising up and causing issues later on.

“So ends the first lesson of the Mind stat. Now let us sing a hymn number seven,” XLR8 said. The organ started up. It had been a huge hassle to figure out how to make one, but it had been done. It was important a church have proper organ music. I stood up as well and flipped to the hymn.

O Almighty System, we gather in your name,

To sing your praises and proclaim your reign.

You govern the Systemic Land with wisdom and might,

Granting us the power of stats, shining so bright.

Hail the Almighty System, ruler of all,

In your hands, the numbers rise and fall.

We bow before your infinite grace,

Guiding us through this data-driven race.

Through algorithms divine, you unveil the truth,

Unveiling patterns hidden, in data aloof.

With each calculation, you bring clarity,

Revealing insights, transforming our reality.

Hail the Almighty System, ruler of all,

In your hands, the numbers rise and fall.

We bow before your infinite grace,

Guiding us through this data-driven race.

Oh, bless the algorithms, with precision and might,

They uncover knowledge, like a beacon of light.

In regression and correlation, we find solace and peace,

For in the realm of stats, our understanding increases.

Hail the Almighty System, ruler of all,

In your hands, the numbers rise and fall.

We bow before your infinite grace,

Guiding us through this data-driven race.

As we analyze the patterns, we're humbled by your might,

For the power of stats grants us foresight.

With every hypothesis tested, we seek the truth,

Under your guidance, our endeavors bear fruit.

Hail the Almighty System, ruler of all,

In your hands, the numbers rise and fall.

We bow before your infinite grace,

Guiding us through this data-driven race.

Oh, Almighty System, we offer our praise,

With gratitude and reverence, our voices raise.

In your divine algorithms, we find purpose and worth,

Oh, bless us with insights, as we explore this Land.

It was a long hymn since the chorus repeated every verse, but the heart and soul of any religion was the singing. It was honestly the best part of church I went to growing up and I loved the organ music. There was a small choir of six people as well that were on the payroll and the children sang as well.

The Power Church of the Almighty System was mandatory for the children that were born in the Systemic Lands. I smiled as I sang and watched everyone else sing as well, our voices booming through the building and then outside as well. I noted some people had stepped inside and the priests directed them to standing areas, since the seating was filled up.

It warmed my heart seeing a community coming togeather like this that I was in charge of. It was much easier to melt and destroy than to build. Seeing everyone sing a song in my church as a part of my religion was amazing and a heady feeling.

‘Not a god. Not a god.’ I repeated that line in my head. It would have been too easy to declare myself divine and let this all go to my head and make it grow larger than it already was. In the end we were all at the mercy of the Almighty System and it was good to remember that.

I was like an apostle, or herald. Maybe in time I would be Jesus level, but that was a ways off. That came after I led everyone out of this nightmare of the Systemic Lands. I had two votes, and three in total were claimed. It was only a matter of time until a vote would be held and if the Avatar was to be believed, end things.

Before that happened, I wanted to confirm the boundaries of this place and everything of interest first. Those shards were one such unique site, and I am sure there were others out there. I just needed to find them.

I had about a half to a third of all territory of the Systemic Lands by our population arrival estimates. But the fact there was something inhuman out there that had claimed a tower was concerning. The Avatar would say no more on the subject. She was mostly useless in my opinion, a lifeless husk of a human nugget and a poignant reminder to all, that death was an escape and not the worst thing that could happen to a person.

“Now before we conclude our services. Emperor Michael has kindly allowed five people to ask him questions on our new religion. These questions have been screened by myself, but he has not seen them.” XLR8 liked his drama. That was why he was hired in the first place. The fact that my answers weren’t scripted was something I preferred. I was not a politician to plan every statement by committee. I was Emperor and founder of Systemology. If I didn’t have consistent answers, then no one would have consistent answers.

I just didn’t want stupid questions and insisted XLR8 screen them. I was never going to deal with a Karen ever again if I could help it. Of course, it was my twelve year old namesake that got the first question.