Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Chapter 11 Contact (3)
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All the scenes passed by too quickly, in the blink of an eye.
The only things I could see were blood splattering,
a blue light flashing,
and Rashar's group suddenly starting to fall from the trees above.
That was the limit.
Soon, a massive flame surged toward Rashar, and I realized I had seen that sight with my own eyes.
That was when I started feeling the limit. A sense of crisis that if I kept peering in, I might burst.
I didn't ignore the warning bell ringing in my instincts.
The moment I roughly shook off Rashar's hand, my body sank down.
If someone hadn't supported me from the side, I would have tumbled to the ground.
Before I could even register that it was Raoul holding me up, a headache hit.
It was like pain from shoving aside everything I'd been postponing all at once.
"Hng...."
Blood trickled from my nose, and a groan escaped me involuntarily.
It was so intense that I didn't even notice Rashar drawing her sword and bringing it close to my face.
Only after quite some time passed and the headache subsided did I realize it.
When I saw the blade positioned near my eye level, I was at a loss for words.
My reddish-brown eyes—common for any Korean—had changed.
"Golden...."
Similar to Rashar's.
"My eye color changed."
If this were me before playing this insane game, I might have been too shocked to think straight.
But fortunately, I'd experienced enough times that common sense doesn't apply in this world.
"Ha."
So I let out a hollow laugh and quickly pulled myself together.
"Why are my eyes like this?"
"It's a mark of divinity. It appears in apostles who receive divine favor and share powers, priests and holy knights blessed with grace, and all others who wield divine authority."
For some reason, Rashar's voice sounded brighter.
The subtle wariness I'd felt had eased. Quite a sudden change.
"...What?"
When I asked blankly in return, her voice came softer than before, confirming it.
"No need to worry too much. Marks from blessings are temporary and will return to normal within a few hours."
I'd been staring at my reflection in the blade, but now I looked at Rashar.
Her eyes were a deeper, heavier gold than mine.
"Then you are...."
"Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Rashar Bennet, commander of the 2nd Company of the Mythril Brigade, 2nd Division of the Ferel Resistance, and one of the five apostles overseeing charity under Palao."
"Apostle....?"
Even without a full explanation, I got the sense.
Apostles hold a very high status in this world.
"People who can use this kind of power aren't common or easy to come by."
Should I be glad or burdened that the first intelligent group I met was this impressive?
"Palao—that means Palao is a god... right?"
"She was."
The past tense made my brow furrow slightly.
Ding.
The system butted in once more.
HIDDEN MISSION
[Main Scenario]
Visit the temple.
[Rewards]
• Attribute Mana 100
• Random Box (×3)
• Main Scenario Unlock
• Conversation with the System
The graphics were still glitched, but it was readable enough.
What caught my eye wasn't the longer-than-usual reward list, but the short phrase in bold.
If memory served, this was the first time the system emphasized something like this.
But even more concerning was something else.
"Conversation....?"
"Hm?"
Rashar and Raoul looked at me like they had no idea what I was talking about.
Meanwhile, I glared at the mission window, ignoring them.
"Conversation, huh."
That alone was enough to make me want to head to the temple.
I clenched my teeth, steadied my breath, and decided to focus on talking with Rashar.
"Can I ask a few more questions?"
"I'll answer sincerely anything I can."
"What about Pinelpenia...."
"One of the Seven Virtues, governing diligence."
"...A god's name?"
The God of Diligence, Pinelpenia—that was the being whose power I'd just used.
Thoughts started swirling.
"'Seven Virtues'? Related to the Seven Deadly Sins?"
I didn't know much, just common knowledge.
Pride, greed, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, sloth.
I'd vaguely heard of the seven sins.
Unclear if this tied to religious doctrine or some other lore.
"Where there's evil, there's good."
This world seemed to value those seven virtues highly.
Different gods for each, probably.
"Palao was the god of charity, right?"
And Pinelpenia the god of diligence.
Five more gods besides them.
I chewed the inside of my cheek discreetly.
"A world where you can witness divine miracles firsthand."
No reason to doubt the gods here.
Religion would carry far more weight than I imagined.
"And it wants me to visit the temple."
Whether I could even enter was secondary.
"I don't even know where it is."
In the current situation, only one way to get to the temple.
Use someone who knows where it is and can get in—unlike me.
Coincidence or fate, such a person was right in front of me.
"If there are gods, there must be temples too, right?"
I tossed it out casually, and Rashar's hand clenched tight.
My eyes narrowed at that.
The system reacted to "temple," and so did she. Why?
"What's in the temple?"
Could going there unravel all the mysteries tormenting me?
"The system gave the mission, so I was planning to go anyway."
From now on, I'd have to get serious.
"For now, stick with these people."
Rashar showed agitation at the temple mention—time to probe again.
"You seem to at least know where it is...."
"...."
"Could you guide me? I'm new here."
I pulled out a potion and tossed it; she caught it effortlessly.
"Not for free, of course."
Her gaze landed back on the shield at my waist.
"How many potions do you have?"
At the follow-up question, I chuckled and replied.
"I've got insurance too."
Was I going to tell her and risk her ditching me once they ran out?
"I don't actually have that many."
I didn't spell it out, but she seemed to get it.
"Is your schedule tight?"
No time limit on the hidden mission, but I'd entered the mission zone and too much time had passed.
"Faster the better."
Rashar fell silent, lowering her gaze.
Tap, tap, tap—she drummed her fingers on the hilt of her sword at her waist, lost in thought.
Her fingers slowed, then her yellow eyes shifted.
I narrowed mine, following her gaze.
It landed on my waist, where the hole-riddled shield hung plainly.
"Alright, I'll guide you to the temple."
After staring at the shield for a while, she turned away with those words.
I kept watching her back.
It was the outcome I wanted, but instead of joy, I felt puzzled.
Too many suspicious points to celebrate blindly.
"Who do you think I am, some guy from who-knows-where?"
Even if I saved their lives, wasn't this too easy?
Moreover, Rashar didn't even ask why I wanted to go to the temple.
Her attitude shifted drastically after I used that power.
"And she keeps glancing at this shield."
Just because it's dangerous?
"No."
Rashar had the power to ignore me and destroy the conduit if she wanted.
Even if I saved her team's lives, if the shield was dangerous enough, she'd have forced its destruction.
But she didn't.
She'd warned of the danger herself yet stopped at watching it.
"There must be another reason."
I fiddled with the shield and looked away from Rashar.
No way to know for now—best to observe.
* * *
"Noona, good morning!"
Kim Yul arrived at the gym right on time for training, greeting with a bright smile.
The agent assigned as player supervisor smiled back.
"Morning, Yul. Good morning to you too, Hye-won."
"Yes, did you sleep well?"
Yang Hye-won, who arrived with Kim Yul, exchanged smiles and greetings with the agent.
They chatted naturally while waiting for the other players and instructors.
'Worth the fan service effort.'
A few weeks since starting under NIS protective surveillance.
Kim Yul leveraged his trainee days experience to build rapport with the agents.
He played up the bright, cute image usually, but came back from missions with bloodshot, teary eyes.
The tension from the Han Chang-sik incident hadn't fully faded.
But pity and sympathy weren't hard to earn.
Especially at his young age.
Thanks to that, he got plenty of help from some agents.
Hints like players' accounts and call logs being monitored.
Yesterday, even chatter from higher-ups about player dispositions.
'Couldn't find out why K-hyung got mentioned among agents a few days ago.'
Better to build ties than enmity.
That way, he could filter and pass info to K bit by bit.
'No player closer to Hyung than me right now?'
Probably only a handful could access K's personal info.
Being one felt pretty proud.
Of course, Kim Yul hadn't looked up the phone number owner K gave him.
'He'll be on edge after that—better not poke around.'
Now was time to maintain goodwill, not grab weaknesses.
The guy casually gave 10 potions as a gag fee.
Why risk upsetting someone like that?
As Kim Yul mulled over K, an intriguing topic came up between the agent and Yang Hye-won.
Results from analyzing tutorial gear.
"Results already?"
The agent who brought it up grinned slyly in reply.
Kim Yul's eyes sparkled discreetly.
She had a college friend at the National Institute of Scientific Research.
Must've gotten a heads-up through them.
"What'd they say? Totally different metal?"
Per K, impossible to infuse mana into real-world items.
Yang Hye-won proved it in-house at NIS.
No matter the effort, mana wouldn't stick to NIS-provided cold weapons.
Thus, research on tutorial-provided player weapons, about five days in.
"Nope, same composition."
A murky result.
"Even tutorial weapons are plain iron."
"Hmm...."
"Researchers say study the mana, not the metal composition."
Some guesses flew about mana-weapon links, but other players arriving forced them to wrap up.
Kim Yul dove into his now-familiar routine.
The relentless schedule ended at dusk.
After dinner, back at the dorm, he groaned and opened his mission window.
'Let's see, still at it today?'
Scanning the list, he quickly found what he wanted.
The level 3 mission in bold.
Meaning K was still on it.
He stared at the number like burning it into his eyes, then sent a chat.
- Kj: Hyung, survival check today too.
- Yokai: Yeah. You know you owe one tomorrow, right?
- Kj: Got it!
Codename Yokai, real name Ahn Ki-jun.
Kim Yul saw him as bold but not recklessly backstabbing.
Nor purely altruistic without reason.
So he dangled potion candy.
Deal: Send "still alive in-game" to the number K gave, get potion every other day.
Secret even from Yang Hye-won.
'Didn't say it was linked to K-hyung.'
K started asking from his level 3 start—might've guessed.
'Gotta warn K-hyung later.'
After wrapping the eight-day routine, he checked completed missions.
Figured he'd peek at other parties' activity while at it.
"Huh....?"
But the latest entry left him dumbfounded.
「04-1848 - Closed by Contributor: K and 6 others (Unregistered Users)」
Seeing things? He rubbed his eyes and checked again.
No miracle number change.
Just in case, he checked active missions.
Level 3 still bold.
"What the...."
He muttered blankly.
Snapping out of it, he hurriedly opened chat.
* * *
「Contaminated mana is absorbed. Absorption rate reduced due to lack of direct causal process.」
「Contaminated mana is absorbed. Absorption rate reduced due to lack of direct causal process.」
「04-1848 Conduit (3) destroyed.」
「MISSION - 04-1848 All conduits destroyed. Hole closed.」
Three days since meeting Rashar's group.
I forced down my rising smirk.
- Kj: What?! How?! Hyung, you cleared level 4!
Catching my breath, I skimmed Kim Yul's chat arriving almost simultaneously.
'What happened?'
Tell him I got on the bus?
Not just any bus—a hyper-speed express.
'Worth all the suffering.'
Shivering in thrill, I recalled the past few days leading here.
Damn System