Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: Ruby
Chapter: 2
Chapter Tiltle: Do You Have Any Thoughts of Becoming My Disciple?
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Thud.
The neck of the demon, who looked obviously powerful, fell to the ground with a thump.
The demon himself seemed to not yet understand his own situation.
Roll, roll.
The creature's head rolled until it reached in front of me.
I lightly stepped on it with my foot to stop it.
I could see it blinking its eyes even while its head was rolling.
It seemed like its mouth was also moving, but it couldn't make any sound.
Of course, that didn't last very long either.
No matter how much of a demon it was, it couldn't endure without a neck.
Eventually, the creature's eyes soon lost their strength and focus.
Blood also gushed out from the demon's body that had been standing headless.
Thud...
It fell backward.
The ground shook as the creature collapsed.
And I stood there, dumbfounded.
'It, it really worked...'
These were events that had happened in an instant while I was half-excited.
Now the excitement seemed to be gradually subsiding.
As my rapid heartbeat gradually calmed down, I could see the situation more calmly.
I could see the cross-section where the demon's neck had been cut.
It was incredibly clean.
Even someone like me who didn't know much could feel that way.
I was certain without anyone having to explain it separately.
This was exactly what Space Slash was.
I had vaguely felt it, but now I had no choice but to acknowledge it.
That I had become entangled in the Power of God world.
Right... acknowledgment.
Although it was short in terms of time, it was a difficult process for me.
This kind of thing wasn't common after all.
But once I acknowledged it, my mind became rapidly at ease.
'I simply thought it was just a roughly scribbled explanation.'
That was because other characters' passives were very concise.
Passive: Steel Stamina - Increases health recovery rate.
Just about that much?
But the passive was strung together like sentences, so I thought it was something left unfinished during a patch.
I pondered the passive once again.
Passive: One Who Hates Demons - One who hates demons finds even the scent of evil beings disgusting and will slaughter them without leaving any behind.
Through that hatred, they shall gain God's favor, and in return, shall grasp countless divine authorities in their hands!
'No, but. I can roughly understand the first part... but what exactly do those last words mean?'
My brow furrowed.
Especially the last sentence.
It was because of that.
'The expression "divine authority" refers to unique skills...'
An absurd scenario flashed through my mind.
'Could it be?...'
I currently had one unique skill as well.
That outstanding one called Space Slash.
I had cleared the game to the ending, but such powerful unique skills were rare.
But I was starting to think that maybe that passive was actually a more amazing thing than Space Slash.
The charm element that ran through Power of God was precisely this unique skill system.
Unique skills that you could only have one of.
Unlike regular magic, you couldn't learn more than one.
And you couldn't change it even if you didn't like it.
Instead, there were plenty of powerful or unusual abilities.
However, the last sentence of that passive I possessed was enough to completely overturn such common knowledge.
Countless divine authorities...
Did that mean I could have multiple unique skills?
'It's still just my speculation, but...'
To confirm the truth of that phrase, I would need to find another authority.
However, naturally, authorities weren't something that rolled around on the streets.
They were literally authorities, weren't they?
The power of gods that could never be compared to the finite strength of humans.
But I had knowledge that others didn't possess.
Knowledge as a player who knew where and how other unique skills were discovered.
'I should give it a try.'
The methods of obtaining unique skills were truly varied.
Some started by gaining abilities in abandoned temples somewhere.
Some were abilities passed down through family generations.
There was even a character who gained abilities by being struck by lightning.
Among those, the method I could try right away was...
'Lightning would be impossible.'
The most certain one was...
'Since they said this was the road to Juan Fortress...'
Just as I was recalling a map in my mind for a moment.
The old man's voice was heard.
"This can't be..."
The old man, who had somehow gotten out of the overturned wagon, was standing behind me.
I only slightly turned my head to meet his eyes.
'Right. That person was there, indeed.'
The tattoo on the back of his hand.
I immediately recognized him upon seeing that pattern.
I looked at him and muttered to myself inwardly.
'The betrayer who turned his back on heaven... Gauriel.'
While feeling intense rage boiling up.
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"This can't be..."
For a moment, Gauriel stopped completely, even forgetting to breathe.
He too had some knowledge about swords.
No, that expression was far too insufficient.
Though not now, he was once called the judge of heaven and the demon executioner who tore demons to death.
The heavenly sword, the wrath of God.
All those words were adjectives referring to Gauriel.
However.
'I couldn't properly understand what happened with that strike just now either...!'
It was unbelievable.
Honestly, the attack that mysterious young man had unleashed didn't even seem to be worthy of caution.
It was too slow and too obvious.
The demon army commander Kalarim, who realized this, had been standing still while sneering.
But the result made even Gauriel's spine go cold.
'What kind of cross-section is that...!'
Cut it?
No.
It would be more fitting to say it was like that from the beginning.
Was it swordsmanship?
Or was he an authority ability user?
But just how amazing an ability would one need to have to cut off an army commander-level demon's neck in one stroke?
And with such a toy-like sword at that.
'This... more than I thought...'
Much more than expected... he might have gotten entangled with an absurdly monstrous being.
Even what he had shown on the wagon just before was like that.
Hadn't he recognized the pattern carved on his hand?
'Right. This is something that should never be visible to ordinary human eyes.'
But the young man's gaze was clear.
He had definitely been looking at it.
At first, he had just spoken out of curiosity.
The sudden question about where this place was had been amusing.
It was just a moment of entertainment.
But now he couldn't think like that at all.
'An angel? No. I don't feel any angelic energy at all. But he doesn't seem to be a demon either... he still only looks like an ordinary human.'
But this was a man who had cut off demon army commander Kalarim's neck in one stroke.
Such a person was an ordinary human?
Even he thought the logic didn't add up.
The power that Kalarim had shown just before was beyond even Gauriel's expectations.
'I was even considering whether I should bring out my hidden means...'
Meanwhile, the young man, who had heard the exclamation he had let out in surprise, turned his head this way.
But wasn't there intense rage in his eyes?
He could have been filled with killing intent from fighting the demon.
But even considering that, the young man's aura was as intense as a raging torrent.
Gauriel had no choice but to prepare to draw the sword at his waist at any time.
'Could it be? Is he trying to kill me and desert?'
Usually, soldiers assigned to Juan Fortress had very strong resistance against high-ranking knights.
To the degree of hostility.
The joke that a soldier's main enemy was an officer was no longer a joke.
He already knew the words exchanged among soldiers.
That they, the lowest ranks, died because they were assigned to Juan Fortress by a single word from high-ranking knights.
So there were often incidents where they would kill officers and desert when no one was looking.
The guys assigned to Juan Fortress's suicide squad were already running their lives into the ground.
So Gauriel, who was hiding his angel identity and appearing as a high-ranking knight, had no choice but to prepare.
However, if he fought with that guy now...
'I can't lightly assert victory.'
He was surprised by his own judgment.
For thousands of years, he had been confident he could win against any demon he faced.
But this moment felt like the first time in his life he was facing a wall.
'Perhaps it might be a wall that could crush me.'
But he couldn't back down.
There was still work to be done.
He couldn't stop here...
Gauriel, who had been thinking up to that point, shifted his thoughts a little.
'Do I really need to fight? I'm not even a knight of Juan Fortress.'
The other side had also shown mercilessly slaughtering demons.
He hated demons so much and cut them down, so why couldn't he become an ally?
Between those who had the same enemy.
Moreover, that skill.
It was more than sufficiently attractive.
'Right. Is there a need to keep someone with such abilities as a soldier? If I raised him...'
He also really wanted to hear how he had seen the pattern on his hand.
In many ways, it was a connection too precious to lose like this.
'The mercy of the God I betrayed... perhaps?...'
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"Impressive."
At Gauriel's words, I suddenly came to my senses.
'Huh? Why did my irritation surge up like this?...'
Even at this moment, it seemed like faint anger was creeping up.
Gauriel seemed to feel it too.
"Is there a need to glare like that from our first meeting?"
I desperately tried to calm that rage and grab hold of my reason.
The opponent was who he was, after all.
If I carelessly touched his nerves and it led to combat... I didn't even want to think about it.
Gauriel tapped the sword hanging at his side.
"I'm not trying to fight with you. Even if you desert like this, I won't catch you. There seems to be a misunderstanding, but I'm not a knight of Juan Fortress. I'm just a mere paladin. That means it doesn't matter what choice you make."
"......"
"And honestly, if I were to cross swords with you... I don't think I could win comfortably. I don't want to fight."
He seemed to be making some very big mistake.
What exactly was he seeing me as to give such... overestimation...
"You look young but you're already at such a level. It's amazing. So, speaking of which."
Gauriel continued speaking.
What was he trying to say now...
"Do you have any thoughts of becoming my disciple?"
Was he crazy?
I almost burst out in anger for a moment.
Gauriel's disciple was shown to die in the story.
I had no desire to voluntarily head toward a death flag.
"I refuse."
"...That's unfortunate."
Unfortunate my ass.
While I was dumbfounded.
Gauriel stroked his chin.
"I may look like this, but I'm not particularly weak. To be refused in one go. Haha. It seems like too valuable a talent to let go like this."
For some reason, I seemed to have gained quite a bit of Gauriel's favor.
'Was that demon I killed earlier quite strong?'
I didn't know.
Since it was before the original story timeline, it was a creature I'd never seen before.
"Since you refused to be my disciple, you probably wouldn't want to become a paladin either? Hmm, then how about this? If you don't like being a disciple, how about being a friend? As proof of that, if there's anything you want, I'll grant you anything."
"Anything?"
"Yes. Anything at all."
They say opportunities come at unexpected moments.
I immediately turned on the calculator in my head.
'That Gauriel? Anything?... would grant it?'
Anything... anything!
I couldn't just carelessly throw away such a heaven-sent opportunity.
It felt like dozens and hundreds of possibilities flashed through my mind in an instant.
After pondering for what felt like an eternity in that moment...
I presented what I considered the best choice.
"...The Seven Knights Order."
The option to obtain a second unique skill.