40. Our House Resumes Normal Operations! (1)
As each nation grappled with the apocalypse in its own way, the Balhut Cult in Gyeongju successfully concluded the trial of Jo Sun-do, the self-proclaimed king of Gyeongju.
Jo Sun-do had screamed appeals like a man making his final desperate stand, but this was a war crimes tribunal fundamentally designed to judge him. No amount of appeals could overturn the verdict in a second trial. Above all, it was the solemn command of the Dragon God Bahamut of the Balhut Cult. Even if Hwang Seung-man, who would now act as judge in Bahamut's stead, showed mercy, it would be to Jo Sun-do's cronies—never to the ringleader himself, who faced certain execution.
"Now the All-Cultist Awakener Project truly begins."
"Indeed. Jo Sun-do's bizarre defense inadvertently provided the perfect justification for this project."
Above all, Jo Sun-do's irresponsibility had sparked this new reform. By loudly proclaiming the privileges of awakeners and thoroughly demonstrating their downsides, he had left no one with grounds to oppose the changes. Even amid awakeners furious at his atrocities, no faction clinging to those privileges dared raise a voice in protest. Who could defend such a grotesque downfall? And the fact that the Balhut Cult—led by its saintess—was spearheading the reform only sealed the matter.
"Well, if the god himself decrees it, even the awakeners can't voice complaints."
But isn't that just dictatorship? I at least want to pretend to persuade them...
Bahamut had already declared the reform. Who would dare complain? Yu-na had phrased it as if Jo Sun-do's fall wasn't even necessary—if it was Bahamut's command, the cultists would follow without grumbling anyway. But this timid dragon thought that was impossible. His real desire was to at least go through the motions of convincing them.
That was why, even after perfecting the Awakener Project, he was proceeding cautiously—delaying implementation slightly to gauge public opinion.
"Heh heh heh. That unlucky so-called king of Gyeongju turned out useful after all."
Whoa. I thought her temper had mellowed, but nope—still the same.
Of course, Yu-na didn't care either way. Jo Sun-do had been useless to the Balhut Cult until now, but he'd served his purpose at the very end. Not a bad outcome. The girl called the Dragon Priestess or saintess by the cultists grinned wickedly, reveling in his downfall. This super-cowardly dragon shivered at the sight but what could he do? She was the contractor he'd chosen himself.
"That aside, I get that there's an artificial awakening method, but I have no idea how it works. How exactly do we increase the number of awakeners, O God?"
Yu-na's glee over Jo Sun-do's fall was short-lived. She turned to Bahamut, asking how to produce more awakeners. The project was already complete—some cultists had even awakened thanks to it. Yet neither the cult's executives nor even Yu-na knew the actual method. Naturally, as the pontiff, she should have known before launch.
"By using this temple."
"This sacred temple?"
No, not quite. It's just my house where I live.
Bahamut's answer: use this temple. Yu-na blinked in shock, repeating "this sacred temple?" He felt a hollow emptiness—when had his house become a sacred temple?—but pressed on.
"Yes. The air here is thick with pure mana. If unawakened cultists train here, they can awaken."
"Sounds simple enough?"
He explained the artificial awakening method briefly. The temple brimmed with pure mana, so unawakened individuals could train by absorbing it from the air, becoming awakeners. Yu-na stared at him, stunned by the simplicity.
But simplicity came with drawbacks.
"Awakening takes exactly seven weeks. One session per week. The temple needs time to recharge mana and time for it to be consumed. That cycle totals seven weeks."
"Seven weeks?! Can't we shorten it?"
Seven whole weeks for awakening. Over a month and a half—Yu-na recoiled in horror. The Balhut Cult had only formed a couple months ago, and creating new awakeners would take more than half that time.
"I experimented to shorten the seven weeks, but it proved impossible. From what my limited brain can deduce, unawakened people absorb mana into their bodies over a week, expend it fully, then recharge here. This cycle acclimates their bodies to mana, promoting natural awakening."
"Any advantages, then?"
He drew a line: this was an unavoidable limit. Experiments had failed to overcome it. Yu-na felt regret but asked about upsides, figuring there must be some.
"Those awakened this way see all stats except Luck rise by a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 5."
"Yes! Let's do it right now!"
Instant decision. The moment Bahamut finished, Yu-na shouted her approval. Even a single stat point was worth risking life for in this world. Gaining 1 to 5 in every stat but Luck? She didn't need to hear more—this was a must-use method.
"Is that really enough for you?"
"In a world where you'd bet your life on one stat point, getting 1 to 5 in everything but Luck—even if it takes time—is absolutely worth it. That's equivalent to starting at level 2 to 6!"
"Th-that much?"
Awakener stats—excluding Luck—comprised Strength, Vitality, Agility, Intelligence, and Magic: five in total. Normal awakeners started at 10 across the board; talented ones got bonuses or traded stats. Starting with 1-5 extra in all was a clear merit. Each level-up granted 5 stat points, so these artificial awakeners would outpace zombie-killers from the start. A golden opportunity to boost the average quality of Balhut Cult awakeners.
"It'll raise our cultists' average stats too. With Gyeongju unified, we have breathing room. Let's expand awakeners this way."
That was why Yu-na was thrilled and committed. Starting with random levels 2-6 made it an obvious must-do. This single advantage crushed all drawbacks.
But...
"One issue: cultists must visit here weekly."
"Ah."
The problem: cultists had to come to the temple. Daily life was stable now, but squeezing in visits amid survival struggles would be tough. The temple wasn't conveniently downtown like a church—it sat deep in Namsan.
"The roads are there, so no getting lost. Should the cult run shuttle buses?"
"Not a bad idea."
Bahamut had paved roads for easy access, and the cult maintained them diligently, prioritizing the temple. Visits weren't hard. Running shuttles to ensure mobility would draw plenty of cultists.
"Ah, how long do they need to stay?"
"Minimum one hour, maximum two. After that, they can leave."
"Hmm."
They couldn't just pop in and out. Another hour or two minimum stay. Fair enough for safe, zombie-free awakening, but time-intensive all the same.
"Still, it can awaken multiple people at once."
"That's great!"
Yet it could awaken dozens or hundreds simultaneously—without hunting. In an era where capturing even one zombie for awakening was tough, this was massive firepower. The challenge: keeping cultists engaged and compliant without boredom...
"Ah, I have a great idea!"
"What is it?!"
"The cult has no weekend services, so let's make some!"
What the hell is that!?
Yu-na proposed turning the project into a Balhut Cult religious event. Bahamut panicked at her sudden counterattack!
"Our Balhut Cult was originally a religious group worshiping God Bahamut! But we've never held official worship or prayer for him. As a religion, we're total failures! We couldn't even deny it if he called us incompetent!"
No, I never wanted that in the first place.
But it was fact! They operated like a proper government now, but at core, the Balhut Cult was a religious organization for Bahamut. Adding official services now was perfectly natural—anything else would be weirder. Maybe he was the odd one!
That's not... wait, it makes sense?!
Even Bahamut was stunned but had to admit her logic. Like it or not, they were a religion. They hadn't shed the name or identity, even as a government.
I need to think. Find a clever counterargument! ...Nothing's coming!
Regrettably, he couldn't refute her. The cult had started by physically taking over a Gyeongju pseudo-cult. Pseudo-religion ran in their blood from birth!
"Fr-from what I know, worship needs specialized priests or pastors..."
"We have them."
He tried dodging religious activities by claiming priests or pastors were needed, but alas—Yu-na said they had them.
"Huh?"
"We have priests and pastors to spread the teachings. Oh, monks too."
Oh no! Right, this place was originally a pseudo-cult!
As a former pseudo-religion, of course they had preachers. Pseudo or not, their religious members were properly trained. And with monks mentioned too...
"The cult has priests who ran real churches in Gyeongju, pastors, even head monks. Heh heh. Plenty to teach the Dragon God's wisdom! How's that—enough?"
"Ah... sure."
Don't go all-in on the cult's power here... I don't know what that is, but it's scary.
The current Balhut Cult wielded Gyeongju's full might. Mock such terrifying potential? Dragon? Yu-na's beam treats all equally.