The Forgotten Ten Heroes [Akashic Archive] One Week After Release
Sacrifice Church Central Temple
"Haaah…."
Melissa, the First Apostle of the Sacrifice Church, let out a deep sigh, her long, pointed elf ears twitching.
Her constellation had changed so much from before.
A constellation whose very name included the phrase "who overcame sloth."
Even with that immense power, she holed up in her room like a lazy little sister, fiddling around aimlessly, leaving Melissa exhausted from constantly looking after her.
So Melissa had hoped she'd leave her room…
But not to this extent.
She'd demanded monuments and statues commemorating the Ten Heroes in every single temple that served her.
Did she even know how many temples there were across the continent?
The story of the woman who sacrificed herself to protect humanity had been passed down as legend everywhere, teaching the virtue of sacrifice regardless of race or region.
Thanks to that, her temples dotted the continent far and wide.
As the First Apostle overseeing them all, Melissa now had to add monuments and statues honoring the Ten Heroes to every one.
And what the hell were these "Ten Heroes" anyway?
She'd been the constellation's apostle for over 200 years, and this was the first she'd heard of them.
Nothing in any records of the constellation's saga mentioned them….
Thud.
Flopped face-down on the bed, she picked up her magitech terminal.
"Well, she's still our constellation."
She could grant any request from her favorite, her beloved constellation.
No matter how grueling.
Vrrr.
She activated the terminal, and the game [Akashic Archive] booted up.
Normally, this elf wouldn't give games a second glance, but this one was different.
It was full virtual reality—you could control and even touch the constellation as a character.
"Heh heh heh… Come to mama!"
Logging in, Melissa grinned wickedly and hugged the [Knight Ren] character tight.
The constellation's living image from her mortal days.
For Melissa, a fanatic fan since childhood, it was impossible to resist.
Full Breakthrough
Full breakthrough: Maxing out a character's duplicates to achieve the highest strengthening level.
Melissa had pulled [Knight Ren] over and over until she hit the absolute max.
She'd blown every bit of gacha currency—Sage Stones—earned from gameplay, plus real-money purchases, but it was worth it.
After lavishing hugs and snuggles on Ren for a blissful while, she checked the character's status window.
As her apostle, she'd craft a [Knight Ren] more perfect than any player's.
She'd maxed the skill levels too, but…
"Where the hell do you even get this material?"
She had everything else, but one item—[Heart of the Monster Queen]—was a total mystery.
No clue what it was or where to farm it, no matter how she searched.
"I need to power her up fast…."
Leaving her constellation's character weak? The disloyalty and sin stabbed at her heart.
New Content: Weekly Boss has been released.
Challenge once per week. Clear for character growth materials and Sage Stones.
Experience the actual past, untouched by the Abyss's erosion.
"…Weekly boss?"
The first update for [Akashic Archive], announcing its debut new content.
Flash!
She tapped the shiny new button in mid-air to try it out, and a book burst from nowhere, swallowing her whole.
-Kieeeek!
-Kick!
Opening her eyes again, she realized she was in the heart of the underground cave—the Monster Queen's lair—from a previous tutorial episode.
"Captain! What're you spacing out for? We gotta push through!"
Her ten comrades fought beside her, smashing through the monster defenses.
And…
"I'm… the constellation?"
She'd possessed [Knight Ren].
"Captain! No time to dawdle!"
Dragged along by these apparent comrades, she descended to the cave's depths.
Hordes of monsters threw themselves at them to halt their advance; she and her team carved through the swarm.
The Monster Queen's lair, already cleared once in story mode.
But without the protagonist's essence absorption and barely handling Knight Ren's body, the difficulty felt way higher than the tutorial.
Eventually, the party got surrounded front and back.
"Damn! No choice. Don't stop me—I'm first."
A rough-looking high-rank mercenary gripped his massive axe and stepped up.
"Captain. It was an honor fighting with you. Take down their boss, yeah?"
Roaring, he unleashed his mana and charged into the monster throng.
"Damn, Hans, always showboating."
"Can't waste the opening he bought us! Let's go, Captain!"
Swallowing their grief, they pressed on. Melissa numbly followed.
Sacrifice…
The Ten Heroes: Special Forces.
Scattered puzzle pieces snapping into a full picture.
Could these be the "Ten Heroes" her constellation meant…!?
Only now did Melissa recall the system message's words about the "actual past."
The story mode past she'd experienced was the Abyss-twisted lie.
This was real. These were the true comrades—and heroes—who fought with her constellation long ago.
"Haha, my turn now! I'm going first, you bastards!" Great Swordsman Colin
"It was an honor to fight together, General." Mage Christine
"Go on! Hurry!" Spirit User Darin
"Humanity… we leave in your hands." Holy Knight Dave
"Alright, let's play, you bugs!" Priest Gregory
"I'm the kingdom's Sword Master! Florenceeeee!" Knight Florence
"General…! Please…!" Spearman Ingrid
"You won't pass here, scum!" Black Mage Jeffrey
Even…
The nine special forces volunteered their lives to send her to the queen.
-Kirrrk.
-Kik.
Three Elder Guardians blocked the queen's door.
"Gahk…!"
One's blade pierced the last special forces member's chest.
Mockery glinted in the Elder Guardian's eyes.
The light of life faded from his.
"Finally… my turn."
But a smile—not despair—bloomed on his lips.
"Your mom's gonna die to our general…."
He pulled a small mana orb from his bosom; vicious mana swirled within.
"Our general's… the strongest…."
-Kirrrk!
The Elder Guardian sensed it and tried to flee, but—
BOOM!
His suicide blast was faster.
Shards of the shattered Elder Guardian rained through the blood mist.
Melissa slashed the remaining two; all gatekeepers fell.
"…Collins."
The ten special forces sacrificed without hesitation to send Ren to the queen.
Now it was her turn to repay them.
Creeeak.
Melissa moved Knight Ren's body and opened the queen's door.
* * *
"…Will she be okay?"
I scanned the continentals' reactions via the community and asked the goddess.
Sacrifice who Overcame Sloth is overjoyed, grasping both your hands and shaking them—then realizes you're not in the same space.
Sacrifice who Overcame Sloth says thanks to you, everyone can now know of their sacrifice.
Sacrifice who Overcame Sloth promises to grant anything you desire—just say the word.
"…It was the right thing to do."
Heroes who gave their lives to save the world, yet whose names faded into oblivion? Unacceptable.
I knew from my past life that my own country had unnamed heroes, and that regret made it impossible to ignore.
Even without the goddess's request, I'd have added it to spread their tale.
"The rewards are fine. I'm grateful just to use your story."
Astronomical revenue from the game's success.
Me and the constellations were free from labor now.
She'd already rewarded me plenty; what more could I want?
Sacrifice who Overcame Sloth is moved to tears.
Sacrifice who Overcame Sloth asks if you'd consider becoming her apostle.
Sacrifice who Overcame Sloth promises to treat you right, offering her pinky.
Dream Storyteller freaks out.
Dream Storyteller clings to Sacrifice who Overcame Sloth's leg, pounding away: Don't steal my apostle!
"Ahaha… Thank you, but I'm my constellation's apostle. I can't betray the grace she's shown me."
The Sacrifice Church—one of the continent's top ten religions.
Last among them, sure, but still one of the greatest.
Becoming its apostle meant power rivaling high nobility.
Dream Storyteller fidgets nervously with her fingers, eyes pleading.
After all my constellation's given me, how could I leave? Don't worry—I'm yours forever.
…Plus, without her authority, I couldn't make the game and life'd be boring as hell.
Sacrifice who Overcame Sloth laments even more, calling you prime apostle material.
I needed a subject change.
"Anyway, you okay with this?"
I pointed out comments popping up across the community.
Public opinion had started extremely favorable to Goddess Ren, but now smear campaigns emerged.
Ignoring that she herself never spoke of the Ten Special Forces.
Sacrifice who Overcame Sloth muses bitterly that karma comes for wrongdoers.
Sacrifice who Overcame Sloth says it's the price she must pay for not properly sharing her comrades' names over centuries.
Price to pay….
Yeah, it was odd: Centuries as a major religion's god, yet no mention of her past-life comrades.
Especially for such a sacrificial hero.
Something was up.
I scrolled community reactions unconsciously—then froze.
…Better not mention these.
Vrrr.
"?"
The magitech artifact beside me buzzed.
I picked it up.
The billboard in the divine realm, set up via my constellation to recruit motifs for future official episodes—the first chapter's basis and second pickup character.
It linked my artifact to the board for direct constellation chats.
She insisted: What if my identity leaks and another constellation kidnaps me?
A constellation saw the ad and messaged?
Who could it be?
Heart pounding, I opened it—and gaped at the sender's name, the constellation's title.
[Magitech Engineer Consumed by Rage]
An utter surprise—a heavyweight I never expected, the least likely one.