The Secret Believer

Whenever the name of Archisus came up, Godorobal jumped and shouted, "Ah! I'm not interested!" which only made him look more suspicious. After a brief moment of thought, Tae-hyun approached the matter from a different angle.

"Come to think of it, an angel visited the Archisus Church recently..."

-An angel visited?!

"Ah. But you said you weren't interested. I won't say any more."

-N-No. You can ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at least tell me that.

"If I keep talking when you said you don't want to hear it, wouldn't that make me a nuisance?"

-No! Just tell me that much! Why are you doing this!

Godorobal shouted in anger once again, but Tae-hyun didn't even blink.

"Didn't you say you weren't interested?"

-Ah, even if I'm not interested, I can still be curious! Tell me! Tell me!

"I'm not telling."

-...Actually, I am a little interested in Archisus!

"I won't tell you for just 'a little' interest."

-I'm moderately interested! Moderately! Is that enough?!

"...????"

Tae-hyun was dumbfounded by this unexpected quest. Seeing Godorobal act so defensive about Archisus, he had assumed there was some grave, serious reason behind it. Like having sworn an oath to another god, selling his soul to a demon, or perhaps the kingdom banning the faith of Archisus altogether...

But the reason was simply, 'It's embarrassing to admit I believe in it alone when no one else does'?

Do I really have to persuade him over such a trivial reason?

As if sensing Tae-hyun's inner thoughts, Godorobal quickly made an excuse.

-Garuda warriors are not supposed to believe in things unrelated to strength.

The law of the Garuda Kingdom was simple: Might makes right! To get stronger, they would gladly eat weird food or equip engineering gear. But conversely, they were forbidden from liking anything that had nothing to do with strength. This applied not just to the Archisus Church, but to other religious orders as well.

-You believe in Phytos? Why believe in such a god? You only do that because you lack self-confidence. Be ashamed!

-What? You believe in Sadiq? Eek! Get away from me!

"...Wait, hasn't the faith of Archisus spread a bit? I persuaded the Garuda warriors quite a lot," Tae-hyun said, sounding aggrieved.

-That is far from enough! You must spread the faith more. More importantly, why are you speaking casually to me?

"Naturally, the Pope is of a higher status than a believer."

"Anyway... so you're saying you'll only teach me the sword skill if I spread the faith of Archisus so you can believe in it proudly?"

-No. Since I already mentioned the sword skill, I will teach it to you as long as you pass the test.

Oh?

"...Then there's no reason for me to spread the faith of Archisus, is there?"

-...W-Wait. You're the Pope, shouldn't you help a believer who wants to join the faith...?

Godorobal was flustered by Tae-hyun's response. Normally, if a Pope discovered a believer trying to keep the faith in such a remote place, they would say, 'My brother in faith! I shall help you!' and support them wholeheartedly. But this Pope of the Archisus Church was showing a completely indifferent attitude, as if asking, 'Do I really have to?'

Was I mistaken?

"Actually, the Archisus Church doesn't accept just anyone these days."

"???"

Lee Da-bi, who was listening from behind, tilted her head. We don't accept just anyone...? Did the church rules change?

Tae-hyun shamelessly continued.

"These days, the Archisus Church only accepts people with a certain level of wealth, reputation, and social status. The deity has been pulling strange stunts lately, so we decided to be cautious."

-Argh...! I didn't know such a new rule was made!!

Godorobal stamped his feet and groaned in frustration. If those were the rules, there was nothing he could do!

-Ah. But in terms of reputation, I am a fairly renowned swordsman.

"You need social status and wealth. Do you have them?"

-....

Godorobal was a wandering swordsman of the Garuda Kingdom, drifting from arena to arena to train his swordsmanship. In other words... he was jobless!

But if I accept him now, I'll have to spread the Archisus faith even more in the Garuda Kingdom.

Just thinking about it was terrible. Tae-hyun was currently highly respected by the Garuda race, but that was because he had hunted massive beasts, cleared achievements, and crafted an immense amount of weapons. Even after all that, the Archisus faith hadn't spread much. And now he had to spread it even further?

I have no idea what I'd even have to do.

Would he have to slay a hundred giant beasts and forge ten thousand weapons?

Hmm. It's higher than I thought.

He had expected E or F. The Garuda warriors must really like him. The Phytos Church is probably around E, right?

"Sigh. Fine, Godorobal. I shall consider letting you join the Archisus Church."

-!!!

Godorobal was overjoyed, nearly jumping with excitement.

-Is that true?!

"Yes. But don't be too relieved. It's not confirmed yet. I will watch and decide based on how useful of a warrior you are."

-Who do you think you're looking at! I am strong! I am strong, I say!

"Exactly that attitude! That cannot exist in the Archisus Church."

-?!

"The Archisus Church is a place of strict discipline. An arrogant attitude like yours can never be tolerated!"

"????"

Lee Se-yeon tilted her head. Uh... was the Archisus Church that kind of place? I thought it was incredibly free-spirited...?

-I-I understand! I will control my anger!

"Yes. If you cannot control that anger, you cannot enter the Archisus Church! Second, loyalty is required!"

-Loyalty... warriors as loyal as me are rare. Trust me and leave it to me!

"That is something you must prove in the future. What else was needed... ability, skills... anyway, if you do well, I will consider accepting you."

-Thank you! No, I am grateful!

Godorobal bowed in gratitude, then froze. Wait. Originally, Tae-hyun was supposed to say, 'I will persuade the kingdom's warriors so you can openly believe in Archisus!'... How did it turn into this?

But if the Garuda warriors want to hide their belief in Archisus, that's a bit of a problem.

He needed to meet the Garuda Princess and talk about the descendant of the Archisus Holy Knight Commander. If the Princess was like Godorobal, she might just say, 'I don't know anything about Archisus!' the moment he asked.

Sigh. Let's think about that when I meet the Princess. For now, let's learn the secret sword skill.

Tae-hyun called Ryu Tae-su and Ryu Da-young. Since both were players who used sword skills, a secret sword skill would definitely be of help.

"Did you call for us!"

"Are you crazy? How could you just stop fighting and leave?"

Ryu Da-young coldly rebuked Ryu Tae-su, looking utterly dumbfounded. They were fighting well in the arena when Tae-su suddenly gasped, 'Player Kim Tae-hyun is calling!' and surrendered. From Da-young's perspective, it was hard to tell if this guy was her brother or her mortal enemy.

"Sister."

"...What!"

"There is always a reason when Player Kim Tae-hyun calls."

"Are you seriously saying that right now?"

Ryu Da-young's voice grew even colder. She understood that Tae-hyun might call them if something happened. But he should have finished what he was doing first!

"He must have called because of something incredibly important that we would regret not coming to immediately."

"Player Kim Tae-hyun hasn't been here long either. What could have happened in that short time? Stop talking nonsense. It must be a burden for him too."

"......"

Listening to them, Tae-hyun let out a quiet sigh of relief. Good thing I called them for a secret skill... If I had called them for a useless reason, Ryu Tae-su would have been slaughtered...

"Hmph. See? Player Kim Tae-hyun will tell us. What did you call us for?"

"I called you because he said he'd teach us a secret sword skill."

"......"

"......"

Ryu Tae-su and Ryu Da-young fell silent at the same time. It was too absurd. A secret sword skill, just like that??

To learn a rare secret skill, you usually had to find the NPC, do various quests to get recognized, and only then could you barely learn it.

"...Can we really learn a secret sword skill?" Ryu Tae-su ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠asked, his voice trembling slightly.

Ryu Da-young looked at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠him, exasperated.

"So you didn't even believe him."

"N-No, I believed him! I just didn't know he called us for a secret sword skill!"

While Ryu Tae-su made excuses, Ryu Da-young asked again.

"Can we really learn a secret sword skill? I thought secret sword skills weren't that easy to get..."

"Well, he offered to teach us, so I couldn't exactly refuse."

True! If an NPC wanted to hand it out, refusing would be ridiculous. They nodded with dazed expressions.

"Thank you. We will learn it well."

"But what kind of skill is it?"

I hope this is okay.

Tae-hyun grew nervous as the message window popped up. Unlike other players, he had achieved too many milestones and possessed too many skills. He couldn't predict what kind of swordsmanship tailored to his characteristics would appear.

A swordsmanship where swinging the sword scatters rabbit-shaped aura into the air!

...Don't say such ominous things!

"Mmm. Thank you. To think it's [ ]."

"I already have Phytos's sword skill, but this skill seems quite useful."

For the Berserker Ryu Tae-su, it was [ ].

For the Phytos Paladin Ryu Da-young, it was [ ].

Both had to pass a trial to obtain them, but judging by their expressions, it didn't seem too difficult. It was much better than expected!

As Ryu Tae-su and Ryu Da-young's sword skills were determined, Tae-hyun's expectations swelled a bit more. What would he get?

"......"

An explosion of what?