The Sacred Swindle

The high-ranking NPC conference room of the church. It was a place filled with magnificent decorations, sculptures, and works of art. A place that ordinary players only dreamed of entering!

Whoa. I should've brought the others along.

Tae-hyun was treating the solemn church conference room like a summer resort.

"Hmph. What is it?"

A high-ranking NPC priest appeared—one whom Tae-hyun had met once before on the coast. Perhaps because of what he had suffered at Tae-hyun's hands, his expression was deeply uncomfortable.

"Priest Hugo. He is the Pope of the Archisus Church. You must show proper respect..."

"Do you have any idea how much I suffered because of that bastard?! You heard how much the priests of our church suffered after being dragged to the Demon Realm by him!"

"Shh! Shh! He'll hear you, Priest Hugo!"

Only after the other priests and holy knights held him back did the high priest, Hugo, calm down and sit across from Tae-hyun. Normally, Tae-hyun would have tormented him a bit more, but he remained quiet. He had something he wanted!

"I am sorry, Priest Hugo."

"Look at that! Look at that! How dare he come all the way here and say to me... wait, 'sorry'? He said he's sorry? Not an insult?"

"..."

"..."

As the other priests stared at Hugo as if he had lost his mind, Hugo cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject.

"Ahem! C-coming to apologize. Of course, you should. You absolutely should. You made the right decision. Yes, indeed!"

"Indeed, Priest. I have given it some deep thought... and I believe I was in the wrong."

"...!"

"Though lacking in many ways, I was somehow chosen by Lord Archisus to revive the church. However, our history is short, and I am still a deeply flawed individual. I do not believe I have the capacity to take responsibility for such a precious item as the holy relic of Karbanog."

"Exactly!" Hugo slapped his knee and shouted. So there is still hope for that Pope of the Archisus Church!

"Therefore, I have made a decision. I shall offer this holy relic to the most unluc—cough, I mean, the most trustworthy church!"

"...!!"

Hugo's eyes widened. To think such an unexpected windfall would roll right into his lap. Just as he was about to eagerly accept, Hugo paused.

"Wait... what happened in the meantime?"

Why was Tae-hyun, who had been so stubborn and wicked, suddenly acting like this? Feeling a seed of doubt, Hugo asked.

"I spent some time reflecting and self-examining. During that time, Lord Archisus appeared in my dream and gave me direct instructions."

"If... if that is the case, then it cannot be helped."

Why did my Holy stat go up?

Perhaps Hugo never imagined that Tae-hyun would lie while invoking the name of the god he served, but he fell for it hook, line, and sinker. The Supreme Eloquence skill was powerful, but what Tae-hyun had put on the line was simply too massive.

"Priest Hugo. Isn't this highly suspicious? There is no reason for the Pope of the Archisus Church to be so kind to us."

"He's right. Besides, isn't he 'that Pope'? The priests of our church are still..."

"Quiet, all of you! Look, he spoke while invoking the name of Archisus. Would he really dare to lie under his god's name?"

"Well, that is true, but..."

"Indeed..."

The other doubting NPCs could no longer argue once Tae-hyun invoked the name of Archisus. Seeing this, Tae-hyun thought:

This is actually pretty good.

In the future, if he ever found himself at a disadvantage when dealing with church bastards, he could just say, "I swear on the name of Archisus!" If even that didn't work, he could swear on the names of Karbanog or Sadiq!

Ah, wait. Now is not the time for this.

Tae-hyun quickly shook his head. He had no time to lose. He needed to hand the item over to Hugo as quickly as possible and get out of here.

"That is why I brought it."

*Clack.*

When Tae-hyun opened the storage box, a brilliant, dazzling light burst from within.

"This is the **Spear of Karbanog**!"

"Ohhh!"

"Oooooh!"

Shouts of awe erupted in the room!

"As expected of a divine relic, it is truly beautiful!"

"The luxurious decorations make it feel as though the power of a god is radiating from it..."

Because Tae-hyun had attached all sorts of decorations to make the fake look more plausible, the **Spear of Karbanog** had transformed into an even more extravagant version than the original.

"Ahem. May I say one thing?"

"...?"

"Since this **Spear of Karbanog** is a holy relic, it possesses immense power. If the storage box is left open and one gets too close, they will be heavily influenced by it."

"...!"

"In fact, the reason I committed those rude acts against you all was because of this spear..."

"That's absurd! Karbanog is not an evil god, is he?"

"But he isn't a good god either, is he?"

Tae-hyun spoke with absolute confidence. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that Karbanog was definitely not a benevolent deity!

"Mmm..."

"That is true..."

"According to the records, he has caused harm far more often..."

"The recent rabbit chaos was also because of Karbanog."

Everyone seemed convinced!

Priest Hugo nodded and said, "Indeed. The chaos that swept the continent this time was also due to Karbanog's power. Even if he is a minor deity, the residual power of a god remaining on the continent is dangerous! There's no telling what it might do if left unchecked."

"Exactly, exactly," Tae-hyun agreed slyly.

"That is why a responsible order like ours must manage it... I am glad you have finally opened your eyes and walked the righteous path!"

"I am glad as well. Perhaps because I let go of the spear, my mood has brightened, and I feel as though my heart is becoming pure..."

*Clank, clank, clack.*

At Tae-hyun's words, the holy knights quickly shut the storage box and began wrapping heavy chains around it.

Tae-hyun cheered inwardly.

It's done.

"Well then, I shall take my leave. Ah, but by any chance..."

"...?"

"Since I have made such a dedicated contribution, do I not receive any ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Contribution Points?"

"...Of course, you must."

*

*

*

Accumulating as many Church Contribution Points as possible is always beneficial!

...That was the standard rule, but Tae-hyun couldn't afford to let his Contribution Points with the Phytos Church sit around. The moment this scam was exposed, his Contribution Points would be deleted, and a message window saying `[The Phytos Church absolutely detests you]` would pop up!

He had to spend them and claim his rewards before that happened. No matter how much the Phytos Church hated him later, what could they do about the rewards he had already taken?

These were the Contribution Points he had extorted—no, received—for escorting the priests of the Phytos Church back from the Demon Realm last time, combined with the points he had just gained by offering the Spear of Karbanog!

The Spear of Karbanog had yielded an especially massive amount. He had received a whopping 15,000 Contribution Points for it...

For an ordinary player, this was an amount that would require completing dozens of quests to accumulate.

What should I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠take to make those bastards feel the most cheated?

Feeling as if he were on a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠strict time limit, Tae-hyun began wandering around the temple, checking various items.

"What is that spear?"

"What about that armor?"

"How many Contribution Points is this skill book?"

The NPC priests were utterly flustered by the rapid-fire barrage of questions!

As Tae-hyun continued to ask questions, nearby players approached him.

"Hey there, you look like a newbie. Need some help?"

"Ah, that would be great. I just got some Contribution Points, and I'm trying to decide what reward to get."

"Haha, yeah. That's the best phase."

"I used to be just like that."

The holy knight players of the Phytos Church smiled warmly at Tae-hyun. It was always heartwarming to see beginners walking the path they had already trodden. Ah, the newbie days, when they would jump for joy over a mere 100 or 200 Contribution Points!

"But you should save them for now. How much do you have? It's probably not even 1,000 anyway..."

"I have about eighteen thousand."

"...Huh?"

"I said, about eighteen thousand."

"D-don't lie. How is that even possible?"

Getting slightly annoyed, Tae-hyun reverted to his usual tone.

"It's true, though."

"Stop talking nonsense!" the player shouted, getting worked up. He had approached to help, only to be met with such an absurd lie!

"Hey! To accumulate eighteen thousand points, you'd barely manage it even if you did nothing but Phytos Church quests from the very start of the game. And we know the faces of everyone who has that much! The rankers of the Phytos Church are..."

Tae-hyun kindly summoned his status window and waved it in front of them. The players' faces turned pale.

"..."

"..."

"I asked you to recommend something."

"...T-this is a bug... It has to be a bug..."

"Tsk. Never mind. I'll just choose myself."

Realizing they wouldn't be of any help, Tae-hyun walked away from them. The two players muttered with hollow expressions.

This is impossible...

"Wait, isn't he that guy?! The one who cleared the church training ground recently?!"

"...!!!"

They stared at each other with sudden realization. They had never cleared Stage 4 or 5 themselves, so they didn't know for sure, but it wouldn't be strange if the rewards included an astronomical amount of Contribution Points. That was how difficult it was!

Actually, isn't the reason Stages 1, 2, and 3 are so hard with so little reward because the rewards for the later stages are absolutely massive?

Such rumors had occasionally circulated, but they quickly died down. Because there was no one who could verify Stage 4 or 5!

"Right?! Otherwise, there's no way anyone could have accumulated that many Contribution Points!"

"That makes sense!"

*

*

*

Unaware of the rumors spreading about him, Tae-hyun was fully focused on browsing skills. While the artifacts of the Phytos Church were quite excellent, he felt he needed skills more, as they were harder to come by.

"You cannot enter here."

"...?"

A holy knight blocked Tae-hyun as he tried to open a door and pass through. It is human nature to become even more curious when forbidden from entering!

"Why can't I go in?"

"From here on, only warriors of the church who have achieved great feats may enter."

Ah, damn. Tae-hyun felt a pang of disappointment. He wanted to take a look, but if they blocked him like this, there was nothing he could do.

"You must either receive permission from the church by achieving outstanding feats, or possess a fitting title..."

Huh? Tae-hyun checked his titles. The title he received after clearing Stage 3 of the training ground, and the title he received after clearing Stage 4...

"Will these do?"

"Ah! You are a warrior recognized by Lord Phytos himself. You may enter!"

"..."

Tae-hyun wondered if this was really okay, but he stepped inside anyway.

Once I get all my skills, I should seriously never set foot near the Phytos Church again...

At this rate, their grudge against him would probably last for a hundred years.

...? It's random here too?

High risk, high reward. A system where generally good skills appeared, but because it was random, there was a chance of drawing a dud. While such systems weren't uncommon, Tae-hyun, who had encountered nothing but random elements so far, was utterly sick of them.

Can't they just let me choose?

A random class, random skills, random stat distribution, and his territory was filled with people who loved random things...

Though grumbling, Tae-hyun made his decision. He couldn't afford to spend too much time here. No use wasting time!

What kind of skill is this?