Cathedral Management for Beginner High-Ranking Angels
Cathedral Management for Beginner High-Ranking Angels
[What the hell is that in Seoul?]
ㅇㅇ(218.311)
(Black Tower next to Lotte Tower.png)
I'm here in Namyangju, but something like a black tower appeared. It's way bigger than the Lotte Tower next to it. What is that?
└ It flashed and then appeared, dunno. Sirens are going off outside, it's chaotic.
└ Helicopters were flying around too, what's up?
[Am I fucking about to die?]
BibimKingDumpling(g)
(Building cut in half.jpg)
I was just shitposting on my phone at home when suddenly there was a flash and half my house turned into that black something.
└ I heard it suddenly appeared in Seoul, they say it looks like a tower.
└└ (Poster) Ah, so it was a tower? It's so fucking huge I thought it was a wall.
└ But then, what happened to the people who were where that tower appeared?
└└ (Poster) Huh?
└└ Ah, no way, that's ridiculous.
[It's on the news]
Sa1jeongOffice(g.)
[(Breaking) Tower suddenly appears in Seoul, estimated approx. 250m in width/height]
[(Breaking) Buildings that were at the site of the tower's appearance completely missing]
[(Breaking) Not just Seoul, nationwide...]
Something's happening.
└ Completely missing?? How long has it been since it appeared and they're already giving up?
└└ Watch the news. They said the non-destructive inspection shows it's either completely empty or completely solid, one of the two. There's no answer.
└ So, does that mean the people who were where the tower appeared are all dead?
└└ That's how it looks.
[Apparently it didn't just appear in Korea?]
ㅇㅇ(g)
(Tower that appeared in Washington.jpg)
(Tower that appeared in Beijing.jpg)
(Tower that appeared in London.jpg)
It seems to have appeared worldwide? Is there some kind of pattern?
└ What the hell is that thing...
└ But look closely, the towers that appeared seem subtly different?
└└ Why is that?
└└ It's true. Holy shit.
└ I heard they appeared everywhere with a population density above a certain level?
└└ For real?
└└└ Then it must be bullshit.
"...So that's the situation outside? Above a certain population density... Then why didn't one appear here? Is that lucky?"
I looked out the window, but nothing had changed. The same green trees were all I could see. A landscape unchanged for seven years, a place where no one lives around, or is it even a place where people should live? A place that raises questions. That was the kind of place I lived.
It's not like I lived in such a place because I liked the country. I have memories of living an ordinary life at least until I was in the second year of middle school.
Well... After that, my family and relatives fell into a cult... took on massive debt... and then committed group suicide together, leaving only me behind... Yeah, that kind of third-rate novel plot.
If I were the typical third-rate novel protagonist, I'd probably be an incredibly positive person despite such a past, but I, Shin Ji-yoon, was not like that.
Forget depression, there were many days I didn't eat due to the constant lethargy. Even when I did eat, a bowl of cereal a day was it.
No money, no home, middle school dropout, nothing I know or can do. So, for various reasons, I've been living in a container out in the mountain valleys of Daejeon.
I cover various expenses by 'ssal-meok' (earning real money), cutting back and saving on food. But I never ate much anyway, so maybe it doesn't matter?
[Seems the population density thing is correct]
ArisDehumidifier(g.)
(Tower that appeared in the sea off Ulsan.png)
It appeared in Ulsan. But it's in the middle of the sea here, so it seems okay?
└ Wow, that's lucky. The other inland cities are going crazy.
'Daejeon should have a higher population density than Ulsan, right? Is it because I live in a mountain valley that I can't see it?' I thought, shoving today's first and last meal, cereal, into my mouth.
I immediately wrote a comment.
[? One appeared in Ulsan but not in Daejeon...]
'Flash—'
Ah, so this is what it's like when a Tower appears? I haven't even finished typing the comment... Is this how I die? My 26-year-long shitty life is coming to an end...
...
...
Hmm... Is this the feeling of dying? A floating sensation? Like floating in water? Not warm, not cold, just perfectly in between... Hmm...
I naturally opened my eyes. Surprisingly, my eyes opened naturally. A dark space with nothing, a feeling of floating right in the middle of it. Is this what zero gravity in space feels like? Or maybe being a fetus... No, let's not think about that.
I decided not to think about family after that incident. There's nothing good about recalling it, so even thinking about it like this is...
"So, is this death? Is this the end?"
'Ding—'
Amidst that, my phone notification rang.
...?
Phone? I have a phone?
Just in case, I frantically searched my pockets, but there were no pockets, let alone clothes.
"Then where is that sound coming from?"
'Ding—'
It rang once more.
Only then, after looking around, could I identify the source of the sound.
[Notification: Do not be afraid, child,]
[A handicap for the beginner High Angel is granted.]
A window like a game notification floated before my eyes. And after reading all the text on it,
'Flash—'
The same light as when the Tower appeared, and a feeling began where all sensation in my body vanished. Following my arms, my legs, following my legs, my abdomen, the sensation gradually disappeared. And soon, my vision turned black.
Is this really the end now...? Death feels like... weirdly hard and weirdly cold carpet floor...
"...? Feeling? Didn't all sensation disappear earlier...?"
I slowly lifted my heavy(?) eyelids. Me, lying on the floor. Slowly, I raised my body and looked around.
"Huh... This place feels like a gothic... um... workshop? Study?"
A desk made of luxurious wood and an enormous pile of papers on it, bookshelves and books decorating the walls in equally enormous quantities.
"Am I dreaming or something..."
...? Suddenly, my voice was thin. Really thin.
"Aah..."
Carefully, I tried making a sound again. What came out through my mouth was, how should I put it, the voice of a girl before puberty.
"One... two... three..."
But it wasn't an annoyingly squeaky voice; a genuinely youthful voice naturally seeped out through my throat.
Come to think of it, even though I stood up, my field of vision felt very low. Even though I could feel the soles of my feet touching the floor, my vision was incredibly low.
I looked over my body. Hands that felt small and tiny, and arms that were far too thin. My original arms were thin and skinny too, but these were too skinny. Without any exaggeration, if you slightly crumpled a cookie jar with a beard drawn on it, not just my hand, but my entire arm would probably fit inside.
Looking around a bit more, a full-length mirror in the corner caught my eye. I immediately went in front of the mirror to see my reflection.
The first thing I saw was white, flowing, very soft hair, sky-blue eyes, a cute face, and a very small, thin body. In short, it was not my body.
Whether it's reincarnation, transmigration, or whatever, I had completely changed into a different appearance.
But these clothes... Looking again, they... no, the t-shirt I was wearing before becoming this body... they look very similar. No, not similar, they were identical. The stretched neckline, even the stain from when ramyun soup splashed...
What this means is, this body is me. Not reincarnation or transmigration, but me myself.
"...Is this really a dream?"
I pinched my cheek. Compared to the skinny body, incredibly soft cheek flesh was pulled, and I felt pain.
"It's not a dream...?"
In front of the mirror, I slowly turned, carefully examining my body. And what I found was three pairs, six wings on my back. They're soft.
"Hmm... I think I need to look around the room more. From the bookshelves to the desk..."
The bookshelves were full of books written in a language I couldn't recognize. I'll skip that for now. Next, I examined the desk...
My line of sight wasn't at a level to see the top of the desk, so I climbed onto the chair, knelt, and looked over the desk top.
A single book in the middle of the desk. Luckily? It was written in Korean. The title of the book was...
[Beginner High Angel's Cathedral Management Guide]
"Huh? What kind of book is this, something like a novel? I'll leave the book here for now..."
I headed towards the door on the opposite side of the desk. A double door that opened to the sides. The door, made of dark brown wood, was quite large. I reached my hand up slightly, grabbed the handle, and turned it. Fortunately, contrary to its heavy appearance, the door opened easily.
Opening the door slightly and sticking my head out, a long corridor came into view. There were windows, but outside seemed to be night, very dark. Candles were lined up on the walls, but they weren't lit. As I stared to see where the corridor ended,
"Huh...!"
Due to the immense fear I felt in an instant, I closed the door again and came back inside the room.
Cold sweat dripped. Fear of the unknown, fear of ignorance, a feeling of fear like thalassophobia. The sensation that if I went out there without knowing anything, I didn't know what would happen to me, seemed to change my thoughts and flow through my skin.
"Whew... Ha..."
After taking a deep breath, I looked around the room once more. Fortunately, thanks to the chandelier on the ceiling, the room wasn't dark.
"No choice, I guess..."
I knelt on the chair again and looked at the book.
[Beginner High Angel's Cathedral Management Guide]
Passing the cover with that written on it, I examined the contents inside.
[Table of Contents]
1. What is a High Angel?
2. What is a Cathedral?
3. ...
.
..
...
This book... the volume is immense. But this book clearly aimed to tell me everything from 1 to 100 to inform me of something. 'I have to read it.' That kind of compulsion hit me.
From my kneeling position, I sat cross-legged on the chair and began reading the first item in the table of contents, 'What is a High Angel?'
"So... roughly, there are lower, middle, and upper angels, and the higher the angel's rank, the stronger their power... Divine Power, is that the gist?"
Understanding it wasn't difficult itself. No, beyond not being difficult, it was as if the book read my mind whenever I had a question, and the very next page would resolve that question.
Hmm... Yeah, it felt like reading a Wikipedia document and acquiring information by clicking on terms I didn't know. And the content wasn't boring either.
So I kept reading.
...
I think I read a fair amount. I don't know how much time passed, but I could tell a considerable amount of time had flowed by. I wasn't hungry. My throat wasn't dry either. Of course, I was originally like that, so I didn't find it strange.
"So, the content is that I am a High Angel and this building... is a 'Cathedral,' and the Cathedral exists to counter other things called 'Towers,' and I have to manage this Cathedral... What the fuck?"
First, swearing came out. Angels mean there are 'gods'... and I already dislike that premise.
"And on top of that, I'm such a god's angel... and I have to maintain and manage this building called the Cathedral,"
I kept reading. I began reading as if I had entered the book itself.
In the middle, it explained a new language, called Celestial Language. Because the book explained it so easily, it wasn't very difficult.
...
A considerable amount... subjectively, it felt like three months. No, maybe it took even longer. I read like crazy, like I was possessed. I closed the book. And realized.
"This book... it's only teaching the very, very basics, isn't it?"
I looked at the bookshelves filling two walls of the room and the books inside them.
"This isn't going to be easy,"
Then, a natural thought arises.
"Whew..."
After taking a deep breath, I spoke.
"I won't do it,"
It was the natural thought to have.
"So, what now?"
And naturally, words jumped out. It felt like I had finished a Wikipedia deep dive, and it came out reflexively.
I scrutinized the room thoroughly. Besides the books, there was nothing more I could do. Soon, my gaze turned to the mirror. The mirror I saw after a long time, the me in the mirror,
"Huh?"
My eyes were shining golden. Something like a ring had appeared on my head.
And with a slight headache, I promptly lost consciousness.