Additional Features (1)

Unbreakable Will is the skill that has been the engine behind every bit of growth I've managed so far.

If it weren't for that skill, I never would have survived the brutal training the Alrn family put me through.

And that's not all. Without Unbreakable Will, I'd have broken down completely by now and been rotting in a corner somewhere.

None of the countless crises I've endured were things a person from peaceful modern times could have withstood, after all.

In the game, this skill did nothing but nullify instant death. But it's helped me this much in reality — so what would happen if it evolved one step further?

Would I be able to rise to my feet no matter what trial stood before me?

Or failing that, would I become serene and unshaken no matter what situation befell me?

Hero's Mettle?

This definitely wasn't a skill in the game, was it?

So another brand-new skill has just been created, then?

Oh. So the first part, 'does not waver,' means the old function has simply been carried over, right? It might even be more enhanced than before.

And the latter phrase, 'in times of crisis, a hero shall forge miracles' — I'm guessing that means something manifests whenever I fall into a crisis.

I'll have to test the details to know for sure, but going by rough guess, this skill is bound to be a good one.

Unbreakable Will alone was already a tremendous help, and now it's been strengthened even further on top of that.

I'd love a detailed explanation, but hey — a gift is a gift, I suppose.

This one didn't exist in the game either.

And the vague, hand-wavy description is about the same as the last one, too.

Interpreting it loosely, I'd say positive modifiers get applied whenever I act righteously?

I get the general vibe, but I have absolutely no idea how the skill actually functions.

I don't even have a clue how I'm supposed to verify it.

AAAAARGH. Seriously. Lord Armadi.

I'm grateful — truly — that you sometimes reward my hard work with more than my labor deserved.

Thanks to what you've given me, I've overcome countless crises. How could I possibly harbor an ungrateful heart?

But there is just one small thing I'd like to ask of you.

Please. PLEASE. When you grant a skill that doesn't exist in the game, could you at least write a proper explanation for it?

I'm not even asking you to list the numbers! Just tell me exactly what the functions are, that's all!

Look at Weakness Detection, the one you gave me before!

That thing is a god-tier skill usable in a dozen ways outside of combat, and until I tested it myself, I had no idea any of that existed!

There might still be hidden functions even now!

Same goes for this skill!

Somehow or other, I'll figure out what this skill does, sure — but how am I supposed to know whether its usefulness ends there or if there's something more hiding underneath?!

This isn't a game, it's REALITY!

I can't rip apart the client files! I can't verify things through the collective intelligence of a wiki community!

On top of that, there's not even a Status Window, so even my own self-verification has to lean on gut feeling — and you keep hurling vague, ambiguous descriptions at me?! WHY?!

Being your apostle is already dangerous enough as it is — couldn't you at least help me make full use of every single function my skills have to offer?!

Okay, now the text has become completely impossible to even speculate about.

Yaaay. Just imagining having to verify everything from absolute square one — I'm thrilled. SO thrilled.

...

WHAT AUTHORITY?! WHAT DOES THE HERO'S AUTHORITY DO?!

At the very least give me enough to speculate with, and THEN I can decide whether to bother testing it or not!

After venting my indignation internally, I heaved out a sigh of frustration.

What can you do. Our pathetic, useless Chief God apparently delights in watching me rack my brains.

I'll just have to grind through the testing the hard way. First order of business: spar with Grandpa in Practice Mode and check a bunch of things.

Just as I was mulling over the testing procedure to come, another notification chime rang out.

There's STILL more rewards left to give?

So even by your own judgment, this whole affair was a pretty big deal, huh.

If you're offering, refusing would be rude, so I'll gratefully accept — but PLEASE, let this one come with a proper description.

I'm begging you.

My head already hurts as it is. One more thing added to the testing queue and I don't even want to imagine the suffering.

Oh! This one's actually straightforward!

Thank you SO much for listening to my request!

Wait — isn't this a reward that existed in the game, too?

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I even know what happens when your rank goes up! It applies modifiers to all sorts of abilities that use Divinity, plus—

...

Huh? Something's wrong?

Why are my eyelids suddenly dropping?

I'm not tired enough to pass out ye—

After entrusting the aftermath to the Apostle of the Art Sect and returning to the mansion, Johann first set about straightening his disheveled appearance.

A clergyman, his personal creed held, must at all times present a countenance that would bring no shame before the eyes of God.

With all his grooming complete, he was heading back toward the parlor when he spotted Phoebe walking gingerly along, carrying a tray laden with tea service.

"Saintess?"

At Johann's voice, Phoebe flinched, hunching her shoulders. The teapot on the tray nearly went flying, almost causing a tremendous commotion — but Johann snatched it up just in time, and nothing came of it.

"Bishop! Are you all right?! That must have been scalding hot!"

"I'm quite fine. I was shielding my hand with divinity."

Johann set the pot back down on the tray and held out his palm for her to see. Just as he'd said, not a single mark remained on it.

"I'm sorry. It was my fault—"

"No, it was I who startled you, Saintess. Think nothing of it."

So saying, Johann took the tray from Phoebe's hands. She let out a small, faintly wistful sound, but that was all; she surrendered the tray to him without protest.

"You could simply have one of the Artea Mansion's maids do this, you know."

"...I wanted to do it myself."

Johann smiled at the answer Phoebe mumbled out, fidgeting all the while.

Did she wish to personally wait upon the young Lady Alrn, and then be told she'd done well?

Truly a childlike notion.

Hardly the sort of duty befitting one who holds the title of Saintess, Johann was thinking — and then it struck him: Phoebe was still just a child.

She had not yet even come of age. She was at the age where one aches for friends to laugh and talk with.

The Johann of the past could never have entertained such a thought at all. To him, Phoebe had been an object to be despised.

Someone to be eliminated one day, though he watched her for now, making his peace to a degree with reality — that was what Phoebe had been to Johann.

But his thinking had changed.

Because he had witnessed one singular event.

In the heart of Burrow Territory, as he was preparing to work a miracle, Phoebe's face had suddenly drained ghost-pale.

Her teeth chattering.

Cold sweat streaming.

The strength gone from her legs, her body propped up on her staff by sheer desperation.

Muttering nothing but I'm sorry, over and over — that sight was one Johann had faced before, long ago.

She'd been swallowed whole by the Evil God.

Working in the field, Johann had watched comrades consumed by the Evil God's voice more times than he could count.

That was not something even the steadiest soul could escape from alone.

Hadn't a young Johann himself nearly gone mad confronting that darkness?

Because of that past experience, Johann had tried to knock Phoebe unconscious before the Evil God could claim her — but the judgment never made it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into action.

In the very instant his hand began to move, Phoebe's eyes had flared with unmistakable light.

Johann froze in that moment.

A human being had shaken off an Evil God's thrall by nothing but their own will.

Already devoured, she had clawed her way out of that hell regardless.

Witnessing something worthy of being called a miracle right before his eyes — how could anyone maintain their composure?

The moment he saw Phoebe, staggering yet still bent on doing what had to be done, Johann thought:

Perhaps I had been wrong all along.

Even if she was a false saintess — couldn't the faith and conviction held within her be genuine?

That unwavering heart of hers, at the very least — surely.

Johann still had not reached a single conclusion.

But one thing had changed from before.

The Johann of now had resolved to see Phoebe no longer as the corruption of the Main God Church, but as a human being — one person, and nothing more.

"I'll escort you back before we return to the parlor."

"...I'm sorry?"

"That way, you can serve the young lady yourself, can't you?"

Phoebe, who had been gazing quietly at Johann's face, flushed faintly in both cheeks before breaking into an awkward yet radiant smile.

"Thank you so very much, Bishop."

"It's nothing."

And so, the two of them arrived at the parlor door on a far lighter note than before — when the door burst violently open, and two figures revealed themselves.

One was Rina, the Lord of the Forest. The other was Lucy.

Everyone knew Rina constantly trailed after Lucy, so the two of them being together wasn't strange in itself.

It would not have been — had Lucy not been unconscious in Rina's arms.

"...My lady?!"

"Young miss!"

Lucy had collapsed.

Far too suddenly.

Uuugh... my head feels like it's about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to crack open.

This hurts worse than the morning after I got so excited about finally being legal to drink that I had no idea of my own tolerance and drank my friends under the table until I dropped.

"Awake now, are you?"

Clutching my aching head, I somehow managed to open my eyes — and there, filling my vision, was the face I saw every single night.

'Grandpa.'

"That's me."

'Right. Grandpa.'

"Indeed. It is I."

Ah. So this is Practice Mode. Why am I here, again? I was definitely in the middle of checking the rewards from our pathetic Chief God when—

'Um...'

'Grandpa. Did I pass out?'

"You did. But no need to worry. It's a perfectly normal phenomenon that occurs when the rank of your divinity rises."

When I tilted my head to voice my confusion, Grandpa continued the explanation.

"To put it simply — you're in the middle of transforming so your body can accept divinity that no mortal frame could ordinarily contain."

Ahh. Got it. So it's like a total metamorphosis, roughly?

Though considering what a total scrub I am right now, it's probably not impressive enough to deserve the word 'metamorphosis.'

"Once time passes and the change completes, you'll wake naturally. Think nothing of it."

Come to think of it, the last message I saw did say something about my divinity's rank rising, didn't it.

...Wow. So I passed out cold, just sitting in the parlor taking a break?

That ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠must have caused a whole scene.

Well, Phoebe and Johann are there, so they'll figure out nothing's seriously wrong right away. No need to fret too much over it.

'So then...'

'Do I just have to stay here with my musty, crusty old grandpa until I wake up?'

"Could you not simply keep that inside your head? It'll reach me just fine regardless."

'My apologies, sir.'

I offered a meek apology, since Grandpa had gone dead serious on me.

I was just teasing him a little with the mesugaki skill, but he took it entirely too seriously.

This is why he's so unpopular with the ladies. So petty-minded.

Anyway, so I'm stuck in Practice Mode until my mind returns to my body, huh.

Actually, perfect timing.

I was planning to visit Practice Mode to test my skills anyway.

Verifying my skills together with Grandpa—

Hm? What now?

There's more notification chimes left?

...What is THIS now?