Chapter 43
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Omen (1)
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Quite some time had passed since I'd summoned Estacia.
During that time, Kueberberg had been diligently earning Karma, and the number of followers devoted to Estacia had grown significantly.
Of course, someone was needed to lead those followers, so I had Yutenia appoint a new bishop.
The cult, which had started with just a few people, was now expanding into a large-scale organization.
With the rate of Karma acquisition so drastically different from before, I was finally realizing that the game was on the right track.
"This is what a real idle game is like."
Even without doing anything, a massive amount of Karma piled up every day.
The Karma requirement increased as my level went up, but even accounting for that, the speed was phenomenal.
At this pace, it seemed I would reach the next level soon.
I might even be able to create the next Apostle before long.
Satisfied with the messages filling the screen, I took a bite of the chicken burger in my hand.
"Now this is real food."
Chicken and a burger.
Come to think of it, there were few combinations as good as this.
Both are delicious on their own, but aren't they amazing together?
As I ate the chicken burger I'd bought on my way home from work and looked at my smartphone, the sound of a commercial from the TV reached my ears.
- "Triple-Fusion Super Dino-Bot! Defeat evil enemies with your mighty power!"
Hearing the narration, I reflexively glanced at the TV screen.
A commercial for a children's toy was playing on the TV I'd turned on as soon as I got home.
It was a product where three dinosaurs combined to become a giant robot.
Seeing it in its combined form, I had to admit it looked pretty cool.
I really wanted toys like that when I was a kid.
As I watched the dinosaurs appearing behind the robot, the image of a massive dragon suddenly flashed through my mind.
"Ah. I need to summon a dragon."
The dragon creature I'd failed to summon last time was still on my mind.
For me, a dragon was something of a fantasy, a dream come true.
I didn't need it to triple-fuse like the robot on TV; I just wanted a single dragon to appear.
As I felt a pang of longing for a dragon, the Creature Maker skill at the bottom of my smartphone screen kept catching my eye.
"Should I make another one?"
The mana that had been sealed as a penalty for using Creature Maker had already returned.
It was possible to use the Creature Maker skill once again.
For a moment, I glanced back and forth between the skill icon on my smartphone and the Triple-Fusion Super Dino-Bot.
And after much deliberation, I decided to use the skill.
"Please, let it be a dragon."
Once I'd made up my mind, there was no reason to hesitate.
Tap.
I moved my finger and tapped the Creature Maker skill icon.
As soon as I pressed the icon to activate the skill, the creature creation options appeared on the smartphone screen.
- You have used Creature Maker.
- Please specify the amount of mana to consume.
The first thing to appear was the mana setting screen, just like before.
I didn't know what effect mana had on the creature, but it seemed the more, the better.
I set the mana slider to 85.
It was enough mana to allow for minimal gameplay without consuming all of it.
After setting the mana, the aggression setting window appeared.
- Please specify the creature's aggression.
When I created Kueberberg, the aggression setting was 10.
And Kueberberg was currently moving about, destroying everything in sight.
In Estacia's case, I set the aggression to 1.
As a result, Estacia never showed any signs of attacking anyone.
Considering these two cases, it seemed highly likely that setting aggression to either extreme would result in a strange creature.
"I should set the aggression to a moderate level, like 4."
For that reason, I set the new creature's aggression to 4.
Of course, the same logic applied to the appearance setting that came next.
Thinking about Estacia and Kueberberg, I had to find a compromise somewhere between the two.
- Please specify the creature's appearance.
- The closer to 1, the more ferocious its appearance.
- The closer to 10, the more gentle its appearance.
Based on my experience so far, I also set the creature's appearance to 4.
I figured this would result in a decent creature with a moderate appearance.
- Please specify the creature's size.
- The closer to 10, the larger its size.
The next item to set after appearance was size.
The incredibly enormous Kueberberg.
And Estacia, who was about the size of a person.
Looking at these two creatures at opposite ends of the spectrum, it seemed reasonable to assume a human's size was 1.
What size should the creature be to get the one I wanted?
As I mulled it over while looking at the settings window, I decided to set the creature's size to 5.
"Please, come out as something normal."
All that was left was to see what kind of creature would pop out.
Having finished all the settings, I tapped the confirm button to use the Creature Maker skill.
Tap.
As I moved my finger to designate the target location, the smartphone screen was enveloped in light, and messages instantly appeared.
- Shadowfiend: Alpha has been created.
- Due to the Creature Maker penalty, you cannot recover the consumed mana for 24 hours.
- Shadowfiend: Alpha holds you in awe.
- Scales of Karma converts the activities of Shadowfiend: Alpha into your causality.
The creature created at the cost of 85 of my mana revealed itself.
The new creature's name was Shadowfiend: Alpha.
And the appearance of this newly revealed creature was the very dragon I had been longing for.
Jet-black scales. Golden eyes with vertical slits.
Even the horns on its head and the wings on its back.
In almost every aspect, it was the ideal dragon I had envisioned.
"Could this be, a dragon"
except for the fact that it was a baby dragon that looked even smaller than Estacia.
My voice trailed off as I registered the dragon's size.
The size of the newly appeared dragon was strange.
I blinked and looked at the screen again.
"It looks like one, but why is it this size?"
I couldn't help but question Alpha's appearance in the clearing.
I was sure I'd set the creature's size to 5, but Alpha's visible size didn't even seem to be 0.5.
That's how incredibly small Alpha was.
It was a form completely devoid of a dragon's majesty.
Gilford Proud.
The captain of the Gilford Mercenary Company and the chosen Hero of Abundance, he was traveling with his comrades to the western region of the empire.
The Mark of Abundance that had appeared on his arm had long been covered by a gauntlet.
He didn't want the hassle of being discovered by temple officials.
The Divine Artifact Gilford had newly acquired, Ascalon, also did not glow except when in use.
As such, the only difference from before was the fact that Gilford now carried two swords.
"Captain. Are we really going to be okay like this?"
As Gilford led the mercenary company, Jeni, the group's sole mage, asked him a question.
There was only one thing Jeni could be worried about at this point.
It was about the mark on Gilford's arm and the Temple of Abundance.
Although Gilford had previously said he wouldn't go to the temple, she still seemed worried about its movements.
Gilford patted Jeni's shoulder and spoke to her.
"Don't worry. The world will be better off if we become stronger."
"You always say not to worry, Captain, but..."
"Besides, I dislike being tied to complicated places like the temple. If I felt otherwise, I wouldn't have formed a mercenary company like this."
"..."
"Isn't it the same for all of you?"
When Gilford looked around at the members of his company and asked, they all nodded in agreement.
The one who reacted most vehemently was Gaff, the company's vice-captain.
Gaff spoke in a boisterous voice that boomed through the surroundings.
It was loud enough to make Gilford's and Jeni's ears ache.
"Of course it is! What mercenary likes complicated stuff?"
"Yeah, yeah. Better to just do some work and make more money."
"Most of the guys here can't even read! You think the Captain's any different?"
"...I can read."
"And if the Captain runs into trouble, we'll step up, so don't you worry! As long as we get paid, of course!"
"Anyway, our dear mage here worries too much, just like the smart person she is."
The mercenaries' rough laughter echoed around them.
Seeing the mercenaries laughing at her, Jeni's face flushed red.
She gripped her staff tightly, trembling.
Pat. Pat.
Gilford's hand patted Jeni's shoulder once more.
"Besides, don't we have such a capable mage on our team?"
"Captain..."
"It's rare for a mercenary company to have a mage. Especially one as skilled as you."
"Even with such praise... I have no intention of giving you anything more..."
"So don't worry, and stay with us until the end. I have no intention of parting with good comrades."
Gilford declared calmly and withdrew his hand.
Just as Gilford, having stated his intentions, was about to continue on his way.
Ascalon, which was sheathed at his waist, began to emit a bright light.
As Ascalon began to glow, all the mercenaries' eyes turned to Gilford.
Seeing the brilliant light enveloping Ascalon, Gilford spoke to the sword.
"Ascalon?"
- "I don't wish to spoil the mood, but it seems a troublesome matter has arisen."
"A troublesome matter? What do you mean?"
- "A subordinate of the Evil God has appeared a short distance from here."
A subordinate of the Evil God.
Gilford's expression stiffened at Ascalon's words.
He had already heard from Ascalon about the Evil God's appearance and understood the situation.
However, he had never expected to hear about one of its subordinates so soon.
"What kind of subordinate has appeared?"
- "A Cherubim from the heavens has fallen to the earth. It seems highly likely to be a fallen angel."
"A fallen angel..."
- "It seems the Cherubim that has appeared on earth is affecting the scales in some way. If measures are not taken in advance, things could get out of hand."
A fallen angel, cast down from the heavens.
As a subordinate of the Evil God, it would surely go around bewitching people with wicked temptations.
The image of a fallen angel with unfurled black wings flashed through Gilford's mind.
The evil fallen angel would undoubtedly possess great power received from the Evil God.
As he pictured the fallen angel in his mind, Gilford gripped Ascalon at his waist.
"Does this seem like something I should handle?"
- "As it is related to the Evil God's cult, it would be best for you, the Hero, to step in."
He had said he wouldn't join the temple, but that didn't mean he intended to completely ignore the Evil God's forces.
If it was something he could resolve, he was more than willing to step up and do so.
If there were people suffering because of the fallen angel, he absolutely could not stand by and watch.
Hearing the story, Gilford decided to meet the fallen angel himself.
With a troubled heart, Gilford took a deep breath and asked Ascalon.
"How far away is it?"
- "At most, it's a journey of half a month."
"Half a month. Not too far, then."
- "What will you do?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
Gilford's gaze swept over his comrades.
Gaff and Jeni. And the rest of his reliable mercenaries.
All of them would fight alongside him.
Shing.
Drawing Ascalon from his waist, Gilford shouted to his comrades.
"We're going to hunt a fallen angel. Anyone who's afraid should leave now."