Rise of the OtherGod Apostle: Not a Cult Leader, but a Serf?!

#100Reader Mode

#100

A chill slithered down my spine as I stared at the wax tablet in Callister’s hand. This felt like that horror movie trope – you know, where the creepy doll you swore you destroyed mysteriously reappears. Except this wasn’t a doll, it was that damn wax tablet. And it was back.

“…Mind if I take a quick look at it?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant despite my racing heart.

I took the tablet from Callister and examined it closely. It wasn’t the same one that got ripped apart earlier – the wood grain was different, and the finish was smoother. But as I brought it closer to my face and squinted, the letters started to shift and reform.

’Don’t throw it away, don’t throw it away, don’t throw it away, don’t throw it away, don’t throw it away.’

Ack! F*ck!

I almost hurled it again, but somehow, with superhuman patience, I slipped it into my sleeve, playing it cool.

“…This isn’t mine, but I’ve got a pretty good idea who might’ve done it. I’ve been helping the kids with their handwriting lately, and I’m guessing one of the little rascals decided to practice with my name.”

Better hold onto this for now!

I couldn’t believe this damn thing had found me again, after what happened to the last one. If I kept denying it and refusing to take it, I had a feeling the God of Records might just write down my description next time.

“I’ll have to have a word with them about defacing public property,” I said to Callister with a forced grin. “No idea how it ended up at the library, though. Thanks for tracking it down, by the way.”

If word gets out that the God of Records is hunting me down, I’m toast. Finished. Doomed.

It wouldn’t matter if I managed to convince everyone I had nothing to do with that traitorous deity – people would still start asking questions. Like, “What’s so special about this ‘Fabio’ guy that he’s caught the attention of a god who plotted treason?”

And what if Callister starts wondering the same thing?

…Callister must be with the research institute. Which means if this gets out, it’ll definitely end up in a report to the Director.

And then the Director himself would probably come sniffing around, asking questions.

I need to make sure that doesn’t happen, no matter what it takes.

“Well, I’ll get going then,” I said, turning to leave.

But Callister’s voice held me back. “Aren’t you even a little curious about how I found you?”

Not f*cking curious at all!

“I assumed you’d be wondering how I tracked you down so quickly,“ Callister said, a smile spreading across his face, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Especially with so many ‘Fabios’ running around this bustling capital church. I suppose this isn’t our first official encounter, right?”

…This sly bastard is testing me.

Even though Athanas couldn’t remember Callister’s name, he knew exactly who he was from the description I’d given him. That run-in on the fourth floor definitely remained in his memory.

So, if ‘Fabio’ only had his sixth-floor memories wiped by Oblivion, he’d probably say something like, “Hey, didn’t we run into each other at the library before?”

But the longer I keep this conversation going, the higher the risk of me slipping up and exposing myself.

When you’re not sure how much Oblivion has erased, the best move is to…

“Oh, really? Ah, yeah!” I said with a laugh, trying to sound surprised. “Must’ve slipped my mind. I’m pretty bad with faces, to be honest…“

…Just pretend you’ve got a terrible memory from the get-go!

“Um, it’s pretty awkward when someone remembers me but I don’t have a clue who they are,” I said, scratching the back of my neck, trying to look embarrassed. “So, I just kinda go with it and pretend like maybe we met before or something.”

Think you’re clever, huh? Trying to test me? Nice try, but that only works on people who actually use their brains!

The thing is, people with bad memories just go with the flow, no matter what you throw at them. They’re like, “Oh, yeah? Now that you mention it, I think we did meet before…” And if you try to correct them, they just shrug and say, “Oh, okay, must’ve been mistaken then,” and suddenly the conversation’s over.

“So, I guess we’re officially introduced now, huh?” I said, piling on the politeness. “May I ask your name?”

“…It’s Callister.”

“Mr. Callister! Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Thanks again for going out of your way to return my belongings. I can imagine it wasn’t easy tracking someone down with just a name to go on.”

Callister brushed off my gratitude with a wave. “Hardly an inconvenience. You see, I already knew who you were.”

“Is that so? I didn’t think I was anyone worth knowing…”

“A volunteer at the orphanage mentioned you were looking for me,” Callister said, his eyes locked on mine like he was searching for something.

“…Me?” I blinked cluelessly, playing dumb.

What the hell is this guy on about?

Why would I be looking for someone I’d never met?

Scratch that, who even are you?

“Well, I was the one who solved that tricky problem.”

…Problem? What problem?

The Königsberg Bridge Problem?

“No way, that’s amazing!” I gushed, pretending to be impressed.

If I acted like I didn’t care when the person I’d supposedly been dying to meet suddenly appeared out of nowhere, it would look super suspicious.

“Wow, I was absolutely blown away when I heard the solution! Who would’ve thought you couldn’t solve it without trying every possible approach? I spent days banging my head against that thing, convinced I’d solve it eventually. You must be some kind of genius!”

“It was nothing special,” Callister shrugged it off, all humble and whatnot.

Yeah, sure. What a load of crap.

Easy for you to say when you didn’t actually solve it.

The mathematical significance of this breakthrough, tsk…

“On the contrary,“ Callister said, his eyes flashing with an unnerving intensity, “I admire your tenacity. You didn’t give up, even when the answer eluded you.“

…Is he mocking me right now?

“Persistence and curiosity—those are the hallmarks of a great researcher. Fabio, you clearly have both in abundance. I’d like to make you a proposition. How about joining me on my current project? I’d be more than happy to put in a glowing recommendation for you.”

I don’t need it, you creep!

He leaned closer. “I hear you’re not pursuing a university degree. Wise choice. Six years is far too long! There’s a faster way to earn a degree without wasting your time in a traditional classroom setting. If you join the research lab I’m part of and build up some impressive achievements—”

“I appreciate the offer,” I cut him off, eager to end this conversation as quickly as possible. “But I’m gonna have to decline for now. I’m pretty tied up with studying the doctrine at the moment. Sorry about that.”

Is this guy Satan himself? Even the university recruiters had more tact than this prick.

He wants me, a guy with zero credentials, to be a researcher?

Just come out and say you’re looking for a slave, you conniving bastard.

“That math riddle was definitely fun,” I said, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction. “But don’t you think we should be focusing on the Lord’s scripture instead?”

That’s right. You’re talking to a total theology nerd here.

But Callister was persistent.

“Your faith is truly admirable! It’s perfect for studying astronomy! To truly grasp the world’s order, it’s crucial to have this. Don’t you want to learn about the divine order the Lord has hidden in the heavens?“ His eyes, like two dark holes, sucked me in, refusing to let go.

“I, I’m not very bright, so…“ I mumbled, hoping he’d take the hint.

“Perseverance is all you need for astronomy!“

Right, because perseverance is all that matters when you’re actually looking for a human calculator to exploit, you insufferable bastard!

In this day and age, astronomy means humans have to multiply thirteen-digit numbers by hand. Doing astronomy without logarithms? That’s just f*cking insane.¹T/N: “Logarithms” are a mathematical concept that helps simplify complex calculations involving multiplication, division, and exponentiation. In the world of math, logarithms help us figure out how many times we need to multiply a number by itself to get another number. It’s like a puzzle where we know the end result, but we’re trying to figure out the steps to get there.

“…I see. But still, I must decline. My schedule is already full with my current studies.”

“And who’s teaching you the holy scripture?”

“I’m fortunate to have Bishop Andrea as my teacher. I’m really grateful he’s willing to invest his time in someone like me.”

Callister’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Andrea, you say? Bishop Andrea…interesting.”

…What the hell?

Why was he muttering Andrea’s name like it was some earth-shattering revelation?

Is he seriously thinking about convincing Andrea to let him take me off his hands?

If a slave proves themselves useful, the next logical step is to try to persuade their owner to hand them over, after all.

It’s ridiculous, but to these “researchers,” I might as well be a slave on a leash even though I’m a free man. That’s just how warped their minds work.

Callister nodded. “I understand. Until next time, then.“

Next time, my ass!

I muttered a curse under my breath as I stormed back to my room. First, he drops this ticking time bomb of a tablet in my lap, and now he’s trying to drag me into some dodgy research project from hell.

…What am I even supposed to do with this thing?

I thought destroying it would put an end to this nonsense, but nope. It somehow managed to crawl its way out of the main building and right back into my life.

How does a treasonous god just get to reach out to whoever they want, whenever they want? Does that even make sense?

This isn’t some two-bit organization we’re talking about. It’s the Church of Order, for crying out loud!

Is this really the best they’ve got in terms of security?

Are they intentionally trying to self-destruct or something?

And what’s up with this god still being alive, anyway? They executed all the other traitors who committed treason.

Was there some special reason they couldn’t kill the God of Records?

Ugh, nope, I shouldn’t even be thinking about this.

After obsessively checking that my door was locked, I pulled the wax tablet out of my sleeve. I stared in disbelief as the letters rearranged themselves right before my eyes.

‘Fabio, don’t throw it away, you’ll regret it, don’t throw it away, you’ll regret it.’

…Seriously, do you have to be so repetitive and creepy about it?

Oh, so I’ll regret it, huh?

And what’s exactly going to happen if I don’t listen to you?

You can’t even influence anything outside of the main building.

If you had the power to mess with records outside of there, you wouldn’t have had to pretend to be my “lost property” in the first place.

Face it, you’re just a wax tablet, stuck in the main building unless someone decides to take you out for a walk. So tell me, how do you plan to make me regret anything?

‘If you throw it away, Fabio, identity, research director, I’ll inform them.’

…What the hell?

My heart skipped a beat. My blood ran cold.

The letters quickly shifted again.

‘I don’t want to, threaten you, so, please don’t throw it away, Fabio.’

This is complete bullshit.

F*ck, who or what the hell are you?

What do you know about me?

No, why did you choose me in the first place?

What could you possibly want from me?

I glared at the cursed tablet, my anger boiling over. “Look, what the hell do you want? What’s your goal here? There’s nothing I can do for you, so threatening me is pointless.“

‘Lipreading, not good at it, answer, in writing, please.’

…Was this thing serious? It expects me to write on a wax tablet possessed by the God of Records himself?

If I do that, it’s bound to come back and bite me in the ass. Pretty sure that would be considered a crime.

I’m not crazy enough to…

‘Fabio, answer, 10, 9, 8…’

The traitorous tablet started a countdown.

Shit, shit, shit!

Panicked, I scratched the word “Stop” into the wax with a trembling finger. The letters shifted as I flipped it over.

‘…7, 6, 5, answer, I read it.’

…This bastard is a complete lunatic.

Why me, of all people? What have I done to deserve this never-ending nightmare? After all I’ve been through, I think I’ve earned the right to know why I’m being targeted.

“Why me? What do you even know about me? Out of everyone in the world, why did you pick me?”

‘Oblivion, doesn’t work on you, special, my hope, Fabio.’

Are you f*cking kidding me? Why am I your hope?

You do realize I’m loyal to Roklem, right? I’ve dedicated my life to the Order. What makes you think a traitor like you and I have anything in common?

The more this asshole talks, the more it pisses me off.

And shouldn’t a supposed God of Records be able to string together a proper sentence?

“What’s with the five-word limit?” I shot back, my frustration growing. “Lost for words or just incapable of complete thoughts?”

‘Longer messages, risk detection, without blessing, this is, the limit.’

Ah, of course. That’s why he wanted me to go to the library for his special little blessing.

In his current state, it’s pointless trying to have a real conversation.

I massaged my temples, desperately trying to figure out my next move.

…Do I really want to continue this cryptic back-and-forth with this thing?

I was so freaked out by that stupid countdown earlier that I just reacted without thinking. But now that I’ve had a chance to calm down and think it through, it’s clear that if I keep playing along, things will spiral out of control fast.

The moment I sit down to negotiate with this guy because of his threats, I’m done for. It’s a lose-lose situation. Either I cave to his demands or he exposes my identity to the Research Director.

And even if I decide to call his bluff and say, “Go ahead, tell them!” it’ll be too late. The damage will be done.

Just the fact that I’ve been talking to a traitor is all the Order needs to put a noose around my neck.

Rationally, the smart thing to do is to report this whole mess right now.

But…

…What’s the Order hiding, anyway?

Look, if the Order had even a shred of competence, I would’ve shut down my curiosity in a heartbeat. But come on, the whole organization is a chaotic disaster. We’ve got a bishop who’s an Othergod’s servant, and our so-called Research Director is more interested in trapping players than doing actual research. If this is how things are at HQ, I don’t even want to imagine the dumpster fires raging in the regional branches.

What the hell is Roklem thinking?

If the Order was just weak and useless, I wouldn’t be bothering with these questions. But here’s the thing – Roklem’s sitting on a mountain of resources. He’s got faith points pouring in, units ready to deploy, and that ridiculously overpowered oblivion ability at his disposal. And yet… he’s doing absolutely nothing.

I refuse to believe Roklem is as oblivious as that airheaded Happy god who couldn’t give two shits about winning. The Othergods and Roklem have been competing with completely different stakes in this game since day one. For the Othergods, losing is just a minor inconvenience. But for Roklem? Defeat means death.

So, this whole “inaction” routine has to be some kind of calculated move on his part. But what’s the ultimate goal? What’s he really going for?

Honestly, I’ve got a few theories, like…

…What if Roklem doesn’t actually care about saving humanity?

Think about it: the surefire way to win in Conclude is to make your “Othergod’s Faith” the dominant religion in the Dark Realm. Technically, if roughly 95% of humans are converted, a victory screen pops up and you’ve won.

But here’s the catch: if only your cult leader survives, or just a handful of people (including the leader), that victory screen never appears. The bare minimum for a win is 10,000 living, breathing humans.

If you manage to pull off a win with less than a thousand survivors, and somehow boost that number to 10,000, you unlock the [Reconstructed Humanity] achievement. This means that if you’re playing with Mother God, you can rebuild humanity from scratch, even if your cult leader unit is the only one left standing.

I put this theory to the test when I was trying to create my Utopia. After whittling down the survivors to just my cult leader, I birthed 9,999 kids and triggered the win condition.

But wiping out the Order to make that happen was a f*cking nightmare…

Their high-level units are ridiculously hard to take down, requiring a meticulous and strategic approach. The catch is, if the survivor count hits 10,000 while there are still enemy units left within that number, you won’t get the victory screen. And you can’t just spawn a ton of units and try to mow down the rest with human wave tactics because you’ll miss the win condition again.

To be honest, I had to get pretty ruthless to prevent the Order’s followers from naturally multiplying among the surviving humans. I’d occasionally order mass suicides to keep their numbers in check. It was brutal, but necessary.

With such a limited number of units at my disposal, keeping control of the entire Dark Realm was a constant struggle. Even in the late game, the Order’s units kept popping up like whack-a-moles, hell-bent on revenge.

But one moment that really stands out was when I thought I’d finally wiped them all out. I had my highest-level units commit suicide, thinking it was over… and then, out of freaking nowhere, this hardcore fanatic from the Order popped up…

And to my shock, the bastard actually managed to take out my cult leader!

After getting the resurrection altar up and running, losing my cult leader wasn’t a huge deal, but when I went back to take care of that zealot, I was blown away to find that he’d taken his own life in a way that destroyed all his biological data.

I mean, who does that? It’s like, ‘I’m gonna kill myself, but I’m gonna make sure you can’t use my body parts in any way!’ Crazy dedication, right?

Even though he was just an NPC, I had to admit I was pretty damn impressed by his stubborn refusal to let me use him, even in death… but tough luck for him, I wasn’t about to let his noble sacrifice get in the way of my plans. I just hit the resurrect button and gobbled him up too.

It would be a real shame if he was the only one who didn’t make it to Utopia after all that effort, wouldn’t it?

I was really looking forward to getting a unique trait from that zealot, but what I ended up with was surprisingly underwhelming…

Anyway, that’s not the issue here.

What’s really the problem is why Roklem might actually find the [Reconstructed Humanity] strategy so appealing, despite it being so ineffective.

If you want to be the one true god of the Dark Realm, you have no choice but to wipe out every single living human.