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

#021Reader Mode

#021

“So, that lady, or should I say, that Apostle is…”

“Apostle Ada, the fifth Apostle, known as the Holy Knight of the Sword of Atonement,” clarified the Holy Maiden (who, by the way, is a dude).

I felt like I might actually faint from the shock.

Ada and Pelagio? Seriously? Is this real life?

The woman with the chic bob haircut removed her ornate mask, unveiling a pair of piercing, ice-blue eyes with silver specks. She was absolutely mesmerizing.

She has the sort of gaze that could turn any joke to stone and make you wish for the sweet release of death after just three minutes of eye contact.

Picture it: if the corner of her mouth twitched even a pixel-inch, it would be meme gold captioned, [Ada laughs hysterically.]

I’ve never seen a screenshot of her, so she must have died early in the game.

Adna gave me a slight nod.

“Ada is an Apostle.”

…I had to bite my lip to keep from bursting into laughter.

But my self-control crumbled when the Holy Maiden (male) delivered another sucker punch to my HP.

“She’s the best at shield techniques in the entire Order. That’s why they call her ‘The Unbreakable Iron Wall.’”

The Unbreakable Iron Wall of Vir… Oh no, brain, don’t go there.

Stop! My HP can’t take any more of this!

“Honestly, it’s a bit embarrassing, but I still have much to learn. Just Ada is fine,” she said calmly.

“Would it be alright if I keep calling you… Adna?”

Adna’s brow furrowed slightly, confusion evident.

“Why do you hesitate to call me by my name? You know I’m not a Saintess.”

It’s not just ‘Saintess Ada’ that’s sending me into stitches; ‘Holy Knight Ada’ and ‘Iron Wall Ada’ aren’t doing me any favors either.

“Apostle Adna, let’s not pressure him,” the Holy Maiden (male) interjected, then turned to me with a warm smile. “And Fabio, just call me whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“So, may I call you Pell?”

“Of course.”

Thank goodness.

If I had to use his full name every time, I’d probably end up biting my tongue off.

“May I ask more about this being from beyond the stars?” I asked cautiously, still uneasy about the Order’s seemingly casual acceptance of someone tied to a mysterious and evil Othergod.

But hey, the Saint promised to protect me on Roklem’s behalf, so they wouldn’t kill me just for being curious, right?

Neither the game nor its lore ever explained why the Order considers Othergods taboo.

In ‘Heretic Slayer’, they were barely holding it together against the [God of Plague]. And in ‘Conclude’, they were equally helpless, letting the sky crack open and Concluders wreak havoc. It’s safe to say they didn’t know much about Othergods.

But Pell seems to be hinting that the Order knows way more than they did in the original game

Was there another contractor who surrendered to the Order before I did?

Or maybe, in the original game, did they tweak things because the balance was skewed with the clueless Order and the final Concluder who outlasted all sixteen contenders?

“What would you like to know?”

“…Am I the only one blessed by a being from beyond the stars?”

For now, I’ve decided to keep my insider knowledge under wraps.

If the Order’s information about Othergods came from another player who surrendered before me, their knowledge would vary based on how far that player had gotten in the game…

What if that player pretended to be a clueless local and fed them misinformation? And what if I confessed and told them that Conclude is just a game, and we’re all veteran players dragged from reality?

Things could spiral out of control pretty fast.

But if the Order already knows about the players and the game, my cryptic act might make me look foolish, but it wouldn’t be catastrophic.

I’d probably just get a “cut the crap” warning, which is better than spilling all my secrets unnecessarily. It’s smarter to test the waters and adjust my strategy than to lay all my cards out prematurely.

“There are others as well.”

“You mean…”

“I’ve met them myself,” Pell said, his smile striking but close to unnerving.

“They all chose to join the Order, seeking refuge from those merciless beings from beyond the stars.”

…Did I almost fall for a beauty scam just now?

Considering that face staring right at me, I’d probably sign up for a lifetime insurance policy costing a million won a month without batting an eye.

Good thing he’s part of the clergy. If he were a scam artist, that face could bring a country to its knees.

I used to think picking a Saint based on looks was nuts, but now, I get it. It’s likely their way of corralling the outliers and keeping some semblance of order in their religious ranks.

Just imagine if he decided to join the dating scene… families would crumble, and society would be in shambles.

With a face that jaw-dropping, your career options pretty much boil down to becoming a celebrity or the poster child for some cult, getting worshipped whether you want it or not.

Or, you know, becoming a shut-in and avoiding humanity for the rest of your life…

“…What’s on your mind?” Pell asked, snapping me out of my nonsensical thoughts.

“Ah, I was just admiring how beautiful you are,” I replied honestly. It didn’t even feel like flattery; it was just a fact, like saying the sun is bright at noon.

“You think I’m beautiful?”

His question threw me for a loop.

Is he just fishing for another compliment?

Or does he just enjoy being called beautiful so much that he can’t get enough, pretending not to catch on just to hear it one more time?

There’s no way he isn’t fully aware of how ridiculously good-looking he is.

“Has anyone ever met you and didn’t think you were beautiful?” I shot back at him.

“It’s not that, but…”

“Then how can you even question it?”

Pell gave me an awkward smile, like I’d just caught him in a lie.

“No, I just didn’t expect to seem beautiful to you, Fabio.”

“…I might be a country bumpkin, but I’m not blind.”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Pell said, looking down, his long eyelashes making him look even more breathtaking.

No matter how many times I saw that face, his beauty never failed to shock me.

Good thing the Saint is already dead in Heretic Slayer.

If Pell had shown up in ‘Heretic Slayer’, I bet sales would have spiked by at least 20%. Although, let’s be real, a chunk of that new player base would be the kind of assholes I’d rather not engage with.

And with a name like that… geez.

If I didn’t know better, I’d say the number of ‘Heretic Slayer’ doujinshi would have tripled overnight.¹T/N: “Doujinshi” are fan-made publications, often manga or novels, based on existing works. Usually smut. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

I really didn’t want to know about the bizarre ways some people consume their content, but I found out the hard way when I volunteered as a forum admin. Those posts kept cropping up like unwanted dandelions.

It was like taking a nosedive into the deep, murky end of the internet.

I only became an admin because I was tired of seeing explicit pictures of Adelaide posted. I wanted to keep the forum clean, but the irony was that I ended up wading through all sorts of disturbing stuff, post by post.

To block them, I had to open and check every single one.

I nearly rage-quit the game right then and there.

Maybe I should have.

“Isn’t there a law established by Roklem that an Apostle is beautiful?” Pell asked gently, almost teasingly. “So, Fabio, I never expected you’d think I’m beautiful too.”

Is he implying that someone like me, an outsider to the Order, would have a different standard of beauty?

“Before you became the Saint, people must have told you how beautiful you were all the time, right?”

“But I don’t know how you see the world, Fabio.”

Does he think heretics see red as blue or something?

“I’m actually… really happy that you find me beautiful.”

Wait, is he a narcissist?

I sort of get it, though. According to the ‘relative squid theory,’ when you’re as stunning as Pell, everyone else must seem like squids in comparison. He’s probably felt like a lonely mermaid princess in an ocean full of ugly deep-sea creatures.

So maybe, just maybe, he’s gotten a bit too used to admiring his own reflection.

“My beauty has reached you, even if the Blessing of Comfort hasn’t,” Pell said, closing his eyes and smiling.

So basically, he’s saying: Sure, you might be a heretic who can’t receive blessings, but at least you’ve got the good sense to recognize true beauty, right?

Doesn’t my handsome face make you feel a bit better?

Isn’t this the Lord’s grace in action?

Now that you’ve seen my flawless features, do you finally believe in our Lord Roklem? Is that his angle?

It’s a wild thought, but I can’t deny the effect. Despite Pell having swung a sword at me earlier, I’m not even mad. I’m too mesmerized by how attractive he is. I’ve even lost track of the serious conversation we were having just now.

“Ah, let’s get back to the topic,” I said, forcing myself to study the tip of Pell’s chin to keep from getting lost in his face again.

“Is there any way I could meet them?”

If the other contractors aren’t crazed Mother God fanatics, we might actually get along. I have so many questions. Six months stuck in the countryside has left me clueless. Surely, they know more than I do…

“That might be difficult,” Pell replied, sparking an unsettling thought.

Does joining the Order mean they’ve been quarantined in some kind of heretic containment center?

I mean, I was just a serf, but if someone took over the body of a noble, they might’ve done something bad and landed in hot water…

“May I ask why?”

“Ah, they’ve specifically requested to keep their identities hidden, even from others like them.”

Why though?

“They said it’s because some people are still ‘treating this like a game’.”

My heart skipped a beat, and my mind went into overdrive.

Have other potential contractor players already reached out to each other?

Among them, there’s probably one nutcase treating this life-and-death situation like a mere game…

A player like that would definitely want to eliminate anyone teaming up with the NPCs.

In that scenario, if the players who’ve allied with the Order know each other, capturing and torturing just one could expose them all.

The person who sent this message through the Saint must’ve tangled with that unhinged player already.

Since they’re on that player’s radar, they’ve chosen to leave a message rather than sharing information directly, potentially putting others at risk.

Smart and considerate…

They’ve got to be a [Civilization] player.²T/N: The reference to “Civilization” pertains to a genre of strategy video games in which players develop their own empires. Typically, players devoted solely to this genre are considered quite intelligent, as constructing an empire requires knowledge, foresight, and a genuine understanding of the needs of the people under their care.

Still, I couldn’t help but feel a wave of disappointment crash over me. My hope of meeting someone from the modern world in this barbaric medieval land just went up in smoke.

If that person happens to be a god-tier player, it stings even more.

A casual chat alone could have made a world of difference, making me feel a bit more connected…

Maybe I’m lonelier than I thought…

“Even if you don’t understand, it’s okay. It doesn’t really concern you.”

…What?

I experienced a moment of confusion, like my brain buffering, before I finally realized what the Saint was implying.

Does he think I’m upset because I didn’t understand the message?

What kind of impression does he have of me, anyway?

Some clueless, uneducated serf?