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

#024Reader Mode

#024

I couldn’t shake the nagging suspicion that the game’s portrayal of the Order had been deliberately altered. It just didn’t add up – the Church of Order, notorious for its savage ways, suddenly acting out of character.

Most veteran Conclude players weren’t initially fans of strategy games, and the reason was simple.

You can’t change the enemy’s settings.

From day one, Conclude and the Order’s starting conditions were set in stone. No difficulty adjustment meant that the Order’s reactions to strategies became as predictable as a broken record.

Sure, there were a million ways to win, but when you boiled it down, the game had just one stage.

So, when strategy game buffs finally cracked the code on the best ways to win with each Othergod, they lost interest faster than you could say “game over” and went crawling back to their old favorites.

One particularly vocal player, before rage-quitting, had clocked an impressive 2500 hours of gameplay. His parting words?

ㄴ It’s a damn shame they didn’t give us more maps or difficulty options for the 16 types of Othergods. Why so stingy with the map setup freedom? If they’d focused on making more maps, I could’ve been hooked on this game for another decade, easy.

Considering this post came a year after the game’s release, that guy must have been putting in a solid 7 hours a day of heresy.

True strategy junkies are frighteningly dedicated…

This same user was always blowing up the Conclude forums, begging for DLCs or sequels. He even said he’d drop whatever game he was playing like a hot potato if a new Conclude strategy update dropped. But no major updates ever came.

He probably got sucked into this too…

Because if a new update did come out, he’d be the first one to get hooked.

And if he got caught, he’d be the ideal candidate for the [God of War].

He was the kind of player who lived and breathed game strategy, so it’s possible he never actually quit playing.

No way that socially awkward bastard who refuses to set foot in a store without self-checkout could lead a war though.

This is the same guy who sang the praises of Paradox games for having zero PVP or anything like it.

He claimed he hadn’t touched an online game since he was a kid when he smashed his keyboard in a fit of rage because some rando wouldn’t move aside without a fight.

At first, I thought he was just messing around, but after peeking at his game library when we became online friends, it was obvious he gravitated towards games without any fighting.

Being the stubborn a*s he is, he probably rage-quit Conclude the second he found out it went PVP.

Now that I think about it, wouldn’t he assume I got sucked into this world too?

But he’d never in a million years guess I ended up as a potential contractor for Hapenesus…

If he finds out, he’ll likely be shocked, remarking that I’ve always been obsessed with uncovering weird ways to play and chose to do the same even when the stakes were life and death.

I had no idea it would turn out like this though…

Even if I had known, I still wouldn’t have picked Mother God.

But given the choice, I would have gone with Mother God, who I’ve played extensively, over Hapenesus…

Come to think of it, that bastard probably would have ended up as some charismatic male character.

In medieval warfare, the supreme commander had to lead from the front.

So the Apostle of the [God of War] would need the physical prowess to avoid being ripped to shreds on the front lines.

Plus, to rack up those sweet war achievements, you’d need to mobilize private troops. So starting as a margrave or the heir to a legendary knightly family would be beneficial.

Unless you were nabbed like me and didn’t get to choose your traits, you’d usually start with the standard conditions.

But for me…

I really don’t want him finding out I’m Fabio.

Being a lowly serf, saddled with crappy traits, and serving as Hapenesus’s Apostle—an Othergod no one has ever cleared—he’d probably chuckle and say he’d never end up in such a sorry state, even if he picked traits at random.

Still, I’d be happy to see him again.

Though considering how antisocial he is, I wouldn’t be surprised if he caused trouble the moment he showed up and got himself on a watchlist.

Becoming a serf overnight was a shock, but they didn’t realize I truly wasn’t one.

Tracking down that guy won’t be a challenge. The real problem comes after.

With his acting skills, he wouldn’t be able to treat me like some lowly serf once I revealed myself.

Why would a person of interest who had no reason to interact with [Mob Serf 1] act so weird around him?

They’d start suspecting me too, eventually.

Sorry, bro, but I want to live.

I’d given up on the idea of a spiritual victory by choosing to die before the world went to hell.

In this seemingly not-so-barbaric Middle Ages, there’s an Order that accepts even the most heretical bastards once they’re identified?

It’s human nature to want to explore this world, even if it resembles a field of shit. But when I realized it was actually a pristine, lush lawn, my desire to give up on life naturally disappeared.

And didn’t that bastard say Conclude would be ruined if I left, even though I begged him not to abandon me with the Mother God fanatics? He still ditched me.

Why should I be the one to look for him first?

Surely nothing major will happen in such a heretic-friendly Order, right…?

Anyway, the ‘Church of Order’ in Heretic Slayer and Conclude are completely different from each other.

Why was it different?

The reason is pretty straightforward.

The Entity Above Othergods, rumored to be the mastermind behind the game, didn’t set out to create an overpowered character who would regress and effortlessly conquer the Dark Realm without breaking a sweat.

Instead, it’s likely that the game was designed to keep players guessing about the Order’s true nature.

After all, wouldn’t it be way more interesting to have players stumbling through the game, unsure of what’s happening, rather than spoon-feeding them every detail and making it too easy?

The thrill of watching 16 players battling it out in a frenzied fight for survival is so much more entertaining than a bunch of know-it-alls breezing through the game with no real stakes.

So, if that was the intention, the game creator would have withheld crucial information. The lack of details on how to become an Apostle also supports this theory.

[In the Church of Order, anything related to Othergods is the ultimate taboo, and mere knowledge of it is a sin punishable by death!]

Isn’t this setting also another clever tactic to prevent players from giving up right from the start and surrendering to the Order?

My bad for ever doubting you, Dabong Antonio!¹T/N: A slang term that means “thumbs up.”

If the Order is rational, hiring a heretic Inquisitor is a scarily smart move. I guess they know that acceptance is the only way to keep heretics from banding together and rebelling.

The fact that the Saint of the Dark Realm is excessively kind and gentle to even heretics, almost like a Saint from an Isekai, would only make sense if the Church of Order held significant power.

A perfect example of ‘leisure breeds tolerance’.²T/N: “Leisure breeds tolerance” suggests that when individuals or societies have ample leisure time, or are free from pressing concerns and stresses, they are more likely to be tolerant or accepting of differences. Basically, less hatred toward diversity.

As embarrassing as it might be if I had to take down the Order, given my current situation, there’s nothing better than this.

Long live the Church of Order.

Lord Roklem, you’re the shining light guiding this barbaric age with order and hope!

But what if Roklem wasn’t the Lord of the Order but another god entirely?

If it were that terrible maggot [Goddess of Healing], I’d be racking my brain for ways to kill myself just to avoid never being healed.

“Welcome to my personal training area,” Adna announced, her voice cutting through my thoughts as she ushered me through the doorway.

Wow, Apostle-level members have their own training grounds? Impressive! That’s so typical of the Order, always ahead in organizational culture!

“This is the only place I can think of where we can have a conversation without being disturbed… Please, make yourself comfortable.”

Adna moved with a fluid grace, slipping off her ornate mask and settling into a sleek, backless chair. Following her lead, I eased into the seat across from her.

Then…silence.

“I was tasked with briefing you on certain…precautions, but truthfully, I’m unsure where to begin.”

What will you do if you don’t know?

Can someone be a Holy Knight with a low intelligence stat?

Are you striving to be an unbreakable wall by focusing solely on endurance at the expense of other stats?

No, it’s probably because you hold such a high position that you’re not used to trivial tasks like guiding a newbie.

There’s no way that the rational Order would have a hot-headed Apostle. I quickly dismissed the sarcastic thought.

An Apostle is like a corporate executive or board member.

And on this particular day, an executive found herself saddled with the duty of orienting a fresh recruit.

It makes sense for her to be a bit out of her depth.

“In that case, I’ll ask Inquisitor Nasir. I also need to retrieve an item from him…”

“Nasir? He can’t help with that.”

“Pardon?”

“Knowledge of ‘beings beyond the stars’ is reserved for a select few. He isn’t among them.”

Come to think of it, only the Apostles and the Saint were supposed to know of my existence.

Could that be why the fifth Apostle got stuck with the newbie orientation?

“I’m uncertain of the extent of your knowledge, making it challenging to determine what needs to be addressed.”

“You can safely assume I’m a clueless idiot and start from the beginning…”

“No, sometimes ignorance itself is the greatest ally.”

A perspective that aligns perfectly with the Order’s philosophy.

Because they operate on a deeply ingrained doctrine algorithm.

Anyone showing even a hint of ignorance would be swiftly branded a heretic, without question.

“But I am…an outsider to the Order. If I don’t even learn the most basic things, I’ll stand out and look strange.”

“…You can gather those details from the heretic inquisitor then. He, too, came from outside the Order and might provide better insights.”

Apostle Adna drifted into contemplative silence again.

The awkward silence was killing me, so I spoke up again.

“What if I ask questions, and if there are things I shouldn’t know, you can simply tell me?”

“Not the worst idea.” Adna gave a slight nod of approval.

I scrambled to get my thoughts in order, determined to milk this opportunity for all the juicy insider intel I could get, especially the confidential information only known to top ranks.

Obviously, a lowly serf suddenly asking about secrets would be suspicious, so I decided to ease into it with a few basic questions they might actually answer.

“So, Apostles… just out of curiosity, how many of you are there in total? I mean, since you mentioned you’re the fifth, there must be at least five, right?”

“That’s not something you need to know,” she replied tersely.

Wait, what? Seriously? I can’t even ask that?

I was completely taken aback.

I wasn’t asking for their life stories, just a simple headcount.

But hey, maybe the numbers themselves are classified info?

It could be one of those situations where some Apostles are in the spotlight and others are hidden in the shadows, like that mysterious [Number Zero] trope in every cliché Shonen manga.

“Can you at least tell me about the Apostles I’ll meet in the Order?”

“Why is that of such interest to you?”

“I’m just worried I might not recognize them or make a mistake in their presence…”

“Rest assured, all the Apostles have been briefed about you. Even if you do make a mistake, they will understand.”

Look, I just don’t want to make a fool of myself, okay?

And it’d really help to know their names ahead of time. I doubt their names could be stranger than the Saint’s, but the possibility scares me…

“…We were also informed that you couldn’t address an Apostle by their name.”

Wait.

Just hold on a second.

Back then, I was so embarrassed that it slipped my mind…

What were they thinking when I couldn’t say their names?

I had naturally assumed their names were some kind of trap card, but what if those were their real names?³T/N: “Trap card” reference to card games like “Yu-Gi-Oh!” where a trap card can trigger unexpected results.

Why did they make such a big deal about not forcing myself to say them?

“Actually, the reason I couldn’t say the Apostle’s name was…” I began, but Adna cut me off.

“It’s alright. I know it wasn’t your intention. The entity that watches over you must have imposed a restriction on you.”

My head spun as I processed Adna’s words.

A Restriction?

“W-why would a restriction be placed on me?”

Adna launched into an explanation. “It’s important to understand the theological significance. When people pray, they invoke the name of their God. The very act of calling upon a name, especially in a religious context, holds immense power. Apostles’ names, unlike those given during baptism by priests, are bestowed directly by a God. Thus, speaking an Apostle’s name can wield incredible power.”

No…that’s not…

“The effects can vary,” Adna continued, oblivious to my inner struggle. “For example, if you were to cry out during a siege, ‘O Ada, the unbreakable iron wall, protect this fortress!’ the defenses of the gate may very well strengthen.”

F*ck.

I bit my tongue hard to keep myself from laughing.

“As an Apostle, the power of your name grows with your achievements. I’ve only recently become an Apostle, so my name doesn’t hold much sway… yet. But the fact that you couldn’t bring yourself to say my name suggests that you may have difficulty invoking the names of other Apostles as well.”

Adna paused, nodding as if affirming her own conclusion. “It is believed that the entity watching over you has forbidden you from uttering certain names to prevent you from falling under another god’s influence. Do not try to force it, for no one knows the repercussions of defying this restriction.”

A chill raced down my spine at Adna’s ominous warning, but the truth was far less mystical.

There’s been a massive misunderstanding here.

The only reason I had struggled with saying ‘Ada’ and ‘Pella’ was because I was trying not to burst out laughing—that was it!

I’m 100% positive I don’t have any name-based restrictions.

But how the hell do I explain this?

Should I tell them I’m from another dimension where ‘Ada’ and ‘Pella’ have sexual meanings so I might laugh?

Huh?? Would that even make sense to them?

After running a quick mental simulation, I abandoned all hope of clearing up this misunderstanding. Explaining the hilarity of ‘Ada’ and ‘Pella’ to someone with a face that serious?

I’d die of secondhand embarrassment on the spot.

“Thank you for the warning! I’ll be careful.” I said instead, embracing my new persona.

I’m ‘Fabio’! The ignorant serf worm burdened with a restriction he doesn’t even understand!

Even if I casually say some Apostle names with no issue, who cares?

I’m just a simple serf! Why things happen is beyond me!

It’s not my job to figure out why some names are okay and others aren’t! That’s for you to break your heads over!

I’m just a dumb serf here!

The truth behind Ada and Pella will forever remain a mystery.