༺ Orientation (1) ༻
The laws of the Astral Realm apply differently than in the Material Realm.
Even if you just use a single portion of food as a burnt offering, the people here can all do whatever the fuck they want.
“Ah… I’m wasted…”
“This is the good shit…”
“…”
As a result, I found myself holding back a sigh as I looked at the drunken angels sprawled on the ground.
However.
Regardless of how much they looked like wasted drunkards right now, each and every one of them was a being capable of a power comparable to that of an entire military once they were put in the Material Realm. There was no need to do anything disrespectful.
“Hey, I ate well.”
The one with the reddest face among the scattered angels stood up.
Obviously… it was the Dominion. Among the angels present, he was clearly the one with the highest rank.
“Thanks to you, working became enjoyable for a bit. It’s been a while, and who knows when we’re able to experience this again?”
“They’re not feeding you at work?”
“What kind of food would there be in this world? We don’t even have physiological needs.”
“…Do you have something else then?”
“Look at our condition. What do you think?”
“…”
Oh my God.
Didn’t that mean that they were in military service for eternity without pay?
According to the setting, this race was virtually immortal in the Astral Realm.
What do you mean, angels? They’re just winged slaves.
“Don’t waste your thoughts. Just ask for it.”
As I was giving the other person a sympathetic look, the Dominion smiled and pointed at something.
It was the still-smoking Divine’s Ultima incense burner.
“Yes?”
“You came here because you wanted something, didn’t you? I’ll give it to you; just ask for it.”
Around me were loud mumbling and jeers of “Iya~” “The Dominion is so based~” “He’s still got that rizz~”
The angels’ twisted, nonessential rambles were dizzying.
“…”
Well, it wasn’t entirely untrue.
Even though the purpose of the Ultima was simply to reveal the Astral Realm the reason why it was classified as a survival item was because it would unconditionally get infused with divine graces once you encountered this side of the game.
“Say what you want and I’ll do the best I can.”
However, it was totally unexpected that they would just give it to me before I could even negotiate.
I had even prepared dozens of bargaining chips specifically for them.
While I was blankly staring at this development that had worked so well for me, the Dominion continued.
“Right now, you’re probably thinking, ‘Why is he doling it out to me?’ Looking at you, it seems that you know the rules and laws of angels.”
“…To be honest, I kinda do.”
“I can see it.”
The Dominions’s eyes flashed with all kinds of colors as he said so.
I knew this ability.
Insight.
It was a skill that could grasp one’s essence just by looking at them. You could say it was like reading the other person’s Status Window in great detail.
“I see that you’re someone who’s going to be big in the future. Think of this like an investment.”
“…”
“I can see potential. It’s just not fully developed yet.”
The other angels lying nearby woozily echoed as well.
This was rather a burdensome and high evaluation. What could he possibly be referring to?
‘This must be…’
He was probably talking about my Special Gift.
The fate to be loved by villains. (TL/N: ROLL CREDITS)
If we were talking about my potential, then there was nothing else that came to mind other than this.
“That is more powerful than you think. I’m interested to see how you deal with it.”
The angel said with a burst of laughter.
However, the following sentence was far from light-hearted.
“But it’s not necessarily always good.”
“Yes?”
“You’ve been touched by something terrible. I can’t see its full form yet, but I can tell it’s really bad. It seems to have stuck because of your abilities.”
What was he talking about?
Blinking in wonder, the Dominion continued to speak while scratching his head.
“But again, it’s kinda funny. It certainly is bad, but it doesn’t look that harmful.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“It feels strangely friendly. It doesn’t seem like it wants to harm you. It’s even trying to help.”
“…”
What the fuck is this?
“I can’t even see its shape right now, so it won’t have a direct effect on you. Just prepare yourself sometime soon.”
As I continued to blink in confusion, the next words were added.
“Let me give you one piece of advice. You’re thinking of taking everything even if they’re not yours if it could mean your survival, right? That incense burner is also something that should’ve gone to someone else.”
“…How did you know?”
“I told you, I can see everything.”
The angel replied with a smirk.
“But I have no intention of interfering with anything. Keep doing it. I would’ve advised against it if it were another person and not you.”
“Yes?”
“Take it all. Collect whatever you can use. Surviving will be really difficult with that abomination attached to you.”
The weight of his words was heavy.
But his following words went back to a light-hearted tone.
“But don’t worry too much.”
“What do you mean? You just made a big deal about it.”
“I can tell by the look on your face. Every human I’ve ever seen gets scared when they hear something like that.”
A ferocious smile crept across his face.
“But you… You remained calm and even planned on how to live through to see the next day. People like that typically live a long life.”
“…”
“Trust me, the average person doesn’t do that. You’re a bud waiting to bloom.”
Again, it was just another onerously high evaluation.
I was just trying because I didn’t want to die.
But this was still coming from an angel, so I’d need to give it some serious thought. This had to be pretty important—
“Dominion, you’re talking nonsense after receiving the good shit.”
“Come here quickly and just eat a shovel instead.”
“Look at these little fucks. Hey, when did you sons of a bitches became my superiors all of a sudden, huh—”
“…”
It had to be important.
Maybe.
Hopefully…
●
‘This is great.’
Thinking so, I looked at the incense burner in my hand.
The blessings I received from the angels were quietly dwelling inside.
< Item Info >
[ Divine’s Ultima ] [ Item Grade: C+ ]
[ This incense burner has been used for ancestral rites for a long time. It has been influenced by the divine beings who exists in the hidden world and have acquired special powers. ]
◎ Built-in Skills ◎
■ [ Penance ] [ Skill Grade: C ]
[ Temporarily converts all additional stats to Endurance. ]
[ Consumes a small amount of mana. ]
※ [ This skill can be evolved! ]
Upon evolution, the skill changes to [ Proof of Faith ]!
■ [ Guardian Shield ] [ Skill Grade: C ]
[ Creates a protective shield that absorbs incoming attack once. ]
[ Consumes a small amount of mana. ]
[ The strength of the shield is affected by the Endurance stat. ]
[ Has a 20 second cooldown. ]
※ [ This skill can be evolved! ]
Upon evolution, the skill changes to [ Stigmata ]!
Looking at the effects that could be used right away, it was quite useful.
Among the stats, Endurance was mainly related to health. It was in charge of the body’s resilience, stamina, and durability. This made it heavily tied to survival.
The higher it was, the more effective the protective equipment or abilities were as well.
If this was combined with the stat-raising Desperation skill, it would create a combo perfect for protection and survival.
‘And…’
The key point was that it could evolve.
It would take time, as the only way to evolve it was to use it as much as possible and increase its proficiency. However, the ability of the skill to grow was definitely a merit.
The performance of all the things that can grow in the world of Sera rapidly increased as their level went up.
Getting this from the very beginning of the scenario was a great boon.
This was good initiative on my part since it led to receiving the grace of the Dominion.
‘Isn’t it great that I got this now? With this, I have more time to grow.’
Of course, being able to meet an angel itself was possible after Chapter 2, but direct interaction with a Dominion was only possible in the future.
Receiving graces from such an existence for free was huge.
The issue, however, was this:
[ Consumes a small amount of mana. ]
I looked at that sentence on the skill window with gloomy eyes.
Generally, skills required mastering related special powers such as magic power and divine power.
And for someone like me who didn’t have any related special powers, it was just an unattainable dream for the time being.
The problem was that these kinds of abilities were something Elfante students learned from childhood, meaning the Academy didn’t teach it.
“…”
In this situation where I couldn’t obtain mana right away, I needed to find a means to use it, even if it was temporary.
I probably wouldn’t get it right away, but I could at least receive a clue that will enable me to use it.
“Here, here! This is a magic gun that was refined by the Firearms Department of the Crafting School! Come now and get 10 free shots of 10 bullets made from grinded spirit stones! If you perform well, there will be prizes!”
“The Magic School’s Alchemy Department is recruiting new students! We’ll be handing out self-made reagents only during the orientation period, so come and see us!”
These types of talks could be heard all around.
The Orientation Event was a faculty-run event that was basically an . It was held before the welcome party, where students decided on their majors.
The departments usually threw baits like distributing reagents and showed that they were a fun and beneficial place.
Once you’ve taken the bait and joined, they would then start giving you insignificant tasks and do some positive reinforcement like, ‘Wow, you did a really good job!’
They were doing everything they could to attract freshmen… or to more appropriately call them, new slaves to do the chores for them instead.
These enthusiastic seniors were throwing in carrots to seduce the unsuspecting freshmen, hiding their dark malice beneath their bright smiles.
The poor chicks who were ignorant of the world would then get devoured by the preying snakes.
“…”
I don’t want to be a part of any of those things.
I was currently at the event booth of the Knight School’s Monster Research Department.
This booth was unusually empty compared to others, but that was because this place was exceptionally strict for a booth in an Orientation Event.
It was a long dungeon course prepared by the department. In it, one would have a mock battle against a dummy doll made of magically-engineered fibers that was a 100% reproduction of an actual monster.
Which freshmen would want to do that, and at an Orientation Event at that?
‘There’s one here.’
However, compared to the hard work, the reward they gave was exceptional.
Considering the difficulty in obtaining it, it wasn’t a stretch to say that it was almost like eating for free. It was that good.
To the point where I feel sorry for the other freshmen who missed such a jackpot.
“Is it your specialty to not listen when someone is talking to you?”
“No. I was listening.”
“Really? Then what did I say?”
“Didn’t you tell me to form a team of two and wait?”
“…”
Hearing my reply, the senior receptionist in front of me crossed their arms with a displeased look.
“You probably don’t know what that means. Where is your partner?”
“They’ll be here soon.”
“Who would come to such an unpopular department? Are you lying?”
Judging from the self-deprecating remarks, they seemed aware of the fact that their department was exceptionally non-mainstream among the Knight School.
Knights had the highest prestige among the main armies of the Empire, and thus the regular Knights were a target for envy.
However, the probability of becoming a regular knight was extremely low in the Monster Research Department. At best, they would probably land a job as an office worker if it worked out well.
‘If I get along with them, there would be no other place that’s as comfortable as here.’
True to the department’s name, they find weaknesses of monsters, investigate their ecology, and establish an overall strategy.
They weren’t flashy, so people tended to ignore them. However, the information obtainable here made for a pretty big difference in the future scenarios.
These were the people who would provide tremendous help in Chapter 1 of the scenario.
Of course, it wasn’t attracting new students since it was a non-mainstream department, and that was really discouraging. So, let’s give them some encouragement.
“I’m not lying, my partner is coming. Also, it will be very crowded here soon.”
“…What?”
“Well, the person coming is someone you can call famous.”
Saying so, I checked my magic wristwatch.
It was about time they arrived.
It was an experienced freshman who knew that this kind of study was extremely helpful in practice, despite it seeming too humble for someone of their stature.
“Hello! Is this the Monster Research Depart…ment…uh…?”
The person who came in through the tent of the booth gradually quieted down.
Probably because they found me.
I gently waved my hand towards them.
“Hi.”
I originally didn’t want to get involved with this person.
But I changed my mind, especially after listening to the advice of the Dominion.
So, I decided to change my course of action altogether.
“Is the offer for getting to know each other still valid?”
Iliya Krisanax looked stunned.
