< 13 : Apostle, Eutenia Hyrost (3) >
The skill that made Eutenia an apostle, <Apostle Selection>.
The effect of this skill was more profound than I thought.
First of all, it allowed me to create a divine artifact that belonged to the apostle by consuming karma.
I didn’t know if the name or shape of the divine artifact was always the same, but it was certain that its effect was extraordinary.
The name of the divine artifact that I gave to Eutenia was [Divine Artifact: Grimoire].
[Divine Artifact: Grimoire] granted its owner a trait called <Shadow Touch>.
Eutenia, who used <Shadow Touch>, could exert physical force within a certain radius by consuming mana.
It was a trait that seemed much more effective than any ordinary skill.
I didn’t know why I didn’t get such a high-end trait, though.
“It doesn’t consume much mana either. I don’t need to set any limits.”
The second trait that the apostle had was direct mana sharing with the player.
It meant that I could substitute the mana that Eutenia used with my own mana.
I could also set a limit on how much mana I shared with the apostle.
But for now, I didn’t think I would have to limit Eutenia’s mana usage.
The biggest reason was that my mana had increased greatly through leveling up so far.
I could now use the <Lightning> skill recklessly.
Thanks to the increased mana, I didn’t lack mana much.
And the amount of mana that Eutenia used for <Shadow Touch> was not too burdensome either.
Unless I added another apostle, there was no reason to set a limit on Eutenia’s mana sharing for now.
“And the last one is, of course, this game’s crazy communication feature.”
The last feature added by <Apostle Selection>.
It was a chat button that enabled conversation with the apostle.
A chat button. Simply put, it was an item that looked like a feature that allowed communication.
But this item was also much more profound than it appeared.
The message I sent was not delivered as it was.
‘Give me back the barrier.’
The message I sent to Eutenia just before was only six letters long.
Give me back the barrier. It was a simple request to return the barrier spellbook that I had given her.
I’m sure I sent it like that.
But just like the speech bubble that distorted Eutenia’s words, this game didn’t deliver my message kindly.
No, rather, it exaggerated my words to a level close to translation.
-“Apostle. Offer your sacrifice.”
-“Sacrifice…?”
It doesn’t match my message by even one letter.
Where in this is my message?
But the message didn’t care about my complaint and started a conversation with Eutenia on its own.
-“I want to take back the magic I gave you before.”
-“Oh… do you want the spellbook?”
-“Offer your sacrifice. Give me the proof of your oath.”
The meaning itself was consistent with what I sent.
But the tone and atmosphere itself looked like a solemn imitation of a god.
Maybe the tone is adjusted to be similar to that of the creator.
If not, maybe I should at least have some mood.
As a result, my intention was accurately conveyed though.
“Here’s the spellbook.”
Ding.
I received the spellbook back from Eutenia and opened my inventory and used it right away.
It was a spellbook that I used after a long time since I got it through drawing an item.
-You have learned <Barrier(Lv.MAX)>.
-You can now use barrier magic by consuming mana.
I learned <Barrier> skill by using the returned spellbook.
Of course, since it was a skill that didn’t help with hunting, I wouldn’t use it much in front of me.
At best, it would be something I would use reluctantly when Eutenia was in danger.
Well, even then, I wouldn’t use it often because Eutenia learned magic too.
“It was really a long care.”
I fed and clothed Eutenia while using items for her for several days.
She was finally able to communicate with me now.
In some sense, it was also time to harvest the reward for taking care of her all this time.
Why was this game an idle game?
It was an idle game because it was a game where growth was possible with minimal effort.
I grew my character so much with my effort, so now it’s time to reap the harvest.
“Now you have to pay for your food.”
Squeak.
I opened the chat button on Eutenia’s head and activated the chat window.
And I started to write a message to Eutenia.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The message I wrote was simple.
Move a little now.
Go out and do some activities in the surrounding area.
That way, I can drop lightning bolts randomly.
She understood what I meant perfectly and smiled happily.
-“Is that so? I can finally be of help to you.”
-“If that’s the will of the great one, I’ll follow you anytime.”
Was it because the graphics evolved from before?
When I looked at Eutenia quietly, her smiling face felt quite cute.
I seemed to have grown fond of the character after raising her for a long time.
I grew fond of a character.
I felt like my wallet would be in danger for a while.
*****
A village in the outskirts of the Central region.
There, Peter looked up at the sky with a pitchfork in his hand.
He was a young man who was born and raised in this village, and followed his parents’ path as a farmer.
He had dreamed of being a soldier when he was young, but he had given up on that dream by now.
Being a soldier was enough for him to play the role of a self-defense force member in the village.
The most precious thing to him was this village.
He woke up in the morning, worked hard on farming, cooled his sweat with the blowing wind, and smiled at the ears of grain fluttering in the wind.
That was the greatest happiness for Peter the farmer.
He was a person who naturally suited farming.
“It’s dark today. Maybe it will rain tonight.”
He finished his work and looked up at the sky, murmuring to himself.
Dark clouds were slowly covering the blue sky.
It would take some time for it to rain, but he felt like it would rain tonight or tomorrow.
Since it might rain, he thought he should prepare as much as possible before it rained.
“…Huh?”
As he was about to clean up, he saw someone walking towards him from afar.
Thud. Thud.
He saw one person approaching the village with small steps.
She was wearing a white tunic, holding a large book in her arms.
“…”
Her ash-gray hair fluttering in the wind was quite alien to Peter.
She was not a villager, but a stranger for sure.
The girl who held the book in her arms was more beautiful than Emily, who was called the most beautiful girl in the village.
No, rather than being beautiful, she looked dignified.
Could she be a noble lady who came to visit the village?
The girl who was coming to him now had an appearance that made him think so.
“Hey, what… she’s really coming here?”
As the girl approached him, Peter lightly brushed his bangs.
He also dusted off the dirt on his clothes from farming.
He couldn’t show a dirty appearance in front of a guest anyway.
After Peter hurriedly fixed his appearance, the girl who had been walking from afar finally stopped in front of him.
Her eyes, which looked like they were out of this world, scanned Peter from top to bottom.
The book she held in her arms looked very expensive.
She looked at Peter once and opened her mouth.
“Hello?”
“Huh? Oh, oh! Yes…!”
Peter answered her with a clumsy tone at her soft voice.
He couldn’t answer properly because he was flustered.
Ugh.
He sighed at his pathetic appearance.
But she didn’t care about that, and stroked the book in her arms and asked him.
“Are there many people living in this village?”
“People…? Oh, there are about forty people living in our village!”
“Forty people. That’s a bit disappointing.”
She nodded her head at Peter’s answer and said.
Forty people is disappointing, what does that mean?
Peter didn’t understand what she meant.
But he didn’t bother to ask her about it.
It bothered him that she came alone, but she was most likely a noble lady who lost her way, right?
The book she had alone would be hard to get even if he sold the whole village.
“There’s another question I want to ask you. Is there a place where many people live nearby?”
“A place where many people live? West! There’s a city to the west!”
“A city… A city must have a lot of people.”
“Yes, yes. That’s right.”
She seemed satisfied when she heard that there was a city.
Peter didn’t know why she was satisfied, but he thought it was good that the noble lady liked it.
It wouldn’t be good to be disliked by a noble anyway.
It was a rational choice that Peter made according to his own judgment.
Tap. Tap.
She gently tapped the book with her slender fingertips and opened her mouth again to Peter.
“You’re very kind. Can you tell me your name?”
“My name is Peter.”
“Then Peter, can you call the villagers for me?”
“…Huh?”
Peter tilted his head at her request to gather the villagers.
It was fine to answer her questions, but why did she ask him to gather the villagers?
His question was only for a moment.
He turned his head at the strange sound coming from behind his shoulder.
Snap.
The pitchfork in Peter’s hand was broken in half.
And the rest of the broken pitchfork was held by a hand that stretched out from the girl’s shadow.
Peter’s eyes widened in horror and looked at the girl.
“The great one wants me to make a decision.”
She still smiled and looked at Peter.
Her hand stroked the cover of the book again.
Seeing that, Peter realized that something was terribly wrong.
What he saw in front of him was not a lost noble girl.
