< 54 : The Necromancer King Arcrosis (1) >
The incident of the external forces raiding the church while I was away.
I had a satisfying time smashing the screen, but I was still bitter.
If the church had some defenders, the damage could have been reduced.
The apostles were characters who could use powerful abilities with their artifacts.
But Evan and Eutenia were both busy with their own affairs, so it was hard to summon them to the church.
It was a time when the church needed new forces to protect its base.
“I can’t call the apostles either. And it’s awkward to appoint Roan as an apostle.”
I had already decided to use the <Apostle Selection> skill on the vampire that Eutenia would find.
It was also inappropriate for Roan, who was acting as the archbishop, to double as an apostle.
I couldn’t move the existing apostles.
Nor could I appoint Roan as an apostle.
In the end, there was only one conclusion I came up with after a long time of thinking.
“There’s no other way… than that.”
It was to use <Creature Maker> to create a new creature that would guard the church.
I moved my eyes down to the screen and looked at the skill icon of <Creature Maker>.
It had been quite a while since I created [Dark Beast: Alpha].
The mana that I had been paying as a penalty was also fully recovered long ago.
If I used <Creature Maker> now, I could create a new creature.
If I couldn’t use the apostles to protect the church, I could use the creatures to protect it.
Having decided to make a creature, I wondered what kind of creature I should make using the skill.
“Since it’s going to be the guardian of the church, it would be better if it had a scary face, right?”
The guardian of the church should have some dignity.
It wouldn’t scare the enemies if it looked too gentle.
That’s why I planned to set its appearance close to the low value.
Of course, if I set it too low, a creature like Cuebaerg might pop out again, so I thought of adjusting the value to 2 or 3.
After finishing my thoughts on the appearance, the next item was the aggressiveness.
“For aggressiveness… well, let’s make it 5.”
There was Estasia, the cherubim, as a side effect of the low aggressiveness item.
She had never moved from her place since I created her with <Creature Maker>.
She was still living in the cave where she first settled.
Meanwhile, a large and splendid building was being built in front of Estasia.
The more I saw it, the more mysterious it was that Estasia’s faction was flourishing.
Anyway, apart from that fact, it would be unacceptable for the guardian of the church to be idle like Estasia.
A moderate level of aggressiveness was necessary, so I decided to make the new creature’s aggressiveness 5.
“The size is… hmm.”
The last item was about the size.
I recalled the creatures that I had made so far in my head.
Cuebaerg. Estasia. And Alpha.
Alpha was an exception, so I excluded him, but it would be troublesome if the size was too big.
It was because it was the guardian of the church that would live there.
It seemed better to have a size that was not much different from a normal character.
Either 1 or 2 seemed good enough, so I decided to make the new creature’s size 2.
“Appearance 3. Size 2. Aggressiveness 5. This is how I’ll do it.”
After deciding on all the items, I activated the <Creature Maker> skill.
The mana consumption was 85% of the total.
The creature’s appearance was 3.
The aggressiveness was 5.
The size was 2.
After setting each item, I pressed the create button and a target location appeared in the middle of the screen.
I tried to set the target location to the church building, but I moved it to the back mountain of the church just in case.
“Please come out normal.”
After setting the target location to the back mountain, I touched the target location again to activate the skill.
Squish.
As soon as I pressed the screen, a huge light filled the screen.
When the light that blocked my sight for a while faded away, a creature of human size
appeared in its place.It was a creature that wore a shabby hood over its head.
You have created [Commander King: Arcrosis].
Due to the penalty of <Creature Maker>, you cannot recover the mana you consumed for 24 hours.
[Commander King: Arcrosis] reveres you.
<Karma’s Judgment> converts [Commander King: Arcrosis]’s actions into your causality rate.
The name of the new creature that was created with the light was [Commander King: Arcrosis].
When the summoned creature lifted its head, I saw that its eyes were dark and empty where they should have been.
It was a mage creature with a skeleton outfit that had no flesh at all.
There was only one name for such beings.
Lich.
An immortal being that a mage creates by sacrificing his own body.
I didn’t know if it was a problem of appearance or size, but the creature that appeared this time looked like a lich.
“…”
I stared blankly at [Commander King: Arcrosis] on the smartphone screen.
He looked evil as befitting his name of Commander King.
He looked like a very powerful creature just by his appearance.
Yet I couldn’t help but look at Arcrosis with an ambiguous expression.
The being I wanted to create was none other than the guardian of the church.
It was hard to imagine a guardian of the church with such a face.
It felt like I was threatening the world somehow.
A wicked lich guarding the church.
I felt like I had become an evil mastermind who coveted the world.
Although the church was originally a place where other characters were sacrificed, I couldn’t help but feel weird about it.
Wasn’t I a merciful being who bestowed miracles on the believers until now?
Not to mention Cuebaerg, who I made last time, but lich also didn’t seem to suit my image well.
I looked at Arcrosis and recalled my actions so far.
“Hmm…”
All I could remember was traveling around villages and using magic.
I gave up thinking as short memories passed through my head.
And then I nodded quietly at Arcrosis.
I looked at it again and realized it was a creature that suited our church well.
I could think of it as the gatekeeper of the hell gate.
I probably couldn’t make it a guardian, but it seemed fine for other tasks.
It must be incredibly powerful to have the nickname of Commander King.
The guardian of the church was something I could make again in a day or two.
“That’s the vibe of our church.”
Having made up my mind, I threw [Commander King: Arcrosis] to a place far away from the church.
He looked more likable than Cuebaerg, but he was also not someone I wanted to see often.
After leaving Arcrosis in a secluded place, I closed the smartphone screen.
And then I picked up the cup noodles that were rolling on the floor and got up from my seat.
I was hungry from playing the game, so I thought of filling my stomach with some noodles.
“I’m hungry, I’ll have to boil this and eat it.”
I picked up the cup noodles and headed to the kitchen to boil them.
It was a mild-flavored cup of noodles that I impulsively bought after a long time.
It was something that I didn’t eat often, but I bought it at a convenience store on my way home from work.
I wondered how it would taste after a long time.
***
The magic training room located in the basement of the Temple of Knowledge.
Hus Allemier, the hero of knowledge, was practicing his newly acquired magic with a white book open in front of him.
The name of the book in Hus’s hand was ‘Hieroglyph’.
It was the only artifact allowed to the hero of knowledge.
The hieroglyph that Hus had could store any magic that he identified with his eyes.
Thanks to that ability, Hus was able to break through the limits of his talent and reach a higher level.
The reason why high-ranking mages visited the Temple of Knowledge every day was also to teach Hus various magics through the hieroglyphs.
“Chain Lightning.”
Zap!
As Hus uttered the name of the magic, a streak of lightning shot out from his finger.
The blue lightning that came out of Hus’s hand hit the targets on the track sequentially.
It was a mid-level electric magic that could efficiently hit multiple enemies with one magic.
Hus had learned it because he could hit many targets with low mana consumption, but he was not satisfied with the power and range of chain lightning.
He thought it would be better to prepare another magic for real combat.
Hus closed the hieroglyph completely as he expressed his dissatisfaction, and then he heard a sound of opening the door behind him.
“Hus, you were here.”
Creak.
The one who entered the magic training room by opening the door was Aurora, the saintess of knowledge.
Hus saw Aurora, who was the saintess, and greeted her with a sm
And then he greeted Aurora briefly.
Aurora also smiled with her eyes and greeted him back.
“By the way you came here in person, I guess you have something to tell me.”
“Of course. Today was the day of the elders’ meeting, after all.”
“The elders’ meeting…”
“And there were a lot of urgent things to tell you during that time.”
“What are they?”
Hus had spent most of his days in the magic training room since his brother Evan Allemier went missing.
Was it because he had lost his idol that he had been chasing all his life?
Or was it to fill the void left by his brother?
Hus didn’t know why, but he showed himself immersed in magic training all day long.
Naturally, his conversations with Aurora decreased as time went by.
Aurora rarely came here unless she had something important to tell Hus.
“The holy land has decided to form a Cuebaerg subjugation force from the empire.”
“Cuebaerg subjugation force? That’s a new name. What is Cuebaerg?”
For Hus, who had been stuck in the magic training room, the name Cuebaerg was quite unfamiliar.
As if she had expected Hus’s question, Aurora looked at the paper in her hand and answered him.
“Cuebaerg is the name that the evil god’s minion who appeared in the empire calls himself. He’s a monster that made a city and more than 20 villages disappear so far.”
“The evil god’s minion…”
Hus’s face darkened at the mention of the evil god’s minion.
The evil god who coveted the continent.
For now, his followers were suspected to be the culprits who made his brother disappear.
Evan Allemier disappeared on his way back after finishing his investigation of the church.
Considering Evan’s skills, who was selected as a heretic interrogator in the holy land, it was impossible that he was caught by bandits.
So it was natural that Hus pointed to the church as the cause of Evan’s disappearance.
“So the empire ordered Cloud to subjugate this Cuebaerg.”
“Cloud is leading the subjugation, yes.”
“And in the process, half of the subjugation force, including the leader Gedur, were killed by Cuebaerg.”
“Gedur chief…”
It was rare to find someone who didn’t know Gedur among Cloud’s investigators.
Gedur, a first-class investigator, was a well-known figure.
And he failed to lead the subjugation operation.
It was a clue to how strong Cuebaerg was.
As Hus continued to listen to Aurora’s words, he understood why she brought up the subjugation force.
Perhaps she wanted to involve the heroes in the holy land in the new subjugation force.
“So this time, the heroes are going to step up?”
“You’re right. That’s very heroic of you.”
“If it’s an evil god’s minion, then it’s an enemy that the heroes should deal with. I understand. How should I prepare?”
“You’ll get a call from the temple tomorrow. I’ll tell you the details then.”
Hus nodded at Aurora’s words and looked at the hieroglyph.
Heroes of knowledge grew faster than other heroes.
It was not strange to say that they could be deployed to the field right away.
When Hus looked at the hieroglyphs in silence, Aurora coughed lightly while waiting for him.
She seemed to have something more to say to him, or she was waiting for him to look at her.
“Do you have something else to tell me?”
“…Of course.”
“What is it?”
“The other one is the news from Cloud, who went to search for the heretic inquisitor Evan Allemier…”
The news from Cloud, who went to search for Evan.
As soon as he heard that, Hus approached Aurora closely.
And then he grabbed her shoulders and asked her about Evan.
He spoke in a higher tone than usual, perhaps because he was excited.
“Don’t tell me you found my brother?”
“…No, that’s not it.”
“Then what… What else do you have to tell me?”
“Most of the agents from the Centurion branch, including the branch chief agent Period, who went to search for him, have gone missing, they say.”
Most of the agents from the Centurion branch went missing.
It was actually more like annihilation than disappearance.
And even his former boss, agent first-class investigator, had lost contact.
Hus’s expression was completely distorted as he heard the story of his former colleagues.
“The Centurion branch… was annihilated…?”
His brother who found the trace of the evil god disappeared, and his former colleagues who chased him also disappeared.
People kept disappearing just by trying to get close to the cult.
What kind of being was he fighting against?
And what was he fighting for?
He tore at his chest as he felt a bad feeling in his heart.
He had already lost too much before the fight even began.
It was a war that he couldn’t even guess how much more he would lose.
