< Chapter 61: Divine Protocol (2) >
I didn’t need a great excuse to convince myself.
I was already half-way tempted by the devil’s lure, waiting for the last word that would seal the deal.
In that state, I could rationalize and move on with my actions even with a lame and unsatisfying reason.
A quick compromise.
And a reasonable justification.
Humans would have been doomed long ago if they didn’t have such a function.
It was also the influence of that function that made me quickly compromise on the new payment.
“Last time, I got 10 free spins as a payback… So if I spin again, it’s like getting 30 spins for the price of 20, right?”
I dragged the excuse that I used to persuade myself last time all the way to today.
It was a pathetic excuse that anyone could see through.
It was nothing more than a pretext to spin the 10 times draw.
Yet, in my mind, it was enough to make it work.
In the end, I was just a helpless human in front of my spending urge.
“I guess there’s no special benefit after all.”
With half of my reason gone, I brought my finger to the <Paid Currency Shop> button.
Click.
As soon as the screen changed, the shop screen that allowed me to spin 10 times appeared.
The 10 times draw button shone brightly, along with the dazzlingly decorated shop screen.
The moment the shop screen appeared, all my spending plans flew out of my head.
In front of the new skill that could share characters and skills, my spending plans were nothing.
“Please… Let there be a magic book.”
I put my smartphone in front of me and clasped my hands together, praying fervently.
Please, let there be a magic book beyond the screen.
If possible, let there be 10 rare items.
With that desperate wish, I touched the draw button on my smartphone.
The screen flashed white and the draw items started to appear.
-You have acquired [Rusty Iron Sword].
-You have acquired [Rusty Iron Sword].
-You have acquired [Rusty Iron Sword].
I looked at the first items that came out with a tense face.
Three [Rusty Iron Swords].
They were among the worst items that could come out as a failure.
It was a bad start.
I hoped for a magic book to appear and watched the next items.
-You have acquired [Rusty Iron Sword].
-You have acquired [Rusty Iron Sword].
-You have acquired [Rusty Iron Sword].
The next items that popped up were also all [Rusty Iron Swords].
I couldn’t help but frown at the ominous atmosphere.
I remembered the nightmare of getting 10 [Stylish Tunics] last time.
Sigh.
I exhaled and looked at the next item.
This time, I sincerely hoped for a magic book to appear.
-You have acquired [Rusty Iron Sword].
-You have acquired [Rusty Iron Sword].
-You have acquired [Rusty Iron Sword].
The moment I saw another batch of [Rusty Iron Swords] pop up, my hand that was holding the screen started to tremble.
I also felt a strange sensation of nausea as I saw the continuous output of [Rusty Iron Swords].
“No way. No way, right? No way I’ll get failures again?”
The situation was becoming more and more like the nightmare of the past.
I swallowed and looked at the last item.
If the last item was also a [Rusty Iron Sword], then it would be a repeat of the previous nightmare.
Moreover, [Rusty Iron Sword] was an item that even the believers avoided because of its rust.
What would the last item be?
Thump. Thump.
With my heart pounding wildly, the light that revealed the last item burst out.
-You have acquired [Magic Book: Control Weather].
As the last item showed itself with a purple halo, I lifted my smartphone and smiled.
A magic book with a purple halo.
It meant that it was a much more valuable magic than the previous magic books.
As soon as the brightly shining magic book appeared, I erased the nine [Rusty Iron Swords] from my mind.
It was a magic of a different grade than the existing ones.
It didn’t matter what kind of items came out as failures anymore.
“Wow… A purple light came out of the magic book.”
I examined the [Magic Book: Control Weather] that had entered my inventory.
The skill I could acquire by using the magic book, <Control Weather>.
<Control Weather> was a magic that consumed a huge amount of mana to control the weather.
As the name suggested, it was a very different type of magic from the combat magic that I had encountered so far.
“Control Weather… It seems like magic with a high utility aspect.”
The place where I used <Control Weather> could be changed to the climate I wanted.
The duration of the magic that remained in the tile depended on the size and intensity of the area where I controlled the weather.
I could make it rain continuously in a tile where there was a drought.
I could make the scorching sun shine down on a place where there was a dense forest.
I could completely transform the environment of the area over time.
It seemed like it could be helpful for large-scale battles between characters, or for supporting the expansion of my faction.
“If I really wanted to combine it with offensive magic, it doesn’t seem impossible either.”
Maybe I could make it rain and then scatter lightning magic at the same time.
I didn’t know for sure because I hadn’t tried combining magic yet, but this game was faithful to the laws of physics.
There was a high possibility that it would have some effect if I tried it in reality.
It would be a wide-range diffusion of lightning magic on a wet area.
Besides, just being able to control the weather gave me a feeling of something divine.
Maybe Roan could go around and solve the drought himself.
“For now… I’ll have to give the magic book to Eutenia.”
The first magic book I acquired was always Eutenia’s.
Only after Eutenia learned the magic and made it her own, could I learn the magic myself.
Of course, if Eutenia wasn’t a character with talent for magic, I wouldn’t have supported her so much.
I took out the magic book from my inventory and brought it to Eutenia, who was traveling in a carriage.
Eutenia looked up at the sky as she saw the magic book fall on top of the carriage.
“You have bestowed upon me a new magic book. I thank you for your grace, O great one.”
As I watched Eutenia express her gratitude to the sky, I closed the game on my smartphone.
I planned to work on the details of <Divine Response Device> after I finished eating all the ramen.
Squeak.
I tore off the lid of the cup of ramen and lifted up the noodles with wooden chopsticks.
The steaming noodles had swollen up considerably by now.
***
“Now our influence has reached Rituania – Centrius as well.”
The tower room is located in the inner city.
There, Roan, the archbishop, looked down at the cityscape and spoke.
After Evan led his followers into the inner city, the battle there was over in no time.
The countess and Max Meyer were executed, and the inner city was occupied by our forces.
And Rex Meyer had a simple succession ceremony and became the next count.
There was resistance against Rex both inside and outside, but there was no successor to replace him in his family.
Now swearing loyalty to the emperor was the only hurdle left for Rex.
It was safe to say that we had taken over the entire county.
“All thanks to your plan, Archbishop Roan.”
“Except for the fact that it was reckless, wasn’t it a fun plan?”
“A fun plan… I don’t have that kind of taste, so I don’t know.”
Evan chuckled as he heard Roan’s words.
In retrospect, it was a reckless plan even by Roan’s own standards.
If Rex’s weak personality and Evan’s force hadn’t followed him, it would have been difficult.
It was also a great luck that the count had left his seat at that time.
It would have been a very tricky task to get rid of the count who stayed in the inner city with his soldiers.
“Anyway, it’s certain that we were blessed by our great one.”
“Certainly… It seems so.”
Everything went well without any major problems, so they could assume that their master had taken good care of them.
It wasn’t something anyone could do to overthrow an entire family with a few people.
Now all they had to do was expand their power based on this city they had acquired.
They had agreed to receive prisoners from the city continuously, so they didn’t have to worry about sacrifices either.
They had grown much larger than when they first created their cult.
Considering also recruiting new followers from this city, they could expect an unprecedented growth.
“Are you not pleased? The fact that more and more of our followers will fill this vast city.”
“…I’m quite pleased.”
“You’re still so curt, Apostle.”
“That’s how I’ve always been, so there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Roan smiled back at Evan’s attitude.
The apostle in front of him had done more than he had expected.
He was truly a worthy being of the name of God’s apostle.
Moreover, unlike his blunt demeanor, he was also very devout.
The appearance of the unbeliever he had first met had long disappeared.
Now, he looked like someone he could trust with anything.
“By the way… Lately, I feel like I can sense His presence closer to me.”
That’s why Roan decided to confide in him the concern he had been thinking about recently.
A subtle sensation that had been tickling his chest since some time ago.
He felt like the grace of the great being he served was wrapping around him.
He felt like he and the great being were together, no matter where or when he was.
Evan, who heard Roan’s words, replied with a look of disbelief.
“Can you feel His power closer to you?”
“Yes. Even without the dagger He gave me, I think I could ask for a miracle, at least a little.”
Evan, who was connected to the heavenly god, pondered over Roan’s words.
Roan understood why he was hesitating.
The apostles, including Evan, were connected to the great being through their divine instruments.
It was hard to imagine using miracles without their divine instruments.
“Are you really able to use it without a divine instrument?”
“Not often, but I think it wouldn’t be too hard once every two days.”
“It seems a bit different from the power of an apostle. Let’s see it for ourselves first.”
Evan decided to check it out for himself after hearing Roan’s words.
Roan nodded and stretched his hand toward the bottom of the tower.
He felt a warm energy rushing from his hand in the air.
It was a similar sensation to when he used magic with Ednos.
He sensed the energy gathered at his fingertips and began to pray to the sky.
“O great one. Judge your enemies with your brilliant light.”
As his prayer continued, the energy at Roan’s fingertips grew larger and larger.
The magic that was expanding reached its limit and he felt a tight sensation at his fingertips.
Roan released all the power he had been holding in his hand.
At the same time as the light that had been lingering at Roan’s fingertips burst out, a thunderous sound echoed from the sky.
Boom!
A sharp roar and a bolt of lightning fell toward the ground.
The lightning that Roan saw was not much different from the divine punishment he had seen before.
Evan, who saw the lightning that Roan dropped, opened his mouth.
“This is…”
He summoned lightning with nothing but his bare hands.
A miracle of God.
It was enough to call it that way.
It looked similar to the phenomenon of high-ranking priests in the holy land manifesting special miracles.
A strong faith created a connection with God.
The two men, Evan and Roan, were amazed by the majestic sight.
“How is it, apostle?”
“It looks similar to the miracles used in the holy land.”
“Is that so?”
“The method may be a bit different, but the result is similar, and that’s what matters.”
The former holy knight verified the miracle of God.
It was a situation where his strong faith had been rewarded once again.
Maybe not only Roan, but other believers could also use miracles.
An idea flashed through Roan’s mind as he saw the miracle he had created with his own hands.
“If this is the miracle He has bestowed upon us, wouldn’t it be an indicator of the believers’ faith?”
“An indicator?”
“The one who can produce a stronger miracle is the one who believes and dedicates himself to the great one.”
If there were others who could produce miracles besides Roan, he could judge their faith by the miracles they created.
Then he could assign ranks to them based on the miracles they performed.
He needed a proportionate number of administrators to maintain the growing church.
Those who could wield strong miracles would be trustworthy to entrust the church’s important tasks.
Roan couldn’t help but admire his own brilliant idea.
“Isn’t it a reasonable way?”
“Strong faith brings forth strong miracles…”
“That’s right. If another believer who can perform miracles appears, we give him more responsibility than others.”
“I don’t know if anyone else will show up, but it’s a decent idea.”
Evan, who leaned against the wall, agreed with Roan’s idea.
If the believers could bring forth miracles, it would be possible to distribute roles like in the holy land.
The church would become a place that truly served and followed God.
He could reorganize the entire organization in a similar structure to the holy land.
Roan’s eyes were filled with anticipation for the future as he thought of the countless possibilities of the miracle in his hand.
“We’ll have to divide the ranks of the believers based on the miracles they can produce from now on.”
Miracle.
It was the moment when a new concept of power given to the church’s believers was established.
