Chapter 76: Council Meeting (1)
“The rain is pouring down terribly.”
Swoosh.
As if announcing the arrival of the rainy season, the rain was falling heavily outside the window.
I’m not a fan of the hot and humid summer weather.
But I didn’t mind the sight of the rain falling outside the window.
The irregular sound of raindrops.
The blurred vision with splashing water droplets.
When I stood by the window and watched the rain, I realized what tranquility was in the sound.
“Summer is almost over, huh.”
It felt like yesterday when I frowned at the heat of early summer, but before I knew it, there was less than a month left of summer.
It seemed like time flew by in the blink of an eye.
Not that I wanted to say goodbye to the air conditioner right now.
I stared blankly at the rain for a while, then yawned and turned around.
I picked up my smartphone that was on the table, and sat on the bed leaning against it. As always, I launched the game.
“I guess I’ll play some games.”
Tap.
As soon as I touched the screen, the game’s loading screen popped up.
I had seen the same screen so many times that it was familiar and boring.
Of course, there were some elements that I grew fond of after seeing them for months.
The <Paid Currency Shop> button located at the top right corner of the game was one of them.
When time passed and the main screen was displayed normally, I checked the message box at the bottom of the screen first.
“Oh… A quest item has arrived.”
It seemed that Euteneia had offered an item after retrieving a holy relic.
There was a message related to that in the message box.
[Holy Relic: Ergus’s Stake].
I finally acquired one item related to the quest of <Descent> skill.
I quickly operated the screen to check the message window of <Descent> skill.
A new screen popped up with a greatly reduced karma and a progress bar of the quest.
-The progress of <Descent> will increase by one step every time you meet one of the following conditions.
-Available Karma: 1328 / 999999 (Incomplete)
-[Holy Relic: Ergus’s Stake]: 1 / 1 (Complete)
-??? : 0 / 1 (Incomplete)
-??? : 0 / 1 (Incomplete)
-??? (Incomplete)
My eyes naturally went to where it said ‘complete’.
[Holy Relic: Ergus’s Stake] was marked as complete in the quest content.
It was the first quest I cleared since I started the game.
A sense of accomplishment filled my chest as I saw the glowing completion mark.
“I finally filled one. There are still four left… But I’m sure they’ll be filled soon as I play.”
The first item, one million karma, was still far from being achieved.
The required karma amount increased as the number of apostles increased, and from the next apostle onwards, I had to pay 1600 karma to select them.
It was better to think of it as a quest that could only be achieved in the late game.
The items that were still locked would also be unlocked later as my level increased.
I enjoyed my joy while looking at the completion mark, then soon moved my eyes to the skill icons at the bottom of the screen.
“I cleared a quest, so now I have to deal with other things.”
I closed the message window of <Descent> skill and pondered over <Regular Meeting> and <Regular Meeting: Invitation> skills.
A skill that temporarily gathers designated characters in one place, <Regular Meeting>.
This skill allowed communication between characters regardless of distance.
There was a drawback that the communication channel between me and my apostles was temporarily blocked, though.
It was difficult for me to intervene immediately in <Regular Meeting>, but it was not a bad skill in terms of sharing information among characters.
The AI in this game tended to operate independently anyway.
They had to fill in their lack of information through interactions with each other.
“Judging by its classification as a system skill, it seems like it’s not only possible for apostles.”
<Regular Meeting: Invitation> skill, which selected characters to attend <Regular Meeting>, had already been used once on Euteneia.
It was a method of giving a ring to the target character.
Considering my experience of using <Lightning> on an animal, it might be possible to invite non-human targets as well.
Of course, they would need fingers to wear rings anyway.
I didn’t think long and used <Regular Meeting: Invitation> on a target nearby.
“First of all… You should get an invitation.”
The first target I chose was Pluto.
Pluto Astria.
She was the progenitor of vampires, not human, and one of my apostles.
If my guess was right, Pluto, who had fingers, would be able to receive an invitation without any problem.
Squeeze.
I pressed the skill icon of <Regular Meeting: Invitation> to activate the target area.
Then I touched Pluto, who was next to Euteneia, to designate her as the target of the skill.
-[Third Apostle: Pluto Astria] has been added as a member of <Regular Meeting>.
A ring was given to Pluto along with a new message at the bottom of the screen.
Pluto was included in the range of <Regular Meeting> skill.
Pluto, who received the ring, tilted her head for a moment, then put it on her finger.
After inviting Pluto to the meeting, I moved the screen to another direction right away.
There were many other targets to invite to <Regular Meeting> in the order.
“Next… Creatures should be possible to invite too, right?”
The next thing I found after Pluto was Estasia, who was located in the Ketterunt branch of the order.
Estasia was not a human, but a character with ten fingers.
I thought she could wear a ring without any trouble.
I didn’t hesitate and used <Regular Meeting: Invitation> on Estasia.
Estasia, who entered the range of the skill, was wrapped in a light and acquired a ring.
-[Cherubim: Estasia] has been added as a member of <Regular Meeting>.
Estasia also joined <Regular Meeting> without any problem, just like Pluto.
After inviting Estasia, I moved the screen again to find the next target.
There were many other targets to invite to <Regular Meeting> in the order.
Apostle Evan and Archbishop Roan.
And if possible, the magical skeleton that flew around with a staff.
I also thought of Kueberg for a moment, but I quickly erased him from my mind.
“He doesn’t even have fingers to wear a ring, right?”
Kueberg had no fingers to put a ring on.
He couldn’t stick a ring in his eye just because he had no fingers.
It was easy to put a ring on a finger even if it was just a bone, but it was impossible for a lump without fingers.
I excluded Kueberg from the target list and moved the screen to find the next target.
It took quite some time to give rings to everyone, as the order had grown large and moved globally.
“You too, get an invitation. And you too…”
Evan, who was training with a sword behind the order.
Roan, who was busy with meetings in the city.
And the magical skeleton that I luckily found flying in the sky.
I successfully invited all the targets to <Regular Meeting>.
I made a mistake in targeting the skill once, but it was a minor thing considering the result.
“Well, it shouldn’t be a big problem.”
The message box only showed the names of the characters who used the skill.
There was still a problem that I didn’t know who I accidentally used the skill on, but I decided to blame it on the magical skeleton that flew around quickly.
It wouldn’t happen again unless it was Arcrosis.
I would find out who I used the skill on when I convened <Regular Meeting>.
If there was a problem, I could deal with the character then.
It wasn’t something I needed to worry about for long.
After finishing inviting all the characters, I pressed the skill icon of <Regular Meeting> and set the meeting time.
-<Regular Meeting> has been reserved.
-Do you want to decorate the <Regular Meeting> place?
-Yes / No
Tap.
Without hesitation, I pressed ‘Yes’ and entered the map of the meeting place.
The only thing left was to fill the meeting place with items from my inventory.
Of course, since my inventory was poor, it didn’t take long to decorate the meeting place.
***
Daniel Hesrof.
He was a farmer who lived in Eberlint province.
He had spent his life raising livestock and had a unique skill of quietly slaughtering animals. He was called the silent butcher by his neighbors.
Thanks to that, Daniel had built up an unprecedented scale of ranch in Eberlint province.
But for Daniel, who had only raised beasts all his life, the sight he faced now was very unfamiliar.
Under a dark space.
People were sitting around a circular table.
A huge bone wearing clothes.
A shining angel flapping its wings.
And even an unidentified girl who moved shadows to get cake.
They were all suspicious-looking figures sitting around Daniel.
“Before we start the meeting, let us swear to our great one.”
And opposite to where Daniel was sitting, there was a man who looked like an evil leader.
His name was Roan Hebris.
According to his introduction, he was an archbishop of the order.
He was also the center of today’s meeting.
Roan wore a luxurious robe and had charisma in his eyes as he looked at people.
Roan looked at all the attendees of the meeting, including Daniel, and raised one hand as if taking an oath.
“For our great one.”
-“For our great one.”
“For our great one.”
The voices of the attendees echoed in an instant as they raised their hands and shouted before the start of the meeting.
Blink. Blink.
Daniel blinked his eyes and stared blankly around him.
Then all the attendees’ eyes focused on Daniel who was watching them.
Daniel raised his trembling hand and shouted at them as he felt their eyes on him.
“F-for our great one…”
“It seems you’re a bit awkward because it’s your first time. I understand completely.”
“…I’m ashamed before our great one.”
Daniel was an outsider who had nothing to do with them, but he realized that this place was very dangerous.
A meeting place where angels and undead coexisted.
They all had an extraordinary aura about them.
Gulp.
Daniel swallowed his saliva and lowered his arm, pretending to be calm.
As soon as Daniel followed their slogan, Roan looked around and started the meeting.
“You must have all come here by the call of our great one, but there are many people I don’t know.”
-“I agree.”
“So let me ask you to introduce yourselves first, starting with those who see me for the first time.”
Roan’s eyes moved to the undead next to him, asking for an introduction.
The undead was nothing but bones, but had a huge physique.
Daniel looked at the undead with a tense gaze.
The undead’s mouth clattered, and a bleak voice echoed in Daniel’s ears.
“Call me Arcrosis.”
“What! The legendary necromancer Arcrosis!”
-“You seem to know me well.”
Necromancer Arcrosis.
Roan was shocked as he heard the name of the undead.
It was already horrifying to see an undead, let alone one with the nickname of necromancer.
Daniel was also startled to hear Arcrosis’s identity from Roan’s mouth.
Arcrosis finished his introduction, and this time it was the turn of the black-haired girl next to him.
She spoke in a bored voice, resting her chin on her hand and looking at Roan.
“I’m Pluto Astria.”
“Ah, no! The progenitor of vampires Pluto!”
“You know me too?”
Pluto Astria.
Roan was shocked again as he heard the name of the girl.
Vampires were monsters that sucked human blood in ancient times.
But the leader of those vampires, the progenitor, was here.
Daniel felt a chill run down his spine as he heard Pluto’s introduction.
The faces of the attendees in this meeting were more impressive than he expected.
Pluto’s next was the angel with wings spread out.
The angel fluttered its wings and explained itself to Roan.
“Estasia.”
“Yes. I heard your introduction well.”
“…”
Unlike before, Roan didn’t give any further explanation.
Estasia looked at Roan with a cold gaze.
But Roan didn’t care about Estasia’s gaze and just stared at Daniel who was next to her.
Gulp.
Daniel met Roan’s eyes and swallowed again.
Roan looked at Daniel with a seemingly friendly face and opened his mouth.
“There’s one left.”
“That’s right.”
“Who are you?”
All eyes in the meeting place turned to Daniel.
It was Daniel’s turn to reveal his identity.
Could he reveal his identity among these great people?
Complex thoughts crossed Daniel’s mind.
But even then, time kept passing by.
Unable to withstand the pressure of time, Daniel stiffened his face and revealed his identity.
“Daniel Hesrof.”
“Daniel? If you don’t mind, can I ask what people call you around here?”
“People call me Daniel the silent butcher.”
“Daniel the silent butcher… You must be a born assassin with great skills.”
“…”
Where did it all go wrong?
In the midst of growing misunderstandings, Daniel just nodded quietly.
He would have corrected everything if he had courage, but unfortunately, Daniel didn’t have that kind of courage.
In Daniel’s silence, Roan continued the meeting.
