#026

“Fabio. You possess a special mental barrier that makes you immune even to the Saintess’s Blessing, but you also have a peculiar constitution that prevents you from sensing divine power at all.”

‘…So, does that mean I’m in danger, or am I safe?’

“It is currently unknown what would happen if someone like you were to speak or remember the name of a god.”

‘Basically, she’s saying she doesn’t know because it’s a first-time case.’

“However, my opinion is that there is no need to risk your life attempting something so dangerous.”

‘Rational.’

There’s no need to eat a mushroom just to find out if it’s poisonous.

“…It would be best to wear that necklace for now. Since it was personally consecrated by the Saintess, it will automatically block most intrusions.”

At Adna’s words, I quickly put the necklace around my neck, but a question suddenly occurred to me.

“Um, does this necklace feel special to people who can sense divine power?”

It would be problematic if it looked like an ordinary necklace to me, but appeared as a rainbow-glowing +9 enhanced unique item to others who could feel divine power.

It would be far too suspicious if a mere serf were wearing an excessively high-tier unique item.

“…When the wearer is far from the Saintess and is attacked, the necklace emits divine power. Within the grounds of the Capital Church, no one will feel any special energy unless the necklace activates upon detecting an attack.”

‘That’s awesome.’

It has an automatic defense function, yet it doesn’t stand out normally, so it won’t attract attention.

Isn’t this an incredible item?

Saintess… Affinity +50.

By the way, if it’s structured to activate once I’m a certain distance away from the Saintess….

“In that case, if the Saintess ever has to leave the Capital Church for a while, should I return the necklace?”

“No, that is precisely when you should keep it on.”

Adna shook her head as she spoke.

“If events occur that require the Saintess to step forward personally, hiding your identity will no longer be the primary concern.”

At Adna’s words, the image of the crumbling Dark Realm described in ‘Die Heretic!’ came to mind.

‘I hope that crazy bastard who hasn’t given up on clearing the game yet gets caught before all that chaos breaks out.’

What kind of wealth and honor on earth is that guy seeking, wanting to play the role of a cult leader in this insane Medieval-land?

Can a modern person truly be satisfied with the wealth and honor gained in the Middle Ages?

Even if I were lying on an emperor’s bed made of the finest furs, I feel like I’d still miss the latex mattress and microfiber blanket in my room.

“For now, it would be best to decide your affiliation. Actually, I was thinking of recommending the Monastery of Discipline….”

‘Monastery of Discipline?’

Just from the name, I could tell it was a place with zero fun and incredibly strict rules.

‘I’d rather go somewhere a bit more relaxed.’

It was a bit funny that someone who had been prepared for execution just moments ago was now nitpicking, but the human heart is truly fickle; as soon as options appeared, I wanted to go wherever I could slack off the most.

‘But I shouldn’t let that show.’

Regardless of time or place, people do not like it when someone receiving charity ‘dares’ to have a will of their own.

Humanists might point it out as hatred toward the weak, but ordinary people, intoxicated by their own benevolence, don’t think for a second that they are practicing hatred. Let alone in the Middle Ages, where there isn’t even a discourse on hatred or prejudice.

Those receiving charity should express nothing but gratitude.

Looking reluctant, refusing, or asking for something extra?

‘That’s when the “Who do you think you are?” starts coming out.’

If you gave a roasted sweet potato to a starving beggar and they said, ‘Ah, this potato is too dry, I don’t really like it… do you have anything to drink?’, wouldn’t you want to take it back?

A beggar should not have preferences.

And I had to be even more polite than such a beggar.

‘Beggars aren’t executed without reason, but I could be executed at any moment.’

Realizing my place once again, I asked in the most humble manner possible.

“Do you think I’ll be able to adapt well to the monastery?”

“The monastery does not pry into newcomers, nor do they dig into each other’s pasts. As long as you follow the given rules, anyone is accepted. Therefore, I thought you would be able to get along well without drawing suspicion.”

‘It would be rare for an uneducated serf to make it all the way to the Capital Church, though.’

“However, there is no precedent for someone who cannot sense divine power at all entering….”

‘Good grief, is a guy without divine power just destined to live a miserable life?’

“I see. Because I lack divine power….”

“Hmm? I think you are misunderstanding something.”

‘Misunderstanding?’

“Lacking divine power and being unable to sense divine power are entirely different things.”

Adna looked at me with a very serious expression.

“Being unable to sense divine power is… to use a metaphor, similar to being born without eyes.”

‘What?’

I’m… like an ant born without antennae?

‘Wait. Now that I think about it, I don’t remember seeing any halos since I got here.’

When you think of Heretic Slayer, it’s basically a halo rhythm game.

In the Dark Realm, a halo always appears when you try to use divine power, and the larger the divine power consumption of an attack, the more violently the halo fluctuates. Thus, the easiest and most basic strategy to clear ‘Die Heretic!’ was to memorize the patterns of the enemy’s writhing halo.

Though veterans could easily clear it even with [Halo OFF] mode.

In Conclude, halos aren’t as critical as they are in ‘Die Heretic!’, but it was still very important to keep the halo option on because the strength of a Unit could be gauged by the brilliance of its halo.

This was because if you encountered a Heretic Inquisitor—who is at the Archbishop level—you had to quickly evacuate your Units before they declared a Sanctuary.

‘I thought halos were only visible to high-ranking Units like [Heretic Inquisitors] or [Cult Leaders].’

Everyone else could see divine power?

‘Is the reason I can’t see it… because of Heaven Above, Earth Below, I Alone Reign Supreme?’

I couldn’t think of any other cause.

In Conclude, halos were clearly visible even on the heretics who were Contractors of the Othergod.

‘But why?’

Why was the halo blocked from my sight?

Because the halo itself is an element that exerts a mental influence?

Divine power acts as a sort of charisma; Units with high divine power can overwhelm people with low mental strength simply by revealing their divine power.

If this fell under ‘mental-related influence’ and thus caused divine power itself to be completely imperceptible….

‘No, what kind of idiot trait is this?’

It should have blocked the influence while still allowing detection.

Like in a game, huh? Just show it as a light intensity.

Or float a number above their head like a combat power scanner.

Aren’t there plenty of alternative methods?

What on earth is the System doing?

Isn’t this basically like dropping someone into the Murim world and making them completely unable to sense Qi?

Such a person wouldn’t even be able to get a job as a waiter. In an inn where a terrifying aura is weighing down heavily, while other guests and the chef have already fled, they’d be the only one cluelessly asking, ‘Who’s paying the bill?’, only to be struck by a flying table and die screaming.

‘No, let’s not be pessimistic too quickly. Maybe people without eyes are common in the Dark Realm?’

The Capital Church is the most important holy site of the Order Sect.

Therefore, the Priests in the Capital Church were of quite a high caliber.

‘It’s like how it’s rare to find someone at Seoul National University who doesn’t have a perfect grade 1.’

But then, someone with an average grade 4 gets into SNU through regular admissions?

It wouldn’t be strange for people to be shocked, saying, [Grade 4… what? You got in with that grade??]

Even though grade 4 is a score that is statistically higher than the median.

‘And Adna is just bad at metaphors….’

The phrase ‘similar to being born without eyes’ might have been meant as ‘Grade 4? Is that a score you can get after actually studying? Wouldn’t you get higher just by guessing?’

Since it’s a rule that characters whose facial muscles don’t work are the [Social Skills 0] type who spout verbal abuse even without malice.

Burning my Happinesss circuit with all my might, I asked Adna.

“Um, it’s not that people who can’t sense divine power are that rare, right?”

“Certainly not.”

‘Fuck, thank god.’

“‘Rare’… is a word used for things that happen occasionally.”

‘…Huh?’

“Until yesterday, I had never even considered the possibility that a person unable to sense divine power could exist.”

‘Wait a minute.’

“This is likely the first time since the Order Sect was established. I have never seen it in any literature.”

‘No, wait.’

“You are the only one, Fabio. The only person who cannot sense divine power.”

With a completely indifferent tone, Adna utterly smashed my burning Happinesss circuit.

‘What the fuck…?’

“It is strange. Even people without divine power can sense it, yet you, Fabio, possess divine power but cannot sense it.”

“Do I… actually have divine power?”

“You certainly do.”

Adna gave a small nod.

‘I even have divine power but can’t feel it?’

At this point, it was so absurd that I didn’t even feel wronged.

“If there is no precedent… I imagine other people will experience a lot of inconvenience because of me.”

“Creating new rules, modifying procedures, or making exceptions for you is not the problem. The problem is that the moment such a special exception is made, rumors about you will inevitably spread.”

‘Then there’s no point in going to the monastery.’

I’m going there so I won’t be suspected of being a [Player] who defected to the Sect, but if I’m treated as an unprecedented case and given special attention at every turn, my anonymity won’t be guaranteed at all.

If Adna is saying this much, people who feel surprise and interest in the very concept of a ‘person who cannot sense divine power’ might come looking for me….

‘And among them would be the Lab Director, Ledeia’s apostle….’

No, why does every single option lead to a bad ending as the Lab Director’s test subject?

I was suddenly starting to get pissed off.

‘Seriously, why do they let a guy like that roam freely in the heart of the Sect?’

Even in fiction, the side of justice often keeps a mad scientist around because they can’t give up on their insane talent, but at the very least, they lock them up and monitor them under strict control.

Even then, that research usually becomes the catalyst for the world’s destruction.

‘Even if Ledeia’s apostle has a lot of influence, it should be nothing compared to the apostle of the Main God, Loclem.’

Why can’t even the Saintess control the Lab Director?

Instead of me holding my breath and hiding, couldn’t the Saintess just declare a restraining order against the Lab Director first?

If she just said, ‘A simpleton serf named Fabio is staying at the Capital Church, and since this guy didn’t receive the Blessing of Order, you’ll suffer a great mental shock if you see him, so you avoid Fabio’s radius of movement’….

‘…He’d probably just think, “What do you want from me?”’

Thinking it over, it seems right for me to be the one hiding.

‘Since he’s Ledeia’s apostle, he might try to “fix” my inconvenience out of pure goodwill by splitting my head open and stuffing maggots inside….’

“Since things have turned out this way, it might be better for you to stay with the Saintess.”

“What?”

“If you cannot be hidden no matter where you are placed, the best option is to be under strict protection from the start.”

‘What… is she saying that since my disability is too great to be released into the wild, I should be raised in a shelter for the rest of my life?’

“No, um, I don’t think not being able to see divine power is that inconvenient. Even when I was a serf, it was never a problem….”

“This is the Capital Church.”

“So if I don’t fit in here, maybe I could go to a nearby manor and be a serf….”

“That is not possible.”

‘Why the hell not?’

“In such a manor, the mere presence of a high-ranking Priest would be too conspicuous. And if I sent you alone without a high-ranking Priest, we wouldn’t be able to rush to your side immediately if something dangerous happened.”

I almost felt touched for a moment, but I quickly snapped back to reality.

‘Right, you can’t keep a time bomb too far away. I am, after all, a top-priority surveillance target.’

“Then, how about I work at the Capital Church… as a laundry worker or a general laborer? Not many people pay attention to workers who repeat the same tasks every day.”

“…That is not a bad idea, but you would have to be treated the same as those workers. Would that be acceptable?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? I was originally a serf. Do you know how diligent one must be to live as a farmer? I am confident I can handle any job well.”

“But you….”

‘But I what?’

Is my spec of just farming in a remote village not enough to be hired as a full-time laborer at the Capital Church?

Or do even the odd-job workers at the Capital Church need to know how to use at least a bit of divine power….

“…Were you not wanting to learn something here?”

‘Nope.’

What use is it to cram outdated medieval knowledge into my head?

“If you work as a general laborer, you will lack the time to read the books you like.”

“But isn’t that work something that someone has to do regardless?”

“There is no need for that person to be you.”

‘What does that mean?’

I blinked, not understanding.

At first glance, it sounded like she was saying I was too good for such work, but….

‘Fabio is just an ordinary serf born into a family of serfs for generations?’

In a class-based society, aren’t serfs the very class that exists to do such menial labor?

“Then, are there people born specifically to do such work?”

“There are those reserved for more special tasks.”

Hearing Adna’s answer only increased my confusion.

Isn’t that a description that only fits someone like Athanas, the protagonist of ‘Die Heretic!’?

I mean, even if someone is of the serf class, if they were born with a Genius trait, it would be a waste to use them as a mere laborer.

‘But I’m… ordinary, aren’t I?’

Chapter 27