#131

I thought the War God player had just been barking up the wrong tree on his own.

Was Insanity actively fueling the misunderstanding?

‘Why is he doing this?’

What could he possibly gain by impersonating me?

‘…Is his original nickname as embarrassing as Athanasuki?’

Even if that weren’t the case, hiding one’s nickname was always an advantage.

Revealing a nickname was practically the same as disclosing which Othergod they primarily played and what their playstyle was.

In contrast, ‘qwerasdf’ was a player whose strategy was difficult to predict.

‘Since his concept was to never repeat a playstyle he’d already tried.’

He probably avoided calling himself ‘qwerasdf’ in public on purpose for that reason.

Regardless of the motive, the fact that someone was intentionally impersonating me was incredibly unpleasant.

‘Who was he originally?’

Seeing as he went around giving advice to others, he seemed to be a veteran of Conclude…

A veteran who knew me well.

“…Have you actually seen Insanity in person?”

“No, I haven’t.”

‘Then there’s a possibility it’s not a real person, but a fabrication by Nyapoleon.’

That guy occasionally left comments on the wiki pages I wrote, saying things like, ‘qwerasdf, you are the true embodiment of madness. I realize I was nothing compared to you. I shall strive for further progress,’ acting as if he knew me.

‘Every time he did, I warned him about irrelevant chatter and deleted it.’

…That’s one more reason why I must not die.

If Nyapoleon and Insanity were the same person, then that guy was a truly chilling lunatic.

I shuddered to think what I would experience in the Mother God camp ruled by such a person….

‘Let’s not imagine it.’

I deliberately changed the subject.

“…Anyway, since the conditions have been met, as long as nothing goes wrong, we can make the contract on Christmas, right?”

“That’s right!”

‘If this kid makes the contract first, what happens to the other players?’

“You said there are multiple altars; does that mean there can be multiple players who succeed in the contract?”

“I heard that was the case.”

I had suspected as much when she mentioned that the altar locations differed for each player, but hearing the confirmation made my heart feel a bit heavy.

‘I thought I’d be safe as long as I held out until Christmas….’

To think the Tutorial had only just ended.

A sigh escaped me involuntarily.

“What happens if you don’t make the contract even after The ‘Stars’ open? Do you get a forced Game Over?”

“Probably not. If you intentionally keep avoiding the contract, an Othergod might get angry and trigger a Game Over, but simply not having a contract isn’t a ‘situation where the game cannot proceed.’ Since The ‘Stars’ have already opened, you can proceed with the contract whenever you fulfill the conditions. Of course, surviving without a contract after the Tutorial benefits have vanished would be quite difficult.”

“What are the Tutorial benefits?”

“First and foremost, the fact that the apostles don’t take the initiative to attack. Also, the System sends a notification when a Game Over seems imminent. If you beg for help, the Emergency Rescue Device activates, just like before.”

“What other functions does the Emergency Rescue Device have? Besides adjusting the time dilation rate.”

“It varies depending on the situation. It’s closer to the System suggesting the optimal way to survive in that specific moment. For example, if I’m crossing a mountain on horseback and an apostle is approaching from the opposite side, the Emergency Rescue Device might save my life by triggering a landslide to block the path. I heard a War God player actually survived that way.”

‘If that’s the case….’

What did the System consider the best option in the previous situation?

Does expanding the time from 6 minutes to 2 hours change something?

‘…No, that wasn’t the only thing.’

Reyes said the System also gave him the ‘ability to commit suicide and ensure no traces of the Othergod remain on the corpse.’

Combining those two, it was easy to guess what the System’s ‘optimal method’ was.

‘Force Andrea to commit suicide, and then have Reyes commit suicide himself.’

I felt a slight chill.

The System could have provided a simpler and safer method, like ‘One-Time Teleportation’….

‘Is it guiding me that way because I need to get used to such things to win the game?’

It hit me once again that Conclude is a game you can only win if you throw your humanity to the dogs.

[Reyes feels cute and admirable!

You want to hug and pet Reyes.

You want to grant whatever Reyes asks for.]

[

SYSTEM:

Due to the effect of ‘Heaven Above, Earth Below, I Alone Reign Supreme,’ ‘Distortion’ is provided as text.]

“…What are you doing?”

“Hehe.”

Reyes looked at me with an awkward expression.

“What’s with the ‘hehe’?”

“I just wondered if it would work while you were off guard…. I really didn’t do much! Really!”

Messing with someone’s mind is not ‘nothing.’

I’m just glad Distortion doesn’t work on me.

I was about to snap at him to never do that again, but I stopped myself.

It was more beneficial to gather information than to waste time reacting to such tricks.

“…More importantly, something suddenly occurred to me.”

“Ask away.”

“You can still use Floren’s Divine Power, right? Since you said you made the flowers bloom.”

“I still can! But if I contract with the Distorted One, I’ll lose it completely.”

When one contracts with an Othergod, the Cult Leader becomes an apostle of that Othergod.

Since one cannot possess two divine traits, the existing ‘Bloodline’ trait would naturally be erased.

“Then how are you using the power of Distortion now? You said the Sacred Relic is kept at the altar.”

“Ah, this eye is a replicated Sacred Relic.”

“…Did you transplant that yourself?”

“No, it was like this from the moment I opened my eyes. They said this was also part of the Arrangement.”

Fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t done something like Knight Commander Casimir.

Then again, there’s no way a frail modern person could endure such a thing while sane.

‘More importantly, can Sacred Relics be replicated using Clear Points?’

The more I talked, the more I felt that the Distorted One had prepared thoroughly.

That’s probably why this idiot of a contractor hasn’t hit a Game Over yet.

“Where is Fabio’s Sacred Relic? Can I see it for a moment?”

“I don’t have one.”

“What? No Sacred Relic? Then how do you make the contract?”

“I don’t know.”

He probably can’t.

No Helper, no knowledge of the altar’s location, and no Sacred Relic.

A perfect trinity of hopelessness.

“Since it’s an Othergod with zero clear records, they probably didn’t have the points to prepare a Sacred Relic.”

“But haven’t you gathered quite a lot of Faith Points so far? What about those points?”

“Who knows. Does anything even accumulate? Even if it does, it’s probably not much. I haven’t really done anything.”

“That can’t be! With Fabio’s cuteness, your mere existence must have made so many people happy-happy!”

‘…When the hell does this guy’s Affinity go down?’

My mental strength is seriously being eroded.

‘Still, he gives proper answers.’

I need to refocus on gathering information.

I sank into thought for a moment.

Now that I’ve confirmed the basics, the next thing I should ask is….

‘…There’s too much.’

If I asked everything I was curious about, it wouldn’t be enough to stay up all night.

Who are the other players?

How many players were eliminated, and how many remain?

If someone doesn’t win the game but doesn’t die, what happens at the game’s ending?

What exactly are the ending conditions of the game?

What can a player obtain by winning the game?

Was it the players who actually formed the Council….

I organized the priority of the question list in my head and asked the one at the very top.

“…Do you remember Quicksave?”

“Regression?”

“Yeah. Do you know which player obtained it?”

“Someone obtained Regression?”

“I’m not sure. When I checked, there was only a note left where Regression should have been.”

A piece of paper that read [Merry X-mas!].

“Moreover, they left that note on the floor and set a trap. It was a device where you’d get cut by nearly invisible wires if you reached in.”

I had assumed the bastard who did that must be the Distorted One’s player.

But since it didn’t seem like something Reyes would do, it must have been another player.

“…There was nothing there when I went.”

“Then you’re saying the person who took it and the person who set the trap are different people?”

“No, it’s not that; there was no such secret space at all.”

“What?”

“When I checked, there were only traces of another player having already smashed the floor. Below that, it was just bedrock.”

“The secret space was open when I went.”

“Really? Could it have been updated in the meantime?”

‘Updated….’

If the System is the one preparing the ‘Arrangement,’ it might be possible to add a space that wasn’t there.

But why?

Who was this ‘belated’ update for?

“…Could it be a place only those with the qualifications can enter?”

“Who besides players has the qualifications?”

“The 17th player! There must be a player of Order!”

“…A piece of trash who sets booby traps is on the side of Order?”

If so, this world is doomed.

“I think a lunatic like Insanity just made it as a trap.”

“The players in the chat room already know there’s nothing there, so why would he do such a thing?”

“…To screw over someone like me who checks late?”

“If he did that, I would gain points, but Insanity would gain nothing.”

That’s true.

‘Then is there really a player of Order?’

Just as I was about to ask where the story about the player of Order first came from.

Knock, knock.

I heard the sound of someone knocking on the door.

‘Who is it?’

Did Nasir notice something off and come back?

I placed my hand on the doorknob and spoke.

“…Who is it?”

Since the Blessing of Soundproofing is active while the door is locked, I had to touch the door with a part of my body for my voice to be heard outside.

[Fabio, it’s me.]

‘Elamin?’

My tensed nerves instantly relaxed.

If the cult had noticed something, they wouldn’t have sent Elamin, who is merely a Chanter.

[Could you come out for a moment?]

“What is it?”

[I have something to give you.]

Something to give?

‘…Come to think of it, Casimir said she would give me a Sacred Relic.’

I had completely forgotten.

I instinctively started to open the door, then paused.

‘Is it okay to open the door with Reyes here?’

I might trust Reyes, but I couldn’t trust the ‘Distorted One.’

The moment he saw Elamin, he might distort Elamin’s perception, make him mistake me for someone else, and trigger a rampage.

Or he might cast a Distortion on Elamin to make him attack me….

“…Can I receive it tomorrow? It’s a bit inconvenient right now.”

[Is it difficult to just step out for a moment?]

…It is certainly strange to say that stepping out for a moment to receive an item is difficult when I’m already standing right at the door.

I quickly thought of a plausible excuse.

An excuse that would work on a Lover like Elamin….

“U-um, I’m with someone else right now. It’s a bit of an awkward situation to open the door.”

[Who are you with?]

‘Why is he asking that?’

When I didn’t answer, Elamin asked again.

[Are you perhaps with a lover?]

“That’s right. So….”

Just as I was about to tell him to go away, another voice was heard.

[Fabio.]

‘Fuck.’

[It’s me.]

‘Fuck, why of all people….’

[If you don’t open the door, I will tear it down and enter.]

My back became damp with cold sweat.

My mind raced desperately.

‘What do I do? How do I….’

Is there any way to avoid letting it be known that Athanas is outside the door?

“…Athanas?”

Reyes’s voice was heard from behind.

“That’s Athanas’s voice, isn’t it?”

‘I’m fucked.’

Chapter 132