#007

I need to raise my mental strength if I’m going to adapt to this crazy Middle Ages.

The average mental strength of a medieval person is around 30.

At that level, seeing a rotting corpse only results in a few days of nausea.

But what about me, a fragile modern human?

‘I’d develop a trauma immediately…’

Even Fabio’s memories—of seeing corpses frequently, as was common for a medieval person—are merely the experiences of a third party, outputted to me as text.

If I saw a corpse right now, I’d probably vomit and collapse on the spot.

“At this rate, I’m at a level where I should’ve been eliminated in the qualifiers.”

This wasn’t the time to think about the Observatory of Heaven’s Defiance or contracts with Othergods.

I first had to consider whether I could even survive as an ordinary person in this madness of the Dark Realm.

“Above all, that question mark trait…”

[???]

: A hidden trait. Effect is unknown.

The identity of this suspicious trait, which remained this way even after clicking ‘View Details,’ was obvious.

I clearly remembered the last sentence I saw right before falling into the Dark Realm.

A system message stating: ‘Mother Aellusia’ grants you a hidden trait.

Considering that the Mother God had told me things like ‘I will find you’ or ‘Wait for me,’ it was highly likely to be a trait with a tracking function.

The reason it appeared as ??? now was probably because it hadn’t been activated yet.

“…….”

I summarized my current situation.

A prospective contractor for Happiness, ranked 16th among the 16 Othergods.

Stats are below average.

No assets, no connections, and born as an uneducated, ignorant serf.

Possessing a trash-tier trait that makes it absolutely impossible to grow strong.

And on top of that, I’ve been marked by the rank 1 Othergod, Mother Aellusia.

“I’m completely screwed, aren’t I?”

If this were a game, this was the kind of run you’d abandon to start over.

I groaned, clutching my head as it began to ache.

What does Mother Aellusia plan to do once she finds me?

Eliminate a competitor?

‘Mother Aellusia didn’t know who I chose back then.’

It might have been better if she had.

Because if I were her, I wouldn’t bother considering an apostle of Happiness as a competitor.

If the Mother God knew I was Happiness’s contractor, she might have ignored me, thinking it a waste to spend Clear Points to embed a trait into someone like me.

“…Damn it.”

I glared at the [Miracle of the Silver Tongue], which was essentially the root of all this trouble.

If it weren’t for that trait, the Mother God wouldn’t have snapped.

[Miracle of the Silver Tongue]

: One who enchanted an ‘Othergod’ with words alone, without the power of any Miracle. The ‘Stars’ are watching.

SYSTEM pays its respects to you!

Looking at the detailed information made me even angrier.

“Respects my ass! She probably wants to screw me over!”

‘The ‘Stars’ are watching.’

There was no doubt that this phrase was the reason the Mother God’s aggro was drawn to this bound trait.

“If the system bastard hadn’t given me that trait!”

Aellusia wouldn’t have branded me like this!

Damn that system!

As if to show it was listening, the system popped up a notification window.

[

SYSTEM:

Traits granted by the ‘Stars’ cannot be arbitrarily assigned by the SYSTEM!]

“…So you’re saying it’s not your fault?”

However, no further notification appeared.

“Hello?”

“I know you’re listening!”

“Can we talk for a second?”

“Mr. System?”

I tried every possible form of address—system bastard, hey, you piece of shit, excuse me, Lord System—but there was no response from the system.

“You fucking system bastard! Answer me!”

After making a scene for a while, I eventually had to give up.

Anyway, that fucking trait was the real culprit.

I don’t know what the ‘attention of the Stars’ means, but I can guess it has the effect of drawing immense aggro from Othergods.

Yet, this trait didn’t come with any good effects to offset that dog-like aggro.

It didn’t make people fall for whatever I blabbered, nor did it increase my charm.

It seemed to be a penalty trait with no pros, only cons.

“I need to find a way to delete it quickly…”

What were the ways to delete a trait?

The moment I tried to recall the memory, the system, which had been silent all along, popped up another notification.

[

SYSTEM:

A trait once granted by the ‘Stars’ cannot be revoked even by the ‘Stars’ themselves.]

“What?”

My face contorted.

No, more importantly, you system bastard, why didn’t you answer before but you’re answering now?

“What kind of trash trait is this?”

As I muttered, the system window displayed a new notification.

[

SYSTEM:

A ‘Star Mark’ is a trait that can only be possessed by those who have achieved great feats. Simply possessing it increases one’s ‘Affinity’.]

“…What is Affinity?”

[

SYSTEM:

A being who has accumulated sufficient ‘Affinity’ can transcend mortality.]

“So you’re saying it’s a way to become a god? Is that why even the Othergods, who are already gods, are sensitive to new Star Marks?”

The system window remained silent.

I asked again.

“…Is there any way to take over someone else’s Star Mark?”

This time, an answer was outputted.

[

SYSTEM:

There are two ways.]

[

SYSTEM:

The first is complete unification. If A absorbs B to achieve unification, all of B’s achievements become things accomplished by B, who was ‘A’s Avatar,’ and thus transform into A’s achievements.]

Avatar…

That reminds me a bit of Hinduism.

In Hinduism, they have completely different gods but call them all ‘Avatars’ of Vishnu.

I think they even viewed the Buddha as an avatar of Vishnu…

More importantly, doesn’t ‘absorption’ essentially mean being eaten?

Especially the ‘absorption’ performed by Mother Aellusia…

‘It’ll be crunch, munch, yum yum.’

I pressed my brow firmly and spoke.

“What’s the second way?”

[

SYSTEM:

The second is to make them a subordinate god. A superior god can use the Star Marks accumulated by a subordinate god and the Divine Power derived from them as their own.]

[

SYSTEM:

The more different the origins of the ‘Essence’ are, the greater the risk of the first method.]

Hearing the system’s words, a glimmer of hope appeared.

‘Mother Aellusia’s essence was evolution and mutation.’

Whatever the essence of the Miracle of the Silver Tongue is, it seems to have almost nothing in common with ‘evolution.’

‘Since it might be dangerous, wouldn’t she try to win me over rather than eat me?’

But the system would not let me keep that hope.

[

SYSTEM:

However, if the difference in Affinity is too great, the risk of the first method becomes negligible.]

“…….”

Is this system bastard answering just to watch me despair?

Every single fact it tells me is absolute garbage.

I gave up on trying to smooth the wrinkles in my brow.

Regardless, the information provided by the system was important.

‘Right now, ‘Affinity’ is a burden beyond my station, but I’m in a situation where I can’t throw it away.’

Then, there are about three methods left to consider.

Die before being caught by the Mother God.

Rather than being hunted and eaten, I could just commit suicide.

Mother Aellusia can only extract data from a freshly dead corpse.

Even a ‘profane one’ who resurrects corpses cannot preserve traits unless they are related to the physical body.

So, if I die early, there’s no chance of being used.

Just in case, it would be best to arrange for the cleanup so no corpse remains before killing myself.

Of course, this is a method to be attempted only as a last, last resort.

Even if I have to live as a serf in this godforsaken Medieval-land, I’m still afraid of dying.

Accumulate more Affinity and become the Mother God’s subordinate god.

If I accumulate enough Affinity that it becomes burdensome for her to eat me, negotiation might be possible.

Especially if I accumulate Affinity that is vastly different from Mother Aellusia’s essence, the probability of her not eating me will increase.

The problem is, I have no idea what Affinity is or how to accumulate it.

I don’t know if things classified as ‘achievements’ count toward Affinity, but in my current situation, achievement-hunting is nearly impossible.

And the third method is…

Seek refuge in the Order Sect.

Siding with Loclem, the God of Order and Judgment.

Conclude is not a game where Othergods fight each other.

It is a game where Othergods survive while avoiding the eyes of the Order Sect.

While it’s said that Othergods possess immense power in outer space, they cannot exert that power in the Dark Realm without influence.

In that sense, the Order Sect, which practically rules the Dark Realm, is an incomparably powerful entity within the confines of the Dark Realm compared to Othergods who haven’t even secured a contract.

Even if the Mother God succeeds in contracting her apostle over the other 14 candidates, she has only just reached the starting point of the game.

And the Order Sect is a terrifying arch-enemy that tightens the noose throughout the entire game.

If things go slightly awry, the Order Sect always wins.

‘If I don’t care about clearing the game, the Order Sect is actually very reliable.’

No matter how I think about it, the only answer is number 3.

‘If I leak just a bit of information to the Order Sect, I think I could end this in three months.’

I’ve come here as a prospective apostle of Happiness, but in reality, I’m the person who played as the ‘Mother God’ the most.

This means I know exactly where the Motherhood Church will hide to avoid the Order Sect immediately after the contract.

If I provide just that information, the Order Sect would be able to exterminate the heretics without leaving a single cockroach egg behind.

‘Of course, I’d die too if I did that.’

Othergods are the ultimate taboo; simply knowing about them is enough to make one a target of judgment.

If it’s discovered that I was a prospective contractor, the only result will be the stake.

Even if I make them acknowledge that I captured all the other prospective contractors and that my contribution was great, the result won’t change.

Because the more the Order Sect is grateful to me, the more sincerely they will burn me.

‘…On the grounds that I must be purified to avoid falling into hell.’

They might proclaim me a posthumous Saint after burning me, but they will burn me regardless.

Burning a person to make their sins vanish.

I can only describe it as chillingly primitive.

‘I’ll give up on intervening and just aim to be near the Order Sect.’

Come to think of it, even if I seek refuge, I don’t necessarily need to become a priest.

Being a chapel cleaner or a laundry worker would be enough.

As long as I’m near the Sacred Relics and Holy Knights, those heretics wouldn’t dare come close.

‘Rather, I must ensure I don’t meet any high-ranking priests.’

High-ranking priests are like intermediaries between ‘Loclem’ and humans.

Thus, Loclem might be able to read something from me through a high-ranking priest.

‘I need to find a job that is inconspicuous, insignificant, but always keeps me near the chapel.’

Frowning, I thought of keywords to output ‘memories.’

‘Order Sect… where should I look for the Order Sect. Priest. Church. Chapel…’

[Since there is no ‘Priest’ in the settlement, you must seek out the bell ringer, Antonio, if anything happens.]

A narration window appeared.

‘Bell ringer Antonio?’

[‘Bell ringer Antonio’ is sixty-three years old this year. He has only two daughters. When I called him ‘Priest,’ Antonio shook his head, saying he was not a priest, but he is a more devout and respectable person than any priest I have ever seen. He does everything alone without a single person to assist him. The time he rings the bell has never been wrong.]

‘Bell?’

[…“The God of Order made punctuality his doctrine, but to uphold this, he first had to teach what time is. That task was entrusted to the servants of the God of Order. They are now called ‘Bell’ ringers.”]

[“Everywhere the sound of the ‘bell’ is heard is a place watched over by the God of Order and Judgment.” These are words I hear every service.]

‘Now that I think about it, there were so many bell towers when I played Heretic Slayer.’

[The first thing built in a settlement is a ‘bell tower.’ I also had to participate in building the bell tower. In the procession carrying the consecrated bell, there was a knight. The knight’s warhorse had black fur with a white mark only on its forehead, and it ate twice as much as the pack horses. I prepared that fodder.]

‘Wait, why the sudden TMI about the horse?’

Couldn’t you give me a more detailed description of the knight?

However, even when I thought of keywords like armor, knight, or sword, no narration was outputted. I only gained information on how to make fodder.

‘Well, I guess that stuff wouldn’t be very important to a serf.’

For now, I decided to find Antonio.

‘I’ll ask if they have any special recruitment for the Order Sect.’

8 – #008