Chapter 50 050

Seojin stared at Bishop Crown's face, wondering what that thing could be. He knew a few things about Luna's holy artifacts, but there was no way that the bishop of such a small diocese could have such a valuable item.

'Should I ask?'

Seojin could act boldly and ask the bishop if he had to know all the odds and trinkets in this small church. But what if it was a really important item and it was stored here for unavoidable reasons?

'It'd be a game over for me. The odds aren't that low given that the captain took action himself in this matter.'

"You said it's in where 'that thing' is, am I correct?"

"Yes, I'm following what Goddess taught us… that the darkness should stay with the light…"

Bishop Crown mumbled, blatantly checking Seojin's mood.

'Did he do something wrong?'

Seojin decided it'd be safer to ask and raised one eyebrow as if he didn't like the man's answer.

"Hm."

"…!"

The effect was sufficient, as Bishop Crown began to scramble to make excuses like he was possessed. Seojin got a rough grasp on the situation. The "thing" seemed to be a very precious object managed by the church itself and was the reason for the ward that the Captain of the Holy Knights had constructed. Yet Bishop Crown was raising the 'darkness' next to it.

'Light and darkness… these bastards are cherry-picking from Luna's words.'

Seojin let out a wry laugh to reassure the freaked-out bisho".

"I wasn't blaming you. I'm sure you had your own reasons."

"That…"

"I mean it, I also don't like to repeat my words"

"I apologize, and I appreciate your understanding. It's actually a matter of efficiency… fortunately, I can give you something useful, Brother Ludwig"

"I wanted to let our Goddess know of your sincerity, that is all"

"I just stay in the diocese all day long. It would be my pleasure to share such a chance with you."

Bishop Crown was relieved and started brown-nosing as a reflex, pretending he was happy to give Ludwig more gifts. Seojin stood up first.

"The Goddess must be pleased to see her followers taking care of each other. Lead the way then."

"Yes, brother."

'What the hell is he hiding?"

Bishop Crown led Seojin to an underground staircase that was lit by only a few torches.

Skill: Stanceshift has worn off

Seojin smacked his lips as he read the message that suddenly popped up.

'…I have to choose my words more carefully from now on.'

He used his lying skill when he first met the apprentice priest and used the threatening skill the moment Bishop Crown had showed his face. He still had persuasion in his arsenal, but he didn't want to use that here. However, Bishop Crown's attitude remained unchanged.

'People believe what they want to believe.'

The devs of Midgard were amazing, almost mad geniuses. All of the NPCs reacted as if they were real people as soon as they became active. All Seojin had to do was figure out their personalities and tell them the stories they wanted to hear.

'Skills are merely there for support.'

NPCs weren't as complicated as real people, and that made Seojin's job easier in some ways. He could see that the devs had put a lot of effort in, but dealing with NPCs was much easier than dealing with real people.

'Even more so because I knew about Luna.'

Seojin spilled something that only the higher-ups of the church would know, and Bishop Crown lost any sense of doubt that might have remained as soon as he heard about the thirteenth moo".

"This is it."

Bishop Crown stopped when he reached the deepest part of the church.

"Well."

Seojin hid the astonished gasp that almost leaked out and acted like his surroundings were decent at best.

"You put a lot of effort into it"

:I'm just happy that the right one is taking it"

"We are all the same humble servants of the… forget it. This isn't the place for that. We each have something the other wants, so let us hurry."

"Thank you, may our partnership last long."

"You don't have to worry about it."

Bishop Crown's smile widened. Seojin was a lifeline for him, a thick, huge lifeline that had come out of nowhere. He wouldn't be this cooperative if Seojin had tried to act enigmatic, and Seojin knew that keeping it straight would make the bishop happier.

"I'll take my leave, then."

"The door?"

Seojin stared at the huge door that was covered in platinum.

"I thought it'd be better if you opened it by…"

"…Do you expect me to open it myself,"

"No, I simply did not want to steal your credit."

The bishop scurried over to the door.

'Yes, you should open the door.'

That door was a ward created from holy power. It would take a huge amount of holy power to break it, and Seojin would be busted immediately if the bishop left him alone to open it. A blue light gushed out of the Bishop's body, similar to the distinctive colors of the Luna Faith

Seojin desperately acted like he was unimpressed as he faced the wave of holy power.

'Looks like he didn't earn the position by winning at poker…'

It felt like he was enduring a tornado. Seojin folded his arms as naturally as possible with his back against the wall, acting as if the scene in front of him was child's play.

'You're gonna squash me flat at this rate, punk!'

All he could do was curse with his eyes. The pressure finally stopped around ten minutes after.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting due to my weak faith."

Bishop Crown smiled brightly with a sweaty face. To him, Seojin was a VIP who'd make his life much easier, Too bad I can't show it to that foolish devotee, but… there's nothing I can do about that.'

Bishop Crown's original plan was to rip off the devotee some more, but the current situation wasn't that bad either. Perhaps just showing him the broken seal could work, too.

"Go, I'll call you when I'm finished."

"Yes, of course."

Bishop Crown left, leaving Seojin to himself and… he flopped down.

'Whoa, one second longer and I'd have fainted.'

He gritted his teeth as he tried to endure the holy power. It was even more painful since he couldn't show that he was barely holding it together. The game didn't simulate pain, but it was not pleasant to feel like all of the strength in his body had been drained out. Flappy flew around in front of him.

"Ye okay, partner?"

"I'm all right, but, uh… hmm…"

Seojin looked over at the open door and it was pitch black inside. It wasn't just darkness that was blocking his vision, but a black fog. Flappy peeped into the fog.

"Whut did thay put in thare?"

"A demon, a demonoid monster, to be precise."

"A demon? Yer mean thuh Bishop wuz raisin' uh demon? Ah know Luna wuz uh pushover, but…."

"Huh, a pushover, looks like the devs kept the lore right."

Flappy tilted her head as Seojin smiled bitterly.

"Wadja mean by thet?"

"Nothing. Anyway, they are indeed raising a demon in order to purify it for themselves. 'My Goddess, see what your faithful follower has achieved,' you know? Luna rewards such shameless actions as well."

They knew that Luna would reward them for such cheap behavior.

"And what does that mean?"

"No, just follow the Bishop. Check and see if he's planning to do something funny."

"Thayure is two thangs thet make thuh spirit angry, wun iz refusin' tuh elaborate an…"

"The other is being threatened with magic stones. Chop-chop."

Flappy put her small hands on her waist and glared at Seojin. However, Seojin was the boss here.

"…Ahm off thayn."

"Good girl."

Flappy pouted as she left to follow the Bishop. Seojin turned to the opened gate, looking directly into the dungeon and its mysterious darkness. The moment he stepped into the entrance that smelled like rewards galore…

Discovered: Hidden Dungeon.

Warning! Ten-person party recommended.

Are you sure you want to proceed?

Seojin raised his eyebrows upon seeing the warning. The dungeon must be challenging, considering that a five-man team was the norm for ordinary dungeons. Seojin entered happily.

Entering: Hidden Dungeon — Deep Sea Passage

Seojin was wondering what the Deep Sea Passage was as he heard a screeching sound.

"A living mortal… here?"

A huge skeleton appeared, screaming in a scratchy voice. The monster was dripping with an evil aura from its every joint. Seojin couldn't care less about the insidious monster.

"What the hell is that?"

He was looking at behind the skeleton, where it looked like a transparent wall was holding off the water. Beyond that, was a long glass tube reminiscent of an undersea tunnel.

"What an ignorant…"

"Be quiet for a second, let me think. There's a huge problem here."

Stanceshift: Persuasion Without a Price.

Effective:10 Minutes.

After casting his skill, Seojin drew closer to the unexpected underwater passage.

* * *

Standing in the office of the Seventh Order's guildmaster, Lian reported with a calm face.

"He's gone."

"So?"

"Did you see his post on the community page?"

"I did."

"He said that he was going to take a break."

"What? Do you want to take a break too?"

Henrite's eyes were fierce, but Lian sighed with a grim, exhausted look on his face.

"The fatigue is killing me, I haven't slept in days. Why doesn't this game have any safeguards?"

"Maybe it's for the safety of players."

"If they cared about the safety of the players they would make a playtime restriction option, like, no more than nine hours per day."

"I meant the safety of your job. Do you think that you wouldn't get in trouble if you didn't carry out my orders because of that system?"

"You're the kind of leader who appreciates how hard we try, so I never worried about that."

"Well, you'd better."

"Okay, I guess so. Should I keep waiting then?"

"Wait."

Henrite swept over his chin. Seojin, the prominent adventurer, was blatantly challenging the Ironbloods. Henrite would also be reprimanded if he failed to catch him in Erzebet, as that region was his responsibility.

'I'm sure he didn't quit the game.'

It was definitely just a ruse. Seojin may have left that location through other means, and might be still playing as they speak.

'Maybe we need to start a manhunt.'

It didn't seem easy for Lian alone, even if he had a variety of skills. He even had to suffer penalties because he was in a low-level town.

"…Take a nap."

"That's more like it. I pledge my loyalty to you, guildmaster."

"Stay sharp, you'll have to give up your position if you fail to find him. There are many kids who want to take your place."

"I'll stay sharp once I've taken a nap."

"Okay."

Lian left the room, letting out a short sigh.

'…Goddamn edgelord, it's not like he's paying me anyway.'

Lian was thirty-three years old, which meant he wasn't proud when he told his friends that his job was playing a game. And now he had to serve his edgelord boss too.

'Guildmasters have too much power. We really could use a separate human resources team. Right now, it's more like an ancient regime.'

He was still planning to do jobs that paid him, but people would laugh at him if they found out what he was doing right now. He would also mock someone if their job was to follow, threaten, and recruit a newbie.

'Poor dude, how'd he draw that creep's attention? Well, says the guy who follows the creep…'

A sense of shame rushed in. He was able to defy the guildmaster because of that feeling. He could at least make a living, by buying equipment and running raids with the money he had saved, if he was fired.

'But how the hell could he vanish, even from me?'

Lian was curious, but he still disconnected. His first priority was to sleep in order to survive.