The Life of a Wise Cult Leader - Chapter 6

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Fire

‘Random Skill Tree Unlock?’

A gacha.

A gacha in reality!

[Random Skill Tree Unlock Ticket 1 time]

A golden glittering coin spins round and round in the center of my vision.

It would have been nice if it were a selective unlock ticket instead of random, or an item…

But right now I’m in a situation where I lack even one skill or one item, so I have no choice.

I entered the alley and looked at the Random Skill Tree Unlock Ticket. Better to use it now than save it and have it turn to shit.

‘Use it.’

When I thought it loudly in my mind, a roulette wheel spun before my eyes.

On the antique-designed roulette, 100-point skills and skills full of question marks spun round and round.

And with tick, tick sounds, the roulette gradually came to a stop.

‘Please…! Please something good! Not something like that 3-point Weakness Detection! Since it’s a gacha anyway, something like a 100-point one…!’

I prayed earnestly in my mind. If there had been no one around, I would have even knelt down.

Soon after, the same fanfare sound as when the status window appeared rang in my brain. A simple icon and text appeared before my eyes.

[Divine Aura Lv 1 : You can now emit the aura of a ‘god’. (Cannot turn OFF)]

…I can emit a Divine Aura?

That’s it?

I can’t even turn it off?

What kind of bullshit… it’s even level 1.

[Points needed for LV. 2 : 20 points]

And to upgrade it to level 2, I have to pay another 20 points?

Should I be grateful there’s no percentage-based enhancement?

I swallowed my curses.

Right, cursing won’t change anything anyway. Getting angry and going crazy here won’t change a single thing…

‘But still, this isn’t right! What am I supposed to do by emitting an aura…’

I was swallowing my tears internally when a thought crossed my mind and I stopped, straightening my posture.

‘Wait a minute.’

This might actually be useful.

I looked at [Weakness Detection : 3] in the skill tree.

I covered my mouth with my hand. I felt like laughter might burst out.

‘Actually, this is good. It could be troublesome if I got some weird attack skill. What I need to do in the first place is…’

[Main Quest! Spread faith to people all over the world.]

Make believers.

[Number of believers: 1]

[System: If believers remain at ‘1’ after 04:59 minutes, physical collapse will begin in stages.]

[Sub Quest(2): Gather 20 believers.]

That weird translated sentence was bothering me though.

Anyway, a good idea came to mind.

‘Purchase Weakness Detection.’

[New skill: Weakness Detection!]

[Owned Skills]

-Weakness Detection Lv. 1

-Divine Aura(passive) Lv.1

[Points : 0]

Now it was time for to shine.

*

I wandered around the city center to spread faith.

Spreading faith also starts with one step. Beginning with exploration.

Various gazes were directed at me.

Probably…

[Divine Aura(passive) Lv.1]

It’s because of this.

Even though I’m wearing a robe like this, does it still have an effect? For a level 1 skill, it was quite effective.

I didn’t sell the gold coins, gems, and jewelry I obtained from the ancient ruins at the market, but kept them.

In a frontier village like this, not the capital, there’s nowhere that deals with such things.

I planned to visit the Information Merchant Guild or merchants in the capital who deal with precious metals later. Of course, only if it’s the same as the game.

‘Nothing much to see.’

It’s probably because this isn’t the capital.

I was disappointed to see that the market in this fantasy game world wasn’t particularly spectacular.

‘Let me just check out the blacksmith shop.’

Since this village at least had a blacksmith shop, I decided to stop by briefly before returning home.

Nothing special… since I was out, I thought I’d maintain the sword I had.

The owner of the blacksmith shop wasn’t human, as befitting a fantasy setting.

‘Seeing it in person is quite… fascinating.’

Since this isn’t a game anymore, would thinking like this be racial discrimination?

The thought that it might be okay since this is a medieval fantasy setting without human rights conflicted with a modern person’s mindset that racial discrimination is still wrong.

I thought this while looking at the dwarf before me…

*

Clang.

A roughly crafted brass bell announces a customer’s arrival.

Esdar, a dwarf from the northern highlands, turned his head to check the customer and was about to go there.

No.

He was about to go.

Corpse corpse corpse corpse

“Hello, sister.”

Esdar was startled for a moment and dropped the hammer he was holding.

Clang!

At the sound of dropping the hammer, Esdar came to his senses.

Simply because ‘that thing’ was standing there, his grip loosened, and the hammer, precious enough to be called a blacksmith’s conviction and pride, fell miserably to the floor.

His heart beat loudly. Cold sweat broke out.

My breath stopped…

Am I even breathing right now?

Breathing? Hold your breath. Don’t let even the sound of breathing be heard.

Hands hands hands hands

“Oh…”

A gentle voice reached Esdar’s ears.

“Oh my… how pitiful… you’re frightened. Are you feeling fear? Don’t be so tense. We were all created and born under various gods, weren’t we…? Isn’t that right?”

Esdar slowly nodded at his words.

Then drops of sweat that had trickled down his chin fell to the stone floor, creating several dark gray marks.

Because if he didn’t agree, that thing standing before him seemed ready to kill him…

No. It would kill him.

Those hands and wrists without a shred of muscle were terrifying. Surely if they arm-wrestled, he who had worked as a blacksmith for 50 years would definitely win.

“Yes. May I ask your name, sister?”

The lower face barely visible beneath the robe moved. An androgynous voice flowed from the fair skin and smooth lips.

Judging by appearance alone, it would surely be an adult elf, but his intuition told him that was absolutely not the case.

He quickly came to his senses and hastily opened his mouth.

“E-Esdar. Esdar from the Northern Highlands.”

His voice cracked terribly, perhaps due to nervousness.

Esdar earnestly prayed to him, hoping he wouldn’t feel displeasure at this voice.

“Esdar. So you’re called Esdar. It has a nice ring to it. Now, Esdar. Don’t be nervous. I won’t cause you any harm. I’ve just… come to make a very small request.”

I’ve just come to make a request.

The unknown being spoke gently while keeping its sharp nails retracted.

“What is…”

“You just need to maintain this sword. Quite easy, isn’t it?”

Easy.

Even if asked to forge a famous sword right here and now, he would have done it.

If that wasn’t possible, he would have stolen one to do it.

“Yes. J-just wait a moment and I’ll polish it for you.”

“I’m grateful for your warm consideration, sister. This is a small token of my gratitude.”

What he presented was a sword wrapped in cloth and gold coins given as payment for maintaining that sword.

Gold coins! It was enough to make a new sword and still have money left over.

What kind of famous sword could it be that he’d give gold coins just for one maintenance?

With faint expectations, he unwrapped the cloth covering the sword.

“…?”

Before the blacksmith’s eyes was revealed an ordinary Knights’ supply sword.

It was a sword so terribly chipped and dulled that it looked like it couldn’t even cut a carrot.

A sword that anyone could see didn’t seem like something that person would use.

“Is this really the right sword?”

“Yes. Though it may look shabby… it’s a sword with special meaning to me.”

Esdar nodded.

Even if a sword looked worthless, it could have different meanings for each individual. This was something he had learned from 50 years of blacksmith work.

“Even as a token of gratitude… gold coins are too large an amount for just one refinement. If it wouldn’t be rude, would it be alright to do additional work on the sword?”

“Then I would be grateful.”

“If I start work today, it will be completed in a week. Please come find me then.”

It asked with delight.

“Ah, might you know where those who suffer without receiving treatment stay?”

“That would be… there’s a novice doctor in Moon Village behind there. I’m not sure if the patients are suffering from illness, but there’s a doctor who gathers sick people and treats them, trying to cure incurable diseases.”

“I see. Ah, I would be grateful if you could keep my visit here a secret.”

“O-of course. I’ll do so with my life on the line. Dwarves of the Northern Highlands keep their promises on their honor.”

“Thank you. May you always have light, sister.”

It clasped both hands together, bowed deeply, and left.

Clang.

The door creaked in response to the rebound.

And when the door slowly came to a stop, Esdar’s legs gave out and he collapsed to the floor with a thud.

*

I wondered if just one gold coin wouldn’t be enough, but with one gold coin I even got additional work.

‘Wow~ As expected, medieval people in fantasy worlds are kind, huh?’

Just the resources used for +12 item enhancement alone cost how much. To get that much for one gold coin, the prices were really cheap.

The city was so strict about heretics and cults, and I’m the ultimate cult among cults so I was trembling with fear, but individuals are this kind.

However, his health didn’t seem good, as he trembled while talking with me. Still, he seems to be the most skilled blacksmith in this area, so it should be fine.

It’s a pretty decent life. Even though I’m a medieval newbie who hasn’t even lived here for three full days.

‘I’ve entrusted the sword, and it seems I’ve looked around most of the village…’

Now, shall we go get some real work done?

I headed to the hillside shantytown the blacksmith had told me about. I didn’t need directions.

Since the town wasn’t very big, there was only one place that could be called a hillside shantytown anyway.

‘A rookie doctor working at this hour, in this place, even in the slums.’

If my prediction was correct, it was a named NPC.

Someone who could say they know me better than the original Lumière.

‘Kardil. An NPC also known as the Healer of Ruin.’

The reason I know him well is because he gives healing relics.

Cardil was a priest belonging to the Central Church who worked as a healer while wandering from village to village, and was known by the epithet “the wandering healer.”

In the process, they discover a healing relic and turn it over to the religious order.

But the game story was that after witnessing the Central Church’s tyranny, he had a change of heart and earned the nickname ‘Destruction,’ eventually becoming their enemy.

During this process, players could obtain healing relics by making the appropriate choices.

But the problem was that the existence of the healing relic was unknown before Cardil got his hands on it.

Since this was information that even the game company hadn’t released, gamers had no choice but to seek out Kardil as their only option.

‘The blacksmith called him a novice doctor earlier. That means this was before he earned the nickname “Wandering Healer.”‘

It seems they discovered Cardil from his days belonging to the Central Church, which was part of the very early story in the game’s world setting.

‘If I play this right… I might even be able to get my hands on a healing relic?’

Things have gotten easier.

I wandered around the hillside slum excitedly, then opened the tent flap and entered what was clearly a makeshift hospital.

‘The ceiling is so low that I have to bend over. How utterly wretched.’

I casually sat down on the wooden chair placed in front of the door. The creaking sound it made suggested it would break at any moment.

‘They look busy, so they’d probably get annoyed if I talk to them, right? I should just stay quiet.’

Cardil was officially bad-tempered.

He goes around doing good deeds, but his personality is so bad that he gets criticized wherever he goes.

I didn’t want to unnecessarily damage my initial favorability rating. He was already the type who disliked humans in general.

I watched the man busily moving from bed to bed.

Pale skin and hair the color of an overcast sky. Soiled priestly robes. Dark circles under sharp eyes made him look visibly exhausted.

He diligently went from bed to bed, caring for the patients.

I leaned back in my chair with my legs crossed, staring at it.

He even pulled his robe’s hood down low, worried that his aura might cause suffering to the sick.

I wish someone would see how considerate I am and bring me a healing relic.

‘She’s really working hard. I know she’s just a game character, but I actually feel respect for her. She’s not even getting paid for this. The only thing I’ve ever worked this hard at is gaming… Hmm, now that I think about it, I’ve really lived a trash life!’

Cardil straightened his bent back and let out a slow sigh. It seemed he was finally going to rest.

He turned his head. Our eyes met. I slowly removed my robe’s hood.

It’s polite to remove your hat when greeting someone. Though of course, that’s not necessarily common sense that applies even in fantasy worlds.

I waved at Cardil, who looked even paler than before he removed his hood.

Smile. Smile.

A friendly-looking smile is one of the important elements for a cult leader.

“Hello?”

“…”

Was he flustered because I came so suddenly?

Cardil’s expression twisted when he saw me. He spoke with a trembling voice.

“This isn’t a place for someone like you to come.”

I take back what I said about medieval people in fantasy worlds being kind.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————