The Life of a Wise Cult Leader - Chapter 93

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

[Error]

 

When I opened my eyes, I saw Erendor with blood streaming from his eyes.

“Kugh….”

I can’t… breathe….

 

[Error]

 

“Hey hey. It’s okay, friend. Breathe slowly.”

“Cough.”

I coughed up the hot liquid that filled everything from my lungs to my mouth.

 

[Data Deletion]

 

“That’s right. Now, breathe.”

Erendor half-embraced me and patted my back. In my blurry vision, blood stained Erendor’s shoulder.

I had been spitting up blood.

But… why?

‘I can’t remember.’

I had no memory from the point when I entered the room and Viola put handcuffs on me.

My memory…

 

[Emergency Protocol Executing]

 

“Don’t think about doing anything, don’t have strange thoughts. Friend. You just… just slept for a while.”

Erendor patted my back in a steady rhythm while whispering in my ear.

I didn’t know why he was acting like overprotective parents, but I figured he must have his reasons.

And right now I was extremely… extremely tired.

I wanted to sleep.

 

[Creating Temporary Character File…]

 

“Erendor….”

I mumbled with a hoarse voice, buried in his shoulder.

“I’ll properly deal with whoever hurt my friend. Go take a nice nap.”

He was someone I could no longer trust, but….

I was too sleepy.

So I decided to take a nap as he said.

My eyelids closed as if weighted with lead.

 

*

 

“As expected, it really is a body containing Divine Power.”

Erendor looked at the Ascetic who was leaning limply against his body like a puppet with cut strings.

There were still cracks here and there on his cheeks and forearms. Restoration of the body would probably take some time.

“Uweeek….”

Erendor picked up the Ascetic and kicked Viola, who was rolling around under the dining table, clutching her head and vomiting.

“See. You knew I’d get angry, yet you tried to kill my friend. There’s a reason I call someone my friend….”

The Ascetic’s body was long and not suitable for carrying for extended periods.

“Well, I knew that was your personality, but I didn’t expect you to suddenly kill the Ascetic in a fit of rage.”

He needed to get Viola out of this place.

The room where the Ascetic had died once was already surging with some kind of energy….

If they stayed in this house for long, they’d gradually change like Viola, who had now become nearly an idiot.

“Still, it’s fortunate you tried to kill him cleanly. If there had been more damage to the Ascetic’s body, you probably would have died in less than a second.”

Erendor roughly kicked Viola far away. Then he laid the Ascetic down in the grass field, went into the room to grab a blanket, and set the house on fire.

Before long, the house was completely ablaze, leaving only ash.

The large wooden framework was burning, and only stone things like the hearth remained.

After burning down the house completely, Erendor headed to where the Ascetic lay.

The Ascetic lay buried under the blanket he had covered him with, not even breathing, while Viola just lay there like a sack, staring blankly at the sky.

“Get up, idiot.”

Erendor kicked Viola hard. He seemed to have broken several ribs, but that wasn’t his concern.

“Kugh.”

Alertness returned to her vacant eyes due to the pain.

“Monster….”

Viola muttered. Erendor kicked the same spot again. A death cry of “Ugh!” echoed through the forest.

“Watch your mouth.”

“Where is that bastard.”

With bloodshot eyes, Viola crawled on the ground with arms that had no strength, searching for the Ascetic.

“What, going to try killing him again?”

“He’s not human.”

“Well, of course he’s not human….”

Erendor muttered as if annoyed and picked up the Ascetic.

“I have to kill him. Kill him and… burn him, bury him, I have to kill him. I have to kill him. Something like that shouldn’t exist. I should praise… no, what am I saying. Such a glorious person, no. Glory? What kind of thought is this?”

Erendor just struck her solar plexus to put Viola to sleep too.

“Should I just leave her here.”

But then Violin would nag him every time she saw him. That tiny thing has such a loud voice.

Erendor picked up the Ascetic with both hands. Then he gestured with his chin toward Ifrit, pointing at Viola.

“Just carry her along.”

Ifrit, who was completely scared because of the Ascetic, tremblingly dragged Viola as if hiding behind her and followed Erendor.

He planned to go to his own house.

 

*

 

[Loading…]

[Attempting Recovery]

[Error]

[Creating Temporary Character File]

[Success]

[System Temporarily Paralyzed]

 

*

 

A pleasant breeze brushes my cheek.

How long did I sleep?

When I opened my eyes, I saw the ceiling of a family home with sunlight streaming in appropriately.

I blinked my terribly dry eyes.

My thoughts were subtly slow. It felt like I had woken up from a very deep sleep.

Where was I before sleeping that I’m here now?

I felt the soft sheets with my hand. Then I slowly sat up.

“Hmm….”

My throat was parched dry. I wanted water.

When I turned my head, I saw a large window. Outside the window was a peaceful foreign countryside scenery.

‘Where is this?’

My stomach churned while a sharp headache rang through my head.

“Ugh.”

My memories seemed fragmented.

‘What… what kind of person was I?’

I… no, why am I here?

Ah, my thoughts aren’t connecting properly.

The last thing I remember is Erendor’s face.

Who is Erendor? A man. A character from a game. Wait, a game? Was this inside a game? What kind of person was I? Inside a game? A game? This?

 

[Loading temporary character file…]

[Reconnecting]

 

*

 

Rustle.

Unnaturally long white hair fluttered in the wind, tickling my cheek.

‘Ah.’

 

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

 

[Penalty for failure: Death]

 

Then white text appeared in the center of my vision as if being typed on a typewriter.

Right, I’m an ‘Ascetic.’

 

[Logout Penalty]

[Data Loss]

 

But the current me is an Ascetic yet not an Ascetic. Just a temporary character that overwrote the save file.

-Character Recovery Work until…. 0%-

Right, if a system window had appeared, it would have looked like this.

Memory data was fragmented. The unrealistic feeling of my body floating and the jumbled memory data…

My current quest would be this.

Temporary Quest – Recover the ‘Ascetic’s’ memories, upload the data file, and complete character recovery.

 

[System temporarily paralyzed]

[Until system recovery: 15 days]

 

A real system window was floating in the corner of my vision.

15 days until system recovery.

‘This will cause problems with bringing the Sacred Relic.’

The Sacred Relic penalty that the Ascetic was concerned about was… how many days was it? I couldn’t tell since I couldn’t see the days on the status window.

Creak.

I heard the sound of a door opening.

“You’re awake? Friend. I was worried since you weren’t waking up for quite a while.”

It’s someone I know.

“…Erendor.”

 

-Character Recovery Work until…. 1%-

 

Even though it was my own voice, it felt strange.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

I shook my head. Then I stared blankly out the window.

“Where is this?”

“…It’s my house.”

I looked at Erendor.

He didn’t look very happy.

“You had an accident, so I brought you to my house to recuperate. About 20 days have passed now.”

“20 days.”

As I muttered, he handed me water.

“You slept for a long time, didn’t you?”

I sipped the water. The act of drinking itself felt unnatural. Like a child just learning to take their first steps.

I manipulated my vocal cords to produce a voice.

“Do you know my name?”

“Sernuan Lumiere. But friend, you preferred to be called Ascetic rather than your real name. You’re living as a Saint of the Empire.”

Throb.

An excessive amount of memory data came back to life.

 

-Character Recovery Work until…. 10%-

 

“Are your memories not intact right now?”

“That’s right.”

“This is a big problem.”

He ruffled his own hair. I looked out the window again.

The Ascetic had something to do… but I can’t remember.

“Your body isn’t well right now either, so rest a bit more. Um, until your memories become complete.”

Though my memories and emotions are jumbled, I still remember that he’s not usually this kind.

 

-Character Recovery Work until…. 11%-

 

“Why?”

“Uh… well, you became like this because of my comrade. I’m repaying you. Like an after-care service.”

…Still, he wasn’t usually this kind.

“Of course that’s part of it, but before that, you’re my friend.”

“Friend?”

I have no memory of Erendor being a friend.

But if it was a gap in memory due to data loss, I could understand it to some degree.

I nodded at his words.

It didn’t matter if it was a lie. Because I could kill him anytime.

“Should I brush your hair?”

“…?”

“You used to like being neat and tidy.”

Did I?

 

-Character Recovery Work until…. 11%-

 

The data couldn’t find any related files.

But since he spoke that way, the word ‘friend’ seemed to be true enough.

I let him arrange my hair. My disheveled hair became neat and twisted here and there like his.

“Ta-da.”

He brought a mirror to show me.

In the mirror was a man with well-groomed hair and golden eyes. An expressionless face. A pale white face with cracks running across his cheeks and eyes.

 

-Character Recovery Work until…. 15%-

 

I don’t like it.

Displeasure surged up.

I frowned. Then the mirror shattered into pieces and burst apart.

“Oh. Right, you might not want to look in mirrors.”

He only raised his eyebrows briefly and didn’t seem very surprised. Then he familiarly picked me up and sat me on the sofa next to the room.

“It’s dangerous because of the mirror fragments. Stay still.”

I tilted my head.

Why?

A mirror is a tool for reflecting people. There shouldn’t be… any danger.

Just then, a mirror fragment had fallen at my feet. I bent down to pick up the mirror fragment and fidgeted with it.

Then reddish liquid spurted from my finger.

Is this blood?

“Oh my. You’ve had an accident.”

He snatched the fragment from my hand and threw it out the window. Then he held both my hands with one hand and shouted beyond the door.

“Viola! Bring the medical kit!”

Viola.

I think I’ve heard that somewhere before.

 

-Character Recovery Work until…. 16%-

 

Soon after, another man enters the room. He sees me and hesitates. There’s a distinct smell of fear.

Why?

When I slowly tilted my head, the subject fell into even more fear and dropped the box.

For some reason, creating such emotions in humans doesn’t seem very good.

It would be better to act favorably.

Then… well, make my tone gentle. While adjusting my voice tone….

 

-Character Recovery Work until…. 20%-

 

“Are you afraid?”

Yes, I think it was like this.

A memory fragment fits together in my head.

Erendor made a subtle ‘expression’. The other person’s expression turned to panic.

Ah, expressions.

I smiled. The act of drawing a curved line with my mouth. It can bring reassurance and have positive effects.

But the other person seemed to fall into more panic.

I looked at Erendor.

“Hmm…. The reason that guy is scared of you is partly because you beat him until his brain turned to mush.”

I did?

Ascetics don’t use violence.

 

-Character Recovery Work until…. 21%-

 

“Your current aura, I guess you could call it. That’s in a very ominous state. That’s why.”

Aura?

“Power, I suppose, or essence? People usually call it the source.”

I think I know what he’s talking about.

Right now Sernuan Lumiere’s body is severely damaged, creating what’s commonly called a leak.

That flowing aura seems to have quite an effect on humans.

This was one of the skills originally managed by the system, so I hadn’t paid attention to it.

‘Divine Aura.’

Since the system was paralyzed, it had been leaking indiscriminately regardless of time and situation.

Indeed, Erendor was right to be a friend. If he weren’t a friend, he couldn’t have known such details.

But in the Ascetic’s memory data, there was no data of Erendor being a ‘friend’. It was probably omitted or deleted.

 

-Character Recovery Work until…. 21.1%-

 

Temporary Quest – Recover the ‘Ascetic’s’ memories to upload data files and complete character recovery.

I must perform this Quest. In this current bugged state, I can’t exist for long….

To do that, I need Erendor’s, that is, my ‘friend’s’ cooperation.

If he’s a friend, he should know the Ascetic well too, and then I could recover memory data faster.

“Why are you staring at me like that? When the Ascetic stares like that, it scares me too.”

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