The Evil God Beyond the Smartphone - Chapter 23

– [Roan-Hebrith] has made an offering to you.

– Offerings made to you: 21

– The effect of <Balance of Karma: Offering> is activated.

– Your karma has increased by about 42 in ratio to the number of offerings made to you.

Immediately after the offering ceremony, led by Archbishop Roan-Hebrith, was over.

I could confirm the message that I had acquired a considerable amount of karma.

The amount of karma gained through this ceremony was much higher than I had expected.

Although the amount of karma increased through the offerings was high, it was more mainly due to the special events that occurred.

As soon as Roan announced the establishment of the temple, a new event message was floating around.

– [Roan-Hebrith] has gained the <Religious Leader> trait.

– Karma increased by 5.

– [Roan-Heblis] has declared the birth of a Church.

– Karma has increased by 50.

Is it because I appointed Roan directly as Archbishop?

Or was it thanks to Roan getting on board and declaring the birth of the Church?

A message at the bottom of the screen stating that Roan has acquired the characteristics of ‘Religious Leader’.

Apparently, it appeared to be a trait that corresponded to the upper level of <Cultist> compatibility trait that Roan already possessed.

The sum of the karma I received as a result of the birth of the religious order and the acquisition of Roan’s characteristics was 55.

Combined with the karma I had gained through offerings and the karma I had collected through hunting, it was enough to raise my level.

– You have reached level 6.

– <Eye of the Observer (Lv.5)> grows.

– With <Eye of the Observer (Lv.6)> you are able to observe the continent with a clearer gaze than before.

Due to the enormous amount of newly gained karma, I have reached level 6.

Naturally, as my level increased, my <Eye of the Observer (Lv.5)> also reached a higher level.

No significant graphical upgrades or changes to the speech bubble.

However, I felt that the speed at which the screen moved was faster than before.

The range of permissible screen movement also seemed to have increased significantly compared to before.

In short, the map seemed to get bigger as the level increased.

“There doesn’t seem to be any graphical changes… The karma balance has changed something again.”

After the <Eye of the Observer> the next change was <Karma Balance>, which continued to output warning messages whenever the level increased.

New skills such as <Karma Balance: Offerings> were not activated as it used to be.

The changes that occurred this time were in response to what the system had previously warned about.

– Warning: karma that is excessively biased in one direction is likely to generate a <Causality Rate Correction>.

– The <Karma Balance> is tilted.

– A low level of <Causality Rate Correction> occurred.

– Heroes will appear due to <Causality Rate Correction>.

– Causality Rate Correction progression: 1%.

The Balance of Karma has always warned about the i<Causality Rate Correction>.

And the results of this have appeared today.

Emergence of heroes.

I don’t know exactly what kind of change will take place, but I was sure that it was something that would be a penalty for me.

I couldn’t help but whet my appetite for the newly floated message.

“If I hunt too hard, will the difficulty level increase?”

If a game is too easy, it is not fun.

Therefore, a certain amount of difficulty adjustment was an understandable part of the game.

However, the fact that such a change appeared after the creation of the religious was worrying.

Even if the heroes are boss monsters with special attributes, there are fewer elements that affect me.

It seemed more likely that the characters would attempt to sabotage me in the course of my hunt.

Unless I wanted to see my well-developed characters disappear, I would need to keep an eye on their tracks from time to time.

“It looks like the characters will have to be monitored closely from now on. And that next message… what is this again?”

After reviewing the contents of <Karma’s Balance<, I scrolled down again.

Normally, it was so far down that the message where the <Paid Goods Shop> was written.

However, the skill level did not increase this time, perhaps because the <Paid Goods Shop> had already increased its level once.

However, a message was written on it saying that a new skill had been acquired instead.

The skill i acquired this time skill called ‘Advent’.

– You have acquired ‘Advent’.

– Each time you fulfill the conditions listed below, your ‘Advent’ progression increases by one level.

– Available karma: 221/999,999 (not completed).

– ????? :0/1 (unfinished).

– ????? :0/1(unfinished).

– ????? 0/1(unfinished).

– ????? (unfinished)

Advent.

The word universally meant a divine being descending to earth.

I don’t know how gods descend to the world in the game, but my ‘Advent’ skill was a skill that could only be used by fulfilling five quests.

Even that was hidden by letters that I did not understand, apart from the fact that I had to collect one million karma.

It seemed that he had not yet reached the level at which he could unlock the quests.

It was not surprising that the quests were unlocked sequentially, as the content was mind-boggling from the very first quest.

“A million karma? That’s a really impossible number.”

Moreover, the first quest was to collect one million usable cumulative karma.

Seeing that the karma that went into making an apostle was not counted, it said that an additional one million had to be collected, excluding the karma that had been depleted.

The karma I have collected so far while playing the game is at most 300.

But I had to collect one million of karma.

It was a number that made me dizzy just thinking about it.

“But difficult games are what make them interesting.”

Despite this, there was no thought of giving up this game.

The game was one of the few escape routes that could cure my already exhausted mind from the work.

Also, the pleasure of clearing a game with a hard difficulty level is indescribable.

It was never for the simple reason that I had already paid more than 200,000 won for the game.

“…”

Probably so.

Maybe.

* * *

The night sky dimmed as the sun went down.

Euthenia was sitting beside Peter, who was gazing at the shining, glittering stars, and reading a book.

Perhaps it was because she could not see the letters properly under the dark night sky.

Euthenia appeared to be holding a luminescent stone with shadows stretched out.

After turning the page with her finger, Euthenia turned to Peter, who was looking at the night sky, and asked.

“Do you like the stars?”

“I used to like them when I was a child.”

Peter’s eyes gazed at the twinkling North Star .

After growing older, he devoted himself to farming, but as a child Peter loved the night sky.

He would connect the constellations one by one with his fingers as he looked at the faraway night sky.

This was the only game that Peter enjoyed as a little boy.

Of course, nowadays, the night sky has changed a lot since then.

“Was that the case when you were a child?”

“…Yes.”

“It’s a good hobby”

Peter, who was still looking sideways, smiled at the sight of Euthenia as she spoke, still looking at the book.

The place where he now stood was not the village where he had gazed at the stars as a child.

It was nothing more than a shabby bandit hideout in the steep mountains.

The village where he had gazed at the stars had already disappeared.

That too had happened in the hands of Euthenia, next to Peter.

Even if he looked up at the sky with sentimentality now, it was impossible for him to look at the sky the same way he did then.

“Do you like to look at the sky?”

Yet only the North Star still remained in place, glistening, and shining.

Upon seeing the light of the North Star, Peter asked Euthenia .

Euthenia’s eyes looked at the sky after turning the page once more.

“I think I might have liked it when I was a child,”

“How about now?”

“I don’t think I like it as much as I did then.”

Short, clear reply.

Hearing this, Peter opened his mouth .

“That’s a surprising answer.”

“Surprising?”

“I thought you would like the sky, because that’s the closest place to God.”

Hearing Peter’s story, Euthenia gave a faint smile.

God. And the sky.

Either way, there was no doubt that they were in existence shrouded in a countless number of veils.

At Peter’s question relating to the two, Euthenia stopped turning the page .

Instead, she looked at Peter and spoke to him.

“You seem to think so.”

“Aren’t you curious?”

“Is it where the Great One is?”

“Where do you think God is? Somewhere in that sky? Or beyond the numerous stars?”

Peter’s hand reached towards the sky .

He grasped the open sky with great strength, but there was nothing to hold in his hand.

The sky was such a place.

A place that was visible, but yet unreachable.

It was an unknown realm that was never allowed to humans.

“You seem to think that the Great One is in heaven.”

“I think sometimes if you can’t grasp what you can see, you can’t see what is held in your hand.”

“That’s a very interesting thought.”

“Am i wrong?”

Euthenia closed the book.

She then got up from the seat where she was reading the book and embraced the sacred object she had left next to her.

A thick magic flowed from Euthenia’s body as she embraced the book.

It was the surest and clearest proof that she was loved by a transcendent being.

“I am not a very great person, so I don’t know everything.”

“…”

“Nevertheless, the fact that He is always close to me and watching means that He is also remaining within me.”

Euthenia said, stroking the book she held in her arms.

These are the words of God’s chosen Apostle.

Peter could not argue with anything she said .

“I see.”

“It’s just my personal opinion, though.”

“If you, an apostle of God, say so, I don’t think it’s wrong.”

All Peter could do was agree with her.

Because Peter was not chosen by God.

The only thing that Peter knew about God was that he had just met a glimpse of an evil God who was taking the sacrifice with him.

“It was a pleasant conversation. The book I was looking for crossed my mind, so I really must leave.”

“…I understand.”

This was the end of the conversation with Euthenia.

Having finished the conversation, Euthenia turned her back to Peter.

She then started walking towards the empty tent.

Peter watched Euthenia’s back as she walked calmly towards the tent.

Peter’s eyes were full of complexity as he looked at Euthenia.

“Apparently, the six gods do not look down.”

Despite the imposing and rampant apostles of the evil gods, there is no damnation coming down towards them.

There are gods. Yet justice is not seen.

Only the empty sky that he holds on to speaks for Peter’s mind.

Peter lowered his arm, which had been extended towards the North Star.

And at that moment.

Peter’s right arm, which had returned to normal, began to feel a hot pain.

“Ugh…!”

Peter gritted his teeth at the sudden pain, took off his clothes, and looked at his right arm.

A black pattern had appeared on Peter’s arm where nothing had been there.

A crest of feathers pierced by a magnificent sword.

It was a sign representing a hero chosen by the god of honor.

Peter showed his panic at the appearance of the pattern, which appeared without warning.

“What is this…?”

Peter’s fingers brushed the pattern on his arm.

The pattern looked as if it had originally existed on Peter’s skin and he felt no flexing.

The pain that came from Peter’s arm was also gone as the hero’s markings became completely clear.

The pattern suddenly formed on his skin.

Peter scratched his arm hard with his fingernail to erase the pattern .

However, it showed no sign of disappearing.

The pattern was already fully established on Peter’s arm.

“…I see.”

Peter muttered to himself as he looked at his arm, having come to a conclusion about the pattern.

The six gods he had searched so hard for had already given him a response.

Still, Peter’s knowledge of the pattern did not exist enough to investigate it.

Such was the position of a young man from a rural town in the middle of nowhere.

He was in a position where it would be difficult for him to even meet a priest for the rest of his life, let alone a textbook on the temple.

Having finished his judgment on the pattern on his own, Peter sighed deeply as he touched his forehead.

“It seems that I’ve been with the fallen ones for too long and now it seems that I’ve even been branded as an evil.”