Chapter 129 - Truth's Oracle (2)

Rankers who only did Heaven quests couldn't surpass a tendency of 70.

If he was minus 94… From the point of view of the Heavens’ Forces, he was like the incarnation of evil itself, right?

Even if he'd been able to access the Knight's Hall, stepping into the Heavens was too much.

A Heavenly Being or an Angel…

He had to be prepared to die if either of them ever saw him.

'That can't happen.'

What if he changed forces toward the Heavens?

Hyun thought about everything he could gain and lose by changing the force he belonged to.

If he obtained Sacred Power, Demonic Energy and all the specs he had gained up to that point would be halved.

But he couldn't ignore the support he could obtain through «Pray».

'Anyway, I need to reduce my tendency.'

Should he change his faction? That was a secondary issue.

The moment his tendency surpassed three digits, he wouldn't be able to hide the energy of the Abyss.

If that happened, he wouldn't be able to change the rune on the back of his hand, and it wouldn't be long before the Heavens declared him an enemy.

'I should also «Pray» for the moment.'

«Pray» was one of the fastest ways to change your tendency.

'I shouldn't Pray to Louise this time.'

The important thing was that he shouldn't pray to Louise!

Every time he got involved with Louise, his tendency got closer to the Abyss.

If he wanted to get closer to the Heavens, he should also «Pray» to Truth.

The best place to «Pray» to Truth was the main temple located in the Holy Kingdom!

After making a decision, Hyun began preparing to go out. Louise noticed that and wanted to follow him.

Hyun checked the time and then shook his head.

"You can't come. It's morning outside right now."

"Ugh…!"

As Louise looked sad, Hyun said something more.

"Someone's coming to visit later, so just watch over the house."

"Is it Ain? But Ain… is boring!"

"No, I don't think she'll come today… It's someone named Salon. He's the one who helped us on Iluna. Do you remember him?"

"Salon…?"

"The person who was dual-wielding swords. Oh, and someone around your age will probably come as well," Hyun said while thinking about TarrTarr.

TarrTarr seemed to find joining a guild burdensome.

It seemed like he had some kind of trauma… but Hyun was sure he had almost convinced him, so it was just a matter of time.

Louise kept complaining like a child even after he said that, so Hyun had to promise her something to calm her down.

"Wait until night."

"Will you come back at night?"

"Yes, let's go hunting."

Louise was at around level 200.

It was hard to call her baggage. He had begun hunting with Louise in places he knew weren't dangerous.

"So stay at home until then."

Hyun smiled and walked out of the private room; then he immediately walked toward the teleport gate.

Converting the gold to real money, the cost of using the teleport gate to the Holy Kingdom would be tens of dollars, but Hyun didn't feel burdened anymore by such an amount of money.

Hyun was well-off enough to spend tens of dollars for a short outing without hesitation.

* * *

The Pope still couldn't forget about that day.

…That day when a dazzling light that was so brilliant that he sometimes wondered if it was a dream had appeared in front of him.

Just as it was written in the sacred text, she was an existence whose beauty went beyond human.

"I'll give you an oracle."

When the noble voice echoed through the sanctuary of the main temple, the Priest had thought that something about them having lost Iluna would come out, but he’d been wrong.

The oracle that Truth spoke was related to a certain user.

"There's a user with a high Empathy, so make him «Pray» here."

The amount of Empathy you have is fixed from the moment you're born.

There were more women with high Empathy than men, so people called them Priestesses.

One of the Priestesses had been recorded in the history books as a Saintess.

According to what Truth said, there was someone among the users whose existence was similar to a Priestess?

The oracle made the Pope more interested in the users.

People from another dimension…

They said that the number of users surpassed the millions.

How were they going to find one person among the countless users?

The Pope thought of a way to follow Truth’s orders.

'There was that way.'

The Pope decided to spread a holy magic among the users.

«Sanctification».

It was a magic that used Sacred Power to illuminate the darkness. The stronger the Empathy, the brighter the light became.

They said the light the Saintess had created was bright enough to change the night to day.

A user with high Empathy may’ve been unable to create a light as bright as the Saintess’s, but lighting a building should’ve been possible.

'Even if it isn't a user, we should be able to find a Priestess… So why is she so interested in a user?'

The Pope tried to understand the intentions of Truth but soon shook his head.

'No, that's not for me to judge… I only have to follow her will.'

Users had a very strong desire to learn something called ‘skills’.

If they used that strong desire, it shouldn't take long to find the person the oracle had referred to.

Small and large incandescent lights would soon rise all over the world.

They would probably be able to find the person the oracle was talking about if they just went to the brightest light.

He just had to lead that user toward the sanctuary.

* * *

The temple of a small village that was part of the Holy Kingdom…

Hyun was able to easily find the statue of the Archangel in the middle.

The statue of the Archangel of Truth was in the middle of three statues.

'Okay, I just have to do it here.'

One of the secrets of using «Pray» was to not hope for too much.

Hyun lowered his consciousness and began feeling the energy scattered around him.

The best way to increase the proficiency rate was to feel the energy of the Transcendent that was scattered all around.

After a short while, he felt a foreign emotion entering him.

He wasn't surprised that time.

Just like when he’d been praying to Louise, he was empathizing with Truth.

'It feels different from Louise.'

The emotion of Truth was peaceful.

There wasn't a sense of urgency, and it felt benevolent.

It really felt like an Angel who loved all humans.

They said the Archangel gave even the evilest person one opportunity.

From the emotions rising within him, Hyun could sense the philanthropic nature of Truth.

[Your tendency leaning away from the Abyss! (Current -93)]

Hyun was already used to «Pray».

Hyun suddenly sensed a feeling he hadn't before while his consciousness was lowered.

'Hmm?'

That feeling suddenly rose sharply from the unconsciousness.

He only felt it for an instant, so it was hard to tell if he had misunderstood something or if it really was a product of empathizing.

But if he wasn't mistaken… it wasn’t an emotion that suited a benevolent Angel.

It was an emotion that didn't match her beautiful appearance.

Surprisingly, Hyun felt killing energy.

'What's this…?'

Hyun tried to calm down and lower his consciousness again; then he finally learned that he wasn't mistaken.

Those emotions were hidden within Truth.

The Archangel of Truth felt hatred towards the Abyss.

No, maybe it was more than hatred.

Hyun's heart began beating faster after he felt those emotions.

Should he try to dig deeper?

Hyun was trying to make the connection more solid when suddenly…

"Are you a user?"

Hyun opened his eyes after hearing someone's voice. There was a man wearing a Priest's robe in front of him, smiling at him.

'What's up with this guy…?'

Hyun suddenly became annoyed.

He felt that the person in front of him had ruined his concentration.

Even though Hyun was annoyed, the person in front of him seemed oblivious. He began talking with a smile on his face.

"You seem to be a very religious person."

"Me…?"

"Yes. What do you think about learning a skill, if it's okay with you?"

"A skill?!"

Hyun was getting annoyed, but his eyes suddenly changed after hearing that word.

There were many quests he didn't know about in Asra and Asrian…

But the ones that he wanted the most were the ones that gave you skills!

Among them, some gave valuable skills such as the «Angel's Basic Sword Art», so Hyun's change in attitude was understandable.

"What skill is it?"

"It's a magic called «Sanctification»! It's a holy magic that contains the essence of the power of the Heavens!"

Hyun frowned at the Priest's words.

He knew what that magic was.

«Sanctification» was just a magic that illuminated dark places.

Had he interrupted his «Pray» just to teach him a useless skill?

It seemed like the Priest understood Hyun's feelings after seeing him frown. He kept talking with a smile on his face.

"Haha, there's no need to feel pressured. The Archangel loves all of the believers of the Heavens, so you don't need to feel pressured."

"Yes, I definitely won't feel pressured."

Hyun didn't like the attitude of the Priest. He was talking as if he were teaching him something useful.

Hyun opened the skill book the Priest gave him just to make him go away as soon as possible.

Learning one of the weakest holy magics took him almost no time.

After a white light came out, a new skill was added to Hyun's list.

[Skill: You've learned «Sanctification»!]

Then the Priest gave him a few more skill books.

"If you have partners, please give them one of these books! May the grace of the Angel be with you all!"

"Okay…"

Hyun thought that he should use the books while hunting later on.

He could use them to make a campfire.

The Priest kept talking after that, but Hyun just nodded without paying attention.

Hyun thought he would just walk away if he kept ignoring him, but he was wrong.

"How about you use the skill you've just learned?"

"Are you serious…?"

He was really annoying.

If that were real life, he would probably be someone really talented at attracting customers.

"Oof… Okay. I'll do it once, okay?"

Hyun tried to calm down.

As he extended his hand, a sphere the size of a basketball began illuminating the temple.

It was a light that warmly embraced earthly beings. A jewel that illuminated the darkness.

"Is this enough? Now please, leave me alone."

Hyun was so annoyed that he didn’t notice that his «Sanctification» was brighter than normal.

He couldn't tell that it was as bright as the one that his previous high-spec character had been able to create.

The Priest was lost for words after seeing Hyun's light sphere.

The Priest came back to his senses after the light went off.

"Mr. User…!"

'Damn it, isn't this over yet?'

As he wanted to talk away from the annoying Priest, the man quickly spoke.

"Wait, wait here for a moment, please! I'll call a high-ranking Priest!"

"What? A high-ranking Priest…? Why so suddenly…?" Hyun asked in surprise.

Some high-ranking Priests could see through Hyun's fake rune.

'Did he notice that I'm part of the Abyss…? That doesn't seem to be the reason.'

If he had noticed he was part of the Abyss, he would've called the soldiers first. There was no reason to call a high-ranking Priest.

The Priest didn't seem to be lying or hiding anything.

'Is this really a hidden event…?'

As the chances of it becoming a hidden event revived, Hyun's heart began beating faster.

Yes, maybe he should wait.

The two Priests that came running seemed to say something to each other after looking at him.

"But isn't this person a man…? To call him a Priestess is a bit…"

"That's true… I think that we'll have to ask the Bishop for more details."

"Yes, we should."

They suddenly turned their heads to Hyun after talking to each other.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Mr. User… Could you listen to one more request if it isn't too much?"

"What request?"

The Priest lowered his head.

There are some things I'd like to ask Mr. User. We're going to compensate you for taking away your time."

Hyun felt relieved.

Judging by how they bowed, it seemed that it wasn't what he had suspected.

Was it really a hidden quest?

Expectantly, Hyun followed the two Priests. They used «Teleport» and went to the main temple in the Holy Kingdom's capital.

The Priests there asked Hyun to use «Sanctification» once more.

They seemed pleased after looking at the light sphere in Hyun's hands.

"Yes, it's him!"

'Wait, why is this so bright…?'

It was then that Hyun noticed that his «Sanctification» was weird.

He hadn’t noticed it at first because the skill's specs were similar to the one he had used before in Asra Online.

There, his character had lots of different holy buffs.

His character was weak compared to the overwhelming specs he used to have… Then why was this Sanctification as bright as back then?

Hyun became nervous and frowned after looking at the overly-excited Priests.

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