Episode 2 – I Thought Deeply About What Happened Until Now. The last part that could have been thought of as being inside the game was before getting the tablet of prophecy.
The tablet of prophecy, an item I had never seen before. I thought it might be a hint for something. I should try to track it down if I get a chance later. As the game became reality, many serious problems arose.
The first problem was that the genre of this game always ended in a bad ending… It was a bizarre mix of Cthulhu-style occult and urban fantasy.
Yeonsu was the one who had seen the ending over 129 times. Would it be an illusion if I feel like I can clearly see the future?
"When you reach the day of destiny, you die no matter what you do."
The point at which the ending occurs is called the day of destiny. Whether the whole world is submerged in water and everyone dies, or the whole world burns, or eternal night continues endlessly, or people are carved into alien creatures, etc. No matter where you run, it doesn’t matter. The entire world is doomed anyway.
Therefore, I have no choice but to find it. The 130th ending.
"I’ve been playing the game all this time for that reason. I’m almost there—at the 130th ending."
Yeonsu firmly made up his mind and stood up. The keyword must have been the tablet of prophecy. After seeing the 129th ending, it could be seen as the medium that dragged him into this world.
"But where the hell is the tablet of prophecy?"
Charles looked around. This was Charles’s mansion. The tablet of prophecy was nowhere to be seen. Just in case, he opened the status window. Strangely enough, the status window opened.
"It opens."
[5th Order, Nameless Cult Leader]
[Charles Hexen]
[Stats]
[Body: 5, Mind: 7, Luck: 6, Enlightenment: 3]
[Traits]
[Charisma, Scripture Researcher, Calm, Non-human Flesh, ???]
[Skills]
[Power of Domination] – The power obtained through a transaction with the mage Hermes, who resides in another realm. It can ‘dominate’ both living and non-living things. The maximum domination count increases in proportion to the mind stat.
▶Currently dominated entities: 0
"As expected, the initial stats aren’t bad."
He hadn’t unlocked the special stats yet, but the overall stat values were quite decent. Considering that an ordinary person has a body stat of 1 and a mind stat of 1, it was at the level of an iron man.
Also, no character started with so many traits. Even the other cult leaders were just ordinary humans until they received the ‘seeds’ from the evil gods they served.
Charisma was like a collection of attractive qualities that overwhelm others. Just by talking to others with this, one could implant a sense of awe.
Scripture Researcher was a unique trait of Charles, allowing him to ‘create’ scriptures and interpret already created ones.
Charles knew many ancient languages, including the Hermes language, enabling him to interpret the scriptures of ancient civilizations.
Calm was just as it sounded. He didn’t panic. Additionally, the stats were mostly fixed. Unlike the ‘Passionate’ trait, which could allow one to exert 200% of their ability if lucky, Calm neither decreased nor increased from 100%.
And Non-human Flesh. This was also a decent trait. Non-human flesh entities receive penalties. They attract and are easily attracted to other ‘abnormal’ things. Strange things flock in just by staying still.
Thanks to this, Charles had an excellent understanding of mysticism and possessed a strong spirituality, gaining talent as a mage. It’s a trait that coexists with both bad and good points.
But the part labeled as ??? was a bit mysterious. Charles had never seen something like that while playing the game.
"Is this world really a game? No, that’s not important."
It didn’t matter whether this world was originally a game or a real world wrapped to look like a game. What mattered was how to prepare for what lay ahead.
"I must become Charles from now on. With the flexible thinking of a modern person, Kim Yeonsu could never endure this world."
With the effect of Calm, Yeonsu’s mind returned to normal after being in a panic state. Seeing that, it might be that the mind influences the body. He brainwashed himself. I am Charles. I am Charles.
He composed himself. Now he was Charles. Numerous fulldive VR games required high-level role-playing skills. This kind of ‘acting’ was child’s play for seasoned Charles.
It was time to utilize the elements Charles had. Charles was fundamentally a mage character specialized in magic.
Looking at physical abilities, it wouldn’t be strange if he engaged in direct combat. But due to the Non-human Flesh trait, he became a mage who didn’t get easily invaded by evil things, even if his spirituality and enlightenment stats soared.
At that moment, Charles noticed something on the shelf. It was a book, long untouched and slightly covered in dust.
It was a western-style bound book. The cover was black, with golden ink writing. Interestingly, it had a golden lock that allowed the cover to be fastened closed. Its name was ‘Paginarecor’.
"It’s in the same position."
This was a magic book that Charles often used while playing the game. Charles had obtained it in a dream realm exploration right before the prologue. Until he obtained the power of domination, it was just left idle on a shelf.
For most players playing as Charles, this magic book was recommended as a must-have early item. It was a living book with consciousness that taught spells for a price.
As soon as he took out the magic book, an evil aura emanated. Charles’s spirituality awakened, warning that this book was dangerous. The consciousness within the magic book began to awaken upon touching his spirituality.
-Hehehe. You’ve awakened me, human.
-Yeah, I have.
-What do you want? Do you desire the knowledge of magic?
-Not really.
Charles extended his hand. With some risk, it was easier to dominate this magic book since it was ‘non-living’. It didn’t require any spell or ritual, being a pure supernatural ability. Therefore, no sacrifice or magical sample was needed. He remembered the feeling of how to use it from within the game. Let’s begin.
The evil energy of the magic book felt like something was invading when it touched Charles’s hand. When one contacts the unreal in this game’s world, the enlightenment stat starts to rise.
-What, what are you doing?! Human!
If the enlightenment rose more, hallucinations would appear, irrational thoughts would invade, and one could experience mysticism, but Charles could dominate the magic book before the enlightenment rose that high.
-Inheriting the throne… no, that’s not it. I’m purifying you.
-What?
-Obey me!
-Kyaaa!
He felt an invisible thread connect him to the magic book, forming a sticky bond immediately.
Paginarecor floated in the air, causing a significant wind. Charles’s hair and the curtains near the window fluttered.
Success.
[Power of Domination] – The power obtained through a transaction with the mage Hermes, who resides in another realm. It can ‘dominate’ both living and non-living things. The maximum domination count increases in proportion to the mind stat.
▶Currently dominated entities: 1.
[Paginarecor – An evil magic book of unknown authorship existing since the ancient age… but now dominated. It holds numerous spells and can awaken new spells using talents.]
Charles, being a mage character, could also learn spells through this Paginarecor and use it as a spellbook.
-What, what is this?
But this is strange. This function was not there.
Suddenly, a hologram popped out of Paginarecor in front of him. A blonde girl wearing a gothic dress appeared. Though her size was just the size of a palm, her proportions were like a normal adult woman.
"What’s this?”
The words came out in surprise.
-That’s what I want to ask!
-Do you have such a function?
-No!
He already knew that the status window didn’t contain everything. But he had never seen a fairy-like thing suddenly pop up like this from a magic book before.
Maybe this is the magic book’s consciousness. However, this never happened in the game. A fairy(?) had never popped out from the magic book.
-You wanted to become a human, right?
-Don’t talk bullshit!
She spewed vulgar curses, but being so tiny made her more cute than threatening. No, I can’t. He shook his head to banish these stray thoughts.
-Does it still have the functions of a magic book despite this change?
-It does.
-Hmm. Alright, then. Can you call me master?
-Go to hell!
Seeing her grab her skirt and blush, Charles scratched his head. Anyway, he confirmed that the power of domination worked properly.
-To dominate living creatures, they need to be in extreme physical or mental conditions, but there are no such restrictions for non-living things.
Though it wasn’t mentioned in the skill tooltip, there was a slight advantage in dominating non-living things. This magic book was also treated as non-living, making domination easy.
-Say, Paginarecor, can you open yourself?
-P-Paginarecor?
Though surprised by the name, Paginarecor followed the command. The book opened on its own. The pages were completely blank.
-It’s all empty.
-Of course. It resets when the user changes. If you want to gain spells, you should offer talents.
-I’m the master, though?
-Shut up! It doesn’t matter whether you’re the master or not. That’s the original function of the magic book.
-Alright, I see.
It seemed that words alone wouldn’t suffice. He would need to gather talents later. Anyway, talents, the currency of the secret world, were naturally acquired while playing the game.
He could also gather materials and create them himself. Though it would be a tough process, it wasn’t impossibly difficult.
"Alright, that’s enough about the magic book."
Charles glanced at the door. The door that Plona had left through was slightly ajar. From there, eerie red eyes peered in.
It seemed Plona’s stalker tendencies were at play here. Charles knew this in advance and responded calmly.
"Plona, why are you peeking?"
"Oh! Sorry! I was afraid Charles might run away."
"Run away? Why would I run away? Do I look that weak to you? Look at me. Who do I look like?"
As Charles’s trait, [Charisma], activated, Yeonsu unknowingly exuded an overwhelming presence. A noble and arrogant side of Charles emerged.
As something invisible seemed to appear around Charles, Plona exhaled an excited breath as if enchanted, addressing Yeonsu.
"Ah—. Master. You are the only apostle, the incarnation of the great void."
"Then? Do you think you should be watching like this?"
"Sorry. I won’t do it anymore."
"That’s right. Well done."
Like taming a well-trained dog, Charles patted Plona’s hair. Plona smiled bashfully.
Although he had never experienced such bizarre human relationships, it was a challenge Charles had to adapt to from now on.
"Could you explain what has been happening within the cult?"
"Yes! Just a moment!"
Plona briefly stepped away and returned with documents. The documents summarized the current situation of the cult. The financial situation was terrible. Both income and expenditure were poor. The reasons stemmed from the events that occurred while Charles was in a coma before the prologue.
"Hehe."
Leaning slightly, Plona smiled at Charles. The time when Charles had been down was like a nightmare, but now she felt like everything had returned to normal.
Plona was Charles’s secretary and first disciple, and because Charles was a workaholic, he always received the previous day’s documents as soon as he woke up. It felt like reliving those memories.
