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We’ve Moved! If you notice any missing, empty, or incorrect chapters, please leave a comment below, and we’ll fix it as soon as possible. Regular updates will resume on June 10th. Thank you for your patience!

I became a cult leader in a game: Chapter 31

Episode 31 – “At first, I was researching information about that family and realized I needed help. Records from the Lem era are almost non-existent, so I sought help from a historian friend I know well. You know, the fat friend we saw last time.”

“Charles Rice?”

Professor Charles Rice is a colleague of Professor Armitage along with Dr. Francis Drake. When targeting a university, you could say they are the famous talent triangle you must recruit.

“Yes. Anyway, it was quite difficult to find records from the Lem era. It’s because it’s such an ancient past. Still, Charles found quite a lot of information. As a result of his search, it is said that the family disappeared quite a long time ago. But we heard from various pieces of information that they changed their name.”

“You mean they changed from the Abraham family to another family?”

“…It’s better not to keep saying that name.”

Now that I think about it, from the beginning, Drake avoided saying the Abraham family and used expressions like ‘that family’. In retrospect, there was a good chance he encountered some strange occult incident while investigating the Abraham family.

“Does that mean you shouldn’t call them by name?”

“…You’re still okay, but if you keep getting involved like me, it’s dangerous.”

Charles understood roughly what he meant. Some entities have influence just by being called by their name.

In this case, those who investigate the Abraham family in detail might also be influenced just by mentioning the name. Keeping that in mind, Charles decided to heed Drake’s advice.

Drake lifted a bottle of liquor, poured another glass, and drank it smoothly. It was a grim story that was difficult to talk about without drinking.

“That family is cursed. For some reason, most of the descendants who continued the lineage were either geniuses or madmen. And strangely, they were either incredibly lucky or terribly unfortunate.”

“Geniuses or madmen?”

“The definitive thing is that there is some esoteric relevance to that family’s bloodline. Charles told me so. That family has strangely experienced some mysterious event every so often. So, I thought that must be it.”

“Hm.”

It wasn’t that strange. Maybe it’s natural. Abraham had the largest chunk of the revelation tablets, except for the one Simon had.

Considering the characteristics passed down through the bloodline were usually inherited esoterically, it was clear that the descendants were also influenced by the pieces of the revelation tablet.

“Anyway, we couldn’t properly trace the family’s name. Because at some point, the records suddenly cut off.”

“Really? So that’s the end of the information?”

“Of course not.”

This time, Drake spoke with a sly smile.

“Charles and I are men who do not know how to give up. We even sought advice from a friend in the capital to gather information. After mobilizing all our connections, we were able to find traces.”

“It seems they accepted various names for their family. During the old Hermes era, they used the surname Gunther, and in the dawn era, it was Winter. Until the era when the queen ruled. After that, they changed their name to Winchester…”

“Winchester…”

The Winchester family was famous as an arms dealer. As soon as Drake boasted about the latest shotgun he won at the gambling house, it was a Winchester.

“The bigger the family, the more the collateral branches increased significantly. The names of those branches are written on the back of the paper I gave you.”

“Hmm…”

Following Drake’s words, Charles read the back. It detailed when and how the branches split. Honestly, Charles did not expect to obtain such detailed information.

Initially, he thought it was just a small amount, but he had to correct his thoughts. It was almost impossible to gather such accurate information in such a short time, but they did it.

Then Charles’ eyes widened. He saw one of the names.

“The Linden…family?”

“Why?”

“No, it’s just that I know the name.”

“Hmm, the Linden family seems to have split off from the collateral branch quite a while ago.”

Charles quickly skimmed through the names of the collateral branches written behind. Some interesting information caught his attention and then disappeared. Drake, feeling somewhat better, took out a cigar and put it in his mouth.

Since people of this era loved cigarettes more than just as consumables, non-smoker Charles had already adapted.

“But there’s something strange.”

“Strange?”

“On paper, the Winchester family is clearly the direct line. But they are doing too well.”

“That’s strange? Didn’t you say that due to the curse, they should be either terribly unfortunate or incredibly lucky? Maybe this generation of the Winchester family is incredibly lucky.”

“No. They also usually produced genius or madmen. But there are no geniuses or madmen in this generation of the Winchester family.”

“That is a bit odd.”

“Exactly. Honestly, the Winchester family is a highly respected, huge family, but I know they don’t produce that many geniuses to the extent of standing out.”

Charles’s attention returned to the Linden name again. Perhaps there was a reason why he was invited to the Linden family. No, it couldn’t be just luck; it’s too much of a coincidence.

Noticing Charles’s unease, Drake exhaled a puff of smoke.

“Seems like a name strikes a chord?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want me to investigate?”

“No. I’m not going to delegate any more work. I have a feeling this is something I need to handle.”

“That’s a relief. I thought I was going to die just from investigating that.”

Drake said with his usual confidence, tapping the ash into the ashtray. Despite his usual self-assurance, he seemed to convey fear.

“And I don’t want to delve any further. To be honest, every time I call out that family’s name, something seems to get infected…a dangerous feeling as if I’m crossing an irreversible line. Besides, recently, I’ve been having peculiar dreams. Dreams as if someone is beckoning me from some distant temple.”

“Temple?”

“Yes, a temple made of white ivory. There was a garden around it full of blooming mysterious flowers I’ve never seen before. In front of it stood a man with a rose face covered in thorns…”

“Enough.”

Charles said firmly. Drake, who was speaking about his dream with a dazed look, snapped back to reality and stood up abruptly.

“What did I just say?”

“You’ve done enough. You did well. You can go back. Destroy all the information you’ve found.”

“You…”

Even with the spiritual protection of the bracelet Professor Armitage had given, it seemed unlikely it could prevent something from infiltrating Drake’s mind.

Clearly, the piece of the revelation tablet had more power than expected. If it could even enchant the investigators.

Charles took out a glass bottle before Drake left. It was the holy water of the Order of Light, which he had leftover from working on the holy relic last time.

“Drink this whenever you see hallucinations at home.”

“Thanks.”

Drake accepted Charles’s advice and left with the holy water.

Charles squinted his eyes, resting his chin in contemplation before deciding to enter the mental world due to his lingering concerns. He needed information now.

As the giant obelisk of the void appeared, Charles checked if his candle was intact in front of it. The outside looked the same.

“Let’s begin.”

Charles lit the candle and looked at the flame, then closed his eyes. The darkness under his eyelids felt like the night sky. The residual images floating in the night sky transformed according to his imagination, signaling they were ready for divination.

‘Evren Linden is of the Abraham family….’

At that moment, a tremendous thunderclap roared in the void before the divination phrase was even complete. Startled, Charles looked up at the sky adorned with stars, noticing a strange ripple.

It felt like space was tearing, and something seemed to be approaching. It was the first time an unidentified entity invaded Charles’s mental space.

‘This feels like the advent of an evil god?’

Sensing danger, Charles quickly extinguished the candle to disrupt the coordinates. It was certain the candle afterimage served as a medium.

Luckily, the bizarre ripples soon disappeared along with the spatial fissure. It was a hazardous situation, but it seemed he narrowly avoided it with his wits. Reflecting, Charles realized his mistake.

“They’re connected.”

He had overlooked that the pieces of the revelation tablet were all interconnected. Not physical connections but spiritually or through something beyond that, transcending time and space.

Trying to divine without knowing this was the problem. Despite the risk, he gained enormous information. Evren Linden was undoubtedly connected to the Abraham family.

Otherwise, there would be no situation where the two pieces of the revelation tablet connected during the divination. This alone was a success of the divination.

‘But that was more than just a piece of the tablet.’

Charles’s revelation tablet piece had some kind of will. The entity beyond that space had a will several times stronger.

Considering it had passed through millennia from the Abraham family, the chaotic time was beyond what even an esoteric master like Charles could surmise.

“In any case, my task is clear.”

It was to accept Evren Linden’s invitation. Thinking so, Charles intended to exit the mental world but paused to check Flona’s status.

Among the floating rocks in the distance, Flona’s star was the brightest. When he reached out, her prayer was visible. Touching her prayer, he felt her thoughts.

‘I hope Charles is safe.’

He was delighted, but then another of Flona’s thoughts surfaced.

‘And I want Charles’s head. If it were in my room, we’d always be together.’

Is this a metaphor? Charles was startled by Flona’s desire. Listening through prayer evoked deep-seated desires.

Not wanting to delve further into Flona’s inner world, he diverted his gaze to open her status window.

【First Disciple of the Unnamed Order】

【Flona Layton】

[Stats]

[Body 8, Mind 5, Luck 2, Enlightenment 5]

[Traits]

[Loyalty, Dual-Wielding, Strong Will]

[Skills]

〔Subspace Possession〕 – Allows possession of specific equipment in a subspace. This subspace, developed by Flona after realizing her spirituality as a child, isn’t very large.

〔Contract with the Sea Serpent Man〕 – Allows receiving power from a being in another realm in exchange for a price. The entity Flona contracted requires racial transformation.

‘Her enlightenment is too high.’

A consistent enlightenment of 5 isn’t good. But her mental stat is unexpectedly high. Maybe the reason she hasn’t revealed her inner madness is that she’s been suppressing it with this mental strength.

Charles knew the entity Flona had a contract with. The racial transformation is a serious penalty. If there’s a chance, he should find a way to cancel the contract and arrange another.

While gazing at the floating stones in the mental world, Charles pondered their potential expansion, thinking it might exceed his expectations.

We’ve Moved! If you notice any missing, empty, or incorrect chapters, please leave a comment below, and we’ll fix it as soon as possible. Regular updates will resume on June 10th. Thank you for your patience!
I Became a Cult Leader in a Game

I Became a Cult Leader in a Game

게임 속 사이비 교주가 되었다
Score 6.6
Status: Ongoing Type: Author: Released: 2022 Native Language: Korean
While enjoying a game called “Cult Leader Simulator,” Kim Yeon-su found himself trapped inside the game he was playing. He knew that this world was destined to perish…

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