Fired Characters from an Idle Game

24. Habitual Worship, Surprise Witness – (3)

No accidents occurred in the third eruption. The 4-Star Calamity that the government and the people had feared didn’t appear, and there were no civilian casualties.

Truly a level close to miraculous.

The media talked about the achievements Seoul had made almost daily.

[3rd Eruption Successfully Defended, Is it the Second Miracle on the Han River?]

Even now, the TV touted that Seoul was the only city in the entire world to prevent an eruption without any loss of life.

Furthermore, news outlets continued to report on the feats of Nam Juyeon, Korea’s first S-Rank Awakened.

“…It’s almost a religion.”

At this point, my face was so well-known that I had to cover myself with a mask and hat whenever I went outside.

My face wasn’t even all that handsome, but it seemed a group had even formed in the community dedicated to worshipping me.

=

– Did you see the video of that bro controlling the dragon? He’s the real Dragon King.

– Fr fr. Seeing him directing from the rooftop, I thought, this is a Maestro.

=

Thanks to that, I had two main nicknames.

Dragon King and Maestro.

Nicknames so cringe-worthy I wouldn’t want to choose either.

“Haa….”

Kang Sena was right.

The world was anticipating the rise of a new star, and it seemed I had appeared on the scene with impeccable timing.

Reading those saccharine comments on the community boards made my face burn. A little adulation was fine, but they were practically offering up their livers and gallbladders.

Some were practically worshipping me.

How to put it… I was being treated almost like a living god.

“Ah.”

Speaking of living gods, something occurred to me.

I searched for the Ascension Church on the community forums.

The results were plentiful.

It seemed that with the third Outburst, this burgeoning religious group called the Ascension Church had also accelerated its growth.

Through my search, I learned that the Ascension Church’s doctrines revolved around a fascination with rifts and disasters, and the unconditional worship of the Actor, the Master of the Abyss, the soon-to-be ruler of the world.

How such a suspicious, even dangerous-sounding religion could spread was beyond me, but with the world having turned into a game and existing religions losing their grip, perhaps people simply needed something to cling to.

Having already experienced the terrifying phenomenon of Disaster Outbursts three times, the name Actor, Master of the Abyss, wouldn’t feel like such a far-off tale to the average person.

The difference between the masses on the community boards praising Awakened Rank S Joo-yeon as Seoul’s guardian deity and the followers worshipping the Actor, Master of the Abyss, as their one true god, couldn’t be that vast.

While I was lost in these pointless ruminations, the window of the hotel room slid open.

[5★ Searched Saintess Selene has returned to base.]

For some reason, Selene had a habit of always using the window.

When I asked her why, she said it was a habit from her convent days, when she used to sneak out under the cover of night.

“Selene, you’re back?”

“Yes, my liege. I have returned, having completed my task.”

“Good. Did you find out any information?”

I’d already gleaned the general gist from the internet, so I was confident I wouldn’t be surprised by whatever information Selene brought back.

“The Ascension Church. That organization that serves the ruler Actor, that is, you, my liege… is the work of Miriene.”

“…What?”

The words she uttered were far beyond anything I could have imagined.

*

Selene delivered the information plainly.

Having heard her tale, I could now organize the information about the Ascension Church into three main points.

First, the Ascension Church, which serves the Actor, Master of the Abyss, was created by the 5-Star Calamity, the Storm of the Northern Sea, Miriene.

Second, the Ascension Church created by Miriene is brainwashing Awakened Ones in order to wield the disasters they possess.

Third, Miriene is doing all of this for me.

Having heard all of this, my impression was thus:

“Honestly, what in the world are they doing?”

Mirienne of the North Sea Storm, her personality was unknowable in the game, but with that game now reality, I could say with certainty:

She was just as cracked in the head as Selene.

“My Lord, please temper your anger. It is true that Mirienne has overstepped, but the direction of her actions are all for your sake.”

“Mirienne formed a pseudo-religious cult for me? In the name of my objectives?”

“Yes. Through the Calamities donated by the Ascencionist cult’s Awakened, she seeks to contribute to your grand designs, Actor-nim. Soon you will conquer the world and ascend as King of this dimension, and we shall be a steadfast ally.”

“…”

First, I’d like to point out a few inconsistencies in Selene’s words.

Firstly, the Ascencionist’s Calamities weren’t donated by the Awakened, but seized from them.

Secondly, that I don’t have such a large-scale dream of conquering the world and becoming King of a dimension with the Calamities collected.

But I couldn’t possibly reveal those facts to Selene.

I had a rough idea why she and Mirienne were so adamant about such radical methods, why they viewed Awakened other than myself as competitors and sought to antagonize them.

When I first played Disaster Order, the tooltips displayed this message:

[Subjugate the Calamities and make them your own, become the Absolute One who rules the world.]

That very message appeared the moment reality became overlaid with Disaster Order’s system.

That is to say, all Calamities eventually converge towards the path of dominating the world. As if to prove it, both Selene and Mirienne aim to make me the world’s ruler, the Absolute One.

Ultimately, the game’s ultimate goal is to collect Calamities and become the Absolute One.

‘…Sounds too far-fetched.’

Yet, I had already witnessed the overwhelming power of the 5-star Calamities with my own two eyes.

If I could command them all, dominating the world wouldn’t be impossible.

And the game’s objective wouldn’t apply to me alone.

‘The other Awakened.’

Awakened are still bound by law, as national systems are still up and running, but what happens when Awakened grow stronger, to the point where public authority can no longer control them?

What would a thug who threatened me with a nail gun during the initial outbreak, that piece of human garbage like Han Tae-gun who targeted the back of my head, do if they obtained great power, including 4-star Calamities?

I heard that, in some provinces, a few Awakened had already seceded from the government and formed new factions. The central government is focused on protecting Seoul and the metropolitan area, and local governments have no power to control them.

So, will South Korea become a society ruled by Awakened in the near future?

And if that time comes, will I have to antagonize the other Awakened?

Is Selene’s counsel, to reduce the number of competitors beforehand, truly sincere advice?

“I don’t know.”

I do not know.

Uncertain.

As things stand, it’s a distant future matter.

Supreme being, ruler of the world, and all that jazz – until recently, I was just a part-timer scraping by.

For now, I’ll deal with what’s in front of me.

The pressing issue is Mirinae’s newly established religious group, the Ascendants.

Jo Geon-wook, along with the Administration Bureau’s investigators, is hunting down the Actor, and inevitably, they’ll come to the Ascendants and to me.

While the nation still holds together, I need to take full advantage of the Administration Bureau and the authority of the state.

It was around that time I came to that decision.

*Ttrrrring.*

A phone call.

The caller was Kang Se-na.

Could she have new information? Or maybe she just wanted to rattle off some news headlines and poke fun at me.

“What is it?”

[Nam Joo-yeon-ssi, I’m sorry to ask this, but there’s something urgent I need to tell you.]

Without even the usual pleasantries, Kang Se-na blurted out.

[Seo Ye-rin, that child has gone missing. Along with five D-class Awakened from Section 7.]

Missing.

The heavy word struck so suddenly, it felt like my heart had sunk.

I asked cautiously.

“…W-was there anything? Like, CCTV footage….”

[It seems there was a power outage in that area. And with the current electricity shortage, it’s not easy to keep the CCTV running 24/7….]

“…Ha.”

Power outage.

It felt like I was grasping at a clue.

“What does the Administration Bureau say?”

[They say they’ll dispatch an investigation team in the near future… but who knows when that will be.]

Indeed, now that the world’s in this state, the police don’t mobilize for just a few missing people.

Kang Se-na asked with a desperate voice.

[Do you have time right now? If we’re even a little late, I don’t know what might happen….]

“…Yes. I’ll go.”

Finally agreeing, I ended the call.

I set down my phone and looked at Selene. A strange atmosphere swirled in her crimson eyes.

“Selene, this disappearance. It’s Mirien’s doing, isn’t it?”

“…Yes. As fate would have it, I was also there.”

“…Mirien kidnapped Seo Yerin?”

“I understand she isn’t dead.”

Seo Yerin.

I only saw her briefly during the Nest Raid in Incheon. That’s all the connection we had, but if she was taken by Mirien, it was also my responsibility.

“Selene, can I talk to Mirien?”

“…It cannot be, Master. That woman is vicious and tyrannical, and…”

“Enough.”

The Status Window told us to dominate calamity and become the absolute ruler of the world.

I don’t know what Selene thinks of me, or why she is so loyal.

But if she relies on me, I will utilize that to its fullest.

“I simply gave you an order, Selene.”

“….”

“So, obey my words.”

The crimson eyes of Selene, the scorched saintess, widened for a moment.

But she nodded, wearing a smile brighter than ever before.

“Yes, Master. I shall follow, even if the end of that road is the abyss.”

“…Selene, the place we’re in *is* the abyss.”

“Ah.”