NOVEL NEXT Chapter 44
Chapter: 44
“Need help?”
“Do I not look desperate enough to you right now?!”
“Is it because you are so high up that you can’t feel the urgency of us mere creatures?!”
Gasping for breath.
“My consciousness is gradually fading.”
“I’m barely holding on, but I’m already close to my limit.”
[It seems it will be difficult to have a conversation like this.]
The moment the message popped up, my vision went dark, and the pressure around my neck lifted.
“What just happened?”
When my sight returned, I felt bewildered by the surroundings that had suddenly changed.
A pure white space where nothing exists.
I was floating right in the center of it.
“Where the heck is this? Is this the afterlife?”
“Did I just get choked to death by an alchemist?”
[Don’t worry. You’re not dead yet.]
The notification sound brought up a message from the crummy god.
“So, where exactly is this?”
Surprised, I realized I had spoken those words out loud.
“Unbelievable.”
“How can coherent words just come out of my mouth?”
Normally, I would have been spouting off thoughts about being a useless piece of trash or calling the divine a pitiful being.
[It seems it would be difficult to talk there, so I only pulled out your consciousness.]
So you created a space for conversation with your power.
Since only my consciousness was summoned, I wouldn’t be affected by any skills.
If that was possible, couldn’t you have called me out earlier and opened this chat?
Then I wouldn’t have had to face death!
Damn useless, good-for-nothing god! Did you really want to hear all that trash talk from me?!
[I’ll ask again. Do you need help?]
“Yes. Of course, I need it! I don’t want to die yet!”
The reason I had trained desperately over the past few months was solely to survive.
I don’t want to die.
I feel wronged for being possessed by that brat and now I can’t just die like this.
[If that’s what you want, I can save you.]
“Then…”
[But remember. There are no miracles without sacrifice in this world.]
The moment I read the next message, a hollow laugh escaped me.
Ah, so you didn’t help me because you couldn’t, but because you wouldn’t?
The gods in the Soul Academy are not omniscient or omnipotent.
They aren’t inherently good either.
They possess overwhelming power compared to humans but are more like transcendents than gods.
They are very much humanlike.
This case is no different.
If that crafty, bumbling god named Armadi was merely a benevolent deity, he would have helped me before this entire chaos erupted.
But this guy didn’t do that.
He waited for the moment when the value of the help he offered would be the highest before showing up.
And then, shamelessly, he asked me if I needed help.
The intent behind that was so obvious that I couldn’t help but laugh.
“What do you want from me?”
[What I desire is simple. I want you to become my apostle.]
“Why on earth would you want that?”
The moment I heard the request from the bumbling god, I reflexively shot back a question.
I couldn’t understand the reasoning.
Being an apostle of a god isn’t determined by mere devotion.
However, there’s a limit to that, too.
Who am I? And who is Lucy?
I’m someone who doubts the existence of gods and mocks the believers of the divine!
I’m a total nonbeliever, completely apart from the word faith.
Why would such a person want to become an apostle?
There are plenty of people in this world who are far better than me!
“Armadi, just what the hell are you seeing?”
[Does a god need a reason to choose an apostle?]
So you’re not planning to answer that, huh?
Ha. This is why I dislike the gods of the Soul Academy.
Filled with a sense of superiority, thinking, “Ah, is that so? You must not know. Then you don’t need to know yet.”
I want to tell that arrogant Armadi to take a hike, but I can’t do that right now.
“Fine, I understand. Let’s do this. I will become your apostle.”
I had no other choice.
If this bumbling god doesn’t help me, the only outcome for me is a miserable death.
Even if the deal Armadi suggests drags me into hell, I had to accept it.
[The contract has been established.]
As soon as I read that message, I opened my eyes, finding myself lying on the stone floor.
The alchemist who was trying to use me as a test subject was gone.
So were the Argoses that had surrounded us.
The only things present were the glowing stones illuminating the room and the enormous hole existing right in the center.
Is this… the boss room of the place where the alchemist was?
Turning my gaze to where I heard the breathing sound beside me, I found Joy and Jacob sleeping peacefully.
They looked like they had completely forgotten about the disaster we had just faced.
Even a crummy god could show this level of consideration?
Ha. You’ve outdone yourself. I’ll take back the “useless” part for now, Armadi.
[Hey girl, what miracle just happened? ]
“What happened?”
[At the moment you thought you were about to die, a light enveloped our surroundings and teleported us here, just like a divine miracle.]
“Guess you’re right.”
I had no reason to lie, so I told the old man about what had just happened.
Of course, I left out all my irreverent thoughts.
If I tell my holy knight grandpa about what was swirling around in that head of mine, he’d probably have a seizure.
[It seems Armadi has bestowed some mercy upon us. ]
“Everything that happened—the dungeon appearing, the alchemist chasing us—is all thanks to Lord Armadi, though.”
[Hee. That’s blasphemous!]
What’s wrong with some blasphemy?
That crummy god probably knew all this and still made me his apostle.
–“Experiment! Where are you going?!”
While I was bickering with old man, a disgusting voice echoed up from below, sending shivers down my spine.
The ground trembled beneath us, and the sound of something moving made its way up through the hole in the middle.
[Girl! We need to move!]
“Got it!”
This creepy alchemist is just as nauseating in personality as he is in appearance.
If you’re the boss of the dungeon, shouldn’t you be holed up inside your own dungeon instead of stalking me around?!
Desperately, I slung Joy and Jacob over my shoulders.
I need to escape.
As far from that bastard as I could manage!
With the dungeon map in my head, I could probably buy myself some time by taking hidden passages.
Just as I was contemplating that, I saw tentacles writhing up out of the hole in the boss room floor.
Damn it.
Am I already too late?
I dropped the two people slung over my shoulders onto the ground and raised my shield and mace.
Before long, the alchemist cloaked in rags appeared.
The moment I caught sight of his red eyes, I was left breathless.
A cold fear slithered up my spine.
How long can I hold out?
“If you’re going to run away, you should have gone far away.”
True that.
Damn Armadi.
What I just said—cancel it.
Armadi, you’re a useless and bumbling god.
Not just any god, but a full-on idiot.
If you’re going to save me, you should have at least sent me to a safe place! You idiot!
[Did you think I wouldn’t have seen this coming?]
As I cursed him silently, a message window popped up right in front of me, almost as if he heard me.
“Miss! Duck!”
At the same time, I heard a voice from the sword whisper in my ear.
I moved my body before I could even think.
A blade—what was meant to slice who knows what—sliced through the tentacles heading my way.
Shwing!
With a mere sweep, the sword cut down the tentacles and kept its momentum.
“Gah!”
An anguished sound escaped from the alchemist as he caught the sword’s blade with his staff.
Sensing the danger, the alchemist rushed to weave his ominous magic into a spell circle, but it was already too late; the sword was upon him.
As the sword swung, the tentacles supporting the alchemist were severed.
Deprived of his support, the alchemist fell back into the dungeon below.
“Miss. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine; just…!”
“Then I’m okay, so go take down that hideous bastard!”
How dare he show up just in time for heroics!
If there’s time for talking, swing your sword one more time to finish that thing off!
As I screamed, the sword chuckled, responded with an acknowledgement, and without a shred of hesitation, leaped down below the dungeon.
*
– As someone who runs the same academy, this incident is most regrettable.
It’s quite surprising that a long-standing institution such as Soul Academy couldn’t even prepare for such variables.
This accident was handled without incident, thanks to Lady Partran’s excellent leadership, but had things gone slightly awry, three noble students taking the entrance exam could have died.
In regard to this matter, the Berl Academy…
The principal of Soul Academy, Jude Albert, let out his hundredth sigh today as he read a letter sent from another academy.
Since the accident that happened during the academy entrance exam yesterday, Jude had been busy sorting through these types of letters.
The senders were varied.
Parents of Soul Academy students.
Other academies.
The royal palace. The church. Academic societies.
It seemed everyone connected to Soul Academy was waiting for a response regarding this incident.
Each time Jude read these letters, he found himself internally voicing such excuses.
How were we supposed to prepare for the first-ever intervention of the evil god Agra in the academy exam?!
But he never voiced that thought outside his mind.
No matter how well things turned out, the undeniable fact was that someone nearly died because Soul Academy was inadequately prepared.
It was something that he, the principal of Soul Academy, had to take responsibility for.
– “I am Jude Albert, the principal of Soul Academy. This incident is indeed…”
As Jude began to scribble a reply with his quill, someone knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
The one who entered was his secretary, who had dark circles under her eyes after working all day yesterday.
“What’s the matter?”
“Principal, Lady Arlen wishes to see you.”
Is Lady Arlen one of the people caught up in yesterday’s dungeon incident?
“Tell her to come in. No, wait. I should go out myself.”
Lady Arlen is a victim in this matter.
As the person who holds total responsibility for the incident, Jude Albert must show her courtesy.
Setting down his quill, he rose from his seat and passed by his secretary, heading outside the room.
“Good day, old principal.”
As soon as Lucy Arlen saw Jude, she greeted him politely while simultaneously hurling insults.
“I came to file a complaint about the accident that happened in this crummy academy.”