Please Stop The Pope

3. I’m here to spread the good news

   1.

   First, let me say that until this morning, things couldn’t have been more perfect.

I woke up and Si Yeon made breakfast for me. We made plans to go to the amusement park on the weekend, and she even waved goodbye to me as she left for school.

   It was exactly the kind of happy family morning I wanted.

I even got permission from the Ministry of Ability Management to film the episode for MyTube. At first, I was worried about what would happen if they objected, but they seemed to be happy with my decision.

   Instead, they only asked me one thing.

   I can reveal that I’m a returnee, but I have to do it at a press conference organized by the Ministry of Ability Management.

   It wasn’t a difficult request for me, so I immediately accepted without any difficulty. After all, wasn’t that what me and In Wook had planned in the first place?

After getting permission from the Ministry of Ability Management, we headed straight to the location where Player K, or Gu Min-Soo, was filming a vlog.

Yeah, so far, everything was going according to plan.

   But the question was.

   “This is the perfect atmosphere for a quick smoke. In Wook, do you think this place fits?”

   “Yeah, but it’s a little weird.”

   “Is the phone still recording?”

   “…… Uh, phone’s off.”

It started happening after we arrived at the scene.

   I leaned slightly against the door of the SUV we were traveling in, sneaking a glance ahead.

   We were at the entrance to a place called Mount. Jangjangsan, located in Yeoju City, Gyeonggi-do.

This is where Gu Min-Soo’s MyTube video was being filmed.

It’s pretty funny that a person who makes MyTube videos with player content is here, but that’s not the real problem.

   The real problem was that the person we came to meet, Mr. Gu Min-Soo, was unreachable, and more importantly, there was this sinister energy in this place called Mount Jangjangsan.

   I couldn’t help but realize that something was wrong.

Some people might say that intuition isn’t always accurate, but mine was different.

   It came naturally from fighting for so long, and with Limen’s blessing, it’s developed enough to be called the Sixth Sense.

   To my senses, which have developed to the point of near precognition, the detection of such blatant magick means that something must have happened.

   I frowned and looked at the mountain, then turned and said to In Wook.

   “Let’s go back. The project about the protagonist hiding his powers or something is temporarily suspended.”

   “No, hyung. He’s probably in the middle of filming right now, that’s why he can’t answer his phone, so once we go up there and visit him in person…….”

   “In Wook, is that guy Gu Min-Soo really a good guy? Doesn’t he have any bad rumors about him? Like he sacrificed people, worshiped the devil, or something like that?”

“Not at all. It can’t be. It doesn’t make sense, right? He’s a big-time vlogger.”

   “Yeah, I know.”

“Then why are you asking me that out of the blue?”

   In Wook asked, and I answered with a twitch of my lips.

“Because I don’t think any decent person would think of pushing an acquaintance into this horrible pit.”

   “A pit? There’s no such thing.”

   At that, I simply lifted my finger and pointed to the mountain.

   “There.”

   A lot of words come to mind: pit, hell, etc., but I personally don’t think it was hell, so I went with pit.

   This unpleasant aura that constantly irritated me.

It was clearly Magi, a magical energy that only demons or devils could emit.

Of course, it was a low-grade Magi that could not compare to the terrible Magi of the demons I had experienced in the other world, but it was Magi nonetheless.

   Magi is a fundamentally different energy from the players’ magical power that I saw yesterday at Yeouido Hangang Park.

   While players’ magic is usually referred to as mana, Magi is literally demonic energy.

It is a power that can only be possessed by demons, demon beasts, and warlocks who have made a pact with them.

   To be honest, I had already expected Magi to be on Earth when I encountered the Wyvern, but I didn’t expect to find it so soon.

   But Magi is Magi, no matter how faint.

   It can’t do anything to me, but to a civilian like In Wook, it’s as deadly as poison.

And to have this much of it spread across the mountain.

   “I think it’s been at least four days since the Magi spread, so I wonder what his intentions were in calling us to this place.”

   No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t think of anything good.

If In Wook or I didn’t have any powers, there were two possible outcomes to entering that mountain.

Either we’d go mad from Magi, or we’d die at the hands of people who were mad from Magi.

   Either way, it would be a tragic end.

   I said to In Wook, clenching my fist lightly.

“If I were really a Regular, we’d be dead here, okay?”

   “That’s not possible…… that’s not possible.”

   “He’s a good guy for not missing a payment, but you’re trusting him too much based on that alone, and it’s going to come back to bite you in the ass, okay?”

   In Wook sighed at my words, then lowered his head and said.

   “When Grandma was hospitalized three years ago, Min-soo came to visit her and paid all the hospital bills without saying anything. I had just gotten my first job, so I couldn’t afford it…….”

   “Then you should have said so long ago.”

   “But later, I paid back all the money he gave me, but it’s too embarrassing to tell you.”

As he said it, he was a little restless.

   It’s not easy to be suspicious of people who help you when you’re financially strapped.

   I understood In Wook’s situation.

He even paid for my grandmother’s medical bills, so I’m willing to hold off on judgment until later.

   Three years ago, In Wook’s career wasn’t that far along yet.

But the fact that he came to visit the editor’s grandmother when she was hospitalized and paid her hospital bill means that he’s probably as good as In Wook said.

   “Okay.”

   I hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

   Then, looking at In Wook, I continued.

   “For now, you get back in the car and wait for me at home. It’s too dangerous here.”

   “What about you?”

“Your plan seems to have fallen through, so we’re going to have to go the other way.”

With that, I tapped him twice on the right shoulder with my left hand.

   Sarrrrr-.

   Soon, the black priestly robes I wore upon my return to Earth were wrapped around my body.

In Wook, seeing my sudden change of outfit, asks cautiously.

   “What are you doing?”

   I shrugged and replied.

   “I’m going to do some field evangelism.”

2.

   There’s a cartoon I remember watching when I was very young.

   It was a cartoon about a detective inhabiting the body of a young elementary school student, and I often wondered if he was the real black cloud in that world.

Because everywhere he went, there were murders and other violent crimes.

The reason I’m telling you this story now is also simple.

   I’m telling you this because I’m wondering if I’ve become the protagonist of such a manga or novel.

   [Now that you’ve entered the Abyss Dungeon, the associated DLC quest will occur].

[Salvation]

   Type: Sub – Abyssal Dungeon

   Description: You have discovered an area that is overrun by familiar Magi. You have a sacred responsibility to cleanse the area of its magic and reclaim it from evil.

   Pope, punish your enemies with the holy wrath of the god you follow. And save the poor lambs captured by the Magi from their sins.

   Reward: 50 Divinity Points (DP)

   *This is a sub-quest, and you do not have to do it if you don’t want to.

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

   I nodded, accepting the quest that popped up in front of me.

I was going to save that MyTuber named Gu Min-Soo anyway, quest or no quest, and if they offered me divinity points while doing so, there was no reason to refuse.

   It’s also worth noting that these sub-quests can be used to earn points in addition to simply increasing my followers.

  The quest system doesn’t seem to be much different from Eden.

   The system is divided into main and sub.

   The difference between the two is quite simple. Main quests are required; subquests are optional.

   Sub-quests are simply what you do when you want to get extra rewards, and I’m guessing that Earth will continue to have sub-quests that reward divinity points.

I read the quest window once more, then quietly closed it. Then, I slowly walked forward and looked around.

   From the outside, this is an ordinary mountain.

   A normal mountain in Korea, full of pine cones and fallen leaves, with the smell of fresh pine wafting through the air.

   But there’s something about the air that keeps getting on my nerves.

   The most likely cause was the listed in the quest window.

The word “Abyss Dungeon” was quite unfamiliar to me, so I tried calling In Wook earlier.

But the call didn’t connect.

   Given the out-of-range indicator on my phone, it was highly likely that it had something to do with Magi.

   That’s the nature of Magi.

When it comes to distorting everything, I don’t have the energy to keep up with what Magi can do.

   Sigh.

   It was eerily quiet all around, which is why the sound of my footsteps on the fallen leaves was particularly loud.

   At first glance, this might not seem so strange, but it’s too quiet.

Not even the chirping of birds, which would be expected in the mountains.

   How long had I been walking like that?

   Finally, I stopped in place, looked to the side, and said.

“Hyungs, what are you doing over there in such beautiful weather?”

There was about five seconds of silence, and then four men walked down from the gap in the trees.

   They stood in front of me, quickly looking me up and down, and the one with the large camera on his shoulder bowed his head slightly and said, “I’m sorry.

   “We didn’t mean to scare you, sir. We were just filming a MyTube video. I’m sorry, but may I ask what brings you here? Because there’s a dungeon here, and it’s pretty dangerous.”

   He spoke softly, with a personable smile.

   I smiled back at his kind words and bowed my head slightly.

   “Oh, I’m here to see Gu Min-Soo today, my brother should have contacted you, did you not receive it?”

“Ah, are you the returnee? I heard about you from Min-Soo Hyung. If you could have called me, we would have gone to the entrance…….”

   “My phone doesn’t work.”

“Again? Heh. The telecommunications company said they don’t know why…… but I’m glad. I’ll take you to Min-Soo Hyung. By the way, did your brother not come with you?”

   “My brother has work today, so I came alone.”

“I see, then come with me, we’re filming in the dungeon right now, so we have to go a little further.”

   With that, he smiled and started walking forward, and I began walking alongside him.

   The other men followed us in silence.

   The cameraman’s mouth never stopped moving as we walked.

   He asked me what the concept of the priestly garb I was wearing was, and he also commented that he had never met a returnee before.

He even asked me silly questions like what women in other worlds looked like and whether I was popular in that world.

   He never stopped talking.

   You’d think he was a MyTuber, not a cameraman.

   Is a cameraman for a famous MyTuber supposed to have such a tongue?

   The strange thing was that the other three Se-myeongs weren’t saying anything except him.

   So I asked the cameraman, puzzled.

“The three guys in the back have been quiet since earlier.”

He looked at me with rounded eyes like he didn’t know what I was talking about.

   “What? They’ve been talking loudly since earlier, haven’t they?”

   “Oh, I see. Um, what’s your name by any chance?”

“My name is Se-myeong.”

   “Very well,  Se-myeong Hyung. Now, listen carefully to what I’m going to say. Do you understand?”

“What are you talking about?”

  Se-myeong’s eyes widened at my words, and I tapped the back of my hand lightly as I looked at him.

   Churrrrrr.

Soon, a black leather glove wrapped around my hand.

“Se-myeong Hyung, you’re very lucky, I don’t think you’re even an Awakened…… Well, there are some people who are born with an innate resistance to Magi, and since it’s pretty rare, I think you should thank your parents.”

   “What?”

   “If you die here today, I want you to call your parents right away and thank them three times. Do you understand?”

   “What the hell-”

Kwajijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijijij

His words never made it to the end.

   Because I punched the men behind him in the head.

   “Hey!”

There was a heavy crunch but no blood spatter.

Because black smoke was rising from the men whose skulls had been crushed.

“That’s a very ominous entrance, and it looks like the rest are inside, so you’ll be safe here; you can rest here.”

“Dang, you…… what, what are you here for? What the hell is this…….”

   “Me? You know what I am.”

   I said, smiling as humanely as I could at Se-myeong, whose face was white as a sheet.

“I’m here to share the good news.”