Chapter 194: Fake God Strategy
Bang!
A gunshot echoed through the tunnel.
Blood poured out from the Kobold chief’s temple, and the Kobold collapsed to the ground.
"What the… Kugh!"
Appearing from behind the confused guards, Ramin swung her sword at them, and they all died before they were even able to draw their swords.
Ramin then shook the blood off her sword and put it back into her sheath.
"I told you to shoot after my signal."
"But it was an urgent situation, wasn’t it? Hwee-Kyung almost got shot."
"They wouldn't have shot her immediately anyway."
"But you killed them all, didn't you?"
Ramin shook her head and approached Hwee-Kyung.
Hwee-Kyung looked back and forth between Juran and Ramin.
"You... No, Ramin? …Is it really you?"
Ramin tore the cloth that was covering Hwee-Kyung’s face.
"What are you doing here?"
"I should be asking that. How are you…here?"
Ramin was about to say something to Hwee-Kyung, but she stopped herself and instead said to Aganin, "Elf, would the gunshots have been heard from far away?"
"Probably. But they wouldn’t be sure if they were gunshots or not."
"We need some time to talk."
Aganin sighed. "Alright. I'll try to buy some time somehow. I can probably send the managers back, saying that there’s a gas leak so it’s dangerous.”
After saying so, Aganin went toward the group of laborers and led them out through the tunnel where he, Ramin, and Juran had come from.
Ramin pushed Hwee-Kyung and made her sit on a small pile of rocks.
"Is your foot alright?"
"Look, it's fine now. It's a power from God."
"Then come with us. The gods need you."
Hwee-Kyung looked at Ramin with a puzzled expression.
"The gods?"
"More precisely, Night Sky, the Blue Insect God."
Hwee-Kyung glared at Ramin and then stared at Juran for a moment. To be precise, she was staring at his antlers.
Hwee-Kyung said, “No. I’m going to stay here.”
"Why?"
"Because that's what Night Sky wishes for me to do."
Ramin realized that something was wrong.
***
After escaping from Black Scale, Hwee-Kyung wandered for a long time. She had even come to the western continent, which was a new land at the time, but nothing changed. The only difference was that the existence of Vampires was less known on the western continent at the time, making it easier for her to move.
That was when she met Ramin. To Hwee-Kyung, who was lonely, Ramin became a source of comfort, but their time together didn't last long. Especially because Hwee-Kyung had no intention of living by harming innocent people, she felt a sense of guilt about the way Ramin saved her.
"So I decided to die."
The method Hwee-Kyung had chosen to kill herself was starving to death, which had been the way her Vampire ancestors went with in the past. Vampires were known to devote themselves to Night Sky through that method, so Hwee-Kyung decided to follow the tradition.
She buried herself in a pit and starved for ten days until she couldn't move, and after a month, her consciousness began to fade. That was when it happened. When she couldn’t distinguish between dream and reality, she saw God. More precisely, she couldn't see the god but felt their presence behind her, constantly speaking to her.
"He was the one I know. He knew everything about me."
"Night Sky?"
"Yes." Hwee-Kyung nodded. "He said he couldn't forgive me, so even if I died, things wouldn’t go the way I want."
"..."
"Instead, he said that if I follow his will, I could be forgiven for my sins."
Ramin said, “Is that why you've been here? Leaving yourself to be consumed like a slave? Just enduring all of this?"
"Yes, this is my atonement, Ramin."
Ramin grabbed Hwee-Kyung’s shoulders.
"Come to your senses. Abusing yourself just because you think you have sinned doesn't change anything. This isn’t atonement."
"Maybe not, but..."
"But what?"
Hwee-Kyung avoided Ramin's gaze and replied, "I told you I once loved someone."
"Yes, you mentioned that a hundred years ago, but I still remember."
"And I also told you he was taken by God."
“Yes.”
"And that was why I went against God’s will.”
"Right."
"I'm afraid of God," Hwee-Kyung continued. "Gods can hold and shake any life as they wish. On the gods’ Go board, no matter how noble or precious a life may seem, it all becomes cheap. The precious gold trinkets, treasures, and technologies that we think are precious mean nothing from their perspectives. Ramin, imagine that I defy God’s will. Think of it as a bug, once cherished and played with, suddenly slips out of their grasp and escapes."
“...So it wasn’t for atonement?”
"It wasn’t. if my suffering can make someone else better off, or if it diverts God’s attention from someone else, then it's worth it."
Ramin muttered, “...So it was a sacrifice.”
“Perhaps.”
Ramin said hesitantly, "B…but, no. Maybe somewhere, something went wrong. Or perhaps this is an attempt of the Pantheon to make things right. Night Sky is looking for you. He might have forgiven you."
Hwee-Kyung replied, “No, you are my test.”
"A test? Why do you think that?"
"If it's not a test, then Night Sky would have spoken to me directly. Just like he does every day."
Ramin exchanged glances with Juran. Juran seemed equally puzzled.
Ramin replied, "What… Night Sky sent us because he doesn't know where you are. I am the last person in the Empire who met you, and this young man here is your descendant. He said he carried that spirit within his antlers."
This time, Hwee-Kyung furrowed her eyebrows.
“...Is that so? Then who is that coming over here now?”
Ramin realized Hwee-Kyung’s gaze was fixed on something behind her. She drew her sword and turned around. It was a dark path, and nothing was visible yet. Soon, something appeared out of the shadows, their footsteps echoing. It was an appearance that Ramin was also familiar with.
The figure, although not commonly depicted in this form and usually appearing symbolically, had a close resemblance to the descriptions found in many texts. It was the one who had a buffalo skull over their head, Night Sky.
***
“It’s the Fake God Strategy,” Sung-Woon said in the conference room of the pantheon.
Then Solongos, the god of the Centaurs who was dressed in armor with metal scales, crossed their arms and said, "Could you please explain it more precisely, hyung-nim[1]?"
"...Umm, you’re familiar with the changed belief systems, right?"
The other players seemed to know, but Solongos appeared clueless.
Sung-Woon explained, “It means that even if a believer doesn’t believe in a god, but maintains their faith in a god’s creature creation, the Faith points would go to the god. Conversely, if they maintain such faith, the believer could also consume the Faith points.”
Solongos nodded. Sung-Woon doubted if Solongos really understood, but continued to explain.
"The Fake God Strategy targets the gap in this changed belief system."
"What do you mean?"
"For example, let's say there's a god, God A. God A is a good god, but like all religions, it's impossible to satisfy everyone. Some people dislike God A. Let's call this group Group B."
Solongos nodded again.
Sung-Woon continued, "However, God A wants to attract Group B into following them. In such a situation, God A creates a fake god, God B, who can appeal to the preferences of Group B. This way, even though this fake God B is not a player, but a creation, they collect Faith points from that group."
"I see."
“He doesn’t understand, does he?”
Although the others didn't say it out loud, they seemed to agree.
Sung-Woon ignored Solongos and continued to explain, “This strategy can be quite complicated if delved into, and thanks to favorable circumstances, Hegemonia used it quite well. They presented the fake god not as a fictional god, but as me, Night Sky."
Sung-Woon thought about how Hegemonia could have used such a strategy. Certainly, they wouldn’t have an overly complex plan.
On the second continent, Vampires were rare, which increased the likelihood of them being noticed. Moreover, during the time when Hwee-Kyung and Ramin separated, Hegemonia likely would have paid attention to Ramin due to the murders of innocents committed.
‘And then probably thought to make use of it.’
Simply considering Hwee-Kyung as a threat and eliminating her was an option, but Hegemonia would have come up with the Fake God Strategy because Hwee-Kyung was an individual with a high priest level and impressive stats. Furthermore, Vampires didn’t age, meaning they had the potential to live indefinitely, which made them more valuable as a resource to make use of rather than dispose of.
‘Imitating me probably wasn’t even difficult.’
By that point, Hegemonia would have also possessed most Areas and Domains, so it wouldn’t have been challenging to imitate Sung-Woon by creating insects through Miracles.
‘Then Hegemonia would have read the individual’s history, figured out inside information, and put together a rough imitation.’
That was how the Supporter Sect was made. For Hegemonia, it was likely to have been made for simple Faith point farming. This concept, commonly known among players as a Faith point farm or a Faith point factory, had various forms and types, and players constantly made them when they had a chance. By now, Hegemonia would have likely forgotten about them.
Beings who conjured Miracles were excellent for collecting Faith points. However, the problem was that Faith points were used each time a Miracle was performed, and in this case, where such a complex strategy was used, the Faith points Hwee-Kyung used through Miracles came from Sung-Woon. Meanwhile, the Faith points collected went to Hegemonia. It was an excellent Faith point factory.
Sung-Woon found no faults in Hegemonia's strategy. Strictly speaking, it was a great strategy that didn’t match their animalistic playstyle.
“...In the end, it was me who caused the leakage problem.”
Lunda then raised her hand. “Nebula.”
“What is it?”
“Well, we understand the problem now, but how do you plan to solve it?"
Noting Sung-Woon’s puzzled look, Lunda continued, "That place is practically the heart of the Union Kingdom, and our forces are too far away. Even if we want to support them using Faith points, it's Hegemonia's territory, so we would get penalties as we enter."
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that part. I anticipated it to some extent, and this was just a confirmation process."
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t ask for much from that Vampire, did I? I only told her to find Hwee-Kyung, which means that in itself is enough.”
Lunda seemed confused at first, but then nodded as if she realized something.
Then Solongos raised his hand, and Sung-Woon pointed at him. “What is it?”
"I don't understand, hyung-nim.”
Sung-Woon replied, "Well...the opponent used the Fake God Strategy. But what do you think would happen if that strategy got exposed?"
“Ah.”
Sung-Woon tapped on the map of the slave labor camp with the back of his hand.
"From now on, this is our land."
1. Hyung-nim is the polite/formal Korean term a male would use to address another male older than himself. ☜
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