Chapter 61: Apostle

Rabi and Ryandel’s expressions were completely frozen.

Something incredible had happened, but they seemed unprepared to properly accept it.

Ryandel’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly, and Rabi simply stared at me with wide eyes.

The temple was peaceful again, but my heart was still pounding.

The burning flame inside me a moment ago seemed to be stirring under my skin.

Something definitely felt different.

“Hehe! A disciple of Michel, isn’t it really great?”

When I said this, Ryandel shook his head as if he had come to his senses.

“Lycoris, you really… became an apostle?”

Ryandel’s voice was filled with disbelief.

“No, that’s… ridiculous…”

“Why? Is it strange that I became an apostle of Michel?”

“Apostles… have never appeared since ancient times, roughly five thousand years ago. Not just for God Michel, but for any god.”

Ryandel remained silent for a while before speaking carefully.

“Huh? Really?”

My heart started beating faster.

The first apostle in five thousand years!

Then I must have become a historical figure.

Suddenly, I felt even more proud.

“Then, is there a way to prove that I am an apostle?”

Ryandel thought for a moment.

“According to ancient texts, the apostles of all time have the symbol of their god engraved somewhere on their bodies. They are also called stigmata.”

“Oooh! Stigmata!”

A symbol engraved on their bodies? That would be so cool!

I quickly examined my hands and arms.

I rolled up my sleeves and looked around my forearms, but I couldn’t see anything.

“Huh… What is it?”

Confused, I checked my shoulders and legs, but there was no sign.

“Am I an apostle?”

Ryandel and Rabi looked at me with puzzled expressions.

Suddenly, I remembered the stigmata I had seen in the game.

If it’s a stigmata, it should be on your back!

“Wait a minute!”

I held Rabi’s hand and headed to a small room next to the temple.

Temples like this usually had small rooms where priests stayed.

The room contained only a simple bed, a small desk, and a small mirror on the wall.

The moonlight streaming in through the door softly illuminated the room.

“Rabi! Check if there are any stigmata on my back!”

I began to take off my dress without hesitation.

The black dress flowed to the floor, leaving only sexy lingerie.

“Whoa! Lee, Lady Lycoris!”

Rabi gasped in surprise.

Her face instantly turned red.

“What? Check quickly!”

When I urged her, Rabi awkwardly avoided eye contact and began examining my back.

Her warm hand touched my back.

“Hey, here…”

Rabi’s voice trembled.

“It’s really there! A pattern of light spreading out in all directions… in red…”

“Yahoo!”

I jumped for joy.

“It’s a real apostle!”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t see my back.

At that moment, Miel and Cecilia flew around the room and came to the mirror on the dressing table and the mirror on the wall.

The two butterflies flapped their wings at the same time and pointed at me.

“Oh! These smart guys!”

I excitedly adjusted the mirror here and there, and finally, I could see the stigmata engraved on my back.

In the center of my back was engraved a pattern of light spreading out in all directions, which was the symbol of Michel. Unlike the usual gold, it was glowing red.

“Wow… It’s really cool!”

The stigmata weren’t just tattoos, but seemed to actually shine from within my skin.

It was so beautiful that I lost myself in it for a while.

I wanted to tell Ryandel quickly.

I quickly put on my dress and went back to the main shrine with Rabi.

“There it is! There is a symbol of Michel on Lady Lycoris’s back…”

Ryandel’s face turned pale.

“Then… you really are an apostle.”

He exclaimed feebly.

He shook his head slightly as if it was unrealistic.

“You are truly amazing.”

“Ryandel, tell me more about the Apostle!”

I looked at him with eyes full of curiosity.

I was so curious about what would change when I became an Apostle.

Ryandel cleared his throat and spoke slowly.

“Apostle means a representative of a god. They can use some of that god’s abilities… and their main duty is to spread that god’s teachings.”

“Oh! That! That’s what I used to do!”

I had been spreading Mikel’s teachings so diligently!

And now I could use Mikel’s abilities too. It was such a great thing!

“Hehe, I have become a real Apostle!”

I knelt down in front of Mikel’s statue again and prayed.

“Mikel, thank you for choosing me as an Apostle. I will continue to spread Mikel’s teachings even more diligently!”

I wanted to check my traits again with a proud heart.

I quietly opened the status window.

『 [Mikel’s Apostle]
– You have been chosen as an Apostle of Mikel, the God of Light and War. 』

Huh?

God of light and war?

He was originally a benevolent god of light… but now a god of war?

Curious, I checked the descriptions of the traits related to Mikel that I had previously known.

『 [Mikel’s Cheer]
– Mikel, the god of light and war, cheers you on♡ 』

『 [Mikel’s Flower]
– Mikel, the god of light and war, cherishes your flower fragrance♡ 』

Eh!

It clearly said ‘benevolent god of light’ before, but now it had all been changed to ‘god of light and war’!

I had seen Mikel’s cheer traits many times since I was a sprout, so I remembered them clearly.

‘…What is this? Did I become an apostle and find out about Mikel’s hidden responsibility?’

My heart swelled with excitement.

Humans only knew Mikel as a benevolent god of light, but I always knew that Mikel liked blood and slaughter.

That’s why I kept offering blood sacrifices, and it turned out that was right!

‘The foolish humans didn’t know Mikel’s true appearance. But I recognized it and served it properly, so I was chosen as an apostle!’

Thinking this made me even more proud.

Only I, who knew the true face of Mikel, which ordinary believers did not know, was qualified to become an apostle.

You recognized my loyalty!

While I was lost in thought looking at the status window, the four approached me.

Miel flew through my hair, drawing a blue light trail, and quickly flapped her wings as if she understood something.

It seemed as if she was saying, “Amazing!”

Cecilia spread her fiery wings wide on my shoulder, conveying a warmer warmth than usual.

Lotte began to orbit around me at a faster speed, and even the always lazy Glessia stuck close to me with sparkling eyes.

They seemed to sense my greatness as well.

Miel, in particular, had an expression as if she was deep in thought.

Sometimes she would look at me and then at the statue of Mikel.

Does this guy know something?

“Hehe, thank you guys!”

A happy smile naturally appeared.

But Ravie and Ryandel still looked dumbfounded.

They looked confused, as if they were dreaming.

“Let’s go now! We should go see the master quickly.”

We left the temple.

Countless stars were shining in the night sky, and the fresh night air brushed our faces.

The town was already in a deep sleep, and only the streetlights were faintly lit in the quiet streets.

When we quietly walked through the town streets and arrived at the town entrance, we saw someone waiting.

It was Evan.

“I came to see off Lady Lycoris.”

Evan greeted politely.

“Huh? You were waiting for me?”

I was touched by Evan’s consideration without realizing it.

“Evan, I have become Lady Mikel’s apostle!”

I immediately told him the news.

Evan’s eyes grew wide.

“Huh? A… Apostle?”

Evan stuttered, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“There are even stigmata on her body. It’s true.”

Levi added as if to prove what I said.

“Hehe, so tell the central guild that I became Master Mikel’s Apostle!”

Evan nodded, still not fully awake.

“I… I understand.”

“Hehe! Then we’re going now!”

We said goodbye to Evan and left the village completely. We headed straight for Seolhanryeong along the moonlit path.

Soon, the entrance to the gigantic Seolhanryeong opened up before our eyes.

A gigantic ice canyon hundreds of meters high was shining bluishly under the moonlight. The endless ice walls and snowfields made me feel like I was in another world.

“Wow, it’s pretty…”

I exclaimed as I looked up at the gigantic ice canyon.

This is the fence between my master and my house! It was like a huge castle wall.

Now that I think about it, my master didn’t like it when Master Mikel kept giving me things, so is it okay for me to become an Apostle?

Suddenly, I became worried.

I wish Master and Mikel would get along well…

I felt like a child stuck in the middle of a fight between mom and dad.

But if I had to be specific, I liked Master, who was in the mother’s position, better.

What kind of expression would Master make if he found out I became an apostle?

What would he say if he saw the stigmata on my back?

I was curious as to why Master didn’t like Mikel very much.

What happened between them?

Was it just because of the relationship between a god and a monster?

Or was there a deeper reason?

‘Oh, no way… I wonder if Mikel is listening to me just thinking about it?’

I didn’t want Mikel to be hurt…

But I didn’t want to make Master sad either.

While passing through Seolhanryeong, I didn’t see a single monster.

I wanted to test my new apostle ability, but I was frustrated because there were no monsters.

“There aren’t any monsters?”

“I think it’s because Lady Lycoris killed them all yesterday…”

Ryandel said cautiously.

‘Hmm… Should I just test it in the air?’

“Ryandel, do you know what abilities the apostles of the god Mikel have?”

Ryandel thought for a moment and then said, “According to ancient texts, the apostles of the god Mikel are said to be mainly specialized in recovery abilities.”

“Huh? Recovery?”

I already had the ability of recovery pollen.

But Mikel’s ability must be more special.

I should try it out.

“Ryandel, hold still for a moment.”

I spread my palm toward Ryandel.

He flinched and stepped back.

“Hehe! Don’t be scared. It’ll be okay.”

I thought of Mikel and focused on ‘recovery’ in my mind.

In that moment, a soft light began to spread from my palm.

However, this was completely different from my recovery pollen.

Instead of the pollen slowly spreading and taking effect, the beam of light pierced Ryandel straight through like an arrow!

When the light enveloped Ryandel, he looked surprised.

His eyes suddenly brightened, and his tired expression disappeared in an instant.

“This… this is…”

Ryandel examined his body and opened his eyes wide.

“My body has become really light! It’s like… gravity has disappeared…”

He raised his arms, and they moved as light as feathers.

“Not only has my tired look completely disappeared, but my magical power seems to have been greatly enhanced. This is on a different level from normal recovery magic…”

“Really? I’ll use it on Revi too!”

This time, I extended my hand towards Revi.

The same gentle light spread out and penetrated her.

Revi’s body appeared to float in the air for a moment as it was bathed in light.

“Wow!”

A bright smile spread across Ravie’s face.

“It feels really good! I feel like my body is flying! All my fatigue seems to have disappeared…”

She looked around her body and made a surprised expression.

“My quiver is glowing!”

A soft light was leaking out from the quiver on Rebi’s back.

She took out an arrow and saw that its tip was glowing red and gold.

“Is this… a blessed arrow?”

Rebi asked in a voice full of awe.

“Hehe! I guess so!”

But strangely, even though she used the Apostle’s ability, there was no change in the status window.

Usually, when you acquire a new skill, it is indicated in the status window…

‘Ah! That’s it! This is a divine ability that the status window cannot contain!’

Thinking that way, it felt even more special.

I felt anew that the status of being an Apostle of Mikel was truly extraordinary.

At that moment, the status window rang loudly.

『 You have acquired the skill “Power – Divine Radiance”. 』
『 You have acquired the skill “Power – Sanctus Eudicium”. 』
『 You have acquired the skill “Power – Lux Purificacio”. 』
『 You have acquired the skill “Power – Oculus Veritas”. 』
『 You have acquired the skill “Power – Hemomancy”. 』
『 You have acquired the skill “Power – Deathmark”. 』

What the!

This guy with the status window!

Are you mad because I ignored you!