Ch.66. Doctrine

After appearing with a dignified presence and directly addressing Bjorn’s tribespeople.

‘Ugh… so cringeworthy.’

As a reaction to spouting all those embarrassing words, I was writhing in the overwhelming shame that followed.

No matter how much I had transcended human limitations in mind and intellect by becoming a god, I was still a deity born from the coalescence of human emotions and thoughts. Compared to other gods, I possessed a far more human-like psyche.

So feeling embarrassed when saying cheesy things and having my face naturally flush red was, in a way, completely natural for someone who had been an ordinary human just a few days ago.

‘…Still, it feels good.’

But separate from that, I could feel a ticklish sensation in a corner of my heart from the trust and faith sent to me by all those souls who depended on me.

The joy of becoming a necessary existence in this world, and even the exhilaration of being able to change the world myself.

It was enough to understand why people desire honor, respect, fame, and power.

Anyway, right after securing this massive number of souls who would steadily provide me with faith, I opened my status window (tentative name) for the first time in a while to check my current state.

Ma-Duk

Race :: God

Type :: Personality-based Thought Complex

Occupation :: Evil God (Lowest)

Abilities

Divinity :: Low

Divine Rank :: Lowest

Faith :: Medium

Interference Capability :: Low

Believers :: 17

Souls (Believers) :: 14,530

Souls (Sinners) :: 0

Divine Aspect

Vengeance: 100% (Lowest)

Skills

Divine Eye (Low), Bestow Blessing (Low), Grant Divine Magic (Low), Divine Punishment (Low), Create Divine Artifact (1/1), Appoint Apostle (1/1)

‘If I just raise my Divine Rank, I’ll be a Low-grade God… good.’

As expected, I’m growing quite rapidly at present.

If this were a game, at the point where I’ve just appointed my first apostle, I’ve already secured a top-tier 0-tier apostle, and thanks to acquiring nearly 14,000 souls, my Faith rating has already risen to the medium level.

Therefore, I now feel the need to gradually advance to a Low-grade God, and for this—some rather tricky conditions must be met.

First, the condition of possessing three Divine Aspects or at least one Divine Aspect at 50% or higher is fulfilled since I completely possess the Vengeance aspect.

The requirement of having at least one apostle is also resolved with Bjorn’s presence. The condition of having over 1,000 believers has long been met if we count the number of souls.

But the final problem: the condition that all ability scores—Divinity, Divine Rank, and Faith—must be at least ‘Low’ grade hasn’t been achieved yet because I haven’t raised my Divine Rank.

Divine Rank.

Literally meaning the “rank” of a god, but in this game, Divine Rank is an ability score directly connected to the religious order that worships that god.

Whether there’s a scripture, methods for educating priests, or clearly defined positions within the order—how well-systematized the religion and order worshipping that god are is most important. Thus, I felt I genuinely needed a religious order that worships me.

I could form a secret order centered around my apostle Bjorn in the Colosseum, but… there are too few slave gladiators affiliated with the Colosseum for that, and they die too easily in matches, making expansion of the order difficult.

And in truth, in the standard “god” gameplay, rather than selecting someone strong like Bjorn as the first apostle, it’s typically more appropriate to appoint someone with high charisma, leadership, and intelligence—a typical scholar or abandoned religious figure.

They often already have followers or disciples, and I wouldn’t need to intervene personally to structure the order; they would automatically create a better-organized system than even a mediocre player could.

But thinking about it now, compared to the 0-tier asset that is Bjorn, even a decent religious leader would be practically worthless. Besides, I have reasons why I must personally establish the order.

Since this isn’t just a simple data bundle in a game, there’s a high possibility of numerous variables arising within the order.

Just thinking about the atrocities committed by various modern religions makes this easier to understand. Moreover, since my order holds vengeance as its core doctrine, it could easily go astray without my direct intervention.

Therefore, I decided to personally establish the foundation of the order, and as the first step, I decided to set up the core doctrines.

Doctrine.

Comparable to the Ten Commandments in real-world religions, it represents the core teachings of the order. Both in games and reality, followers who adhere to the doctrine receive certain benefits.

For example, if a good god’s doctrine includes punishing evil, their believers fighting enemies with evil alignments receive stat bonuses. Scholars serving a god with knowledge pursuit as doctrine learn faster—equivalent to gaining intelligence stats in game terms.

Additionally, only content related to Divine Aspects can be designated as doctrine, and while doctrines can be changed, doing so incurs severe penalties—like diminished influence or schisms.

Furthermore, only five core doctrines can have practical effects; the rest don’t provide tangible benefits to believers.

Even those five core doctrines are locked according to the number of Divine Aspects possessed. Since I can currently only issue two doctrines, I needed to decide their content very carefully.

‘First… we start with vengeance.’

• Do not forgive those who have sinned against you. You must exact vengeance upon them.

Naturally, the first doctrine relates to vengeance, specifically mandating revenge.

From a legal or judicial perspective, this might seem like the actions of some social malcontent group endorsing vigilante justice, but… well, what can I say?

I am, after all, the God of Vengeance and clearly an evil god.

Even if I prefer more justifiable revenge, I ultimately gain power from all acts of vengeance in the world, so affirming all revenge is my raison d’être.

Anyway, my believers who follow this doctrine will receive slight bonuses aiding their revenge, even for minor retribution, and these bonuses strengthen with the intensity of the vengeance.

If seeking to kill someone in revenge, they receive physical enhancements; if plotting their downfall through intrigue, intelligence and luck bonuses—customized assistance that will greatly benefit me.

• Help your brethren who seek vengeance. If your brethren cannot take revenge, you must do so in their stead.

The next item allows the order to assist in personal vengeance or even take it over directly.

Such a doctrine is likely to garner support for the order itself and naturally unite believers who might otherwise act independently in their pursuit of revenge.

The power of this doctrine simply extends the aforementioned bonuses to those helping or acting on behalf of others seeking vengeance.

With the doctrines completed, the next step is to establish the structure of the order.

‘…Let’s copy.’

Since I, a mere civilian with no religious background, couldn’t possibly know how to properly handle such complex matters, I decided to partially borrow position titles from Catholicism, one of Earth’s most successful religions.

The hierarchy of priests who wield divine magic ascends from ordinary priests, to bishops who lead priests, to cardinals who oversee specific regions (dioceses), and finally to the pope as the supreme religious leader.

Meanwhile, the hierarchy of holy knights, unique to this world’s religious system, follows a similar pattern: squires as apprentice knights, knights equivalent to bishops, and the Grand Master of the Holy Knights, with knights theoretically eligible to become pope.

As for special positions like inquisitors, apostles, or saints… I’ve put those on hold for now.

My judgment was that defining these would be meaningless before establishing the actual order.

So, I’ve prepared everything necessary before founding the order.

Other matters like scripture content can be adjusted after the order is established through direct guidance, and temples are somewhat premature for a lowest-grade god to worry about.

All that remains is to find the talent needed to formally launch the order—

[O God! Please, please grant me the power to strike back against the Senate!]

‘…Bingo, found one.’

As luck would have it, I had just discovered a perfect candidate making a prayer as their last desperate effort.