Chapter 89: The Guide (2)

“Master, a new player has cleared the roguelike.”

“…A new player?”

Albus, who had logged into Rudera to track the whereabouts and mental state of the princess, was greeted with surprising news from the guide.

Even though the roguelike was based on randomness and rewarded players generously, it was notoriously difficult. 

No one had ever reached the end except for the princess.

“Who could it be? The Sword Emperor? No, he’s been just watching streams. Then the Dragon Lord? No, he’s been watching too.”

Albus ran through the list of strong contenders in his mind but couldn’t figure out who it was.

“Player Janice. She’s a young human girl who’s recently gained quite a following in the streaming world.”

Along with the guide’s report, Janice’s face, profile, and status window appeared before Albus.

“A normal human?”

Her stats at the time of logging into the roguelike were difficult to believe for an ordinary human, likely due to her upbringing in the countryside where she would take down beasts with a slingshot. 

But by the standards of this world, overrun with monsters, she was still considered quite weak.

As Albus watched Janice play the roguelike, she struck him as oddly familiar.

“I thought I’d seen her somewhere before…”

The innocent girl climbing the tower awkwardly with a slingshot in hand.

“It was her.”

The girl who once made viewers smile like proud parents had now become a fierce warrior.

He remembered feeling a bit embarrassed when she oddly praised the GM in the middle of her playthrough.

“The player has spread your glory across the world by clearing the roguelike, my lord.”

The weak girl, with unwavering faith in the GM, had achieved a feat on par with the princess. And every step of her journey had been broadcast in detail for all to see.

“She is worthy of receiving the title of Apostle, my lord.”

“An Apostle…”

An Apostle, a warrior blessed directly by the god, chosen to serve.

At this point, Albus had already appointed the princess as his Apostle and Queen.

“My lord, Player Janice has demonstrated her faith in you with her great deeds. If you bestow the title of Apostle upon her, her story will be complete, and the faith of the people in you will be solidified.”

“…That’s true, but…”

Albus knew it too.

If he granted the title of Apostle to someone like Janice, who had shattered her limits and achieved greatness, the divine energy he would receive in return would surge.

“But I’m not one to steal the credit for someone else’s achievements.”

Albus hadn’t contributed much to her success. 

Janice had achieved it all by herself, with the help of the viewers who offered advice during her streams.

He didn’t want to diminish someone else’s accomplishments by intervening.

“Besides, Rebecca’s situation hasn’t been resolved.”

The princess, Rebecca, who had almost caused a catastrophe in the real world.

He hadn’t yet figured out why she had gone mad.

He couldn’t appoint a new Apostle while her issue remained unresolved.

“Moreover, if I give the title of Apostle just because someone cleared the roguelike, it’ll set a precedent. More conquerors will appear in the future, and I can’t make them all Apostles.”

Unlike other gods, an Apostle of the GM also carried the symbolic role of being the king of the people who followed the GM. 

He couldn’t recklessly increase their number.

“It’s fine, my lord. The first Apostle is about to lose their title anyway.”

“What?”

“Please, look at the screen, my lord.”

Albus turned his gaze to the screen at the guide’s words and saw an unexpected scene.

Crack.

His Apostle, using the divine spear given by the god, pierced Janice’s abdomen.

“Cough!”

Blood spilled from Janice’s mouth.

“Wh-why…”

Her bloody hand gripped the princess’s spear.

Her eyes shook with disbelief.

But the princess merely looked down at her coldly.

“I will not allow it any longer. I alone am his one and only Apostle.”

Crack.

Janice’s consciousness faded.

The princess silently watched as Janice’s body turned into golden dust and scattered.

[New Apostle]

The system informed her of the news.

A new Apostle of the GM had been appointed.

Though Albus hadn’t actually given Janice the title of Apostle, the guide had manipulated the system, making it seem as though Janice had been appointed.

The princess believed that the GM had chosen Janice as an Apostle.

“I am the only Apostle… I am the only one who belongs to him. How dare a stray cat…”

Already mentally unstable, the princess, driven by jealousy, had rushed to eliminate her rival, believing Janice was trying to steal the GM from her.

“The next is the real world.”

Though Janice had died in Rudera, it had only been a few dozen hours.

In the real world, she was still safe.

After a few days, she would return to Rudera without issue.

But to truly eliminate her, the princess had to kill Janice in the real world.

The princess gathered all the clues she had about the “stray cat.”

A country girl. A slingshot. The style of her clothes.

With these clues, she began to track down Janice in the real world.

Though she didn’t yet know Janice’s true identity, it wouldn’t take her long to find out.

Just as she was about to press the logout button, a voice stopped her.

“Stop.”

A divine messenger stood before her.

“What is this?”

The princess frowned at the guide, who had appeared to deliver the words of the god she served. 

Yet her reaction was indifferent.

“Do you know what you’ve done?”

“Know what? What could it be?”

“Rebecca, the first queen appointed by the GM. Remember your duty.”

“Duty? What duty?”

Divine energy gathered in the princess’s hand.

“I am the GM’s queen. How dare you not address me with respect, when you are nothing but a servant of the GM?”

Boom.

The princess planted her golden spear into the ground.

“I alone am the GM’s queen! I alone convey his will and stand by his side! Not someone like you!”

She leaped, charging toward the guide.

Boom!

The guide raised a hand and stopped her attack effortlessly.

The princess hesitated briefly.

Her rampage was not of her own will. 

Her mind had been twisted by corruption. 

But was it right to exploit that?

The guide steeled its resolve.

“If it’s for the GM, one human’s sacrifice is nothing.”

“I am the GM’s messenger. Do you really intend to defy the GM’s will?”

The guide’s eyes glowed red.

“Defy? Heh, sure. I’ll defy him. If I have to defy him to fulfill my love for him, then I will gladly defy him!”

Boom!

“If defying him is the only way to make my love come true…! Then I will gladly defy him!”

The princess, her face radiant, surged forward in a golden whirlwind.

The power of an ascended being condensed into a destructive charge.

A force so great that even the gods would be wary.

“Defying the GM…”

Crack.

The guide, his expression unchanged, blocked the princess’s attack with nothing but his palm.

“To betray, despite receiving all the blessings of the GM.”

Whir.

“You will be judged immediately.”

Whirring energy filled Rudera.

“Ugh…!”

A girl, lying down, clutched her head as she slowly sat up.

“Where… is this…”

Janice, who had died in Rudera, awoke in the real world.

“Did… I die?”

In the roguelike, death only reset the world. 

It didn’t eject players from the system, so Janice felt strange, unfamiliar with the sensation of death.

She had dreamed of meeting the GM’s Apostle. 

She had thought she would meet the GM himself.

Janice recalled the feeling of the spear that had pierced her abdomen.

“Why…?”

Lost in shock, she didn’t notice the small cockroach that had crawled out and hidden behind her.

Somewhere in Rudera,

“Bingo.”

Carthesia, the ancient dragon granted partial authority by Albus, had ventured deep into Rudera.

Her eyes gleamed brightly.

Unbeknownst to her, the fragment of the future GM lay deep within Rudera, visible only to her blessed vision.