4. Testimony

1.

   

The doppelganger incident that occurred two days ago in the dungeons of Yeoju somehow ended well.

Fortunately, there were no deaths, and only 12 injuries were confirmed.

What’s more, all 12 of those injured were suffering from psychological injuries, not visible physical ones.

In fact, it was, in a way, a very understandable pain.

   It was a common aftereffect of being attacked by Mimic and his doppelganger.

If I had waited a day longer, many of them would have died.

   Once I killed the doppelganger, I was able to figure out what his plan was.

“What if he was a doppelganger? What if he succeeded in his ritual?”

“What happens is simple. He’d sacrifice everyone there and bring in all the other demons.”

   That was the role of the doppelganger in Eden, too.

   To lure humans into their play, taint them with Magi, and then use them as sacrifices to summon the Demonic Gate.

I’ve actually seen them sacrifice an entire countryside city to summon a giant Demonic Gate.

That’s why people called doppelgangers the scouts of Pride.

The doppelganger had summoned the Demonic Gate, and the Legion of Pride had emerged.

“Unlucky, but also lucky, the way I see it.”

In the end, it all worked out without too much trouble.

But there was one thing that bothered me.

Why did <Abyss Dungeon>, which hadn’t appeared in Korea a few times, appear in front of me?

It was too blatant a coincidence to be dismissed as a coincidence.

It was most likely related to the <Causality> that Limen told me about last time, but does that mean I’m really doomed to attract accidents wherever I go, like ‘that guy’ in a mystery manga?

“In Wook, do you think we should just go live somewhere else?”

“What the hell, not again.”

“I’m just saying.”

I didn’t need to hear Limen talk about cause and effect.

   I feel like a totem that causes accidents.

While I was thinking about this and that, In Wook suddenly remembered something and put down the sandwich he was eating.

“Oh, right, bro. I’ve been wanting to ask you something since yesterday.”

   “What is it?”

His eyes sparkled as if he was genuinely curious.

   When In Wook is like that, it means he’s really curious. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve seen his eyes light up like that when he’s really curious about something.

   “What the hell did you do to Minsoo?”

   “What did I do?”

   “Because Min-soo was a really bad atheist, but look at this.”

   In Wook said that and showed me the  smartphone he was holding.

   On the screen of his phone was the text that Minsoo had sent to In Wook yesterday.

When In Wook looks like that, it means he’s really curious. Ever since he was a kid, his eyes would light up like that when he wanted to know something.

   “What the hell did you do to Minsoo’s brother?”

   “I mean, what did you do?”

   “Because Min-soo was a really bad atheist, but look at this.”

   In Wook said that and showed me the  smartphone he was holding.

   On the screen of his phone was the text that Minsoo had sent In Wook yesterday.

   

   -In Wook, the Pope is the proof that the Goddess loves this world, and you and I must work hard to serve him well from now on. Do you understand?

   

   “Hyung, if I don’t have faith, you won’t save me or something like that?”

“Ai, you don’t believe me? I just shared the good word with him, nothing more.”

I’m feeling unjustly accused.

   You’d think I’d tied him up and brainwashed Gu Min-Soo.

Gu Min-soo’s spontaneous faith was his own choice.

   To be precise.

   “Of course, there was some external pressure.”

“Did you brainwash him yourself? Because he has 5.4 million followers on MyTube? That’s a crime.”

   “What the hell do you think I am?”

   In Wook thought about my question for a moment, then nodded.

   “Cult leader?”

   “I’m gonna fuck you up.”

   “So why is Minsoo suddenly acting like this, and what is this outside pressure?”

   I tried to gloss over it, but I couldn’t.

   I sighed and told him the truth.

“I didn’t expect him to fall in love in such a short time. I think it took less than a minute.”

   “With you ……?”

“I’m going to kill you.”

“No, I mean, who did he fall for?”

   “Limen.”

   I still can’t get over the look on Minsoo’s face when he woke up.

   It was like he was possessed by something.

   If I didn’t know better, I would have thought he was possessed by a succubus.

Well, it’s not so strange for Min-Soo to feel that way.

If it’s Limen’s appearance, her appearance is something that you can’t help but be mesmerized by. She’s so beautiful that it’s mind-boggling to look at, and there’s a certain aura that only she exudes.

   An ancient, holy aura that would convince anyone that she is a goddess.

   I certainly had that same shock when I first saw her.

   But that’s not all.

   Gu Min-Soo was even healed by Limen herself and experienced her power firsthand.

   How many people could deny her after experiencing a miracle from God?

   At my explanation, In Wook nodded as if he understood.

   “I knew the goddess was a good person, but it seems she’s also pretty.”

“She may look good, but how do you know she’s good? Do you know she’s my kidnapper?”

   “But you’re still taking care of her, and I’d like to meet her sometime.”

   I can’t argue with that because it’s true.

   Anyway.

   I was having a peaceful morning with my coffee.

Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

   As if I wasn’t relaxing enough, my  smartphone suddenly vibrated on the kitchen table.

   The caller was Kim Dong Shik, the head of the Ministry of Ability Management.

   I took a sip of coffee and slowly picked up the phone.

   “Hello…….”

Before I could finish my sentence, I heard Kim’s urgent voice over the phone.

-Mr. Shi Yu. I’m so sorry for calling you so early in the morning. I have something urgent to talk to you about, so I’m calling you in such a rude manner.

   I sighed as I put down my coffee cup. I smiled bitterly and replied.

“Let’s hear it.”

   -Mr. Shi Yu, I need your help, and if you have a moment, would you mind if I come and talk to you in person?

   Haha.

I can’t see myself relaxing anytime soon.

   

   2.

   

   I don’t know how urgent it was, but Kim arrived at the cafe in front of my house right away.

Was it 20 minutes after he called?

   In that amount of time, he must have already started heading towards my house.

I glanced at the Ministry of Ability Management employees who filled the cafe, disguised as ordinary citizens, and then turned to Mr. Kim.

   “Why did you have to go to all this trouble? If you’re going to do this, we could have just talked at my place.”

   “There’s a saying that a thirsty man sells a well. We’re here to ask you for a favor, so how dare we enter the precious space of Mr. Shi Yu and your family?”

“You can go to ……, or I’ll go to the Ministry of Ability Management myself.”

   “It’s our policy not to bother our guests.”

   Well, let’s just not talk about it.

   This Ministry of Ability Management group is weird, too. It’s like a cult from the looks of it.

   Team Leader Kim sat back in his seat, ducked his head, and soon pulled a tablet PC out of his briefcase.

“I’m really sorry that we didn’t get back to you yesterday, but we had a lot going on, including the Abyss Dungeon case that Shi Yu solved for us the day before.”

“You don’t have to apologize. Thanks to you, we had a great time at the amusement park with Si Yeon. I made good use of the free passes you gave me.”

   The world has never been better.

Thanks to the unconditional priority pass, I went to the amusement park yesterday with Si Yeon and rode a lot of rides.

   Team Leader Kim laughed softly at my answer.

   “I’m glad to hear it.”

   “Let’s get down to business, shall we?”

   “Okay, let’s get started with the briefing. Could you take a look at this video?”

As he said this, he showed me a series of videos that looked like they had been shot on someone’s cell phone.

   In the video, people in white robes were kneeling, and a middle-aged man who appeared to be a leader was placing his hand on someone’s head.

   

   -I accept the will of the Great One, and I appoint you as a warrior. You will join His grand plan with all your heart and soul…….

   

   The video has a distinctly religious feel to it.

   And it wasn’t the only one.

As soon as I finished watching the first video, Kim showed me the second, then the third, and so on.

   The main characters in the videos were the same people in white robes from the first video.

   This time, they were fighting monsters, not in a religious ceremony, but with their own weapons.

   

   -For the greater good!

   -Save us!

   

The second video was of what appeared to be a gate, and the third was of what appeared to be a dungeon.

I watched the three videos for about 15 minutes, and as soon as I finished, Kim asked me.

   “What do you think?”

   I nodded and answered his question as if it was obvious.

   “It looks like a cult to me.”

   “Is that also true for…… Shi Yu?”

“Well, technically, he’s an industry colleague.”

   Team Leader Kim smiled bitterly.

   I took a sip of ice water down my throat, then asked Kim playfully.

“Are you here to tell me that I shouldn’t even think about starting a religion?”

   “Uh, no, no, no, no, no, we’re not that kind of government, not that kind of country, not the kind of country that suppresses religion.”

   “I know, you’re helping me a lot.”

I’m not kidding; the Ministry of Ability Management is actually helping me set up my own religious corporation.

   They assured me that if I just stayed put, they would take care of all the formalities, and indeed, the process of establishing a religious organization was underway.

With everything being taken care of for me, there’s no reason to get on my nerves.

   But Mr. Kim was clearly embarrassed by my antics.

   He quickly emptied the glass of water in front of him and soon turned quite serious as he continued.

“This is the group calling themselves Baek Myung Church, and they’re the ones responsible for wreaking havoc on our Ministry of Ability Management over the past two days.”

“From the videos, they don’t seem to be in trouble.”

   “Yes, but when you consider where these videos were shot, it’s a different story.”

   With that, he tapped his tablet PC.

   Soon, a map of South Korea appeared, with three red dots and one purple dot on the map.

“The red dots are unannounced surprise gates, and the purple dots are surprise dungeons. As for the purple dots, you already know about them, Shi Yu, because you dealt with them yourself.”

   “I understand.”

   “Sudden gates and sudden dungeons aren’t that common in our country, they’re on the rarer side of the spectrum, but this has happened four times in just two days. Normally, we’re supposed to deal with them through the standing army in each region and the cooperation of the local guilds…….”

“This Baek Myung Church attacked the players, is that it?”

“……That’s right, before we could respond, the Baek Myung Church stepped in and took out the gates – all three of them, coincidentally – and they posted these videos on MyTube, claiming that the god they worship gave them foresight.”

   “These guys are really funny.”

   Foresight.

   I can already smell the fake.

“The Baek Myung Church is an emerging religion that only came into the public eye six months ago, but they’ve grown from obscurity to a force to be reckoned with. It’s also an organization that’s extremely closed off, which is why our Ministry of Ability Management hasn’t been able to get a good grasp on it. That’s why they’re trying to advance into the Yang Province through these gate videos.”

In short, it’s an uncontrollable and unknowable group.

   Such an entity, showing up at all three gates unexpectedly when no one saw it coming?

   “It stinks.”

It’s so stinky that I can practically feel myself shaking from the stench.

   “Hmm.”

Now I understand why these people were in such a hurry to find me.

   I give a small nod, then turn to Kim and speak quietly.

   “So, you’re going to respond to the cult with a cult because at least I can communicate?”

“Hmmm. Not necessarily, but…….”

   “My goddess will be disappointed if you treat me like a cultist; she has a very tender heart.”

“……I apologize.”

   “Well, that’s fine. I just happen to be interested.”

   I said, then stroked my chin lightly with my hand, smiled coyly, and turned to Kim.

   “But I have a condition.”