Episode 35

[Divinity].

It was one of the abilities and the hardest type to acquire.

Surprisingly, once obtained, it was manageable to enhance, but it was a clear fact that it was the most precious.

In ‘GAL’, divinity held a significant meaning behind it, especially in terms of treatment and cooperation within the Order.

‘I know it well.’

I thought, and the information was clearly etched in my mind.

However, knowing something through text and experiencing it in reality were on different levels.

The way I was treated changed so drastically that I was somewhat taken aback.

It wasn’t just me; Meowi who was next to me didn’t seem entirely pleased with this either.

Especially since she had waited here a long time for her 2★ promotion, the sense of alienation must have been even greater for her.

‘Think positively about this.’

I decided to focus solely on the fact that I was no longer wasting unnecessary time.

How far had we come now?

The nuns who had been guiding us stopped abruptly.

It seemed as if they had witnessed something shocking, their faces a mix of surprise and confusion.

Before I could even ask what was wrong, they clasped their hands tightly and prayed forward with a stern look in their eyes.

“We greet the Vice President.”

Huh? Vice President?

Click, clack.

Accompanied by the sound of elegant footsteps moving, the woman who appeared wore a religious robe more ornate than those of the nuns before her.

She exuded an adult-like aura, and a brilliant halo shone behind her.

It was a phenomenon possible only because of her high [Divinity] level, literally dazzling itself into my eyes.

“You’ve had a tough journey till here. It seems the two behind are here to see the oracle?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Don’t be nervous. It’s just a small divinity that I felt. I see. From here on, I’ll take over. You two go back and continue to stand guard.”

“B-but there’s no need for the Vice President to personally come.”

“It’s okay. I can’t just sit around doing nothing.”

At the woman’s words, the nuns looked at each other, then bowed their heads and quietly stepped back.

Then, the woman smiled warmly at Meowi.

“I’ll guide you to the oracle. It’s only for a short while, but please take care of me. Cute cat sister.”

“Ah, oh! Yes! Please take care of me too.”

Then she extended her hand towards me.

“Brother, I ask for your care as well.”
“……”
“Brother?”
“Ah, yes, yes! Please take care of me.”

I hurriedly took her hand.
I was actually a bit shocked and spaced out at all that was happening.
There wasn’t much reason I was flustered.

‘I see my child here.’

The woman before me was also a character from ‘GAL’, just like Meowi and Moon Bora.

‘Divine Light Garam.’

Born a 4★, she was one of the few divinity specialized characters in ‘GAL’.
Rather than in the main storyline, she was more recognized in PVP as a battle-specialized character, where Supervisors smash each other’s heads.

‘…Did they just say she was the Vice President?’

When she first appeared in the gacha, her identity was that of a Convent President and also a senior in the third year at the academy.

“…Are you perhaps enrolled at ‘Gonis Hunter Academy’?”
“Meow?”

Divine Light Garam looked at me with surprised eyes in response to my question.
Then, with a confident smile, she nodded her head.

“That’s right. I am currently a sophomore, serving as the Vice President of ‘Sisterhood’.”

Ah, so that’s the context…
By the time Meowi and I enrolled, she would likely have ascended to the position of a formal Order president as a third-year student.

“So, if you’re still a student, then why are you here…?”

“It’s the vacation period now. During the break, members of our Order are assigned to serve and perform priestly duties at various temples.”

That’s one hell of a setup, huh?

Perhaps it was because the ‘Order’ had such a limited character pool.

It was hard to grasp detailed settings or backgrounds, but this feels like piecing together information bit by bit.

‘…Isn’t this an opportunity for us then?’

I should ask various things now.
Given Divine Light Garam’s nature, she wouldn’t respond with lies.

Ten minutes later.

I was guided by her, exchanging various conversations.

To be precise, it was mostly me asking questions unilaterally.

“Ah, so… to properly learn ‘Holy Arts,’ one needs at least a Divinity value of 5 or more?”

“That’s correct. You can learn with a value of 1, but you’d only manage the most basic Holy Art, [Light]. Of course, by the grace of God, even this simple technique of illumination can be applied in various ways. Ultimately, the effectiveness of any power depends on the caster’s ability.”

I deeply agreed with that statement.

After all, it was she who had said it all, and her words carried weight.

In fact, Divine Light Garam was notoriously known in PVP for using the [Light] technique.

‘Commonly known as the Blinding Glare…’

As soon as the battle formations were set and the fight began, she would unleash this blinding glare over a wide area… It was a blatantly overpowered trick in the game.

Area-wide 1-second stun.
10-second reduction in hit rate.
And increased damage received specifically for ‘Holy Art’ types.

The performance of the crowd control device was so good that even without leveling her up, just setting her as the defense deck leader provided a deterrent effect.

The series of questions continued from me.
At some point, Divine Light Garam burst into a small laugh.

“Uh, excuse me… ah?”

“No, I’m sorry… I thought you might be very interested in the Order’s culture or the sacred laws we are to abide by.”

“Ah, that’s… the Order isn’t well-known…”

“You don’t need to use that as an excuse to talk to me. I’m always open to a conversation. Should I give you my contact then?”

“…Sorry?”

Divine Light Garam chuckled ‘hehehe~’ and flipped her hair back with her characteristic confident smile.

Surprisingly, a sound effect of “Shararang~☆” occurred.

Even Meowi, who was next to her, was startled by the sound, looking around Divine Light Garam’s hair curiously.

“Indeed~ I see. You wanted to talk to me so badly that you’d do it this way… Ah, perhaps the reason you came today is because you knew it was my last day of service at this temple?”

“Um…”

“It can’t be helped, though. Of course not. I am the proud Vice President of the Sisterhood, after all. And with my shining appearance added to that… it’s inevitable to attract the interest of such a handsome man.”

“……”

I quietly pressed my forehead, chuckling a soft ‘hehe~’ as I watched her deeply indulge in self-admiration.

Ah, I forgot about this aspect.

Looking to the side, Meowi was staring with her mouth agape.
‘I-is this what she was like?’ I felt a sense of astonishment from it.

Yes, Divine Light Garam was like this.
Her character was clearly defined from the beginning as ‘narcissism’ based.

‘She’s heavily self-admiring and delusional too…’

And she was quite stubborn…
She had a stubborn personality, unyielding in what she believed was right.

But who would deny she’s just like the typical ‘GAL’ character?

At heart, she was kind, good, and just in her actions.

Despite being a student, she possessed the capability to rise to such a status.
In the religious order, she was an anomaly for being kind even to those without [Divinity].

‘…Perhaps that’s why the nuns were tensed earlier.’

According to the setup, she’s the type to say, ‘Everyone, gather under me,’ and then preach to the nuns not to discriminate against the civilians.

‘…But this is an opportunity for me too.’

I have decided to turn this situation to my advantage.

Grab!

“Uh, what? Brother?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’ve heard of Miss Divine Light Garam’s righteousness for a long time. That’s why I asked to speak with you. I can’t express how honored I am to meet you in person.”

“I-is that… so?”

“Yes, so… could you give me the contact information you mentioned earlier?”

Divine Light Garam’s contact information.

This was a big deal.

After enrolling in the academy, it would be a means to legally utilize her connections.

“Uh, uh, uh… nng.”

Under my aggressive approach, Divine Light Garam seemed to malfunction, letting out a cute noise.

She sweated coldly with a flushed face.

As expected, it was all just pretense from her.
It seemed clear that her weakness was being vulnerable when confronted.

Eventually, after much flustered gaze, she quietly wrote down her contact information and handed it over.

‘Nice!’

With this, I could secure ‘that supporter’ who would be a perfect match with our Meowi!

“Th-th-there… th-then… sh-shall w-we g-go?”
“Yes!”
“……”

Huh?
I turned my eyes towards the subtle movement.

“Meow.”

Ah, our Meowi.
Why such a sad expression?

“Meowi?”
“…Sorry, Seha. I wanted to do more too…”
“Huh?”

Meowi, who made a strange remark that had no connection with the topic, looked down at her own chest.
Uh… it’s not small, though?

“…I-I’ll try… harder.”

“Huh?!”

No.
Such effort isn’t needed.
It’s not something that can be achieved with effort, is it?!

“You can walk from here, Sister.”
“Ah, thank you.”

Divine Light Garam gave a slight smile towards Meowi, as if she were seeing something cute.
Then our eyes met.
And then she turned away with a swoosh.

“…Nn… hng.“

The narcissistic demeanor she initially displayed had vanished without a trace, and she cautiously extended her hand after coughing several times.

“…Although it was a short time today, I enjoyed guiding you. Brother.”
“…Won’t you look at my face?”
“Our God has said that even if we do not meet face-to-face, we can recognize each other. A meeting through the eyes is not everything.”
“…Ah, yes…”

I slowly took her hand as I spoke.

“Then, I’ll see you later, Senior.”
“Yes, I too… Ah… Senior…?”

Divine Light Garam flinched at that word and then looked back at me and Meowi.

She clasped her hands together and offered a brief prayer.

“That’s right. I will support you in your entrance exams. Juniors.”
“Yes!”
“Yep!”

After Divine Light Garam left.
I left Meowi at the counter making a reservation for a promotion test and stared blankly ahead.

‘…Wow, it’s really majestic.’

Before me, a massive part of a tower filled the temple.

Strangely, the lower part of the tower was intact, but the upper part seemed as if space had sliced it away, flickering in and out of visibility.

“This is the [Tower].”

Like [Trials], it was treated as an instant dungeon.

However, in terms of scale and influence, it was a place with a power far surpassing that of Trials.

The tower now before my eyes was called the ‘Tower of Oracles,’ a place where all strategies had been completed decades ago.

It was modified and designated as personal property by the first conquerors, a religious order.

‘And this is where Meowi will be entering.’

“Seha, I’ll be going then.”

Meowi looked at me with a slightly tense expression, as if everything had been settled with the staff.

“Take care and come back safely. I’ll be waiting.”
“Okay!”

Then, she energetically entered the ‘Tower of Oracles’.

It looked as if she was embarking on a long journey, but it would be over soon.

It was called a tower, but…
In reality, it was just a place to find answers.

5 minutes later, as expected, Meowi walked out without any issues.

‘…Huh?’

But I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine.

Because our Meowi’s face was looking terribly gloomy.

‘Could it be… she…?’

Had she fallen victim to the evil clutches of the wicked GMs, subjected to some particularly nasty test?

For instance, surviving for 30 days without leaving a gate?
Or roaming the ‘Field’ area to draw a complete map?
Or entering a dungeon unarmed to defeat a boss?

Anything would be a disaster if she failed.

“Meowi! Wh-what happened!?”
“…Meow.”

Meowi lowered her head with a slightly sad expression.

Then, she told me the types of exams.

The more I heard, the more my smile grew.

Ah, what?!

‘It was easy?!’