Resurrection Chapter 5 - The Man Who Was Once a Paladin

—The Golden Emperor expresses outrage that his foremost apostle bears the infamous title of Team Breaker. He laments that instead of quickly rising to fame as his foremost apostle, you are wasting time on a worthless cur like Seo Heesoo. He states that your abilities are far too great for Seo Heesoo, and if you looked carefully, you could find plenty of others far more worthy…

“I understand your concerns, but I’ve already made my decision. My abilities will be used solely for Heesoo hyung. That’s what I resolved from the moment I first gained this power.”

Perhaps angered by my resolute words, the message fell silent again.

Or maybe he found some post online praising or envying me.

It’s awkward to say, but the god I serve is, in every way, an attention seeker. It’s no coincidence that he gave me such an ostentatious divine artifact.

I should probably be grateful that the divine artifact is a weapon… right?

Yeah, better this than some gaudy robe or unnecessarily revealing armor.

I wrapped the magic sword in bandages. Holding it like a staff, I turned around.

Just then, dawn was breaking, and the sanctuary’s form was gradually coming into view. Soon, the voice of the god echoed in the minds of those gathered by the revelation.

It was an immensely ferocious voice, so intense that just hearing it made my limbs tremble.

“Only those who do not seek salvation may enter the sanctuary to face my trials! Only by overcoming violence, madness, and despair will you earn the right to become my apostle!”

A symbol etched into the weed-filled clearing began to glow vibrantly. Then, with a deafening roar that shook the earth, it started to rise upward.

Kududududu…

It surged upward, forming a gentle slope like the royal tombs scattered around Gyeongju or Haman. When the tremors finally ceased, a gateway to another dimension yawned open at the point where it met the ground.

The light-devouring hole evoked an indescribable sense of alienation just by looking at it. Despite its ominous nature, people were ecstatic. Some of them, even knowing they might not leave this place alive, were no exception.

Light-footed solo players began rushing toward the entrance first. Turning my gaze from the hole swallowing people one by one, I spoke to Heesoo hyung.

“Hyung, let’s head in soon.”

Heesoo hyung nodded lightly, and we started walking in that direction.

👑

The reason countless people risk their lives like moths to a flame to face the trials of the sanctuary is simple.

It’s for money and fame.

Since the gods appeared alongside the Black King, human civilization has undergone a period of upheaval. The emergence of beings who called themselves transcendents was shocking enough, but the changes they brought to Earth were so drastic they were downright destructive.

Due to the gods’ arrival, holes opened up across the Earth, connecting to what are commonly called dungeons—otherworldly realms. From these poured monsters never seen even in dreams.

The advanced weaponry developed alongside humanity’s history of warfare was largely ineffective against these creatures. Even cutting-edge weapons like EMPs or plasma cannons were no different. The monsters, collectively referred to as such, had such immense vitality that physical force alone had its limits in subduing them.

Their numbers and varieties were overwhelming.

Most terrifying of all was the plague. Diseases that turned humans into monsters, like vampires, zombies, or lycanthropes—things once confined to novels or movies—ran rampant. As a result, one-fifth of humanity, which had survived even the nuclear war, was wiped out, and the dazzling progress of science and technology stagnated.

Ironically, the ones who resolved this crisis were the very gods who caused it.

To atone for the chaos they wrought on Earth (or, in truth, to defeat their nemesis, the Black King), they created the awakened system.

This system, randomly bestowed upon certain humans, was strikingly similar to a game. The more experience points accumulated, the higher the level, and with that came increases in HP and MP.

Fundamentally, only those with this system were qualified to serve a god. The gods called them devotees, but most people referred to them as awakened ones.

Awakened ones could enter sanctuaries, where trials designed to the gods’ tastes awaited. Overcoming these trials and reaching the inner sanctum allowed one to become a god’s apostle, able to wield their power.

The gods’ abilities varied widely, but one thing was certain: they enabled humans to achieve what was otherwise impossible.

Monsters that couldn’t be felled by guns or bombs could be hunted barehanded, making it possible to freely navigate dungeons and amass wealth like mystic metals or biological resources. A single fingernail-sized piece of mithril was worth dozens of times its weight in gold, so with a bit of luck, one could become filthy rich in an instant.

Moreover, as popular culture has long proven, people are enthralled by superhuman abilities. Some awakened ones sold their god-given powers like talents, garnering all sorts of attention and gaining immense popularity through spectacular feats and notable good deeds. Many amassed wealth and fame simultaneously through sponsorships and tributes.

To humans, becoming a god’s apostle meant gaining everything.

That’s why people, chasing wealth and glory beyond the reach of ordinary humans, threw themselves into sanctuaries. And, unable to overcome the gods’ brutal trials, they died like mosquitoes hit with insecticide.

“Aaaargh! Save me!”

A massive beak pecked at the skull of a fleeing awakened one. Blood and brain matter burst out as the body collapsed to the ground.

A monster resembling a dinosaur or bird kicked the fallen body with its foot. That alone snapped the spine, separating the upper and lower halves of the already dead body.

Someone, witnessing the scene, absurdly began to vomit. Smelling the stench, the monster’s eyes rolled as it bit into the exposed nape of the person who had bent over to retch.

“Arghhh!”

With a scream, the body was flung upward, limbs dangling. The monster snapped its long neck, tossing the person into the air. Then, like a pebble in a game, it swallowed the falling body with its wide-open beak.

The hellish spectacle caused most people to wail and flee. But whether they could escape the sanctuary by running was questionable.

The monster wasn’t the only one surrounding the shallow forest. The awakened system’s monster alert, designed to aid awakened ones, made that clear.

“COCKATRICE ☆☆☆☆☆: This creature, existing since ancient times, is a ferocious monster that enjoys pecking at live prey or swallowing it whole, much like a chicken. Though they have only two legs, their speed is tremendous, and their scale- and feather-covered bodies permit no intrusion. They operate in groups of at least five and sometimes over ten, so if you encounter them in an open field, your best bet is to run into the forest and hide with all your might. But don’t climb a tree. Even if they can’t fly for long, they do have wings.”

Does this polite explanation feel like it’s mocking me, or is that just my paranoia? Out of habit, I pulled Heesoo hyung, who was walking ahead, back toward me.

“Be careful! It’s not just one or two. They’re all heading this way!”

At my shout, perhaps realizing they shouldn’t scatter, a seasoned-looking hunter gathered the panicking idiots around him.

“Tanks, all of you, step forward and line up on both sides! Ranged dealers, stick close behind and wait for my orders. Don’t run away, or you’re dead! Healers, where are the healers…!”

I quickly responded.

“That guy who vomited and died earlier was probably the healer.”

“No other healers?”

“You think healers would be in a place like this?”

At my retort, the hunter clamped his mouth shut, then muttered a short incantation. It must have been a skill to draw attention, as the suffocating tension eased slightly. The eyes of those who had been out of their minds with panic began to regain focus.

That didn’t mean their fighting spirit returned. They all turned pale, hearing the sound of the cockatrice crunching the scattered corpses on the ground.

Crack! Snap! Crunch!

The sound of bones being chewed like sugarcane was utterly chilling.

“Ughhh…”

“No way… This can’t be…”

“What kind of trial is this…?”

“We’re all gonna die before we even reach the sanctum!”

The ones who had regained their senses started whimpering. I clicked my tongue at their pathetic display. It had been so long since a combat-oriented god appeared that they must have misunderstood something.

As seen in the revelation, this god was so powerful and ferocious it was a wonder where he’d been all this time. There was no way the trials designed by such a god to select his apostle would be easy.

Even accounting for that, though, this was excessive.

I mean, a five-star monster showing up the moment we enter the sanctuary? Come on.