The Healing Solaris Cleric-Chapter 443 (Side Story): Replay (2)

“Rebuild? The Solarian Church?”

At those words, Helik, who had been sprawled on the ground, slowly lifted her head. Her large eyes glistened with tears and filled with doubt.

“Even if we rebuild it, I doubt there will be as many believers as before.”

“That is something we cannot know. It may also be possible to restore that glory.”

Those weren’t just empty words to comfort her. He had certainty because he was the head of Pegasus’s Korean branch.

“First of all, this world has many religions compared to the old one.”

Unlike the previous game where the Solarian Church was the only option, this world was made to give players a variety of choices.

“Because of that, new religions often appear and disappear.”

Every month, several new religions were born and dozens vanished. At a glance, it was hard to tell if this was religion or some kind of coin trading.

“See? There is a chance, so stop crying and get up.”

“Okay...”

Helik grabbed Rashya’s hand and slowly stood up.

“Good grief, look at all this dust,” Rashya scolded Helik and brushed the dust from her clothes.

Treated like a troublesome younger sister, Helik answered in a tiny voice, “S-sorry... I just felt so sad...”

Kai observed the scene with interest.

Right, when Helik was sealed, Rashya had already adapted to this world.

Falling alone into a strange world without any friends, Rashya had worked hard to adjust. Thanks to those efforts, the small Church of Kal Rashya was up and running.

Rashya always seemed more mature, so she felt older than Helik mentally...

And now that she had managed to stand on her own, she truly seemed like an older sister. Of course, it still felt more like the difference between a middle schooler and a grade schooler to Kai.

“Now, let’s have a meeting, both of you please take a seat here.”

Kai sat at the garden table and took out cola and snacks. That cheat-like combination silently drew both of them into their chairs.

Helik bit into a snack out of habit and suddenly shouted in surprise, “Huh?”

“Why, what’s wrong?”

“I’ve never tasted this before... but it’s the best one yet.”

“I’ll bring more next time.”

“Bring two more.”

Faithful as ever to his role as an apostle, Kai got to the main point. “Now, about the reconstruction of the church... Three things are most important for a new religion.”

Helik counted on her fingers and asked, “Three things?”

“Yes. The first is what kind of god the church serves.”

“Why does that matter...?”

“Because of image.” Kai explained as simply as possible so she could understand. “Think about it. Let’s say you believed in a certain god.”

“Can it be the god of snacks and cola?”

“There is no such god... but sure, why not. Now, if you believed in the god of snacks and cola, and someone learned about it, they would think this: That person must really love snacks and cola.”

“I see. I understand perfectly now.”

The god one believed in became a measure for judging that person’s character. Therefore, the question of what kind of god was one of the most important aspects.

“Who in the world would want to be close to someone who worshiped a god of slaughter or betrayal.”

“As expected of my apostle. Every word you said is right.”

“In that sense, you pass the first step without issue, Helik.”

She was the god of the sun and mercy. Even searching for flaws, the worst one could say was that she was merely ordinary.

In fact, it’s strange enough that no religion in FanOn worshiped the sun.

That was because FanOn’s developers had deliberately excluded the Solarian Church to differentiate from the previous game.

“Then what is the second most important thing?”

“It may sound blunt, but it’s the god’s power.”

What kind of power the god could grant their believers was the biggest condition that determined the rise or fall of a church.

Remembering her struggles, Rashya let out a deep sigh, “That is true. That’s why it was hard for me to find footing in this world.”

The power she granted as the god of change wasn't especially special.

“But now you have found your place. You have a fair number of believers too.”

“Yes, I am truly fortunate!” Her expression brightened and she clenched her fists, but soon her expression darkened again. “However... I don’t like that some of my believers deceive others...”

Perhaps because hers was a religion of change, the followers of Kal Rashya were famous for being swindlers as well as magicians and actors.

“Do not worry, Rashya,” Helik comforted her by patting her shoulder. “The tendencies of believers do not always match the tendencies of their god. Have you forgotten already? Even among my believers there were plenty of bad ones.”

“There certainly were,” Kai smiled, recalling the trash he had personally wiped out. “As Helik said, if you pay attention to that part and keep managing it, things will get better.”

“Thank you for saying that.” With a polite bow, Rashya asked about the third condition, “Then the last condition is location, right?”

“That is correct.”

“Location?” Helik asked with widened eyes. “Why would believing in a god require a location...?”

“Because if a powerful church is already established there, there will be no room to enter.”

In some regions, new churches were rejected and even persecuted.

“Open world map.”

When Kai snapped his fingers, a hologram map appeared before them.

“Show church influence by region.”

At his command, the map changed, and Helik’s face darkened as she stared at it.

“Kai. I may not know much... but it looks like the situation is very difficult, is it not?”

“Mhmm, indeed.”

He had been focused on managing the episode in recent weeks and hadn’t paid attention to the map of church influence.

Though several months have already passed in game time...

He never imagined that the powers would have solidified this much in the meantime. Kai’s eyes busily scanned the map.

Of course, all the capitals and major cities have already been taken.

Fantasia Online was already a four-year-old game. Even mid-sized cities were full of large churches fighting for dominance.

“Ah, Kai! Here!” Helik stretched her finger out, pointing to one spot on the map.

It was a completely clear area with no church presence at all. “There is no church here, so let us do it there!”

“Mm. That doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“Think about why there is no church there in the first place.”

The location she pointed to was a mountain village. Its population didn’t even reach fifty people.

“Even if the other two conditions are satisfied, it will be hard to become a major church. Do you know why?”

“Uh...”

Her eyes rolled side-to-side as if saying she didn’t know. “I don’t know.”

“Because of publicity.”

It was a funny comparison, but new religions were like restaurants. That meant the initial rush when announcing the founding was very important.

“In rural areas, the population is small and communication with cities is slow. That means little publicity.”

If a church did not surge at the start, it would almost always be buried. That was why most churches built temples in cities of some size.

Of course, I could fully cover this lack of publicity according to my rough plan.

But even then, there was no reason to start in a place with no publicity at all. If they began in a rural mountain village, no one knew how long it would take for word to spread.

“Th-then what should we do...”

As Kai looked at Helik’s teary face, his gaze shifted to the right side of the map, toward the far east. The land beyond the sea that had been hidden under thick fog until yesterday.

Yushin.

It was the main stage of the newly updated side episode.

“Let’s do it there.”

When Kai pointed to the spot, Rashya tilted her head. “But Kai, that place is...”

“Yes, I know what worries you.”

The Yushin Archipelago was a region with a martial world setting like that of a wuxia novel. Because of that, the community was already in chaos over the new skills and classes to be unlocked there.

Unlike the main continent, this land has no concept of religion.

It was the land of warriors who valued their sects and clans over faith.

Attention here will far outweigh that on the main continent for the time being.

Large guilds and rankers were already busy building ships to cross over, but even the crossing itself was no easy task.

“But once we cross, the plan will progress smoothly.”

Judging by Rashya’s reaction, no god in their right mind would try to build a temple there.

“You want the publicity of being the first church ever made in that region, right?”

“That’s right.”

“But would that be enough? It is across the sea, so communication with the main continent would be slower than even a rural village.”

“Of course, this isn’t all.”

Kai had another idea for the Solarian Church’s greatest publicity.

“Huh?” Helik blinked. Then she wondered if crumbs were on her lips and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. “It’s clean... Why are you suddenly staring at me like that?”

“It’s nothing,” Kai shook his head and smiled.

The publicity for the new Solarian Church in Fantasia Online would be just one thing.

“Nothing at all...”

That the god was unbelievably cute.

***

After parting with the cute goddesses, Kai sat in a cafe in the city and began to plan.

I should raise my level first before going to Yushin.

Of course, all levels and skills of his character Kai from MID Online had been erased. If those had carried over, the game balance would have been ruined.

“Stats window.”

[Kai]

Class : Beginner

Level : 26

Title : Traveler of Every Land

Strength : 10

Stamina : 13

Intelligence : 10

Agility : 10

Stat Points : 125

“Hmm...”

The character stats that appeared were terribly weak compared to that past. However, there was no reason to feel wronged, since he had never really played FanOn seriously.

The only reason I reached level 26 was because I leveled up while going on dates with Ha-Rin.

They had toured so many attractions together that he had even received the title Traveler of Every Land. The effect of the title was an additional 3 points to Stamina.

Let me think.

From his memory, the recommended level for adventure in Yushin was 380, and the top-ranking players were currently around level 350.

I have exactly one month of game time.

That was assuming he lived like a professional gamer, cutting his real-life commitments to the minimum. It was the kind of lifestyle he had only lived five years ago, when he played MID Online.

As he drafted his plan, Kai’s eyes lit up.

This might be more doable than I thought.

Above all, the heart of the 33-year-old worn down by reality began to race.

“Not a second to waste. Let’s get going.”

The first place he visited after leaving the cafe wasn’t a hunting ground. There was always a clear difference between how people in their twenties played games and how those in their thirties played.

[Auction House]

Thirty-three-year-old Han Jung-Woo was at the age where he had more money than time.