Chương 19

"And before being brought to the tutorial alongside all the others, I was summoned by the Lord. One of His forms, I suppose. There is much of theology that should be revised now, I suppose." Father Okonkwo had just said something that I couldn't believe.

"Father, how could you know that there would be a spell or something? Or did you just pray and…"

"When young men come to me unsure about God, I can only offer them the same answer I am about to give you, John. Faith. I just had faith that my Lord would smite these evil men down." I couldn't even begin to understand.

"So you're capable of, like, doing large area spells that can destroy things and— wait. How did you participate in the battle? How did you—""I did not," Father Okonkwo said. That threw me off.

"Why didn't you?"

"Well, John. All my power… I feared it would turn me into an evil man. So I made a deal with my patron." I noticed that now Father Okonkwo didn't use the word God.

"I offered my freedom on the first floor in exchange for salvation."

"I'm sorry — what do you mean, salvation?"

"Right now, even those who will not be able to clear the requirements of the first floor will still pass to the second floor. But I cannot leave the Haven. I cannot use the spells I have learned. I cannot do anything but provide a blessing to those in need. I have healing powers, and I cannot use them." That revelation hit me like a truck.

"What?" I said, rising to my feet and leaning on the table.

"Are you saying you managed to save everybody?! Every human from Earth?!"

"John, please calm down, son. My power guarantees safety as long as I do not leave the Haven. That is why the undead attacked here, and not anywhere else. They wanted to stop me from helping those who cannot complete the requirements of the first floor. From the second floor on, there are no requirements like this." I couldn't find the words. I took Father Okonkwo's hands and squeezed them.

"Father — holy shit. Sorry. Sorry about that. But thank you. Thank you so much." Father Okonkwo seemed amused by my behavior, but he didn't retract his hands.

"You do not need saving, John. You are powerful. You are capable. I know this for a fact." Then I saw that he was hesitating to say something.

"Yes, Father?"

"Well — forgive me if I act like a fool. But on the second floor, I will be able to help. And I wonder… would you accept this old man to walk alongside you while you fight the great evils of this tutorial?"

"Of course," I said immediately.

"Of course, Father. If you're so strong — of course. Plus, with you and King Pussycat—" I cringed a little at the name.

"—we could really cheese all of this. We could make so much progress." That's when something came to me.

"Wait, Father. Are you saying that by restricting your power, your God managed to intervene with the AI? So the AI can be influenced?" You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"That is what I was told," Father Okonkwo nodded.

"Even this great system has to listen to the gods. And if the gods wish for something, the system cannot easily say no."

"What has your God told you about the tutorial?" I asked.

"Is there anything that will help us survive?"

"It appears, John, that this tutorial is very different from all the others. There is a limit — a small one — to what my patron can tell me. But it seems our enemies have a God of their own. And the system cannot easily say no to their God, either." All right, I thought, nodding. This is great.

"Well." Father Okonkwo cringed.

"There might be a problem, John."

"Mmm. What's the problem?"

"I have a global quest. It appears that the system thinks my involvement is perhaps too big, and so it wants to put me to the test." Oh, that didn't sound good at all. I thought I knew where this was going.

"So the undead thing — is there gonna be a repeat?" I asked, frowning.

"It is not the undead that we must fear, John," Father Okonkwo said.

"The undead are not our only enemy. Apparently, a large army is gathering."

"An army?" I frowned.

"Of?"

"An army of humans, John." I glanced at the three S's above Father Okonkwo's head.

"Wait — is what you just told me public knowledge?"

"It was broadcasted."

"Fuck," I said, scratching my stubble.

"So let me guess. People are after your equipment or something? But wait — if they know that if you die, humanity is gone, why would they try and…"

"The quest was offered to those who, despite belonging to humanity, hate humanity."

"Holy," I muttered.

"So they got a quest to fight you? To— sorry, to siege the haven?" Father Okonkwo nodded gravely.

"An army shall reach us on the night of the fourth day, and a great battle will be fought."

"Wait. How do you even know the exact night?" Father Okonkwo pointed one finger upward. His smile turned cheeky.

"Among fucking humans?" I asked, incredulous.

"But what are they getting? I don't understand. Why would they do this?"

"My patron said that they were offered immortality. And incredible power."

"Fuck. Sorry, but — fuck. Immortality?" Father Okonkwo nodded.

"They care much about the flesh, John. Apparently, the commanders and their army were offered immortality for killing me. And more power than we can imagine. More power than I wield. That is because so much of humanity is not able to kill bosses. Therefore, only a very small number of people would survive the first floor. Thanks to the deal I made, however, that number is not small anymore. And they would get a reward as large as the number of corpses they'd leave behind. But humanity must triumph, John."

Looking at the old African man, I didn't know what to say, because I felt a deep anger in me.

"I don't care what they got offered. There are genuinely people out there thinking they should come here, put a siege against two thousand people, slaughter them all — so that they can get to you? Are they insane? What person does that?"

"You are blessed with naivety," Father Okonkwo said.

"I have seen great evils, John. I was once on a mission in South America, and I saw monsters kill and eat their sisters, thinking they would gain great power through black magic. I saw men kicking babies like footballs — and there was nothing that they truly gained. Now that the same monsters have been offered great power and immortality, do you think that the followers of the devil himself would not accept? Do you think that there are only saints in this world?" I looked at the old man.

There was a deep sadness in his eyes — a well of dark things he had witnessed, perhaps worse than the ones he had described. I couldn't argue with him, because I didn't know. I had read horrific things on the news. I had heard them on podcasts. But I had never imagined them so close to me. I had always thought mercy was the right thing to default to. Compassion for most human beings. Even Charles's group, the ones who later turned into undead — I had thought of them as misguided. Frightened.

But in Father Okonkwo's world, some people allied with the devil. Whether I believed in the devil, whether the devil was real at all, didn't matter. Some people let evil run their lives.

"All right," I said, rubbing my face.

"Father, I will fight for your survival. I have just gotten a weapon to do so, and I shall— well. Not a weapon. A pet. The lion. It's incredibly strong, and it will grow even stronger as I level up. I will spend all of today and tomorrow getting as many levels as possible. And tomorrow, whoever is foolish enough to attack us — we will obliterate them."