Chapter 153

As soon as we arrived at Jinsando, Gyeon Taeri docked the boat with practiced ease.

“Please disembark.”

The moment we stepped off the boat per his instruction, what we saw was some kind of rampart. From a distance I’d thought it was a building or part of the natural scenery—turns out it was this.

‘I figured they’d have thrown together something shoddy at best.’

Since they’d remodeled a small uninhabited island, I’d pictured a few small, scattered buildings at most, but it wasn’t like that at all.

The interior wasn’t visible because of the massive wall that rose far above a person’s height. But judging from the wall’s size and precision, I was sure they’d shaped the inside just as meticulously.

After tidying up the boat, Gyeon Taeri guided us with the assurance of familiarity.

“Please follow me.”

After circling the massive wall behind him, we arrived at a fairly large single-story building.

Finished in gray concrete, the building didn’t really match the image of a temple from the outside. It felt less like an aesthetic choice and more like they built it this way so it wouldn’t be caught by satellites.

‘Feels like they intentionally aimed for a slightly crude look.’

Gyeon Taeri waited until we’d had our fill of looking over the exterior, then gave a brief set of instructions before letting us in.

“Before entering the temple, I’ll share a few notes.”

“.......”

“First, the temple is primarily used by believers who are studying, so please maintain quiet at all times inside.”

“Got it.”

“And for the safety of the temple, we would appreciate it if you refrained from using skills. In time, there will be an opportunity for you to fully display your abilities before Lord Haedo; please wait just a bit until then.”

There’ll be a chance to fully display our skills in front of Jin Haedo?

Before I could chew over the phrasing, he continued in quick succession.

“For more detailed matters, we will explain them gradually. You will first be seeing Lord Haedo.”

‘Right away like this? Unexpected.’

I’d expected there to be a more complicated procedure—not necessarily.

Well, if he personally bestows blessings, maybe meeting believers itself isn’t that big a deal.

Of course, it’s insane to go through procedures like this to have a human meet a human, not like we’re meeting a god.

At his words, it finally seemed to hit Ryu Taejun; he started fidgeting on his own—hands trembling off and on, tapping the ground with the toe of his shoe—raising a noisy fuss by himself.

I left him to his solo meltdown and looked at the still-quiet Do Yehyun. For the record, he hadn’t said a single word the whole way here.

‘Was he actually nervous? Doesn’t really seem like it.’

Or he might simply dislike walking into a cult’s den. Either way, easy enough to accept.

“Then, now... you may enter.”

Having finished the cautions, Gyeon Taeri finally opened the temple door.

“It’s a little dark inside.”

Creak—

With the sound of an old door opening, the interior of Cheonmyeonggyo’s temple slowly revealed itself.

“Wow...!”

An exclamation came out naturally from beside me.

As I registered that, I quickly swept my gaze across the interior.

From ceiling to floor, the temple was made of wood; it seemed to be an all-wooden building. The concrete on the outside had been to conceal the material.

And, rather dangerously, the interior was lit by candles rather than lights.

‘Do they not have electric lights?’

I reflexively looked up at the ceiling, and Gyeon Taeri explained as if he’d been waiting.

“There is no lighting installed inside.”

But looking around, it wasn’t just that the interior lacked lights—it seemed the island as a whole didn’t have electricity brought in.

‘Not an easy choice for people living modern lives.’

Perpetual digital detox. I had to wonder how entertaining life must be to throw one’s body into an environment like this.

Well, beyond that, the building itself had more than one unusual point. The most striking was that the interior was several times larger than the exterior suggested.

‘Space-expansion item.’

No wonder it looked single-story from outside—they’d worked tricks on the inside.

Once we’d finished surveying the interior, we followed Gyeon Taeri through the complex space toward the room where Jin Haedo was. From the outside all the rooms looked similarly wooden; if anything, it was harder to find your way inside.

‘They did this on purpose.’

Clicking my tongue inwardly, I sketched a rough floor plan in my head, when Gyeon Taeri stopped short before a room with a huge sliding door.

“From here, only the believers may enter.”

“Okay.”

I gave him a slight nod and opened the door without hesitation.

“—!”

With a brisk rumble, the door slid open and finally... the inside of Jin Haedo’s room came into view.

A room—or... a prayer room?

The largely empty room had a few places set aside for prayer, and beyond them were several objects that looked like ritual tools.

‘I can’t tell if this is a temple, a church, or a shaman’s house.’

Then again, expecting consistency from a cult is what’s odd.

And in the middle of it all stood a single figure.

‘Jin Haedo.’

I knew on sight—even without pulling up the Status Window.

A face matching the description from the original exactly: a small-framed woman with white hair cut in a short bob, head tilted at a slant as she looked this way.

Name: Jin Haedo

Age: 32

Rank: D

Title: -

Main Skills: Marionette (B), Fate-Tongue (A)

Growth Limit: D

It was a pathetic Status Window for someone who’d built a religious institution of this scale. Though considering his rank, those skills were relatively high.

Only, there was one odd bit that didn’t match what I knew.

‘Fate-Tongue? Jin Haedo had a skill like that?’

Never mind not having any sense of what the skill even was—the very fact of there being a skill clearly different from the original made no sense.

‘What is this? A fifth-loop special event?’

Just as mild confusion started creeping in, a smooth voice reached us.

“There are a lot of people.”

At first blush, the voice sounded monotone, but a faint interest lay under it.

Moving slowly forward, Jin Haedo spoke in step with his pace.

“Were there this many boarding filings? Or perhaps Believer Gyeon got confused....”

The voice was even and low in volume, like talking to himself, making it hard to read emotion. And Jin Haedo’s face offered no clear tells either, aside from the slightest of smiles—guessing his intentions was even trickier.

‘Think about it later.’

I dragged my focus off the Status Window and watched him closely, when I felt a hand brush near my waist. Turning my head a fraction, I saw Do Yehyun looking at me with an anxious face.

‘Were we found out?’

I’d assumed sneaking in like this would be discovered eventually, but I hadn’t thought it would happen this fast.

I didn’t expect to run into Jin Haedo this early. I figured I’d handle at least basic measures first.

Meanwhile, having reached right before Ryu Taejun, Jin Haedo addressed him in a calm voice.

“Believer Ryu.”

“Y-yes, Lord Haedo....”

“We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

“Yes! Th-that’s right. Lord Haedo bestowed a blessing upon me.”

We’re found out.

I clicked my tongue inwardly at the tone that explicitly separated us from Ryu Taejun.

Even with so many believers to meet, the fact that he remembered them one by one was remarkable.

Be that as it may, Jin Haedo wholly ignored us, brushed his thumb across Ryu Taejun’s forehead, then walked to the window and brought back a flowerpot.

“What is...?”

“You can do it. Believer Ryu.”

Jin Haedo placed the pot in his hands, then laid his hand over the back of Ryu Taejun’s.

“Pray. While listening to Heaven’s word... earnestly.”

“Yes...!”

Ryu Taejun squeezed his eyes shut and began quickly mouthing a prayer.

Marionette (B) is activating.

As if we didn’t exist at all, Jin Haedo spoke to him in a clear voice.

“Focus more.”

What... is this supposed to be?

I’d known before meeting him that Ryu Taejun had a Plant Growth skill. He got himself fired posting videos all over in high spirits—no way I wouldn’t know.

But does using a skill require this level of focus?

Not understanding what exactly Jin Haedo intended to do, I looked back and forth between them blankly. Is this the “blessing”?

Then, after °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° reciting the same prayer for quite some time, the plant in Ryu Taejun’s hands began to twitch.

“Ah...!”

As if feeling some unfamiliar sensation, his hands flinched; Jin Haedo gripped down hard so he couldn’t pull away and spoke firmly.

“You must continue praying, Believer Ryu.”

At his urging, Ryu Taejun recited the prayer even faster. Watching the idiot who’d seemed merely clueless a moment ago now chant like a madman, he looked like a complete lunatic.

Plant Growth (E) is activating.

I watched the Status Window for a good while, thinking maybe Jin Haedo’s skill was somehow buffing Ryu Taeyoung’s skill, but there was no sign of that.

Then blood started streaming from Ryu Taejun’s nose.

Whether there was real pain as well, his face knit and twisted here and there with his eyes closed. Noticing that, Jin Haedo barked at him in a hard voice.

“Believer Ryu, focus.”

“Y-yes....”

‘Looks like internal damage.’

Every part of it was a bizarre sight. From Jin Haedo telling him to recite a meaningless prayer, to Ryu Taejun ignoring the pain and droning that nonsense prayer.

I stared at the plant in the pot in his hands as it slowly writhed its way out. What had been weak at first now showed a distinctly faster rate of growth.

Plant Growth (E) is activating.

At the exact moment the Status Window activated again, a drop of blood from his nose fell—plop—onto the plant.

‘Well, damn.’

And from that moment, the plant exploded in growth, shattering the pot and bursting outward.

Fwoosh!

“Urk....”

Hearing Do Yehyun make a small sound of disgust, I looked dryly at the plants writhing on the floor.

Only then did I slowly understand the chain of events.

‘Ah... so it wasn’t that he was casting a buff.’

So my vague assumption that the blessing was a buff or support skill had been entirely off.

What Jin Haedo was doing was a far more direct way to bestow a “blessing.”

Once the writhing mass of plants gradually stilled, he took his hand off the one he’d overlapped.

And as if that were a signal, Ryu Taejun, who’d been clenching all the broken shards in his hand, slowly lifted his head. His lips moved as if whispering something—then he collapsed to the floor.

Thud!

“.......”

I walked over to where he lay facedown and held my fingers under his nose.

‘He’s breathing.’

No sooner had I confirmed his breathing than Jin Haedo’s voice dropped.

“He won’t die from that.”

Straight to informal speech, huh. I rose slowly and answered.

“Not so sure. It looks like every last bit of his mana is gone.”

This was the truth of the “blessing.”

The unexpected blindside had a laugh slipping out of me.

“Is the ‘blessing’ just draining all their mana? Stopping short of killing them.”

“.......”

Ah... hell. I should’ve put it together when he said he could control people.

Jin Haedo’s “blessing” wasn’t raising the skill itself.

It was merely dragging out every ounce of what the person had and pouring it out up to the brink of death, so that it only looked like their ability had been temporarily enhanced.