WISPBC Chapter 2

◈ 2. Treasure Buried in Worthless Soil

---

‘I really thought I’d hit the jackpot when I found that hidden piece…’

Three months ago.

When the message [Hidden Piece「Ring of the Goddess’s Mercy」has fully bonded with you!] popped up, it felt like winning the lottery.

I believed it would grant me extraordinary powers, or maybe some incredible items. 

Either way, I was certain it would lead to something amazing.

Never did I imagine it would instead become the catalyst for my death.

Not only did it trigger a heart attack, but it went even further by transmigrating me into the world of the game.

[Your time has been rewound by 1,000 years!]
[Your soul has merged with the body of the Fallen Pope, 『Nikellus van Lucidmiller』!]
[You have inherited the skills of the Fallen Pope, 『Nikellus van Lucidmiller』!]
[You have inherited the karma of the Fallen Pope, 『Nikellus van Lucidmiller』!]

The moment I slipped the ring onto my finger, those messages appeared before my eyes, and my vision went dark.

When my scattered thoughts finally began to clear, I found myself transported 1,000 years into the past—into the era of ‘Call of The Ruin World’.

To make matters worse, I wasn’t just a passive observer; I had become the ‘Fallen Pope’, the very boss monster who had been lying dormant in a coffin.

At the time, I—

“Can’t anyone hear me!? I’m trapped in the game…!! No, I’m not just stuck in a dungeon anymore—I’m stuck in the entire game world! LOG OUT!! LOG OUT! Why isn’t it working?!”

—I shouted, desperately denying the situation.

Then, whenever I happened to catch my reflection in a mirror, it sent chills racing through my entire body.

What I saw was myself, fully transformed into the spitting image of the Fallen Pope.

Golden hair. 

Silver eyes. 

So beautiful that it felt divine. 

I looked beyond handsome—I looked holy.

It didn’t make sense at all.

I remember wracking my brain, considering every possible explanation.

Was I dreaming?

Or maybe some deranged hacker breached the game system and trapped me inside it?

…That’s how I initially denied reality. 

But now, three months later, I’ve given up and resigned myself to the situation.

‘I remember the exact moment my heart stopped.’

Just before I was transmigrated, I briefly logged out and returned to reality. 

I recall clutching my chest inside the game capsule, gasping for air as my consciousness began to fade.

There’s no denying it.

That day, I died inside the capsule, just like countless other gaming addicts who met their end from a heart attack during marathon sessions.

The only difference is that, unlike them, my soul and memories seem to have been converted into data fragments and somehow fused with a monster.

Otherwise, there’s no explaining how I’m living as Nikellus now.

In essence, you could say I’ve been ‘summoned by a world yet to be destroyed’.

The original name of the game was <CRW>, but I’ve been sent back 1,000 years to its past.

I still don’t know how this game’s nations, societies, and people are functioning with such lifelike intricacy…

“Your Holiness.”

A voice interrupted my thoughts, snapping me back to reality.

Now that I think about it, I was in the middle of attending a Church council meeting in my capacity as the Pope. 

The peaceful atmosphere must have made me drift off into my own world.

I quickly opened my half-closed eyes and saw a woman with a cold demeanour standing before me.

Luciana.

Her striking blue eyes, jet-black hair, and unnaturally pale skin made her look like a living snow sculpture. 

Just looking at her sent a chill through my body.

Luciana, an A-rank Holy Knight and a prodigy who had effortlessly climbed to the position of High Priestess.

On top of that, she possessed such remarkable beauty that she was the object of admiration within the Church.

Why I know all these details about her is beyond me.

It seemed to be a memory belonging to the original Nikellus before my possession.

“Don’t you think this is going a bit too far?”

“Hm? What is it?”

I replied to Luciana’s question with a slight hint of confusion, which only made her furrow her brow.

She had been leading this meeting perfectly fine as usual, so I couldn’t understand why her expression had suddenly darkened.

Her response, sharp and direct, felt as though even my confusion irritated her.

“I’ve been holding back all this time, considering that Your Holiness was at death’s door due to the fever. It was said that the aftereffects were so severe that you even lost your memory. We’ve tried to be as understanding as possible.”

“Is this about not actively participating in the meeting? Even if I’m still dealing with a few lingering side effects, can’t you cut me some slack?”

In truth, I had merely been lost in thought about the day of my possession, but I wasn’t foolish enough to admit that outright.

Fortunately, I had a convenient excuse.

Before I possessed this body, the original Nikellus had reportedly been declared dead from a high fever. 

I had been using that fact as my go-to alibi whenever I found myself in tight spots.

For instance, when someone expressed suspicion that I wasn’t acting like myself, I would wave it off with, ‘It’s because I lost my memory due to the fever’. 

That excuse usually sufficed.

This time, I tried to escape the situation again, feigning a sickly demeanour by clutching my head weakly. But—

“……”

Luciana’s icy stare told me my act wasn’t working.

After what felt like an excruciatingly long silence, she finally opened her mouth again, her words cutting through the air with unsettling precision.

“No, Your Holiness. Any aftereffects of your fever would have long since disappeared. It’s been three months already. Yet, you remain disengaged during meetings, staring off into space. That’s not because of any illness—”

Mid-sentence, Luciana suddenly leaned forward, her piercing gaze locking onto mine. She continued in a deliberate, measured tone, her words sharp enough to slice through the tension in the room.

“—it’s simply because you’re being irresponsible. Isn’t that so?”

At her accusation, a gasp escaped from someone in the meeting hall.

Luciana might act this way because she’s been an old friend of Nikellus even before he was chosen by the divine to become the pope. 

Still, the original Nikellus wasn’t the type to tolerate nagging from anyone—not even her.

Perhaps that’s why the scribes recording the meeting and the other attendants were nervously glancing at my face, wary of my reaction.

But—

‘I should probably let it slide. Luciana has been supporting Nikellus for so long, and even after I took over, she’s been fussing over me, albeit in her prickly way.’

I had no intention of nitpicking her attitude, especially since the very reason for this meeting stemmed from Nikellus’ antics.

Before my possession, Nikellus had already been a walking disaster, causing no small amount of chaos. 

It’s no surprise, considering he eventually turned into a corrupted pope and a monstrous boss in the game a thousand years later.

And now, we were gathered here because of one of his past catastrophes—one with the grand title of The Count of Filma’s Manor Destruction Incident.

Apparently, Nikellus had rampaged through the manor of a certain Count Filma all by himself, reducing it to ruins.

Why? 

Simply because the count had irritated him.

The aftermath was disastrous: numerous injuries caused by his rampage, priceless artworks in the manor completely destroyed, and a staggering compensation claim the church had to cough up.

It was nothing short of a crisis.

Given all this, I understood where Luciana was coming from and had no intention of arguing with her attitude. 

But still, it wasn’t ideal to let my image as Nikellus take any more hits than it already had.

‘I should come up with some sort of solution…’

While I was pondering this, Luciana’s exasperated lament continued.

“Right now, everyone is gathered here because of you, Your Holiness. And yet, the very person responsible for all this is just sitting there, absentmindedly observing… Hah…”

To be fair, none of this was my fault.

It was the original Nikellus’ mess, not mine.

But even if I felt unjustly blamed, to these people, I was Nikellus.

His crimes were now my crimes.

If things kept going like this, there was no telling if one of the four archpriests attending this meeting might send an assassin to my chambers in the dead of night.

I quickly opened my mouth, ready to share the idea that had just come to me.

“Calm down. I wasn’t just sitting here idly. I’ve actually come up with a brilliant solution for covering the compensation. I was just organizing my thoughts.”

“A solution, you say? Let’s hear it, then.”

Her tone didn’t carry the slightest expectation.

She’d endured too many years of dealing with the rampaging Nikellus, the disgraceful version of the man I had possessed. 

No doubt she was expecting me to say something ridiculous like, ‘Let’s just kill that Count Filma guy so we won’t have to pay anything’.

‘It’s about time I start shedding this old image. I’ve settled into Nikellus’ body enough to turn this around.’

Unlike the original Nikellus, I had no intention of suggesting such absurdities. In fact, there were solid reasons why I couldn’t afford to live recklessly like he did.

Luckily, I had a card up my sleeve that could not only reverse my tarnished image but also completely change the tone of this situation.

“See? I knew you didn’t have anything planned. Just as I thought—”

“First, contact the imperial family.”

Before Luciana’s misunderstanding could deepen, I calmly laid down my move—the card I had been holding back.

“And inform them that we intend to purchase the western forest of the Blonka region in its entirety. Relay that message from our side to the imperial court.”

“…The Blonka forest…?”

Luciana repeated the location with a blank expression, her voice trailing off.

But then, her face contorted sharply.

It wasn’t just her. 

Everyone else around the table looked utterly disappointed, shaking their heads in disbelief.

I understood their reaction. 

The forest in Blonka was infamous for being problematic.

It didn’t take long for one of the archpriest to address the elephant in the room.

“Your Holiness, that land isn’t worth purchasing. Frankly, they should be paying us to take it off their hands.”

The speaker was Argelio, a fox-like man with a sly smile that hid his sharp tongue. 

He was notorious for manipulating situations to his advantage.

If I had been just another ordinary character in the game, I might have been completely fooled by his deceitful facade.

Fortunately, the player’s privilege—the ability to check an ‘info window’—remained intact even after I possessed this body. 

Through that, I could uncover his true nature.

[Argelio van Frever (B)]
[Skills Possessed]
― Thorn That Pierces the Heart (A)
― More Truthful Than Truth (A)
― (Skill unavailable for viewing)
― (Skill unavailable for viewing)
― (Skill unavailable for viewing)

[Current Karma]
-132 points

In this world’s lore, there exist beings called Awakened Ones.

When someone gains a mysterious power referred to as ‘skills’, they are called an Awakened One.

The letter displayed after their name in the info window reflects their overall ability rating, which is determined by an aggregate of their skills and stats.

Below that is a list of their known skills, and upon inspection, I discovered that two of Argelio’s skills were focused on tormenting others through words.

One allowed him to strike at someone’s weak spots with piercing words, and the other enabled him to fabricate lies so convincing that they appeared more truthful than the truth itself.

And, as if that weren’t enough…

‘The only person in this entire church with negative karma—besides me—is that guy.’

Karma represents accumulated deeds or consequences—essentially, one’s moral score.

In simple terms, every evil act committed in the game decreases the karma score.

And Argelio’s score wasn’t just a neutral zero but a staggering -132? 

That meant he was undeniably, irredeemably a villain.

I couldn’t help but think that, with that slick tongue of his, he must have conned someone at some point.

I had no idea why someone like him, who ought to be exorcised, was seated in the position of a High Priest. 

Regardless, Argelio flashed a disarmingly sly smile and began rambling, unnecessarily folding his fox-like eyes in a show of false amiability.

“The Blonka Forest is overrun with monsters… It’s a place everyone avoids. Out of moral obligation, the Imperial Family oversees it. There’s no need for us to spend money acquiring it.”

“Who doesn’t know that? Anyway, we’ll take responsibility for managing it. If we can acquire it without cost, that’s even better.”

“…It may not cost anything to acquire, but the real issue is the maintenance fees afterward.”

His tone carried a mocking edge, as if to say, ‘Are you seriously this clueless?’

If Luciana acted brashly because of how long she’d known me, Argelio, on the other hand, did so purely out of disdain.

Though chosen by the gods to ascend to the position of Pope, Nikellus—my current identity—was still too young and, more significantly, an orphan from a humble background. 

He lacked the support of noble lineage or influential parents.

Through the lenses of his glasses, Argelio’s gray eyes were now brimming with thinly veiled contempt and irritation.

“Once we take responsibility for the forest, we’ll need to send hunting squads regularly to ensure the monsters don’t spill into nearby villages. Given the current financial state of the Church, it’s obvious we won’t be able to cover the costs of maintaining such operations. I’m not sure why Your Holiness would even want that land, but—”

“Yes, yes, I’m sure it looks like a worthless stretch of monster-infested land. On the surface, at least.”

This time, I returned Argelio’s mocking tone with a condescending stare of my own.

His shallow assessment of the land, based purely on its outward appearance, was nothing short of pathetic.

Out of generosity, I decided to throw him a thought-provoking question, one that might finally push him to some semblance of insight.

“Have you ever once stopped to consider why that forest is teeming with monsters?”