WKOC Chapter 4

9

Centaurs, according to the game’s lore, are quite a special existence. They weren’t originally beastfolk but humans who underwent the highest-level druidic transformation. Beyond that, I wasn’t sure. My knowledge only covered the first two chapters of the storyline, and the Free Alliance plot wasn’t part of that. If it weren’t for the fact that [SSR Alliance Leader Selena] appeared in the opening animation, I wouldn’t even recognize her.

What’s more, I had no idea why she knew me.

The arrival of the Free Alliance interrupted the ongoing battle between the Church of Light and the Church of Darkness. Now, the three factions were on high alert, each wary of making the first move and becoming easy pickings for the others. All the leaders of the factions were currently gathered in the plaza in front of the Great Cathedral of Light, the tension so thick it could snap at any moment.

Cooper had been rescued by the Holy Knights during the chaos caused by the dragon and was now pinned down near the priests, getting healed. This gave Yasha the freedom to move again. He used a levitation spell to float in front of the Death Knights, while Selena, nearly three meters tall, stood prominently. Compared to them, Hilier, lying in the arms of the Light Saint, seemed rather lacking in presence.

No matter how you looked at it, I was still part of the Light Church. I glanced around quickly—Hilier’s debuffs still had some time left before they wore off, so he wasn’t getting up anytime soon. The Light Saint was completely lost in panic, and Cooper, the Judge…

As the only one from the Light faction who was still standing and recognized as the “Holy Knight Captain” I had no choice but to step forward, ignoring Selena’s casual greeting, and mimic the official tone: “The Free Alliance shouldn’t be here.”

—So why are you showing up in the second chapter of the plot?!

Selena lazily stretched her wrists. “Oh? Are you going to stop me, little Al?”

A nearby Holy Knight eagerly ran over and handed me the greatsword that had been knocked away by the dragon, looking at me with hopeful eyes.

I stared at Selena’s health bar, which was about 29,000 times longer than mine at level 100: “…”

Taking a deep breath, I picked up the greatsword and planted it firmly in the ground in front of me, expressionless: “You can try.”

Selena continued to smile, but her gaze turned cold.

I saw her grip the lance tightly, and in my mind, I simulated the image of my model being impaled and pinned to the cathedral doors by that three-meter lance—if this was my plot death, it would be a truly dramatic scene. How many tears would the devs squeeze out of the players with that?

But if it wasn’t, then being stuck on a lance unable to get down would be incredibly awkward…

Just as the tension reached its peak, Hilier struggled to stand. He pushed away the Light Saint, who was trying to help him, and took a few steady steps forward, grabbing my arm. He whispered urgently, “Al, you promised me… you’d kill her…”

Me: “…”

I definitely could kill her, as long as she stood still and let me attack for eight or nine hours.

“…But not now,” he continued in a barely audible voice. “Hold me up.”

Understanding his intention, I subtly adjusted my stance, letting him lean part of his weight on my arm. With my support, he stood tall, not showing any signs of weakness, and raised his head toward Selena. In his usual gentle but distant tone, he said, “Lady Selena, this is the Holy City of Kaerya, not your Greenleaf Forest.”

As if responding to his words, the holy stone pillars that had dimmed when the barrier broke began to glow again, resonating with the divine power flowing from him. Within the range of this light, all members of the Light faction gained a faction buff.

But in my view, Hilier’s nearly depleted mana bar was dropping even further!

Not just dropping normally—those empty sections were turning gray, irreversible losses!

Selena glanced around at the glowing pillars, narrowing her eyes.

“I don’t wish to cause unnecessary bloodshed,” Hilier calmly continued. “Please leave Kaerya immediately, or I will consider this an act of war from the Free Alliance against the Church of Light.”

The centaur’s hooves shifted restlessly as she sighed, “You don’t remember the old times at all, do you, little Hilly?”

Hilier’s fingers twitched slightly, but he didn’t break eye contact with her.

After a moment of tension, Selena was the first to retreat a step, giving a mock bow. “The Free Alliance has no intention of opposing the Church of Light. As long as you hand over the criminal who escaped from Greenleaf Forest, we will leave.”

I suddenly had a bad feeling about this.

Sure enough, Selena’s gaze shifted to me, and she smiled, “The criminal’s name is Alvin. His crime… Hmm, let’s say, stealing confidential information from the Free Alliance!”

Me: “…”

You just made that up on the spot, didn’t you?!

Hilier’s expression turned terrifyingly cold. “Alvin is the Captain of the Holy Knights. He wouldn’t commit theft. Please be careful with your words.”

Selena pinched her chin in thought, then changed her tune, “Well then—”

“That may not be entirely true,” Yasha, who had been floating nearby, suddenly spoke up, his gaze fixed on Hilier, his voice carrying clearly across the tense plaza. “What about the matter of Captain Alvin leading the Holy Knights in an attack on the Dark Cathedral three months ago and stealing the oracle my lord had delivered? How do you explain that?”

Me: “…”

Sounds like I’ve been busy, stealing things everywhere.

“You’re lying! Alvin was carrying out a mission assigned by Teacher three months ago. There’s no way he could’ve attacked the Dark Cathedral!” the Light Saint shouted in rebuttal.

“Oh? And what mission was that?”

The Light Saint couldn’t answer and looked to us for help.

Behind his back, Hilier’s hand clenched tightly.

“Heh… Do you want to know why he did it?” Yasha deliberately dragged out his words. “It’s because your God of Light has long since fallen and can no longer deliver oracles. So, he had to steal one from my lord and pretend it was from the God of Light… Isn’t that right, Captain?”

His words were like a bombshell, causing an immediate uproar in the plaza. Everyone turned to look at me, waiting for an answer.

I had suspected something like this ever since Yasha mentioned I had stolen the oracle—after all, it was suspicious that the oracles from the Gods of Light and Darkness were identical—but I couldn’t possibly admit that the God of Light had fallen. If that were true, the game would suddenly become a two-faction system! Players had just joined the Light Church, and if the Church of Light disbanded the very next day, the devs would be roasted alive!

As an NPC in the game, the player experience takes priority!

But I didn’t have a memory package, so I didn’t know exactly what had happened. After thinking it over, I could only firmly state, “Don’t let him deceive you.”

Hilier’s hand relaxed.

The commotion among the Holy Knights quickly settled, and they glared at Yasha with united hostility.

Yasha stared at me for a few seconds, then suddenly flashed me a bright smile. He lightly tapped the collar hanging from his arm, speaking slowly, “The oracle bears my lord’s mark. Anyone who isn’t a follower of Darkness will be cursed if they touch it… Captain, how’s that curse treating you?”

Me: “…”

So that’s where my curse buff came from?!

“Oh, but I forgot, the Captain claimed he never stole the oracle…” Yasha’s expression turned mockingly pensive, though his smile remained. “So if the Captain isn’t cursed, how do you explain what happened on Grace Day?”

Grace Day was the most important holiday for the Church of Light, and by the timeline, it had taken place exactly a month ago. On that day, all the high-ranking members of the Church would attend the ceremony to receive blessings from the God of Light and then distribute those blessings to the believers, spreading the gospel. It was the most anticipated event of Grace Day…

I understood now.

Thanks to Yasha’s detailed explanation, I finally pieced together my backstory—The God of Light had fallen, but this information was probably only known to the Light Pope and the Captain of the Holy Knights. Three months ago, the Dark God suddenly delivered an oracle, but the God of Light didn’t. To prevent anyone from noticing the fall of the God of Light, the Light Pope sent the Captain to steal the Dark God’s oracle and pass it off as one from the God of Light. The Captain was cursed as a result and was rejected by the divine power of Light during the Grace Day ceremony, in front of everyone, leading to rumors that the Captain had betrayed his faith and was now shunned by the God of Light. This earned him titles like ‘Sinner of the Light’ and ‘Heretic.’

But because the Light Pope hadn’t officially declared why the Captain was rejected by the divine power, I hadn’t been formally labeled a heretic or sent to the tribunal.

If I admitted to stealing the Dark God’s oracle and being cursed, I could maintain my faith and position, but that would indirectly confirm that the God of Light had fallen. On the other hand, if I didn’t admit it, there was only one other explanation for why I was rejected by the God of Light.

I looked at Yasha’s malicious expression across from me, at Selena’s thoughtful gaze, then at Hilier’s graying, declining health bar, and the many Holy Knights and priests watching me…

Alright, I swear by my meager 1 Intelligence, this has to be my plot death!

Just as I steeled myself to admit I’d betrayed my faith and prepared to be killed as part of the storyline, a sudden burst of laughter interrupted. Cooper, whose health bar hadn’t fully recovered yet, had jumped to his feet. With one hand pointing straight at me, his face full of contempt but his eyes cold and calculating, he declared, “Alvin, do you think colluding with the Church of Darkness to spread rumors will wash away your sins? No, this only proves that you are a sinner who has betrayed the Lord!”

After saying this, he quickly turned to Hilier. “Pope Hilier, please allow me to apprehend this heretic on your behalf right now!”

Hilier remained silent for a few seconds.

His back was to me, so I couldn’t see his expression, but his voice was indifferent as he spoke, “Do you have anything left to say in your defense?”

“…”

I had nothing more to say. Whatever I said wouldn’t change my fate of being killed by the plot, so I wasn’t going to strain my limited intellect.

Hilier raised his hand. The staff that had been retrieved by a Holy Knight flew into his grasp with a swoosh. He turned to face me, planting the staff firmly on the ground to support himself.

“I pronounce judgment in the name of the Light Pope.” Hilier enunciated each word clearly, his gaze fixed on the hole in my armor, “Sinner Alvin—”

Boom!!!

A dull thud echoed.

Hilier’s head snapped forward, and he collapsed toward me.

Instinctively, I caught him, and that’s when I saw that the string of debuffs beneath his health bar had gained a new one: Stunned. Behind him, the towering figure of Selena retracted her three-meter lance and clicked her tongue, “Tsk, tsk, tsk, little Hilly, how could you turn your back on your enemy?”

Further in the distance, the Dark Saint regretfully slung his bow back over his arm.

Me: “…”

Is shamelessness a common trait of SSR characters?!

“Well then, I’ll be taking the criminal with me,” Selena teased, winking playfully at the Light Saint, who was too stunned by the turn of events to react. She looked down at me and asked, “Little Al, would you like to come with your teacher willingly, or would you prefer to be knocked out and carried away?”

Me: “…”

Now I understood.

—So the Free Alliance was specifically dropped in by the devs to take away an NPC that wasn’t originally part of the storyline. That way, they wouldn’t have to explain my whereabouts to the players or involve me in the following plotlines!

—Which means my plot death should happen in Greenleaf Forest. I won’t be getting it here!

Selena raised her oversized lance and lightly poked my chest, smiling mischievously, “So, which will it be… hmm?”

In her suddenly wide eyes, I saw that my chest armor, already covered with battle damage textures, had gained another layer, reaching the point where a bleeding effect triggered. A message popped up: Health -1.

Me: “Uh…”

The next moment, Hilier was yanked out of my arms and thrown to the Light Saint. Selena grabbed onto my shoulder armor and started tugging at the connections with a sense of urgency. I watched helplessly as damage notifications of -3 and -5 floated up from my armor, and the battle damage textures continued to pile on, causing the bleeding to intensify. This only made Selena more frantic, and she started pulling harder, making the armor groan and begin to warp.

Panicking, I grabbed her wrist.

Selena gripped my hand in return, her voice trembling with fear as she reassured me, “Al, it’s okay. Your teacher is here! Hang in there, it won’t hurt for much longer… just a little more…”

—No, if you let go, I wouldn’t be hurting at all!

My 1 Strength was nothing compared to Selena’s ability to throw a lance that could pierce a dragon from a hundred meters away. In fact, she was gripping me so tightly that even my gauntlets were starting to take damage. Struggling desperately, I pleaded, “Let go…” Please stop dismantling my model!

But before I could finish, Selena suddenly looked heartbroken, as if she’d been deeply wounded, and muttered softly, “Let your teacher… let me see your wound. When we get back, I’ll tell you everything, alright? I swear…”

I immediately stopped struggling.

Wait, am I finally going to get my memory package?

…No, wait, that doesn’t mean she can take me apart!

I resumed my frantic struggle.

Selena bit her lip, as if making a difficult decision, then swung her hand and hit me hard on the back of the neck with a loud *thwack*.

My head nearly flew off my armor, but the hit still didn’t trigger a stun debuff.

Selena: “…”

Suddenly, a head popped up next to us!

Luke, appearing out of nowhere, put down his camera and asked Selena in his usual monotone, “Do you need help with anything?”

Selena reflexively replied, “Knock him out!”

Luke: “Got it.”

He raised his hand and swung it down on my head.

Me: “No—”

But at that moment, my vision suddenly went dark, followed by a [Loading] progress bar.

Could it be…

…Did the Savior just smack my memory package into place?!

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