How the Cult Saves the World

[Synchronization Complete]

A translucent blue message window appeared before me. It was something like a ‘system’ that existed in this world.

[Welcome to the hidden route of ‘The Way to Save Our World.’]

“Damn it,” I muttered under my breath.

[Main Quest <Preach>]

Objective: Within 3 years, convert over 80% of the population on the Celestia continent to become followers of the god Kairos. (Currently 0%)

Success: ???

Failure: Death (Annihilation of the soul), World Destruction

[This quest is automatically accepted as the main quest of the hidden route.]

I couldn’t help but curse.

It was time to accept the truth.

That I had entered into a game world.

***

A few hours ago.

It was the moment when I finally saw the ending of <The Way to Save Our World>, also known as “The Law of the Jungle”, a game that I had played for a whole month.

The Law of the Jungle was a choice-based RPG game set in a medieval fantasy world where the protagonist was literally a cuttlefish. If you made a wrong choice in the game, a bad ending where the protagonist dies or the world is destroyed was displayed.

Moreover, once you die, you had to start from the prologue again, no matter what. Despite the flashy illustrations, the in-game characters were all 2D, and it was evident that the game had spent all its budget on the illustrations.

There were a lot of negative reviews and refund requests for the game, but even if you put aside all the other shortcomings, the difficulty level was a nightmare.

If I had given up like other users, the future might not have been like this, but I have a personality that once I start something, I have to finish it. So, I saw hundreds of bad endings and finally reached the true ending where the cuttlefish protagonist saved the world and peace was finally restored.

“Ha, seriously. It was fun to play together, but let’s never see each other again.”

I smiled brightly and tried to press the game end button, with the feeling that I should delete it right away and never look back.

But then, a message appeared on the screen.

[Congratulations! You are the first to clear the true ending.]

I had heard that not many users challenged the true ending because of the game’s high difficulty, but did I really become the first user to clear it? I was so happy to have the title of ‘first’ that I smiled, but then the next message appeared.

[Do you want to proceed with the hidden route?]

[Yes/No]

[Warning! The hidden route has the same story as the existing game but the difficulty level is even higher!]

…Hidden route?

I had never heard of a hidden route in this game. I guess it’s something that only appears after you see the true ending, so I must be the first to discover it, after being the first to clear the game.

I was a bit worried about the warning message under the option, but I didn’t hesitate for long.

“I’ve played this game so many times. It’s not like the difficulty could get any higher.”

Filled with a sense of competition, I pressed the “yes” button without hesitation.

If you’re Korean, you probably would have made the same choice as me. But for me, Jeong Ji-hyeon, I would soon regret this decision.

Because as soon as I pressed the button, my vision began to shake. At the same time, a crushing headache came over me, and before long, I lost consciousness.

***

That was what happened a few hours ago. I woke up in a strange world, staring at a system message in front of me.

[Main Quest <Fogo>]

Content: You, the first believer and the leader, must help the god Kyros and drive out the demon Diego.

Objective: Convert over 80% of the population on the Celest continent into Kyros’s believers within 3 years (currently 0%).

Success: ???

Failure: Death (destruction of the soul), world destruction.

Why of all things, Fogo?

But that wasn’t all.

“Are you kidding me?”

The main quest that appeared at the same time didn’t make any sense. The main story of the game I played, Usual Law, was simple. The male protagonist, Tardian Astin, saves the world. And the one who helped Tardian was Kyros, the god of the Kyros religion, which was believed by most of the Celest continent, the main background of Usual Law.

But why are there currently no Kyros believers? And why is the quest given to me Fogo?

First, I decided to calm down and calmly think. So let’s organize it. Most of the continent currently believes in the demon Diego, the original antagonist. So it’s not just about pushing out Diego, but also making Kyros’s believers 0%.

In other words…

They want me to become a cult leader. And I don’t even have the right to refuse.

“No, this is ridiculous!”

Not only did I suddenly fall into this world, but they also want me to be a cult leader? And to top it off, the warning message for the hidden route made me even more angry.

“They say the story is the same!”

In the original, the ratio between Kyros and Diego religions was 50:50, but this world was far from it, with 0:10.

“Damn system…!”

I expressed anger towards the system inwardly. It took me a few minutes to come to terms with reality.

Maybe it was because I had read a lot of web novels or webtoons in my previous life, but I was able to adapt quickly.

“Phew, phew,” I took a deep breath and calmly thought to myself.

It was a crazy situation, but there was nothing I could do. I didn’t even have the right to refuse, and my very soul was at stake. And who knows, maybe I could leave this world once I finished this task.

Of course, I didn’t want to go back to where I originally came from. My life as “Jung Ji-hyun” was devoid of friends and family, and my qualifications were not great. I had failed to get a job multiple times due to my mediocre academic and performance standards.