'What the ..., did "Life is just a game" refer to this? All of this must be some dumb dream, right? When am I going to wake up?' Mike thought.
"I guess you will have to bring a lot of sacrifices, but I'm sure it will work out... it will work out... somehow," the man said. "Let me introduce myself. I am Leonard, the 23rd disciple of the church of Sonas."
Ding*
A yellow window appeared in front of Leonard.
Leonard Lv. 13
(Disciple of Sonas)
Condition: worried
Age: 32
Strength: 9
Stamina: 7
Agility: 11
Intelligence: 6
Luck: 17
Looking at Leonards stats left Mike terrified.
'No wonder he was stronger than everything I ever saw, all of his stats are way above mine. He could probably kill me without any trouble. Wait, did I really just compare my stats to him? What am I thinking anyway?' Mike thought.
Leonard continued: "This must all feel pretty unreal to you, but don't worry, I will give you all the time you need. I am the one who summoned you, so I will be responsible for your well-doing."
He picked up his robe again and stood up.
"I have to discuss this with someone, please excuse me. In the meantime, you should stay here. I will come back as soon as possible."
Leonard stormed off, leaving Mike alone in his room.
Exhausted, Mike fell down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Thankfully there were no weird paintings here.
'This must be a dream... no, this is a dream, I will just wake up at home, in my bed. Father will be drunk like always, and I will flee into the garden to...'
At this moment, black smoke, similar to what Mike had seen in his reincarnation process, radiated from his skin. But unlike that fog, the smoke radiating from him smelled sweet in a way that got Mike excited.
It was as if the smell would bring him to his own little paradise, a dream of happiness and excitement, but also something dark. A lite note of blood, maybe.
The smoke formed a beautiful face floating over him, looking down on him. A black face with exquisite features and two glowing yellow eyes.
It was impossible to say whether it was the face of a man or a woman, but when it opened its mouth Mike's heart started to race.
"My miserable child, I can feel your doubt, but don't fall into despair. Normally I wouldn't care about a small puppet, but I can feel that you are special.
I will give you an opportunity. As soon as your luck reaches a positive value, we will talk again. Try not to die until then."
The black face rushed towards Mike. As the black lips touched his lips, he could feel their softness and their sweet taste.
Mike could think about nothing but their passionate kiss until the black smoke was suddenly sucked into him.
His mind was filled with thoughts of pleasure as the smoke filled every little part of his body.
He couldn't say how much time had gone by when the feeling finally started to fade, and he returned to reality.
He was still inside the small room, but something was different. Mike looked around, but he couldn't find anything unusual. The black stone from which the cathedral was built, the bed he was laying on, the floor, there was nothing out of order. That's what he thought until he looked at his arms.
Thin black lines covered his skin, drawing a subtle picture, like the web of a black widow.
Mike came back to reality when he heard loud steps approaching the small room with great speed.
He had just enough time to look up before an old robed man rushed through the door.
He fell to the floor and started breathing heavily. "It's their smell, I'm sure! How can I be so lucky to smell them once more, after all these years?"
The many gemstones on his robe danced with the flow of his breath, reflecting the light and making the small room look like a disco.
A worried Leonard entered the room after the old man.
"Pope Lucas, is everything alright?" he asked.
"No, don't come into here, you will take their smell from me, go away!" the old man screamed.
"But pope..."
Leonard didn't enter the room until the supposed pope finally stopped cowering on the floor and stood up.
"To think that your new summon would attract the attention of Sonas immediately... Well, if you are right, it shouldn't be because of his good luck." the old man laughed like a madman.
'Is he really the pope? He doesn't behave like a pope at all...' Mike thought.
"Now then, I'm here for a reason." he straightened his cape. "Show me your stats."
As their eyes met, Mike could feel immense pressure coming from the old man.
'Just how strong is this grandpa?! He must be leagues above the disciple that summoned me.' Mike thought.
But when the window appeared in front of him, even Mike was shocked.
Mike Lv. 1
(Summon of Sonas, Lover of Sonas)
Condition: confused
Age: 16
Strength: 2
Stamina: 3
Agility: 1
Intelligence: 5
Luck: -7
"That you actually got the title 'Lover of Sonas'... Well, something like luck could never affect the god of luck himself, but why did he choose you?" the pope said.
'Of course, my luck again. I just wanted to live as the son of a rich family and not worry about anything, and now I am supposed to be the lover of some wicked god?' Mike thought.
"Anyways, nobody knows what Sonas' plans are, and it would be blasphemous to say anything else. Did he tell you anything?" the old man asked.
"He said something about me being special and that I would get to see him again after reaching a positive luck value," Mike said.
"To think that Sonas would show himself to somebody with such abysmal luck... I still can't believe it." the old man shook his head. "Well, you will have to train hard to reach positive luck with your current stats, so you two will have to focus on that from tomorrow onwards."
The old man took a step towards Mike and hit him on the back. He was sent flying into the wall next to the door.
"Ah, sorry, I forgot how weak you are. That will have to change if you want to level up enough to reach better luck. Anyways, I am on my way now. I hope you can reach your goal fast so that I can smell them again..." with these words, the pope left the room.
Leonard touched his neck and closed his eyes.
For a while, neither of us spoke a word.
The silence was finally interrupted by Leonard. "They... Sonas really showed themself to you?"
"Yes."
"Then, from tomorrow onwards, we will use all our recourses to make you reach your goal," he said with a strained smile.