Chapter 62: The Second Apostle

“Oliver, are you okay?” I rushed over to him. He was breathing. But there was no answer. Had he fainted? And I could have sworn he glowed a moment ago.

“Grandmother, this is…” “Hmm, he has likely awakened as an Apostle.” The Elder went to check the stone tablet.

After a short while, Oliver came to. “I… what on earth…” He still seemed confused.

“You suddenly collapsed right here. You didn’t hit your head, did you?” I asked worriedly, but Oliver answered in a firm, steady tone. “I am fine, Lord William. I apologize for causing you worry.”

“I’m glad you’re safe. But what exactly happened?” “Well, it seems a tremendous amount of information suddenly flowed into my head, causing me to lose consciousness.” A tremendous amount of information? What does that mean?

Just then, the Elder returned. “Lord Savior, it appears Sir Oliver has awakened as an Apostle.” “I see. So that light earlier really was the sign of his awakening.”

Oliver looked puzzled. It was understandable. “Lord Savior, if you wish, shall we explain the situation to Sir Oliver before the World Tree?” “Yes, Elder, please do. Oliver, we’re going to explain everything now—can you come with us?” “Yes. Since I don’t understand anything at the moment, an explanation would be very helpful.”

The Elder chanted a spell in front of the great tree, and an entrance opened within the hollow. “This is surprising once again. But I suppose it’s best not to ask questions every single time.” “That’s right. It would help if you held your questions until after you’ve heard the full explanation.”

And so, we stepped out in front of the World Tree. “How beautiful…” Oliver was entranced. The space housing the World Tree was in full bloom with colorful flowers. It possessed a fantastical beauty no matter how many times I saw it, so I understood why Oliver was mesmerized.

“Now, let me explain.” Standing before the World Tree, the Elder explained to Oliver what kind of existence an Apostle was. Oliver, being intelligent, understood the explanation immediately. “I see. So, Lord William is the Savior who will save the world from darkness, and I have become one of the Apostles who supports him.”

“I’m sorry for getting you involved in all this.” “No, not at all. To support a Savior who will save the world not with swords or magic, but with crafting—that is very rewarding.” When I apologized, Oliver denied it immediately.

“I believe my merchant skills will be of service. I can procure the materials needed for crafting, and I can sell the items Lord William creates to generate funds.” It was grateful that he thought so positively. And now that he had awakened as an Apostle, Oliver held a very strong sense of loyalty.

The stone tablet the Elder had brought out displayed new writing floating upon it. Since we couldn’t read Ancient Elvish, the Elder translated and read it aloud for us. “One is a Clown. Like a Jester, he shall speak frankly; like a Joker, he shall be the trump card. With deep wisdom and knowledge from another world, he shall assist the Savior.”

I see. So Oliver will speak to me without hesitation if he deems it necessary. I had heard that court jesters were allowed to speak rudely to the King, acting as admonishers, and that capable people were often appointed to the role. “Deep wisdom” also suited the intelligent Oliver perfectly.

“Sir Oliver, could you touch this stone tablet?” “Yes. It has a mysterious atmosphere.” When Oliver touched it, new words appeared on the tablet.

Seeing those words, the Elder was astonished. “Good heavens! To think your skill as an Apostle is the Akashic Records. Were you alright after touching that?” The Akashic Records… wasn’t that the record of all information in existence?

So, Oliver collapsed because he connected to the Akashic Records and a massive amount of information flooded his brain. “I certainly thought my brain might burn out. However, despite appearances, I do not intend to lag behind anyone when it comes to merchant skills. I pride myself on having a higher information processing capacity than most.”

“So Sir Oliver was a possessor of the Merchant Skill.” “Yes. Additionally, my interests are very clear-cut, so I can ignore information I am not interested in.” “I see. Even so, maintaining your sanity after touching that is magnificent. Actually, there was once an Elf who obtained the Akashic Records skill, but unfortunately, they went insane.”

Insane? Is the Akashic Records really such a dangerous skill? “Lord Savior, being able to connect to the Akashic Records, where all creation is recorded, is extremely important. Sir Oliver is truly a talent. One could say he will indeed be your trump card.” “I see, a trump card, hence the Joker. But will Oliver be okay using such a dangerous skill?”

“I am fine, Lord William. For a merchant, information is life. To be able to obtain information like this is like a dream. Please, let me use this skill.” “If you say so, Oliver, I won’t stop you, but please, don’t overdo it.” “Thank you for your concern.”

“Yeah, be careful. By the way, what is this ‘knowledge from another world’?” “Well, it seems the Akashic Records contains information not just from this world, but also from the world Lord William came from.” “So ‘another world’ refers to my world.”

“Yes. Before I lost consciousness earlier, I briefly saw some commercial information, and it seems to be far more advanced than this world. The concept of ‘branding’ is a wonderful way of thinking. Let’s definitely introduce it to our workshop.” “Wow, that’s a nostalgic word. So you really can obtain knowledge from my world. That’s really…”

“You want to say ‘cheat,’ don’t you? In the language of that side.” “You figured that out quickly. You even learned that word in an instant.” “Yes. This is certainly a cheat skill.”