I just awakened.
That was the result of analyzing the changes in my body and soul over the past thirty minutes.
More precisely, I had awakened memories from my past life and abilities from that life.
To be even more specific, memories from my past life and a portion of the supernatural powers I wielded back then.
My past life was Pope Saint Hyers I.
Not the Pope of Earth.
The Pope of another world where mana, Divine Power, and demons truly existed.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙"Status Window."
After slipping from the office to the restroom and back to my seat, I called it out with a sliver of doubt.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙"Status?"
But nothing changed.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙"System!"
I shouted other words too, but nothing appeared before my eyes.
Good, I get it.
I nodded to myself and returned to the office.
Then I sat at my desk and opened the computer's notepad app.
My current Divine Power is roughly at the Cleric level, huh?
If I've reincarnated on Earth, I need to make use of Earth's ways.
No status window? Then I'll create one myself.
Tap tap tap.
I placed my hands on the keyboard and converted my current status into text.
Something like this?
STATUS WINDOWName: Lee SeopAge: 29Job: Cleric(C)Max Divine Power: 200Skills:Heal(C): Consumes 10 Divine PowerBless(C): Consumes 20 Divine PowerWarm Conversation(C_Passive)Luck(C_Passive): Activates randomly 5 times per dayEmotion Reading(C_Passive)Faint Halo(C_Passive)Next Job Change: Priest(B), Chaplain(B), Monk(B)Followers Required: 100 general, 10 devout, 1 fanaticA Cleric, but the efficiency is like a Priest level.
Thanks to my past life? Even as a Cleric, I was incredibly versatile. Like some hero-grade Cleric.
Anyway, organizing it into a status window like this makes it so much clearer. I can grasp everything at a glance.
In my past life, I would've vaguely estimated my Divine Power through revelation or intuition: "With my current faith, I can do these things, and for that, I'll need these."
Expressing that same Divine Power as a status window was incredibly effective. And fun, too.
Thanks to my current life's personality, my thinking has become more flexible.
Even after awakening my past life, Lee Seop's—my Earthling—values remained firm.
The old me, Hyers, might've cried out in blasphemy: "Heavens! Calculating the sacred miracles granted by God? Sacrilege!"
He probably wouldn't have even conceived of a status window concept to try it in the first place.
I pulled out my phone, switched to selfie mode, and looked at myself.
A faint halo, visible only to me, hovered behind my head.
Any priest who awakens Divine Power gets a halo like this behind their head.
A Cleric's Faint Halo means only the truly devout will see it, at best.
This halo grows clearer as you build Divine Power and change jobs.
Once you reach cardinal-level priest, even the faithless can see it.
So, what now?
The moment I grasped the situation, I started planning ahead.
Earth is a world without Divine Power, not even mana. Gods are completely dead, so no demons or ghosts—just a barren place.
Funny thing is, religions still exist here. Even without wielding a scrap of Divine Power.
Their congregations were as massive and powerful as in my past life's Icadia.
In a place like Earth, where I'm the only one to awaken past-life memories and Divine Power, it must mean the Mother of All Things has extended her branches here.
Unless gates suddenly open or aliens invade, my goal is clear.
Preach the true faith on this Earth.
That's my mission.
First, I need to quit the company.
For that, I have to tidy up my affairs.
From now on, everything I have belongs to the Mother of All Things.
How can I resign in a way that spreads rumors of me bowing out gracefully?
The company I work for is a mid-tier firm.
Being mid-tier means resigning is as tricky as getting hired.
I could no-show or quit abruptly, but that's poor manners.
I'm going to become famous soon—no need for bad rumors over something like this.
Hm?!
That was when something inside me reacted.
If rendered as a system window, it would've looked like this.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡Luck(C_Passive) has activated. (4/5)
Luck? Luck in this situation. What could it be?
Department Head[Lee, could you come to the meeting room for a sec?]A message from the department head popped up in the company messenger right on cue.
[Yes, sir. On my way.]I replied immediately and headed to the meeting room.
****
"Lee, we've decided to let you go from the department."
In the department meeting room, Shim Hyeong-sik spoke in a heavy tone.
His face and voice brimmed with sorrow and regret.
Is that genuine, I wonder?
I imagined a system popup and focused on the department head.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡Emotion Reading(C_Passive) used.
His emotions flowed to me naturally.
Lies.
Emotion Reading revealed his act was all fake.
His true feelings were relief and delight.
He'd kissed the right asses and survived the layoffs.
Other departments lost managers and above, but not ours.
Still, they needed a sacrificial lamb, so they picked a peon like me.
It showed how hard he'd played office politics.
"You're young and talented, Lee—you'll have plenty of options. You were too good for this company anyway. Right?!"
His fake sympathy didn't last.
He couldn't hide his glee at surviving, and excitement crept into his voice.
"It'll be handled as voluntary severance. I'll put in a good word upstairs so you get a fat severance package plus consolation pay!"
I could sense his worry and annoyance too.
What if this guy digs in and refuses to go?
"Got it. I'll pack my things right now."
"Huh...? Right now?"
"Yes. I need to start job hunting ASAP. Sorry, but no handover possible."
"Of, of course. Yeah. Haha! So full of fight, kid! Real MZ generation!"
And just like that, I pulled off an ultra-speed resignation.
Perfect.
****
My life as Lee Seop had been ordinary.
Only child. Parents died in a car crash when I was young.
Mom had cut ties with her family, so my paternal grandparents raised me.
Their inheritance and savings meant I wasn't rich but never went hungry.
Never had to skip meals or hesitate on education for money reasons.
I focused on studies in school, aced the college entrance exam, and got into a top Seoul university.
But joy was short-lived. Right after starting college, a global pandemic hit, and I lost my grandparents.
Suddenly alone, but I didn't break—I kept studying.
Served in the military midway, managed specs while finishing uni.
But trials continued.
AI boom narrowed job prospects in my major.
By the time I was job hunting, big corps barely hired newbie programmers.
Still, I didn't give up.
I hustled with tutoring and gigs, pounding on doors until I landed this mid-tier gig.
Just got voluntary severance today, though.
Anyway, that was my life before awakening.
Not bad.
Tragic to some, but to me post-awakening, utterly average.
Maybe even on the better side.
As Pope in my past life, I'd seen every kind of life imaginable.
This life too—full of wretched tales.
Compared to them, my lot was just a bit lonely, but decent.
And now, I've awakened on top of it.
Making me the happiest person alive.
Thanks be to the Mother of All Things. I shall share Your providence.
I instinctively made the sign of the cross from my past life.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡Emotion Reading(C_Passive) used.
I scanned my surroundings with the skill.
Always felt this way, but channeling Divine Power through status window and system vibes like this was convenient.
The emotions I sense are so lonely.
I'm in Yeonok-dong, an old housing complex on Seoul's outskirts.
A dying neighborhood full of elders, hardly any young folks.
The whole place reeks of isolation and solitude.
But it's not the worst neighborhood.
Nationwide, it's just rundown.
In this day and age—in Korea—who isn't lonely in their household? Just a few?
Zoom out to global standards, and Yeonok-dong is practically paradise.
No plagues, famines, disasters clawing at us, no shells exploding.
Why I chose this village? Conditions aligned perfectly.
Overall, the residents' assets, education, abilities, and needs are pretty solid.
Moderately lonely but not dirt poor.
Or moderately well-off but deeply isolated.
That's the main demographic here.
The poorer folks get, the more assholes you find—but low ratio here.
I confirmed again, spreading Emotion Reading wide.
Rare kind of place. Perfect for building a foundation.
Yeonok-dong folks were generally good-hearted.
Ideal as initial members for the church I'd establish.
Sure, eventually I'd reach beyond this nation to succor the world's weary.
But first, you need a base.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened."
I set off for the neighborhood that would be my first cornerstone.
****
One day, a strange young man appeared in Yeonok-dong.
Residents scanned the outsider.
Cultist? Scammer? Peddler? Kidnapper?
At first, suspicion and wariness targeted Lee Seop.
"Hello?"
Amid the blatant stares, the young man kept coming back.
"Hello?"
"Wh-what are you doing back here?!"
"Why? To hear the rest."
"Hear what?"
"Grandpa's story from the other day. The one about plumbing in the Middle East that got cut off. Keeps nagging at me."
His persistence? Just listening.
Listening to the lonely elders' tales, over and over.
"Wow! What happened next?"
"What happened? Back in my day, even if I look like this now...!"
After chatting with Lee Seop, moods lifted. Hearts warmed inexplicably. Loneliness faded.
"Grandma, how're you today? Any word from your daughter?"
"Don't ask. Leaves the grandkids and never visits once!"
"Aigoo... Raising kids alone must be tough on you."
"Tough as hell!"
"Guess I'll give you a massage. And tutor the kids this weekend if time allows. Went to a top uni, you know."
"Really? But I got no money."
"Not doing it for cash."
"Take at least a little! Daughter sends some now and then."
"I'll take the thought. Glad she's not totally cut off, though."
"Don't need money... Got pension, pick recyclables. Some savings too. Just wanna see her face... Hear how she's doing..."
The elders' tales turned to lamentations.
Lee Seop just listened with sincere eyes.
His presence unraveled their pent-up knots.
******
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