Chapter 7
Preparation (1)
“Keugh. Kng.”
“The Imperial Knight Order? Hm.”
“…….”
The chapel I arrived at after dragging my feet was a complete ss. Winter was dripping tears as he scribbled sothing, and Bereninche was sitting across from him.
Bereninche spoke to Winter with those gleaming eyes. Winter struggled desperately to hold back his sobs.
“What are you doing.”
“Oh, you’re here.”
My first thought was that I had to save him. No matter how I looked at it, he was in the position of a bullied sucker getting shaken down for money. If left like that, he looked like he would die of dehydration.
I spoke to Bereninche first. Our relationship wasn’t good enough for to just drop by like this.
“What brings you here.”
“I stopped by on the way. Right?”
“Keugh. Y-yes.”
It didn’t seem like that was the case. I looked at him with displeasure, then withdrew my gaze. It wasn’t like he would shake his head even if I stared.
“Can I borrow this kid for the basic hunting class?”
At the sudden proposal, my gaze shifted. I examined Winter. For Bereninche to make such an offer. Winter’s face turned pale.
Was basic hunting a required course? If so, there was no one more reliable than Bereninche. I shrugged my shoulders. There was no need to ask in the first place.
“You’re going to take him anyway.”
“Right. Congratulations? Looks like you’ll get an A this ti.”
Winter responded by nodding his head. Firmly wiping away his tears, he handed sothing to .
“The Imperial Knight Order is sponsoring?”
“Hm? I thought I told you in advance…… kng. I did.”
I shook my head. I had never heard this story. Support from the Imperial Knight Order was good for now. The problem was what ca after.
I looked over the docunts. In short, they would provide 100 knuckles every month. Considering that 1 knuckle was equivalent to ten thousand won in Korean currency, it was by no ans a small amount.
“I see. So that’s why you ca?”
“Hm? Ah. That. Well, yeah.”
The Imperial family and the Duhein Family were sworn enemies. A Duhein receiving imperial support? Impossible. From the mont I was excommunicated, I beca a target for those who hated the Duhein Family. Now, the Duhein Family would also be aiming for .
At the center of that would be Bereninche. It was sad, but in my current state, there was no way for to survive against Bereninche.
“You clearly said you would give material. And strangely enough, a guardian appeared at that very place. You even knew how to weaken it.”
My face felt itchy. I could feel Winter’s gaze. My eyes were fixed solely on Bereninche.
“There must have been so thod. That scripture thing, or sothing like that.”
“So what’s your point.”
“There’s sothing I want you to retrieve.”
“A request?”
“That’s right. If you retrieve it, the Duhein Family won’t harm you.”
I looked down at her. Bereninche leaned back in her chair and waited for my answer.
“What’s the item you want?”
“Eye of Aira.”
“So you’re telling to go to the Sanctuary?”
The Eye of Aira was an artifact that reacted to the water attribute. I understood the intention. She was planning to strengthen the spear she had newly created this ti.
That item, which only existed in the Sanctuary, was not particularly difficult to obtain. It was a space that only those possessing powerful Divine Power could enter.
“I’ll cover all the related expenses.”
“In return, you should work with once as well.”
I had to visit the Sanctuary anyway. It was a simple task of picking one up while I was there. Since she would be well-off anyway, I might as well squeeze so money out too.
“You do have the ability to pay.”
“Don’t worry.”
At my assurance, Bereninche pondered for a mont, then nodded. With her objective complete, Bereninche waved her hand dismissively and disappeared.
“Good work.”
“Yes…….”
Winter answered weakly. There wasn’t much I could do for him. I took out the Holy Scripture of the Anaye Faith and handed it to her. Winter smiled instantly.
The next day, I headed to the Lofty Cathedral with Winter. Winter, who spent more ti here than in the dormitory, knew even the smallest details.
“Ancient gods like the Goddess have very little related material. It’ll probably take a long ti to find anything.”
“Yeah.”
The reason I took the ti to co here. It was to learn more about Anaye. Sadly, everything I could use as combat power was related to Anaye, so I had no choice.
In other words, just upgrading this one thing would raise my overall combat strength. The docunt archives beneath the cathedral were filled with all kinds of faith-related materials.
“Do you have an answer?”
“No, it’s strange how you go quiet only at tis like this.”
Winter, who knew where everything was, took on the role of finding materials, while I, the owner of the scripture, took on the role of obtaining clues about Anaye.
Even so, the scripture that usually reacted so strongly was silent. Still, it was fortunate that I knew about Anaye’s life.
“Four hundred years before the unification of the Empire.”
“That was during the era of tribal states.”
“Whether it was a mountain goat or a deer, there must have been a nation that worshipped it.”
“There is one thing that cos to mind…….”
Hesitating, Winter handed a book. I read the opened page.
“Mad God?”
“Yes……. At that ti, when demons were rampant, there was a tribe that most actively killed demons. They wore the skulls of dead deer and tore demons apart with knives made of bone. It was said that the tribe worshipped a Mad God……. It’s not Anaye, right?”
“We’ll have to look into it. If it was a Mad God to begin with, would it have been able to select us?”
“Th-that’s true.”
Winter looked relieved. If such a story had co up even five years ago, it would have been a big problem. I probably would have woken up the next day with a sword stuck in my head.
“Huh? Senior?”
I saw Winter’s small hand. She said being called Apostle was burdenso, so the title imdiately changed to senior. Thanks to that, Winter treated with a slightly more relaxed attitude.
Just like before, Winter opened a page of a book and showed it to .
“Would you like to read this?”
I checked the book’s title. Ancient Heroic Tales. The one Winter handed over recorded a battle between two heroes. A black serpent wielding a spear of vegetation and a white serpent wielding a club of lightning.
Anaye’s keywords were deer, reindeer, and lightning. Among them, heroes related to lightning were extrely rare.
▶Faith Quest : [Legacy]
Anaye wanted her first child to find her legacy.
Conditions – Secure the legacy.
Rewards – Legacy.
1. Circle of Reincarnation : Not acquired.
2. Sword of the Guarding Obelisk : Not acquired.
3. Eye of the Long Slumber : Not acquired.
4. Carrion’s Zoetrope : Not acquired.
5. Promise of the Great Ash Tree : Not acquired.
The sudden appearance of a quest. The reward was not listed separately. If I rephrased the word legacy, it ant a holy relic. The holy relic itself would be the reward.
As I slowly read through the list, I found several familiar nas. The Sword of the Guarding Obelisk. Also known as the Obelisk Sword, it was a famous weapon even in the ga.
“The Great Ash Tree.”
“Yes?”
The last one even existed within the academy. It was the ‘job change location’ for Paladins and Spirit Masters, who took on the role of close-range warriors among the priest paths.
“There’s sowhere I need to go. Let’s get up.”
“Ah! Yes! Just a mont!”
The Great Ash Tree did not react at all unless one was a Paladin or a Spirit Master. However, the fact that it was ntioned in the quest ant I had gained the qualification to go there.
Above all, that place was perfect for raising the proficiency of my skills that consud stamina as a resource. I couldn’t miss an opportunity like this.
***
It didn’t feel overwhelmingly large or magnificent. It was just an ordinary ash tree. However, the dense magic power perating the area was anything but light.
Standing alone with dignity inside the surrounding fence was the spirit tree, called one of the academy’s famous sights. It was known as a popular date spot for many couples.
“…….”
Standing there, Winter felt a strange sensation. A naïve girl who had never dated a man even once in her life. More precisely, a nerd who hadn’t even managed to build proper human relationships. That was how Winter evaluated herself.
Even so, she had lived without problems. She had goals far more important than such relationships. But now that she had actually arrived at a place like this, it couldn’t help but feel strange.
“Um, Senior?”
Ridiculously enough, she even had misunderstandings. A senior who brought her to a lovers’ landmark. As she tried to grasp his intentions, the first thought that ca to mind was romantic feelings.
Did she perhaps like him? If she glanced sideways and looked at his face, she would grasp her own place. The emotions revealed on his expression were weariness and faint delight. He didn’t have the physiognomy of soone capable of love.
“If I hit it with an axe, it’ll fall over, right?”
“You absolutely can’t do that!”
It was sothing that must never be done. It was a remark that could have passed as a joke, but seeing that serious expression made her think it could never be allowed.
Winter did everything she could to stop Davide. Expulsion was nothing; it was obvious that the enraged chairman would send him straight to Anaye’s side.
“Follow .”
“Uh, that area is restricted…….”
“Follow .”
“Yes.”
She tried to stop him as he took out the Holy Scripture of the Anaye Faith and stepped inside the fence. But after two sharp commands, she followed as she was. He was scary. His face.
She crossed over timidly. She desperately hoped no one would see the current situation. The derits for crossing the fence were unimaginable. That alone showed how important the tree was to the academy.
“Senior.”
“What.”
“The tree must never be hard. You know that, right?”
“Nothing will happen. Probably.”
“……Probably.”
Davide activated the scripture. Powerful Divine Power enveloped the surroundings. A massive source of light erupted from the tree and swallowed the two of them.
In the blink of an eye, the surroundings changed.
“Spatial transfer?”
Winter was unexpectedly calm. It was a familiar phenonon. It seed to be a kind of spatial movent. Still, her innate frailty hadn’t gone anywhere. Her body trembled with tension, and tears welled up.
A dense forest. A dark forest reeking of ominous energy. The ground was filled with contamination, and trees oozing black ichor stood everywhere.
“Mm!”
Just breathing there felt like it would lead to corruption. Faced with the bizarre scenery, Winter unconsciously held her breath. The place swallowed Winter’s mind like a swamp.
Then snow began to fall. Pure white snow scattered across the world, gradually covering the grotesque darkness.
“A deer…….”
Sothing walked out from between the corrupted trees. A deer with pure white fur and golden eyes. Judging by the antlers growing from its head, it was clearly male, yet the lines that ford it were gentle and mild.
Several silk threads were entangled around the white deer’s antlers, and bells that made no sound were attached.
Winter stared blankly at its figure, only coming to her senses after bumping her head against the white deer’s nose. The feet that had been gradually drawn in were now stepping on snow.
“Are you telling to follow you?”
The white deer lightly tapped Winter with its large antlers, careful not to hurt her. As the white deer turned and walked away, she followed it as if enchanted. The eerie atmosphere of the forest changed simply with the falling snow.
Walking after the white deer, Winter felt that the divine beast before her was strangely familiar. Perhaps that white deer was Anaye herself.
“It’s a lake.”
Winter’s tone changed. It might be a beast that was the god she served. The place the white deer led her to was a lake so vast it looked like the sea at first glance.
That noble surface lay calm, doing nothing but occasionally receiving the falling snow. As Winter took in the surface of the lake, she discovered sothing familiar.
“Senior?”
Sea-colored hair and a sullen face. A lanky, towering height and tanned skin. Reflected on the lake was not Winter’s face, but Davide Duhein, gripping lightning in his hand and hurling it at sothing.
“What is going on?”
Clink.
From the bell that had never rung until now, a clear sound rang out. It was a comfortable resonance that cald both mind and body. At that mont, all the surrounding contamination disappeared. Ripples that began from the bell started to purify the surroundings.
As the contamination covering the lake cleared away, Davide’s figure beca clearer. Countless contaminated tree monsters, and Davide throwing lightning toward them.
“Uh. Um.”
The worry that ca to mind in that instant didn’t last long. His expression was calm. Davide simply scattered lightning with an annoyed look on his face.
That alone prevented the tree monsters from approaching him. That situation continued for roughly two minutes.
“They’re a little… pitiful.”
Not Davide, but the tree monsters were pitiful. They were charging in so desperately, while their opponent was yawning in annoyance.
It was obvious they would suffer considerable damage both physically and ntally. Seeing that frightening impression, she almost felt like cheering for the tree monsters instead. Still, it was entertaining to watch.
The lightning Davide scattered was strangely forming consistent shapes. At tis it beca a sword, at others a spear, slaughtering everything around him.
Wasn’t it the combat departnt? It was indeed agile movent befitting that title. If his expression had been a bit more wholeso, she might have admired him.
Winter felt a sowhat subtle emotion.
User Comments
0 comments from readers