Prologue
The chapel inside the Holy Church branch located in Count Siaseu’s territory.
While light passing through colorful stained glass beautifully colored the interior, a rather undesirable transaction was taking place.
“This child…?”
“Yes, Father. Hurry and show him.”
A middle-aged man in shabby clothes urged the child standing beside him. The child with black hair and eyes hesitated for a moment before slowly raising his hand and drawing out his ‘power’.
A blue-white light reminiscent of stars in the night sky appeared and flickered faintly. The priest observing him carefully nodded in satisfaction.
“It is certainly Innate Mana.”
“R-right?”
The middle-aged man’s expression brightened completely. He seemed happy to have confirmed that his child was not a ‘defective product’.
The priest inwardly despised him while smiling benevolently on the outside. He then handed over a pouch containing a suitable amount of silver coins.
“We will teach and care for the child well, so you need not worry, believer.”
“Of course, of course! I am not worried in the slightest! This brat will be satisfied simply not starving under the Father’s care!”
His tone was fawning and servile, fitting of someone playing a part. The priest maintained his composure until the end, responding politely and sending the middle-aged man away.
The child could not take his eyes off the back of his father, who was selling him and leaving. The priest, who had waited briefly for such a child, asked.
“What is your name?”
“…Raon.”
“That is a good name.”
The child, Raon, was young, but he could not feel even a shred of sincerity in those words.
“If you do well, you may meet your parents again. Do not be too disappointed… I shall show you where you will be staying from now on, so follow me.”
The priest turned and headed deeper into the building.
Just before following him, Raon looked toward the entrance his father had left through one last time and moved his lips.
It was a farewell to sever his last lingering attachment.
Within the Order (1)
The Holy Church’s branch in Count Siaseu’s territory, where Raon stayed, occupied a large area on one side of the city’s outskirts.
It was like a small estate where one bishop, over ten priests, more than a hundred deacons, and nearly four hundred monks resided permanently, capable of a certain degree of self-sufficiency.
There, Raon became a deacon. But he was a deacon in name only, doing work no different from a servant without even being entered into the order’s register.
He swept the floors morning and night, cleaned the stained glass windows and candlesticks in the chapel, and made trivial yet necessary preparations before worship when believers gathered.
He had to escape this wretched position. The experience of being abandoned was enough with just once.
With that determination, Raon did his best in the Common Language literacy class he received once a day.
He had confidence. And because it was not unfounded confidence, he was able to distinguish himself very quickly among approximately thirty children in similar situations.
“Remarkably intelligent…!”
The monk teaching writing could not help but admire Raon, who could perfectly read and write Common Language in just one month.
Thanks to that, before long, he was able to attend doctrine classes with children five or six years older than him.
The one teaching doctrine was not just any monk, but a priest named Geulron. Skinny, somewhat nervously tempered, but learned.
“Would you perhaps like to learn Ancient Language as well?”
“Yes, Father.”
One day Geulron asked, and Raon did not refuse.
Knowledge is wealth; the more one possesses, the more one can accomplish. Even at a young age, Raon had realized such wisdom.
Ancient Language was not as easy as Common Language. But Raon learned even that at an incredible speed, and Geulron showed surprise at least once a day.
Naturally, rumors about Raon spread throughout the entire branch.
Those who heard the rumors were surprised by his unbelievable intelligence, surprised again by his noble appearance when they met him directly, and finally surprised by the twist of his humble origins as a peasant’s child, feeling a sense of reversal.
Then one day.
The priest who had directly made the deal when his father sold him, Deim, came to see him.
“Do you have any intention of learning alchemy?”
“Yes! Father.”
Raon answered enthusiastically without hiding his joy.
Deim was the head of the alchemy workshop and managed the most important source of income for this branch. Therefore, he held great authority among the priests, and in some respects even the bishop respected him at times.
From the moment Raon learned of his influence, he had wanted to enter the alchemy workshop. Only then could he do work truly befitting a deacon and become a more important person.
The opportunity he had aimed for had come; there was no reason to refuse.
“From tomorrow, come to the workshop after finishing morning prayer. I will speak to Father Geulron separately.”
“Thank you! I will learn diligently!”
Raon maintained an attitude that Deim would appreciate and expressed his gratitude several times over.
@
After finishing morning prayer following breakfast and washing up briefly, he would go to the workshop and accurately prepare the magic ingredients needed for potion making. After lunch, he would take a short rest reading various books in the library, then learn doctrine, rituals, and Ancient Language from Father Geulron. After finishing evening prayer following dinner, he would exercise at the training ground the monks used, wash his body with warm water, and then sleep in a four-person dormitory.
This had been Raon’s life for the past three years.
Life as a believer was peaceful, quiet, and fulfilling. At least it was much better than before he had been sold here.
Thus, today as well, when he had gone to the workshop without fail, it happened.
While taking out alchemy tools from the inner shelf, Deim approached.
“Raon.”
“Yes, Father.”
“I heard from Father Geulron. He said he taught you all the basic doctrines and rituals; how old are you this year?”
“I am thirteen.”
“Young. And yet already…….”
Deim, who had been contemplating something briefly, spoke.
“Do you by any chance wish to become a Doctrine Priest?”
Not all priests are the same. Those who intensively delve into and interpret doctrine are called Doctrine Priests; honestly, since they do not receive very great treatment, Raon quickly shook his head.
Deim nodded as if he had expected as much and said.
“Then there is no need to learn more, so you should have time. Starting next week, I shall teach you Holy Magic.”
Raon was surprised by this.
“Father, I am not even an official deacon yet….”
“It is fine. For someone of your caliber, it is merely a matter of time; what is the big deal about learning a little early?”
“Thank you! I will learn diligently!”
“However, try not to tell others if possible. If anyone asks, say you are learning about alchemy. Rules are rules, after all.”
Naturally, Raon nodded immediately and said he understood. Unable to hide his excitement, he suddenly asked a concern that had come to mind.
“I am an Innate Mana possessor; would it not be difficult to learn Holy Magic?”
“I have everything planned, so there is no need to worry.”
Deim smiled quite benevolently, reassured Raon, and then left.
Raon expressed his gratitude until the very end, then made a slightly subtle expression after Deim had gone far enough away.
‘The head of the alchemy workshop is deliberately making time, even breaking rules though they may be trivial, to teach me personally…?’
It was definitely a good thing, yet for some reason, it felt slightly unsettling.
The Deim he had observed until now was not someone who would bestow such benefits without significant reason.
What wind had suddenly blown to make him act this way?
Raon was still young, but his reasoning ability was extraordinary compared to his peers. At the same time, he was highly suspicious due to the memory of being abandoned by his parents.
While sorting and preparing necessary magic ingredients as always, he seriously pondered why he felt so unsettled.
Unfortunately, he did not gain much insight.
@
A few days later.
Raon heard news that the deacon Sindeu, whom he had known, had suddenly fallen gravely ill and been transported to the Holy Church’s main order.
Because of that, he felt uncomfortable all day, as if something was stuck in his chest.
“…….”
Even when it was time to sleep and he lay in the dormitory bed, his mind was so complicated that sleep did not come easily.
Sindeu was a boy four years older than him, and they were quite close. At least to the extent that they had identified several commonalities between them through private conversations.
Both were Innate Mana possessors and had pasts of being sold here around the age of ten. Furthermore, Sindeu had been personally learning Holy Magic from Deim for several years.
‘Why did he get transported due to illness right when I started learning Holy Magic from Father Deim?’
The inexplicable unease he had felt before now transformed into clear anxiety.
Was the timing not too coincidental?
The coincidence was so excessive that he wondered if it was really just a coincidence, yet at the same time, if there was some conspiracy at play, he thought the other party might have let their guard down since he was just a child of barely ten plus years. That was why he could not feel at ease.
If there really was some conspiracy, what could be the reason?
The only guess he could make was Innate Mana.
Innate Mana was a type of special mana; if one was born with special mana from birth, it was called Innate Mana. According to information obtained from books in the library, Innate Mana possessors were said to be extremely rare. The probability was roughly one in ten thousand.
Yet upon counting, there were as many as six Innate Mana possessors in this branch. No, now that Sindeu had been transported, there were five, but that was still a lot.
That meant they had eagerly sought out and purchased children with Innate Mana here.
Why? He had heard that having Innate Mana did not mean one would be particularly outstanding later, so for what reason exactly?
“I should have looked into it sooner…….”
Raon blamed himself.
Having witnessed the scene where Deim only paid his father after confirming his Innate Mana, it was clearly a mistake not to have investigated the reason.
Thinking that he would look into it in detail starting tomorrow, he forced his eyes shut.
Hoping desperately that it was nothing serious.
@
Holy Magic education took place in a separate building prepared inside the branch. It was not far from the alchemy workshop.
“Sit there. Today we shall study theory first.”
As Raon was about to sit at the desk, Deim’s gaze turned to one side.
On a small table against the wall, a worn journal lay. Deim picked it up, examined it, and clicked his tongue briefly.
“He left it behind.”
There was only one person who had used this place until recently and to whom the expression “left it behind” would apply.
“Could it be Deacon Sindeu’s?”
Deim nodded at Raon’s cautious question.
“It seems to be a personal journal, so I suppose I should keep it.”
“I…….”
When Raon trailed off, Deim put down the journal and cast his gaze toward him.
“I heard Deacon Sindeu fell gravely ill and was transported. Will he be able to return safely?”
“Who knows.”
As he spoke, he looked Raon up and down.
“Actually, it is not because of an illness, so I cannot say for sure.”
“Pardon?”
“If it were simply an illness, he could have been easily treated without going to the main order. However, Sindeu’s case is one where his innate special mana is eating away at his body, so it is hard to say for certain.”
Innate Mana eating away at his body?
Having never heard that such a thing was possible, Raon was quite bewildered. All the more so because he himself possessed Innate Mana.
“It is not a common occurrence, so do not worry. We do not have much time, so let us begin the lesson immediately.”
“Yes, Father.”
“First, I shall tell you about mana. Mana is….”
Deim began his basic explanation.
Raon already knew this from books in the library, yet he listened intently without showing it.
Mana refers to the power flowing through the Astral Boundary. The Astral Boundary is an amorphous dimension overlapping with reality, and only those who perceive it can handle mana. To properly handle mana, one must create a unique Astral Realm within one’s body. As an Innate Mana possessor, Raon had a unique Astral Realm in his heart from birth.
“Only seven out of ten people can perceive the Astral Boundary. Furthermore, only four out of those seven can create a unique Astral Realm within their bodies. These are called Highlanders. It is a ratio that could be considered high or low.”
Highlanders are largely divided into two categories: knights and mages. Among the Highlanders belonging to the Holy Church, those of priest rank or higher, including Deim, were mostly mages.
“Only by creating a unique Astral Realm within the body through the order’s special training method can one handle the special mana called Holy Power and properly use Holy Magic.”
Having explained up to that point, Deim met Raon’s gaze.
“Raon, as an Innate Mana possessor, you likely will not be able to handle Holy Power through the order’s training method. But that does not mean you cannot use Holy Magic.”
“I do not quite understand.”
“It means that as long as your Innate Mana is not incompatible with Holy Power, there is no problem. Just as a mage who has learned fire magic cannot use ice magic, but can use earth or wind magic to some degree.”
“Ah…….”
Raon understood clearly.
“Before learning the components of magic, let us begin by learning the types and compatibilities of known special mana.”
“Understood.”
Deim took out two books from the bookshelf inside the room and brought them. Both were identical books with the title ‘Fundamentals of Mysticism’.
“Open to page 22. Read the earlier contents on your own later.”
“Yes, Father.”
Deim continued the lesson in a calm voice, and as content Raon did not know began to appear, he concentrated even more.