Heinrich (2)
Divine power was different in nature from other forces based on mana, the energy of nature.
Warriors absorbed mana and refined it into aura within their bodies, while black mages contaminated it through profane rituals to create dark mana.
A vampire’s blood magic was also created by corrupting the mana and life force contained in blood into a vampiric factor through the act of draining blood.
But divine power was a strength received entirely from God.
Because its origin was different, once one accepted divine power, one could never again handle other types of magic.
That was why the baptism procedure was strict and required complex conditions.
It was the process of swearing to follow only God and creating a channel through which to receive His power.
And what determined whether that channel became a thin straw or a thick pipeline was…
‘Faith in God.’
Heinrich continued to pray, feeling the divine power overflowing from his body.
This was the reason I had chosen the path of divine power as Heinrich.
Until now, I had used [Mind Hub] only to restrict emotions and stimuli, but I had realized it could be used in the opposite way as well.
After experimenting with various things from that point on, I was able to join the Order of God with confidence.
Through [Mind Hub] and [Bright Mirror Still Water], I emptied Heinrich’s thoughts and brought him to a blank-slate state.
And injecting only a single emotion, ‘faith,’ through [Persona], I amplified it with [Mind Hub].
‘In other words, Heinrich right now is the very incarnation of fanaticism.’
I stopped all other avatars and poured their resources into Heinrich.
From the main body, Hans, Heinz II, and even the new avatar I had recently become able to resummon.
Since I made use of the baptism ceremony, it was not difficult to focus the direction of faith toward God.
And I poured all my mental strength into solidifying the channel with God.
《Your Unique Skill has grown, awakening its potential. The Avatar’s latent potential increases, and the mental strength of each entity can be shared more efficiently.》
The growth of the [Avatar] skill during that process was an unexpected gain.
Thanks to that, I could focus on the task much more smoothly.
“My word, to think this much divine power at a first baptism.”
“Who is he? A Holy Warrior candidate? I’d believe he trained as a monk for decades.”
“Uh… that friend said he wanted to become a Holy Knight and joined just a few months ago…”
The priests nearby and those waiting to receive baptism began to murmur.
The high priest officiating his baptism looked clearly bewildered, but he continued the ceremony without stopping.
‘Almost done.’
I pulled divine power with all my might and filled the body with it.
If faith determined the thickness of the channel, then it was mental strength that drew divine power through it.
Neither could be lacking.
《The entity has met the conditions, awakening its potential. You acquire the Special Skill [Sacred Baptism].》
‘So this is the limit for now…’
Theoretically, divine power had no limits because it was strength received from God.
It meant that as long as mental strength was sufficient, one could draw and use as much as one wanted.
But even if it was God who gave the power, the one using it was a mere mortal; the more one overexerted oneself, the greater the burden placed on body and mind.
Using power beyond one’s ability would cause one to collapse from illness, and in severe cases, one could die.
‘Faith and mental strength are sufficient, but the body is not yet ready to accept more divine power than this.’
I had resorted to all sorts of tricks, but it couldn’t be helped that this was a power I was encountering for the first time.
To accept even stronger divine power, the body needed time to adapt to the new strength.
I gradually gathered the divine power and withdrew my mind.
Naturally, the channel of faith shrank as well, but I could restore it whenever I wished.
‘Like a stretched rubber band, it should be easier to use next time.’
“Was your name Heinrich?”
As I rose with the help of the priests around me, the high priest who had performed the ceremony spoke to me.
“Yes, it is.”
“Hmm, this is my first time seeing such a case, so I am bewildered. In any case, your faith is devout—most excellent. You will make a fine priest. Continue to devote yourself from now on.”
He smiled contentedly, patting my shoulder with words of blessing.
I aspired to be a Holy Knight, not a priest, but there was no need to add that.
I bowed my head in gratitude and moved away.
The ceremony was still ongoing in the chapel, but I occasionally felt gazes flicking toward me.
Ignoring the gazes, I sat in the resting area prepared to one side, closed my eyes, and began meditating.
All these tricks were possible only because Auterica’s God was not an anthropomorphic deity.
I realized it when Heinz II first learned about the Order of God, and when Heinrich entered the order and studied theology…
And this baptism ceremony confirmed it.
‘He is not a being with petty emotions like the gods of Greco-Roman myth. To this extent, he is closer to a grand concept or a system.’
Something that naturally existed in the world like a law of nature.
That was the God of Auterica.
‘No, he seems to possess a will of his own… but it is not something that can be judged by human standards.’
When Heinrich connected with God through baptism, I could feel a fragment of that transcendent being.
Perhaps because I had received baptism through abnormal means, it was a phenomenon I had not heard about during preliminary education.
If I were to express that faintly felt something in human emotions…
Yes, it was ‘interest.’
‘Perhaps I should be thankful it’s not considered blasphemy…’
It might simply be a trivial matter to God, not worth intervening in, but that was irrelevant now.
Because my attempt had already succeeded.
***
A few days after the ceremony.
The newly born trainee Holy Warriors and apprentice priests who had received baptism were being educated in their own ways.
The foundation was growing faith through prayer and doctrinal study; the priests focused on mental discipline to build mental strength…
“Just one more!”
“Ngh!”
“More! Moremoremoremore!”
“Khaaack!”
Sounds of people dying rang out everywhere in the training grounds.
They were the groans of the new recruits training under the guidance of senior Holy Warriors.
“Huu, hup! Hut!”
‘I thought I had exercised pretty hard myself. But that was nothing. These humans are really…’
I alternately moved the dumbbells in both hands, sneering inwardly.
Clank, clank-clank—
Matching my movements, the chains connected to the dumbbells pressed down on my entire body.
All around the training grounds were exercise devices that rivaled modern ones.
The difference was… they were a bit larger and had a more brutal appearance, and they had not a shred of safety to speak of.
They were objects designed solely to torment the body more efficiently.
The more they were used, it did not end at torn muscles; gradually, they crushed bones and ruptured ligaments.
‘There is a limit to overloading the body. What kind of deranged mind came up with this…’
It was truly a training method that pushed one beyond the body’s limits.
Of course, such overtraining was bound to cause problems.
“Kaaack!”
A scream burst from one side of the training grounds.
A trainee Holy Warrior collapsed on the ground, convulsing.
He clutched one arm, tears and snot streaming down his face, suggesting something had gone wrong during training.
Normally, he would have been rushed to the infirmary immediately, but the senior standing before him merely shouted at him.
“You lost concentration! You must not stop praying for even a moment during training! Now, wield your divine power again!”
“Kuh-hup! O Lord—!”
A faint light arose with the prayer and embraced the fallen man.
His groans slowly subsided.
A moment later, he staggered to his feet.
“You are still far from enough! Continue praying while training! Restore your body before it is completely destroyed! Repeating this, you will obtain the Blessing of Heavy Burden!”
“Yes! I’m sorry—!”
“Work on your lower body until your arm is fully healed! Of course, do not stop praying!”
“Yes! Understood!”
An utterly crude and savage spectacle.
But surprisingly, this was an ancient tradition passed down long in the order, and an efficient training method.
Prayer assisted in the manipulation of divine power.
For Holy Warriors standing on the front lines of battle, it was no different from a lifeline.
Creating extreme situations artificially and continuing to pray was also part of training to be able to wield divine power without panic in actual combat.
‘Moreover, repeated prayer in extreme situations strengthens faith through autosuggestion, which in turn leads to the strengthening of divine power.’
Training in divine power manipulation, physical discipline, increases in divine power from heightened faith, and mental strengthening through asceticism.
It was an ineffably efficient method, damnably so.
And I was quite the notable talent among that group of fanatics.
“Hoo… As expected of this batch’s most promising candidate. To think you could handle this much weight already.”
“He’s skilled at using divine power too, and even taking that into account, his body’s recovery speed is no joke. His regenerative ability already surpasses that of an average Holy Knight.”
Senior Holy Warriors gathered to one side, evaluating me.
From the start, thanks to the training I had done all along, as well as [Boneless] and [Super Recovery], I had smoothly followed their guidance.
Not to mention the stat enhancement effects from the Karma Shop.
And as I grew accustomed to [Sacred Baptism], which converted the mana in my body into divine power and assisted in its control, I began to stand out even more.
“Afternoon training ends here! Put away the equipment and enter the showers in order! Assemble in the lecture hall in two hours. Dismissed!”
“Dismissed!”
At the senior’s shout, the Holy Warriors put away the equipment and were able to wash their bodies in turn, taking a brief rest.
I moved to the showers and poured cold water over my body, heated until steam rose.
Shhh—
As I mechanically washed and pressed down here and there, the muscles pushed to their limit twitched, showing themselves off.
‘The effects certainly seem good, though.’
A few days after the baptism, though the training method was insane, I could definitely feel its effects.
The body tormented to its limits, and the divine power spread into every corner to recover it.
The more this was repeated, the more I felt each of my cells adapting to divine power.
“Urrgh…”
“Ugh… I-I’m dying.”
Groans audible from all over the showers.
I wiped my body with a towel, forcing a bitter smile.
‘It certainly is excessive. I could remove the pain thanks to [Mind Hub], but they would have to overcome it with their own willpower.’
That pain also helped increase faith and mental strength, but since I had no need for it, I wanted to decline as much as possible.
I merely cheered on their convictions.
“We are servants who follow God, shepherds guiding His lambs, always leading them to the bright path……”
Doctrinal lectures that also served as mental training, held in the lecture hall after training.
The Holy Warriors had to drag their exhausted bodies and fight against drowsiness.
Of course, I was the same; to become a Holy Knight, one had to be proficient in both martial and literary arts.
And so for about two months.
While Heinrich struggled to become a Holy Knight, the Undead King Subjugation Force faced a major obstacle.
***
“Huu… This is vexing. Just where did he disappear to?”
Archbishop Latius, the commander of the Undead King Subjugation Force, sighed and rubbed his brow.
He had already deployed search parties many times to track Hans’s whereabouts, but he could not find a single trace of where the man had vanished.
He had not found even a shadow for months since their first encounter; he simply could not hold his head up.
The Saintess had also done her best to track his location, but aside from a few brief moments, it had been impossible.
Even at the locations pinpointed then, they had been unable to find the bastard’s traces and had to return empty-handed…
Knock, knock—
“Archbishop Latius, it is Tuskin.”
“Ah, Lord Tuskin. Please, come in.”
With Latius’s permission, the door to the office opened, and Paladin Tuskin entered, bowing silently.
Like the archbishop, his face was etched with fatigue.
“So, how did it go?”
“…It seems it will be difficult. Those damned vampire bastards must have interfered.”
“Haa…”
As if things weren’t bad enough, the political pressure coming from the Talia Kingdom was growing ever stronger.
The subjugation force organized to capture the descendant of the Immortal King had failed to produce any meaningful results, and that had become an excuse for them to begin losing ground in terms of justification.
“If we’ve searched this thoroughly and still found nothing, doesn’t that mean he has already left the Talia Kingdom?”
At Tuskin’s cautious words, Latius let out another sigh and slowly closed his eyes.
They had done everything they could to find “Hans.”
So excessively that they had clashed not only with the vampire clans, but even with the “Oath of Reversal” lurking in the shadows.
In the process, the Oath of Reversal suffered heavy losses after being attacked by both the Order and the clans, forcing them to cut off their tail and go into hiding, but the conflict with the “Brokoslak Clan” was still ongoing.
“…At this point, it would be safe to assume he is hiding elsewhere. I will disband the subjugation force at the Talia Temple and return to headquarters.”
“Then I will make preparations accordingly.”
Tuskin bowed lightly and left the office.
Since the Immortal King subjugation force, aside from its high-ranking members, was mostly composed of personnel supported by the Talia Temple, there was much to do before it could be disbanded.
Once those dispatched from headquarters returned, the others would be assigned throughout the kingdom and resume their regular duties.
And the moment the Order’s surveillance network, spread across the entire continent, detected the target’s movements, a subjugation force would be assembled again in that region.
‘Come to think of it, there was one crusader who stood out.’
As Tuskin walked on, he suddenly recalled someone and frowned.
A paladin candidate who had awakened priest-chief-level divine power from the baptism ceremony.
Since then, he had also distinguished himself in training, so Tuskin had been watching him with interest.
‘It would be a shame to leave talent like that in such a remote place…’
Physical abilities far superior to those of other novice crusaders, and regenerative power reaching the level of a paladin.
A talent for absorbing teachings quickly, and potential that continued to grow steadily.
Even setting divine power aside, he was too valuable a talent to miss.
He had no intention of disparaging the Talia diocese, but the reality was that it seemed far too lacking as a place for a warrior of that caliber to fully blossom.
No matter how well they treated him, could it compare to direct support from headquarters?
‘Hmm… I believe his name was Heinrich. If possible, I’d like to take him with me and raise him myself. I should at least bring it up.’
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