#89 The Trial of the Holy Sword (2)
The place where the Lord God Order’s holy emblem and altar stood was much like the chapel of the Great Temple. ‘Looks like the time ratio differs for each trial.’ Unlike before, the time ratio here was roughly three times that of the outside.
As he calmly surveyed his surroundings, a will resounded in his mind once again.
—At the same time, a soft light seeped out from the large pattern engraved on the wall by the dais.
It was the holy emblem, the symbol of the Lord God Order, shaped as though it embodied light spreading out in all directions. ‘Ah, I think I know what this is.’ It was a type that had appeared quite often in the records of previous challengers.
With confident steps, Heinrich strode straight toward the dais, knelt before it in a natural posture, and clasped his hands together. ‘The trial of faith.’ As a regular, almost always appearing question, the process of this trial was extremely simple.
All he had to do was prove his faith.
As he began to pray, the light pouring from the Order’s holy emblem grew thicker and thicker.
Whoooosh—
And that light began to shine down on Heinrich like sunlight streaming through a window.
Along with it, an enormous amount of divine power burrowed into his body. ‘Endure and accept divine power beyond a certain level.’ That was the method of proving one’s faith in this trial.
He had a rough idea of the level demanded by the Holy Sword’s trial.
It seemed to determine the difficulty by weighing various conditions such as potential and possibility, so there were slight differences depending on the person taking the trial, but…
On average, one could satisfy the standard with something between bishop-class and archbishop-class.
For Heinrich, who already possessed bishop-class divine power and could increase that limit whenever he wished, it was a simple matter. ‘So I thought I’d be able to pass this trial without much trouble…’ But something was strange.
Divine power kept pouring in endlessly.
And even though it had already reached a considerable level, its momentum showed no sign of weakening.
Just as he was beginning to feel slightly flustered, the divine power that continued flooding in was already about to surpass the limit Heinrich could normally use. ‘Uh, uh… this is dangerous, isn’t it?’ In a hurry, he drew in the mental resources of his other avatars and used 「Mind Hub」 and 「Persona」 to convert them into faith.
Hans, who was lending a hand in growing the intelligence organization while gathering the black magicians in the area.
Heinz II, who had finished the work of taking over the entire clan and was absorbed in expanding his influence.
Harley, who was staying at the Steel Fortress to hunt monsters in the northern mountains.
Hubert, who had established a stable foundation in Tarak’s commercial world and was gradually expanding its scale.
And even Harris, who had drawn the attention of various elves in the Elven Kingdom after the festival.
But. ‘No, how long is this going to keep increasing?’ Even after drawing in the mental strength of every avatar, the infusion of divine power did not end.
The amount of divine power already packed inside him was comparable to that of an archbishop. ‘I’m only forcibly holding it in my body for a moment, so it won’t last long, but… Ah, this won’t do.’ He no longer had the leisure to think of anything else.
Han Seonghyeon, who had been watching the situation from Earth, also hurriedly closed his eyes and concentrated his mind.
And he poured every ability and all the mental strength he had gained through his growth thus far into Heinrich alone.
In that urgent situation, with not even the slightest margin to spare, his body, sunk into a state of complete emptiness, writhed with several times the amount of divine power he usually handled.
How much time passed like that?
The brightness of the holy emblem shining upon him slowly began to decrease.
But he was barely clinging to the divine power on the verge of bursting out of his body, and had no room to notice the change outside.
Ssshhh—
The light of the holy emblem, which had grown weaker and weaker, finally went out completely, and the chapel sank into silence as though nothing had ever happened.
Only Heinrich, who was spewing divine power from his entire body, was different from the beginning.
Then, at a certain moment.
Divine power of a different nature than before began to circulate through his body. 《The individual has met the conditions and gained enlightenment. You have acquired the special skill 「Blessing: Augmentation」.》 A ray of dawn that came in the midst of an extreme situation.
The divine power that had seemed ready to burst from his body gradually calmed down and began to obey his control.
And not long after…
As he gradually regained some leeway, the minds of the avatars that had been focused on Heinrich began to return to their proper places one by one.
And he was soon able to realize the change in himself. ‘The divine power I can contain has increased.’ It was thanks to the new skill he had gained through this incident. 「Blessing: Augmentation」 was an ability that increased the maximum amount of divine power one could hold within the body, and was a blessing mainly obtained by priest-type clergy.
Since it was not a promotion in rank, his class itself had not risen, but at least in terms of quantity, he had become able to compete to some extent with an archbishop. ‘No, maybe not quite yet.’ Even now, divine power he had not yet managed to rein in was leaking out in streams, dyeing the surroundings with brightness.
Not only was he still unaccustomed to the new ability, but the control of divine power during the trial had only been a temporary achievement accomplished through the help of his other avatars. ‘Well, the trial is already over, so it shouldn’t matter.’ Thanks to 「Blessing: Augmentation」, the amount Heinrich could control on his own had also increased by more than double, so it was satisfactory in many ways. ‘But the difficulty seems way too high.’ He had understood that those who were strong from the start were given somewhat more difficult trials, while those who were still lacking but had potential were given relatively easier trials…
Although he had passed the trial using the trick of his avatars, the divine power that had ultimately been poured into him was at a level that would have been burdensome even for most archbishops.
Paladins, who on average had less divine power than them, would likely fall away in droves here.
The first trial of endurance would also have been a very difficult trial if not for his various traits.
Wouldn’t one have to be paladin-class just to pass it? ‘This is Heinrich’s very first challenge, and he isn’t that strong either. Isn’t the standard too strict?’ His martial strength was not paladin-class, nor was his divine power archbishop-class.
Yet the trials he had passed through so far had demanded both of those things, so he could not help but feel dissatisfied. ‘No, it’s too early to jump to conclusions. I still don’t know what the next trial will be like. For overall balance, the next one might be a somewhat easy trial.’ Forcing himself to think positively, Heinrich looked around to find the next gate.
Then he discovered that a brown wooden door, which had not been there at first, had appeared by the chapel’s exit. ‘But how many more times do I have to do this?’ Since the number of trials given differed for each person, he could not know how many would be given to him.
According to the records, only two people had ever reached the Holy Sword.
They had each stood before it after undergoing three and four trials respectively. ‘Of course, they failed to draw the Holy Sword and earn its recognition.’ Hoping that this would be his final trial as well, he opened the door and stepped inside.
“Ah.”
And when the light vanished and his vision returned, the first sight that greeted him was…
A desolate ruin.
A blackened, rotting land of death where not even a single trace of vitality could be felt. ‘I’m screwed.’ From that ominous atmosphere, he could instinctively sense it.
An easy trial? Not a chance. This time, too, he would be given an exceedingly troublesome task.
He soon realized who the “enemy” it spoke of was.
Because someone floating in the distant air was openly staring this way while emitting streams of sinister energy. ‘Something about his appearance is extremely familiar…’ It was an atmosphere very familiar to him.
A tattered black robe, a black wooden staff with numerous skulls strung to its tip.
And an aura of death rippling around his entire body like flames, along with a skull scattering red light from its eyes. ‘…He’s similar to Hans.’ Of course, that oppressive presence could not dare compare to his, who was the Undying King. ‘Then is he a lich?’ At that moment, Master Hans, the Undying King and progenitor of the undead, analyzed every detail of the creature, including its aura.
The conclusion he reached was this.
“An archlich…”
It was the very undead Hans had been right before becoming the Undying King.
And a fully matured archlich was an existence even paladins were reluctant to face one-on-one. [A hound of the Order, is it. How did you get this far?]
Though there was quite some distance between them, the voice that sounded like metal being scraped reached him clearly. [No, I suppose it hardly matters now.]
The archlich, who had seemed to be addressing him for a moment, immediately gave up on conversation and raised his dark magic power.
Then he imbued his skull staff with black energy and stirred the air once. ‘No, why is he so impatient!’ But regardless of Heinrich’s feelings, the energy spreading into the surroundings like mist immediately seeped into the earth…
Rumble, crack—
[Keheeeek!]
Clatter—! Rattle—!
[Kiiik—kik!]
All kinds of undead burst endlessly out of the ground.
Past the hundreds, into the thousands… no, perhaps even more. ‘Wow… the trial can recreate this much? Seeing it in person makes it even worse.’ From prior information, he knew all of this was a virtual space created to prove his qualifications, but from the aura to the pressure emitted by each and every undead, everything felt real. ‘But facing an archlich one-on-one is already difficult, and now I have to deal with all these undead too?’ Wasn’t this a bit too much?
But he did not have the leisure to remain lost in such idle thoughts forever. [Die, dog of the Order!]
Because thousands upon thousands of undead, and the archlich commanding them, were all trying to kill him alone.
***
“It should begin soon.”
“…Ah, is that so.”
The southern part of the Ion Continent, a secret hideout of the Oath of Heaven’s Defiance.
The large man wearing a robe spoke first, but the old man who was always gloomy and filled with madness reacted blandly for some reason today. ‘Surely he isn’t getting scared now, is he?’ If he backed out, this matter could not even begin.
For the large man, who had invested over ten years for the grand plan, that was absolutely unacceptable.
He turned his frowning face toward the old man and examined his condition closely once more.
But contrary to his thoughts, there was no sign of fear at all.
He was merely staring into his locket pendant with its lid open, wearing a blank expression that made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Inside it was the portrait of a family, drawn through imprinting magic.
“There won’t be any problem proceeding with the work, will there?”
But the large man, who had no intention of understanding such sentimental behavior, asked the old man bluntly.
From the beginning, he had never understood such emotions.
“If you say you’re pulling out now…”
“Aah—what nonsense.”
But before he could finish speaking, the old man closed the locket and cackled in his usual voice.
“Kik, I spent a full thirty years preparing this great undertaking. And you think I would give it up at this moment? Kheheh…”
Unlike when he had been looking at the portrait, his eyes had already become stained with madness again.
“If anything, my resolve has grown firmer. As I thought, this continent must not remain so peaceful. Yes, that’s right.”
At the sight of the old man beginning to mutter to himself in a voice filled with conviction, the large man nodded quietly with a satisfied expression.
It seemed there would be no difficulty proceeding with the work.
“This is no time to be standing around! I’ll have to check everything one last time. This is the fruit of thirty years. It absolutely cannot fail.”
With that, the old man rose from his seat and left to check the preparations for the grand rite once again.
“Hmm… Then I suppose I should go take care of my own work as well.”
Since things would become even busier from now on, he needed to make preparations in advance.
Those preparations would be necessary for everyone on the continent, but…
How many of them were ready was none of his concern.