Chapter 10. Sacred Body (2)
“Move those over there.”
A few days later. Gebel, chopping firewood in the backyard, gave Isaac an order. Beside him, firewood was already piled high. As Isaac moved the stack of firewood as instructed, he noticed that all the firewood had been cut straight and at uniform intervals.
Of course, it was perfectly possible with skilled hands, but Isaac was reminded of something by the sight.
Thwack, thwack.
Gebel chopped the firewood mechanically, repeating the motion without shedding a single drop of sweat. The axe, aimed precisely at the center of the firewood, never missed or failed to split it in one strike.
Isaac, who had been watching that sight intently, suddenly spoke.
“Mr. Gebel.”
“What?”
“Please teach me swordsmanship.”
Thwack. Gebel didn’t stop splitting wood. He struck three or four more logs like that before turning to look at Isaac.
He was smiling.
“Was that why you were following me around?”
“Not just because of that, but……”
“What makes you think I know how to use a sword? Because I’m a deserter?”
Gebel brought up an old rumor.
Isaac shook his head. He didn’t know why Gebel was at this monastery, but that wasn’t important to Isaac.
“Did you split that wild boar in half with your fist?”
“You must have seen wrong because you were scared.”
Right. He had already expected that he wouldn’t be convinced with just this much.
“I saw the dead mice you sometimes brought in a full jar and told me to throw away.”
The dead mice that Gebel occasionally instructed him to discard separately. Unlike the ones Isaac had caught in traps, these mice looked like they had been caught directly, and they all had similar wounds in similar places.
“They were all cleanly pierced by something with precise skill. Like a knife.”
“Why not think it was a spear or a skewer? That would be more common.”
Gebel was surprised that Isaac had noticed, but rather than being displeased, he was intrigued. He looked expectant, curious how Isaac would answer.
Isaac decided to throw out something he had been debating whether to say.
“You’re a holy knight, Mr. Gebel.”
“Why do you think I’m a holy knight?”
“Because of that tattoo on the inside of your wrist.”
Gebel unconsciously touched his wrist. But he hadn’t particularly been hiding the tattoo. He was merely surprised that the young Isaac had recognized it.
“Hans said it was a pattern of a sword and crescent moon crossing, but strictly speaking, it’s the shape of a sword piercing the crescent moon, right? The symbol of the Avalanche Holy Knight Order.”
“……”
Piercing the crescent moon.
Just as the sun was the symbol of the Codex of Light, the crescent moon was the symbol of the Church of Immortality—more specifically, of the Immortal Emperor.
In other words, Gebel’s tattoo was a declaration that he would stab the Immortal Emperor Beshek—the god and leader of the Church of Immortality.
It was clear that the “Avalanche Holy Knight Order” Gebel had belonged to was an extremely combative organization.
“I’ve seen that tattoo in the list of knight orders that participated in the Dawn Army. They say it was a holy knight order that fought in the 12th Dawn Army……”
“You’ve noticed quite a lot.”
“The kids love stories about the Dawn Army the most, don’t they?”
Gebel set down the axe in his hand with a conflicted expression.
“Can’t underestimate kids. Aside from the abbot, there was no one who recognized it……”
Muttering as if he had no intention of hiding it, Gebel picked up the axe again. Isaac wondered if he might bring the axe down on his head, but Gebel simply resumed chopping firewood.
He waited for some kind of answer, but Gebel said nothing more.
“So?”
“So what?”
“Will you teach me how to use a sword?”
Of course, swordsmanship was not an essential requirement to become a holy knight. Rather, it was closer to an incidental achievement gained in the process of becoming one. Most holy knight orders operated as closed structures, filled only with those who had been indoctrinated in the faith from a young age, having eaten and slept there since childhood.
But Isaac couldn’t do that.
Not because this place wasn’t a holy knight order, but because he had no way to prove his piety. If he were discovered to follow the Nameless Chaos, he would be burned alive.
If Isaac wanted to become a holy knight, he had to accomplish undeniable feats outside the holy knight order before entering.
“What does me being a holy knight have to do with teaching you the sword? Go ahead and blabber if you want. A deserter will become a deserted holy knight.”
So he really did desert? Gebel was already speaking as though he had stepped away from the position of holy knight. Perhaps having lost all his comrades was what made him so detached. That was why he was chopping firewood at some remote monastery.
But Isaac knew he hadn’t put down his sword. His equipment was cleanly maintained, and his swordsmanship remained sharp. He looked like a man who could take up his sword again at any moment. He was merely hiding his body in the monastery for some reason.
As Isaac watched, Gebel snickered and thudded the axe deep into a thick piece of firewood.
“Pull it out.”
“Huh?”
“You want me to teach you the sword? It’s not even a heavy combat axe—it’s a hand axe. A sword is much heavier than this. You think you can wield a sword when your bones haven’t even finished growing? Don’t make me laugh.”
***
Isaac hesitated as he approached the axe.
Gebel expected to see Isaac grab the axe handle and grunt before falling over.
“It’s hard to build a body worthy of a swordsman at a poor monastery like this. Do you even get proper meals, or do you train your stamina? You sit around reading books all day—do you think that’s training?”
“If I pull out this axe, will you teach me how to use a sword?”
“We’ll see. It’s not the legendary sword stuck in a rock. You should be able to manage that much.”
Though it wasn’t a rock, it was embedded so deeply that it wouldn’t budge even if he put his weight into it and twisted it this way and that. Gebel knew just by looking at Isaac’s frame that he wouldn’t be able to pull it out.
However, Gebel was looking at Isaac with an expression of faint expectation.
Gebel wasn’t entirely opposed to teaching Isaac swordsmanship. But right now, Isaac was just a child who was mature for his age. Gebel, who had trained since childhood, believed that with Isaac’s current physique, any training would amount to nothing more than strength exercises.
‘But if it’s him, he might show me something special.’
Isaac carefully grasped the axe handle. The handle was so tall that it reached his face, so he couldn’t hold it properly.
Unable to do otherwise, Isaac grabbed near the axe head and exerted force.
It twitched. The firewood moved slightly. Gebel thought ‘no way,’ but as expected, the axe didn’t budge.
“See? Stop talking nonsense and study the scriptures hard. If you do, the abbot might recommend you to the collegiate church……”
Gebel said with a smile.
Isaac was sufficiently clever and diligent. Even if he didn’t possess extraordinary abilities, Gebel wanted to keep him nearby.
But the next moment, Isaac raised the axe embedded in the firewood high into the air.
As Isaac lifted a log as large as his torso, Gebel’s pupils dilated.
He hadn’t pulled out the axe; he had lifted the entire log with it. But Isaac thought this wasn’t enough to shock him.
Isaac slammed the axe, still stuck in the firewood, straight down into the ground.
Boom! The axe split the firewood in half instantly. Not stopping there, it embedded itself so deeply into the ground that the axe head was buried. Isaac felt his palms go numb from the impact but endured it deliberately.
“Phew…… Lifting it is one thing, but pulling it out is hard.”
“No, what the……”
Gebel, dumbfounded, rushed at Isaac. Isaac was bewildered as Gebel felt his body all over, but he let him be for the moment.
Having confirmed Isaac’s slender wrists and meager muscles, Gebel lifted him up and checked his weight too.
And he realized this situation made no sense.
“No, how?”
Isaac avoided his gaze and pretended not to know.
[‘Beast’s Might (Temporary)’ perk]
The perk Isaac had gained by devouring the plague wild boar still remained in his body.
It was a temporary effect, but it was enough to win the bet with Gebel.
Of course, both Isaac and Gebel knew this situation made no sense. Isaac had debated whether to reveal this power, but whether to win this bet or for future sword training, he had to show this ‘impossible thing.’
Because trying to train in swordsmanship without sufficient strength was the truly impossible thing.
Gebel wracked his brain to find a rational explanation and asked.
“Did you eat all those mice?”
“……”
“No, even if you ate all of them, this strength with that physique makes no sense……”
The unexpectedly sharp question flustered him somewhat, but Gebel immediately denied his own theory. It was equally impossible. But in this world, when something impossible happened, there was a convenient means of acceptance that one naturally reached.
Gebel muttered blankly.
“So it was a miracle after all?”
“A miracle?”
At that moment, Isaac didn’t miss the expression that flashed across Gebel’s face and words.
Gebel had used the past tense when he said, ‘So it was a miracle?’
Not ‘Is it a miracle?’ in the present tense.
In other words, Gebel was saying he had seen something in Isaac that he suspected to be a miracle.
Moreover, that expression that had crossed his face for an instant.
That face filled with joy and ecstasy was the expression of someone seeing what he had been hoping for, not the expression of someone seeing something surprising and unexpected.
Gebel quickly erased his expression and closed his mouth. He had an air of being reluctant to say something.
“So.”
When he hesitated and couldn’t answer, Isaac pressed him for a response.
“I lifted it, so you’ll teach me swordsmanship, right?”
Gebel didn’t know what to say.
***
[The Nameless Chaos is satisfied with a small victory.]
[A reward of Chaos has been given.]
Late in the evening, Isaac was reading a book in the library when he received the victory reward.
Isaac smiled faintly upon hearing the message.
‘It seems he’s made up his mind to teach me swordsmanship.’
When he lifted the axe during the day, the outcome hadn’t been decided immediately. But the message appearing only after such a long time meant that Gebel had eventually acknowledged it.
‘It would have been impossible to gain this acknowledgment just by lifting an axe.’
What had changed Gebel’s mind was the image Isaac had already built. The image of a child who was smart, diligent, and constantly striving for self-improvement. Add to that the ambition to succeed in his swordsmanship and the display of talent, and it was inevitable that Gebel would be captivated.
‘Anyway, that’s good.’
Isaac checked what reward the Nameless Chaos had bestowed upon him.
[The Nameless Chaos has bestowed upon you the ‘Rat in the Wall’ perk.]
[You may now share senses through your tentacles.]
‘Sense sharing?’
Isaac felt curious upon hearing the name. Since there were too many eyes around him for now, it was difficult to use immediately. Isaac checked his surroundings, then stealthily got up and headed outside pretending to go to the restroom.
‘Let’s see, just once……’
Isaac took out a tentacle in a secluded corner. At that moment, a slight dizziness came over him as the vision and sounds perceived by the tentacle began overlapping.
[Rat in the Wall / You may share senses through your tentacles.]
The two visions overlapped with a slightly blurred boundary between them, but it wasn’t too confusing. When he closed both eyes, he could focus more on the tentacle’s vision.
Isaac moved the tentacle and pushed it through a small crack in the floor. The floor beneath Isaac was the level where the confessional was located. He had known Gebel went to the confessional with the abbot, so he had targeted this place from the start.
Because he needed to know what Gebel thought of him.
The tentacle slipped through a poorly sealed crack in the wall and stretched until it stopped near the wall where Gebel and Yevhar were. Through the tentacle, which had formed something like a small ear, he heard the conversation between the two.
***
“He lifted an axe embedded in firewood?”
“Yes, Abbot.”
Naturally, what Isaac had done had reached the abbot’s ears.
“Could it not simply be that he was born with great strength? It seems a bit trivial to call it a miracle.”
“It’s different, Abbot.”
Inside the dark confessional, Gebel pressed his forehead and muttered.
“There is a high probability that Isaac is a Sacred Body. One of those who bears miracles within their body.”