Episode 9. Sacred Body (聖體) (1)
When he lifted his head, Gebel, completely drenched by the rain, was looking down at him expressionlessly.
It was an old, worn sword with a notched blade. Yet a bizarre sword aura faintly coiled around the blade before fading away.
On the inside of Gebel’s wrist, a tattoo of a crescent moon crossed with a sword was visible.
Perhaps thinking Isaac was too surprised to answer, Gebel slid the sword back into its scabbard. He ran his hand over Isaac’s face, then asked with a teasing expression.
“Two eyes, two ears, two arms and two legs. Wait. Why do you only have one nose?”
When Isaac instinctively grabbed his own nose, Gebel let out a snickering laugh.
*He’d seemed like someone utterly clueless about jokes.*
Isaac too had laughed without realizing it.
But for a different reason than Gebel.
It was because Gebel had shown his capabilities as a holy knight.
Having witnessed the abilities of a holy knight with his own eyes, Isaac realized that holy swordsmanship in this world might be far more powerful than what he had seen in the game.
Isaac resolved to learn the swordsmanship Gebel used no matter what.
***
The children who had fled that day ran straight to the monks.
They desperately reported Isaac’s peril, and Gebel immediately sprinted out of the monastery. He chased after the traces of Isaac and the wild boar but could not find them until dawn the next day.
Everyone thought Isaac must be dead. But Gebel eventually brought Isaac back, and all the people of the monastery gathered to praise God’s miracle.
Of course, the Codex of Light had not performed even a speck of a miracle in the matter, but Isaac humbly praised the Codex of Light.
The monks could not tell whether they should scold Isaac for acting recklessly or praise him for acting heroically.
In the end, Isaac was punished with an evening fast.
To Isaac, who could use ‘Predation’ anyway, it was not a punishment that posed a problem. On the contrary, a highly favorable atmosphere toward Isaac spread throughout the monastery, to the point that if Isaac asked for something, almost everyone was willing to listen.
But what had changed the most was none other than the children.
“Sorry.”
The next day, Hans came right away to apologize. Isaac knew how difficult it was for people to apologize to someone younger than themselves, especially the younger they were. He wondered if someone had forced him, but Hans showed no sign of shame.
“I realized what a stupid thing I was about to do. I owe you my life. You are my lifesaver.”
Hans, speaking like that, even looked relieved.
He had subconsciously felt that Isaac was a being far superior to himself. But because of an inferiority complex, he had forced himself to be hostile to Isaac even as he inwardly feared him.
However, having confirmed through this incident that they were on entirely different levels, it seemed he could no longer even feel competitive.
Once one submits to an object of fear, what follows is a sense of awe, or so it seemed.
“Apologize to Yorhan. I suppose you’ve given up on running away now?”
“I already apologized to him. I won’t try to run away anymore. If anyone talks as stupid as I did, I’ll set them straight.”
Hans even showed a look of respect as he said that. Isaac found that gaze uncomfortable, but brushed it off thinking it was because he was a child.
Might makes right. And Hans was the oldest and strongest among the children. If he became obedient, controlling the children would be no problem.
*Still, he admits reality quickly once he faces it. He doesn’t seem as stupid as he looks.*
In the first place, the escape plan had likely been made simply because his pride was hurt by Isaac. If Isaac had not possessed this body, he probably would have lived uneventfully until age seventeen.
Hans extended his hand as if asking for reconciliation. Feeling somewhat sorry himself, Isaac clasped the offered hand.
Hans smiled brightly, perhaps thinking they had made up.
***
“You’re incredibly strong. Did you learn it from Mr. Gebel?”
“Huh? Uh, yeah, something like that.”
He couldn’t say it was thanks to memories from his previous life, so he vaguely sidestepped the question. Hans nodded as if he had expected as much.
“So you’re planning to join the Dawn Army too, huh?”
Then Hans brought up a strange story. When the familiar term came up, Isaac nodded.
Dawn Army.
Isaac knew what it was.
It was the main quest that occurred periodically in Nameless Chaos, and the story line that formed its backbone.
In the distant east, there was the ‘Holy Land’ said to be where the Codex of Light was first written. But at the same time, that Holy Land was also the land where Beshek, the ‘Undead Emperor’ of the Undead Cult, had been reborn as a god.
The Dawn Army was precisely the coalition army formed by the Church of the Codex of Light to reclaim that Holy Land.
Sometimes the Holy Land was held by the Baekje Kingdom, which had made the Codex of Light its state religion, and sometimes by the Heukje Kingdom ruled by the Undead Cult. But for the past one hundred years, the Heukje Kingdom had dominated the Holy Land. And the most recent Dawn Army had been formed fifteen years ago, the 12th Dawn Army.
“The most recent Dawn Army was fifteen years ago, so by the time we’re adults, they’ll organize another one. The Holy Land must be reclaimed, after all.”
Hans believed that the Church of the Codex of Light would surely form a Dawn Army again someday. Isaac knew exactly when that would be. It was four years from now.
*Certainly, to reach the pinnacle as a holy knight, there’s no career quite like participating in the Dawn Army.*
Even if he weren’t a holy knight, as long as he was playing this game, he had no choice but to proceed with this Dawn Army quest. It was a war that engulfed the entire continent, so it was only natural.
In short, the ‘13th Dawn Army Expedition’ could be seen as the main story event of ‘Nameless Chaos.’
When the Dawn Army was formed, the Undead Cult side would also form the Eclipse Army, and like-minded sects would join hands to oppose the Dawn Army.
In other words, Isaac was a veteran who had already succeeded in the 13th Dawn Army Expedition eight times.
Isaac reaffirmed his goal.
To hide his tentacles, he had to become a noble holy knight that no one could suspect, and from that pinnacle, reclaim the Holy Land.
*When that time comes, it’ll be the ending in-game, but I wonder what happens after that.*
He didn’t think a hollow ‘The End’ would await him before he returned to his original world. At that time, Isaac couldn’t predict what he would become, but no matter what, he had to join the Dawn Army someday.
“If you’re thinking of joining the Dawn Army, why aren’t you following Mr. Gebel around?”
At Isaac’s words, Hans flushed.
“I followed him around before, but he made me do so many hard and dirty things… and he’s scary too.”
It meant he’d tried following him but ended up dropping out. Hans quickly spoke as if trying to change the subject.
“B-by the way, aren’t you scared of Mr. Gebel?”
“Not really? He seems like someone who tells jokes well and laughs easily, more than he looks.”
“But people say Mr. Gebel is a deserter. Deserters flee while pillaging, and even kill fellow believers…”
In this era, the word deserter was practically synonymous with a band of bandits. This was because conscripts were gathered from everywhere without proper supplies just to wage a war.
After a single battle, deserters would pour out in swarms, and those deserters would again cause trouble in various regions.
“And did you see the tattoo on his wrist? The one with the crescent moon and the sword overlapping. Seeing that, he might have been a soldier of the Heukje Kingdom. He probably snuck into our country secretly.”
Isaac almost burst out laughing. What an imagination—to think someone would get a tattoo declaring ‘I’m a spy’ on their wrist. Besides, if he were a soldier of the Heukje Kingdom, he’d be undead. There was no way he’d be brazenly walking around in human skin.
However, Isaac had seen that tattoo too. Since the crescent moon was the symbol of the Heukje Kingdom, it was only natural for Yorhan to feel uneasy.
*Well, I’m curious about Gebel’s true identity too… It’s about time I moved to the next phase.*
***
Isaac began worrying every day about how he could learn swordsmanship from Gebel. He was building his body, but the sooner he learned swordsmanship, the better.
Especially considering the path he had to walk to become a holy knight, he needed to hurry even more.
But Gebel had lost his comrades. To make him hold a sword again and foster the next generation, there had to be proper justification. However, Isaac only knew that he was a holy knight; he didn’t know which order he belonged to or what circumstances had brought him here.
Since he couldn’t ask directly, Isaac began rummaging through the bookshelves in the library. The clue of where to start searching was already laid out.
After searching like that for several days, while meticulously scanning through books, Isaac one day barely snatched a book beside him that was about to fall to the floor.
It was a heavy book, bound in thick leather and made of hefty parchment, so weighty that he had nearly missed catching it.
He read the title of the book he had been about to shelve again.
‘Records of the 12th Dawn Army.’
It was a record of exactly that Dawn Army which had occurred fifteen years ago. Thinking he had finally found what he was looking for, Isaac turned the page.
The reasons for the 12th Dawn Army’s beginning, participant nations, routes, personnel, enemy forces encountered, and how and where supplies were acquired… It was literally a record, recorded diligently but monotonously.
There wasn’t a speck of entertainment in it, but Isaac stopped at the section titled ‘Participating Organizations’ as he flipped through the pages.
The emblem of a sword crossed with a crescent moon.
There had been an organization that used the tattoo on Gebel’s wrist as its flag.
Isaac confirmed that organization’s name.
Avalanche Holy Knights.
*…Of course, it was here.*
Gebel was precisely a holy knight who had participated in that 12th Dawn Army.
Isaac began reading about the Avalanche Holy Knights. They were roughly one hundred and twenty strong, a fairly large order in the eastern region. Moreover, being stationed adjacent to the Undead Cult’s border, they were renowned for their abundant real combat experience and belligerence.
Isaac’s gaze stopped at the roster of the order’s members.
Gebel Crackton, Vice-Captain of the Avalanche Holy Knights.
*Vice-Captain… He was a bigger shot than I thought?*
Isaac even felt absurd.
He had thought about becoming a holy knight, but to think such a big shot was so close by?
Holy knights were not only outstanding in individual martial prowess but could also wield divine miracles, so they were regarded as superior to ordinary knights. Since they were guaranteed high status even within the Church, lords and kings alike tried to recruit them by any means; but holy knights weren’t beings who moved for money, so they were notoriously difficult to deal with.
With this level of status, it wouldn’t have been strange for him to be serving as the commander of some knightly order with the backing of a suitable power holder.
*But the fact that he didn’t do that… Did he desert after surviving? Or apostatize?*
To be sure, Isaac had never once seen Gebel read scripture, let alone offer a prayer. But if he had apostatized, would there be any need to entrust himself to a Codex of Light monastery?
*Anyway, I can use this.*
Just then, a whispering voice rang out as if echoing his thoughts.
[Nameless Chaos is watching you.]
[Nameless Chaos wishes for you to make Gebel your vassal.]
“…What kind of nonsense is this now?”
[Nameless Chaos lowers its goal.]
[Nameless Chaos wishes for you to make Gebel your prey.]
“No, what the hell does it think I am? Am I the same as a rat?”
[Nameless Chaos lowers its goal further.]
[Nameless Chaos wishes for you to achieve even a speck of victory over Gebel.]
Aren’t these all the same?
He couldn’t tell what it expected from a mere fourteen-year-old child. Make someone who had been a vice-captain of a holy knight order submit? Once Nameless Chaos learned Gebel was a holy knight, it seemed to burn with an incomprehensible competitive spirit.
Isaac was dumbfounded, but after thinking briefly, he decided it might not be impossible.
The forms of victory are diverse. And Isaac had been planning to take a gamble with Gebel anyway.
[A Reward of Chaos awaits you.]