Chapter 57
"Are you really okay?"
To Emily's worried question, Callius answered that he was.
Honestly, he was still bewildered, but he couldn't give any other answer.
It wasn't like he could explain the system-related aspects to Emily or the others anyway.
"What did you do all of a sudden? Everyone was startled because of you. We were worried since you didn't wake up for ten days."
"I had a slight... realization."
A realization.
What a convenient word this was.
At the mention of a realization, Emily's furrowed brow softly relaxed.
"It seems like it. Your divine power is denser than before. I can feel it too."
Certainly. The rank of his divine power hadn't increased, but its purity was distinctly different.
If his previous divine power was light and faint, now it could be described as quite heavy and dense.
"Still, it was surprising. I was worried because you wouldn't wake up, and then you suddenly caused a ruckus... First, go wash up. You stink."
"Alright."
Perhaps impurities had expelled from his body, as a foul stench emanated from his entire being. However, skin was peeling off like a lizard shedding, and the flesh beneath was incredibly pale; it seemed he had undergone the legendary Hwangol-taltae (Rebirth of Bone and Marrow).
'How mysterious.'
After lightly washing up and coming out, Callius newly felt the vitality surging within his dantian.
To think that to create the Third Peak, he had to shatter the original First Peak and Second Peak and rebuild them.
"If it weren't for the fortuitous encounter of the seed, I wouldn't have known even in my dreams."
But what on earth was it?
A god who lost their name in defeat.
It burrowed into his body, and Manhwa-bongyuk ascended to the Third Peak.
'Again.'
Another detail I never designed is plaguing my mind.
But aside from the subsequent messages, there wasn't anything particularly notable.
The trace of the seed that entered his dantian had long since disappeared.
Left alone in the room, he put down the damp towel and recalled what had just happened.
"A defeated god dwelled within me."
What meaningful effect could this have?
A defeated god.
The seed of that god dwelled within me.
'It would be safe to assume it is a god's will that dwelled within.'
The system message said it wasn't a seed, but a god that dwelled within.
The will of a defeated god.
Or rather, something dwelled in his dantian, creating the Third Peak of Manhwa-bongyuk and forming six Sacred Veins.
Currently, in his dantian, three buds had each taken root with two roots.
The sturdier and richer buds would grant me purer divine power at any time.
'Is there nothing else because it's a defeated god?'
At first, he worried about a clash between divine powers.
Yet, the divine power that entered as a seed was exceedingly pure, even causing Manhwa-bongyuk to bloom.
Contrary to his concerns, only good things had happened.
"It's a bit overwhelming."
The divine power surging through his entire being heightened its own presence.
I put on Vivi's bracelet placed on the table.
Then, the heightened aura of divine power calmly subsided.
"Did I lose the half-gauntlet Dexter made for me?"
Seeing as it was nowhere to be seen, it seemed it was torn or lost during the battle.
It was a shame, but nothing could be done.
He put the Gluttony Sword into his subspace and softly lifted the Gangsin Sword.
Grabbing the hilt and slowly drawing it, the broken grayish-white blade gleamed.
[Gangsin Sword - Gwid]
Rank - Spirit
Imbued Soul - Troll Gwid
Unique Ability - Gangsin (Body Strengthening).
The sword was broken, but the soul remained intact.
If it were a sword at the level of a famous sword, he would have just sent it to the heavens and taken the compensation.
'It's a waste to just throw it away.'
The power of the Gangsin Sword had proven its worth in this war. Without the Troll's Gangsin effect, he wouldn't have been able to turn the tide of the battlefield.
The Gangsin Sword, which borrowed the troll's strength and regenerative power, was hard to give up easily.
Besides, it was uncertain whether a demonic sword would yield compensation or not.
"I'll have to call Dexter."
He didn't know if he could fix it or not, but he had to call Dexter and show it to him at least once.
It wasn't that he didn't trust the dwarf's skills, but this wasn't an ordinary sword.
Originally, it would be right to take it to the Order and have it inspected...
'But it's a sword mixed with demonic energy, so that's impossible.'
If he took such a sword there, it would definitely be confiscated, or he'd be branded a heretic.
There was no reason to make unnecessary trouble.
If Dexter found it impossible to fix...
'I'll have to fix it, even if it means taking risks.'
If it were the soul of a famous sword, it would have vanished the moment it broke, but a troll's soul didn't disappear easily.
Surely, it could be fixed.
Having organized his thoughts, Callius set down the Gangsin Sword.
"Shall I check the remaining rewards?"
Because of the defeated god's seed, he hadn't been able to properly examine the other rewards.
The existence of the seed was still a mystery, but there was no way to find out about it, so for now, he was just accepting it as a fortuitous encounter.
'If Manhwa-bongyuk reacted to it...'
He didn't think so, but he couldn't be sure.
He recalled the saint of the Order who had disappeared long ago and shook his head.
[Unique Talent Selection Right]
[Rare Trait Draw Ticket]
A Unique talent and a Rare trait!
"A talent and a trait."
Talent and trait.
He didn't know about traits, but a talent wasn't something easily obtained. He decided to look at the talent selection right first.
Since it was written as a selection right, it must mean he could choose from a few options.
[Unique Talent Selection Right]
1. *Yi Bi Hui Zhi* (One Stroke Brushstroke)
- Enables one to write any text fluently without blockage in a single stroke. Alternatively, interprets any text smoothly without obstruction at once.
2. 'Instinctive Intuition'
- Perceives things that normally cannot be felt through instinctive intuition.
3. *An Suan* (Mental Calculation)
- The ability to calculate in one's head without using any tools becomes faster.
'As expected of a Unique talent.'
None of the three were bad.
*Yi Bi Hui Zhi* might seem like a useless talent at first glance, but in this world, every country uses a different language.
Furthermore, there are countless languages such as ancient languages and those of other races; just being able to read them offered many advantages.
'For example.'
It meant he could read the language of the Bira tribe he had discovered not long ago.
If he searched through their ancient civilization, he might even be able to learn how to craft artifacts.
Besides, languages left behind by gods might appear later, so *Yi Bi Hui Zhi* was a talent that would be helpful for a long time.
'Intuition is also a shame to discard.'
In combat, intuition could be considered everything.
There were no small number of people who fought relying on their intuition.
Moreover, it wasn't something that could only be used in battle; it would certainly be of great help commercially as well.
'*An Suan* would also be good when fighting a battle of calculations.'
Combat was a battle of numbers.
If the enemy does this, I counter with this, and when that counter is countered, I roll to the side and counter again, and so on.
In battles where calculations were inevitable, and on the battlefield, *An Suan* would make resolving them much easier.
After pondering for a moment, Callius chose 'Instinctive Intuition' after all.
The first and third options were somewhat lacking for the Unique rank.
There would probably be much better ones out there... but what could he do?
These were the only ones that came out.
'With excellent intuition, it will be of great help when gaining realizations or in dangerous situations. Intuition is the best.'
*Yi Bi Hui Zhi* and *An Suan* could be managed with effort, but intuition couldn't.
It was purely a matter of talent.
[Do you wish to select Instinctive Intuition?]
As he confirmed, with a puffing sound, a slight heat flared up over his entire body before disappearing in an instant.
'I don't feel anything right now.'
Next, he decided to look at the trait draw.
Since it was a draw, he had no choice but to rely purely on luck.
Emptying his mind, he started the draw.
[Starting the Rare Trait Draw.]
.
.
.
The sound of a roulette spinning could be heard.
What would come out?
Since it was Rare, he thought something quite useful would appear. Something that enhanced physical abilities would be good, or something that influenced growing wealth would be nice too.
Whatever came out, if it was Rare, it would be useful, so his heart was already pounding.
*Ding.*
'Pheromone'
Rank - Rare
- A good scent emanates from the body.
The moment he saw the status window, a sigh escaped him naturally.
"Ha! Good grief."
Pheromone? It was so absurd he was speechless.
The description was just that a good scent emanated from the body. No notable effect.
"How is something like this Rare."
It seemed like a passive effect, and there was no way to toggle it on or off.
Thinking that he could be detected by the scent thanks to the pheromone during surprise attacks or ambushes made it seem even more like trash.
Perhaps because it was his own scent, he didn't know if it actually gave off any noticeable smell.
"I'll have to ask later."
The remaining rewards were three Sacred Stones and a saddle.
Humasis, whose saddle this was, was a famous entity known as a master of horsemanship.
[Humasis's Saddle]
Rank - Rare
- Horsemanship +2
With such a saddle, even Callius, who couldn't ride a horse, would have no trouble with horsemanship as long as he had this.
As for the Sacred Stones, with the Glutton trait, he could use them to replenish his divine power in emergencies or for training. They were also used as currency, so there was no harm in having them.
After organizing the uses of the items he obtained and putting them into his subspace.
He took out the Holy Grail and two containers filled with troll's blood.
Then, wondering what would happen, he dropped a single drop of troll's blood into the Holy Grail.
*Plop.*
With the sound, a faint divine power began to gather in the Holy Grail.
Since ancient times, the Holy Grail was famous for holding the blood of a god, which then transformed into wine.
As was the case with most religions, he figured it might have some power of purification here as well, so he tested it.
If it could purify the demonic power inherent in the troll's blood.
Refined troll's blood would literally be no different from a potion, which would be a huge help to Callius, who didn't have a single drop of holy water left.
Having a potion that could restore the body was the same as having an extra life.
"It doesn't work after all."
He tried imbuing it with divine power, but there was no significant change.
"They should at least tell me what this thing is used for."
It couldn't be helped.
He transferred the precious troll's blood and put the Holy Grail away.
He decided to put off refining the blood for later. It seemed he needed to look through some related books and documents.
"There's a lot to do."
He had to refine the troll's blood.
Manhwa-bongyuk had ascended to the Third Peak, but he still needed to stabilize it a bit more.
He also needed to re-examine the parts where the Sacred Veins had formed, as well as matters concerning the North and the sword. And he had to reorganize his future schedule.
"Before the Empire's attack resumes, I need to fortify the North and cut out the rotten roots of the Carpe Kingdom."
*Tap, tap.*
Callius's fingers drumming on the table conveyed his deep thought.
But they soon stopped, and a smile curved his lips.
"Shall I make use of them?"
* * *
Office within the castle.
"You say Callius has awakened."
"Yes, so he says."
"Thank goodness. Hahaha."
The lord of the North, who had been smiling much more since the war ended.
Elberton von Zervan.
The fatal wounds he had sustained had long since healed. In fact, his body was healthier than before, so as soon as the war ended, he was buried in paperwork for the aftermath.
However, Elberton always wore a smile on one corner of his mouth, and the reason was his son, who was called a hero of the war.
It was because of Callius.
"What will you do?"
"About Callius?"
"Yes. Killavan has hidden himself, hasn't he?"
After the war ended, Killavan disappeared. He couldn't be found even during the war, so it seemed he had hidden himself early on.
"Right, since that bastard disappeared, naturally we must let Callius have what he should have."
"The young master's merits in this war are greater than anyone else's, so it is only right that you give him an appropriate reward."
"Yes, yes. I'll have to open the treasury for the first time in a while. He'd like that too, right?"
The Zervan family's treasury.
If it was that place, where artifacts used by previous lords and swords forged by them were displayed, Callius would surely be satisfied.
"Of course. A knight with that level of skill would certainly covet the treasures in the treasury."
"Yes. That's right. The family heirloom, Callis, is still off-limits, but the other treasures are fine. Especially since one of his swords broke, didn't it? We need to do at least that much so he doesn't feel slighted."
*Tsk.*
Even as he spoke, Elberton felt quite bitter. If he had known it would turn out like this, he shouldn't have driven him out.
He deeply regretted not seeing his son's qualities properly earlier, but what could he do? It had already come to this.
Even though he had driven him out, his son had risked his life to protect the North, so it was only right to give him everything he hadn't been able to so far.
"Regarding the succession..."
"That too, shall follow its natural course."
Seeing how active he was in the war, it seemed good enough to entrust the North to Callius.
There were no other options now anyway.
He had taken in an adopted son, only for him to cause such a mess, so he didn't want to do that again.
Callius, who had always been a sore thumb, had achieved such greatness and returned; as his father, how could he not give him everything? Even if he hated it, he planned to force it upon him.
"Then what will you do with the children?"
"Hmm..."
That bastard's children.
He must be referring to Killavan's son, Rivan, and daughter, Rini.
Now that Killavan had disappeared, rumors that they were the children of a traitor were quietly spreading throughout the castle.
"Those children are innocent, but it's also ambiguous to just leave them be."
"I already have thoughts on that matter, so you don't need to worry."
He intended to leave it to Callius.
Since he was the one who would be responsible for the North and the Zervan family in the future, there would be no harm in leaving the decision to him.
Besides, being Killavan's children, it wasn't completely unrelated to Callius either.
"Understood."
"More importantly."
"Yes."
"I wonder what we should do with them."
"You mean them..."
If Callius was the war hero who beheaded the enemy commander on the battlefield.
They, who appeared right on time and cleanly wiped out the enemy remnants, could also be called heroes.
If not for the reinforcements that suddenly appeared, quite a lot of lives would have fallen in the North to the enemies' dying struggles.
"However, we cannot accept their demands, can we?"
"That's right."
The Heretic Inquisition wanted one thing.
Callius's person.
"Good grief."
What on earth had he done?
In the past, he might have left him alone, thinking a scoundrel was just being a scoundrel, but that was no longer the case.
He was now the hero who saved the North.
He deserved to be treated as a hero.
"I cannot hand my son over to those madmen."
Elberton had no intention of ever handing Callius over to them.