Chapter 143: Preparations (1)
Ew85ByqA look into the life of the freshman Gerrmain Luther of Merkarva Academy couldn’t be complete without having a look at his early life in the monastery.nXlKMUV
sNOOGJOne day, a baby in a basket was left at the entrance of Mikaela Monastery. Picked up by a devout believer and father. Germain was raised under the care of the sisters there, along with other boys and girls who were there for similar reasons.7CY3n
ewdIDurHis impressive singing skills allowed him to volunteer for the choir despite being so young, and after showing talents as a knight, he was promoted to Youth Chargers of the Cross.a67d
vfx7x0Due to the outdated education system of the Old Faith, their fundamentalistic analysis of the Goidel Bible, their prejudice towards the New Faith, and seeing the protestants as heretics… the young boy grew up into a marvelous racist.9F916v
mOplE2Because of his attitude, it became difficult for him to receive positive reception when he was with atheists and people from the New Faith. Even when he was with other brothers and sisters of the same religion, his extremist mindset made it hard for him to merge into groups. It was even harder because he was an elitist on top of that.wRreq
GQou28“Uhh… G, go to the chapel together? I, I’m already going to a different one!”rGOx
tKSwkB“Hmm… I don’t follow any religion. Sorry.”LM4
1lE9m“Old Faith? I only go to the chapel with Saintess Estelle.”bZxVSk
As4dMQY“Old Faith…? I’m okay.”LEktMF
ETovcdKAs a result, Germain voluntarily became a loner who ostracized everyone else.L7Do8ET
g4sane“Haah… It is so hard to find a true colleague in faith in a city as corrupt as Merkarva.”NAG
FYuHis attempt to propagate his religion, which was the duty of every believer, was proving to be challenging yet again. Carrying the brass rosary that was given by the order, he was dejectedly carrying his feet when someone spoke to him.ASTS
1fK“Yo, newcomer. What are you doing by yourself?”fdS
ScozorSaid the boy, while amiably throwing his arm around his shoulder from the back. It was a senior of the Academy who was a grade above him.HLv6
GQhXN“S, senior Korin?”zOV8uPi
zLed“Are you going to the chapel?”vrrlL
tgi“Ah, yes…”7zmpkj2
Nye“Zeon? Or Xeruem?”v9RNB
1n3yuJZeon and Xeruem – they were the official names of the New and the Old Faith.8SaYo
T8zEsThe public tended to call them the New and Old Faith to make things easy for themselves, but many believers of the Old Faith were extremely discontent with this name.uCbM
S0eFQd‘Old’ Faith? They weren’t old. They were simply sticking to the fundamentals and old principles.0fIa
3kZe0PxGermain’s internal evaluation of Korin went up, just from the fact that he referred to them as Zeon and Xeruem.LL0
EoT“Xeruem.”D3ip3fs
AUi“Okay. Oh~ I see, you do have a brass rosario. I guess I didn’t even need to ask.”5SPe3aK
IKOgEPPeople from the New Faith did not hide their fanciness and provided their followers with rosaries made of gold and silver. In contrast, the Old Faith provided cheaper brass rosaries to correspond to their public image of being frugal and modest.zvBn
3F8WqtGIt seemed that Korin had enough knowledge of religions to tell the rosaries apart.AMl0
Wz5vWVA“I’m heading to Zeon right now.”gpQ
GH0“Do you have no plans of coming to the Chapel of Xeruem?”Vx6
AMG8aomGermain saw the man in front of him in a good light. He was a rare Grade 1 Knight, which was a hard find throughout all the grades and was also the master of a new Guardians Guild full of strong guardians.g2X
Pjml9kTEven aside from his competence as a knight, he had wide connections within the Academy and there was no reason not to befriend him. Plus, he was someone who gave off a positive aura.aknX5N
mtZOeThe only bad thing about such an amazing talent was that…u7S
Nl5“I can’t do that. One of my friends is a sister from the Chapel of Zeon, right? Even though I’m not really a devout believer, it doesn’t feel right to take her to Xeruem.”YdMo
YWHQU“Mhmm…”be01QH
DG1WlHe made bad friends.vmJN1aG
hgIlXkThe sister from the Chapel of Zeon that he just referred to was a living jiangshi – the end result of an evil research experiment that turned a living human into a jiangshi.xbu
luGHw4One of the biggest differences between the Old and New Faith was in whether they accepted demi-humans as humans or not.kTo9uM
4YnAccording to the doctrines of the Old Faith, demi-humans were not acceptable existences.IX1Xb
6iT6OkHua Ran… that jiangshi wasn’t the only one. Vampire Marie, wolf beastmen Ren and Ron. The young man had an intimate relationship with existences that the Old Faith could not accept as humans.EGCwO3n
nLCIt truly was a shame.ZnaS
ZGol“How about going on a mission when you’re back from the chapel? We got a mission for the Guardians and we might need a hand or two.”VkmiEpX
74F“I…”3IX
X9r“I know, I know. You can only do part-time. Freshmen lessons are jam-packed, aren’t they? But did you know; if you provide some good results with a Guardians Guild, you can write off a few of the lessons.”tmVU
ZwRQsfg“Hmm…”roSl
LKYeGermain had infiltrated Merkarva as a spy. For him, the fact that he could be exempted from some of the lessons and assignments by working as a guardian was like a golden apple that he couldn’t resist.7Y8dEer
y4Si8rWMore importantly, Korin’s guild was one that was on the cusp of rising to a Grade 1 Guardians guild with its prominent members. Working at a big guild like that would give him more opportunities to gather information…Au6L7
iCfPdw7“Umm… what is it about?”n23U
6kr88zs“Apparently they found a den of demonic beasts next to a village that’s around 70 kilometers away from here. They want us to remove it as soon as possible.”76xGkjQ
EhuPCm“…That’s quite far. Doesn’t the Alliance usually deal with long-distance missions like that?”ql7
VeZfSo“It’s alright. We have a secret weapon.”feh6y
jxDfO“???”ERuVZ
a08………BYm
cOsnr……Vp0Z
Lc5A37j…EtU
6VfWF-Kaaaaahh…!j7fogTS
Hfza“Uahhhk…!”Sn21o
LYEThe beast let out a thunderous roar as it soared through the sky; mixed into the roar was the scream of a person.rU10o
aZ4lSM3Although Germain was a Grade 2 Knight himself, he had trouble keeping himself conscious in the face of the violent and merciless flight of the winged beast.IjDWT
pScM5“Uaaahk…!”1kA
tw2kQHis inexperience with flying on a wyvern almost cost him his life – he almost fell from the seat that was on top of the wyvern.fsd
4aJ6“Oopsies!”w7m
1pBJust before he fell, Korin grabbed onto his hand and helped him back up.lVec
5Yity“Be careful. Did you fasten your seatbelt properly?”ic9tQGg
qDLL“Ughh… Yes. B, but I can’t see what’s ahead.”1RfBYw
a9hycHA strong gust of wind had been seeping in through his goggles for a while. The cold gust made his eyes tear up and cover his line of sight.pWEyOt
qNOYbIc“Oh, there’s a crack on your goggles. It must be from the time when we dropped it. Hua Ran.”hJtTIn
tRb“Nn.”8VbGqJl
VSfpt26The girl wearing nun clothes, who was sitting at the front, replied to Korin’s voice. Germain was quite uncomfortable with the demi-human Hua Ran, but was conscious of Korin and didn’t bother voicing out his discomfort.29ueN4
KqC3t“Hold onto the reins for a bit. I’m going to grab some spare goggles.”BONBDX4
DH3tWAfter saying that, he quickly ravaged through one of the bags that were being carried by the wyvern and took out another pair of goggles.n1B
855“Put this on.”r29
ts7EF3J“T, thank… Ughh…”3g2I3gS
6Y2BGermain tried to take the goggles that Korin was giving him, but couldn’t see what was ahead because of his tears and threw his arms around in vain. The wind had been too strong, to the point that it affected his sight even after he wiped his tears.GvmcqH
aWc“Phew. Junior. Stay still for a bit.”jel
NWCPcUXGrabbing onto his face, Korin wiped his flowing tears with his sleeves before gently putting the goggles on for him.Qdy
xuZEKAt last, after regaining his sense of sight, what Germain first saw was the smile on his senior’s face.B29Kr
kmnQdK“We are going to continue riding wyverns to travel long distances, so make sure to get used to them. We haven’t used them that much either, but there’s a flight instructor in the wyvern shed so learn from them.”JBjB
zs8EopS“O, okay.”LTwm4SC
sn9D“Good man.”YE0mp
HY9qu0The bangs that he had forced down were in a mess because of the flight, and Korin contributed to its messiness with a rustle.0CTpgi
pqd“Fasten your belt, and make sure the goggle straps don’t press down on your ears.”6D0i
RklrWzNLike a parent, he helped Germain fasten his seatbelt and pressed a button that was on the goggles. After that, he even gave him a sweet chocolate bar.eD4K6XU
hWyUWy“Flying actually uses up a lot of calories. We need to stay sharp so have this.”w0FU3
bN5Zd“T, thank you.”1b1c
N6tSomething Germain felt while seeing him these past few days was that this boy… was very good at taking care of people. It was like his calling.XHA
8xRMtIt was no wonder that he was famous even among the freshmen students for being a kind and generous Big Bro.loY
JpyGermain would have wholeheartedly agreed with that notion if not for the fact that he went around with demi-humans.Rgd
5ecxIuN………7EjgKN
yVT……T5YMHn
KzGIBGh…QXA
SqG3psIt was a close call.5Hpi0bK
ZNRiHpCWhen they were going after a horde of beasts in a cave, a massive worm suddenly popped out of nowhere and tried to kill him. He was confident that he wouldn’t lose to it in a fair fight, but the Giant Worm was unexpectedly a very dangerous demonic beast in a cave as small as this.XTpvg3T
NPrj“…Are you okay?”8SRM
bGINVOThe sister of a silver rosary reached out to him. Knowing that she was a filthy demi-human, Germain almost instinctively flicked her hand away but hesitated upon seeing the tear in her clothes.gPiFnt8
pgeD5It was because the moment the monster appeared, she jumped into the wide teeth of the Giant Worm after pushing him to the side. If not for Hua Ran, Germain himself would have been chomped.fAgR
Tf2“T, thank you. Senior.”JI9
kjlkgFr“Nn.”VHk1to
LP5yHVjGermain was way too ethical to slap away the hand of the one who saved his life.147x
sGo4“I thought it was a cave of goblins. Why is there a Giant Worm…?”Ryv
xNJqU“Seems that it’s not just a normal cave of goblins.”FLtay4Z
F4WJeLBAfter seemingly noticing something, Korin lowered his head and slowly advanced forward. He appeared to be vigilant of something.bOmT5
eVZ7“Senior?”45V2rG
9iSP“Don’t let your guard down. There’s… something in here.”XQi
KmbQ“What do you mean… something?”Vf0AVyT
5VcxO“Predators and prey don’t share the same nest. A Giant Worm living in the same place as goblins? That’s very suspicious, isn’t it?”XcbA
eUKVCertainly, he was right. Usually, demonic beasts… did not allow each other to trespass on their territory, even if they were of the same kind in some cases. That was just how things were in the wild – anyone and anything intruding on your territory was nothing but an enemy.8PSNN5
H2oI“But it’s a different story if both the goblins and the Giant Worm are ‘familiars’.”Kbg
g64Fq4v“Familiars…”Mozly
oMJ9pThat was the name given to beasts who had enslaving seals engraved on them by mages. Perfectly obedient familiars were just puppets that stayed faithful to the commands of their owner.3tJfe
5FOicpf“You mean… there’s a mage here?”hlHYacF
U2v“Exactly. There are in fact quite a few mages that research wicked sorcery after making a laboratory next to rural villages like this.”59HVkH
eihThose filthy wicked mages. Unlike the noble people of faith, mages who were crazy about their personal benefits and experiments tended to be unafraid of doing horrible things. That was one of the reasons why the religious judges of both the New and Old Faiths detested mages the most.T9f8
9athGermain also started to proceed with care while observing the cave. Suddenly, Korin raised his hand and halted their feet.9Dg
lZUqgic“Hua Ran.”pqUm
OM1y“Nn.”4SBom
3Vtzv“Destroy everything. Capture the mages.”1FzQV
KsqlJ“Okay.”GJ8NWXC
OvoImmediately, Hua Ran started dashing through the cave.W8Tq
Vm1Kwang!SJNJB8
nvd8EC6Kajik!EPDM
cgpPNe‘B, bastard! Who do you think I’m… Kuaahkk!’NyOII
dCs3As Korin expected, this indeed was the laboratory of a mage who was conducting horrible experiments.70zroLr
gNotYMz“What the…”IeS
POKCOAIt was a horrifying scene.zDvU
5LDRVrzThere was a big array of large test tubes full of fluids, and incubating inside them were various beasts that each gave off a dark aura.C7L9pD7
H8jRJfHEven though Germain couldn’t tell what it was, it was nonetheless very clear that some evil experiments had been taking place here.EmuZ3Z
s9Ig8“Look around. We can’t take everything with us, so let’s just grab the important documents and hand them over to the Alliance.”gIL
EmwiGmKorin and Hua Ran started carrying the neutralized mages and the incubating monsters, while Germain was assigned to finding the experiment logs of the mages here.lLbOiJx
DyvXPeople conducting such evil experiments had to be punished by the Inquisitors of the order. As a devout man of faith, Germain could not leave aside such wicked conduct.CxfMY
vUxWM“Hnn?”zHdXJxU
RI5dThat was when a document entered his eyes.q3fTz
b0OfRT“This…”plYQDr
6p7KcVIt was a secret letter that was sent to the mage conducting the experiment. For Germain to just put it aside, the emblem carved on the letter… meant way too much.Cxgz
4onR9A brass seal with no emblem.UJYo
XuIiaJGermain knew what this was. It was the same seal used by the secret ops like Chargers of the Cross that carried out secret missions.OTfoiu
od5tWhen you inject divine power into this emblem-less seal, it would reveal a brass-colored reverse cross… Exactly as it was doing now.AYG
cOMI“Why… is this here?”ruLEr
PnpKHUpon opening the letter and reading what was inside, Germain couldn’t help but shiver.H8mVV
wIvZDear Mage Geruam of the Tower… For your experiment… Do not kidnap anyone. We will soon send boys under the age of 13.EEWlZKD
x66– From RBj6J
ijvhRVThis emblem; this handwriting… and the signature at the end.2sYE
PRvH4PThey were all things that he knew very well.4Qvr8RK
xsU***YbgY
y2zc1“Is he gone?”nK17
dkq“Un. He… hid something.”nIFRMkD
oXpsAfter attacking the secret laboratory of the black mage, I intentionally told Germain to search through the lab. Even in ❰Heroic Legends of Arhan❱, this was a quest where you could find the secret letter of Bishop Renault Lusignan of the Old Faith.ATqjbpR
C1MpIn the game, it was just a slab of text that explained the background story of the quest, but in the real world, it was conclusive evidence that could be used to open a religious trial.W6T
WzVyrl“What will he do?”Iwx
UfM“Well… There’s only one way to find out.”pS4
chy6gGermain Luther was a villain yet different at the same time.VfL
88bDuring the game, he was a relatively strong mid-boss who would appear with Renault Lusignan and the knights of the Old Faith after discovering his identity as a spy but in truth, he was the prime example of a good-natured person raised with terrible education.xXna1
yuxeRegardless, since he was half a step into the realm of being a religious fanatic, whether he would try to conceal the hideous side of his order or denounce Renault Lusignan was something that only time could tell.UpbFYmD
6i85KSince the game had now become the real world, everyone moved and thought for themselves so it was hard to say anything with certainty.ImqKAE
aBZVSW“Hua Ran. Stay here and continue bringing out the evidence with Germain. Don’t let him go deeper inside.”MXWtBKA
bMQJ“What if he asks where you went?”rg2y
Vm9xfL5“Tell him I’m off to take a dump.”9G6
3ikYUDg-Bam!m4tU73
k5G9qShe kicked me on the bum. These days, Hua Ran… or rather, Hua, didn’t seem amused by my jokes anymore. Was she in puberty?fNZR
g7uF6l“Anyway. Stay here.”qlqN
egkSaLeaving behind Hua, who was acting cold all of a sudden, I headed deeper into the secret laboratory.wVVrgW
b3eso『You have stopped the wicked experiments of the Black Mage, Geruam. You will be rewarded as per the Precept.』DDT1x
DIZPROk『Randolf』
※ Difficulty: D+f0QAGZ
k8zZB※ Reward: Even distribution of 10 pointsup3Tt0q
fsCE2vyRandolf.Gp2
clsy7vAThat was the name of a soldier guarding the Grand Chapel of Xeruem, and the main character of the side quest, [Father and his missing Son].ycLh
6Cq2Renault Lusignan had been kidnapping and sending a few children to support the secret experiments of the Black Mage Geruam, and one of them was Randolf’s young boy.PVDp430
PvtThe reason I came here was also because I wanted to deal with it before that quest showed up. And plus… beating up some of the mages of the Tower was going to clear the Precept quite a few times.HCP6f
zCpTR9I recalled the system messages that popped up on the way here.bm7tWm
L7aM『Dorron Warsky has defeated the Blue Mage, Fyrenee. You will be rewarded as per the Precept.』sqxWq
I3c0mk『Kranel Lunder has defeated the Golem Engineer, Draven. You will be rewarded as per the Precept.』Gxah
4AgJ9x『Yuel has defeated the Twisted Druid, Jana. You will be rewarded as per the Precept.』Ugnjt
rdE0That was the proof that the members of the guild were working hard. Using the information I gave them, they were dealing with the side quests that were supposed to be available after the end of the 5th Arc, beforehand.HBu
OHhSqMost of them were related to the mages of the Tower, and these evil actions from all around the world were going to be revealed again and again.Od6
weOg7P‘There’s still a big one left. Just you wait.’O0fS
5n8Thanks to that, I was receiving a lot of rewards through my Precept, but that wasn’t the end. These were originally ‘side quests’ that were supposed to be cleared by the player.Pc6F4
y0Dj43In other words, there was going to be a reward for the player.NSyuf
5IV4FBlack Mage Geruam, who we defeated here, was a part of the group that longed for the Advent of Paradise and was conducting fairly important research. He himself was on the level of a semi-Grade 1 mage, so it was easy to tell how significant of research this would have been for them.OAUqCLN
GKJFL0What were they experimenting with here?wiic8kz
0W1GJAs a player of the game, I knew exactly what the answer to that question was.E8Q3vjG
j5zIHDeeper inside the cave, echoing from behind a wall that blocked both sight and sound was the entry.W8f4
D1IKb1TKicking the wall, I crushed it down. As expected of an ‘intelligent’ mage; the camouflage was very coarsely done. Breaking through, I could feel a slithery feeling flowing from the inside.yMde
iuN3HWThis was one of the things I had also seen in the last iteration.ZKYzUc
yneC4It was a trace of paradise that no longer existed on this continent, left behind by the Danann before their fall.8Qp
XCYa“Found it.”xmJv7D
PzHjpyV『Head of Mata. The hundred-legged and four-headed monster.』HnX5z2g
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