My Alter Ego’s Path to Greatness - Chapter 28

Heinrich (1)

“Please pass.”

“thank you. Well then, good luck!”

Heinrich greeted the guards of the capital’s outer castle and entered.

Thanks to Heinz preparing the necessary things in advance, we were able to enter without difficulty.

‘Actually, I have doubts as to whether it’s really okay to come in here…’

Since I was so casually encountering Jinhyeolui’s vampires near the capital, my trustworthiness was bound to drop.

‘But this is the only temple of the main church in the Kingdom of Thalia. There are temples and prayer centers all over the place, but…’

If you wanted to become a priest or crusader, it would have been okay to go to a suitable temple, but to become a paladin, a special class, you needed to come to the temple.

It takes too much time to visit a temple in another country.

Because I wasn’t sure that the method I had in mind would work.

‘I’ll try it quickly and if it doesn’t work, I’ll find another way.’

At that time, the death cooldown of “Avatar” was over and it was now possible to create a new entity, so the work of the Earth could be left to them.

An environment was created where Heinrich could focus on this.

I asked for directions and went to the temple of the main church.

A large temple on the outskirts of the capital.

It was the place where Paladin Heinrich’s great first step began!

***

‘There was a time when I thought so…’

Becoming a member of the main religious order was not difficult.

He went to the temple, donated a huge amount of money, claiming it was all his money, and expressed his desire to become a Holy Knight.

One month like that.

I have become a trainee and am receiving training as a crusader at a training facility outside the temple.

“Hey Heinrich! “Today’s training is over. How about a drink?”

“Ah Max. Sorry, but I won’t be able to for a while. “There’s not much time left until the exam.”

“Always work hard. Well, you said you wanted to be a paladin, right? Try hard. If everything goes well, don’t forget about me.”

Soon Max laughed, waved his hands, and disappeared.

I looked at the back, sighed, and walked towards the temple library.

There were more than one or two things that had to be learned, including combat training and studying.

‘Well, becoming a knight isn’t that easy.’

Aren’t knights a semi-aristocratic class to begin with?

Paladins were not that different.

It was even more difficult because I wasn’t even a believer from the beginning.

In order for me to become a Holy Knight, I had no choice but to first acquire the basics, become an official Crusader, and then be recommended and selected as a knight candidate…. It was full of

things I did not know, including the rites and doctrines of the main church, as well as history and sacred songs, so I was unable to do it at the right time. I was getting a headache from studying.

The standards for becoming a crusader were not that high, but I had to think beyond that.

‘Still, leaving aside things like doctrine, just being able to learn combat techniques professionally is enough to benefit you. Once you learn it, it will be helpful to you in the future.’

Like before, we can’t always rely on a different avatar whenever something happens.

Basic combat skills were essential in case the situation did not cooperate.

Coincidentally, Heinrich had an advantage in learning combat skills thanks to being boneless.

‘… Before that, let’s study the doctrine first…’

***

One day, while I was concentrating on training and studying, I suddenly felt that the temple had become noisy.

“What’s happening all of a sudden?”

After finishing the self-training, I headed to the entrance of the temple and saw Max among the people gathered there.

“Max, you’re particularly noisy today. Why are you doing this all of a sudden? “Do you know anything?”

“Oh Heinrich! You’ve arrived at the right time! “The Archbishop and Paladin are here now!”

Looking in the direction he was pointing, I saw a group of people entering the temple.

However, at the head of the group was a familiar person.

You don’t know me there.

‘…Who is that person?’

A middle-aged knight wearing pure white armor with the emblem of the Main Church.

He was the one who led the Holy Knights and cornered Hans.

Now that I think about it, some of the paladins following him also looked familiar.

“Archbishop Latius and Paladin Sir Tuskin from the main altar! “I guess he went out to carry out some kind of mission with our temple’s Holy Knights and Holy Knights and came back.”

‘…I think I know what the mission is.’

It must have been to catch Hans.

But it’s been over two months since he clashed with the church, and he’s only now returned…

‘Could it be that he’s been chasing Hans all this time?’

After that day, Hans was summoned from Outerica only briefly.

To transfer wealth from subspace to Earth.

Once the summoning was lifted, it would have been impossible to track him down no matter what, but his persistence was truly terrifying.

“I heard that the senior crusaders who followed me are back, shall we go say hello?”

After hearing that, I followed Max to get some information, but I couldn’t meet them.

They were exhausted after a long journey and needed time to rest, and perhaps for security reasons, they were not allowed to meet.

But the disappointment was short-lived….

The next day, the senior crusader gathered the trainees and made a declaration.

“Soon, there will be a baptism ceremony for those in training who pass the standards.”

Murmuring—

“Quiet, quiet! I know it’s still too early, but this is a matter that has been decided above. “They say they plan to select trainee priests not only from you but also from among the monks, so please continue working hard during the remaining time.”

When the senior crusader who shouted to disperse disappeared from the scene, the trainees started talking amongst themselves again.

“How many months are left until the baptism? “I wish we could become official crusaders quickly, but suddenly like this?”

“It would be a huge burden to shorten the original schedule this much. “Is there some reason?”

“…Is there a sudden need to increase power…?”

Yes, the schedule wouldn’t have suddenly changed without any reason.

It’s probably related to the punitive force that returned yesterday.

‘Anyway, it’s an opportunity to save time for me.’

Here at the Thalia Temple, new crusaders are selected through a baptism ceremony every six months.

So originally, it would have been two more months, but the situation suddenly changed.

‘Through the baptism ritual, all mana in the body is converted into divine power… That is the first step to becoming a crusader.’

If you follow what you’ve done so far, becoming a crusader won’t be that difficult.

So I continued training as I had been doing so far.

I was able to proudly occupy a place in the baptism ceremony without any effort being put in vain.

***

“It may have been an unreasonable request, but thank you, Bishop Cromville, for accepting it so readily.”

“No, Archbishop Latius. Isn’t this all what our denomination needs? And it’s good for our Diocese of Thalia.”

Just before the baptism ceremony begins.

Archbishop Latius, who leads the Immortal King’s punitive force, was having a conversation with Bishop Cromville, head of the diocese covering the entire Kingdom of Thalia.

“The power of vampires was more deeply rooted in the kingdom than we thought. Because of that, the damage to the punitive force increased during the search process.”

“…I just apologize. As someone in charge of the Diocese of Thalia, I should have taken measures in advance…”

“No, how could that only be Bishop Cromville’s fault? It’s the headquarters’ fault for not paying attention in advance. “I will continue to do my best to increase support for the diocese.”

“Thank you for your concern, Archbishop.”

The Kingdom of Thalia, a small country on the border, did not have much influence from the main church from the beginning.

There is only one temple in the capital, as if the kingdom had reluctantly allowed it.

The number of clergy deployed throughout the country barely exceeded the minimum standards.

“In order to prevent the power vacuum created this time, keep vampires in check, and continue to track the descendants of the Immortal King, strengthening the church’s power is essential. Now that we have finished talking with the Kingdom of Thalia, it will be easier from now on.”

There was some political coercion in the process, but it was unavoidable.

There was a strong backlash in the political world, as if the vampires had reached out to them, but they could not go against the will of the main church that put a great cause first.

“Now we must begin the baptism ceremony. “I will also lend a hand as planned.”

“…There is no need for the Archbishop to step forward himself. “With the help of the priests of the punitive force, there will be no major problems in performing the ceremony.”

The reason why the baptism ceremony is held periodically for a set period of time.

This is because in order to carry out the ceremony easily, clergy higher than the high priest were needed and it was a great burden for them as well.

If it was done recklessly, all the high-ranking priests would be stretched out and there would be no one left.

“It’s a shame, but it’s been over two months since we failed to track down the descendants of the Immortal King. “I haven’t really put in any effort so far, so I hope this can be of some small help.”

“…If you go that far, I would like to ask you a favor. It will be a great help to awareness.”

As they moved around talking, they soon arrived at a huge chapel.

The place was crowded with people about to be baptized and priests preparing for the ceremony.

“ah! Archbishop Latius, Bishop of Cromville. Are you here? All preparations for the ceremony have been completed. “You can start at any time.”

One of the high priests in charge of the proceedings spotted them and approached them.

Latius nodded and climbed onto the chapel’s platform.

There, under the gaze of hundreds of people, he put his hands together and prayed to God.

“Lord. The children who want to imitate you have gathered here to follow your will. … I pray that you extend your warm hand and grace and that your grace be with your children. [Sanctuary of Blessing]”

When the prayer of just over a minute was over, a silver glow with enormous divine power emanated from his whole body, coloring the entire chapel.

The softly lit interior gave off a sacred atmosphere, as if blessing everyone inside.

While everyone was admiring, Bishop Cromville, who had been standing next to the praying Archbishop, stepped forward.

“The baptism ceremony begins now. “Please come out one by one and proceed with the ceremony.”

Even though he spoke softly, his voice spread throughout the space, awakening everyone’s spirits, and soon the full-fledged ceremony began.

A dozen high priests lined up in front of the pulpit.

Guided by the priest assisting with the ritual, people came out one by one and knelt in front of them.

“What is your name?”

“This is Theron.”

“Lord. There is someone here who wants to be held in your arms and become the light of the world. … Therefore, I ask you to follow the will of the Lord and become a guide for those who have lost their way. Please grant me this. Theron, do you swear to take refuge in the Lord?”

“I swear.”

“Then pray to the Lord. God will answer your faith.”

The high priests performed the baptism ceremony by placing their hands on the heads of those who were kneeling in front of them and praying.

The divine power that poured ceaselessly through those hands colored the body of the person praying.

And the Archbishop’s [Vocation of Blessing] assisted in the process, reducing the burden on those performing the baptism.

A baptism ceremony held simultaneously for dozens of people.

As time passed, those who were baptized began to emit a weak divine power one by one.

The process of dedicating all of one’s mana to God and creating a channel through which God’s power can be received instead of becoming a body that can never handle magic again.

Those who completed the ceremony were unable to adapt to the sudden change and stumbled, but moved to their seats with the support of the priests assisting the ceremony.

After a short adjustment period, they will become excellent members of the Order.

Bishop Cromville looked around the chapel where the ceremony was in full swing.

The divine power exuded by those who had just been baptized was quite impressive.

He can barely be called an apprentice priest.

There are cases in which a person gains divine power higher than that of a priest upon baptism, but such cases are extremely rare.

‘In the future, we will continue to grow through prayer and mental discipline. The more you develop your faith in the Lord and your mental power, the stronger your divine power will become.’

While watching the ceremony, he looked in awe at Archbishop Latius, who was preaching on the pulpit, and then prayed to God.

Since he was in charge of the diocese, he couldn’t help with the sudden ceremony, but looking at the archbishop, it seemed like it was an unnecessary worry to begin with.

…The moment the ritual continued like that.

“hmm?”

Bishop Cromville suddenly felt divine power and turned his gaze to one side.

Archbishop Latius, who had been observing the holy law with his eyes closed on the pulpit, also suddenly opened his eyes and was looking at that place.

Hwaak—

A person who has just been baptized and is radiating divine power.

The appearance was not much different from the previous ones, but there was one clear difference.

“Huh, he must have just been baptized… That level of divine power. He must be at the level of a priest.”

An intermediate level between an ordinary priest and a high priest performing a ritual.

It was the divine power that Heinrich, who had just been baptized, possessed.

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