My Alter Ego’s Path to Greatness - Chapter 89
#89
Trial of the Holy Sword (2)
The place where the main religious order’s holy symbol and altar were located was a place similar to the chapel of the Great Temple.
‘It seems like the time scale is different for each trial.’
Unlike before, the time magnification here is about three times that outside.
As he was calmly examining the surrounding situation, a will rang in his head once again.
〈Pray to the Lord.〉
Twinkle –
At the same time, a soft light leaked out from the large pattern carved on the wall near the podium.
It was a sacred sign, a symbol of the main religious order, as if it symbolized light extending in all directions.
‘Oh, I think I know what this is.’
It was a type that appeared quite often in the records of previous challengers.
Heinrich walked confidently to the front of the podium without hesitation, knelt in front of the podium in a natural posture, and clasped his hands together.
‘A trial of faith.’
The process of this ordeal, which appears almost every time as a regular exam question, was very simple.
All I had to do was prove my faith.
As he began to pray, the light emanating from the religious symbol became increasingly darker.
Wow—
and the light began to shine on Heinrich like sunlight outside a window.
Along with that, an enormous amount of divine power penetrated into his body.
‘To withstand and accept divine power above a certain level.’
That was the way to prove faith in this ordeal.
I roughly knew the level required for the Holy Sword Trial.
Although there were slight differences among those who responded to the ordeal, as if the level of difficulty was determined by considering various conditions such as potential and possibility…
on average, those who were between the bishop level and archbishop level were able to satisfy the standard.
It was a simple matter for Heinrich, who already possessed bishop-level divine power and could increase the limit whenever he wanted.
‘So I thought I could pass this ordeal with ease…’
But something was strange.
Divine power poured in endlessly.
Moreover, even though we had already reached a significant level, we had no idea that the momentum would slow down.
Although he was slightly embarrassed, the divine power that continued to pour in was already trying to exceed the limits of what Heinrich could normally use.
‘Uh uh… Is this dangerous?’
He hastily drew on the mental resources of other avatars and converted them into faith using “Mind Herb” and “Persona.”
Hans helped grow the intelligence organization by collecting nearby warlocks.
After taking control of the entire clan, Heinz II was intent on expanding his power.
Harley stayed at the Iron Citadel to hunt monsters in the northern mountains.
Hubert has established a stable foundation in Tarak’s commercial world and is slowly expanding its scale.
After the festival, Harris received the attention of several elves in the Elven Kingdom.
but.
‘No, how long will this continue?’
Even though the mental power of all the avatars was drawn, the infusion of divine power was not finished.
The amount of divine power already contained within him was comparable to that of an archbishop.
‘I’m just forcing it into my body for a while, so it won’t last long… but it won’t work.’
There was no time to think about anything else.
Han Seong-hyun, who was watching the situation from Earth, also quickly closed his eyes and concentrated his mind.
And he poured all the abilities and mental power he had gained while growing up into only Heinrich.
In an urgent situation, without even the slightest time to spare, his mindless body stirred an amount of divine power that was several times greater than the amount of divine power he normally wielded.
How long has it been like that?
The amount of light shining on him gradually began to decrease.
However, he had no time to notice the external changes as he was barely able to hold on to the divine power that was about to explode from his body.
Sigh—
The light of the sacred symbol, which had been gradually weakening, finally went out completely, and the chapel fell into silence as if nothing had happened.
Only Heinrich, who was radiating divine power from his entire body, was different from the first time.
Then at one point.
A divine power of a different nature than before wafted from his body.
《The entity has met the conditions and achieved enlightenment. Acquire the special skill 「Blessing: Increase」》
A ray of light that came in an extreme situation.
The divine power that seemed to burst out of his body gradually calmed down and began to follow his control.
And not long after….
〈The second ordeal is over. Go to the next level through the gateway.〉
With the will ringing in his head, his deeply immersed mind slowly awakened.
‘Ah… it was quite breathtaking.’
I really felt like I had reached the end of my limit and barely escaped.
As time began to slowly build up, the avatar’s spirit, which had been focused on Heinrich, began to return to its proper place one by one.
And he was soon able to realize the change in himself.
‘The acceptable sacred power has increased.’
It was thanks to the new skills I gained through this incident.
“Blessing: Increase” is an ability that increases the maximum sacred power that can be held in the body, and was a blessing mainly obtained by priests.
Since it was not a promotion, it did not rise to that level, but at least in terms of amount, it could be compared to the archbishop level.
‘No, it’s not that bad yet.’
Because even now, the divine power that could not be resolved was leaking out and brightening the surroundings.
He was not yet familiar with his new abilities, and controlling his divine power during the trials was only a temporary achievement achieved with the help of other avatars.
‘It won’t matter since the ordeal is already over.’
Thanks to “Blessing: Increase,” the amount that Heinrich could control alone more than doubled, which was satisfying in many ways.
‘But I think the difficulty level is too difficult.’
From the beginning, I knew that those who were strong would still lack more difficult trials, but those who had potential would be given relatively easy trials…
Although he passed the trials through a trick using an avatar, the divine power that was ultimately poured into him was lost. It was at a level that even a decent archbishop could not handle.
Most paladins, who on average have less divine power than them, will fall out of the game here.
The first trial of patience would have been quite difficult if not for his various characteristics.
Wouldn’t you have to be a Paladin level to pass it?
‘It’s still Heinrich’s first challenge and he’s not that strong, so aren’t the standards too strict?’
His military power is not that of a paladin, nor is his divine power that of an archbishop.
However, since the ordeal I had endured so far was demanding both of those things, I was bound to become dissatisfied.
‘No, it’s too early to make any conclusions. Because I still don’t know what the next ordeal will be like. For the sake of overall balance, the next trial might be a bit easier.’
Heinrich tried to think positively and looked around to find the next gateway.
Then, I discovered that there was a brown wooden door at the exit of the chapel that was not there at first.
‘But how many more times do we have to do this?’
Since the number of trials given to each person was different, it was impossible to know how many trials would be given to each person.
According to records, only two people have ever reached the Holy Sword.
They were able to stand before him after going through three and four trials respectively.
‘Of course, I failed to draw the holy sword and receive its recognition.’
Hoping that this would be his last ordeal, he opened the door and went inside.
“ah.”
And when the light disappeared and my eyesight was restored, the first sight I saw
was… a desolate ruin.
A black, rotting land of death where not even a single shred of life can be felt.
‘I’m bored.’
I could instinctively feel the unusual atmosphere.
There are no easy trials, and this time too, a very difficult task will be given.
〈Kill the enemy.〉
At the same time, the will resonates in my head.
It was immediately clear who the ‘enemy’ it was talking about was.
Because there was someone floating in the air far away, looking in this direction, radiating an evil aura.
‘Something looks very familiar…’
It was a very familiar atmosphere to him.
A black wooden staff with multiple skulls woven into it at the end of a tattered black robe.
And even the skull with the burning energy of death radiating from its entire body and its red eyes scattering.
‘…Similar to Hans.’
Of course, that feeling of intimidation could not be compared to that of the immortal king.
‘So is it a lich?’
At that time, Master Hans, the immortal king of the undead, analyzed everything, including its energy.
That’s the conclusion that came to that conclusion.
“Akrich….”
It was the same undead that Hans had stayed with just before he became the immortal king.
And the mature Acrich was something that even Paladins were reluctant to engage in one-on-one combat with.
[Is this the church’s hunting dog? How did you get here?]
Even though it was quite a distance away, a sound like scraping metal could be heard all the way to where he was.
[No, I guess it doesn’t matter now.]
Acrich, who seemed to be talking for a moment, immediately gave up the idea of talking and raised his dark magic power.
Then, he filled the skull staff with black energy and waved it through the air.
‘Why are you so impatient!’
However, Heinrich’s feelings were not heeded, and the energy that spread around like fog immediately seeped into the ground….
Clang-clatter—
[Kehee!]
Clatter—! Crunch!
[Squeak—squeak!]
All kinds of undead popped out endlessly from the floor.
From hundreds to thousands… or maybe even more.
‘Wow… Are the trials going to materialize this far? It’s even better when you see it in person.’
I knew from prior information that this was all a virtual space created for qualification purposes, but starting with the energy, the energy emitted by each undead seemed real.
‘But it’s difficult to fight one-on-one with Acrich, so you have to deal with these undead as well?’
Isn’t this a bit too much?
But I couldn’t afford to be lost in such thoughts forever.
[die. Dog of the Church!]
It was a situation where there were over a thousand undead and the Acrich who commanded them were targeting and trying to kill just one.
***
“It starts in just a little while.”
“…Oh, I see.”
The secret hideout of the oath in Yeokcheon, southern part of the Aeon Continent.
A large man covered in a robe spoke first, but the old man’s response, who was always gloomy and full of madness, was dull today.
‘You’re sure you’re not scared now, are you?’
This project couldn’t even begin without him.
This is something that can never be tolerated by a man of his stature who has invested over ten years for Daegye.
He turned his frowning face towards the old man and examined his condition closely again.
But contrary to what I thought, he didn’t look scared at all.
He just opened the lid of his locket pendant and looked inside with a blank expression, not knowing what he was thinking.
Inside was a portrait of a family drawn using printing magic.
“There will be no problem in proceeding with the work, right?”
However, the big man had no intention of understanding such sentimentality and asked the old man directly.
Because he didn’t even understand those feelings from the beginning.
“If you say you’re going to back out now….”
“Ah—what nonsense.”
But before he could finish his sentence, the old man closed the lid of the rocket and chuckled in his usual voice.
“Kick, I’ve been preparing for this great project for almost 30 years. So I’m giving up on this at this moment? Hehehe….”
Unlike when he looked at the portrait, his eyes were suddenly tinged with madness again.
“If anything, my mind became more determined. After all, this continent shouldn’t be this peaceful. “Nothing like cancer.”
Seeing the old man start muttering to himself in a confident voice, the big man quietly nodded with a satisfied expression.
There seemed to be no problem in proceeding with the work.
“This is not the time to be like this! I guess I’ll have to check it one last time. This is the result after 30 years. “You can never fail.”
The old man got up and left again to check the preparations for Dafa.
“Hmm…then I guess I should go do my own thing.”
It’s going to get busier in the future, so we needed to prepare in advance.
That preparation would be necessary for everyone on the continent… but
it was none of his business how many people would be ready now.