Genius Gamer Reborn into a Family of Heroes

Chapter 58

The Magician Days

Pastor Ezact.

Not much was known about him. The intelligence agents of Kaladan had detailed records on the Archbishop of Rondel, Maphred, but the information on pastors was summarized very briefly.

A priest with exceptional divine power, diligent and with excellent theological grades, but with an ordinary background and no support base, making his path to success completely blocked.

That description seemed sufficient, but Harang added one more line to it.

Ambitious. Very much so.

Pastor Ezact also had a dream.

If he had gained this much divine power solely through faith despite having nothing, it would be a significant misunderstanding.

I will become a much greater, higher-ranking, and wealthier priest than I am now.

Such a strong but pure desire for advancement had been converted into divine power, creating the current Pastor Ezact!

“Heavenly Father of us all, please grant the wounded young bird the hope of warm tears and embrace it with your hands…”

As Pastor Ezact began to pray, a pure white light descended upon Harang’s body. It was a warm, invigorating blessing.

While bestowing this blessing, Pastor Ezact suddenly opened his eyes wide.

The warm halo was being absorbed into Harang’s body almost perfectly!

Huh?! The affinity for absorbing blessings, how can this be…?

No matter how devout a believer might be, no one could absorb all the light of a blessing so completely.

Unless one was born a saint or had been a hero in a past life, or perhaps had made a contract with a guardian of virtue.

There weren’t many active guardians of virtue left in the world, and if one had made a contract with a human, the whole world would be in chaos, so Ezact would have known.

But calling Harang a saint didn’t fit either, as his body didn’t have even a speck of divine power.

Harang himself could feel that the absorption rate of divine power was suspiciously high.

What’s going on? Is this how it’s supposed to be?

He just didn’t realize how extraordinary his absorption of blessings was because he had no point of comparison.

This… it actually seems to be working?

The divine power settled in his heart, layering over the Stigmata Curse.

Of course, this alone wouldn’t be enough to erase the curse, but… if used well, it might help not only with his magical power but also with his physical growth.

Why doesn’t my family make me do this? They have plenty of money.

Harang, unaware that not everyone had the same affinity for divine power as he did, harbored this innocent question.

“Whew, all done. Truly remarkable. Were your parents devout believers by any chance?”

Ezact smiled brightly as he spoke.

Harang didn’t understand why he was being asked such a random question about his parents being devout believers.

“Why do you ask?”

“The blessing had a remarkable effect. To have such a warm blessing descend… Surely, your parents must have been favored by the Lord.”

“…?”

There was no way. Harang’s parents, being from Kaladan, likely weren’t particularly devout believers in any god.

And it wasn’t as if the gods would have any reason to like Harang. In fact, when he made a contract with Kalantatis, according to him, the gods actually wanted to kill Harang.

Or maybe not? Maybe not all gods hate me?

Just as the Holy Empire of Benedis worshiped Saint Benedis, this world had various gods worshiped in different regions.

Even the Kaladan Duchy, at the very least, didn’t they deify Kaladan?

Hmm, I guess I do have a somewhat exceptional affinity for divine power.

Since there was no need to spoil the mood by denying it, Harang nodded affirmatively.

“Yes… I’ve heard my parents prayed every night.”

“I thought so! Haha, with such extraordinary divine affinity, you’re sure to become a devout believer.”

Ezact then led Harang in reciting prayers. Enduring the tiresome process of praying non-stop for nearly 30 minutes was quite a chore.

“If it’s alright, could you share your Teleponel code?”

In this world, long-distance communication devices known as Teleponel did exist, but not every household owned one.

However, each village or city had a Teleponel Center for long-distance communication, where people could register their personal codes. This allowed them to check for messages or contact when someone reached out from afar.

“Of course.”

Having prepared a personal code for such occasions, Harang was able to leave his contact information.

“I hope we can meet often in the future.”

Ezact said this with genuine sincerity.

* * *

About three weeks later.

Harang had a dream.

In the dream, he flew above the clouds with baby angels blowing trumpets, singing hymns, and happily dancing.

“…???”

Awakening from the dream, Harang grabbed his tousled hair with his hand.

In the dream, he had dazzling golden hair, but thankfully, he was still a black-haired person now.

“What the hell kind of infuriating dream was that?”

Harang was genuinely annoyed. The dream had been so vivid that it made it even more frustrating.

At that moment, a message appeared before his eyes.

[Divine possession has descended!]

[The Dragon King of the Moon, Kalantatis, kicks away the divine possession!]

What kind of absurd message was this? Apparently, the messages weren’t done yet, as more appeared in succession.

[Divine power has been activated and synchronized with the Silver Heart!]

[The total amount of magic in the core has slightly increased, and the attribute ‘Divinity 1-star’ has been added to your stats.]

[You have partially overcome the trait ‘Stigmata Curse’ and broken through your limits!]

[The flow of mana becomes even stronger and faster.]

“……What?”

As a pure white aura, commonly referred to as divine power, flowed from his fingertips, Harang slightly furrowed his brow.

‘Divine power…?’

After a brief moment of thought, the reason was quite simple. For three consecutive weeks, he had received the Grand Blessing from an archbishop-level priest. So it wasn’t strange that he had awakened divine power, was it?

A Grand Blessing is something that an ordinary person might receive only once in a lifetime after either devout prayer or spending a fortune.

Moreover, Harang had absorbed all of it with his exceptional affinity, so it wasn’t surprising that he had awakened divine power.

However, it was somewhat peculiar that Harang, who had almost no faith, had awakened divine power.

‘I don’t believe in any gods at all.’

It wasn’t entirely rare for knights and mages to awaken divine power.

However, since a knight’s internal energy, a mage’s mana circle, and a priest’s aura were entirely different energies that had to be cultivated separately, practicing them together was simply inefficient.

If someone had already mastered aura, it was difficult to awaken divine power no matter how sensitive they were to it, and the same applied to the mana circle.

There was a reason why the knights of the Holy Knight family, Makris, were not adept at mastering divine power.

However… Harang’s Silver Heart was special. Just as it could contain both the mana circle and internal energy simultaneously, it could also hold divine power all at once!

Harang moved his hand in various directions, layering mana over the divine aura. To be honest, it wasn’t difficult.

People said that mana and divine power were like water and oil, never mixing, but in reality, they blended as easily as water and salt.

Although he hadn’t learned any prayers or divine spells, so he couldn’t use divine barriers, purification, or healing arts, it was practically the same as being able to infuse divine power into his sword energy at any time.

Drawing his sword, Cheongwolheun, Harang enveloped it with sword energy infused with divine power.

Woooong!!

The sword energy, now radiating with a blue light and shimmering with a pure white aura, was certainly much sharper and keener than it had been two weeks ago. A holy knight capable of simultaneously wielding sword energy and divine power like this was almost unheard of in the world.

‘Hmm, I have no intention of training divine power right now.’

Gazing at the sword energy, which was humming and glowing, Harang smiled with satisfaction.

‘Still, having it will be handy when dealing with ghosts.’

At that moment, he was still unaware of the true nature of divine power.

* * *

No crows inhabit the Harana Canal.

The environment is one thing, but the seafaring people also regard crows as omens of bad luck, so they’ve driven them all away.

Caw! Caw!

Thus, the sound of a crow’s cry in the middle of the night was certainly an abnormal occurrence.

Squish… Squish…

An old man stepped on a dried, sticky substance, his expression suddenly contorting in disgust. He was dressed in a pure white priestly robe, a stark contrast to the eerie and filthy surroundings.

“What’s all this?”

When the elderly priest asked, the man sitting quietly in the darkness answered.

“What else? It’s blood.”

“…Blood?”

Only then did the priest frown deeply and glare at the man. The man was so large that his black robe seemed ready to burst, and his forearms were covered with tiger tattoos that had no magical effect.

The dark mage, Galik.

The priest who sought him out was Manfred, the Archbishop of Rondel Cathedral.

“You’ve grown quite bold, Galik, calling me to a place like this.”

“Hmph. Aren’t you and I in the same boat anyway? This city is about to fall….”

Smack! Galik grimaced in pain as his head snapped to the side. He had bitten his tongue, causing blood to pool at the corner of his mouth.

“You bastard, you must be out of your mind, desperate to die. I’m the one who picked you up, a worthless street scum, and raised you. Why should I keep a hunting dog that doesn’t even recognize its master?”

“…And yet, you’ve become someone who can’t do anything without that hunting dog, but your mouth sure runs off.”

“What did you say?!”

Galik smirked and spat out blood.

“Do you think I don’t know that all your men have been captured, leaving only me? With this ritual almost complete, who do you think really has nothing left?”

“You… you bastard….”

“If you raise your hand one more time, I’ll twist it off and tear it apart.”

Manfred, who had been about to strike Galik again, clenched his teeth and lowered his hand. Galik’s words weren’t wrong. His subordinates had all been captured or killed by some mysterious organization that had appeared out of nowhere, leaving him with nothing.

The only reason he still kept that trashy man, who had barely managed to reach the fifth star, was because the ongoing ‘ritual’ was nearing its final stages.

‘Damn it. If I had even one more competent mage to use as a hunting dog, I wouldn’t be in this situation.’

Galik, who never listened and always acted on his own, was merely useful for manufacturing the Soulbane Flower, making a lot of money, and then being handed over to the guards as a scapegoat.

Because of that, Galik wasn’t much involved in the ‘ritual.’

And that’s how Galik ended up being the only one of his men to survive.

The problem was that he was the one who listened the least…

“So, is the Bloodstone ready?”

“Of course.”

When Galik casually nodded his head, Manfred hurried over to the box and opened it. Inside was a disturbing red orb, shimmering with shades of red and black, haphazardly covered with a piece of cloth.

“Oh, yes… This is it! As expected, you’re truly excellent at this. Keep making more of these!” Manfred exclaimed excitedly, his face brightening up. In response, Galik raised two fingers.

“You’ll have to pay me double. I heard that all the hunting dogs who were making the Bloodstone have been captured.”

“What… what did you say? You insane bastard, have you lost your mind?!”

“Triple the price. That’s my final offer. If you refuse, I’ll quit. I’m sure you’re the one who’ll regret it.”

“You… you bastard…! Ugh!”

As Galik clenched his hand, a red magic circle appeared on Manfred’s neck, and he found himself unable to breathe.

“I’m done tolerating your arrogance. You’re no longer in charge here. How about you start facing reality, oh great priest?”

“Damn it…”

If he still had enough divine power, he wouldn’t have succumbed to such a lowly 5-star spell, but having nearly lost all his divinity due to the consecutive ‘rituals,’ Manfred was powerless against Galik.

Though his pride was utterly crushed, the thought that he wouldn’t have to play the role of a priest anymore after this ritual made Manfred hurriedly nod his head.

“Fine! I’ll pay you triple! So, hurry up and make the Bloodstone!”

“Ah, that’s much better.”

Galik grinned, revealing a set of decayed teeth stained with blood, creating a ghastly sight.

“Oh, by the way, if you want to get the Bloodstone quickly, you’ll need to find a fresh sacrifice, priest.”

“A fresh sacrifice…? If we were to procure something like that, both you and I would be executed by the Inquisitors.”

“That’s why you need to find it carefully. It’s almost impossible to refine a Bloodstone with a decayed criminal.”

“…What exactly do you mean by ‘fresh’?”

“When it comes to what demons consider ‘fresh,’ what could it possibly be?”

Demons have always had the same ideal type, whether in the past or now.

Young, pure, innocent, and if they’re also beautiful, they make the perfect sacrifice.

The problem was that offering such a sacrifice would inevitably lead to decapitation, but if they were planning to leave this city soon, wouldn’t it be alright to secure at least one such sacrifice?

“…Fine, I understand. I’ll see if I can find such a sacrifice.”

“Heh, good. I’m counting on you until the very end, priest.”

Though he agreed, Manfred felt nothing but despair. Where on earth was he supposed to find a child pure and beautiful enough to satisfy a demon, yet of such low status that their sudden disappearance wouldn’t trigger an investigation by the Inquisitors?

Unless one just happened to fall from the sky…

‘This is hopeless.’

Manfred tightly closed his eyes.