Genius Gamer Reborn into a Family of Heroes

Chapter 59

Mage Daze

Before long, it had already been four weeks.

Harang had been regularly visiting the Rondel Cathedral to receive blessings from Pastor Ezakt. As he went there daily, he gradually became somewhat acquainted with the priests.

“Oh my, Mage! You’re here again today. These are cookies the children made. Would you like to try some?”

“They say the fountain in the square will open today. If you stand under the cool water, it’s said to wash away your stress. Would you care to join me?”

“There’s going to be a barbecue party this evening with the sailors. It seems they succeeded in hunting a hexagon whale this time. You’ll need a dance partner if you want to attend—are you interested?”

Even though he wore a mage’s robe, it was very easy for him to gain people’s favor. After all, he received blessings from the well-respected Pastor Ezakt every day and was also quite beautiful.

Not that Harang intended it.

He had learned one principle from his long years as a professional gamer:

‘If you don’t flap your mouth, you’re already halfway there.’

How many times had he seen fellow pro gamers make unnecessary comments on social media or in interviews, only to be bombarded with hate comments from anti-fans?

Just staying quiet and greeting people politely was enough to maintain a good image.

In truth, he simply lacked social skills and disliked talking, preferring to live quietly and focus on gaming…

‘Still, they haven’t taken the bait yet. No news at all.’

Though he had benefited greatly from the blessings, with his Divine stat increasing and his total mana rising significantly, there was no progress on his actual mission.

He tried to gather information from the priests he had befriended, but he could barely learn anything about Archbishop Manfred. All Harang had managed was seeing Manfred occasionally during the morning mass.

“Did you hear? The bishop hasn’t given any divine blessings recently.”

“I saw him the other day, cursing at the priests with the foulest language.”

“I heard that he’s been telling the priests to prioritize nobles in the prayer rooms because commoners don’t bring in money…”

Rumors about Manfred’s bad behavior had been circulating for a while. The problem was that mere rumors weren’t enough to bring down someone of archbishop rank.

“Excuse me, would it be alright if I looked around the cathedral a bit?”

When Harang approached the female priests and asked, they squealed in delight, their eyes sparkling.

“Come this way! We’ll guide you!”

“Oh, you really don’t need to go that far…”

“We want to do it! Oh, by the way, have you ever thought about wearing a priest’s robe like ours?”

“……A priestess outfit?”

Harang asked, seemingly in disbelief, but the priests nodded as if they were serious.

“No, thank you. I don’t have that kind of hobby.”

“That’s a shame……”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do then!”

“Come on, this way.”

In the end, Harang was reluctantly dragged around the cathedral by the priests.

It wasn’t a bad experience. The cathedral itself held deep religious significance, and he learned the astonishing scholarly fact that the entire structure was designed as a barrier ready to receive the grace of God.

“We’ll be on our way now!”

“Yes……”

After being dragged around for almost three hours, Harang was finally released when the priests left, saying it was time for them to work.

In truth, Harang hadn’t intended to simply tour the cathedral. Now, he could finally move toward his original purpose.

Until now, he hadn’t had the opportunity to freely explore Rondel Cathedral. But with the trust of the priests and his friendship with Pastor Ezakt, no one would scold him for wandering around the cathedral.

‘……Is it here?’

And finally, the results of over a month’s effort appeared.

‘The secret door left by Kaladan……!’

After thoroughly examining the cathedral with the Eyes of Truth, Harang finally discovered something unusual in the bell tower at the top!

Fortunately, this time there was no test from Natalen when receiving the reward.

Beyond the secret door, in a small room, a luxurious box was illuminated by the soft sunlight filtering through the rainbow-colored stained glass.

Click! As Harang opened the box, white steam seeped out and dispersed into the air. He swallowed hard as he gazed at the silver gauntlet inside.

‘……Just one? Is this all there is?’

The silver gauntlet, adorned with black patterns, was long enough to cover his wrist, but there were no other parts.

‘They said it was part of a set, but is this really all they’re giving me……?’

Though slightly disappointed, Harang grasped the gauntlet.

[Would you like to register the equipment ‘Alteria Armor’?]

As the message appeared, Harang strapped the gauntlet onto his wrist as a sign of acceptance.

Snap!

“Ugh!”

Immediately afterward, Harang almost gagged as he felt an enormous amount of mana being sucked away.

‘W-Why is it draining so much mana……’

━━━━━[Equipment]━━━━━

Alteria Armor

A mythical armor created by Hero Kaladan, in collaboration with a legendary blacksmith and numerous Guardians, using a mineral blessed by the gods. It is stored in a subspace and can be summoned and equipped at the user’s will.

Effect: Explosively enhances the wearer’s defense and destructive power.

It consumes a large amount of mana upon being equipped and continues to consume additional mana when attempting to draw out its excessive performance.

Parts Collected: 7%

※ The full performance cannot be exhibited as not all parts are collected.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Harang quickly skimmed through the description while breaking into a cold sweat, then looked at his right hand.

A robust aura of protection.

Even without protective qi, this gauntlet-covered part of his body would be impervious to most attacks, standing firm and unyielding!

Moreover, that wasn’t the only effect.

When he clenched his fist tightly and punched into the air, a sharp sound of air being torn apart reverberated fiercely, vibrating the entire space.

Whoong…!!

The destructive power was so intense that even the windows trembled, leaving Harang astonished by the force of his own punch.

‘Not only does it perfectly protect the wearer’s body, but it also enhances their abilities?’

He considered throwing another punch, but fearing the excessive drain on his mana, he hurriedly removed the gauntlet. The Alteria Armor disassembled into tiny blue particles and vanished into the subspace.

“Phew…”

He had only worn a single piece of the armor for a brief moment, yet sweat was pouring down his face. Harang now understood why Kaladan had divided the Alteria Armor into parts and distributed them one by one.

Equipment that was beyond one’s capabilities could be more of a hindrance than a help.

‘Even if I managed to acquire the whole set at once, I wouldn’t be able to use it properly. If I wore it incorrectly, I might end up draining all my mana and dying instantly.’

Though Harang had never encountered such dangerous armor in his life, a satisfied smile crept onto his lips.

‘For now, this much is enough.’

Harang expressed his gratitude for Kaladan’s gift and stepped out from the secret door.

Today was the day he would receive his final blessing from Pastor Ezakt.

* * *

“Ah… you’ve come again today.”

As usual, after attending mass, Harang headed to the prayer room, where the priests greeted him with somewhat awkward expressions.

It was suspicious to see them suddenly wearing such faces, especially when they usually greeted him with smiling faces.

“Is there something…?”

Just as he was about to ask if something was wrong, Harang instinctively realized it.

‘…It seems the time has come to reap what I’ve sown.’

Without saying a word, he nodded to the priests and made his way to the prayer room where Pastor Ezakt was waiting.

Knock, knock! After a light tap on the door, Ezakt’s slightly trembling voice invited him in, a departure from his usual demeanor.

When Harang opened the door and entered, he found that Ezakt wasn’t alone in the prayer room.

“You’ve come, haven’t you, you thieving cat?”

‘…Archbishop Manfred?’

Pastor Ezakt was kneeling beside Manfred, his head bowed.

On either side of the seated Manfred were six Holy Knights, each glaring at Harang with displeasure. They were all formidable warriors, each at least of the 4-star rank. Even if he fought them, the chances of winning were slim. Even if he did win, escaping the cathedral would be impossible.

Click! Harang heard the sound of the door closing and locking behind him, but he calmly approached Manfred.

Upon seeing Harang’s face, Manfred couldn’t hide a strange sense of delight, though he feigned anger and lowered his voice.

“I’ve heard everything. You’ve been receiving the Great Blessing for an entire month without offering any donations. Do you realize how grave a sin that is?”

“I don’t really understand.”

“Hmph, this is why ignorant commoners are such fools… Listen carefully. Blessings aren’t something we grant; they’re bestowed by our Father in Heaven through our bodies!”

Thud! Manfred slammed his fist down on the sofa. It looked like it hurt more than anything else.

“Offering donations is the appropriate price that a lowly human can present to our Father, a symbol of sincerity. But what price did you pay?”

“They said it was free……”

“Fool! Ezakt! This is why you haven’t become an archbishop! Your inadequate actions are an insult to the Lord!”

Smack! Manfred struck Ezakt across the face.

“Do you understand, commoner boy? You’re probably pleased to have received the Great Blessing. Yes, what was it, an incurable disease? Are you happy that it’s been cured?”

‘It hasn’t been cured yet.’

“You would have been better off quietly dying! Because for the sin of stealing the Lord’s grace, you will burn in hell after death!”

Harang briefly considered putting on a frightened expression. It felt as though the script was telling him, “You should look scared at this moment.”

But Harang, who had no talent for acting, couldn’t force himself to show such detailed emotions.

So he just stood still, and Manfred slapped Ezakt across the face again.

Smack!

‘Why does he keep hitting the guy who’s just standing there…?’

As Harang slightly furrowed his brow, Archbishop Manfred looked at him and grinned wickedly.

“Yes, you’re afraid of divine retribution, aren’t you… And now, you probably don’t even have the money to pay for the Great Blessing.”

“That’s right.”

“But! It’s okay. The Lord is merciful! Though I don’t want to forgive you, I hear the Lord’s voice. Oh, how holy it is. How sacred….”

Manfred wrapped his arms around himself and shivered as if possessed by a spirit.

“Repent of your sins. And realize the holy grace of the Lord. The noble mercy of the Lord……”

As Manfred finished speaking, the Holy Knights approached and seized Harang by both arms. The archbishop, still embracing himself and claiming to heed the will of God, slowly opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on Harang.

“Offer your body and accept the will of God. I will allow it……”

The faint smile that appeared on his lips was so genuinely that of a believer who had found enlightenment that Harang felt a slight chill run down his spine.

“Take him away.”

With those words, Harang was escorted away by the Holy Knights.

Just before he was dragged out of the prayer room, Harang glanced back one last time, and what he saw was—

Crunch!

—the furious expression on Pastor Ezakt’s face, twisted in anger.