Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 15



Only Noblemtl

Episode 15. Heretic Questioner (1)

In fact, carrying firewood is closer to labor than a full-fledged exercise. However, the muscles created through labor were closer to actual muscles than the muscles used to build the body. Muscles that look good actually hinder movement and tend to reduce endurance.

“Hmm… … .”

Gebel patted Isaac’s body here and there to check.

“Why are you doing that?”

Isaac, who had caught his breath in the meantime, asked.

“The speed at which I catch my breath has become faster, and the speed at which my muscles are gaining strength is also unusual. However, even though I was lifting a heavy ax, I was also carrying a few firewoods and shaking because of how heavy it was. “I can’t figure it out.”

“… … “I’m not sure about that.”

Gebel had no doubts. He was already convinced that Isaac was the Eucharist, so he had no reason to doubt. I was just curious about the conditions and under what circumstances Isaac would display his saintly powers.

But Gebel was now paying more attention to another point.

“It’s not a problem. The speed at which stamina is gained is amazing. It’s amazing. “I never thought I could gain this much muscle in just a week.”

To Isaac, there is no difference, but to Gebel, it looks different.

‘It must be because of the tentacles.’

[Innards of a dead god / Absorbs some of the abilities and characteristics of the ‘gorged’ opponent.]

[Flesh Storage / Regeneration speed increases significantly until the preyed opponent is digested.]

‘Flesh storage’ was an ability that greatly increased the healing speed of the preyed target instead of quickly digesting it. And that also applied to my exhausted body after a day of physical training.

Here’s how muscles gain: First, muscles are destroyed through exercise. Then, the muscles heal again and become bigger and tougher than before.

This process is repeated to build bigger and stronger muscles, and thanks to Isaac’s ability to store flesh, he was able to perform more bold and strenuous exercises without fear of injury.

Thanks to this, Isaac’s muscle growth rate accelerated.

Moreover, since the ‘dead god’s intestines’ greatly increased its efficiency, his body was bound to improve noticeably.

Isaac was happy to hear Gebel’s evaluation.

‘Good good. Now, I feel like I’m enjoying the benefits of being in another world.’

Everything was going smoothly.

He receives physical training from Gebel, a former vice-captain of the Holy Knights, and learns miracles and hymns from the abbot.

Isaac was confident that if he continued like this, he would be able to enjoy an extremely stable life. Even the abbot doesn’t doubt himself and pushes him to become a paladin, so what’s the point of worrying?

All you have to do is continue your success within the church like this and then lead the Yeomyeong Army to recapture the Holy Land.

***

Time passed quickly.

Isaac spent his years under the full support of the abbot and under Gebel’s guidance.

In the meantime, he developed the abilities of his tentacles by carrying out nameless chaotic missions. Using tentacles inside the monastery was still dangerous, but Isaac walked a tightrope.

The nutrition he received through the tentacles and Gebel’s swordsmanship instruction created an exquisite synergy, and Isaac’s skills improved day by day.

And so the third winter arrived in Isaac’s body.

The winter was a bit harsher than he expected.

The forest surrounding the monastery was covered in white as the snow began to fall faster than ever before. However, thanks to Gebel and Isaac’s hard work preparing for winter during the late fall, the monastery was much more prepared for winter than before.

With snow falling, Isaac stood in the back yard of the monastery, holding his sword above his head.

Training over the past two years has brought great changes to his body. His arms and legs, which were like chopsticks, suddenly gained muscle and became more attractive, and his face also showed the look of a young man. Although he still had the impression that he was slim, he had grown significantly compared to before.

Drops of sweat were forming on Isaac’s body as he stood there for a long time, just holding the knife up instead of swinging it. Even though he didn’t swing his sword once, the snowflake melted from the heat before it even touched his body.

Soon Isaac’s eyes sparkled.

The knife moved before I even thought about swinging it.

The trajectory of the blade fell sharply.

Huh! The sound of the wind blowing resounded sharply, and the snow piled up around was swept away. Only then did Isaac let out a deep breath. Belatedly, sweat poured down like rain.

‘I guess this is the limit my physical strength allows.’

The Nephilim’s cursed blood trait hindered Isaac throughout his sword training. However, I was able to make up for it to some extent because I was able to increase my stamina quite a bit through the predation perk.

‘Is this the physical strength limit of a race called Nephilim? ‘The barrier to the racial limit is higher than I thought.’

I don’t know the specific level of this. However, if you want to have more strength and endurance than this, you will have to look for magical means or miracles.

‘If you learn advanced swordsmanship, you will be able to cover up with this level of physical strength… … .’

Isaac felt that he had reached the limit of his swordsmanship. Even though he clearly did not learn from Gebel, he had already glimpsed beyond the realm. That ‘beyond the limit’ was not just a feeling, but was something that could be expressed in numbers.

Isaac’s eyes looked into space.

[Level Paladin Swordsmanship Proficiency (Lv 99) (999999/999999)]

[The next step does not open because the conditions are not met.]

After being allowed to hold a sword, Isaac trained his sword skills every single day. It was long enough for him to digest all the Karlsen milter in his stomach. Performing a movement correctly gave greater experience than simply performing it a lot.

Thanks to this, Isaac’s skills have improved greatly and he has already succeeded in filling up his swordsmanship training level.

But that was half a year ago.

Every time Isaac tried to go ‘beyond the border’, his body instinctively stopped just before that point.

Either I was too tired, or I was convinced that my body wouldn’t be able to endure it.

‘Advanced swordsmanship… … It must be something like a skill.’

In Nameless Chaos, ‘swordsmanship’ was classified as a skill like magic or miracles. Although the number of items is small, they are ‘skills’ of a completely different category.

Just as a wizard uses mana and a priest receives miracles in exchange for worship, swordsmanship consumes stamina. In the game, it’s depicted as consuming HP, but we don’t know what it’s like in reality. If you use a technique that is truly inappropriate, your body may break.

This means that Isaac’s HP may become 0.

‘… … ‘If I keep doing this, I won’t be able to use it for the rest of my life, right?’

I was a bit worried, but even now it wasn’t to the point where I wanted to go somewhere and die. If this didn’t work, I thought that I could do something with the predatory nature of the tentacles. Until I found out what those ‘conditions’ were that were not met, I had no choice but to swing my sword with as much moderation as possible.

‘Should I become a real paladin?’

In fact, it would be good to learn advanced swordsmanship from Gebel. He has already demonstrated advanced swordsmanship. But even as he thought that, Isaac had long since given up his desire for advanced swordsmanship or swordsmanship proficiency.

Gebel had long ago explained why he did not teach Isaac advanced swordsmanship.

‘The higher the level of knightly swordsmanship, the more flashy and complex it becomes. High-level swordsmanship can sometimes have magical or miraculous effects.’

In the meantime, Isaac was able to skillfully perform the movements that Gebel had taught him, much to Isaac’s own surprise.

Even Gebel, who was trying to be stubborn and picky, was at a loss for words. A 14-year-old who has just picked up a sword cuts, stabs, and slashes with such skill that a veteran who has been on the battlefield for decades has nothing to say.

‘The Holy Knights who pursue the path of the sword each have their own esoteric sword techniques. Everyone says they are the best, but it is difficult to judge superiority or inferiority because each person has reached the level they have achieved through research and effort.’

What if Isaac immediately starts learning and using advanced swordsmanship?

‘But there are many cases where even grown adults find it difficult to handle it and end up running away or hurting themselves.’

Isaac’s young body could be injured or, in extreme cases, torn to pieces.

Nothing makes sense.

In reality, there are many cases where beginners get injured while trying to perform difficult and difficult movements. Of course, such movements do not produce magical effects, but it is no different from the fact that they can perform superhuman movements.

In this world, magical things are only possible.

He knew best that even if Isaac learned advanced swordsmanship, he would not be able to use it.

‘And above all, Avalanche swordsmanship must not be leaked carelessly.’

‘Can I learn if I join the Holy Knights of Avalanche?’

‘Maybe so. But that won’t happen. Because the Avalanche Holy Knights no longer exist.’

Isaac wondered if that meant he wouldn’t teach, but Gebel didn’t exactly say he wouldn’t teach. Instead, he carefully watched every move other than advanced swordsmanship.

He trained only the basic sword skills repeatedly, adjusting them as if repairing delicate machine parts. He sometimes taught us to change directions, make irregular movements, or twist the blade, but he ended up repeating the same movements almost every day.

Thanks to this, two years later, Isaac was still repeating only the basic movements.

Cut, stab, slash, block.

The movements he had repeated over the past few years, focusing on accuracy and power, were now etched into his muscles, and he could even feel snowflakes landing on the tip of his sword.

Isaac sighed and raised his sword again.

Although he had already completed today’s training, Isaac raised his sword again out of strange regret. His breathing was still rough and his muscles were trembling like they were convulsing.

‘Once more.’

Isaac let go of his obsession with advanced swordsmanship. What he wanted to do was no different from trying to increase the number of push-ups even one more time. When he was in a desperate moment, he didn’t want to regret not being able to build up the stamina to swing the sword just one more time.

‘How far can the tentacles go… … It’s a secret weapon.’

If you don’t want to be chased around like a monster, you shouldn’t just pull out your tentacles just because you’re cornered.

Isaac forced himself to breathe and pointed the tip of his sword into the air.

This time, rather than simply refining the movements, I decided to imagine a kind of virtual enemy. I have done similar exercises several times. First they reached Boar, then Gebel, and then Karlsen.

But now the opponent was neither a human nor a monster.

It was nameless chaos.

No, to be exact, it was him attacking me with tentacles coming out.

The strongest person Isaac ever met was not a boar, Gebel, or Carlsen.

It was himself.

As the overflowing tentacles poured out with a force that threatened to engulf the world, Isaac felt a sense of fear.

Isaac couldn’t help but think about how he would stop it if he had to deal with such a being, or if he became such a being.

Of course, at the current level, 100 out of 100 people will die miserably.

‘But once… … .’

Although his limbs were crushed and his head smashed hundreds of times in his imagination, Isaac moved his sweat-soaked body once again. Once again, she felt his tentacles slamming down on her body.

At that moment, his sword moved strangely.

Isaac, who had already repeated the same movements tens of thousands of times, felt the change keenly. He instantly felt his sword wriggle and bend.

‘uh?’

It was a short range, simple stab, but it avoided the trajectory of Isaac’s black tentacle and accurately stabbed the enemy behind it.

ping.

Isaac came to his senses. The enemy in his imagination had disappeared, and before he knew it, there was only empty space in front of him. Isaac had no idea what was happening.

I had the feeling that the sword was bent at an unexpected and bizarre angle.

Like tentacles.

***

‘This… … .’

widely. Before Isaac could realize what was going on, Gebel’s voice came from behind him.

“You’re going to catch a cold.”

Isaac was startled and lowered his sword. Fortunately, Gebel didn’t seem to have seen the action just now.

‘Thank God?’

Isaac didn’t understand why he felt lucky about that. But he felt like he had done something that shouldn’t have been caught. Isaac thought it was a premonition secretly conveyed by the tentacles. He received a lot of help from these premonitions when he was doing ‘actions that should not be caught’.

While Isaac was putting on his clothes, Gebel looked at the marks around him and asked.

“Did you start doing it early in the morning?”

“yes.”

Unlike other children, Isaac was given special permission to come out early in the morning. The remaining worship and mass times were unavoidable, but the monks, knowing that the abbot was fully supporting them, accommodated all other times.

“I would have said that sword training can now be done in moderation.”

Gebel was already well aware that Isaac’s skills were at a plateau. Nevertheless, he was dissatisfied with not being taught advanced swordsmanship, but he also knew why Gebel said, ‘Swordsmanship training can now be done in moderation.’

“Recite the Flame Prayer.”

Ironically, this was the reason why Isaac clung to his unstoppable sword skills.

Isaac began to recite a prayer with a nervous expression.

“He who is always first everywhere, who guides the blind lighthouse keeper… … .”

Tick, tick!

Sparks flew from Isaac’s fingertips and a bright light appeared. However, the flickering light lasted only for a moment, fading away as quickly as it had appeared.

Just like it has been for the past few years.

Gebel rubbed his chin and muttered.

“That’s amazing.”

“What’s so great?”

“It meant that it was surprising that he was so talented in swordsmanship and his religious faith was impeccable, but he had no talent for miracles.”

“… … “Isn’t that usually the case?”

“Usually, people who are given the opportunity to learn prayers are people who clearly have faith and talent. “I think I succeeded in the miracle of the lantern in half a year.”

Isaac felt frustrated. Isaac’s people, the Nephilim, had a high religious capacity and had little concern about his miracles. He was rather worried about swordsmanship and physical training.

But the results were just the opposite.

‘If you’re superior in swordsmanship by eating Carlsen, shouldn’t you have also taken that guy’s miraculous talent?’

Isaac felt like he wanted to argue with Carlsen.

The prayer just now was the miracle of the lamp, which is a basic area among prayers. However, despite the fact that Isaac was recognized as a Eucharist by the abbot and Gebel, he was not able to successfully perform any of the prayers and hymns.

A paladin who can’t even perform a miracle. That’s no different from just an article. No, it may actually create grounds for further suspicion.

‘… … ‘Is it because of the tentacles?’

The Nephilim’s racial characteristics do not prevent miracles. The Nephilim’s high religious ability is considered to be a form of stealing God’s miracles, so it can be used as long as you know the prayers and how to use them.

The only reason for speculation is nameless chaos.

It is possible that nameless chaos is preventing miracles from taking place.

Isaac looked down at his palms and thought. Isaac has received countless help from tentacles so far. If it weren’t for the tentacles, he wouldn’t have the healthy body he has now.

No, I survived several near-death crises thanks to tentacles.

However, Nameless Chaos is a god that the Code of Light opposes.

It may be absurd for Isaac, who carries a part of that god in his body, to perform the miracles of the Code of Light.

‘Then, is it possible to use a different form of prayer?’

For example, a prayer worshiping nameless chaos… … .