Chapter 10: Test (3)
“Really! There was no other information written on the paper!”
Daena, who received the paper from Anton with a somewhat resentful expression, exclaimed, as if she had been wronged.
I stroked my chin and looked at the fluttering paper in her hand.
They didn’t burn it yet.
Well, since it was written with special ink that only reacts to holy power, there wouldn’t be much of a problem even if it were to be lost.
At least in most cases.
Snap!
I snapped my fingers and summoned a small amount of holy power.
A circuit that was simple to me was instantly drawn, and holy power flowed along the groove, creating changes in reality.
Whoosh!
A small spark extended from my hand and crossed the void, burning the paper that Daena was holding with a tiny flame that flickered in the dark night sky.
“ . . . . . . ! ”
Although it was an ordinary flame without any special power, the eyes of the two who saw it grew wide.
“Transfiguration . . . . . ! ”
“Amazing. Was that a prepared spell?”
Holy power is a mystical power that specializes in a particular area.
Apart from its power, it is quite difficult to activate general elemental magic with holy power.
So much so that even those with slightly outstanding talent or effort cannot even begin to do so.
This is natural.
Because holy magic, elemental magic, and black magic are strictly different fields.
And I was a master of transfiguration.
To the extent that the tower master of the Magic Tower acknowledged it.
The reason was simple.
Unlike black magic, divine magic, and other elemental magic, which are extremely biased towards specific areas, general elemental magic has many useful and simple spells in everyday life.
For example, drawing water from the atmosphere to wash your hands, lighting a lamp, or creating a small flame in the void to burn paper.
Of course, as you might expect, the cost-effectiveness was not that good.
Although the amount of holy power I currently have is large, it is not infinite. I shook my hand, estimating the amount of holy power that had flowed out.
It is still effective to use magic power, holy power, and mana in each of their specialized fields. Although others besides me cannot even think about such concerns.
“It’s my first time seeing it in person.”
“It’s not that great. It’s a simple spell that street wizards do. That’s about my limit.”
Of course, it was possible to do a much higher level of transformation than this, but there was no need to say it out loud.
“Amazing? It’s God’s grace.”
The idiot who introduced himself as Valent nodded his head with an impressed expression and made the sign of the cross and spoke.
“Rather than that . . . It would be more accurate to say that it is the result of long hours of effort, experience, and a little bit of talent.”
“That too is God’s grace.”
“ . . . . . . ”
Those believers.
I nodded my head slightly and continued what I was about to say to Daena.
“Yes, only the location of this place was written on the paper. That’s why we gathered here.”
Daena, who looked at me with eyes that sparkled even more than before, nodded her head vigorously.
“Then what should we do next?”
“ . . . . . . ”
I explained simply to the two candidates who were looking at me like they had just eaten honey.
“We need to investigate this place. The clue will be nearby.”
“Ah!”
“That’s right!”
It’s not a difficult idea.
If I hadn’t told them right away and given them a little more time, I guess those two would have come up with it without difficulty.
If I were the real Luciel, I might have kindly waited for them to find the next clue.
“Over there.”
However, I had no intention of doing that now. It was much more efficient for me to quickly complete the mission and obtain the position of inquisitor than to spend time growing these saplings.
“ . . . . . . ? ”
I looked at the two bewildered people and tapped a tree standing on the hill. It was a tree that I had been watching since I first arrived on the hill.
“Look at this carefully.”
I pointed to the rough bark. There was a trace carved into the rustic and rough surface of the tree, so faint that it was difficult to find unless you looked closely.
“This is . . . . . . ”
Daena stuck close to the tree and carefully examined the trace.
At first glance, it looked like a meaningless mark that someone had made out of boredom, but it was a circuit. It was also quite intricately carved.
“ . . . Your eyesight is good.”
Valent said, shaking his head as if he still didn’t understand, as he climbed the hill with his staff as a cane and tied the sword he had drawn around his waist.
“In short, it’s a kind of secret map that only those with holy power can see.”
A simple and clear summary.
“I’ll do it.”
Daena, who nodded at my words, stepped forward and spoke. She was definitely much more agile than that idiot.
Soon, Daena, who had placed her mace on the floor with a thud, folded her hands reverently and closed her eyes.
Woosh!
After a while, a faint light began to glow from her hands.
She was still a fledgling, but it wasn’t bad for an inquisitor candidate who had just reached adulthood.
Daena carefully brought her glowing hands to the tree, and soon the light from her hands began to flow into the tree.
The circuit carved into the tree was filled with holy power, and the activated technique created a phenomenon.
“Oh!”
Woosh!
Hundreds of lines rising from the tree formed a single shape according to the phenomenon created.
Valent slowly approached the glowing shape made of lines floating in the void. His expression was anxious, as if he was worried that something complicated would come out again.
“ . . . . . . ! ”
However, his face, which had approached the glowing shape to confirm what it meant, lit up with a bright light.
He turned to Daena and me and shouted with a bright face.
“This is . . . a map!”
What appeared in the void was a map with fairly detailed terrain.
A map in the air, drawn with light.
It was now clear enough for even a failing student to nod their head. There were no more riddles.
Our destination was clearly marked there.
“Then let’s go right away.”
I said, watching the two of them pick up their weapons.
“To judge the heretics.”
🔹🔹🔹
The location of our destination was a small town called Medlen.
It was a bit far from Herentica, where we started, so it took a whole week just to get there.
If we hadn’t gotten a ride on a merchant’s carriage in the middle, it probably would have taken longer. As we were not official inquisitors, we were not yet able to receive help from the Order, such as horses or assistant priests.
“We’re finally here!”
Valent exclaimed with an enthusiastic expression, as if he was about to blow away the heads of the heretics hiding in this place right now.
“Fortunately, there is no time limit on the test.”
Daena, who was carrying a large mace wrapped in cloth on her back, which was slightly, no, quite noticeably large, said as she walked along lightly.
“Come on, let’s go!”
Valent patted me on the back and shouted vigorously.
He didn’t seem to be the type to hide his face, and he had been talking to me countless times with Daena for the past week.
From nonsense like.
“Three is the most stable and blessed number. It is definitely a good sign that the three of us form a team!”
“You don’t use weapons? You are very confident. Well, I’ve already seen your skills.”
“I see you have a family name, so you must come from a noble family? I don’t think we need to raise our voices among ourselves.”
And useless words like.
“I heard you were brought here by Inquisitor Revecht?”
“I’m quite envious of that privilege. My training for the past few years has been . . . terrible.”
To the uninteresting story of how he respected Anton Revecht, who had brought me here the most.
“Over there.”
Daena narrowed her eyes, looking at a shabby building on the outskirts. Medlen was not a very big town, and we were able to reach our real destination soon after.
It was exactly the same as the shape shown on the map drawn with light.
It seemed that the friar who investigated this place for the test put a lot of effort into the map.
“It’s shabbier than I thought.”
Valent muttered in a disappointed tone, looking at the small building where neither magic power nor heavily armed soldiers could be seen.
Did he come here expecting a grand battle?
Of course, what he said was true. In fact, it was a mission where you only had to investigate a building that was clearly marked on the map, not any special tracking or thorough investigation. It wasn’t that difficult.
“I think it’s better to think of it as fortunate.”
I said without looking back at Valent.
If the map had shown not the exact building, but just this town, I would have had to stay in this Medlen with these two saplings and investigate from scratch.
That would have definitely been a boring and time-consuming task.
No matter how chaotic the world is, it was not easy to catch the tail of a heretic hiding among ordinary people.
However, now we are starting with the answer.
‘The answer given by the Inquisition.’
Rather than meticulous and humane consideration for inexperienced candidates, it should be seen as an adjustment to the part that could take a long time due to the lack of inquisitors.
Of course, they wouldn’t have pointed out someone who was completely innocent. At least the Inquisition was like a ghost when it came to smelling heresy.
“Oh, how about going this way?”
“ . . . . . . ? ”
Valent, who was looking at me as I moved to the side street next to the building to check if there were any dangerous elements, pointed not to the side street but to the next one, which was the front door of the building.
“ . . . . . . ”
To my expression that seemed to demand an explanation, he said with a calm face.
“We are here to judge the heretics in the name of God, so why should we sneak in and hide from the eyes of others?”
“ . . . . . . ”
Yes, that’s right.
I suddenly thought that even Anton would have said the same thing if he had come here. Was the inquisitor he respected the most Anton?
Their useless stubbornness was similar, albeit a much more idiotic version.
I looked around for a moment. It was broad daylight, and there were city guards nearby.
I didn’t feel any dangerous aura from the not-so-big building.
‘Hmm.’
Furthermore, the Order would not recklessly put inexperienced inquisitor candidates in a place where there was nothing. It is likely that they are saplings that can be overcome sufficiently.
I shrugged my shoulders after making a decision.
“Well, whatever. Let’s go.”
The two of them nodded as my words, which had become something like the position of leading the team, fell.
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