It’s an Academic Fact That Rankers Are Model Students – Chapter 268

Chapter 268: Human Rone Fordbang (1)

Beating someone wrapped in a straw mat.

It was a form of punishment that existed during the Joseon Dynasty, where a person was rolled up in a straw mat and then beaten.

It may seem like a trivial punishment no different from ordinary beatings, but its power is greater than you might think.

First of all, the attacker can hit with all their might without feeling guilty because they are hitting something wrapped in a straw mat, not a person.

On the other hand, the person being beaten inside cannot know what is happening outside, so they have to endure the fear of not knowing where the next blow will come from, unable to relax for even a moment.

To humans, the unknown is the most terrifying fear of all.

Just now, Rone Fordbang, a priest of the Holy Cross dispatched to Kyung-joon’s territory, had a taste of that fear.

“H, Here’s the fine… ugh… This is all money collected from offerings…”

Rone, his face swollen from being beaten after being rolled up in a straw mat.

The appearance of a priest of the Cross, who is considered nobler than anyone else by borrowing the authority of God, is a sight to behold.

Kyung-joon received the fine from Rone and counted the amount.

“Hmm.”

Exactly 5 million liyan.

<This makes Rone the first case of violating Article 319, Chapter 36 of the Study Territory Criminal Code, concerning trespassing.>

This was a very fair criminal code that Kyung-joon had created, referring to the laws of the real Republic of Korea.

For example, the number 5 million is also the same.

Considering the exchange rate between the liyan and the Korean won, he should have received 50 million liyan, but he decided to be lenient in consideration of the prices in the World.

Of course.

Except for the part where Kyung-joon and his residents beat the crap out of him while he was wrapped in a straw mat.

“Seriously…”

Rone, expressing his displeasure with a swollen face, suddenly clasps his hands together.

“The wounded lamb seeks its shepherd. I call upon the shepherd to guide me to the water. [PARN HIL!]”

Rone’s prayer.

Shararan!

Suddenly, golden sunlight descended from the sky and enveloped him.

The swelling on his swollen face gradually subsided, and the blue bruises returned to their original skin color.

As if time had been turned back, Rone was back to exactly how he was before he was beaten.

It’s that 『unknown power』 again.

That power that cannot be explained by magic or science.

The source of that power could be easily guessed from Rone’s words that followed immediately.

“Oh man, I used up all the divine power I had been saving up because of you.”

Suddenly, Rone plopped down on the straw mat as if he had lost his strength.

Then he stretches out on the straw mat as if it were his own skin.

It’s as if he has grown attached to it, perhaps because of the memories of being beaten like a dog together.

“What’s going on? Your character suddenly changed completely?”

His way of speaking also changed to informal.

“Cough.”

Kyung-joon, puzzled, placed his foot on Rone’s stomach.

Then, he used his Vector Calculus mana to restrain him from doing anything else, using his hands, no, his feet.

Rone said.

“This is my original character. That blessed by God crap you saw was just me when I’m working. I’m a priest, you know.”

Rone struggled to move his hand, which was bound by the mana of Vector Calculus.

“More than that, can you loosen up my right hand a bit? I need to replenish my divine power.”

“What are you going to do by replenishing it?”

“Nothing. I’m just going to replenish it. As you can see, I don’t have much faith, so if I don’t replenish it every day, something big will happen. I’ll be punished by heaven.”

“Hmm.”

Kyung-joon made a troubled expression.

“I’m really not going to do anything. You saw it earlier anyway. No matter what I do, you won in the end.”

“You might be hiding a secret weapon.”

Wooong.

Kyung-joon said so and used his Vector Calculus mana to pull something out of Rone’s right pocket.

[Divine Cross made by Philip Dwarf with Holy See Priests’ Welfare Division (Supply Type)]

▶When filled with holy water refined with faith, it can replenish divine power. It is a mass-produced type supplied to priests who have completed the sacrament of Holy Orders.

▶Use other than for work/prayer is strictly prohibited. It is absolutely not for smoking after meals. -Philip, the speaker-

▶Item Grade: Rare

“You use this to replenish your divine power?”

Kyung-joon was a little surprised because it was a similar type of item to the herb cigarettes he used.

While Kyung-joon’s item increased his study power, this one replenished divine power.

“Gulp, ha.”

Kyung-joon lit the Divine Cross and took a puff.

[Your body is not suitable for absorbing divine power.]

[Unable to absorb divine power.]

[Conversion to a Holy Cross priest is required.]

[Convert to the Holy Cross!]

Kyung-joon could not absorb divine power because he was not a Holy Cross priest.

Rone asked as if he had expected it.

“It didn’t work, did it?”

“No, it didn’t. You try it.”

“Huh?!”

Woong.

Kyung-joon levitated the Divine Cross and stuck it in Rone’s mouth.

Rone was momentarily flustered, but then he puffed on the Divine Cross with a very relaxed expression as if he had found his own.

“Gulp~ Ahhh~ Hmm~ Feels good~”

“You’re such a delinquent priest. A delinquent priest.”

The pious priest who served God that he had seen at first was nowhere to be found.

Nevertheless, for some reason, Rone’s face seemed to have a golden glow.

‘So this is the unknown power, 『divine power』. He mentioned faith or something, so it seems like you can gain divine power through faith, and then you can charge it into holy water like that and absorb it.’

Kyung-joon’s analysis was correct.

However, this was only an explanation of the phenomenon, not the exact principle or interaction.

It couldn’t be explained well by the science and magic he had studied so far.

‘It doesn’t seem to react with mana either… It’s a completely different power.’

It was something he needed to research more, and Kyung-joon was interested in doing so.

Woong.

Kyung-joon moved his mana and forcibly pulled the Divine Cross out of Rone’s mouth.

“Ah, no…! My Divine Cross!”

“I’ll be managing this from now on.”

“What do you mean?!”

Kyung-joon’s words were like a bolt from the blue to Rone.

“I, I feel like bugs are crawling all over my body if I don’t smoke the Divine Cross for even a day! Please give it back!”

“From now on, you can only smoke the Divine Cross with my permission.”

“P, Please…!”

Despite Rone’s resistance, Kyung-joon continued speaking without a care.

“From now on, you will be under my supervision even in your priestly activities, and if you do anything I don’t like or anything that harms the territory, you will accumulate penalty points according to Article 127 of the Study Territory Criminal Code regarding the management of the Divine Cross, and if you reach a certain number of penalty points, you will be punished with at least one day of Divine Cross prohibition and up to Divine Cross destruction.”

<Master, there is no such law as Article 127 of the Criminal Code in our territory.>

“I just made it up. Just put it in.”

Kyung-joon, the lord of the Study Territory.

Here, his word was law.

“Ah, no! I’ve already accumulated the maximum penalty points within the Holy Cross, and if I get one more point, I’ll be stripped of my priesthood…!

“That’s good information.”

“Please! At least let me have one more puff before I get defrocked…!”

Originally, Rone Fordbang was this kind of lazybones.

Nevertheless, the reason he was able to act like a devout priest when he first met Kyung-joon was because of this background.

And now, in order to protect his priestly position, which would be taken away if he got one more penalty point, and the Divine Cross he couldn’t live without, he had no choice but to obey Kyung-joon’s words.

Anyway.

Two lessons learned from today’s bizarre priest’s trespassing.

That the Holy Cross, which wields the unknown power of divine power, is a more dangerous existence than he thought, and……

“Ah, just thinking about not being able to smoke it ever again makes my, my body… itch…! Bu, bugs are crawling on me! Ahhhh~?! Gyaaaa!”

…It was this.

[Warning on the back of the Divine Cross.]

[Warning: Smoking causes lung cancer and other diseases, and can also sicken your family and neighbors.]

“Isn’t that just a cigarette?”

<^오^>

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

“Gulp, ha! Gulp, ha! Gulp, ha!”

“Okay, time’s up. You can look forward to the rest tomorrow.”

“Gulp― What?! I’m not done yet! I still have two puffs left!”

Woong.

Despite Rone’s desperate cries, the Divine Cross was drawn to Kyung-joon and disappeared into his inventory.

“Oh… Ahh…”

To Rone, who was making a face like he had been separated from his lover, Kyung-joon said.

“Anyway, you’re saying the reason you were dispatched to our territory is because of this flag?”

In Kyung-joon’s hand, besides the Divine Cross that had just disappeared, there was another item he had received from Rone.

[『Joint Flag of the Study Territory/Fairy-Elven Alliance』]

▶A flag that recognizes the Study Territory as a Special Administrative Zone and an independent autonomous territory under the official protectorate of the Fairy-Elven Alliance.

▶It has been baptized by the Holy Cross.

『Basic faith increase, monster invasion probability decrease, stat increase for those baptized by the Holy Cross…』

▶Item Grade: Epic

“And instead of the Holy Cross giving this, they’re asking for regular taxes in exchange for the baptism.”

“That’s right.”

Rone, who had somewhat gotten over the pain of parting with the Divine Cross, nodded.

“The Fairy-Elven Alliance is also part of the Humanity Cantons, so in the end, they have no choice but to follow the will of the Humanity Kingdom to some extent. And if you know that the predecessor of the Humanity Kingdom was the Holy Cross……”

“It’s a show of force. A show of power.”

“That’s right. Our Holy Cross has always gathered power, increased its followers, and collected divine power this way. The reason I was dispatched to… Study Territory, was it? It’s similar.”

Study Territory, which suddenly appeared below the Beginner’s Village.

The Holy Cross saw this as nothing special.

If it seemed like it would be a problem, they could just get rid of it with the powerful force of the Holy Cross.

However, there was also the Black Secret Village nearby, and Beginner’s Village itself was a neutral place recognized by the ‘status window,’ so they decided to wait and see for now.

But now the situation had changed.

It had suddenly become a Special Administrative Zone of the Fairy-Elven Alliance and was granted independent autonomy.

They had no choice but to manage it somehow, and the result was the ‘baptized flag’ and ‘taxes.’

This meant that Study Territory was also under the Holy Cross.

There was no way Kyung-joon would acknowledge such a thing.

“This suspicious power is enough with the one the Seolha Group gave me.”

[Unique skill 『Isolated System (Lv.3)』]

Kyung-joon temporarily hid the appearance of the flag with Isolated System.

Then, he poured the mythical mana he had borrowed from the Demon King while receiving 『Jet Black Power』 into the flag.

[Tainted with unholy energy.]

[The energy of defilement is too strong.]

[The baptism will disappear.]

Crackle!

The baptism that the Holy Cross had performed was destroyed.

And then.

[『Parallel Imprinting』 activated.]

[Covering it with jet black.]

[The Imprinting fades slightly.]

He hid all the black mana he had poured in.

Swoosh.

Kyung-joon released Isolated System.

“What the… The baptism disappeared…?”

Rone’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“That was a bishop-level baptism, so it shouldn’t disappear easily…… This is beyond blasphemy……”

Rone looked at Kyung-joon with a truly serious expression.

“……What are you, a devil?”

“Well, I’m a student who studies for now.”

Kyung-joon changed the subject back to the original topic, as if he had no intention of telling him.

“Anyway, there are no buffs, so there are no taxes.”

No one.

Even if the god they spoke of came.

“As the lord here, I’m the one who collects taxes, not the other way around. Okay?”

Absolutely no one could collect taxes from Kyung-joon.

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