Paladin of the Dead God

Chapter 14:

Evhar observed Isaac, who responded humbly. Whether Isaac was a Holy Body or not, he was clearly no ordinary being. Evhar kept in mind a remote, albeit unlikely, possibility.

That a very cunning devil had infiltrated the monastery.

Evhar was cautious by nature. He had seen cases where revered heroes harbored evil within them. The Immortal Emperor Beshek was once one of the bishops of the Codex of Light. Kalsen Miller was the order’s hero, destined for the rank of Named Angel. There were also those who became Named Angels of other faiths as a consequence of apostasy.

‘Codex of Light, please forgive me for testing you.’

Evhar decided to conduct one last test.

He slowly reached out towards Isaac’s forehead. Isaac, unaware of his intentions, stared blankly at the approaching finger.

[The Nameless Chaos watches you.]

[The Nameless Chaos warns you.]

[The Nameless Chaos sternly warns you.]

‘What?’

Startled by the sudden warnings, Isaac tried to pull back, but Evhar was prepared, grasping Isaac’s neck and pressing a finger against his forehead.

At that moment, a blinding flash erupted.

The light, bright enough to cover the monastery and visible beyond the mountains on the horizon, gradually faded.

Isaac lay sprawled backward, staring blankly ahead. There was a smell of burning. Touching his forehead where Evhar had pressed, Isaac found no wound, only a smudge.

“Remarkable, Isaac.”

Evhar, tiredly holding his wrist, said this. The lower part of his arm was missing, with only a charred stump remaining.

“I wonder if I’m even qualified to teach you…”

Evhar soon fainted. Behind the panicked Isaac, monks and Gebel hurried towards them.

***

After taking Evhar to his chamber, Isaac explained the incident to Gebel. Upon hearing about the flash that occurred when Evhar touched Isaac’s forehead, Gebel sighed.

“The proof of faith?”

“Yes. The Abbot wanted to confirm your faith for the last time.”

Gebel continued seriously.

“The proof of faith is a miracle that tests faith by pushing the body into heaven. If one’s faith is shallow, they receive burns. That’s why it’s forbidden except for high priests and inquisitors.”

Isaac gasped, realizing he almost suffered the same fate as Evhar.

‘So that’s why the Nameless Chaos warned me?’

He grimaced.

“Was the Abbot trying to kill me?”

“Abbot Evhar never used that miracle more than three times in his life, and if he suspected it would seriously harm the other person, he wouldn’t use it at all. He must have had some confidence after hearing your answers.”

But you never know.

Isaac grumbled inwardly.

“But in the end, I was unharmed, and it was the Abbot who lost his wrist. Why is that?”

Gebel seemed troubled by this as well.

“That’s because… if the believer’s faith greatly exceeds that of the caster, the caster suffers the burns. The difference is returned justly.”

Isaac gaped, stunned. He now understood why the other monks and Gebel looked at him strangely. In short, he had won a faith contest against the Abbot.

‘It’s like a novice disciple beating a grandmaster in a battle of inner strength in martial arts.’

While Isaac felt uncomfortable thinking about how this would be perceived, he took solace that his connection with the Nameless Chaos wasn’t revealed. In fact, his ‘faith’ had been publicly validated, reducing the likelihood of further suspicion.

‘No, that’s good. Being officially recognized for my faith gives me an excuse, even if my tentacles are discovered.’

He believed he understood why he overwhelmingly won against the Abbot.

The Codex of Light was, in essence, the common knowledge of physics. For Isaac, a modern man, this was as obvious as the Earth being round and the Moon existing.

His faith in these principles was unshakable.

A clear truth is equivalent to absolute faith.

However, Evhar, living in a world with numerous gods, legends, and superstitions, would naturally have some degree of doubt, even with his devout faith.

The difference resulted in Evhar losing his wrist.

“Will his wrist heal?”

Some high-ranking clergy could perform miracles to restore severed limbs. An abbot should have access to such a miracle.

But Gebel shook his head.

“No… It will be difficult because it’s a hand lost through a miracle. It was taken by the Codex of Light, and I doubt they will return it.”

Isaac clicked his tongue internally.

The proof of his innocence was a cause for joy. However, he couldn’t be certain whether causing the abbot to lose his wrist would ultimately be beneficial or detrimental.

***

It was a week later when Isaac met Evhar again.

“Hello, Abbot.”

Evhar was waiting for Isaac in his office, standing with his back to the sunlit window, making his expression hard to see. However, his right hand was still wrapped in a bandage, suggesting his wrist hadn’t healed.

“I’m sorry, Abbot. I…”

“Sorry?”

“About your wrist…”

“Ah, this. It’s nothing. I had somewhat prepared for it when I took the action.”

Evhar walked away from the window and looked at Isaac with a kind smile.

“No, rather, I should be grateful that it ended with just my wrist. I take it as a sign from the Codex of Light that I still have duties to fulfill.”

In fact, when Evhar tested Isaac’s faith, he was prepared for the possibility of burning to death. If Isaac was a messenger sent by God, such an event wouldn’t have been surprising. However, the fact that only his wrist was lost seemed like a revelation to him.

‘Living, it must mean to help Isaac grow.’

Unaware of Evhar’s thoughts, Isaac looked at him anxiously.

“We talked about the prayer before.”

“Ah, yes. I’ve memorized a bit more over the past week. And…….”

“It’s unnecessary. You don’t have to memorize it.”

“Excuse me?”

Evhar continued calmly, as if he had attained enlightenment.

“Those lacking in faith wander searching for the words of God and chase the purpose of their existence in the world. But you are already representing the word of God through your existence. Your words will become prayers, and your songs will become hymns. What use is there in memorizing books?”

Isaac felt stunned.

Why is he suddenly holding me in such high regard? Is it because of the ‘proof of faith’?

But Evhar, feeling no need to explain further, took out a few books.

The reason Evhar had called Isaac after a week was precisely for this.

“I heard from Gebel that you want to become a Paladin.”

“Ah, yes.”

“These are books compiling the miracles and prayers necessary to become a Paladin. They will be a good reference. If you’re not doing well, I will teach you myself.”

Isaac looked at the books in surprise. Unlike the ordinary books read and written in the library, these hardcover books contained miracles used by the Order of the Codex of Light and their origins.

When Isaac touched the books, a message window shimmered near his eyes.

[Book: Prayer Book of Ash and Ember (Rare)]

[Miracle: You can learn to create flames. Ranging from a small candle to a sword, you can ignite flames.]

[Sheet Music: Hymn of Saint Arte (Rare)]

[Hymn: You can learn the Brave Hymn. It suppresses emotional turmoil and allows you to exert stronger power. The nature of the hymn increases its effect when sung by multiple people.]

[Sheet Music: Hymn of the Moth and Lantern (Rare)]

[Hymn: You can learn the Lantern. It creates a light source that drives away darkness. It reduces the defensive abilities of enemies cloaked in darkness. The nature of the hymn increases its effect when sung by multiple people.]

There were other minor prayer books as well.

Although not of high rank, they were extremely practical, as expected of essential teachings for Paladins. Isaac realized that these description windows appear not on every item, but only on those imbued with miracles or magical power.

“You don’t have a formal position yet, so I can’t show you high-level miracles. And we don’t have many books in the monastery…”

“No, this will be very helpful!”

Isaac expressed his sincere gratitude. It was a great harvest that Evhar fully trusted him, but he never expected to learn miracles as well.

The miracle-performing hymns circulate only within the order, so their value is immeasurable. Even if somehow acquired, a person without a position in the order would have to explain how they got them and why they weren’t returned, making them virtually impossible for a commoner to even see.

Evhar smiled, pleased with Isaac’s humble attitude.

“Your faith is beyond doubt, but it will take quite some time to actually perform miracles. Don’t be hasty and understand the stories and teachings of the saints, and you will soon see results.”

Isaac nodded.

***

Gebel’s physical training method was simple.

Carry heavy things and just run.

Since most of the basic physical strength comes from aerobic exercise, Isaac followed without complaint.

However, the ‘heavy load’ meant moving heavy oak logs from the yard to the storehouse, hinting at Gebel’s practicality.

But Gebel thought that wasn’t enough and kept talking to the running Isaac.

“The abbot gave you books?”

“Huff, huff. Yes.”

The books given by Evhar were all stored in the library. It wasn’t possible to keep them in a room with other children. Brother Alex seemed to have been tipped off earlier and cleared a shelf. It was a space where others couldn’t touch, even lockable.

“What books did you receive?”

“Hymns, huff, and, prayers. Huff, huff.”

Sweating profusely, Isaac answered sincerely. The backyard wasn’t very big, but running with bundles of logs made him breathless after just five laps.

He never cursed the Nephilim race’s poor physical constitution as much as now.

Even tentacles couldn’t help in this situation.

Hearing the list of books from Isaac, Gebel chuckled briefly.

“This, the abbot is really determined to make you a Paladin.”

“Is that, so?”

“Of course. Even the seedlings of the Paladin Order don’t get this much support. It’s a treatment that a second son of a wealthy noble house might receive…”

Among the Paladins, there were hardly any eldest sons

. The second and third sons, who couldn’t inherit the family, often became wandering knights or devoted themselves to the order.

Even families that don’t provide proper support to their second or third sons existed, so Isaac receiving such treatment as an orphan was an enormous privilege.

“It’s all thanks to, Gebel sir, speaking well, of me, huff, puff!”

“That’s enough.”

Isaac took a few more staggering steps, then set down the bundle of logs.

He thought he had gotten quite fit, but the dense oak logs weighed nearly half his body weight. His thin limbs trembled.

His mouth tasted sweet from exhaustion, but Isaac was actually glad for the physical pain.

‘Finally, it feels like I’m doing real exercise.’