Chapter 165

At first, I had no clue how getting knocked out was connected to my identity.

But now, looking at the scene before me, I was starting to figure it out.

‘Am I dreaming?’

Just a moment ago, I was in the Papal Palace, specifically in the training grounds. But now, that was not the case.

Wide-open plains. Grass swaying in the cool breeze, rising up to my ankles.

In a way, it could be considered a pretty peaceful place. But looking closer, something seemed off.

‘The sky…’

The sky was dark like night. Stars were scattered across it, and the Milky Way was flowing.

But the ground was not. While the sky was certainly night, the grass glowed a bright light green.

It was as if it had absorbed light. The sky and the ground showed contrasting brightness.

‘…But what does this mean?’

Getting knocked out so I could have a dream was one thing.

But now that I was dreaming, I had no idea what I was supposed to do. What did these things mean for my identity?

Shhuuuu—

Just as I was grumbling to myself, something strange happened in the dark sky.

One of the stars, which already shone brightly, started to glow even more.

To be more specific, one star among all of them was shining exceptionally bright.

A star characterized by its pure white color. Not long after, it began to move slowly.

Swish—

As the star moved across the sky, something changed in the grass beneath me.

The grass right below me suddenly sprouted up and began to tie me up tightly.

In a panic, I tried to move, but it was no use. The grass was so strong I couldn’t budge an inch.

Meanwhile, the star continued to descend toward the earth. It stayed the same size, like it was picking a fruit.

Shhuuuu—

Finally, the star reached right above my head.

Just as I was thinking about how deep it would go, it descended a little more until it was at my chest.

Swish—

The star, glittering with a dazzling light, soon entered into my chest.

As the star entered my chest, the grass that had bound me began to recede.

Now that my body regained its freedom, I patted my chest. Just a moment ago, a star from the sky had entered my chest.

What on earth could this possibly mean? What is the connection to why I’m here?

Just then, while those questions spun around in my mind, I heard some unknown voices ringing in my ears.

-This is madness… do as you please…

-I am still… alive.

-We are intruding…

The voices were broken and scattered, making it hard to understand what they were saying.

The only thing I could grasp was that a man and a woman were having a conversation.

-Chaos is… terrifying.

-Just do it… we are…

-Us? No…

I couldn’t decipher what they were fighting about, but it was clear these two were arguing for some reason.

Regardless of the reason, the tone suggested things were getting pretty intense.

I shook my head, trying to dispel the voices echoing in my mind. I was starting to feel dizzy.

“Ugh…”

Just then, the voices rattling around in my head suddenly vanished.

At the same time, I felt a strange sensation wash over me. It wasn’t the usual sensory experience; it felt like it struck my heart directly.

‘But why…”

That feeling was none other than.

‘…Sadness?’

An inexplicable sense of guilt washed over me.

*****

“……”

I woke up. It was a sleep brought on by fainting, but sleep is still sleep.

When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by a strange ceiling. Not a metaphorical one, but a real one.

For a moment, I struggled to grasp the situation, but I quickly realized why the ceiling looked unfamiliar.

‘Oh, right.’

I had been knocked out by Rize. And I dreamt that bizarre dream.

I blinked my eyes and sat up, realizing I was lying on a makeshift bed.

“You’re awake.”

“?”

As I propped myself up, I heard a familiar voice by my ear. Turning my head, I saw Rize sitting demurely.

Not the rugged Gwonseong but a version of her with an overwhelming bosom. She looked just like before, making her stand out more than usual.

Not to mention, her short shorts made her strong thighs completely visible. That combo of short shorts and a sleeveless top was just perfect.

“Guys, Sivar is awake!”

Her words were friendly yet powerful. At the same moment, the people who had been training further away turned to look at us.

The dueling pair were Luna and Kara, with Rod watching them from behind, arms crossed.

I had no idea when Luna woke up, but she definitely noticed that I had been sleeping for a while.

“Awake? I was worried since you slept for quite a while.”

Kara casually wiped the sweat from her flowing sleeves and spoke in a cool tone. She always had that refreshing look about her.

Luna, on the other hand, was staring at me intently, her wide eyes a bit intimidating.

“So what dream did you have? Did Chaos talk to you?”

“Umm…”

Hearing Kara’s question, I furrowed my brow. Was it because it was a dream, or was I just not remembering well?

My memory was hazy; all I could recall was the star from the sky entering my chest and some weird voices speaking.

‘And the guilt at the end…’

What on earth does this all mean? For now, I figured it best to just speak plainly.

So, I did my best to express myself despite my limited language skills. The scattered conversations I heard were things I just glossed over.

The others listened to my story with puzzled expressions, especially when I mentioned feeling guilty at the end.

“So, to summarize… the star floating in the sky entered Sivar’s chest. Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yeah.”

“There’s a lot of room for interpretation, yet the sky was night while the land was day…”

“Is it typical for Chaos to communicate this way?”

Like Luna’s question, the others seemed to have similar thoughts. There was a lot of room for interpretation here—too much, in fact.

I could barely understand what it all meant, so what about them? Rize nodded at their question and answered.

“Yes. Chaos has never communicated directly. I was also able to visit the Academy through a dream.”

“What kind of dream did the Saint have?”

“It was a dream of Sivar becoming a great believer of Chaos.”

“……”

Isn’t that a tad too blatant for a lie? But since it was Rize saying it, it felt strangely reliable.

However, the notion that Chaos couldn’t express their intent seemed a bit off. The messages that were output alone suggested otherwise.

If I acted like a fool or influenced those around me, my faith would visibly increase. The principle behind it was hard to figure out.

‘Even in the Soul World, Chaos didn’t say a word.’

Gaia and Gulrak, at least, tended to speak once you reached their temples.

Of course, they didn’t convey their messages directly but sent their minions instead.

Minions who weren’t human but had ‘mortal’ traits. Every god except Chaos had two minions each.

At least someone like Rize or Rod could communicate directly with the gods. Maybe Kara could even have a chat with Gulrak.

“Then, it seems the clues are still lacking. Can we consider the star entering my chest as a form of blessing?”

“I’m not sure, but it’s clear the gods are taking an interest in Sivar. What remains a mystery is why they are so interested.”

“Couldn’t we ask the various sects?”

“That’s a decent idea, but it won’t help much. Even if we can hear their voices, without enough faith, we would only be able to pray.”

“Later, I’ll ask Gulrak myself.”

While everyone was tossing around their opinions, Luna was the only one who remained silent, just staring at me.

Her wide eyes still scrutinized me. I couldn’t help but wonder if I had something on my face.

“Luna.”

“……”

“Luna?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Why do you keep staring?”

So I just asked straight out. Luna blinked her big eyes twice upon hearing my question.

Then, looking awkward, she scratched her head and replied quietly.

“Uh, it’s just… I have something on my mind.”

“What is it?”

“Um… your eyes?”

“My eyes?”

Upon hearing her mention ‘eyes,’ I started feeling around my eye area. What was the problem?

As everyone knows, Luna has special abilities related to her ‘eyes.’ Was there something wrong with mine?

If there was an issue, that would be troublesome, especially since it was right after that dream.

“Is there a problem? They didn’t change color or anything like that?”

“No, it’s just… I was wondering if anything changed.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Fortunately, it seemed like there was nothing wrong. At least that’s what Kara suggested.

Unless Luna was hiding something from me, I’d have to ask her when we were alone later.

“In the end, the only thing that’s increased is the mystery. I guess time can only solve this.”

“For now, yes. I’m really sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”

“No, you don’t need to apologize. To begin with, it was a mystery pile, so it’s not an issue if it increased.”

“But at least we learned Sivar is connected to the gods. That’s enough.”

More than enough. With gods being the ones to drop me here, it’s practically confirmed.

Honestly, I wanted to storm into the temple and cause a ruckus. But I’d likely get permanently exiled, so it’s better to hold off.

For now, I had to visit each temple. I wondered if the minions would show up and have a chat with me.

‘Let’s see. Faith level…’

I briefly gazed into the void. I wanted to check my accumulated faith.

[Name: Sivar]

•Strength: 145

•Agility: 143

•Endurance: 148

•Magic Power: 145

•Luck: 110

•Faith: 287

[Traits]

•Wilderness Instinct (???)

•Berserk (Ex)

•Tenacity (SS+)

•Steel King (SS)

•Poison Resistance (SS)

•Digestion (S+)

•Dexterity (A)

[Skills]

•Ambush (Ex)

•Throwing (Ex)

•Martial Arts (A)

[Abilities]

•Red Magic (Ex)

•Regeneration (SSS)

•Thunder (S)

There were mainly two significant changes. The rise in faith and the change in my Berserk trait.

My faith had steadily climbed, reaching such a level, and my Berserk had changed through training with Rize.

Though I hadn’t properly used it yet, I had a general idea of what the ability entailed—mindless charges using pain.

Alongside this, my agility and martial arts had also increased, making for a decent growth, even if I couldn’t feel the changes due to my naturally strong physique.

‘The minimum requirement for conversing with the minions is 300… How unfortunate.’

I’d been playing the fool for a while, but it seemed I wouldn’t meet the criteria. That was a bit disappointing.

Well… I did feel a twinge of guilt, but in the end, it was all my doing. I certainly didn’t do anything intentional to get here.

“First off, I should visit the Life Temple to check on Sivar’s wrist status.”

“Oh, I didn’t mention it. Sivar’s wrist is fully healed. There’s no need for further treatment.”

Rod interjected into Rize’s speech. Apparently, they checked my wrist while I was out cold.

Unless it was someone else, no one else would follow Rize when it came to ‘physical’ matters. Hence, she could make such a diagnosis.

“Is that so? Since you said that, I’m relieved.”

“Yes. So you can take your time visiting the temple.”

After all, I had plenty of time. As Rize suggested, taking my time didn’t seem like a bad option.

Still, I thought it’d be better to finish what I needed to do quickly. I decided to rest for a bit and visit the Life Temple first.

I wanted to have a chat with a minion if possible, but my faith points fell short. So I opted just to make a visit.

‘At least it wasn’t a complete loss.’

As I mentioned earlier, I kinda wanted to throw a fit in front of them. But without enough faith, I couldn’t do that.

Initially, I thought I could just visit without a care. Remembering that I needed faith came a little late.

I was just stepping outside the Papal Palace for lunch when it occurred. Of course, Rize, in her saintly form, was with me.

Crash!!

Suddenly, I heard the sound of glass shattering. It wasn’t from the first floor, but from even higher up.

Turning my head, I saw someone jumping down with their arms crossed in an X shape. This wasn’t a joke; it looked like something out of a movie.

“I’m escaping this mad place!!”

“……”

Someone was crashing out of a window of the Papal Palace. What on earth am I witnessing?

“Hahaha! Where are you going, Your Holiness!”

And soon, someone else was falling down right behind them, seemingly trying to catch the escaping person.

A chase scene erupted beneath them as they plummeted. Big burly guys chasing each other was an absurd sight.

“It’s the Pope and Brother Gaspart.”

“……”

“Don’t worry; this happens all the time.”

This place is undeniably crazy.

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