Chapter 26

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on February 6, 2025

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The next day.

Early in the morning, Hyungkesuni came by and unwrapped the bandages to check on the wounds.

After looking at my hands and knees, she let out a deep sigh. Then from the small bag on her back, she pulled out a red medicine bottle and applied its contents only to my knees.

I thought it was red medicine, but the liquid itself was transparent.

A gooey liquid spread over, and before long, the scabs slowly began to dissolve. My skin started healing gradually, but it stung like crazy.

“It stings and itches.”

“Hold still. It’s stinging because the wound is healing.”

Then she cut fresh white bandages instead of the slightly yellow ones from yesterday and carefully rewrapped them.

Why not just apply the ointment from the knee to the hand?

But there was no sign of that happening.

Though I wasn’t entirely sure, it was time to head out for blessings, so I handed my clothes over to Joanna.

She even gave me gloves this time. Was it to hide the wounds? If so, why not just give me the medicine?

I calmly thought through the reasoning. What’s the difference between the knees and hands?

Is it about visibility?

But if it’s about covering up, wouldn’t the knees be better than the hands? Just wear a long skirt. So there must be another reason for not treating the hands.

Even with my not-so-brilliant mind, I still tried to think it through.

There was a difference in treatment.

I decided to test the recovery rate.

So was this about checking the difference in healing abilities? But shouldn’t one night’s rest have been enough?

When I first arrived in this world…

Half my head got blown off. Back then, I healed.

So they’re testing whether I can recover by consuming warmth, huh?

It’s true that showing strong regenerative powers back then while recovering so slowly now is strange.

Well, honestly, my HP was regenerating bit by bit, and since there was no urgency, I just let natural healing take care of it. Even though it hurt, it never became unbearable.

Even if it itched or stung, there was no overwhelming urge to scratch. For example, if a game character gets a burn status effect, it doesn’t actually feel itchy, right? As long as there’s no special debuff and it heals on its own when left alone…

In that case, I should treat the wound after consuming warmth.

I knew the method.

It would be exactly the same as making clothes.

Having made that decision, I waited for Hieronymus.

As expected, when the time came, Hieronymus showed up and took me to a secluded place first. There was an imprisoned heretic brought in from afar.

That meant today Hieronymus would be bestowing blessings upon those who successfully completed their missions.

In front of me were three people.

Two men bound with restrainers all over their bodies, and one woman.

So I sucked out their warmth. Sure enough, these guys had more warmth compared to the size of their light. The two men were from the Kingdom of Cogni located northeast.

One was a warrior.

He lived in a city where the Scard Rock Desert could be seen from the southwest part of the Kingdom of Cogni. Born in the Kingdom of Cogni, he became a mercenary following his cousin and eventually settled down in his hometown as he grew older – a fairly mature man.

However, when he returned, his hometown was filled with an unusual fever. It was mostly taken over by the Future Hope Church. He had come from a region untouched by the Future Hope Church’s influence, so he quickly noticed something was off.

Every morning, they prayed to some strange deity and handed over what little they had to strangers who appeared.

And those who refused were labeled as heretics and pelted with stones in the town square.

He tried to stop it after returning to his village, but unfortunately, though he was a strong warrior, he wasn’t superhuman. That’s his story.

The next man was closer to being an elder, though quite aged. And…well, calling him an ordinary person felt a bit off.

He had a deep history.

Originally, he was a level 5 civil servant in the Yeongyang Church Nation. But he changed sides. Though his rank dropped significantly, he accepted it and moved to the Kingdom of Cogni. Despite coming from a church nation, he converted to the Seongsin Church religion.

Abandoning one’s lifelong faith isn’t common, so it was surprising.

Anyway, not too long after, the Ansellus Kingdom invaded the Yeongyang Church Nation. Not the Kingdom of Cogni, but the Ansellus Kingdom. Still, I suspected the information he leaked during his defection might have helped.

Because the Yeongyang Church Nation was located in the jungle west of the Kingdom of Cogni.

And the Ansellus Kingdom was south of the Kingdom of Cogni.

Therefore, for the Ansellus Kingdom to invade the Yeongyang Church Nation, they’d need to pass through their own territory.

Strange.

Especially given my knowledge of the Imjin War.

Somehow, the Ansellus Kingdom managed to destroy the Yeongyang Church Nation. Surprisingly, the Ansellus army returned to their homeland unscathed.

At that time, this man in the Kingdom of Cogni was drunkenly cursing away, saying “Serves them right.” I agreed because the Yeongyang Church Nation trained powerful warriors from birth through brutal training.

By “brutal training,” I mean training so harsh it resulted in numerous deaths.

His children were taken by the Yeongyang Church Nation. Twice. So he fled with his exhausted wife.

Unfortunately, she passed away during their escape.

Anyway, that was about twenty years ago. Afterward, he managed to survive in the Kingdom of Cogni until he was suddenly kidnapped and brought here.

Not sure why the Future Hope Church specifically abducted him. Perhaps because he believed in the Seongsin Church?

Still, I began to see the relationship between the Ansellus and Cogni kingdoms more clearly. Interesting intel.

Lastly, the woman whose warmth I stole was also a priest of the Seongsin Church. Given that she fought against the expanding Future Hope Church in the city, it wasn’t surprising she was captured.

An interesting point: she could use divine power, known as sacred force. The more one believes in the deity, the more divine power they can wield.

Even if I mimicked her methods, no divine power came out of my hands. In other words, there must be some entity granting this power.

Ke he he.

So there is a god.

Hyungkesuni called me an outsider, but honestly, I’m more like a nearby monster.

Hmm. Let me think about this later. Thinking about it now might get me too worked up.

Alright!

The Seongsin Church seems to be widely followed in the eastern nations. Excluding the Kingdoms of Cogni and Ansellus, there are many smaller kingdoms in the east where the Seongsin Church is the main religion. It’s almost universal.

Religions fight other religions.

Given how Hieronymus mainly sends people east, is it because the Seongsin Church is hindering the expansion of the Future Hope Church?

This situation is complicated.

Unless the Seongsin Church itself is Hieronymus’ enemy? But if that were the case, he wouldn’t have mentioned nobility when we first met. Instead, he probably would’ve asked for help killing other gods.

The connections seem tenuous.

While Hieronymus’ true intentions seem to flicker into view, the information is still insufficient.

But this leader of the Future Hope Church will continue to bring offerings full of valuable information. We’ll figure things out eventually.

Before putting the violet smoke I extracted back into my body, I imagined my body returning to its original state. And it did. The tingling sensation in my palms disappeared completely.

Regeneration complete, Hieronymus and I headed to the large underground space where the altar was located.

And there I bestowed blessings upon the three individuals.

By the will of the great deity.

(Or rather, Hieronymus’ will.) This involved rewarding those who carried out tasks.

One person was fully intact; the other two were missing limbs.

But after my blessing, their hair turned purple, one person’s skin became pale, and the other two turned blue.

Of course, all their other wounds vanished.

Having witnessed this multiple times already, Hieronymus instructed the blessed ones to confirm their new abilities. One of them produced a liquid dyed purple from their hands, exclaiming it was a great blessing.

Hieronymus skillfully used their words to stir up excitement among the crowd below.

By following the deity’s will, one can receive miracles.

He masterfully swayed the hearts of the people with clever wording.

Interesting.

How does he manage to use such varied words and sentences every time despite repeating the same message? It’s less about being naturally eloquent and more about deliberate study.

In this world resembling the early modern period, not many people would have access to such education.

I feel like I’m getting closer to understanding his true nature, but I can’t quite piece it together yet.

Is it due to lack of intelligence?

Possibly insufficient information, but it’s frustrating.

After finishing his sermon as usual, Hieronymus left with me while the congregation cheered.

Now it’s time to ascend from the underground.

Though the corridor isn’t straight and requires a few turns, I’ve memorized the path by now.

It’s fascinating how many curved passages were dug to prevent newcomers from easily finding their way. While advantageous for disorienting visitors, it must have been difficult to construct.

After navigating the winding corridors and ascending, we reach a large building.

Though constructed using information gathered from blessed individuals, this building has a specific shape. It’s circular, centered around the stepped pyramid in the basement.

Cliché.

There’s a good chance this place is preparing sacrifices from the personnel here, or something similar.

If I could discover that, I might learn the technique used to summon me.

For now, most of those receiving blessings are disposable workers. Ironically, the captives brought in from outside tend to be more knowledgeable.

We can gain information from both groups.

Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone here. Or rather…

One person.

There is someone I’ve seen before.

The old man whose warmth I consumed earlier.

Huh?

This is strange.

These are the sacred characters used in the Yeongyang Church Nation.