Paladin of the Dead God

Chapter 10: The Holy Body (2)

“Move it over there.”

A few days later, Gebel was splitting firewood in the backyard and instructed Isaac. A pile of neatly stacked wood already lay beside him. Isaac, following the instructions, noticed that all the wood was cut uniformly and spaced evenly.

Of course, it was possible with skilled hands, but something about it reminded Isaac of something else.

Thud, thud.

Gebel split the wood mechanically, without breaking a sweat. His axe never missed the center of the wood and never failed to split it in one try.

Isaac, who had been watching silently, suddenly spoke.

“Mr. Gebel.”

“Why?”

“Please teach me swordsmanship.”

Thud. Gebel didn’t stop chopping. He split a few more pieces of wood before turning to Isaac.

He was smiling.

“So that’s why you were following me around?”

“Not just for that, but…”

“Why do you think I know how to use a sword? Because I’m a deserter?”

Gebel referenced an old rumor.

Isaac shook his head. He didn’t know why Gebel was at the monastery, but that wasn’t important to him.

“Was splitting the wild boar in half done with your fist?”

“You must have seen it wrong because you were scared.”

Right. He had expected Gebel not to be convinced by mere words.

“I saw the rat corpses you sometimes asked to be discarded.”

The rat corpses Gebel occasionally instructed to be thrown away were not like those caught in traps, but appeared to be directly caught, all with similar wounds in similar locations.

“They were all precisely punctured by something sharp, like a knife.”

“Why not think of a spear or a skewer? Wouldn’t that be more common?”

Gebel was surprised that Isaac had noticed, but instead of being displeased, he seemed intrigued, wondering what Isaac would say next.

Isaac decided to throw out what he had been pondering.

“You’re a holy knight, Mr. Gebel.”

“Why do you think I’m a holy knight?”

“Because of the tattoo on the inside of your wrist.”

Gebel inadvertently touched his wrist. He hadn’t particularly hidden the tattoo. He was just surprised that young Isaac had noticed it.

“Hans called it a pattern of a sword crossing a crescent moon, but it’s actually a sword piercing a crescent moon, right? The emblem of the Avalanche Holy Knights.”

“…”

Piercing the crescent moon.

Just as the sun symbolizes the Codex of Light, the crescent moon symbolizes the Immortal Order, especially the Immortal Emperor.

Thus, Gebel’s tattoo was a declaration of piercing the Immortal Emperor ‘Beshek’, the god and leader of the Immortal Order.

It was a sign that the ‘Avalanche Holy Knights’ Gebel belonged to were an extremely combative organization.

“I’ve seen that tattoo in the list of knights participating in the Dawn War. Holy knights who participated in the 12th Dawn War…”

“You’ve noticed quite a lot.”

“The story of the Dawn War is every kid’s favorite.”

Gebel put down the axe with a complex expression.

“Even kids should not be underestimated. No one but the abbot recognized it…”

Gebel muttered, not particularly trying to hide it, and picked up the axe again. Isaac wondered if Gebel would strike him with the axe, but he simply went back to splitting wood.

Isaac waited for an answer, but Gebel said nothing more.

“So?”

“So what?”

“Will you teach me how to use a sword?”

Of course, swordsmanship isn’t a necessary condition to become a holy knight. It’s more of a byproduct of the process. Most holy knight orders are closed structures, filled with people brainwashed into faith from childhood.

But Isaac didn’t have that option.

Not because this wasn’t a holy knight order, but because he had no way to prove his faith. If it were discovered that he followed an nameless chaotic faith, he’d be burned alive.

If Isaac wanted to become a holy knight, he had to achieve undeniable results outside the holy knight orders before joining.

“What does me being a holy knight have to do with teaching you the sword? Go ahead and blab if you want. A deserter becomes a deserter holy knight.”

So, he did desert? Gebel already spoke as if he had left his position as a holy knight. Maybe losing his comrades made him indifferent. Hence, he was here in this remote monastery, chopping wood.

But Isaac knew he hadn’t given up the sword. His equipment was well-maintained, and his swordsmanship was still sharp. He seemed ready to take up the sword again at any moment, just hiding out in the monastery for some reason.

As Isaac watched, Gebel smirked and thrust the axe deep into a thick log.

“Try pulling it out.”

“What?”

“You want to learn the sword, right?

It’s not even a heavy battle axe, just a hand axe. A sword is much heavier than this. Thinking of wielding a sword when you’re not even fully grown? Ridiculous.”

***

Isaac hesitated but approached the axe.

Gebel expected Isaac to struggle and fall trying to pull it out.

“It’s hard to build a body fit for a swordsman in such a poor monastery. Do you even get proper meals, or do you train? All you do is sit and read books; how can you be trained?”

“If I pull out this axe, will you teach me swordsmanship?”

“Maybe. It’s not stuck in a stone like a sacred sword, but it’s deeply embedded. You won’t be able to pull it out just by looking at your size.”

However, Gebel watched Isaac with a look of anticipation.

He wasn’t completely against teaching Isaac swordsmanship. But to him, Isaac was just a mature child for his age. Especially since he had been trained from a young age, he thought Isaac’s current physique wouldn’t be enough for more than physical training.

“But maybe he’ll show something special.”

Isaac cautiously grasped the handle of the axe. The height of the axe handle reached up to his face, making it difficult to hold properly.

He had no choice but to grab near the head of the axe and apply force.

There was a slight movement in the log. Gebel was skeptical, but as expected, the axe didn’t budge.

“See, instead of talking nonsense, focus on studying the scriptures. Then the abbot might recommend you for the cathedral college…”

Gebel said, smiling.

Isaac was smart and diligent. Even without extraordinary abilities, he was the kind of person one would want to keep around.

However, the next moment, Isaac lifted the axe, embedded in the log, high into the air.

Gebel’s eyes widened as Isaac lifted the log, almost as big as his own torso.

Isaac didn’t just pull out the axe; he lifted the entire log. But he felt that this alone wasn’t shocking enough.

Isaac slammed the axe, still embedded in the log, into the ground.

Bang! The axe split the log in half in one swift motion and embedded itself deep into the ground. Isaac felt a numbing shock in his palms but tried to endure it.

“Huff… Lifting it was one thing, but pulling it out is another challenge.”

“What the…?”

Gebel was dumbfounded and then suddenly rushed over to Isaac. Isaac was startled by Gebel frantically examining his body but let him be.

After confirming Isaac’s slender wrists and frail muscles, Gebel even lifted him to check his weight.

Then he realized the absurdity of the situation.

“How is this possible?”

Isaac avoided his gaze, pretending not to know.

[Temporary Benefit: ‘Beastly Strength’ from consuming the plague wild boar]

The benefit Isaac gained from consuming the plague wild boar was still active in his body.

It was a temporary effect, but it was enough to win the bet with Gebel.

Of course, both Isaac and Gebel knew such a situation was absurd. Isaac debated revealing this power but had to show this ‘impossible event’ to win the bet or for future swordsmanship training.

After all, claiming to train in swordsmanship without sufficient strength was also absurd.

Gebel tried to rationalize the situation before asking.

“Did you eat all those rats?”

“…”

“Even if you did, that strength doesn’t make sense for your physique…”

Flustered by the unexpectedly sharp question, Isaac saw Gebel immediately dismiss his own theory. It was just as absurd. However, in this world, when impossible things happen, there’s a convenient way to come to terms with it.

Gebel muttered in a daze.

“Was it really a miracle, then?”

“A miracle?”

In that moment, Isaac didn’t miss the expression that flickered across Gebel’s face.

Gebel had used the past tense, ‘Was it a miracle?’ not the present tense.

Meaning, Gebel had seen something in Isaac that he suspected was a miracle.

And that fleeting expression on his face.

It was a look of joy and exhilaration, the kind one has when something they’ve been anticipating appears, not the expression one makes when they see something unexpectedly amazing.

Gebel hurriedly masked his expression and closed his mouth, seeming reluctant to speak further.

“So then.”

When Gebel hesitated to answer, Isaac pressed for a response.

“Since I lifted it, you’ll teach me swordsmanship, right?”

Gebel was at a loss for words.

***

[The Nameless Chaos is pleased with your minor victory.]

[A reward from the Chaos has been bestowed upon you.]

Late in the evening, while reading in the library, Isaac received his victory reward.

Isaac smiled slightly upon hearing the message.

‘It seems he’s decided to teach me swordsmanship.’

The outcome wasn’t decided when he lifted the axe during the day. But the message appearing after a while suggested Gebel had acknowledged it.

‘It wouldn’t have been possible to earn this recognition just by lifting an axe.’

Isaac realized that it was the image he had built up that had swayed Gebel’s mind. The image of a smart, diligent boy, constantly striving for self-improvement, coupled with the desire to learn swordsmanship and showcasing talent, was enough to turn heads.

‘Anyway, it worked out well.’

Isaac checked the reward bestowed upon him by the Nameless Chaos.

[The Nameless Chaos has granted you the ‘Rat in the Walls’ perk.]

[You can now share senses through your tentacles.]

‘Shared senses?’

Isaac felt curious about the term. It was not immediately useful due to the many eyes around, but he cautiously got up and headed outside, pretending to go to the bathroom.

‘Let’s see, just once…’

In a secluded spot, Isaac tried out his tentacles. He experienced a slight dizziness as the vision and

sounds perceived by the tentacles overlapped with his own.

[The Rat in the Walls / You can share senses through your tentacles.]

The overlapping visions were not too confusing, separated only by a blurry boundary. Closing his eyes allowed him to focus more on the tentacle’s perspective.

Isaac moved the tentacle and pushed it through a small crack in the floor. He knew the confessional where Gebel and the abbot were located was below. His aim from the beginning was to eavesdrop on them.

He needed to know what Gebel thought of him.

The tentacle snaked through the loosely sealed wall cracks and stopped near where Gebel and Yevhar were. He heard their conversation through a small ear formed on the tentacle.

***

“He lifted an axe stuck in the wood?”

“Yes, Your Reverence.”

As expected, Isaac’s feat had reached the abbot’s ears.

“Maybe he’s just naturally strong? Calling it a miracle seems a bit of a stretch.”

“It’s different, Your Reverence.”

In the dimly lit confessional, Gebel, with his forehead resting on his hand, muttered.

“There’s a high probability that Isaac is a Holy Body. One who harbors miracles within themselves.”