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My alter ego is becoming a big shot - Episode 28

heinrich (1)

“pass.”

“thank you Well then, good luck!”

Heinrich greeted the guards of the capital's outer castle and entered..

I was able to enter with ease thanks to Heinz preparing the necessary things in advance..

‘Actually, I'm having doubts about whether it's really okay to come in here.···.’

Since I encountered Jinhyeol-ui's vampires casually near the capital, their trustworthiness was bound to drop..

‘However, this is the only temple of the main church in the Kingdom of Thalia. There are temples and prayer centers everywhere.···.’

If you wanted to become a priest or crusader, it would have been okay to go to a suitable temple, but in order to become a special priest, you needed to come to the temple..

It takes too much time to visit temples in other countries..

Because I wasn't sure that the method I had in mind would work..

‘Try it quickly and if it doesn't work, find another way..’

At that time, the death cooldown of “Avatar” ended and it was possible to create a new entity, so the work of the Earth can be left to them..

An environment was created where Heinrich could concentrate on this..

I asked for directions and went to the temple of the main church..

A large temple on the outskirts of the capital.

It was the place where Paladin Heinrich's great first step began.!

***

‘There was a time when I thought that way···.’

It wasn't difficult to belong to the main religious order..

He went to the temple and donated a huge amount of money, saying it was all his money, and expressed his desire to become a Holy Knight..

one month like that.

I have become a trainee and am receiving training as a crusader at a training facility outside the temple..

“W~ Heinrich! Training is over today, how about a drink??”

“Ah, Max. Sorry, but I won't be able to for a while. There's not much time left until the exam."

“Always work hard. Well, you said you wanted to be a paladin, right? Try hard. If everything goes well, don't forget me.”

Soon Max laughed, waved his hands, and disappeared..

I looked at the back, sighed, and walked towards the temple library..

From combat training to studying, there were more than one thing to learn..

‘Well, being a knight isn't that easy..’

Aren’t knights a semi-noble class in the first place?.

Paladins weren't that different..

It was even more difficult because I wasn't a believer from the beginning..

In order for me to become a paladin, I had no choice but to first acquire the basics, become an official paladin, and then be recommended and selected as a knight candidate.···.

There were so many things I didn't know, including the rites and doctrines of the main religious order, as well as the history and sacred songs, that I had a headache from untimely studying..

The standards for becoming a crusader weren't that high, but I had to think beyond that..

‘Still, leaving aside things like doctrine, just being able to learn combat techniques professionally is enough to benefit you. Once you learn it, it will help you a lot in the future..’

Like before, we can't always rely on a different avatar whenever something happens..

Basic combat skills were essential in case the situation did not cooperate..

Coincidentally, Heinrich had an advantage in learning combat skills thanks to being boneless..

‘···Before that, shall we study doctrine first?···.’

***

One day, while I was concentrating on training and studying, I suddenly felt that the temple had become noisy..

“What happened suddenly??”

After completing the self-training, I headed to the entrance of the temple, and Max was among the crowd of people gathered there..

“Max, you seem particularly noisy today. Why are you doing this all of a sudden? Do you know anything??”

“Oh, Heinrich! You’ve arrived at the right time! The Archbishop and Paladin are here now.!”

Looking in the direction he was pointing, I saw a group of people entering the temple..

However, at the head of the group was a familiar person..

They don't know me.

‘···That person?’

A middle-aged knight wearing pure white armor with the emblem of the main religious order engraved on it..

He was the one who led the paladins and cornered Hans..

Now that I think about it, some of the paladins following him also looked familiar..

“It's Archbishop Latius and Paladin Sir Tuskin who came from the headquarters! I guess he went out to carry out some kind of mission with our temple's Holy Knights and Holy Knights and came back..”

‘···I think I know what the mission is..’

I guess it was to catch Hans..

However, it has been more than two months since he clashed with the church, and he has finally returned.···.

‘Could it be that he has been chasing Hans all this time??’

After that day, Hans was summoned from Outerica only briefly..

To transfer wealth from subspace to Earth.

Once the summoning was lifted, it would have been impossible to track him down no matter what he did, but his persistence was truly terrifying..

“I heard that the senior crusaders who followed me are back too. Should I go say hello??”

I followed Max to get some information, but I couldn't meet them..

They were tired after a long journey and needed time to rest, and perhaps for security reasons, they were not allowed to meet..

But I felt regretful for a while···.

The next day, the senior crusader gathered his trainees and declared:.

“Soon, there will be a baptism ceremony for those who pass the standards among the trainees..”

Murmur—

“Quiet, quiet! I know it's still too early, but this is a matter that has been decided above. They say they are planning to select trainee priests not only from among you but also from among the monks, so please continue working hard during the remaining time..”

When the senior crusader who shouted to disperse disappeared from the scene, the trainees started talking amongst themselves again..

“How many months are left until baptism? It would be nice if we could become official crusaders quickly, but suddenly like this?”

“It must have been a huge burden to shorten the original schedule this much. Is there a reason??”

“···If you suddenly need to increase power···?”

Yeah, the schedule wouldn't have suddenly changed for no reason..

It's probably related to the punitive force that returned yesterday..

‘Anyway, for me it's an opportunity to save time..’

Here at the Thalia Temple, new crusaders are selected through a baptism ceremony once every six months..

So originally, it should have been two more months, but the situation suddenly changed..

‘Through the baptism ritual, all mana in the body is converted into divine power... That's the first step to becoming a crusader.’

If you keep doing what you've done so far, becoming a crusader won't be that difficult..

So I continued training as I had been doing so far..

I was able to confidently occupy a place in the baptism ceremony without any effort being put in vain..

***

“It may have been an unreasonable request, but I thank you for accepting it so readily, Bishop Cromville..”

“No, Archbishop Latius. Isn’t this all what our denomination needs? And it's good for our Diocese of Thalia..”

Just before the baptism ceremony begins.

Archbishop Latius, who leads the Immortal King's punitive force, was having a conversation with Bishop Cromville, the head of the diocese covering the entire Kingdom of Thalia..

“The power of vampires was more deeply rooted in the kingdom than I thought. Because of this, the damage to the punitive force increased during the search process..”

“···I can only apologize. From a position in charge of the Diocese of Thalia, measures should have been taken in advance.···.”

“No, how could that be only Bishop Cromville's fault? It's the headquarters' fault for not paying attention in advance. I will continue to do my best to increase support for the diocese..”

“Thank you for your concern, Archbishop..”

The Kingdom of Thalia, a small country on the border, did not have much influence from the main church from the beginning..

The only temple in the capital seems to have been reluctantly permitted by the kingdom..

The number of clergy deployed throughout the country barely exceeded the minimum standards..

“In order to prevent the current power vacuum, keep vampires in check, and continue to track the descendants of the Immortal King, strengthening the church's power is essential. Now that we have finished talking with the Kingdom of Thalia, it will be easier from now on..”

There was some political coercion in the process, but it was unavoidable..

There was a strong backlash as to whether the vampires had reached out to the political world, but they could not go against the will of the main church that put a great cause first..

“Now we must begin the baptism ceremony. I will also lend a hand as planned..”

“···There is no need for the Archbishop to step forward in person. If you have the help of the priests of the punitive force, there will be no major problems in performing the ritual..”

Why is the baptism ceremony held periodically for a set period of time?.

In order to carry out the ceremony easily, clergy higher than the high priest were needed, and it was a great burden for them as well..

If it was done recklessly, all the high-ranking priests would spread out and there would be no one left..

“It's a shame, but it's been over two months since I failed to track down the descendants of the Immortal King. I haven't really put in any effort so far, so I hope this helps at least a little bit..”

“···If you say that much, please ask. It will be a great help in consciousness.”

As they moved around talking, they soon arrived at a huge chapel..

The place was crowded with people about to be baptized and priests preparing for the ceremony..

“ah! Archbishop Latius, Bishop Cromville. Are you here? All preparations for the ceremony have been completed. You can start anytime.”

One of the high priests in charge of the proceedings spotted them and approached them..

Latius nodded and climbed onto the chapel's platform..

There, under the gaze of hundreds of people, he put his hands together and prayed to God..

“Dear Lord. The children who want to imitate you have gathered here to follow your will. ······Please give us warm hands and grace, and I pray that your grace will be with your children. [Sanctuary of Blessing]”

After praying for just over a minute, a silver radiance along with enormous divine power emanated from his entire body, coloring the entire chapel..

The softly lit interior gave off a sacred atmosphere, as if blessing everyone inside..

While everyone was admiring, Bishop Cromville, who was standing next to the praying archbishop, stepped forward..

“The baptism ceremony begins now. Please come out one by one and proceed with the ceremony..”

Even though he spoke softly, his voice spread throughout the space and awakened everyone's spirits, and soon the full-fledged ceremony began..

Dozens of high priests lined up in front of the pulpit.

Guided by a priest assisting with the ritual, people came out one by one and knelt in front of them..

“what is your name.”

“This is Theron.”

“Dear Lord. There is someone here who wants to be held in your arms and become the light of the world. ······So, I ask you to follow the will of the Lord and become a guide for those who have lost their way. Please grant me this. Theron, do you swear to take refuge in the Lord??”

“I swear.”

“Then pray to the Lord. God will answer your faith.”

The high priests performed the baptism ceremony by placing their hands on the heads of those who were kneeling in front of them and praying..

The divine power that poured ceaselessly through those hands colored the body of the person praying..

And the Archbishop’s [Vocation of Blessing] assisted in the process, reducing the burden on those performing the baptism..

Baptism ceremony held simultaneously for dozens of people.

As time passed, those who were baptized began to emit a weak divine power one by one..

The process of giving all of one's mana to God and creating a channel through which one can receive God's power, instead of becoming a body that can never handle magic again..

Those who completed the ceremony were unable to adapt to the sudden change and stumbled, but moved to their seats with the support of the priests assisting the ceremony..

After a short adjustment period, they will become excellent members of the Order..

Bishop Cromville looked around the chapel where the ceremony was in full swing..

The divine power exuded by those who had just been baptized was quite remarkable..

He can barely be called an apprentice priest..

It is said that there are cases in which a person gains divine power higher than that of a priest upon baptism, but such cases are extremely rare..

‘In the future, we will continue to grow through prayer and mental discipline. The more you develop your faith in God and your mental power, the stronger your divine power will become..’

While watching the ceremony, he looked in awe at Archbishop Latius who was preaching on the pulpit and prayed to God..

Since he was in charge of the diocese, he could not help with the sudden ceremony, but looking at the archbishop, it seemed like it was an unnecessary worry to begin with..

···The moment the consciousness continued like that.

“hmm?”

Bishop Cromville turned his gaze to one side at the sudden feeling of divine power..

Archbishop Latius, who had been observing the holy law with his eyes closed on the pulpit, also suddenly opened his eyes and looked at that place..

Hwaak—

This person has just been baptized and is radiating divine power..

The appearance was not much different from the previous ones, but there was one clear difference..

“Huh, I must have just been baptized... That level of divine power. He must be at the level of a priest..”

Intermediate level between a regular priest and a ritual high priest..

It was the divine power that Henry, who had just been baptized, possessed..

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