My alter ego is becoming a big shot - Episode 88
#88
Trial of the Holy Sword (1)
“You can come here.”
Heinrich followed the archbishop as his guide and continued into the depths of the Great Temple of Picaol..
Since the design centered on the seal where the holy sword was inserted, it was bound to be the deepest and most intimate place..
‘I think it went down to the basement quite a bit. How many craters were dug when fighting?···.’
Well, it was understandable because it must have been a life-threatening struggle among the strongest men of the time..
“As you probably already know, the trials are different for each person who takes on the challenge, so I don't have any specific advice for you..”
When he passed through several gates and reached the stone gate engraved with a shining prayer, the archbishop who guided him spoke softly..
Because he knew this to be true, Heinrich quietly agreed..
He had already familiarized himself with all the relevant records during his training period..
“As such, the time it takes to face the ordeal is different for each person. Some came out in a few hours, some took about a week..”
Of course everything failed.
He shrugged his shoulders and added, turned to Heinrich and pointed to the door..
“The ordeal begins the moment you cross this door and enter. Just calm down and tell me when you're ready for the challenge..”
Is there any need to wait any longer after coming this far??
Heinrich took a deep breath and confidently spoke to him..
“I'll go right in now..”
“···All right. Then, I will open the door..”
The Archbishop nodded quietly, then walked up to the stone gate, placed his hands on it, and quietly recited a prayer..
“······What is hidden in that box is my flesh and blood. you do it······.”
Then the prayer engraved on the door slowly began to glow in response to his words..
The archbishop's divine power is constantly being sucked into the sealed door..
How long had it been like that? Before he knew it, thick drops of sweat were continuously flowing down his face..
‘Every time you open a door, you need enough divine power to make an archbishop-level priest sick for several days.···.’
It was impossible to mobilize a large number of priests, not only in quantity but also in quality..
It is said that the archbishop resided at the Grand Shrine of Heinrich and was accustomed to seeing him occasionally, but in fact, the archbishop was a very high-class person..
They were mainly in charge of temples located in large cities, and were treated like marquises when compared to nobles..
‘I was so used to it that I didn't realize it, but the saintess was a giant that even the emperor of the empire could not treat lightly..’
As I hung out with her in the main shrine, the headquarters of the cult, I felt a little out of touch with reality..
Wow!—
The moment he was lost in his thoughts for a moment, the stone gate began to slowly shake, emitting strong light..
Clutter—
Stone gate opens heavily.
However, the inside was filled with light and it was impossible to discern what was inside..
“···Well then, good luck.”
Leaving behind the archbishop's tired voice drenched in sweat, Heinrich stepped forward without hesitation..
And when he came fully into the light.
Suddenly— boom!
The stone door closes harshly..
The light around Heinrich suddenly disappeared, revealing an ordinary hallway..
“···oh?”
I could feel it instinctively.
This space is a separate space cut off from the outside..
He looked back, but there was only a long hallway identical to the one in front, and the stone door he entered through was not visible..
‘Do you really have to choose whether to go forward or back??’
Heinrich shrugged his shoulders, raised his sacred power and “Blessing: Strong Body” to the limit, and focused on his eyes..
In addition, let’s use the “Auterica Holy Technique” to amplify your eyesight.···.
“···Still there's no end in sight.”
Even when I looked behind me, it seemed like I had no choice but to just keep going..
He sighed and looked ahead again..
First of all, I was planning to break through head on..
‘Of course, you can use some convenience..’
I expanded my horizons and concentrated my mind to the limit of what I could focus my divine power on..
And right away.
Paat—
「Blessing: Jumped through space using “Leap”.
However, when we arrived, we could only see endless long hallways and nothing had changed..
“Whoop!”
Kwaaang!
I tried to use my divine power to the limit and hit the wall next to me with all my might, but as expected, I didn't feel any incontinence..
at that time.
A will resonated in his head..
‘It's just the beginning.’
But even after waiting, no further information was given..
A situation where it is unclear how long the time limit is or where the destination is..
‘Is it like a trial of patience??’
I've noticed from the beginning that the flow of time here is different from outside..
If it were anyone else, it would have been difficult to figure it out right away, but doesn't he have multiple avatars out there?.
‘About 10 to 1? The time difference with Earth is 100 to 1..’
In the meantime, I was able to accept it without any problems due to the "Mind Herb" and my mental power becoming stronger, but in the beginning of this world, I would have suffered quite a bit from motion sickness..
‘It's a burden not knowing when and how far I should reach. Because in the end, I have no choice but to overdo it..’
The Holy Sword's trials were usually divided into several stages..
Perhaps this time, they wanted to check the challenger's perseverance, mental strength, and physical strength..
There was no reason to delay any longer as time continued to pass..
Heinrich lightly relaxed his body on the spot and immediately ran forward..
And with the help of various skills, including “super recovery,” and the overwhelming physical strength that he had been training, he ran through the hallway at incredible speed..
‘We don't know what level the trial wants, so let's go as far as we can..’
In this space of trial, there was no need for nutrition or sleep, so there was no problem..
I only devoted my mental power resources to running and using “Blessing: Leap” periodically..
‘I think it will take some time. I can't help it.’
Heinrich ran silently through the quiet hallway alone..
I just mechanically ran, ran, ran and then used “Blessing: Leap” repeatedly..
As three days passed, the fatigue accumulating in my body began to surpass the level of “super recovery”..
The surrounding energy was providing the necessary energy, but the speed of recovery could not keep up with the load that was continuously accumulating..
1day of the week.
Slowing down for a moment in between to allow the body to recover has reached its limit..
I could feel my whole body creaking, but I didn't mind as this was normal during training..
2day of the week.
Perhaps because it was an ordeal, simply moving was not the end..
While he was running, a whisper that stimulated his mind stimulated him..
Energy that stimulated abandonment, resignation, loneliness, etc. continued to invade his mind, but to him who was already lost in thoughtlessness, it was only a meaningless interruption..
3day of the week.
I still didn't know how much time was left and how far I had to go, so I couldn't slow down my pace..
I took only brief breaks periodically, ignored the pain I felt in my body, and started running again..
「For him who has “Mind Hub,” this wasn’t an ordeal or anything..
It's just a simple repetitive task.
Under these conditions... he could keep going for days, months, forever..
Time continued to pass and passed again..
When 4 days had passed in external time and about 40 days in internal time,···.
Heinrich was still running.
***
“Tomorrow.”
“Haha... I see. Tomorrow will be the day that I and this continent will be destroyed together. Pahat!”
In an underground hideout in the southern part of the continent, a tall man and a short old man were having a conversation..
“Once you start the ritual, you will no longer be able to avoid the eyes of the church. There is only one chance. We have to finish everything before they get here..”
“Ah—I know, I know. do not worry. Because you will never fail. How long have I been waiting for this day??”
The old man's eyes were already filled with madness as he smiled helplessly..
The man looked at the old man quietly, then turned his head slightly and a bitter sneer appeared on his lips..
How could the Archmage, who was once called the best on the continent, and who was so successful in the Magic Tower Alliance and was certain to become the next leader, fall to such an extent?···.
‘Well, it's a good thing for this side. It doesn't matter anyway.’
I didn't care what kind of unfair story he had, or how bitter he was to the point of trying to destroy the world..
It's just that we help each other because our intentions are aligned..
Anyway, there wasn't a single sane person among them..
‘Phew...if you had a normal mind, you wouldn't have done something like this..’
He took a look at the interior, which was filled with all kinds of bizarre magic, and then turned to the outside..
There was only one day left..
***
A change was sensed in Heinrich, who had been running without paying attention..
‘···That is?’
As my mind slowly returned, I saw the 'end' blocking my path on the other side of the endless hallway..
And as he continued to run, he finally came across an ordinary wooden door at the end of the hallway..
“Is this the destination? how long did it take?”
Since it was a little over four days... in this time, I had been running for well over a month..
‘I'm not in very good shape. I guess I took advantage of the characteristics of this space, but it was a bit too much..’
In fact, the expression was also greatly purified..
「If the pain hadn’t been filtered out by “Mind Hub,” I would never have been able to express my feelings so calmly..
The monster-like body strengthened with skills and divine power was damaged to a point where it was tattered, so I could see how much I had overexerted myself..
‘At this level, even with “super recovery,” I think it will take a few days of rest to fully recover..’
Although it was unreasonable for him to continue the trial, he had some faith in him after receiving a lot of information in advance..
The moment Heinrich proudly placed his hand on the door of the next gateway..
Wow!—
The surrounding energy was sucked into his body..
Thanks to the power of energy injected from the outside, the body that had been overworked for a month began to recover rapidly..
“Umm···.”
My muscles were constantly writhing and heat was radiating from my whole body..
“Super Recovery,” which was unable to exert its full power due to physical overload, reacted violently by greedily absorbing the surrounding energy..
In addition, “Blessing: Rigid Body” was added to make his body stronger, tougher, and more durable than before..
“ha···.”
And when the whole process was over, his body was one level more advanced than before he took on the ordeal..
The will came into his head again, but Heinrich was busy quietly observing himself and checking his physical condition..
‘···This is okay?’
Come to think of it, this was an optimal place for training.!
A miraculous space where you can focus solely on strengthening yourself without eating or sleeping..
He stood there with his arms crossed in agony..
‘The flow of time is different here anyway, so is there really a need to move on to the next ordeal??’
After completing the ordeal, the time limit disappeared, and even just one day of training here had the same effect as ten days outside..
Since the Holy Sword isn't running away, it's probably okay for a short period of time..
‘Let's stay a little longer, just a little longer, and then leave. Yeah, just one more day.’
Heinrich, a training addict, turned around and squatted down with his back to the door..
And then he began to quickly run down the hallway, doing a bunny hop..
Has it been about an hour since we moved like that?.
“Phew... Phew..., uh?”
While I was immersed in my training, I noticed that at the end of the direction I was going was the door I had encountered a while ago..
Crossing the hallway and reaching the door again, Heinrich frowned and looked at the door..
It was definitely the door we faced from the opposite direction..
‘Why is this here? ···Well, I think I understand.’
It was a place created for trials in the first place, so even if the space was randomly tangled, it was not impossible to understand..
He frowned slightly and turned back.···.
“······!”
When I saw the brown door that suddenly appeared in front of me, I was startled and took a step back..
I quickly looked back, but before I knew it, the long hallway was nowhere to be found and the front and back were blocked by the same door..
‘Does this mean we should stop wasting time and quickly move on to the next ordeal??’
Seeing it come this far, I thought I probably wouldn't have time to train any more..
‘There is also a way to exercise with bare hands in place.···.’
I didn't want to make the will that was in charge of the ordeal look even more hateful by going that far..
Above all, there was no heavy exercise equipment suitable for him here..
Heinrich quenched his appetite with regret, opened the door in front of him, and went inside..
Just like when he first entered the ordeal, when the bright light that surrounded his whole body disappeared.···.
He was standing alone in the middle of a huge chapel..
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