"I'm five—I hate this world!—I will change it!" These were the first set of words. And then there was more under that, appearing to be written sometimes after the first line, and this was a name. "Luther Vas Hermington was here."
These words threw Sylvester's mind into a frenzy as they discarded everything he knew about the Holy Land's history. "The first pope was here when he was five? How is that possible? Didn't Pope Axel say this whole region was covered in extreme Solarium due to the orb of purity? That the first Pope was the first to fight the Solarium imbalance and created the Magna Sanctum temple?"
He rubbed his chin in wonder. "How can a five-year-old child be on this tree when the whole region was inaccessible?"
Miraj soon finished carving his own name beside the message and looked proud. "I am an artist—Sometimes my genius... It's almost frightening."
Sylvester chuckled at the boy's theatrics. "Did you find any other such words on the tree?"
Miraj nodded his head proudly. "I found one more! Come, I will show."
The furry boy jumped from branch to branch and led Sylvester to a lower area near the tree's base. "Look here!"
Sylvester was excited to find more information about the past, as he felt misled by the books he had read over the years. "Good job Ch- Ah, what is this?"
"I, Knight Billworth, ask for forgiveness from Solis—for shagging the wife of the Count! I shall never participate in debauchery again."
"..."
Left speechless, Sylvester did not wait and simply jumped away, headed to the top of the giant tree to get some branches. But, of course, he would not use them all for the violin but experiment on them too.
"Woah!" A gasp escaped his mouth when he reached the top of the Soul Tree, as his head poked out of the leaves. The landscape was clear in his view, and he saw the entirety of the Holy Land. The Pope's Peninsula, the Golden Peninsula, the Guild Peninsula, and many more. There were nearly 13 Peninsulas, each with different operations, and he had not even visited most of them yet.
"I haven't even explored the Holy Land yet, and there is a whole world outside. It's awe-inspiring but also frightening, knowing the lawlessness that lives beyond these lands. Chonky, do you think you're a magical beast from Beastaria?" He asked the furry boy sitting on his shoulder.
Chonky silently wondered while looking at the horizon. "I don't remember… I only know my last caretaker, and Maxy."
Sylvester patted the furry head and moved to get some nice branches. "Don't worry. One day we will crack your mystery as well. Now let's move and get these sticks, or else we'll be late for dinner with mum."
…
"He's gone?" At the hut below, Grandpa Monk woke up.
"I knew you were faking being asleep. You don't have to do that. Sylvester is—different. He's wise beyond his age… he understands things faster and reacts appropriately." The Pope stopped massaging herbal lotion on the old man's muscles to ensure the motor functions remained working.
"So he's a dangerous man?"
The Pope shook his head. "Yes, and no! Over the years, I've seen a strange lust in him—lust for peace! So even if he does not become the Pope one day, I will still carve this diamond in rough to ensure he can satiate that lust. After all, letting such a talent rot is a waste."
Grandpa Monk, however, was the mentor of the Pope, so he knew what went on in the latter's mind. "But you seem conflicted about your choice?"
"I am to some degree conflicted. Often, smart people tend to overestimate themselves and bring doom to even those around them. However, I have proposed a test, and it shall reveal if the boy is hungry for power or peace."
"What if he fails?" Grandpa Monk questioned.
The Pope sighed sadly. "Then he will remain yet another name among other servants of the faith. Without expensive herbs, crystals, and training, it's impossible to become a grand wizard, forget supreme wizard. He may have the talents but lacks direction—and without my approval, there will be no God's Favored selection.
"Besides, it's still too early as the other four candidates are doing great now. So I can't be fully biased against them… that's unbefitting for the Pope."
Pa!—The Pope slapped on Grandpa Monk's back. "Done, this medicine should relieve all your pain."
"Thank you, son. You are doing too much for me. I can't be wasting the Pope's time. You don't have to visit me anymore, just work."
But the Pope scoffed. "If a son can't even care for his parents who cared for him for years, he should be rained down with a thousand spears! You cared for me when I was lost, old man… now it's my turn to pay it back."
Grandpa Monk was filled with warmth hearing that. "I hope you soon find an heir… as good as the one I found."
"You flatter me, pops. But what can I say, you hit the jackpot by finding me—a handsome, strong, smart, and witty kid. Not everyone is as lucky-"
Grandpa Monk interrupted. "Who? As far as I remember, you were a stupid kid with a forever runny nose, which you used to mop with that tongue."
The Pope ignored all that, "Ah, the weather is nice outside today. Well, I shall leave now, much work to do. If Sylvester returns, tell him to be present at Wazir's office tomorrow morning. Take care now."
…
Sylvester was not the only person in the race of God's Favoured. He was merely the front runner, a front runner who was given a job that did not involve as much use of the body as the mind. So his speed of improvement in magic was going slow.
But the same could not be said about the other three God's Favored candidates. Augustus Steel, especially, was making strides towards improvement, as his talent of Grand Wizard finally started to come out once given a job that was in symphony with his nature—exorcism.
The Exorcism department operated out of the Darkwatch Peninsula, a place that held headquarters for several offices, such as those that oversee hearsay, those that record the presence of dark creatures, or those that conduct an exorcism.
Exorcism was an art of holy magic that allowed one to expel the dark entities that took over a person or an area. But it was majorly just people being possessed by something. Often it was a low-level poltergeist, but sometimes they'd come across a Bloodling, too—that's when they'd step back and call the powerhouses from Inquisition.
Augustus traveled around various kingdoms with his mentors and proved to have a knack for the art of exorcisms. Despite having no light magic, he was great at remembering the various rune schemes, chants, and incantations.
Meanwhile, the two other boys with similar talents, Louis Hermington and Griffin Blazekin, with their talent of Grand Wizard and Diamond Knight, were quickly taken under the second in command of Lord Inquisitor, the Wizard-Knight known as Hans.
The two were being trained harshly, without sleep, and their bodies were broken from overworking. The Inquisitor High Lord didn't care if they were God's Favored candidates. All he saw was that these two had high talent and could be of excellent service to his beloved lord Solis.
So, this sadly left Sylvester and Felix without a real mentor who could guide them in terms of training. Sir Dolorem couldn't help much either, as his own rank was too low. All he could give was some advice and information.
"Where is Sylvester? He called us here and is missing." Felix and Gabriel sat outside an eatery on the Guild's Peninsula.
Gabriel merely hummed in reply as he had a book in hand and was reading it with focus.
Just then, Sylvester arrived and took the book from Gabriel. He took a seat and confidently suggested something. "Do this later. We have an important thing to do right now. Tell me, do you wish to make some more money? After all, our salaries right now are pitiful at best."
"Ugh, I don't want more money." Felix shrugged. "I got enough of it."
"Felix, you spoiled rich young master. I want more money." Gabriel barked. "That healer took all the money I used to send to Raven, so I need some extra now. I wish to buy Raven a house here. Max, what do you propose?"
Sylvester took out three parchments from his robes. "Here, fill out these forms and come with me."
Felix read. "Application to become a Sacred Arms Guild member? Max, we're clergy. We can't do this."
Sylvester smugly relaxed back. "I have read all the laws in the Law of Light book. It tells us about not selling our services for money. But it nowhere tells us not to become a guild member. These guilds work because we, as adventurers, will take the money in the guild's name. Then, the guild takes its little cut and gives us the rest. So, technically, it wasn't us who took the money."
"But, won't that interfere in our work?" Gabriel wondered.
"Just think about it, you two. We've been given a job that leaves nearly no time to train…so we need more challenges. And we all travel around the world anyway, so why not take a few job requests that would appear on our way? This way, we can earn some good money while also helping the people." Sylvester proposed.
He had already done all the needed research and had spoken with Sir Dolorem. He learned that even the normal clergy members from monasteries take a small amount of money from people for their special services. But, of course, that money is taken in the name of Solis—a guise.
"Let's do it!" Felix readied quickly. "More adventures? Count me in!"
Soon Gabriel also agreed. "As long as we don't take any jobs that contradict our work as clergy, I'm fine."
Sylvester clapped and took back the applications. "Great, then let's go and fill them ou-"
He suddenly stopped speaking, for he felt a sudden rise in gloominess in the air. Sadness, anxiety, and fear mixed in. He quickly got up and looked back. There, he found Sir Dolorem closing in.
Confused, he wondered if something terrible had happened to him. "Sir Dolorem, come and join us."
The knight took a seat silently but didn't dare look Sylvester in the eyes. There was blankness on his face and traces of guilt. "Priests, I have grave news."
"Did we get kicked out of the Sanctum Inspector job?" Felix asked excitedly.
Sir Dolorem didn't move, however. Instead, he kept staring at the glass of water on the table, feeling thirsty but being unable to make himself reach out for it.
After a long silence, he added, "I have information regarding Markus."
The three straightened their backs at that. They had decided long ago that as long as they found Markus' location, they'd go and bring him back. They could easily use their status as God's Favored.
Sir Dolorem, in a low voice, uttered—but with each word, he appeared to clutter.
"M-Markus… They… His ashes have been handed over to his family."
[A/N: Count to 1000, and the shall appear.]
500 GT = 1 bonus chapter.(Already half done)
1 Super Gift = 1 Bonus chapter.
1500 Stones = Bonus Chapter.
APE TOGETHER STRONG!
