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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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Chapter 10: Sparring (1)
Ray's reason for choosing the relic container was simple.
It was to melt down the container, which was larger and contained more iron than any other relic, in order to forge the maximum number of weapons possible.
Furthermore, he knew from experience that items made by melting down holy relics also become holy relics themselves.
Knew from experience?
In other words, this wasn't the first time he'd done something like this.
「Ray Andersoooooon! How dare you melt down the church's brass star as you please!!」
「What? You said you were replacing it with a new one anyway! Ow! Ow! That hurts! Is it right to beat up a brother in faith like this!」
「If you're my brother, then I've certainly chosen my siblings poorly!!」
Setting aside memories of the past, Ray confirmed that the methods from his previous life worked just fine in this world too.
After all, didn't Roman vampire hunters effectively hunt vampires using silver arrows forged from melting down the silver crosses of Milan church?
It seemed the principle that items forged from holy materials retain their sanctity held true across worlds.
"Y-You! Are you saying you melted down a holy relic just like that!"
Aaron trembled with rage.
All these weapons were made by melting down a holy relic?
"An object is just an object. You need to know how to melt things down and create something new when necessary."
"You madman...!"
Aaron looked at Ray with utter disgust.
Even if he was a commoner, how could he even conceive of melting down a holy relic to make weapons!
"Do you have any idea how much history was imbued in that holy relic! Enough history for the container ‘itself’ to become a holy relic!"
"Our Lord Sol Invictus once bestowed the might of an iron chariot upon a donkey’s jawbone. If He could do that, why should changing the form of what He already blessed be considered a sin?"
“What kind of blasphemy is this!”
Having lived with the scriptures since childhood and raised under a Cardinal and a holy knight, Aaron was appalled by Ray's incredibly flexible or rather, reckless interpretation of faith.
Just as Aaron was about to unleash a retort to that shocking assertion, someone bellowed from the rooftop of the dormitory with a resonant voice.
"All prospective members! Assemble in the training ground!!"
It was a voice of such commanding volume that everyone inside the building couldn't help but hear it.
***
After the entrance exam concluded and dormitories were assigned, no one had sought out the prospective members for a while.
Whether it was to give them sufficient time to adapt, there had been no word for some time, until suddenly, this assembly was called.
A man walked toward the prospective members who had hurriedly poured out into the designated area.
Senior Knight Jake of the Armed Special Affairs Bureau's Holy Knights Order.
A man projecting an aura vastly different from the typically gentle clergy.
A scar slashed across his left eye, and another mark started from his neck, its end disappearing beneath his collar, hinting at more unseen wounds. Undoubtedly, his body bore the inscriptions of past battles.
"Good to meet you, everyone. I am Instructor Jake of the Holy Knights Order."
Ooh!
A Holy Knight...!
Various cheers and excited murmurs erupted, but Jake's expression remained utterly unmoved.
He clapped his hands together.
Smack!
And a sharp crack echoed through the air.
It was a sound loud enough to instantly silence everyone.
"I am here to explain what you must do and what you must train for as an Armed priest."
Jake spoke casually, observing the candidates now focused intently on his voice.
"But before that. I need to assess your aptitude."
"Our aptitude?"
Someone voiced the question, and Jake grinned fiercely in response.
"It's simple enough. I mean we're going to fight."
It was an assessment of skills through sparring.
As candidates set to join an armed institution, it meant evaluating their actual combat capabilities.
"Why wasn't this assessed during the entrance exam?"
Jenny raised her hand and asked.
Jake answered immediately.
"The first and second exams were purely to determine basic qualifications. If combat training had been the test, the brothers among you with mercenary backgrounds would likely have been the top qualifiers."
At those words, the members with mercenary backgrounds flinched slightly.
Indeed, the entrance exam's conditions had been disadvantageous for mercenaries.
Unlike the other successful candidates who had followed a more formal path within the clergy, those from mercenary or soldier backgrounds had been at a particular disadvantage, especially during the second exam.
"Don't consider it unfair. To become a proper Armed priest of the Theocracy, acquiring Holy Power is the foremost priority."
In other words, faith and piety were inevitably the most crucial requirements.
To the mercenary-background candidates lowering their heads in understanding Jake's words, he explained their advantage.
"Despite being people from the wilds who made a living by the blade, your faith was deep enough to pass. Although you weren't top qualifiers, you could say your position is rather favorable."
"Ah..."
"Come to think of it, that might be true..."
Jake planted his sword into the ground and looked around at the candidates.
"Alright, let's begin. Who wants to go first?"
"I will!"
The first to raise her hand was Jenny from the Axe Sisterhood.
Jenny, who had fearlessly confronted the nobleman Aaron, hefted her halberd.
'For a woman to lift such a heavy halberd.'
'She already knows how to use Holy Power. If she also has the Sun's Blessing, it would be the icing on the cake.'
In this world, Holy Power manifested in various ways: enhancing physical abilities, expressing Divine ability, overcoming and healing illness and injury.
Even without possessing a specific ability, faithful believers were generally healthier and stronger than ordinary people.
"Sister Jenny. Let's see your skills."
"Yes!"
The two stepped into the center of the training ground.
Everyone watched them with keen interest.
"Of course, the instructor will win."
"The Axe Sisterhood, huh? They're famous."
Amidst the murmuring candidates, Ray cautiously asked Aaron.
"Brother Aaron. Is the Axe Sisterhood that famous?"
At his words, Aaron made a face that clearly asked, 'You don't even know that?' He was a subtly grating fellow.
"The Axe Sisterhood is a convent that produced a Saint. Haven't you even heard of Orcslayer Elizabeth of the Twin Axes?"
"Don't expect too much from a deacon from the woods."
"Tsk."
Though Aaron seemed annoyed, as if explaining it was a bother, he soon provided a diligent explanation nonetheless.
To summarize his explanation:
About 200 years ago, orcs invaded a city.
As the city burned, men were slain, and women faced imminent violation, a nun named Elizabeth heard God's command.
[Take up my axe and go forth to defeat those hideous beasts.]
At the divine command, delivered directly by a descending angel, Elizabeth grabbed a pair of axes without hesitation and charged out.
That was the moment the legend of Saint Elizabeth of the Twin Axes began.
"Thus, Sister Elizabeth was recognized as a Saint, and the Axe Sisterhood remains to this day composed of armed nuns who master the art of the axe."
'Sounds like a plausible enough story.'
It wasn't uncommon, even in Ray's previous life.
Tales like someone beating a dragon half to death before dragging it to a church, or stories of someone delivering a beatdown via mount to drive off a demon for a believer whose soul was forfeit due to a contract.
If violence is not solving the problem, you're not using enough of it.
Having satisfied his curiosity, Ray focused on the sparring match.
Because Jenny, with a battle cry, had just charged at Sir Jake.
"Hiyaaaaaah!"
It was a different kind of cry from a man's deep roar.
And unlike a woman's cry might suggest, the halberd Jenny swung was incredibly savage.
Whoosh! Whooosh!
However, Sir Jake expertly parried Jenny's axe strikes.
With one hand effectively sealed, using only a wooden sword.
"As expected of a Holy Knight. His skill level is different."
"Sister Jenny also shows signs of long, proper training. But still, she's no match for a Holy Knight."
Ray saw it the same way.
Drawing upon the experiences of his past life, Ray had a keen eye for combat.
Sister Jenny was clearly a trained axe wielder, but there was a hint of clumsiness about her.
Her axe swings lacked killing intent.
More accurately, it was hesitation.
People often hesitate even against evil spirits or monsters in human form.
Moreover, Jenny's opponent was a real person.
The natural hesitation, the fear of potentially injuring her opponent was evident in her swings.
The young master of the Lincoln family, a renowned vampire hunter lineage in the United States that had even produced a president, had looked exactly like that.
'Lack of real combat experience, perhaps.'
Eventually, Jenny's halberd was knocked aside, and Sir Jake's wooden sword struck her squarely in the abdomen.
"Kyak!"
Although he must have held back, in a real battle, it would likely have been a critical blow.
Instructor Jake seemed ready to end the match there, but at that moment, Jenny's palm began to glow.
"Healing ability?"
It was, quite literally, the ability of Healing.
Jenny healed the abdomen where she'd been struck and grinned fiercely.
"In a real fight, this means I wouldn't have lost, right?"
"Indeed. I heard you possessed considerable healing ability. Why didn't you join the Healing Order?"
"That's personal!"
Jenny lifted her halberd high and re-entered the fray.
After that, Jake landed several more effective hits, but Jenny negated them with her healing power.
Once she started using her Healing ability, she began charging forward with brute stubbornness, seemingly predicated on taking the hits.
Her appearance was so much like that of a berserker that even the watching candidates felt unnerved.
"She looks pretty, but she has a tough side."
"Can't take her lightly just because she's a sister..."
But that didn't last long either.
When regular blows weren't enough to make Jenny yield, Instructor Jake's wooden sword thrust under Jenny's chin.
"Ack...!"
Even though it was a wooden sword, she nearly got stabbed in the neck.
In a situation that would naturally be chilling for any human, Instructor Jake stopped his sword precisely.
It was a feat impossible without an absolute difference in skill.
"Even with the ability of Healing, you can't stop immediate death."
"Uh, um... right?"
"Well done, Sister Jenny."
"Thank you... for the guidance."
"Alright, next."
Jake's gaze turned towards the members.
He seemed intent on facing everyone here alone.
One by one, they stepped forward, but all they confirmed was an overwhelming difference in skill.
Sir Jake didn't even break a sweat while writing performance reviews for every single member.
Aaron, at least, put up a good fight against Sir Jake for 5 minutes, but it was far from enough to overcome the holy knight's fortress.
"This time, I..."
Just as Ray was about to step forward, Sir Jake stopped him.
"Brother Ray, we'll spar after the sun sets."
"Is it because of the ability I possess?"
"Yes. I think I can give a more accurate assessment if we spar when neither of us is under the 〈Sun's Blessing〉."
"Oh..."
It wasn't a bad condition.
Right now, Sir Jake himself was receiving the 〈Sun's Blessing〉, which gave him a buff several times that of a holy knight's physical strength.
The problem was...
'I can receive it at night too. Should I tell him this?’
***
There were a hundred prospective members.
Sir Jake, a holy knight of the Holy Knight Order and acting as their instructor, sparred with all of them and assessed them.
Most were novices. While they had trained to some extent, having applied to join a military organization, they had virtually no practical experience.
While this was natural for young monks and nuns, there were many who barely met the minimum standard.
'As expected, they're all young. It can't be helped since we focused on future potential.'
Mercenaries, at least, were of a higher standard.
Even if it was just brawling, they had experienced real combat.
They had trained reasonably well to survive, and most importantly, they didn't hesitate.
The problem was that their motivation was ultimately a more stable life as clergy rather than mercenary life, so their holy power didn't accumulate well.
No matter how much combat experience they had, the essential quality for a military organization was the acquisition of ability.
Just like Jake, who was receiving the 〈Sun's Blessing〉 and facing a hundred people consecutively.
'Still, Aaron, Jenny, and Henry are at a level where they can be deployed in real combat immediately.'
All three had little experience but were well-trained.
There was no need to mention the prestigious Graham family, and the Granville and the Axe Sisterhood were places where famous martial monks and nuns gathered.
Known for training thoroughly before leaving for the outside world, the two, who were essentially the representatives of their respective orders this year, received good evaluations.
Aside from them, even among those who passed with high marks, there were many who lacked combat readiness.
It wouldn't be a problem if they went to the choir or the healing center, but it would be a difficult path if they aspired to the Holy Knight Order or the Inquisitors.
"Lastly, Ray Anderson."
Sir Jake called out to Ray Anderson last.
A deacon from the remote Obello Church.
Information about Ray Anderson had recently become a hot topic within the Papal State.
'They say he killed a warlock. And alone.'
Warlocks and witches.
They referred to the wicked who made contracts with demons and practiced wicked arts like magic.
The report that the plague which led to the death of the Obello Church's priest in charge was actually a curse cast by a warlock had only come in recently.
But even more surprising was that the young deacon of the church, Ray Anderson, was the one who delivered divine judgment upon the warlock who scattered that curse.
They said he killed two of the warlock's apprentices with a surprise attack and then murdered the warlock head-on.
Indeed, he was someone the Inquisitors would actively recommend.
'The exam content was also unconventional. Not only did he instantly kill the heretic without even attempting conversion, but they say he spoke in tongues during the prayer meeting and even received the blessing of the Holy Spirit.'
If so, what exactly was Ray Anderson's 'quality'?
If he had obtained the ability of Hymns, he would certainly be more than qualified to join the Solaryon Choir, but he himself refused to join the choir.
Then, since he possessed the 〈Sun's Blessing〉, was it joining the Holy Knight Order?
By all accounts, that would be the case, but Ray had never revealed his intentions, so it was unknown.
"Ray Anderson. Bring that brother into our Holy Knight Order. He is undoubtedly a born talent."
It was a request Sir Velvet, a senior knight of the Holy Knight Order, had strongly emphasized.
Was it just the Holy Knight Order? The Choir, led by Abbess Ivella, openly offered recruitment, and the movements of the Inquisition, Eclipse, were also unusual.
At least the healers weren't making a move, but that was natural since joining was impossible without the ability of Healing.
Had there ever been a newcomer who caused such a stir among the military organizations?
Sir Jake felt a great deal of interest in Ray Anderson's skill.
"Ray Anderson. I heard you recently obtained the ability of Hymns."
"Yes, I was lucky during the prayer meeting."
"Hmm, have you figured out what kind of ability it is?"
At that, Ray shook his head.
"Alright, but you must use all the power you possess. Start with what you can use."
At Sir Jake's words, Ray tilted his head.
"Do you mean I should sing a hymn here?"
"Yes, let's find out."
Sir Jake grinned.
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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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