Five days had passed since then.
The cottage’s repair was proceeding smoothly.
The original roof was torn off, and the new roof, that was made by cutting down trees, had replaced it.
I also fixed a chair without a single leg and a bed with a messed up frame.
What remains is the repairing of the fence and to place the furniture and other equipment inside.
Vera’s lips curled up to form a satisfying smile at the sight of the cottage that now seemed a bit more homely.
'This is enough for a place to live in.'
The fence could be rebuilt later with the help of the twins. The equipment had already been ordered by him and would be delivered by Norn.
And soon he felt a sense of stability as the fire that had been rushing him was finally extinguished. Vera then moved to the center of the vacant lot in front of the cottage.
'Today is….'
It was a day to demonstrate the divine battle art that he had been trying to come up with for the past five days.
…Yes.
The path Vera had chosen for himself was divine battle arts.
He read the textbooks he had received from Trevor to gain basic knowledge about divine battle arts, and based on that, he tried to approach the power in various ways, but in the end what he concluded was that the power of the oath could not be fused with the divine battle arts.
Unlike the twins' power of immortality itself, the problem was that it was difficult to apply it to the body due to lack of intuition.
Once the set value was fixed, there was also a problem that the existing disadvantages of "immediate response during battle" were not compensated enough because it was difficult to cope with ever-changing situations while it was implemented.
So, in order to solve such a problem, Vera turned to philosophical laws. If it was difficult to infuse it within the body, then he could imbue that power to the outside.
If it was difficult to respond to a situation immediately, then he could create an environment where there was no need for him to respond.
Using the law, the space itself was engraved with the power of rules.
If you turn the surrounding area into a battlefield that is advantageous to you, all of the above shortcomings will be rectified.
The power of oath is the power of rules. It is the power to engrave the vows into concrete rules, and to receive the promise of power corresponding to it.
So, it was not impossible to utilize this way of using the aspect of rules itself.
The next thing he did after coming up with that idea was to create an “intent” that would make it come true.
Fortunately, the theory necessary for the conception could be extracted by studying the interpretations of intent received from Trevor.
A ceremony that was going to last for five days.
Now was the first demonstration.
Of course, the level of completion was very high, but the depth of understanding was shallow.
Since clumsy perfection was a factor that needed to be gradually improved in the future, what Vera focused on in this demonstration was the way to conjure up the ‘Intent.’
Vera took a deep breath and unleashed the divinity inside.
'Fusing power of stigma with divinity.'
Thinking about it that way, the divinity turned gray.
The process itself seemed really easy, as Trevor stated. When releasing the divinity, it was necessary to drill a passageway through the location where the stigma was located.
Vera confirmed the ashen divinity. He then gathered it and scattered it around.
'Condensation.'
The most basic use of divinity.
When he did that, the divinity that had been scattered like ashen smoke in the air, entangled with each other and turned into multiple threads.
Now, all the materials that would be the frame for the sword intent had been gathered.
Without any delay, Vera led the thread he had created to the front of his chest.
First thing to do.
'Fixed coordinates.'
To set the coordinates to which the range of the intent was applied.
The longest streak of divinity was woven in the form of a circle.
Woosh woosh-.
Divinity bellowed.
Divinity swirled around Vera.
The next thing to do was set the range.
'Five steps.'
A distance of about 3m. Vera's ability has not yet reached the point where he could apply it to a wide range yet.
Among the threads that hovered around him, Vera drew the range as he set the formula by weaving the longest ones.
A circle in charge of fixing the coordinates connected by the longest thread. In the middle of it, in the vacant space, was an eclipse woven in the shape of a sphere.
At first glance, the formula that looked like a belt of satellites orbiting the planet and its surroundings had been completed.
Vera went through the process and looked around himself.
'It's a success.'
The scattered divinity stayed within the set range.
Now, all he had to do was apply the most important power.
Vera came up with a rule to engrave in this space with a radius of about 3m.
Stability had to be considered. So, Vera engraved a rule that could give the least variation in the visible range.
“In this area, all motor abilities increase by 10. However, it must not move faster than the falling leaves. If this rule is violated, the subject will lose 30% of all motor capacity for 10 minutes.”
Woosh-.
Intent vibrated as the ashen divinity arranged and engraved the rules in space.
The reason the penalty was set stronger than the strength obtained was because the power of the oath had such a characteristic.
The condition of the oath was about keeping it. Therefore, the penalty to be endured for violating it should be set higher than the compensation that was naturally obtained.
Vera felt that the activation of the intent was just around the corner, in the space where the power was engraved.
Now I just need to trigger it.
A short remaining strand of divinity. Vera moved it and engraved the name of the master of the rules with the intent.
“All these rules are proclaimed under the name of Lushan.”
Enforcement of rules. The process of ensuring it in the name of God.
Let’s finish this.
Woosh-.
The wind swirling inside the space flowed significantly slower than the surrounding breeze.
Vera knew what that meant. It was a phenomenon where the wind blowing inside the space broke the rules that were set.
'Done!'
An exhilarating joy crept up his spine.
Vera did not try to suppress the smile that appeared on his lips and looked around with satisfaction.
It wasn't just the wind. Flying leaves and insects.
Everything that violated the rules of the space was moving one beat slower than what’s outside the space.
Strictly speaking, it was correct to classify it as a failure.
Didn't that affect even non-living things? Of course, it happened because he did not set strict rules, but fundamentally, it was a phenomenon where powers that were not completely controlled were springing up at will.
However, this was clearly an error that could be fixed through improvement.
Vera decided to rejoice in the immediate success rather than be disappointed in such secondary matters.
Suddenly, in Vera's head, he remembered a big laugh that was mocking him.
Vera's smile deepened at the thought that crossed his mind.
It was because of the thought that there was something to give the old man.
****
“The Apostle of Guidance has returned.”
It was Norn's words.
The vacant lot in front of the cottage. Vera, who was in the middle of working on the courthouse, recalled a fact, that had been pushed aside, at Norn's words.
“Ah, are they the one in charge of the revelation?”
“Yes, the Apostle asked that you to be ready because you will receive a revelation tomorrow.”
Revelation. This ceremony of receiving the trials of the Gods was an event organized by the Apostles of Guidance from generation to generation.
Vola, commonly called the God of Travelers. This was because the connection between the heavenly realm and the real world was possible only with his power.
The fact that Vera's revelation was held at the end of the week was also because the ‘Apostle of Guidance’ was on an outing, so he had to wait for his return.
Vera nodded his head slightly in reply to Norn's words, then posed a question due to the curiosity that crossed his mind.
“What is the Apostle of Guidance like?”
It was a natural question for Vera.
What was the behavior of the apostles he came across? A pair of imbeciles, a lunatic, and a wacky old man.
Weren't they all humans who were out of norms?
Then Vera, who harbored a certain amount of prejudice against the Apostles, asked a question with a hint of suspicion.
“…T-That.”
Norn's body trembled. Embarrassment was etched on his face. His stuttering words amplified his suspicions.
Through that reaction, Vera was able to realize it at once.
'… The number of retards has increased.'
Even that man who is an Apostle of Guidance would not be sane.
Vera was getting more and more stressed.
With that thought, a look of annoyance appeared on Vera's face. After hesitating for a while, Norn avoided Vera's eyes and continued speaking in a troubled tone.
“… He is a cheerful person.”
Vera struggled to grasp the words, cheerfulness and lunacy were concepts that obviously existed in different realms.
Vera wasn't stupid enough to know that it wasn't Norn's fault that he was a lunatic.
****
The next day, the revelation was scheduled to be held around noon.
Vera went to the chapel of the Grand Temple and met Trevor, who was praying there.
“Trevor.”
Trevor, who had been praying for a long time, lifted his head.
Trevor found Vera and greeted him with a bright face.
“Oh, Vera. Are you here for your revelation?”
"Yes. Where do I have to go?”
“Follow me. I also have to attend, so I think we should go together.”
“… Will Sir Trevor also attend?”
“Oh, I haven’t explained yet? The ceremony of revelation is an essential observance event for all remaining Apostles in the Holy Kingdom.”
Vera trembled at his subsequent explanation.
“… All, you mean.”
Those humans gather in one place. It was because of that thought that Vera's body trembled.
Trevor nodded in the same energetic tone as before, perhaps not noticing something strange in Vera's reaction.
“Yes, the Apostles of Love and Abundance cannot come because they are dispatched outside, and the seats of Apostles of ‘the Lord’ and ‘Death’ are vacant, so five of us will gather this time. Well, looking at it this way, it seems that there are a lot of Apostles in this generation. Usually, there are not more than five in an era.”
Trevor continued speaking. To that, Vera nodded his head without saying anything and continued his trail of thought.
'The vacancy is... .'
In 15 years, all the vacant seats would be filled, at the dawn of the war against the Demon King.
4 years from now, the stigma of the Lord will be bestowed upon Renee, and after 6 more years, the Apostle of Death will also take their seat.
While the seat of the Apostle of Judgment remained vacant after Vargo's death, the next master of the stigma would appear when the battle with the Demon King was in full swing.
Of course, not all of them were involved in the war.
Wasn't Vera avoiding the war at the time?
Trevor, the Apostle of Wisdom and the Apostle of Guidance he would soon meet. In addition, those who he had not met as of yet, such as the Apostle of Love, were not known as they guarded the interior of the castle at the time the war was in full swing. That was the sole reason there was not much information about them.
While Vera was in the midst of contemplating, he threw his gaze at Trevor, who was muttering by himself.
'Did he mention the Apostles of Guidance and Love?'
The work entrusted by the Apostles of Wisdom from generation to generation.
It was only when he came here that he realized why he was not known in his previous life.
Perhaps the Apostles of Guidance and Love were not known because they had similar roles.
Suddenly, Vera felt a sense of suffocation creeping up inside him.
Even though he had already lived one life and knew almost all the events of the continent, he could not take advantage of the limited information about the Holy Kingdom.
Due to this limited information, I can’t plan for what will happen to Renee, who I will meet later, and how to deal with her.
At the thought that flashed through his mind, Vera's frowned slightly, and Trevor, who saw him, only realized then that Vera's expression was unusual.
“Vera? Are you sick?”
“No, I’m just a little nervous.”
“Ah! If that's the case, I can empathize. I remember the day when I first received a revelation. The stigma that appeared suddenly while I was working as an apprentice wizard in the tower, the wonder and blessing of that day. As the day of revelation comes, they come like a wave of water and shake my heart. That's why I shed tears without knowing... .”
Words that followed one after another.
Vera's brows furrowed, but Trevor was so absorbed in his story that he did not notice his expression.
Vera remembered the thought of wanting to sew a human mouth after a long time.