Chapter 15: The Inquisitor (1)
In reality, hauling firewood was more like labor than exercise. But muscles built through such work were often more practical in real-life scenarios than just for show, which could hinder movement and endurance.
“Hmm…”
Gebel prodded and poked at Isaac’s muscles, inspecting him.
“Why are you doing that?” Isaac asked, catching his breath.
“You recover quickly and your muscles are growing unusually fast. But it’s strange how you can wield a hefty axe with ease but struggle with a few logs. Quite unpredictable.”
“…I’m not entirely sure either.”
Gebel wasn’t suspicious; he trusted Isaac’s maturity. He was just intrigued by the circumstances that brought out Isaac’s exceptional strength. But now, Gebel’s focus had shifted elsewhere.
“No problemo! Your physical strength is like, improving super fast. It’s seriously mind-blowing. Can you believe how much your muscles have grown in just a week?”
Isaac didn’t really notice a big change, but Gebel definitely saw it differently.
‘Must be those tentacles.’
[Dead God’s Intestines / ‘Devour’ a portion of the opponent’s stats and characteristics.]
[Flesh Storage / Speeds up healing until the eaten opponent is fully digested.]
The ‘Flesh Storage’ power quickly digested its prey while boosting healing speed big time. Even after a whole day of working out, his bod felt totally wiped out.
Muscle growth went like this: First, exercise would break down the muscles. Then, they’d heal up stronger and bigger.
This whole process led to bigger, tougher muscles. With the help of the Flesh Storage power, Isaac could do more intense exercises without worrying about getting hurt.
Thanks to that, Isaac’s muscles were growing at full speed.
Plus, ‘Dead God’s Intestines’ really amped up this whole efficiency. His bod was visibly getting better.
Isaac was stoked about Gebel’s comments.
‘Awesome, awesome. Feels like I’m finally reaping the benefits of this other world.’
Things were going great.
Training with Gebel, a former vice-captain of the Paladin Order, and picking up miracles and hymns from the head of the monastery, Isaac was set for a solid future. The monastery head had no suspicions, and he was on track to becoming a Paladin. What could go wrong?
Just had to climb the ranks in the order and then lead the Dawn Army to take back the holy land.
***
Time whizzed by.
Isaac spent his days getting all the support from the head of the monastery and learning from Gebel.
On top of that, he tackled missions for the Nameless Chaos, leveling up his tentacle skills. Using tentacles in the monastery was risky, but Isaac managed to navigate it smoothly.
The nutrients from the tentacles combined with Gebel’s swordsmanship advice fused perfectly, boosting Isaac’s skills fast.
And so, Isaac’s third winter in this body came around.
It was a tougher winter than he expected.
Snow started falling early, covering the forest around the monastery. Thanks to the pre-winter preparations Isaac and Gebel had done, the monastery was ready for the season.
In the snow, Isaac stood in the backyard, sword held high.
Two years of hardcore training had beefed up his bod. Muscles had formed on his once skinny arms, and his face now had that mature look, though he still seemed slender. But the progress was huge.
Just holding the sword made Isaac break a sweat. Without even moving, the snowflakes melted before touching him from the heat his bod was putting out.
Then suddenly, Isaac’s eyes lit up.
The sword moved before he even thought to swing it.
The blade sliced sharply through the air.
Whoosh! The sound of the wind being cut rang out, sending snow flying. Isaac finally took a deep breath as if letting out all his energy. Sweat dripped down like a waterfall.
‘Seems like I’ve hit my stamina limit.’
The Nephilim’s cursed blood made sword training a real pain for Isaac. But, he managed to make up for it somewhat with the Devour perk.
“Are the Nephilim folks just naturally limited physically? The whole racial limits thing seems tougher than expected,” Isaac pondered.
He wasn’t quite sure how limited he really was. To get stronger and last longer, he figured he might need to dip into some magical or miraculous tricks.
Isaac felt like he had hit a wall with his sword skills. Even though he hadn’t learned from Gebel directly, he sensed there was more out there to discover beyond his current abilities. And he had the stat sheet to prove it.
Checking out his progress, he read: [Low-Level Paladin Swordsmanship Proficiency (Lv 99) (999999/999999)]. But, it seemed like he wasn’t ready for the next level just yet.
Since he started wielding a sword, Isaac hadn’t skipped a single day of training, going way beyond what Calzen Miller did. He found that focusing on precision over repetition gave him a leg up.
But that was ages ago. Every time he tried to push further, his body would hit a wall. He either felt too wiped out or knew he was pushing his luck.
“Swordsmanship must be like its own skill,” Isaac thought, recalling how swordsmanship was classified in the chaotic world he found himself in.
He realized that like magic or miracles, swordsmanship had its costs. It wasn’t just HP in a game; it could literally break a body if not used wisely.
The fear of never being able to fully use his skills nagged at Isaac. But he wasn’t ready to give up. If needed, he could rely on the Devour trait to keep himself in check until he figured out those mysterious ‘unmet conditions.’
“Maybe I need to step up and become a real Paladin,” he mused. While learning from Gebel would’ve been ideal, Isaac had let go of his dream of mastering advanced swordsmanship a while back.
Gebel had his reasons for not sharing those advanced moves. As Isaac got better, even Gebel was surprised at his progress. A teenage prodigy was wielding a sword like a seasoned warrior, leaving everyone impressed.
The path to mastering the sword was different for every knightly order. They each had their secret techniques, claiming to be top-tier. But measuring superiority was tricky, considering the dedication and research behind each method.
Isaac wondered what would happen if he dared to learn those advanced techniques.
“But even adults struggle with it sometimes, risking accidents or worse,” he realized. His young body was not immune to injuries or worse if he pushed too hard.
It was a risk, but not one he couldn’t face.
“Even in real life, newbies often end up hurting themselves trying hard moves. While these don’t bring any magic powers, pulling off superhuman stunts is pretty close.
In this world, crazy stuff can totally happen.
Isaac totally knew he wasn’t ready for fancy sword moves.
‘And hey, I can’t just spill the beans on the Avalanche Swordsmanship.’
‘Can I score some lessons if I join the Avalanche Paladin Order?’
“Could happen. But not holding my breath. That Order’s ancient history now.”
Isaac wondered if Gebel was holding back ‘cause of that, but Gebel wasn’t saying no outright. Instead, he watched Isaac nail all moves except the fancy sword stuff.
Gebel fine-tuned the basics like it was a delicate tune-up job. Sometimes throwing in tweaks or funky moves, but mostly the same routine every day.
Two years in, Isaac was still stuck on the basics.
Swipes, pokes, hits, blocks.
The moves he drilled over and over were now second nature, like feeling a snowflake on his sword.
Isaac sighed, raised his sword again.
Training done for the day but something pushed him to go again. Breathing rough, muscles shaky.
‘Just one more round.’
Isaac ditched dreams of flashier moves. He just wanted to beef up like adding more push-ups. Didn’t want to regret not swinging his sword in a pinch.
‘Tentacles as a last resort.’
Using ‘em would lead to a monster hunt. Not ideal.
Isaac calmed his breath, aimed at the air.
This time, it wasn’t about getting the moves down. He imagined an enemy. Did this drill against boars, Gebel, Calzen.
Now, it was the Nameless Chaos.
Not some human or beast.
It was himself unleashing those tentacles.
The biggest challenger wasn’t boar or pals. It was him.
Imagining the tentacles going wild, Isaac shivered.
Facing that or becoming that? Harsh thoughts.
At his level, he’d be toast.
‘But still, one more time.’
Despite being wrecked mentally, Isaac moved again. Felt the tentacles coming down.
And then, his sword moved funky-like.
After endless reps, Isaac noticed. Felt like his sword had a mind of its own.
‘What?’
A simple jab, a small hop, but the sword dodged the tentacles and nailed the foe.
Ping.
Isaac snapped back to reality. The pretend enemy had disappeared, leaving him puzzled. The sword was now bent at a super weird angle, almost like a tentacle.
***
“Uh, what just happened?” Isaac mumbled to himself. Suddenly, Gebel’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
“You’re gonna catch a cold,” Gebel said, startling Isaac into lowering his sword. Luckily, Gebel didn’t seem to notice.
“Why lucky?” Isaac questioned his relief. He felt like he had just dodged a bullet without even knowing the danger. Maybe it was those tentacles giving him a weird vibe. He often trusted his gut feelings when doing secretive stuff.
While Isaac hurriedly got dressed, Gebel glanced around and asked, “You been at it since dawn?”
“Yup,” Isaac replied. He had the green light to start training early, thanks to the monastery head’s support. The other monks were cool about it, as long as he made time for prayers and mass.
“You should chill on the sword practice,” Gebel suggested, noticing Isaac’s lack of progress. Although Isaac wanted to learn advanced moves, he understood where Gebel was coming from.
“Recite the Prayer of the Fire Seed,” Gebel said. Ironically, this prayer was the reason Isaac kept at his sword training.
Reluctantly, Isaac began reciting, “Oh, omnipresent guide, helper of the blind keeper…”
Snap, crackle, pop! Flames burst from Isaac’s fingertips, then just as quickly vanished, like they had been playing hide and seek.
As per usual.
Gebel stroked his chin and remarked, “Interesting.”
“What’s so interesting?” Isaac asked.
“You’re a whiz with the sword and super devoted, but your miracle skills are somewhat lackluster,” Gebel explained.
“Isn’t that normal?” Isaac wondered.
“Not really. Most folks good at swords are also good at miracles. I nailed the Light of the Beacon miracle in six months,” Gebel said.
Isaac felt a pang of disappointment. Being a Nephilim, he was expected to excel at miracles due to their strong faith. Instead, he focused on his swordsmanship and physical prowess.
‘If I got sword skills from Calzen, shouldn’t I have snagged some miracle mojo too?’ Isaac griped silently.
The prayer he just recited – the Light of the Beacon miracle – was basic stuff. Despite being acknowledged by the monastery head and Gebel, he couldn’t pull off a single prayer or hymn.
A paladin who couldn’t do miracles was just a glorified knight, or worse.
‘Is it the tentacles’ fault?’ Isaac wondered. Nephilim were usually miracle pros, but maybe the Nameless Chaos was a roadblock.
It was possible that the Nameless Chaos was messing with his miracle abilities.
Isaac stared at his hands, deep in thought. The tentacles had been a huge help to him, keeping him healthy and saving him from some really close calls. But here’s the thing – the Nameless Chaos and the Codex of Light are like polar opposites. So maybe it’s tricky for Isaac, who’s got a piece of that Chaos in him, to tap into the Codex’s miracles.
He wondered, ‘Could I try a different kind of prayer then? Something to honor the Nameless Chaos maybe…’
