Heavily bundled up in layers of clothing, we carried ample supplies of food and magic tools as we began our ascent up the path of Mount Kapali.
“Ugh, it’s cold.”
Campfire
Clara shivered dramatically as she summoned flames using the spell embedded in her glove.
“How could the priests of the Ascetic Church even think of living in a place like this? Just securing food supplies looks difficult enough.”
“They say pilgrims occasionally come all the way up to the main headquarters to provide daily necessities.”
Because there were quite a few unexplored regions around Mount Kapali, fierce wild animals and monsters frequently appeared. The practitioners of the Ascetic Church would descend the mountain to patrol, ensuring those creatures did not harm the nearby villages.
Among the grateful residents, some developed faith in the Ascetic God and voluntarily made donations to the church.
Clatter clatter!
Suddenly, Plebelziam’s sword body on Epio’s back shook violently.
“Ple? What’s wrong?”
[It’s just that I’m dumbfounded. Choosing on their own to lock themselves away in such a boring place—what ridiculous fellows. If they spent a few hundred years buried underground like me, their thinking would change.]
“Uh, um… As a priestess of the Dragon God Cathedral, I’ll apologize on their behalf?”
(g….)
After the incident at Grand Valley, Plebelziam’s attitude and manner of speaking toward Clara seemed to have become subtly lukewarm.
He still didn’t appear to remember anything about the past, but it looked like he had sensed something.
“Huh? You’re not picking a fight with Clara today?”
[Just let it go!]
I watched Epio and Plebelziam begin bickering over some trivial reason as usual and recalled the Ascetic Church’s actions in the original work.
The Ascetic Church was one of the major allied forces in Part 3.
They were first mentioned as one of the factions that did not participate in the war against the Schnifelt family. The Holy Pope dispatched a special envoy to Mount Kapali to question them about the issue.
In truth, the Ascetic Church had received a prophecy from someone that ‘the heroic tales of the past will revive as nightmares,’ and they had been stockpiling their strength for a long time in preparation.
Despite possessing tremendous military power, they had remained completely secluded throughout Part 2 for that very reason.
However, this had been closer to a miscalculation.
From the Prima Continent’s perspective, the revival of the Five Heroes was indeed more dangerous, but the threat from the Schnifelt family was no less severe.
Moreover, the timing of the events had been slightly off. If they had participated in the final battle of Part 2, the allied side’s forces would have been far better preserved.
We spent two full days and nights climbing Mount Kapali. Since cabins prepared for pilgrims were stationed along the way, we had no worries about sleeping arrangements.
Early in the morning on the third day, Linia, who had been communicating with the wind spirits, spoke to me.
“Young Master, the church seems to be nearby.”
“Hm. We’ve finally made it this far.”
Beyond the thick fog and blizzard, a large stone structure came into view. Soon, an ascetic standing guard at the outpost spotted us and asked.
“Are you pilgrims?”
“I am Aiden Stroke. I have received permission to visit from Sir Bruno Geiger.”
“Ah, please wait a moment!”
Before long, the gatekeeper granted us entry. Once inside the church, we came face to face with a former member of the Triple Star.
“Welcome, everyone from the Blispiel Clan. The great feats you accomplished in the central region have even reached the summit of Mount Kapali.”
The speaker was an elderly man who appeared to be around the same age as the Professor or my great-uncle. Yet he possessed a far higher standing than either of them.
Character Sheet.
<Bruno Geiger> [Level: 61/61] [HP: 16][STR: 15][AGI: 15] [MP: 17][Mental: 13][Sense: 15] [Divinity: 07] [Traits: Black and White Judgment (U), Sword Emperor (S+), Serene Clarity (A), Ascetic (A), and 2 others] [Skills: Tranquil Swordsmanship · Extreme (S), Tranquil Heart Method · Extreme (S), Swadik Body Strengthening Heart Method (A), Ascetic Church Martial Arts (A), and 5 others] [Description: 109 years old, human race. A great elder respected by the priests of the Ascetic Church. Former Triple Star member and ascetic of the Ascetic Church who received the blessing of returning to youth.]
There were many noteworthy points.
Bruno’s Sword Emperor (S+) trait, like Edval’s Sword Saint (S+), was a title specialized in balanced swordsmanship, though it leaned slightly more toward defense.
It harmonized perfectly with the Tranquil Heart Method he practiced.
Bruno said to me,
“The conversation we exchanged through letters was truly interesting. However… if I am not mistaken, you seem to have grasped our church’s future policies as well.”
His words carried weight.
The high-ranking priests of the Ascetic Church had not revealed any information regarding the prophecy about the Five Heroes to outsiders. Hearing it mentioned in a letter from someone they had never heard of must have been quite shocking.
“I have only one question. Did you and the other ascetics of the Ascetic Church perhaps hear a prophecy about a continental catastrophe from a certain red-haired girl?”
Bruno’s eyes widened at my words.
“…Exactly as you said. The girl suddenly appeared before us and informed us, one by one, of the events that would occur in the future.”
And every single one of those prophecies had come true.
I closed my eyes tightly with a sigh.
[MacGuffin No.121 / ‘The Prophesying Enemy Witch’ has been recovered.]
[Achievement Points + 5,000]
The original work had never clearly stated the identity of the prophet who appeared at the Ascetic Church.
However, through various pieces of circumstantial evidence, I had already reached my conclusion.
The Enemy Witch Apsaras Mayana, possessor of the powerful foresight trait Fate Sight (S), must have come here.
The sea route between the Ciencia Continent and the Prima Continent was blocked by a boundary known as the ‘Great Barrier.’
There was one method to cross that Great Barrier and travel to the other continent: what was commonly called ‘drifting.’
In truth, it could hardly even be called a method.
If someone who fell into the sea was blessed with extraordinary luck, they would occasionally drift all the way to the shores of the opposite continent.
However, near the Great Barrier, abnormal mana currents raged. The stronger one’s magic power, the lower the success rate of drifting became.
That was also why spells would distort and spatial magic coordinates would warp near the Great Barrier.
And here, a natural question arose.
How had the Enemy Witch and the Green Witch—both born with extraordinarily powerful magic—managed to reach the Prima Continent?
To put it simply, they had been flung across to the Prima Continent using the witch forest’s ultra-long-range spatial magic. Aside from relying on luck through drifting, this was likely the only way to cross the undiminished Great Barrier.
The Witch Empress’s Infinite Power (EX) made even such absurd feats possible.
Although even she, who was close to a god of magic, was not entirely free from the Great Barrier’s influence—which was why she had sent her daughters instead.
“Since you say you know about her, this conversation should proceed quickly.”
I continued in a grave tone.
“Preparing for future catastrophes is good. However, the threats that will strike even before the heroes’ revival are dangerous enough that all the forces of the Prima Continent must confront them together. If you respond half-heartedly, assuming other factions will handle it, disaster will follow.”
“…Are you saying the prophet deliberately harbored ill intent and only delivered part of the future information to us?”
That was probably the case.
Mayana, prior to the main story, had not yet freed herself from her mother’s control.
She would have used her foresight to the fullest to investigate the Prima Continent’s major powers—the Schnifelt family and the Five Heroes—while simultaneously working to diminish this place’s strength as much as possible.
This was because the Witch Empress had formed a cooperative relationship with the ‘Demon King’ who would soon revive.
There was an enormous picture behind this, large enough to cover the entire canvas.
Without the proper background knowledge, it would sound far too absurd, so I could not explain everything to Bruno.
But I had not come here without a plan.
“I don’t know how you learned of it… but it doesn’t appear to be a lie.”
Bruno’s eyes gleamed.
The continuous-type Soul Imprint he had manifested—Black and White Judgment (U)—was a trait capable of determining the truth or falsehood of someone’s words.
In Bruno’s eyes, I would appear pure white.
The reason he had believed Mayana’s prophecy so readily was likely because he relied entirely on his Soul Imprint.
If only partial truth was delivered with malicious intent, it would not register as ‘black.’
“But at the very least, everything the prophet spoke of has come true, and we feel the need to prepare for the coming catastrophe. Without solid evidence, we cannot simply follow your opinion.”
“It seems there is one misunderstanding. I never thought for a moment that I could move the entire Ascetic Church. It is more than enough for you, Sir Bruno, and the other ascetics to continue preparing for the heroes’ revival as you are doing now.”
“Then?”
“If I could borrow the strength of just one person, that would be sufficient.”
Bruno narrowed his eyes.
“Surely you don’t mean…!”
“We came here intending to seek Lady Tisie’s cooperation.”
“Haha, that fellow is one of our church’s hidden trump cards.”
“With a spirit as free as his, would he really obediently follow the church’s policies? I believe he would find my proposal extremely interesting.”
“Hmm….”
Bruno let out a low hum.
After thinking for a moment, he spoke.
“This matter seems to have already left my hands. That impudent fellow is preparing to head down the mountain for patrol duty. Go meet him and try to persuade him yourself.”
“Thank you.”
I smiled with satisfaction.
I had finally secured the chance to meet him.
Chesa asked me,
“Is there really someone here capable of facing Iris Schnifelt head-on?”
“Of course.”
Chesa had witnessed Iris’s divine authority with her own eyes at the Sun Cathedral. She clearly found my confident statement difficult to believe.
I smiled bitterly and said,
“If I had to name the single strongest person on the current Prima Continent, it would undoubtedly be Iris Schnifelt.”
Naturally, the three individuals I had once mentioned as possibly being able to defeat the current Iris were all treated as clear underdogs.
One was a character who never appeared in the original work, and considering the related settings and high position, making contact at this point in time was impossible.
Another was essentially uncontrollable and required extreme conditions (EX-) to display their full power.
By process of elimination, the last person was the one I needed to recruit first.
He was one of the central figures of Part 3 and possessed the most unique combat style among all the characters in Reca Chronicles. Because of his extremely alien power, readers had even ranked him as one of the two major level-breaking cheaters.
As we crossed the corridor and stepped outside…
Rustle rustle. The sound of a broom sweeping could be heard.
Someone was cleaning the courtyard alone.
It was a boy with ordinary brown hair and indistinct features—the kind of appearance one could see anywhere on the continent. He had an extremely faint presence.
I walked up to the boy.
Then I knelt on one knee.
Setting profit aside, I personally wanted to show this person the deepest respect.
“Aiden-nim? Why toward a child like him…?”
I could feel Clara and Linia’s confusion, but I calmly gazed at the boy sweeping the floor.
“Hm.”
Rustle— accompanied by a youthful voice.
The broom that had been moving busily stopped.
“To recognize this elder’s greatness at a single glance… you are quite the noteworthy fellow. What business brings you to a dull place like Mount Kapali?”
I finally met a pair of eyes with unfathomable depth.
<Tisie Verdad> [Level: 62/62] [HP: 06][STR: 05][AGI: 06] [MP: 00][Mental: 58][Sense: 12] [Divinity: 09] [Traits: Multi-Phantasm Executor (U), Oil Painting Resonance (U), Serene Clarity (A), Mana Insulation Body (-)] [Skills: Reverser (U), Soul Rise (U), Tisie Combat Method (A), Tranquil Heart Method (A), and 5 others] [Description: 108 years old, human race. An ascetic respected by all priests on Mount Kapali and the being closest to the divine incarnation pursued by the Ascetic Church. His mind has already far transcended the boundaries of what is considered human.]
A character sheet that could only be described as the pinnacle of abnormality appeared before my eyes.