Chapter 10:

Chapter 10:

“Move it over there.”

A few days later, Gebel was splitting firewood in the backyard and instructed Isaac. A pile of neatly stacked wood already lay beside him. Isaac, following the instructions, noticed that all the wood was cut uniformly and spaced evenly.

Of course, it was possible with skilled hands, but something about it reminded Isaac of something else.

Thud, thud.

Gebel split the wood mechanically, without breaking a sweat. His axe never missed the center of the wood and never failed to split it in one try.

Isaac, who had been watching silently, suddenly spoke.

“Mr. Gebel.”

“Why?”

“Please teach me swordsmanship.”

Thud. Gebel didn’t stop chopping. He split a few more pieces of wood before turning to Isaac.

He was smiling.

“So that’s why you were following me around?”

“Not just for that, but...”

“Why do you think I know how to use a sword? Because I’m a deserter?”

Gebel referenced an old rumor.

Isaac shook his head. He didn’t know why Gebel was at the monastery, but that wasn’t important to him.

“Was splitting the wild boar in half done with your fist?”

“You must have seen it wrong because you were scared.”

Right. He had expected Gebel not to be convinced by mere words.

“I saw the rat corpses you sometimes asked to be discarded.”

The rat corpses Gebel occasionally instructed to be thrown away were not like those caught in traps, but appeared to be directly caught, all with similar wounds in similar locations.

“They were all precisely punctured by something sharp, like a knife.”

“Why not think of a spear or a skewer? Wouldn’t that be more common?”

Gebel was surprised that Isaac had noticed, but instead of being displeased, he seemed intrigued, wondering what Isaac would say next.

Isaac decided to throw out what he had been pondering.

“You’re a holy knight, Mr. Gebel.”

“Why do you think I’m a holy knight?”

“Because of the tattoo on the inside of your wrist.”

Gebel inadvertently touched his wrist. He hadn’t particularly hidden the tattoo. He was just surprised that young Isaac had noticed it.

“Hans called it a pattern of a sword crossing a crescent moon, but it’s actually a sword piercing a crescent moon, right? The emblem of the Avalanche Holy Knights.”

“...”

Piercing the crescent moon.

Just as the sun symbolizes the Codex of Light, the crescent moon symbolizes the Immortal Order, especially the Immortal Emperor.

Thus, Gebel’s tattoo was a declaration of piercing the Immortal Emperor ‘Beshek’, the god and leader of the Immortal Order.

It was a sign that the ‘Avalanche Holy Knights’ Gebel belonged to were an extremely combative organization.

“I’ve seen that tattoo in the list of knights participating in the Dawn War. Holy knights who participated in the 12th Dawn War...”

“You’ve noticed quite a lot.”

“The story of the Dawn War is every kid’s favorite.”

Gebel put down the axe with a complex expression.

“Even kids should not be underestimated. No one but the abbot recognized it...”

Gebel muttered, not particularly trying to hide it, and picked up the axe again. Isaac wondered if Gebel would strike him with the axe, but he simply went back to splitting wood.

Isaac waited for an answer, but Gebel said nothing more.

“So?”

“So what?”

“Will you teach me how to use a sword?”

Of course, swordsmanship isn’t a necessary condition to become a holy knight. It’s more of a byproduct of the process. Most holy knight orders are closed structures, filled with people brainwashed into faith from childhood.

“Even if you did, that strength doesn’t make sense for your physique...”

Flustered by the unexpectedly sharp question, Isaac saw Gebel immediately dismiss his own theory. It was just as absurd. However, in this world, when impossible things happen, there’s a convenient way to come to terms with it.

Gebel muttered in a daze.

“Was it really a miracle, then?”

“A miracle?”

In that moment, Isaac didn’t miss the expression that flickered across Gebel’s face.

Gebel had used the past tense, ‘Was it a miracle?’ not the present tense.

Meaning, Gebel had seen something in Isaac that he suspected was a miracle.

And that fleeting expression on his face.

It was a look of joy and exhilaration, the kind one has when something they’ve been anticipating appears, not the expression one makes when they see something unexpectedly amazing.

Gebel hurriedly masked his expression and closed his mouth, seeming reluctant to speak further.

“So then.”

When Gebel hesitated to answer, Isaac pressed for a response.

“Since I lifted it, you’ll teach me swordsmanship, right?”

Gebel was at a loss for words.

***

[The Nameless Chaos is pleased with your minor victory.]

[A reward from the Chaos has been bestowed upon you.]

Late in the evening, while reading in the library, Isaac received his victory reward.

Isaac smiled slightly upon hearing the message.

‘It seems he’s decided to teach me swordsmanship.’

The outcome wasn’t decided when he lifted the axe during the day. But the message appearing after a while suggested Gebel had acknowledged it.

‘It wouldn’t have been possible to earn this recognition just by lifting an axe.’

Isaac realized that it was the image he had built up that had swayed Gebel’s mind. The image of a smart, diligent boy, constantly striving for self-improvement, coupled with the desire to learn swordsmanship and showcasing talent, was enough to turn heads.

‘Anyway, it worked out well.’

Isaac checked the reward bestowed upon him by the Nameless Chaos.

[The Nameless Chaos has granted you the ‘Rat in the Walls’ perk.]

[You can now share senses through your tentacles.]

‘Shared senses?’

Isaac felt curious about the term. It was not immediately useful due to the many eyes around, but he cautiously got up and headed outside, pretending to go to the bathroom.

‘Let’s see, just once...’

In a secluded spot, Isaac tried out his tentacles. He experienced a slight dizziness as the vision and

sounds perceived by the tentacles overlapped with his own.

[The Rat in the Walls / You can share senses through your tentacles.]

The overlapping visions were not too confusing, separated only by a blurry boundary. Closing his eyes allowed him to focus more on the tentacle’s perspective.

Isaac moved the tentacle and pushed it through a small crack in the floor. He knew the confessional where Gebel and the abbot were located was below. His aim from the beginning was to eavesdrop on them.

He needed to know what Gebel thought of him.

The tentacle snaked through the loosely sealed wall cracks and stopped near where Gebel and Yevhar were. He heard their conversation through a small ear formed on the tentacle.

***

“He lifted an axe stuck in the wood?”

“Yes, Your Reverence.”

As expected, Isaac’s feat had reached the abbot’s ears.

“Maybe he’s just naturally strong? Calling it a miracle seems a bit of a stretch.”

“It’s different, Your Reverence.”

In the dimly lit confessional, Gebel, with his forehead resting on his hand, muttered.

“There’s a high probability that Isaac is a Holy Body. One who harbors miracles within themselves.”