After safely finishing the worship service. Behind the underground chapel.
"Uncle, I told you not to distribute things like this?"
"If we don't do things like this, our funding gets cut off. Don't you know the believers are gradually decreasing?"
"No, if you're going to distribute flyers, at least make them properly. Why is the design like this?"
I picked up a flyer that was rolling around on the floor and showed it to him. A rainbow gradient background with fonts that completely ignored readability.
It was a catastrophically bad design.
"Why? Isn't it cool?"
However, my uncle seemed completely unaware of the problem. I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my forehead. My head was throbbing.
Lee Jin-seong.
My maternal uncle and a priest of the Voodoo sect. He was the very person who handed me the microphone during the worship service earlier.
He handles the overall administrative affairs of the Voodoo sect and is also a very capable intelligence agent.
Although he's multi-talented in various fields like this, he lacked aesthetic sense. It's not that he lacked it, it would be fair to say he had none at all.
"Change the design. No, I think it would be better to hire a new design person altogether."
"Hey, hiring people also costs money. What's wrong with the rainbow background? It's stylish and nice."
"Stylish my foot. Ah, never mind."
I thought it would only be a loss for me to say more. I shook my head and passed by my uncle to enter the room.
The room had a musty mold smell. I wanted to ventilate it, but there were no windows so ventilation was impossible.
I laid down on the bed in the corner of the room. The blanket was damp with moisture.
"Ugh."
[It can't be helped since it's underground.]
When I made a disgusted sound, the voice in my head rang out again. It was the voice of the Loa dwelling within me.
This Loa's name is 'Legba'.
A Loa who mediates between humans and Loa, and rules over all other Loa as their leader.
Befitting that title, Legba's powers and sorcery are so mighty that they far transcend human common sense.
So Legba said with his own mouth.
[I never lie. It's all true.]
"Yes, I believe you."
I nodded while lying on the bed. Of course it must be true. Though I've never seen it with my own eyes.
[I just can't demonstrate my abilities right now because there's no altar.]
"I didn't say anything though?"
[You seemed like you didn't believe me, so I thought I'd mention it just in case. Instead of whining, hurry up and reclaim the altar.]
Legba added with displeasure. I just ignored him.
I listened to Legba's grumbling with one ear and let it out the other, while waving my right hand in the air.
Soon, purple light flowed from my fingertips. I used that light as paint to draw a sorcery circle in the air. A sorcery circle formed by purple straight lines and curves intersecting here and there.
Soon, ominous purple smoke poured out from the completed sorcery circle.
Advanced illusion, a sorcery of mental confusion.
If Romanica has divine power, then the Voodoo sect has Voodoo magic power.
You can use sorcery by drawing sorcery circles, and the paint for drawing sorcery circles is Voodoo magic power.
[Excellent.]
Legba muttered admiringly. Since I was the leader of the Voodoo sect, I was naturally proficient at handling Voodoo magic power as well as drawing sorcery circles. In terms of Voodoo magic power, it would be fair to say I'm number one in the industry.
The problem is that there are almost no opportunities to use this.
The world has designated the Voodoo sect as a heresy and arrests and punishes all Voodoo followers.
If even ordinary believers are treated like this, there's no need to mention me as the leader. The moment my identity as leader is discovered, I'll be burned at the stake like my father, the second-generation leader.
[Don't worry so much. You just need to not get caught. And you won't get caught anyway.]
"I never worried."
Since not even simple personal information including my face and name has been revealed, at this rate there's almost no risk of getting caught.
However, if I use Voodoo magic power, the fact that I'm the leader will be discovered. Therefore, I couldn't use Voodoo magic power.
I dispelled the sorcery circle with my right hand. And this time I drew a picture in the air with my left hand.
Light flowed from my fingertips as before. However, unlike before, the color was pure white.
This time it wasn't Voodoo magic power but divine power.
A low-grade blessing of strength enhancement.
[Pathetic.]
Legba clicked his tongue after seeing it.
I thought so too. Compared to the sorcery circle I drew earlier, the blessing circle I drew with divine power now was crude beyond measure.
Having seen the advanced sorcery circle right before made the difference feel even greater.
[Don't be disheartened. Being able to handle both divine power and Voodoo magic power at the same time is remarkable in itself.]
Legba tried to comfort me, but it wasn't particularly comforting. I flopped down on the bed with a heavy heart.
I can't use Voodoo magic power, which is my specialty. And my talent is too lacking to use divine power.
At this rate, forget becoming a high-ranking cleric, even graduating from Florence seemed difficult.
[I don't think you necessarily have to become a high-ranking cleric. Just living as the leader of the Voodoo sect isn't so bad either.]
"I don't like that."
[There's no guarantee your mother is still alive either.]
"No. She's alive."
The Holy War seven years ago.
My father died and my mother was imprisoned in the Vatican's underground prison. Authority to enter the Vatican's underground prison is only given to high-ranking clerics of cardinal level or above.
And I will become a high-ranking cleric and meet my mother.
This was the reason I enrolled in Florence and the reason I want to become a high-ranking cleric.
***
The next day, my steps to school were heavy.
Yesterday I took a brief nap in the underground chapel and only returned to my apartment when night came.
It was an apartment my uncle gave me as a gift to commemorate my enrollment in Florence.
If I commuted from the Voodoo underground chapel, there would be risk of suspicion, so he meant for me to commute from the apartment while attending Florence.
Florence was close enough to walk to, which was convenient, but facing the morning alone was lonely. My steps were particularly heavy today for this reason.
Taking heavy steps like this one by one, forcing myself to walk for several minutes.
A mystical and magnificent landscape that I could never get used to no matter how often I saw it finally revealed itself.
A wall surrounded by lush trees and freshly sprouted buds.
Beyond it, the main building constructed in Gothic style and numerous buildings lined up around the main building. Brilliant sunlight pouring down as if blessing all of it.
It was the campus of Florence Academy.
[Nice facilities. Meanwhile, we have to worship while eating mold underground because of someone.] I lightly ignored Legba's grumbling. I slowly walked along the path full of natural beauty toward the first-year building.
Soon I reached the front of the classroom. A nameplate reading "1st Year, Charity" hung above the classroom door.
I opened the door without hesitation and entered the classroom. I sat in an empty seat. It was a back seat by the window.
Clatter!
Soon someone vigorously opened the door and entered the classroom. She stood in front of the teacher's desk with an attendance book tucked under one arm, wearing a cheerful, friendly smile.
"Hello. It looks like everyone's here."
She seemed to be the homeroom teacher for the Charity class.
Tap tap!
The teacher tapped the podium with a stick she held in her right hand. The students who had been concentrating on their own studies with their heads down all looked up at once.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Ha Ye-jin, the homeroom teacher for the Charity class. Please take care of me for the year. Are there any students here aspiring to be priests?"
Several students hesitantly raised their hands. About one-third.
"I'm glad there are more than I expected. I'm a teacher for divine power application classes and also a professor in charge of the priest course. Those of you who raised your hands will be able to see me often during classes later."
Ha Ye-jin's smile deepened. Small dimples appeared on both her cheeks.
"Anyway, welcome to Florence, everyone. Florence will have a slightly different atmosphere from middle school. Classes will be harder than you think, and there will be a lot of practical training. It won't be easy to adapt, but once you do adapt, it will be more comfortable than you think."
Ha Ye-jin continued speaking with a gentle smile.
"You must all be nervous and excited. I hope you enjoy those feelings to the fullest. This is also a privilege of being freshmen."
Instead of intimidating students about the new semester, Ha Ye-jin actually encouraged them.
Her tone was gentle, and she always had a smile on her lips. She was also very pretty. Thanks to this, my first impression was very good.
If she was the homeroom teacher, it seemed like the next year of school life would go smoothly.
"Oh, and there are people I hate."
As soon as I thought that, Ha Ye-jin's face hardened stiffly. The sudden change in expression was eerie.
"Those who commit blasphemy, violate teacher authority, and other sins corresponding to the seven deadly sins. And those who practice idolatry or believe in cults. If there are such people here, I will personally expel them myself."
Ha Ye-jin said this and smiled again.
"Of course! As long as you're not such people, I will always treat you with love. I hope there won't be any students who disappoint me."
I swallowed my saliva.
Those who practice idolatry. Those who believe in cults.
Both were me.
[Idolatry? Aren't you serving the correct god? That's us, the Loa.]
So believing in Loa itself is idolatry and believing in cults. That's how it was decided after the Holy War. Though the noble Legba might not know.
[Don't be sarcastic.]
"That concludes the morning assembly. Oh, student Bae Seong-hyeon?"
"Yes."
When Ha Ye-jin called the name, a male student stood up abruptly from his seat.
Tall height, flawlessly handsome appearance. Bae Seong-hyeon, one of the seven freshman representatives who received the holy name of Charity.
"The class president for the Charity class is student Bae Seong-hyeon. At Florence, students who receive holy names become class presidents. There will rarely be changes. So, student Bae Seong-hyeon, please work hard from now on."
"I understand, teacher."
Bae Seong-hyeon bowed his head and sat back down.
Ha Ye-jin smiled warmly at Bae Seong-hyeon, then left the classroom carrying the attendance book.
When Ha Ye-jin left, the classroom quickly became noisy. The children relaxed their new semester tension by having various conversations with friends.
Except for me.
I had no friends.
Some busily went around trying to make new friends by talking to people, but unfortunately, no one came to talk to me.
Most of them only talked to Bae Seong-hyeon, the class president and holder of the holy name of Charity.
"How did you receive the holy name of Charity?"
"I did well on the entrance exam. And my father made some donations, so I followed suit a few times. I think it's because of that."
"Wow..."
The children exclaimed in admiration and looked at Bae Seong-hyeon with longing gazes. Bae Seong-hyeon looked proud feeling those gazes.
I put my face down on the desk and listened to their conversation while lying down.
I didn't intend to eavesdrop, but I just happened to hear it. I felt a bit miserable about myself lying there eavesdropping on others' conversations.
[Don't be lonely.]
Legba seemed to be trying to comfort me. However, it wasn't particularly comforting. No, it would be more accurate to say I didn't need comfort.
I wasn't particularly sad about not having friends. I rarely felt lonely either.
Rather, I thought I was fortunate just not to be bullied.
In middle school, there was a memorable student. That student's parents were Satan worshippers and were arrested and imprisoned.
Naturally, that student suffered terrible bullying. A school violence countermeasures committee was held, but the perpetrators only received minor punishment, and instead the victim, that student, transferred schools.
I think if I hadn't disguised my identity, I would have been bullied like that student.
The disguised identity my uncle prepared. The setting was that my mother died as a holy knight in the Holy War, and my father was a cleric dispatched overseas.
Thanks to this disguised identity, I was able to safely enroll in Florence and avoid bullying due to guilt by association.
Well, disguising my identity didn't make friends appear.
[It's not particularly important anyway.]
As Legba said, it wasn't important.
The reason I enrolled in Florence was to become a high-ranking cleric and meet my mother.
To achieve this objective, I didn't even have time to make friends. Right now, just focusing on cultivating divine power to become a high-ranking cleric wasn't enough.
And to become a high-ranking cleric, I had to stand out in today's physical fitness test.
***
Since it was the first day of classes, most classes proceeded as orientations.
Teachers needed to curry favor with students, thinking of "that day" coming in a month. If they held classes or practicals from the first day, they would surely earn students' resentment. Therefore, there couldn't be any crazy teacher who would proceed with classes from the first day.
Usually, that's what people think.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kim Bok-dong, teacher of practical physical education and professor of the holy knight course. Today we'll proceed directly with practicals. I won't accept complaints."
Surprisingly, there was such a crazy teacher. The person who introduced himself as Kim Bok-dong forcibly dragged students who hadn't even bought gym clothes to the playground.
In the middle of the dusty playground, Kim Bok-dong continued his explanation.
"Practical physical education. It must be an unfamiliar subject. You all know that clerics don't need to emphasize basic physical fitness. More precisely, they don't need to emphasize 'only' basic physical fitness. Does anyone know why?"
An awkward silence flowed. Everyone avoided answering while watching each other. Of course, I was the same.
After a while, one tall male student confidently raised his hand.
"Right. What's your name?"
"I'm Bae Seong-hyeon."
It was Bae Seong-hyeon, holder of the holy name of Charity.
"Because you can use blessings related to physical enhancement to temporarily improve physical abilities."
"Right. Clerics can improve physical abilities with blessings. Then, do clerics not need to train basic physical fitness?"
I shook my head. Clerics also exercise. More precisely, they must exercise because they are clerics.
Kim Bok-dong picked up a weight lying on the ground. A kettlebell-shaped weight with a handle.
"No, rather they must train basic physical fitness even more to maximize the efficiency of blessings."
Kim Bok-dong said this while lightly throwing the weight. The weight flew through the sky in a parabolic arc. The expression "flew" was literally appropriate.
Thud!
The weight landed in the middle of the playground with a tremendous sound. White dust clouds rose centered on the weight.
It seemed to have easily flown about 200m. It was so far that honestly I couldn't even guess.
"Just now I threw the weight using only physical ability without using any blessings. It seems to have flown about 250m. Then what if I use blessings?"
Kim Bok-dong emitted divine power to draw a blessing circle.
A low-grade blessing of strength enhancement.
The light flowing from the blessing circle eventually wrapped around Kim Bok-dong's right arm. In that state, Kim Bok-dong threw the weight again.
The weight flew across the playground through the sky. The landing wasn't visible. Because the weight had gone over the school fence.
Looking at that absurd scene, I was dumbfounded. Kim Bok-dong was truly a monster.
"The low-grade blessing of strength enhancement improves the caster's strength by about 1.5 times. However, with training, you can raise that efficiency to 3 times. This is why you need to learn practical physical education. You can also increase proficiency in blessings through practical physical education."
Kim Bok-dong continued speaking while picking up a weight lying on the ground.
"That was a long digression. Anyway, today we'll have a physical fitness test to check your strength levels. The student who throws the weight the farthest gets the highest score. Below that, scores are given differentially. Blessing use is free. That's all, questions?"
One student raised their hand. It was Bae Seong-hyeon again.
"If I'm not mistaken, I heard there's another way to get full marks regardless of distance."
"Ah, I forgot. Right, there probably won't be anyone who can do it anyway, but it won't hurt to explain."
Kim Bok-dong continued speaking while tapping the weight he was holding with his finger.
At the mention of a way to get full marks, several students' eyes sparkled.
"First, throw the weight to exceed the 50m point. Then predict where your thrown weight will land and catch the weight. Those who succeed in this will get full marks regardless of distance. You could call it a special condition."
Despair filled the sparkling eyes of the children.
They were uncertain whether they could even throw the weight to exceed the 50m point, yet they had to catch it with their own hands.
It meant you needed not only the strength to throw a weight over 50m, but also the speed to cover a 50m dash in 2-3 seconds.
I couldn't do it anyway. Though it might be different if I used "that person's" power.
"Then, let's start the test right away. First is the class president, Bae Seong-hyeon, holder of the holy name of Charity."
At Kim Bok-dong's call, Bae Seong-hyeon walked out trudging.
Standing at the baseline, he sighed repeatedly, then emitted divine power from his fingertips. He began drawing blessing circles at high speed.
[Intermediate strength enhancement, low-grade nervous system, low-grade recovery... I don't know beyond that.]
The blessings Bae Seong-hyeon used were all high-difficulty ones.
After applying all blessings to his right arm, Bae Seong-hyeon threw the weight.
Whoosh!
The weight flew through the sky,
Thud!
And soon landed with a vicious sound.
"Bae Seong-hyeon, 212m!"
Kim Bok-dong announced Bae Seong-hyeon's record. At that overwhelming record, all the other children including me were speechless.
Those who receive the holy name of Charity receive a special blessing called "Blessing of Monstrous Strength" from the Pope. As the name suggests, it's a blessing that grants monstrous strength, and it's possible to share part of that power with others. It's truly a blessing befitting the name "Charity".
Bae Seong-hyeon's tremendous strength naturally came from that blessing.
"Bae Seong-hyeon."
"Yes."
Kim Bok-dong opened his mouth with a smile.
"Your basic strength is good, but I can't help but praise your blessing utilization. You reduced injury risk with recovery enhancement blessings, thereby maximizing the efficiency of intermediate strength enhancement. Very well done. I hope other students will watch and learn. If only they could imitate it."
The corners of Bae Seong-hyeon's mouth twitched. He seemed to be forcibly suppressing his joy.
"Thank you!"
"Right, go back."
Bae Seong-hyeon returned to his place. Students looked at him with gazes of awe and jealousy. Bae Seong-hyeon seemed to enjoy those gazes.
"Next, Gu Jun-hyeok."
Kim Bok-dong's calling continued after that.
The called students came out, threw weights, and returned with clearly disappointed faces repeatedly.
Most struggled without even exceeding 50m, and only a few students stood out.
When the test was nearing its end, first place was clearly Bae Seong-hyeon, Gu Jun-hyeok was second with 162m, and Jeong In-ah was third with 143m.
"Do Seon-woo."
And at the last turn of the test, my name was called.
By that time, no one was paying attention to me. Everyone was complaining about sore shoulders or lying sick from side effects of excessive divine power use.
I stood at the baseline and used a blessing.
A low-grade blessing of strength enhancement.
The light flowing from the blessing circle wrapped around my arm. And secretly, I used one of Loa's powers.
When I prepared to pick up and throw the weight, Kim Bok-dong tilted his head questioningly.
"Is that all for preparation?"
"Yes."
"I said blessing use was free. Why did you only use the low-grade strength enhancement blessing?"
"Ah..."
I hesitated for a moment.
Should I say it or not. It's a bit embarrassing.
"The only blessing I know how to use is this one."
Only then did Kim Bok-dong nod slightly as if he understood.
Snickering sounds leaked out sporadically among the students. This is why I didn't want to say it!
"Right. Proceed with the test."
Kim Bok-dong crossed his arms and quietly observed me. His face showed he didn't expect much.
I lifted the weight above my shoulder. The 10.25kg weight wasn't as heavy as I thought, rather it felt light.
Though the strength enhancement blessing helped, the assistance of the Loa I called earlier was significant.
[Loa Bosu answers the prophet's call.]
Bosu. A Loa who supposedly tore 1,000 enemy soldiers to death with bare hands during his lifetime.
His symbol is a bull. Befitting his lifetime achievements and symbol, his power is "monstrous strength".
Monstrous strength far transcending human limits, close to a miracle.
Whoosh!
I threw the weight. My hand slipped slightly at the end, so unfortunately it wouldn't seem to surpass Bae Seong-hyeon's 212m record.
However, it didn't matter. My goal wasn't to surpass Bae Seong-hyeon's record from the beginning.
Crack. Crack.
I lowered my stance and put strength in my legs. Bosu's monstrous strength was fully transmitted to my legs. Strange sounds came from my knee joints.
Swoosh!
I kicked off powerfully and started running. Along with the sound of sand dust scattering, my body shot forward explosively.
This was my goal from the beginning. To catch the weight I threw myself and earn full marks.
By the way, as I mentioned earlier, Bosu's symbol is a bull.
A bull's specialty is charging.