Chapter 305: Laxas (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 305: Laxas (1)
Exactly one day had passed since then.
“Is this the place?”
“Yes, I believe this is it.”
At Evan’s confirmation, Alon stopped halfway up the mountainside and looked down at the land he had received from Siyan.
“Not bad.”
The land she had granted him was, overall, quite excellent.
To the rear, a mountain range had formed, while an open plain stretched out before them. It was a classic layout—mountains behind and a clear view in front.
‘The geography looks great. I wonder why no territory was ever established here?’
Alon’s puzzled expression didn't last long.
A moment later, he heard the reason from Evan.
“...It’s crawling with monsters?”
“Yes. Apparently, there are countless monster nests in the immediate vicinity. Dozens of goblin villages, orc settlements, and they say ogres live further out. On top of that, monsters supposedly keep popping up from somewhere, though no one knows where.”
“So, it was a problematic listing.”
“Well, I guess you could put it that way?”
Alon let out a brief sigh but quickly accepted the reality.
‘Well, I received a geographically superior piece of land. I can handle that much of a drawback.’
In truth, it was predictable.
Why else would a land with such perfect geographical conditions remain unsettled? Nine times out of ten, it was because there was a catch. Even back in Korea, if a property near a subway station was cheap, there was always a story—like it being haunted or something.
‘Once I’ve established the Divine Land, I’ll have to clear out the surroundings first, even if I’m busy with other things.’
With that thought, Alon moved his feet.
Upon reaching the center of the territory, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
“Whew—”
A light breath escaped his lips.
Now very familiar with the process, Alon entered his inner world and saw the five—no, six divinities standing before him.
The blue, green, red, and white ones were the divinities he had seen when he first contemplated his inner self, followed by the gray divinity that had appeared shortly thereafter.
And then.
“....”
Though it was hard to distinguish because it blended into the pitch-black abyss, there was clearly a black divinity present.
Until now, Alon had been using two of these divinities:
The divinity of Kalanon, the Lightning Receiver.
And the divinity of the Primordial Elf.
‘If I unify the divinities, will I be able to use the rest?’
He pondered this for a moment while looking at the divinities shining loftily in their respective colors.
Then, Alon calmly exhaled and recalled what Line had told him.
‘Godfather, the way to create a Divine Land is simple. Just gather the divinities you possess into one and recite the Phrase—’
A thin thread of mana flowed from Alon’s hand, trailing down his fingers to pierce through Kalanon’s divinity.
Then, it pierced the divinity of the Primordial Elf.
Next was the red divinity.
Then the white and gray divinities, one after another.
“....”
The last one was the black divinity.
However, just as he had initially suspected, the thread extending from Alon’s hand could not pierce it.
As if refusing to be mixed, the black divinity simply existed in its lofty state, radiating cracks of darkness.
Watching this, Alon had no choice but to bring the end of the thread—which had pierced the other five divinities—back to his finger.
Looking at the small, planet-like sphere beginning to form before him, glowing with a faint light, Alon remembered the final word Line had spoken.
‘—A Proclamation, she said.’
“Proclamation.”
He whispered quietly.
In that instant.
Flash—!
A brilliant white light erupted around Alon, while dark red and deep blue lights surged outward in all directions.
“Whoa—”
[This is—]
He heard Evan’s voice filled with admiration from afar, and Basiliora’s voice muttering blankly as if witnessing something miraculous.
When Alon finally finished and opened his eyes.
“?”
He realized something was wrong.
And it didn't take long to identify the nature of the anomaly.
‘Time has stopped?’
Everything was frozen.
Evan, who had been exclaiming just a moment ago.
Basiliora, who had been watching the situation with curiosity.
Deus, observing calmly, and Philian, whose eyes had been sparkling.
Everything had stopped.
No—it hadn't stopped.
‘This is—’
A moment that felt like an eternity; a slowing of time so extreme it was nearly indistinguishable from a total halt.
As soon as he recognized this, Alon realized where he had experienced this phenomenon before.
[A fragment inheriting the great will of Niakula—]
‘This is like when I first performed a Constraint...!’
The moment Alon looked up with that thought, he saw it.
Something he hadn't been able to see when he first performed a Constraint, but could see now.
[—No,]
A giant eye, large enough to cover the entire sky, was looking down at him.
[O Star Eater.]
It was definitely smiling—a thick, lingering smile.
With its eye curved into a deep crescent, it spoke.
[I truly welcome your return.]
It stared at Alon while uttering those incomprehensible words.
The moment Alon tried to open his mouth to respond—
Zzzzt—!
His vision blurred briefly as if filled with noise, then brightened.
Immediately, everything returned to normal.
The world that had turned monochrome regained its color as if nothing had happened.
The murmurs of Evan and Basiliora, which had been frozen in time, reached his ears at their original speed.
In the midst of his senses being restored.
“...What was that?”
Alon muttered to himself unconsciously, staring blankly at the sky.
Just staring.
* * *
After a brief moment of stillness, Alon turned his head to finish what he had started.
He saw the knights and soldiers on one side, looking on in awe.
“Ohhh—”
Unlike other lands, this place now shimmered with faint particles of light. The knights and soldiers all looked at Alon with reverence.
‘...I hadn't originally planned to proceed to the next step immediately.’
Alon recalled his conversation with Line.
‘After proclaiming the territory, appoint the knights you’ve selected as your own.’
‘I’ve transferred power to Silli before. Do I just do it like that?’
‘No, you don't have to go that far. Just scatter it as if you’re planting seeds—they’ll grow it on their own.’
Following her instructions, he transferred power to those present.
His divinity depleted in an instant.
The "planet" that had grown as large as Alon’s torso by absorbing power from the other divinities shrank back to the size of a palm.
And then.
“This is—”
The soldiers and knights were all astonished by the divine power seeping into their bodies.
Alon, who had intended to just finish the job and slip away, hesitated.
‘...Should I say something?’
As all eyes turned toward him, he stood there awkwardly, his mind racing.
‘What am I supposed to say?’
He knew he wasn't a man of many words, but the atmosphere felt like it demanded a speech.
“...Everyone, fulfill your duties.”
In the end, he managed a short sentence.
“YES, SIR!!!!”
The knights and soldiers responded with thunderous voices.
Immediately after sharing his power with the knights.
“This is incredible, Marquis.”
“What is?”
“This land.”
“...The land?”
“Yes. Even at a glance, the mana saturation in this specific area seems much higher than before.”
At Evan’s words, Alon finally noticed the difference after the area had been designated as a Divine Land.
“Indeed—it’s not just a change in appearance.”
The mana in the air felt slightly denser.
As Alon looked on with a fascinated expression, Evan asked.
“...You didn't know?”
“I was told there would be beneficial effects, but I didn't expect this.”
Of course, he had heard from Line that proclaiming a Divine Land would grant beneficial effects based on one's Status.
However, he had assumed those would only appear after he had accumulated more Status, so he observed the change with interest.
“...?”
He noticed that Simus’s expression, which had been perfectly fine until yesterday, had turned into one of grim determination.
Seeing that, he remembered what Evan had told him yesterday.
‘...He said that whenever Deus gives them a mental conditioning session through an interview, their expressions change like that.’
Driven by curiosity, Alon asked Simus.
“Did you have a private interview with Deus?”
“Yes! I did!”
Simus answered while standing stiffly at attention, a far cry from the slacker he had been in Psychedelia.
Alon’s curiosity grew.
“What did you talk about?”
“I heard about what I must do!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes! I will do my utmost to help the name of Palatio reach the heavens!”
“...Well, alright then.”
Simus shouted his answer, his entire body tense with energy.
‘It’s good that they’re well-disciplined, but...’
...Is it really necessary to be that desperate about guarding a Divine Land that has absolutely nothing in it?
As Alon wondered this, Evan’s next question followed.
“So, what are you going to do now?”
Alon paused for a moment before answering.
“Well, the next thing to do is gather divine people.”
“Will you set any restrictions?”
“Restrictions?”
“Yes. You know, like how Sironia has restrictions and such?”
“...Sironia had restrictions?”
“You didn't know?”
“I thought people could just live there.”
Evan shook his head at Alon’s words.
“No. Most of Sironia’s divine people are those who have completed the Goddess’s Pilgrimage.”
“The Goddess’s Pilgrimage?”
“Yes. To put it simply, it’s a ritual where they have to travel to a specific region purely on foot for several months.”
“...I get the gist of it, but does it even make sense to set such rules when we aren't even in an environment where we can gather people yet?”
Alon glanced around the Divine Land.
Aside from the increased mana density, it was a land with absolutely nothing.
Furthermore, while the geography was good, the mountain behind them was crawling with monsters instead of being a mine.
In other words, they had nothing prepared that would allow them to be picky about who they accepted.
“Still, if you set some guidelines now, we can promote it in advance. Wouldn't that be better?”
Evan’s suggestion made Alon think for a moment.
“How about something like... people who don't commit crimes and can practice justice, even in small ways?”
“...Isn't that a bit too abstract?”
“That’s why I said ‘something like’ that.”
“...Well, we can build on that slowly. Since you’re heading straight to Laxas anyway, should I write a letter saying we’re looking for divine people for the Divine Land?”
“Even though nothing is firmly prepared or decided?”
“Promoting it early helps.”
Alon thought back to when they were recruiting for the Paladin Order.
‘...Well, I doubt it’ll turn out like that time.’
He soon nodded.
Then, Deus approached.
Deus’s face also seemed more determined than before.
“...Marquis.”
“What is it?”
“It seems training will be more effective here. I would like to train the men here a bit longer.”
“...Here?”
“Yes.”
“...Will it be alright? There’s nothing here.”
“It will be fine.”
“I appreciate you being so dedicated.”
“Not at all. It is simply what I can do.”
Deus showed immense will regarding the training of the knights.
After expressing his gratitude, Alon left the Divine Land.
* * *
“Huh?”
Beran the mercenary.
He was quite successful in the mercenary industry, but after failing the entrance exam for the Marquis of Palatio’s house, he had returned to being a mercenary in Lartania. He had just discovered a letter in his pocket.
It was a letter from his rival, Karam, who had passed the exam and was now a soldier, unlike Beran who had failed completely.
“Tsk.”
Beran immediately clicked his tongue.
The two were rivals, but they weren't the kind of "friendly competitors" who exchanged letters.
In other words, there was a 100% chance the letter was written solely to brag.
Nevertheless, he was curious about what happened after becoming part of the Marquis of Palatio’s forces.
Unable to resist the temptation, he opened the letter.
As soon as he read the contents, he clicked his tongue again.
The letter was a bit stained with dirt, but it was filled with descriptions of the "magnificent training" he was receiving.
‘Training in a land blessed by the Marquis of Palatio and becoming able to use the power of a god...’
Beyond that, there were lines like, ‘If you train in this Divine Land, you can receive the Marquis’s divinity and use its power.’
Just as Beran, his face twisted with jealousy, was about to fold the letter.
“Something wrong?”
Kob, a mercenary he always drank with at the tavern, spoke up.
“Nothing much. Just Karam sending a letter to brag.”
“The one who joined the Palatio house?”
“Yeah, that guy.”
“Hah—he’s really made it. So, what does it say?”
“He says he’s training in a land imbued with the Marquis of Palatio’s power. Apparently, if you train there, you can use the Marquis’s power.”
“...Huh? Really?”
“That’s what it says in the letter. But why the face?”
When Beran looked at Kob with a puzzled expression, Kob spoke.
“Well, I actually heard some news about that too.”
“What news?”
“About the Marquis of Palatio’s Divine Land.”
“What about it?”
“I heard that as long as you don't commit crimes and can practice justice, even in small ways, they’ll let you live in that Divine Land.”
“...Really?”
“Yeah, it’s an official notice from the Palatio house, so it’s certain. But if what you said is true—that you can get the Marquis’s power just by training there—”
“....”
The two of them simultaneously thought of the Marquis of Palatio.
Or more accurately.
They thought of the knights of Calliban they had seen in the Lartania Labyrinth, using the power of Kalanon, the Lightning Receiver.
Knights who displayed overwhelming power, slicing through labyrinth monsters like tofu while clad in lightning that gave onlookers goosebumps.
Since rumors were already spreading throughout the United Kingdoms that the Marquis of Palatio was an Apostle of Kalanon or even Kalanon incarnate, the connection was natural.
“Nah—there’s no way that’s true, right?”
“Ahem, yeah, probably not.”
“Right? I mean, come on. I think that guy Karam is just bluffing. You usually have to be a devout believer in Kalanon to wield divine power. It’s weird that you could use the same power just by training there.”
“I agree. If it were true, there’s no way it would be that easy to get in.”
As the two laughed and gulped down their beer, a cat beastkin woman, Mai, naturally sat down next to them and asked.
“Hey, Kob, Beran. What are you talking about?”
“Oh, just about the Marquis of Palatio.”
Beran, his face slightly flushed, recounted their conversation to Mai.
Mai listened with great interest.
“Hmm, so that’s the gist of it?”
“Well, Karam’s words are bound to be a lie—”
After a few more words following Beran’s sentence.
“Oh, my party is here. See you later.”
Seeing her party arrive, she ran over to them.
“Mai, where were you?”
“Oh, I heard something interesting from Beran.”
“What is it?”
“Apparently, if you train in the Marquis of Palatio’s Divine Land, you can use Kalanon’s power.”
“The Divine Land... Oh, the place where they’re gathering people?”
“Yeah.”
“Is that for real?”
“Hmm—I’m not sure if it’s certain, but that’s what they say. Beran’s friend joined the Marquis’s knights, right? I think he sent a letter from there.”
In a tiny tavern in eastern Lartania.
“...You can use Kalanon’s power just by training in the Divine Land?”
An absurd rumor began to spread.
And then.
“Did you hear? If you become a citizen and train in that territory, you can use Kalanon’s power.”
“Is that true?”
That absurd rumor—
“What do you have to do to become a citizen? Do you have to believe in the Marquis of Palatio?”
“That’s part of it, but apparently you have to perform good deeds.”
“Good deeds?”
“I heard somewhere that you have to take care of bandits or rioters and bring proof.”
It morphed into something even more bizarre and strange.
“So, to summarize... if you take out bandits and bring proof, they’ll accept you as a citizen, right?”
“Seems so.”
It didn't take long for the news to reach the ears of those who were disappointed they hadn't been able to become knights of the Marquis’s house.