Chapter 152

Chapter 152

“No, we can’t use mana here, can we?”

“Ah, right, indeed?”

Ludiac made a round mouth as he realized.

‘Did this guy really live for five thousand years?’

Roan harbored a highly rational doubt.

It was extremely hard to believe he was a figure of the same era as Harden.

In the first place, was he even human like Harden?

“I do look quite young for my age~”

Meanwhile, reading Roan’s thoughts, Ludiac nodded with a satisfied smile.

……Only then did Roan recall that Ludiac was bound to his heart and could roughly read his thoughts.

‘Did he also hear that I thought about beating him up together with Demona?’

Roan felt slightly pricked in one corner of his mind.

“Putting that aside, wait a moment.”

“What do you plan to do?”

For some reason, Roan felt like he had to stop whatever Ludiac was about to do.

“Yeah, I’m going to ask Lord Hiloa to allow us to use magic for just a moment.”

“Pardon?”

And that premonition had now become certain.

No matter how little you have to ask a goddess, you ask for that?

No, and it’s not even a normal goddess; it’s Hiloa.

Roan was so flustered that he half-abandoned his manners and spoke.

“Are you out of your mind right now?”

“Hey…… even so, I am five thousand years older than you……”

Ludiac spoke, casting his eyes down as if indeed hurt.

“Ah, I apologize for that. More importantly, can you really speak to Lord Hiloa?”

“Yes.”

“…….”

Roan felt lost on where to even begin.

Although Ludiac had briefly mentioned it before, Hiloa had not directly sent a message to the ground for thousands of years.

As a clear example, Hiloa’s True Name Holy Magic had long been lost, and even Harden had revealed that his direct connection with Hiloa was severed.

Yet this sloppy Founder Wicronon could communicate with Hiloa!

‘Of course, as time flows and according to the player’s growth, Hiloa gradually steps forward, but…….’

Even so, now was not the time for that at all.

At least the player had to reach a level where they could be counted among the strongest in the human world.

“Th-That doesn’t seem like a very good idea though.”

Unusually, Roan’s voice shook slightly.

Roan had one more reason to stop Ludiac from connecting with Hiloa.

“Why?”

“……I am a black mage, after all.”

Not just any black mage, but a black mage with a talent value of 100.

Whether Hiloa had quietly watched Roan until now or had not even felt his existence yet,

‘No, since I received two authorities, of course she must know.’

In an authority space where the use of holy power and mana was forbidden, if he asked for permission to use black mana of all things, the sin of insolence might be applied.

‘If I get hit by divine punishment because of that, it’s over.’

Although he had survived several times so far, this matter was truly on a different dimension.

“It’s fine~ It’s fine~”

But no matter what Roan said, Ludiac closed his eyes, pressed his hands together, and offered a prayer.

And he opened his eyes immediately.

“Yeah, she says she will let us use it just once.”

“???”

Roan became even more dumbfounded.

“Is that true?”

There was no need to ask if it was true.

Because whether he could use magic or not was something Roan felt best.

No matter how much of a Holy Spirit he was, did he really get Hiloa’s permission?

Even if Harden said so, he would hesitate to believe it, but to think Ludiac said so, it was completely unbelievable.

‘Ludiac aside, is Hiloa in her right mind?’

Roan thought of something that would make clergymen foam at the mouth and faint if they heard it.

At that moment, Ludiac looked up at the sky in surprise and said:

“Uh-oh, Lord Hiloa is getting angry.”

“What did I tell you!”

Naturally, Roan was also startled enough to have a fit.

To think it was a divine punishment ending that wasn’t even in his fate!

“Just kidding~”

“…….”

Looking at the face of Ludiac who waved his hands and smiled sheepishly, Roan resolved that he should use the most powerful magic he had mastered.

Crrrrraaaash─────!!!!!!!!!

Roan immediately unleashed the beginner Abyss attack magic, ‘Abyss Blade Dance’.

Dozens of bookshelves behind Ludiac were shattered almost simultaneously, and paper fragments flew.

However, Ludiac had no reaction.

He had clearly thought he would make all sorts of fuss.

‘He’s surprisingly not surprised.’

Well, despite how Ludiac looked, he was a figure who played a central role in the world at the end of the Kingdom Era, which was an era of turbulence, and the beginning of the Imperial Era.

He must have seen ancient holy magic or black magic far more powerful than this to the point of being sick of it.

He shouldn’t be startled by a beginner magic of this level.

Roan approached Ludiac while watching the scenery of the Forbidden Library automatically restore itself.

This was a place Hiloa had personally created to preserve forbidden books.

It wasn’t Divine Words; it wouldn’t be damaged by ordinary black magic.

“Lord Ludiac.”

Roan called Ludiac.

“…….”

However, Ludiac did not respond.

“……Lord Ludiac?”

The same when calling again.

Roan shook Ludiac’s shoulder lightly with a puzzled face.

Slide— Thud—

Then, Ludiac’s body powerlessly slid sideways and fell off the rocking chair.

Roan asked in a dumbfounded voice.

“Do Holy Spirits die too?”

Hum—

He just fainted, you fellow.

The False Divinity spoke in a tone as if looking at an absurd guy.

Ludiac had lost consciousness from the moment Roan used magic.

Fortunately, the fainted Ludiac regained consciousness a moment later.

“Aaaaack!!!! It’s a crazy black mage!!!!!”

And then he began to make the fuss he hadn’t been able to make yet.

Roan and the False Divinity stared blankly at Ludiac with a look of faint contempt.

‘A pity.’

Hum—

He is a Holy Spirit after all…… well, that is true.

Cruising, Ludiac was raving.

“What a crazy black mage! To use such powerful magic! And in a holy place like this!”

“……Did you not tell me to use the strongest one, Lord Ludiac?”

“Even so!”

Ludiac, who had been running around and shouting on his own, hid behind a bookshelf and glared at Roan with a terrified face.

‘In the first place, if we fight, won’t I lose for now?’

It was a look that would make anyone think Roan had threatened Ludiac for no reason.

To make a comparison, it was similar to a mouse claiming that it had threatened a tiger.

“Have you not seen far more powerful magic than this during your lifetime, Lord Ludiac?”

When Roan spoke with a hint of grievance.

“I don’t know! Fighting was always handled by the House of Darc!”

Ludiac was even more aggrieved, going a step further.

Anyway, leaving Roan at the entrance of the Forbidden Library, Ludiac and the False Divinity conversed authority to authority.

Hum—

“Elder Brother, does that make sense? What kind of beginner black magic is like that?”

Hum—

“If such a fellow existed five thousand years ago, I feel like we wouldn’t even have been able to establish the Empire?”

‘What on earth are they talking about…….’

Although Roan could only hear half, making it impossible to grasp the exact details, he still had a rough idea.

Roan placed one hand on his forehead and gestured to Ludiac.

Having practiced magic all the time without sleeping for nearly seven days inside the Bell of Eternity, even the great Roan was reaching his limit.

“Anyway, come out now. I’m about to leave.”

“……You’re not going to use black magic anymore?”

“Even if I want to, I can’t.”

While Ludiac was waking up from his faint, Hiloa had withdrawn the mana again.

Still looking highly suspicious, Ludiac walked out hesitantly.

As if telling him to do as he pleased if he didn’t want to, Roan pulled out two books from his pocket and gave them to Ludiac.

“Here, I will return the remaining two books.”

“Yes.”

When Ludiac took the books and waved a finger, the two books flew on their own and returned to their places.

“Are you not borrowing other books?”

“No, because from now on, I only need to borrow them right before entering the Bell of Eternity.”

“Ah, right. I also asked Lord Hiloa about that.”

“Yes.”

Roan raised one eyebrow as if to ask what it was.

Perhaps not remembering well, Ludiac pondered for a moment and then stammered:

“So, the inside of the Bell of Eternity and the Forbidden Library are different spaces, so…… ah, even if you read inside, the loan limit applies. That much is fine, right?”

“Yes, that is fine.”

Roan nodded readily.

Anyway, the loan period for the Forbidden Library was one week, which matched exactly with the maximum period of one week he could stay inside the Bell of Eternity.

It was a blessing just to secure a space where he could practice black magic as he pleased.

Considering that Hiloa could have forbidden the use of the Bell of Eternity inside the Forbidden Library.

“Ah, and there was more!”

“……What is it this time.”

When Roan glared, Ludiac took a step back as if suddenly scared and said:

“From now on, I will occasionally deliver Lord Hiloa’s requests, and she says if you solve them, she will increase your loan limit or the number of books you can borrow. It won’t be bad for you either, since you’ll be getting closer to Lord Hiloa.”

“??!?!?!?!?!!”

Contrary to Ludiac’s casual tone, Roan was startled enough to take a step back in spite of himself.

“Did Lord Hiloa really say she would give me requests? To me?”

“Yes. Is there a problem? Refusing is blasphemy, you know.”

“No, it’s not that……”

Roan hesitated for a moment and then spoke honestly.

Because no matter how much he thought about it, it made no sense.

“Are you sure she said she would give a request, not divine punishment?”

“Puhahahahaha──!!”

At that, Ludiac clutched his stomach and laughed as if he had heard the most amusing joke in the world.

Roan briefly resented Hiloa for letting him use magic only once when he asked to use it just once.

The second time, he would have targeted Ludiac, not the bookshelf.

Hum—

Endure it, endure. They say three endurances avoid even murder.

‘……I feel like I’ve already endured three hundred times.’

When Roan growled inwardly, the False Divinity did not particularly deny it either.

Anyway.

“Why me? As I said earlier, I am a black mage.”

Since there was no way to ask Hiloa directly, Roan asked Ludiac instead.

Ludiac replied indifferently.

“Well. I guess she took a liking to you.”

“What kind of……”

As he had thought earlier, Hiloa was currently not taking any action in the divine realm.

Her appearance according to the player’s growth was a story that took about three years on average.

‘Rank-up, if it’s Hiloa’s Request, it means she not only recognizes me as a player but also…….’

The reason why the linked quest ‘Hiloa’s Request’ was particularly meaningful.

‘Because no one but a clergyman can receive it.’

Among the numerous classes in God and Devil, excluding clergymen, merchants, adventurers, knights, rogues, mages, cooks, royals, and so on.

Not a single class could receive Hiloa’s Request.

……Needless to say, a black mage was out of the question.

Even if one converted and rose to a key position in the Empire just in case, they couldn’t receive Hiloa’s Request unless they started as a clergyman.

So it was a quest that could only be accepted by a ‘player with a class in the clergyman category’.

Reflecting on that, Hiloa’s Requests were mostly easy compared to the player’s level.

Compared to that, the rewards were at an absurd level, so for rapid growth, it had to be resolved with top priority.

It was a major reason why most clergyman characters, excluding Sion, were placed in the front.

Of course, ‘building a relationship with Hiloa’ that Ludiac spoke of was also an immense advantage.

If one was a clergyman, there were a few other ways, but for Roan, a black mage, all of them were impossible.

‘……At this rate, even if I get caught, shouldn’t the Empire forgive me?’

Because such a colossal opportunity was suddenly dropped on him, Roan couldn’t help but be extremely bewildered.