52. Let's Be Friends... Not

The world considered the five heroes of the thousand-year war to be legends. Their weapons, armor, or anything related to them was a treasure of the Church. So the fact that Sylvester got the spear that belonged to one of them could not have been the work of someone low-ranking.

"The Pope?" Sylvester exclaimed.

"This is likely because of your contribution. Because of what you did, we got Norman's confession, and he revealed the names of many high-level spies in the Church. As we speak, they are either being burned, beheaded, or chased. What you have done for the faith is truly commendable."

'The pope thinks highly of me? Well, I do feed him candy every month.' He thought and looked at the spear with interest.

"Felix told me that this spear can extend to a great length? How do I do it?" He inquired.

Sir Dolorem profoundly looked at the spear with respect for its last wielder and felt that Sylvester having it was respectful to its legacy. "It's not easy to control it, Master Maximilian. This spear is ancient—none know who created it.

"To use it, one needs to have mastery over the sub-branch of Earth Element, called Metal Manipulation. Only then can you extend it. However, even if you can't extend it, there's something else you can focus on. This spear has some magical properties. For example, it can generate blue fire, which is highly destructive when throwing the spear on an enemy such as an orc with thick skin. Or a stone golem that the Dwarves can summon.

"Besides that, this spear is supposed to be light enough to give you fast movability. So if you can master it, this can be a great companion in your many conquests to come."

Sylvester was truly curious about these weapons. Of course, he was aware of his high wizardly talent, which would be his primary focus in the future. But as he also had the highest Knight talent, he wanted a versatile weapon like a spear that he could use for both short and long-range battles since depending on Solarium for all long-range attacks wouldn't be a good choice considering the chances of Solarium depletion.

"Do you know where I can learn Metal manipulation? I am truly interested in this spear." He asked.

"That will be hard to do, Master Maximilian. These sub-branches of elements are rare; even rarer are the people who have mastered them. But there should be someone out there with such knowledge. It would be best if you ask your Headmaster about it. He knows nearly every clergyman that studied in the School of Dawn in the past hundred years. If there's someone with the mastery over metal manipulation ability, the Headmaster would know this person." Sir Dolorem advised.

'I guess it's time to use that token to meet the old man.'

Having his answers, he decided to head home as it was getting late. "I will see you tomorrow then, Sir Dolorem. At least you can teach me how to wield the spear. After all, sharp fangs are useless if I know not how to use them."

"It will be an honor."

"Good night, then."

Sylvester walked towards his home while talking with Miraj. He disliked that he could not publicly speak to the cat that always remained on his shoulder, but this was for the best.

"You need to learn how to fight too, Chonky. Once we're out of this school, who knows what work we will be assigned." He advised.

Miraj was yawning sheepishly. "How do I learn? I've got no friends to play… fight with."

"I will, every day, after school, I will teach you for an hour. Your job will be to dodge my moves and claw my neck. Remember, if you can kill your enemy with one strong blow, do it!"

"Don't worry, Maxy. I will eat whoever troubles you." Miraj promised.

'What a nice cheat.'

Sighing, he arrived home and prepared for another round of questions as Xavia will ask about the spear.

…

Life in the Holy Land was peaceful. You say the lord's name and work daily, and that's it.

The season of Solis was at its peak. The two months were the period of the festival. People came to the Holy Land in thousands every day, bringing gifts as per what they could afford.

The Church never asked people to give money in return for blessings, as the Church was strong enough already to hold various businesses. So instead of the people, the nobles had to pay taxes to the faith so monasteries could run efficiently.

Also, the Church provided security to various lands. So there was no lack of income, and due to this, a man donating a little pouch of grains and a man donating a sack of gold was equal in the eyes of the Holy Land.

The mere experience of visiting the Holy land was ethereal for people, as holy hymns were chanted day and night inside and around the Magna Sanctum, the largest Sun Temple in the world.

But the two months were profitable for Holy Land in other ways, as various shops and businesses would open on the outskirts. It was an excellent way for not only the many talented clergymen to sell their talents but also helped nearby villages and towns earn.

The footfall was enough to earn everyone something.

So it was expected that Sylvester would wish to go there and spend some money. He had a lot of it anyway. Also, he hoped to get to spend his black money mainly.

But first came the classes for the second year in school. In year two, not much had changed except for the addition of a few subjects and the runes mentor. Other than that, officially, the study of Holy Magic began, as that was an essential skill for fighting evil.

The basics of exorcism were also being taught, along with full-fledged brainwashing done by the mentor of religious studies, Archbishop Noah.

Sylvester attentively listened to everything in today's class as the current political state of the Church was being revealed, mainly about whom the faith was in conflict with.

Archbishop Noah, the old wrinkly man, spoke zealously. "The might of Solis is primarily unchallenged, but a few still do not appreciate the light, so we must be prepared to show them our might.

"Most of you may have guessed that the enemies of the Church were only in the Beastaria continent, but that's untrue. We have enemies much closer, enemies so vile it would make your skin crawl. One of them is the heathens of the Divine Desert, the Desert Cannibals. Then there are the heathens of the Pentapeak Mountain range, the Mountain tribes.

"These tribes do not have leaders and are divided among themselves. But that's what makes them frightening, as the thought of the heathens banding together leaves the strongest of armies with cold feet."

"Mentor!" All of a sudden, a boy raised his hand. It was none other than Romel. "Mentor, why don't we eradicate them then?"

Sylvester and his friends scoffed at the naive questions. It was clear that since Norman was gone, Romel was trying to show himself to be smart. And even stay away from Sylvester, since Romel used to try to bully him earlier. Not only that, Romel had bullied a few Deacons to quit even, some even by breaking arms or legs during various training. Bishop Norman used to protect him before, but sad for him, now his stars had misaligned.

"The answer is obvious. We have more significant wars to fight. The Desert Cannibals consider their desert sacred and only wish for our resources, not our lands. At the same time, Mountain Tribes are used to cold weather and can't survive in the south.

"And we know that our enemies in the east are much stronger. Can someone tell me the names of the greatest enemies of the faith?" Archbishop Noah asked.

Felix lifted his hand. "Mentor, it's Dwarf King Gildrur Ironcloak?"

"Haha, good try, but you are five decades too late. Before the end of the war, we were able to bring Gildrur to the embrace of holy fire. His son, Galagar Ironcloak, now rules the majority of Dwarves.

"However, this is not the only greatest enemy. There are many more, such as Beast King, Berzor Fang Brightbeard; Elf King, Rathagun Xeek Eldaron; King of Giants, Fortius Gralith; Mer Queen, Norara Min. These are just the greatest few. Then there are the unknown Werewolf Alpha Suprima, Vampire Prime, Goblin Elders, Orc Father, Centaurs, Trolls, Dragons, and many more.

"Not only that, these names may be the leaders of the majority factions with their race, but many more factions of the same race exist. So you can consider each race like a kingdom here and each leader among them as a lord."

"And we are to purge all of them." Sylvester did not ask but instead made a statement.

This brought great joy to the old man, who already considered Sylvester the true God's Favored. "Haha, that would be the last option, Deacon Sylvester. No, our first solution is to bring them to Lord's Light, make them change their hearts."

"Then it seems I need to get better at singing my hymns." Sylvester jokingly added and relaxed back in the seat. Archbishop Noah was his favorite mentor, so he did such things to leave an impression.

"Indeed, your hymns have the power to do the impossible. But remember, when words fail, arms must remain ready to answer. With this, the class is over. Go out and eat lunch." The Archbishop left soon after.

Sylvester quickly got up. "Let's go. I want to go to the Pilgrim's Festival. Let's eat something there. Food's on me."

"Finally, it won't be me paying." Felix rejoiced and got ready in an instant.

However, Sylvester was not done, as he had another person in mind to take along, someone he wished to bring under his thumb. Someone who was trying to hide from him.

"Romel, my friend, won't you come to the Pilgrim's Festival with us?" He called the boy.

In an instant, Romel's face fell, and his terrified eyes looked left and right for an escape. Worse was the fact that the two peak talent boys, Louis Hermington and Griffin Blazekin, who used to be Romel's lackeys, had left his side.

"I-I'm sorry, Deacon Sylvester. I didn't mean t-"

Sylvester interrupted by pulling the boy close and putting his arm around the dirty ashen-blonde-haired boy's shoulder. "That's fine, Romel. It was all a misunderstanding. I know that. It's better if all of us strongest Deacons stay together as brothers. After all, one day, we might have to fight the heathens alongside."

Rome's face lit up instantly. "Yes, yes… you're right. So let's be friends."

A little help is worth much more for the wretched. That was Romel's condition as of now.

"Great, then let's go. Ah, Deacon Augustus, join us too." He was also called the factionless deacon. The more, the merrier.

Sylvester's strategy with Romel was simple. The easiest way to break someone's mind and make them subservient was to befriend them, make them feel comfortable, and then slowly push their comfort zone by making them do terrible things. Then, those terrible things will gradually become normal, and all they will know would be to follow orders, turning them into great servants.

Romel was, above all, a loner at this point. He sought new friendships, some assurance, and validation. And he was going to find it with Sylvester.

With a kind smile hiding the wickedness inside, Sylvester planned to break Romel's mind. The friendship he was offering was not going to be free. Thankfully, to extract the right price, the School of Dawn was there to ensure Romel could never flee.