Chapter 48
19. The Holy Empire (1)
The next day.
As dawn broke over <Fantasia>, Lee Jinhyuk awoke to a message.
[The Celestial <Eternal Flame> is gazing at you intently.]
‘No way.’
Stretching, Lee Jinhyuk sat up.
‘Don’t tell me… she was watching me all night?’
He stood up with that uneasy thought in mind.
[The Celestial <Eternal Flame> greets you with a good morning.]
“Ah, good morning to you too. Did you sleep well?”
[The Celestial <Eternal Flame> is delighted by your greeting!]
[The Celestial <Eternal Flame> assures you she slept well and tells you not to worry.]
[The Celestial <Eternal Flame> sponsors you with 1,000 points.]
‘Seriously.’
Seeing Hestia offering greetings and support first thing in the morning, Jinhyuk smiled and returned the courtesy.
Well, getting 1,000 points wasn’t a bad start to the day.
[The Celestial <Eternal Flame> is curious about your plans.]
“Well, I’m planning to learn some skills first.”
Fwoosh!
A white flame danced on Jinhyuk’s fingertips.
“After all, this is the Holy Empire. I figure they’ll teach me a few decent things, right?”
[The Celestial <Eternal Flame> agrees with your statement.]
Whoooosh.
Jinhyuk moved with his usual morning routine.
The first thing he did was circulate the divine flame—a unique energy—throughout his body.
For other players, this would be like circulating mana through circuits or blood channels.
This helped cleanse impurities in the body.
But that was only a secondary benefit.
The main reason was to keep his body in optimal condition to summon divine flame at any time—like clearing snow off a road to keep it passable.
It was all about maintaining top condition for whenever the need arose.
[Activating skill <Dragon’s Eye>.]
Next, he activated <Dragon’s Eye> to survey his surroundings and unfolded his wings for flight control practice.
Using his powers daily to test and train—this habit had come from Cheonhyangwoon, even before his regression.
‘No wonder he became a Heavenly Demon after killing that monster with this level of dedication.’
Bump.
Once his self-check was done, Ari the egg came rubbing against him.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Jinhyuk smiled and stroked it.
Time to leave.
He had an appointment with Hawid, a bishop of the Holy Empire.
* * *
“What’s going on?”
“The Bishop is coming here in person? This place is for novices!”
“Is he here to teach something?”
“But he’s alone…”
“I’ve never seen the Bishop handling weapons before.”
In a massive religious nation like the Holy Empire, bishops didn’t go to the front lines.
Put nicely, they oversaw and commanded from above.
Put bluntly, they gave orders but didn’t get their hands dirty.
Hawid, known as the <Radiant Guardian Bishop>, was famous for never appearing even at official functions.
And now he was showing up at a novice training ground?
A rare event indeed.
Breaking News: Radiant Guardian Bishop Hawid has descended lol
└ ? Where?
└ 5th Floor, Holy Empire Novice Training Ground.
└ Seriously? Why would he go there?
└ Why’s he coming out of there…
└ Yeah, no reason for a ranker to be there lol
└ If he hadn’t stayed behind to protect the Empire, he’d be a high-ranker by now
└ Fr, he held out over 10 minutes when high-rankers jumped him
└ The Pope wouldn’t let him climb the Tower, lol
└ Don’t call the Pope “dude”, you bastard
└ Legendary Sword Sight LOL
Interest in rankers—especially high-rankers—was always sky-high.
Even more so for those who never showed up publicly.
This was especially true in the Holy Empire <Valheim>, where every move could shake power dynamics in the Tower.
So this unexpected appearance lit up the community like wildfire.
But seriously, why is the Radiant Bishop showing up at the novice grounds?
Naturally, everyone focused their attention.
Why had the Radiant Bishop shown up here?
“Please don’t mind me. Continue your training.”
“Ah… yes, sir!”
“Everyone, run! Begin!”
“In combat, strength and agility aren’t the most important. Endurance comes first. Begin!”
The Holy Empire’s members were well-trained.
Even in an unexpected situation, they carried on with their duties—training the players who had chosen to align with the Empire.
Still, it was hard not to steal glances at Hawid.
Step. Step.
“Huh?”
“Isn’t that…?”
While Valheim players were teaching novices…
A fully armored man entered the training ground.
“Lee Jinhyuk!”
“So it’s true—he really chose the Holy Empire.”
“He’s even bigger in person…”
“Is he even human?”
Elf, lizardman, dwarf, beastkin—everyone stared at Jinhyuk.
His achievements were so ridiculous, they defied belief.
Despite being a novice, he was treated like a ranker due to the buzz he created.
So of course, his appearance stirred everyone up.
“Huh? Where’s Jinhyuk going?”
“No way—he’s heading toward the Bishop?”
“Is Jinhyuk getting personal training from the Bishop? One-on-one?!”
“This is insane.”
A legendary rookie and a proven ranker meeting?
That alone would be headline news in the Tower.
“Wow… Just how strong does that guy plan to get?”
“He’s sucking up everything he can. Go ahead, man.”
“Wait, does Jinhyuk even use holy power? Doesn’t he use fire and swords?”
“Dude, you don’t know? Even in just sword techniques, <Valheim> is ahead of the Knight Empire.”
“True that.”
The players of <Valheim> looked on in anticipation at the meeting of two giants.
“You’ve arrived?”
“Yes, sorry to keep you waiting.”
Unexpectedly, Hawid was already there—despite Jinhyuk being 20 minutes early.
“No worries. I just got here myself.”
“Ah.”
But Jinhyuk instantly saw through the lie.
Sweat clung to Hawid’s body, as if he’d been warming up.
‘A bishop showing up early to meet a novice?’
Slide.
‘He’s planning to give it his all?’
One can read sincerity through actions.
Whether teaching skills or training—Hawid, a busy bishop, was making time for Jinhyuk.
Even the first time they met, Hawid had approached Jinhyuk.
‘So why?’
Jinhyuk knew his worth.
He wasn’t being modest or arrogant—he had objectively assessed himself.
Sure, he’d broken records. But compared to other rankers or high-rankers, he was just a novice with potential.
Even if people called him extraordinary, he didn’t yet have the power to match.
‘But I think I know why.’
[Activating skill <Dragon’s Eye>.]
As Jinhyuk’s eye turned golden, he saw it.
Though well-hidden, the divine power around Hawid carried only one emotion:
Greed.
‘Not very holy of him.’
Slide.
‘But at least it’s honest.’
Jinhyuk theorized:
‘<Pure Radiance> led the charge against the Flame Dragons. And for one reason only—fear.’
A flash of clarity.
‘Because their holy power didn’t work on them.’
Especially the one called <Star-Eating Dragon>, who had even devoured Celestials.
<Pure Radiance> feared their power.
So did most Celestials.
‘I have the Flame Dragon’s power. But I’m closer to human. No flight, no breath attack, no dragon heart.’
A half-baked version—but a super rookie rewriting history with just that much.
‘<Pure Radiance>. That bastard wants me.’
He knew this from past experience—working as a spy, stealing his body, resisting like hell.
<The best tactic for Pure Radiance wasn’t destruction—but absorption.>
So he would naturally want Jinhyuk on his side.
‘Good.’
Though the thought process was long, it took less than ten seconds.
Jinhyuk smiled.
‘That means I can milk him even more.’
After all, if the guy was willing to teach him with sincerity, why not take advantage?
[Multiple Celestials have begun watching you.]
[The Celestial <Duke of Gluttony> grumbles about what you could possibly learn from that guy.]
[The Celestial <Origin King of Harmony> argues that everyone has something to teach.]
As the Celestials bickered, Jinhyuk stepped forward.
“I look forward to learning from you.”
“As do I. By the way…”
Hawid smiled kindly.
“Is there anything you’d like to learn first?”
“I’d like to know how <Valheim>’s holy knights fight. What kind of skills they use. That kind of thing.”
“So you’d like an overview of everything?”
“Yes.”
“Hahaha. Excellent.”
Hawid laughed.
Jinhyuk being interested in Valheim itself?
That was a great sign—one step closer to making him <Pure Radiance>’s Apostle.
‘He hasn’t signed with any Celestial yet, has he?’
With hopeful thoughts, Hawid grinned.
“Very well, then.”
Grin.
“Let me tell you about <Asgard>, the holy realm ruled by <Pure Radiance>, and the chosen paladins.”
‘He chose the Holy Empire?’
5th Floor <Fantasia>.
A woman rode a broom at high speed, cloaked in invisibility magic, muttering to herself.
Despite the wind, her pointed hat didn’t move an inch.
Only her green hair fluttered wildly.
‘And he went to the novice training ground? A player of that level doesn’t need training grounds…’
She toyed with a needle and a vial between her fingers, deep in thought.
‘The so-called super rookies—now high-rankers—didn’t choose a faction. They started grinding from the start.’
Naturally.
If you’re called a super rookie when arriving on Floor 5, your fundamentals are rock-solid.
There’s no need to join an Empire and learn—because you already know it all.
‘So what’s his game?’
His intentions were important—but so was the situation.
Her “Mother,” the Witch of Ruin, Majuron, had issued an absolute command.
“He went to the Holy Empire of all places. This won’t be easy.”
Majuron’s order: Capture Lee Jinhyuk alive.
But for a witch who used magic, curses, and poison, the Holy Empire was a terrible location.
Magic was weak against holy power.
And one <Purification> skill could cure most poisons.
“Of all places… Then again, his flames did have divine power.”
Speeding up her broom, she toyed with a necklace.
A small moon symbol was engraved on it.
“Surely he didn’t go to the Empire because he sensed our coven was targeting him? Well, like it or not, we’ll find out soon.”
The woman—Runeta of the Waning Moon—smiled.
“Lee Jinhyuk.”
