Ch.2727. The Holy Awakened One

# After leaving Orkbrook Village

After leaving Orkbrook Village and joining the caravan to reach Lindvale, Rex had been suffering from one persistent worry.

It was self-reproach for his weakness, along with concerns about the mysterious pattern’s power whose origin he still couldn’t fathom, and the nightmares that repeated every night.

When he closed his eyes, he could vividly see a burning village against pitch-black darkness.

Darbein.

The leader of the mercenaries who attacked the village. The first formidable opponent Rex had ever faced. Against that ghostly swordsmanship, Rex had been completely helpless.

Setting aside the grief of losing his father, Rex had somehow emerged victorious against Darbein.

He still remembered it clearly. In that critical moment, flames as intense as the sun had erupted from his blade, cutting across the enemy’s upper body in one stroke.

The problem was that even Rex himself didn’t understand how he had summoned such power.

Rex repeatedly trained, trying to recreate that sensation and manifest that powerful phenomenon again.

But it was impossible.

It seemed almost within reach, yet he failed every time.

Rex didn’t give up.

And finally, his efforts bore fruit.

***

‘I did it.’

Rex looked at his greatsword with a satisfied smile.

Though it lasted only for an instant, the sword had definitely emitted the same golden energy Rex had witnessed that day.

Of course, he couldn’t maintain it for long. The sword lost its light after just one breath. The power was also less than that day—perhaps half at best.

But that was enough. He was now confident he was moving in the right direction.

Rex briefly surveyed the goblin remains scattered on the ground.

Though life had already left them, their eyes still held hostility. Their expressions showed they hadn’t even realized what had happened to them.

And the same could be said for the other people present.

“You… is this really your first time? I mean, is it really, sir?”

Chloe stammered, addressing him with sudden formality, her face filled with astonishment.

‘Why the formal speech all of a sudden?’

Rex tilted his head in confusion, then belatedly understood the situation and scratched his cheek with an awkward expression.

Thinking about it, such a reaction was understandable.

From their perspective, Rex was a newcomer who needed protection.

They had given him a chance to fight monsters, half in jest and half out of goodwill, only for him to single-handedly slaughter fifteen goblins in one stroke.

And then he turned around, smiling as if nothing had happened. Any person with normal intelligence would be surprised.

Chloe’s expression was particularly noticeable—she who had been proudly giving Rex various advice as his senior. Her eyes were wide open, her mouth agape, and her finger pointing at Rex was trembling.

Rex looked around at everyone and smiled wryly.

‘Maybe I overdid it.’

If he had to make an excuse, it was because he had become too immersed.

In the power of the sword, the pattern, and his inner self.

When he concentrated all his nerves on the energy, everything around him became quiet, as if he were alone in the world.

He could see the string in his mind that he had been reaching for, hanging high in the empty space.

Suddenly his chest tingled, and a kind of intuition flashed through his mind.

He reached out.

He touched it, and the sword was bathed in light.

That was it.

But explaining all this in words was another matter entirely.

Rex assumed they were probably surprised at how he possessed such power.

His guess was half right and half wrong.

The party was indeed surprised by Rex’s prowess, but not to the point of being speechless.

In truth, adventurers who explored the deepest parts of dungeons could easily handle fifteen goblins.

The real issue was something else.

The true reason for their astonishment was…

“Are you… a Divine?”

This was it.

Rex wore a puzzled expression at the unfamiliar term.

Of course, he knew the literal meaning of the word—sacred, holy, something like that. But judging from the situation, it was clear they meant something else.

“Hmm. Do you really not know?”

Harald looked incredulous. The others also stared at him as if demanding he reveal his true identity.

‘I really don’t.’

When Rex hesitated to answer, Harald let out a dry laugh. It was obvious that Rex truly knew nothing.

He didn’t seem to be lying. One could tell from his eyes. This was genuine.

“How is this possible?”

“Yeah. The world is so unfair.”

Patrick muttered in a disgruntled tone, and Connor agreed.

By this point, it was Rex who felt frustrated.

“What exactly is a Divine that’s causing such a commotion?”

“Divine Blessing. More precisely, it’s a term for those who have received a god’s blessing and can wield it above a certain level. No, I mean it is.”

Chloe naturally began explaining but trailed off at the end.

Her awkward attempt to use formal speech was, well… it made Rex feel uncomfortable just watching her.

“Miss Chloe.”

“Huh? Yes?”

“Please speak casually as you did before. I’m fine with it. I have no intention of receiving special treatment from a senior like you just because of something like this.”

“R-really? Then I g-guess I will?”

Chloe stretched her words, glancing at Rex. His blue eyes were clear, without a trace of malice.

Chloe turned her head away. Somehow, it was difficult to meet his gaze. It also felt a bit warmer.

Chloe’s face was as red as a radish, about to burst, but instead of pointing this out, Rex changed the subject. It was to preserve the young woman’s dignity.

“Miss Chloe, how did you know I was a Divine? Honestly, even if you talk about divine blessings and such, I don’t understand why it’s such a big deal.”

That was a lie.

Rex himself had grown stronger quickly through the pattern’s power. He couldn’t possibly not understand why a blessing would be significant.

He was just surprised that adventurers openly knew about the existence of blessings, so he asked with an “I know nothing” expression.

“How could we not recognize it when you so openly displayed Holy Flame?”

Chloe replied in a dejected tone.

Holy Flame. Literally meaning sacred fire.

“Well, if you don’t know what a Divine is, how would you know about Holy Flame? Holy Flame is…”

To summarize the explanation that followed:

While exploring dungeons, one could receive blessings from gods, though most were insignificant powers.

Those who received such blessings were called the Awakened.

The level of an Awakened was measured in five stages:

Revelation, Holy Flame, Radiance, Apostle, and Advent.

The Revelation stage referred to those who had just awakened to their blessing.

Though they had no special abilities beyond enhanced physical capabilities, they could easily overwhelm ordinary civilians.

Chloe’s party was at the Revelation stage.

Since most Awakened were at this level, there could be vast differences in ability even within the same stage.

For an Awakened to become stronger, they needed to perform certain rituals, which varied depending on the preferences of each god.

But the most representative ritual was slaying monsters.

By repeating these rituals, the power of the blessing—divine power—gradually increased, allowing one to advance to the next stage.

“You’re at the Holy Flame stage.”

Each stage had distinct characteristics that couldn’t be mistaken.

When one could freely manipulate divine power like their limbs and project it externally, they were said to have entered the Holy Flame stage.

This was because divine power manifested in reality took the form of flickering flames.

From this point on, the Awakened officially entered the realm of superhumans and were called Divines.

“Then what about the next stage?”

“I don’t know either. It’s too rare, and there’s little information.”

As Rex pondered the explanation, he suddenly tilted his head in confusion.

If one could be chosen by gods by slaying monsters, couldn’t superhumans appear in the outside world as well?

“That’s because you can only connect with gods inside dungeons. Communication is impossible; we can only pray one-sidedly. Like, ‘Please grant me your blessing.'”

“I see.”

“That’s why I asked if this was your first time. I’ve never heard of anyone receiving a blessing outside.”

Chloe still seemed unable to shake off her doubts.

But what could he do? This was the truth.

Anyway, he was starting to get a general sense of the concept of the Awakened.

The people who had been awkwardly silent around them finally seemed to come to their senses and spoke up.

“Seriously. How did you achieve such a feat without knowing anything?”

“There are countless cases of people who spend their entire lives in dungeons without surpassing the Revelation stage. Makes me feel deprived, man.”

Connor and Patrick spoke in mischievous tones, while Eila gazed at Rex with her usual gentle expression.

“Enough. Let’s end the conversation here for now.”

As the conversation seemed to drag on, Harald finally intervened to settle the commotion.

“Let’s check the loot. We still have a long way to go.”

Harald grinned and pointed to a chest in the distance.

“Beginner’s luck? A silver chest appearing on just the second floor.”

Chloe muttered, glancing at Rex.

Since entering the dungeon, they had only found old, shabby chests, but unlike before, this room’s reward was a chest made of solid silver.

The contents were also of higher quality. It was a gold ring engraved with unrecognizable characters, which looked like it would fetch a high price.

Harald immediately handed the ring to Rex.

“You take it.”

“Pardon?”

“We made no contribution to conquering this room, so the right to the loot belongs to you.”

The rest of the party didn’t seem to have any objections either.

“Then… I’ll accept it with gratitude.”

After brief consideration, Rex tucked the ring into his pocket.

“Now, let’s move on.”

Harald led the party toward the exit.

However, what appeared when they opened the door was not a dark maze but another room.

The interior was empty, with no chests, traps, or monsters—just a large stone monument standing in the center.

“It’s a sanctuary!”

The people who followed him in brightened up as soon as they saw the monument. Rex watched in bewilderment as the party rushed forward as if in a race.

They knelt before the monument, clasped their hands together, and bowed their heads.

“What are you all doing?”

Rex approached Chloe, curious about what was happening. Chloe replied while still kneeling.

“What does it look like?”

“Praying.”

“Good observation.”

Rex scrutinized the monument.

[ᚹᛖᚨᛚᛗᛋ ᛟᚠ ᛒᛟᚱᛖᚨᛋ]

It was inscribed with an image of a raging storm and text in a language he had never seen before.

“Adventurers need to pray to the gods at sanctuaries to receive credit for the monsters they’ve slain. So don’t just stand there—hurry up and pray.”

At her urging, Rex knelt down with a reluctant expression.

“This is the temple of Boreas, the god of wind… You don’t need to say much, just a brief ‘I offer tribute to Lord Boreas’ will do.”

Chloe closed her mouth as if to say not to disturb her further.

“Thank you.”

Rex glanced up at the stone tablet and then closed his eyes.

‘So I need to pray.’

He didn’t think he could receive a blessing for just fifteen goblins, but he decided to try anyway.

Rex slowly opened his mouth.

“I offer tribute to Lord Boreas.”

At that moment, a gentle breeze suddenly blew, tickling his cheek. It was qualitatively different from the cold chill of the dungeon—if he had to describe it, it was as warm as spring sunshine.

As his consciousness seemed to be drawn somewhere, a thunderous voice resonated:

—How dare a lowly minor god covet my warrior! Did you think I would stand by and watch!

It was a remarkably familiar voice.