Chapter 2
Three years ago.
“In the name of the great Valtherus, I appoint you as a Pilgrim of the Sword.”
Inside the Valtherus Church.
“Callius. I hand you the stigma and the mark of Valtherus…”
The stigma will caress the back of your hand to prove that you are a Son of God.
The token will hang on your neck and make you feel that your Father is watching over you.
“Do not forget that finding your sword is the Pilgrim’s purpose on his pilgrimage.”
The stigma was stamped on the back of the hand.
The rosary was hung over his neck.
“Ah…….”
I was reborn as Callius, a devotee of Valtherus and a Pilgrim of the Sword.
And then I found out –
That this world of my rebirth was a world I myself had made.
[The Pilgrim’s Path]
A large game project that I participated in producing. There, I’d taken on the role of the story writer and producer, and the game had been nearing completion.
‘Killed.’
I can’t remember why I was killed.
But the cold feel of the blade stabbing my back and the cool feeling of my throat being cut still haunt me.
That’s it. I was killed.
And –
“Reborn.”
That was one fact I discovered while wandering around.
I had no choice but to know.
Because all the characters in this world were created by me.
Callius.
Even the existence of the person who I had now become is something I created.
So I couldn’t not know.
As it had been a large-scale project, the story occupied a huge part.
A production period spanning ten years.
Each character had a story to tell. If it had been any other game, I wouldn’t have done that.
But in [The Pilgrim’s Path], I had no choice but to do so. This was because the beginning of the game itself was to turn dead characters into swords.
People became weapons.
[The Pilgrim’s Path] started from that idea.
Even an NPC in a small town without a name.
As long as you are alive, you can turn anything into a weapon.
Because of that setting, I had to write the story of all the characters, so I easily realized that this was the world of the game I was involved in.
And thanks to that, I knew.
‘Who should I turn into a Carcass.’
Who should I turn into a Carcass, to increase my chances of surviving?
The stats vary greatly depending on what and who the Carcasss is made of.
Presence and potential in life.
And by summing up the influence it has on the world, the cadaver’s ability is determined.
The more it occupies a large part in the story, the better it is when turned into a sword, and its ability to control the supremacy of the world, isn’t it natural?
‘The Carcass from an unnamed person is usually slightly stronger than an ordinary sword.’
But for soldiers on the battlefield.
The rule is a little different.
There are five grades among swords.
Carcass (주), Life (명), Spirit (영), Vision (환) and then at the end.
The divine sword called God.
My purpose is to obtain the divine sword and save my life from the Pilgrims and the imperial pagans who are aiming for the Carpe Kingdom.
And if you can… .
‘To resurrect God.’
I have a small hope that Valtherus may know why I came here.
But right now, the reality is that even just saving my own life is difficult.
“At least, five years from now.”
Within five years, the Kingdom of Carpe will be destroyed by the exiled pagan gods and their followers, and the god Valtherus and his followers will all be annihilated.
I am also a Pilgrim of Valtherus.
I can’t get away from their eyes.
‘Because I can’t even apostatize with this body.’
Jet black hair, gray pupils.
Jervain, one of the seven sacred families resembling the appearance of the God. I am the one living the life of Callius von Jervain.
If one with with such a striking appearance apostatizes, he would be killed by the Church before the followers of the pagan god had a chance.
If there’s one thing that’s fortunate.
“Because I was the author.”
Most of the story of this unfinished game was written by me.
Callius.
Links and ties to this body.
And even the stories related to that relationship are woven together.
Five years remain until the fall of the Kingdom.
In that time, I must find a way to protect myself.
There are two main ways.
“I wonder if I could find a strong sword and become stronger.”
If not, I can only ask the sword.
It is a way to listen to the Verse of Grace (시은) – Corpse Grace (屍恩)[1] and increase your power as a reward.
Seuuk.
Among the corpses at my feet.
I see it with my eyes.
The bitterness she embraced while she was alive shines like the soft moonlight, exuding its presence.
Invisible to ordinary Pilgrims, who are strengthened by wielding swords and practicing devotion.
However, I am different. Because that’s what I see –
A corpse with grudges entangled.
If you turn this into a Carcass, another growth method is possible.
That is, Verse of Grace (시은) – Corpse Grace (屍恩).
Secret Quest. Bodily grace.
Among the many corpses lying at my feet.
I shall turn the corpse with the strongest hate into a Carcass. And if I fulfill their wish, they give me the strength I need.
I don’t know what would be given.
‘Because the reward design of the quests was not under my jurisdiction.’
For the past three years, I have achieved basic growth by listening to the stories of these trivial corpses and relieving them over and over again.
Thanks to that, I was able to beat the knights on the battlefield with my bare hands, and even able to turn the beasts of the frontier into pieces of meat without any weapons.
But I’m still not satisfied.
If it’s only to this extent, it’s far from being able to deal with the fanatics of the Empire.
Saa.
A silver light shines, and a new form is born in my grasp.
Click.
“Is it a rapier?”
A thin and long rapier.
The width is three centimeters. Its length is one meter and forty.
It’s well-balanced, flexible, and at the same time quite strong.
It was a Carcass close to a Life Sword.
“Rapier… it was here.”
I didn’t know her face as she was wearing a helmet.
However, looking at the condition of the sword, it seems that the potential during her lifetime was not bad.
I looked at the rapier.
The soft light emanating from it began to tell me the wish of its life.
It could be said to be easy to express, but it is not.
Their anger just enters my head and shows what they want.
The wishes of those who died in the turbulence of the era are all usually the same.
An unjust death wants revenge.
Or the regret of what was left behind.
“I’m picking up something that’s bothering me.”
The memories of the Carcass flowing into my mind revealed the appearance of a castle and its many faces.
Among them, the blonde child who looked like a son was the clearest.
Maybe this time –
“Should I find your son…?”
It was the regret of a mother who was worried about the son she had left behind.
Torrett, a small estate located near the northwestern border.
It’s too small to be called a manor, and it’s more like a rural village.
There are traces of the rapier’s owner living here.
Callius looked around the estate a little and strode towards the Lord’s castle.
The residents who glanced at him murmured that it was a Pilgrim.
‘They’re not rejecting me.’
They weren’t throwing stones, so it was already fortunate enough.
Unless it was a nobleman’s mansion, the treatment was up to the public, so Calius sighed involuntarily.
The way he was relieved by not having stones thrown at him welled up some sadness in his heart.
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“Pilgrim, take this.”
“?”
He took a moment to breathe.
A little girl had brought a wild flower and handed it to him.
“……”
Callius’ thoughts stopped at the first gift of flowers he had ever received.
The memories of the past three years, when stones and knives were all that came, flashed past him like a lantern.
“Did the Pilgrim also come to catch the bad guys who torment our village?”
The girl who gave him a look with her bright eyes, seemed to have a high affinity for the Pilgrims.
Callius, who had been dazed, soon returned to focus.
‘Another Pilgrim?’
There are parts that can be inferred from the girl’s words.
“Are there any other Pilgrims besides me?”
Callius’ eyes sharpened.
“Yes! He cleared out the bandits in Torrett! So it’s very easy for us to go out of town now.”
“Hey, Eri! Don’t bother the Pilgrim!”
One of the townspeople called out the girl’s name and bowed his head to Callius.
The girl named Eri started to leave with a smile, but Callius stopped her.
“Where is the Pilgrim now?”
“Staying in the Lord’s castle! Bye-bye then!”
Eri disappeared, and Callius started running straight to the Lord’s castle.
‘Pilgrims don’t do favors.’
The Pilgrims of the Order of Valtherus do not offer unpaid favors.
Why should a Church that only has the talent to turn corpses into swords do anything for the poor residents?
‘The only purpose of a Pilgrim is the sword.’
A stronger sword. A more powerful sword.
Only that.
So, if the Pilgrim did a favor, there was a good reason.
‘If you do this wrong… .’
Verse of Grace. Lord’s castle. Pilgrim.
In an instant, assumptions were put together in his mind. Power entered the rapier in his hand.
“Uh, uh!”
“What are you!”
Passing by the guards guarding the gate, he jumped over the fence.
After three years of training, he could achieve this much with ease.
Whik!
Thud!
Taat!
People screamed as they saw Callius rushing like the wind.
“Who are you!”
It was not a soldier guarding the Lord’s castle.
‘The condition of the armor is not good.’
It looked like he was wearing something picked up somewhere with leather padding.
His face was full of scars, and he was not clean, rather dirty.
Mercenaries.
“What are you doing! Stop him!!”
Calius’s hands clenched into fists and leaned behind his body.
And shot forward.
Whoo!
“Ouch!”
A mercenary dropped down after being hit by Callius’ fist and rolled to the ground.
When the large man was laid out with a single blow, others started to panic.
“Die! Gag -“
He grabbed the neck of a mercenary who had come running with a weapon and raised it.
Chi! The man’s face turned red as if he was choking.
A worthless mercenary.
In addition, the physical abilities that had been developed through quests over the past three years were not at a level that idiots like this could withstand.
“Where is the Pilgrim?”
Callius hoped it wasn’t what he thought it was.
But it kept coming to his mind.
‘I think I wrote this kind of story.’
I can’t remember exactly, but I think I wrote something similar to this.
After writing the side stories for at least ten years, it is natural that I can’t remember everything.
But the young Lord.
A Pilgrim aiming for that Lord.
Nothing comes to mind –
“Woah, in the office with the Lord…”
“Crazy! Why did you say that!”
“But the captain is going to die.”
Thump!
Callius put down the mercenary called the leader, and quickly ran towards the office.
‘You don’t have to do this, but… … .’
Click.
A rapier hanging from the waist.
There is no scabbard on it.
A scabbard is where the sword returns to.
However, a scabbard does not exist for the Carcass. Because the sword is meant to return to the bosom of the Gods in the end.
Callius pulled out the rapier and kicked open the door to the office.
Bang!
And what he saw –
“Ah…….”
It was a young Lord with a sword pointed at the tip of his chin, and an unknown Pilgrim holding that sword.
Editor’s Notes:
[1] Si-Eun (시은) is being translated as Verse of Grace.