CH 23
Paladin's eyes shot open. He quickly sat up on top of the pool of blood, while violently gasping for air like a drowning man trying to climb ashore. His terrified eyes darted nervously back and forth. Only after confirming that he was in his room did his racing heart begin to calm down.
"That thing, is it really just a dream?"
Paladin sighed deeply as he held his head with one hand. Suddenly, his previously tired gaze became fierce. He couldn't help but become dazed as he took in the sight of his surroundings. With trembling hands, he stroked the empty air in front of him. Meanwhile, he expressionlessly muttered, "All of these are magic elements!"
From Paladin’s point of view, the air in front of him was currently filled with countless magic elements. Fiery red fire magic elements writhed around the charred table top, azure water magic elements floated freely in the air, and grayish-white wind magic elements floated violently alongside the water magic elements. There were also a lot of earth magic elements piled on top of tables, furniture, and floors!
These were the most fundamental elements from which everything was made out of. The mysterious veil had been lifted from Paladin's eyes, completely unraveling the secrets inside in front of him. Paladin watched all this in shock. His trembling hand slowly reached out, attempting to touch the water magic element floating in front of him.
Something unexpected happened. Paladin's hand hadn’t touched the water magic element yet when the golden light magic elements that were hovering around him suddenly ran amok, slamming water magic elements that were near them fiercely. Before Paladin got a hold of himself, he discovered that all magic elements that approached him, regardless of type, were attacked by the golden light magic elements surrounding him and were sent flying far away.
Paladin, who stood up slowly, looked around the dream-like scene surrounding him. It was as if he were in a sea of bubbles. However, unlike the elements manipulated by the mages, these elements that wander the world operate in an irregular and scattered floating pattern. The words that could best describe the scene in front of him was, ‘A miracle. A treasure he possessed nobody else could ever imagine!’
Paladin stood still with a strange smile plastered on his face. He opened his hands, fantasizing about embracing the magic elements and fell into ecstasy. But the next scene he saw took his happy mood to a whole new level.
Right now, the golden light magic elements were coiling around his body, forming bands of halo. Slightly dazed, Paladin counted carefully. Next, his face lit up with joy.
"Three hundred and ten! A whopping three hundred and ten light magic elements! That's a fivefold increase over my original ability, which was only 60! Five times increase!"
Paladin, who was dancing in excitement, suddenly recalled about the raw materials he used to refine the Philosopher’s Stone last night.
"Wait a minute, the Philosopher's Stone I previously refined with one of the association’s guards gained me sixty golden light magic elements, meanwhile the one refined with the lives of four people has an increase of exactly two hundred and forty golden light magic elements. Doesn’t this mean that an ordinary person’s life essence can be exchanged for sixty golden light elements when fused?" Paladin murmured, beginning to understand the concept.
Paladin nodded devilishly. As if he had discovered a new continent he rubbed his hands and walked to the table by the window, all the while muttering in a crazed tone
"Let's say, this thing has nothing to do with the individual's age, physical condition, or gender. A person's life essence can be exchanged for 60 light elements. If I use ten people, a hundred, or even a thousand people at a time to refine the stone, I, Paladin will have an immense amount of magic elements! Hahahaha!”
Paladin couldn't help but laugh slowly. One could no longer see a semblance of humanity in his eyes which were full of countless ambitions. He was akin to a monster that had broken free of its chains. Hissing, roaring and fiddling with its claws as if it couldn't wait to have a taste of flesh and blood.
"Hah! For the first time, I realized how wonderful life is!" Paladin sighed and raised his red face. Subconsciously, his gaze trailed to look at the beautiful scenery in the distance through the window. Pride fully bloomed in his chest. Unfortunately, there was something wrong. His prideful spirit hadn’t had a chance to be released when his entire body instantly froze because of the view out of the window.
The buildings and towering walls that Paladin should’ve seen were no longer visible. There were no white clouds and blue sky, no green trees and grass. A bizarre scene assembled by countless magic elements was taking place. The magic elements were all swimming in an irregular and slow manner. Vaguely, Paladin could feel that these elements were moving in the same way as the runes on the powerful seal inside the Freemasons’ Association that led to the place where the scroll was stored!
Paladin, who was slowly gathering his thoughts, suddenly noticed that the direct sunlight shining down couldn’t be seen in this composition of magic elements. But, Paladin’s attention was elsewhere; he was concerned with the fact that the sun was already high in the sky.
"It's already this late! Couldn’t that old thing, Northam, do something bad while I was away?" Paladin, who thought so, immediately frowned. Without a second thought, he immediately put on a black priest robe and went downstairs to check.
"Northam, Northam!" Paladin shouted.
Northam was no longer in the front hall. Seeing this, Paladin felt more and more unhappy. He couldn't help but start cursing.
‘Where would he go?’ Paladin pondered. Still frowning, he kept on looking for Northam. Suddenly, when the corner leading to the basement caught his gaze, an extremely bad premonition came to his mind.
In an instant, Paladin eyes immediately went from gentle to sharp, full with endless brutality. He quickly walked to the basement’s entrance. When Paladin arrived at the entrance and saw that the wooden door was pried open, his eyes immediately glowed golden.
Paladin clenched his teeth tightly, muttering sinisterly as he made his way towards the basement, "Northam, you'd better get out of here. If I catch sight of you. you'll definitely understand what regret is!"
Paladin's vision was unaffected by the dark passage, thanks to the additional magic elements he recently obtained. One step at a time, Paladin entered the basement. A familiar voice containing remorse and pain could be heard.
"It's all my fault, it's all my fault! I was blinded by impulse and ended up hurting innocent lives for nothing! Enos! O great God, please inflict divine punishment on me, this lowly and foolish servant!"
When Paladin heard this voice, he looked for the source of the sound and saw Northam. His hood was lowered, his snow-white white hair was hanging down, his face was filled with dense wrinkles. He was on his knees, hands clutching the trash—a skeleton, to be precise—abandoned by Paladin with a runny nose and teary eyes. He was crossing his arms painfully in front of his chest, desperately trying to repent for his sins.
"Northam, what are you doing?!"
Suddenly hearing someone behind him, Northam panicked and turned around. His cloudy old eyes erupted with bitter hatred upon seeing the culprit, who was no other than Paladin.
"Paladin! Tell me, tell me clearly! Tell me what happened to these skeletons! What the hell did you do to them? Do you have any kindness or mercy left in your heart? You lowly, filthy demon!" Northam shouted.
"That thing, is it really just a dream?"
Paladin sighed deeply as he held his head with one hand. Suddenly, his previously tired gaze became fierce. He couldn't help but become dazed as he took in the sight of his surroundings. With trembling hands, he stroked the empty air in front of him. Meanwhile, he expressionlessly muttered, "All of these are magic elements!"
From Paladin’s point of view, the air in front of him was currently filled with countless magic elements. Fiery red fire magic elements writhed around the charred table top, azure water magic elements floated freely in the air, and grayish-white wind magic elements floated violently alongside the water magic elements. There were also a lot of earth magic elements piled on top of tables, furniture, and floors!
These were the most fundamental elements from which everything was made out of. The mysterious veil had been lifted from Paladin's eyes, completely unraveling the secrets inside in front of him. Paladin watched all this in shock. His trembling hand slowly reached out, attempting to touch the water magic element floating in front of him.
Something unexpected happened. Paladin's hand hadn’t touched the water magic element yet when the golden light magic elements that were hovering around him suddenly ran amok, slamming water magic elements that were near them fiercely. Before Paladin got a hold of himself, he discovered that all magic elements that approached him, regardless of type, were attacked by the golden light magic elements surrounding him and were sent flying far away.
Paladin, who stood up slowly, looked around the dream-like scene surrounding him. It was as if he were in a sea of bubbles. However, unlike the elements manipulated by the mages, these elements that wander the world operate in an irregular and scattered floating pattern. The words that could best describe the scene in front of him was, ‘A miracle. A treasure he possessed nobody else could ever imagine!’
Paladin stood still with a strange smile plastered on his face. He opened his hands, fantasizing about embracing the magic elements and fell into ecstasy. But the next scene he saw took his happy mood to a whole new level.
Right now, the golden light magic elements were coiling around his body, forming bands of halo. Slightly dazed, Paladin counted carefully. Next, his face lit up with joy.
"Three hundred and ten! A whopping three hundred and ten light magic elements! That's a fivefold increase over my original ability, which was only 60! Five times increase!"
Paladin, who was dancing in excitement, suddenly recalled about the raw materials he used to refine the Philosopher’s Stone last night.
"Wait a minute, the Philosopher's Stone I previously refined with one of the association’s guards gained me sixty golden light magic elements, meanwhile the one refined with the lives of four people has an increase of exactly two hundred and forty golden light magic elements. Doesn’t this mean that an ordinary person’s life essence can be exchanged for sixty golden light elements when fused?" Paladin murmured, beginning to understand the concept.
Paladin nodded devilishly. As if he had discovered a new continent he rubbed his hands and walked to the table by the window, all the while muttering in a crazed tone
"Let's say, this thing has nothing to do with the individual's age, physical condition, or gender. A person's life essence can be exchanged for 60 light elements. If I use ten people, a hundred, or even a thousand people at a time to refine the stone, I, Paladin will have an immense amount of magic elements! Hahahaha!”
Paladin couldn't help but laugh slowly. One could no longer see a semblance of humanity in his eyes which were full of countless ambitions. He was akin to a monster that had broken free of its chains. Hissing, roaring and fiddling with its claws as if it couldn't wait to have a taste of flesh and blood.
"Hah! For the first time, I realized how wonderful life is!" Paladin sighed and raised his red face. Subconsciously, his gaze trailed to look at the beautiful scenery in the distance through the window. Pride fully bloomed in his chest. Unfortunately, there was something wrong. His prideful spirit hadn’t had a chance to be released when his entire body instantly froze because of the view out of the window.
The buildings and towering walls that Paladin should’ve seen were no longer visible. There were no white clouds and blue sky, no green trees and grass. A bizarre scene assembled by countless magic elements was taking place. The magic elements were all swimming in an irregular and slow manner. Vaguely, Paladin could feel that these elements were moving in the same way as the runes on the powerful seal inside the Freemasons’ Association that led to the place where the scroll was stored!
Paladin, who was slowly gathering his thoughts, suddenly noticed that the direct sunlight shining down couldn’t be seen in this composition of magic elements. But, Paladin’s attention was elsewhere; he was concerned with the fact that the sun was already high in the sky.
"It's already this late! Couldn’t that old thing, Northam, do something bad while I was away?" Paladin, who thought so, immediately frowned. Without a second thought, he immediately put on a black priest robe and went downstairs to check.
"Northam, Northam!" Paladin shouted.
Northam was no longer in the front hall. Seeing this, Paladin felt more and more unhappy. He couldn't help but start cursing.
‘Where would he go?’ Paladin pondered. Still frowning, he kept on looking for Northam. Suddenly, when the corner leading to the basement caught his gaze, an extremely bad premonition came to his mind.
In an instant, Paladin eyes immediately went from gentle to sharp, full with endless brutality. He quickly walked to the basement’s entrance. When Paladin arrived at the entrance and saw that the wooden door was pried open, his eyes immediately glowed golden.
Paladin clenched his teeth tightly, muttering sinisterly as he made his way towards the basement, "Northam, you'd better get out of here. If I catch sight of you. you'll definitely understand what regret is!"
Paladin's vision was unaffected by the dark passage, thanks to the additional magic elements he recently obtained. One step at a time, Paladin entered the basement. A familiar voice containing remorse and pain could be heard.
"It's all my fault, it's all my fault! I was blinded by impulse and ended up hurting innocent lives for nothing! Enos! O great God, please inflict divine punishment on me, this lowly and foolish servant!"
When Paladin heard this voice, he looked for the source of the sound and saw Northam. His hood was lowered, his snow-white white hair was hanging down, his face was filled with dense wrinkles. He was on his knees, hands clutching the trash—a skeleton, to be precise—abandoned by Paladin with a runny nose and teary eyes. He was crossing his arms painfully in front of his chest, desperately trying to repent for his sins.
"Northam, what are you doing?!"
Suddenly hearing someone behind him, Northam panicked and turned around. His cloudy old eyes erupted with bitter hatred upon seeing the culprit, who was no other than Paladin.
"Paladin! Tell me, tell me clearly! Tell me what happened to these skeletons! What the hell did you do to them? Do you have any kindness or mercy left in your heart? You lowly, filthy demon!" Northam shouted.
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