Chapter 62: An Unnamed Holy Emblem

That kind of weight, pressing down on Cait Sith, meant there was no way for the great cat to run. Even though it was an alchemical creature, endowed with tremendous strength, a feline’s skeleton simply wasn’t built for riding; high-speed galloping would still damage its spine under such a heavy burden.

But if the armor was abandoned, little Honey’s weight was light enough for Cait Sith to sprint as if unburdened—so, was this the first cat knight in history?

Cait Sith suddenly stopped, rearing up to a perfect halt that let Honey dismount at just the right distance. Almost at once, a beam of light descended from the sky, following the direction of Honey’s pointing finger.

A focused magic orb!

“Without realizing it, has little Honey’s divine magic advanced so far?” Venigo murmured, puzzled.

Most spellcasters and devotees need a learning tool—a Book of Study—to master magical and divine arts. The four elemental orders of Fire, Air, Water, Earth; the three orders of Body, Mind, Soul; the special orders of Light and Darkness that blend magic and divinity—these nine orders all produce their own Books of Study, indispensable for learning their arts.

It’s like solving complex math problems; you need scratch paper and a pencil. Almost always essential—though, in rare cases, some people can calculate everything in their heads.

Magic and divine arts are thousands of times more complex than ordinary math, so geniuses who can master them without a Book of Study are exceedingly rare, and usually only so with the blessing of a deity.

Honey had never bought a Book of Study, yet she unleashed a focused magic orb, a skill of the highest order among the powers of light.

She gathered the stray radiance of the world, infused it with divine magic, transforming it into a weapon of immense power—a blazing spear of light descending from the heavens, carrying both the purifying force against evil and the searing heat of flame.

No explosion, no sound—just pure light, flashing by in an instant.

Invida had no time to dodge. He simply froze, then vanished in the glare, leaving only his armor behind, glowing red-hot from the heat.

“The temperature isn’t too high, but the divine power for banishing evil is terrifying,” Venigo praised. “Little Honey is already so formidable.”

“Of course! Honey is so devout,” the little girl boasted, hopping off the big cat and spinning around, flashing a victory sign.

Yet Venigo sensed that Honey’s state was more than ordinary devotion.

Invida’s armor was valuable; though most of its magical arrays had been destroyed by Honey’s attack, its material remained intact. With proper repair and some modifications, it could become an excellent suit of armor.

But neither Venigo nor Sophie liked heavy armor, so Venigo planned to give it to Sir Tamp once he was done.

The tiger-dragon fared much better. Though smashed onto the fortress by the fearsome force of the death tornado, leaving its organs shattered, its tough hide was still whole—enough to craft more than three suits of leather armor for adults.

Its blood and bones were also useful. The tiger-dragon’s anti-magic ability came from a special organ, which could be fashioned into a device to disrupt magic—a clear advantage in spell warfare.

But before that, Venigo used the Eye of Insight to thoroughly examine the tiger-dragon.

He spent a full hour, pausing only for a few minutes, the rest of the time staring fixedly at the earth-bound dragon’s corpse, unmoving.

At last, Venigo exhaled and slumped to the ground.

“What is it?” Sophie stepped forward, sword slung over her shoulder.

While Venigo was investigating, Sophie, Honey, and Cait Sith had worked together to clear out the Silver Helm warriors around the fortress. With Honey’s divine magic controlling the battlefield, Cait Sith’s rapid harassment, and Sophie’s devastating attacks, the battered fortress was cleared within an hour.

“This tiger-dragon wasn’t raised naturally,” Venigo explained. “It was forced to mature rapidly by some special power.”

Anger flickered across Sophie’s face. “So—it was just a child?”

“Yes. Because it was accelerated, its body swelled up in a short time, with bones, muscles, and organs growing destructively fast—splitting, healing, then splitting again. That kind of pain...” Venigo snorted. “Enduring such agony for so long, and being only a beastling, it became especially irrational and savage.”

“That means it can’t be tamed,” Sophie said suddenly.

“Correct. But taming isn’t what they’re after,” Venigo replied. “They try to tame young beasts for modification, but after the tiger-dragon is altered, its mind is flooded with chaotic rage and destructive urges—no rationality at all. So they implant a magitech device in its brain to control it.”

“Unforgivable!” Sophie growled, her great sword slamming into the ground and sending stone chips flying with a crisp, ringing sound.

“Warlords and the Silver Helm are alike—they pursue power to extremes, so much so that they care for nothing else...” Venigo scoffed. “Well, there’ll be plenty of chances to teach them lessons.”

With no guilt whatsoever, Venigo began disassembling the tiger-dragon before him for materials.

He snapped his fingers, summoning his noodle beast, and started piling up the spoils on its back. After tidying up the battlefield outside the fortress, Venigo decisively reset his role, rebuilt himself as Scavenger Kitty, and dashed back inside.

There wasn’t much of value in the fortress. The Silver Helm Brotherhood was an extreme organization, its members mostly lacking any taste for luxury. Aside from some liquor, their only possessions were armor and weapons.

These were worth something, but bulky, and most had been damaged in battle—not worth collecting.

Still, in a hidden chamber, Venigo found a few items of interest.

Twenty-four vials filled with strange potions and a rack made of special alloys—clearly not products native to this world.

And one odd artifact. In the deepest bedroom of the fortress, concealed behind an unremarkable box, a sacred emblem lay quietly in a secret compartment. Though its ancient age made the deity it represented unidentifiable, the faint aura of mystery and the fact that Invida treasured it so dearly proved its value.

“Without a doubt, this is exactly the kind of thing that temperamental—uh, I mean, noble, exalted, and merciful Lord desires,” Venigo said, holding the sacred emblem and examining it with the Eye of Insight. In less than three seconds, his eyes stung—proof that the emblem’s mystery far surpassed his own abilities, and that it was indeed the divinity Sophie sought.

“Clever, clever,” came the giggling voice of the mysterious girl-goddess in his mind—the one sharing Sophie’s name, the master of wishful prayers, wielding faint divine power, clearly thrilled.

“Now, as I taught you, pray to me and offer the item as a sacrifice,” she laughed.

“Of course, as you wish.” Venigo had no use for the emblem himself, so he held it in both hands and prayed to Sophie.

With each prayer, the power in the emblem slowly but steadily flowed into the void.

For some time to come, this would be Venigo’s daily practice.

Aside from prayer, Venigo had other tasks—constantly switching between the templates of the eccentric scholar Tao, the inventive girl Nanoka, and the alchemist Mary, processing his gathered materials, fashioning them into parts, assembling finished items, and finally enchanting them.

After that battle, Venigo suddenly found his own power had soared. Through the Mirror of Self, he was able to confirm that it was the earth-shaking tornado that slew the tiger-dragon and crippled Invida, which led to this outcome.

With sufficient power, Venigo could finally choose templates previously inaccessible—such as the alchemist Mary.

Mary wasn’t the type who could both research and fight like Tao, but her reputation surpassed even his, because Mary’s alchemy could alter the essential properties of materials and equipment.

Nanoka’s inventions had similar effects, but her work was too random and only changed physical traits. Mary’s alchemy, however, could change matter at the molecular level and imbue items with magic—a higher form of transformation.

For Venigo, who could not acquire skills, using Mary’s alchemy to craft advanced alchemical tools and enchanted gear was enough to empower him quickly, granting more strength and enabling him to transform into stronger roles...

It was a threshold—and once crossed, Venigo’s progress accelerated to an astonishing degree.

But that would come later...

Venigo was very pleased with his latest creations.

On Venigo’s advice, Honey abandoned her heavy armor and switched to lightweight leather. She had been able to use the armor only because its magic arrays enhanced her strength, but in Venigo’s opinion, with Honey’s mastery of divine arts, she had no need for such strong defense.

Honey only needed to ride Cait Sith. Her use of divine magic differed from a mage’s—she didn’t need calm or stability, only devout chanting, turning her faith into power.

“Be my wings, Honey,” Venigo thought suddenly. He smiled and shook his head.