Chapter 151

Chapter 151

This was a possibility Lin had never considered.

The Berserker class required being beaten half to death by enemies to unleash their combat power—Shanta had already debunked this myth, stating it wasn't true—so Lin had always assumed that the people suitable for this class were masochists, those who could savor pain as the sweetest joy in the world.

Blue Phosphorus Gray didn’t seem like one at all!

Perhaps Lin's skepticism was too obvious, Bishop Qiyin coughed and explained, "There are some widely spread rumors about the Berserker class... Of course, they don't need to be beaten half to death. The core talents of a Berserker are two: 'Blood as Fuel,' which involves burning the blood within the body as a tangible manifestation of life force to gain powerful magic that can burst forth instantly; and 'Last Drop,' which allows the life force to retain a final drop before it burns out, ensuring the Berserker won't die unless both head and torso are obliterated by an attack."

But wouldn't a single prick after the life force is burned out kill them?

Lin wasn't unfamiliar with this; many rituals directed at the Mother of Sourceblood had similar effects.

Blue Phosphorus Gray felt the grip on his left hand, held by Lin who was half-kneeling beside the wheelchair, suddenly tighten.

The frail mouse-boy could only use his right hand, newly healed skin and all, to gently pat Lin’s hand.

Lin forced himself to relax his grip so as not to hurt Blue Phosphorus Gray, then looked up at Bishop Qiyin and asked, "Does burning life hurt?"

What was the person who had willingly sacrificed their heart by stabbing themselves a few days ago talking about?

Bishop Qiyin and Hui Cui fell silent for a moment.

A moment later, Hui Cui thought for a bit and shared his understanding of the Berserker class: "An intermediate-level Berserker can burn others' lives to convert into their own magic. At that point, the pain is felt by the enemy."

Bishop Qiyin noticed Blue Phosphorus Gray's eyes darting from her to Hui Cui, observing, and she casually added, "For your brother, Lin, the feeling of burning life should be cold."

She raised her hand, and a ball of blood began to spin on her fingertip.

"Conversely, the blood that symbolizes the flesh healer is unbearably hot for Blue Phosphorus Gray," Bishop Qiyin said, "Each test subject feels differently. The last Berserker I tested felt the burning of life like the dizziness from drinking industrial alcohol. I've also met a shape-shifting Berserker who said it felt like eating."

She retracted the ball of blood that would scald Blue Phosphorus Gray and said, "Abundant life force will make you scream in pain, while the cold of life ebbing away is what you're accustomed to. Your illness has shaped your personality and perception, which in turn influences your career inclination... So, Lin, there's no need to worry too much about your brother."

Bishop Qiyin added, "Those who do not wish to live cannot become Berserkers."

Blue Phosphorus Gray also said, "Don't worry, Lin comes home safe every time he goes out to work, doesn't he?"

Lin: "..."

Why did it feel like Blue Phosphorus Gray was hinting at something?

"Sorry," Lin, whose fighting style as a ritualist was once described as wild, sighed and stood up, "I'm not trying to oppose anything."

He couldn't oppose it anyway. When he wanted to apply to the Judge School, everyone initially disagreed, but only Blue Phosphorus Gray said, "If you really want to, you can."

Just as then, now, the choice of career concerns Blue Phosphorus Gray's future, and only he can make the final decision.

In this damn alternate world, being an ordinary person is just as dangerous as being a professional.

Moreover, Blue Phosphorus Gray was only suited for the Berserker class. If he chose to back down here, it would mean the Lin family would have to pay an additional fifteen thousand for surgery fees.

During the process of saving up for the surgery fees, Blue Phosphorus Gray's condition could worsen at any time. In comparison, becoming a professional seemed like a way to seize control of his fate.

"Parents can't help but worry; it's inevitable," Bishop Qiyin comforted, then turned to Blue Phosphorus Gray, "So, Blue Phosphorus Gray Masma, what do you think?"

"I was diagnosed with severe genetic disease symptoms at the age of seven, and my parents abandoned me and my sister. I thought I wouldn't live past eight, but I received new family members and my life has been prolonged until today," the sickly-looking mouse-boy said calmly, "It must be the blessing of the goddess that has brought me to this day, and it must be the blessing of the goddess that has given me this opportunity."

Determination shone in Blue Phosphorus Gray's gem-like blue eyes.

He earnestly said, "Bishop, please let me try."

Bishop Qiyin smiled and nodded.

She placed her hand on Blue Phosphorus Gray's head, and a crimson glow enveloped him. Even after Bishop Qiyin released her hand, the faint red light continued to emanate from Blue Phosphorus Gray's skin.

"Stand up."

Bishop Qiyin said, "This spell will ensure you have the strength to move for twenty-four hours. Then, Sina."

A young girl in a red robe pushed open the door of the small chapel and waited by the entrance.

"This is our new apprentice, Blue Phosphorus Gray Masma," Bishop Qiyin introduced, "Please take him to his quarters."

Blue Phosphorus Gray, unable to become a professional directly, needed training first since his inclination was towards a combat-oriented profession.

Sina, who appeared to be a novice priest—typically played by low-level professionals who had just started—pressed her hand to her chest and bowed to Blue Phosphorus Gray, saying, "Please follow me."

Blue Phosphorus Gray, standing up with the help of the wheelchair, moved his feet slightly, smiled at Lin, and wheeled himself toward Sina.

For some reason, after smiling at Lin, he politely and formally bid farewell to Hui Cui before following Sina away.

...Well, it wasn't really a mystery why.

Lin, no longer harboring false hopes, felt a sense of melancholy.

He recalled the times before his transmigration when he left home for school, and his parents watched him go.

As an only child, Lin never imagined he would so soon experience the reality of his child gradually becoming independent.

Well, a few more words with Bishop Qiyin, then he would say goodbye and return to tell Shorttail and the others the good news.

Tomorrow, he could bring Shorttail to see Blue Phosphorus Gray...

Lost in thought, Lin noticed Bishop Qiyin looking at him.

Her gaze was so intense that Lin thought she was about to call out eighteen executioners to surround him, the evil god.

Lin dared not show any signs of unease and called out with clear confusion, "Bishop?"

"What's wrong?" Hui Cui asked, puzzled.

"It's only now that your brother has left that I dare to ask," Bishop Qiyin said seriously, "Lin, what is that crack on your coccyx?"

***

Headquarters of the Inquisition, the Grand Inquisitor's office.

The Grand Inquisitor was diligently working.

As the highest official of the Inquisition, there were almost no secrets that could be kept from Solomon. For instance, Hui Cui's lover and the controversies surrounding him.

These controversies might seem coincidental, but anyone who believed in coincidence without investigation would not have ascended to the position of Grand Inquisitor.

Leaving aside minor controversies, the biggest mystery about Lin was that, with all the resources of the Inquisition, nothing could be found about his past.

Unless he wasn't eighteen but three years old, it was truly hard to explain why his life before the age of fifteen was a complete blank, with no records of his existence anywhere.

Could he be three years old?

Solomon was born before the New Era, but because the Six Pillar Gods had decided to sever the history before the New Era, most people believed Solomon to be over nine hundred years old.

In reality, the lion-man Rayne, who was just over a thousand years old, was well-informed, yet he had to admit that there were many things he had never seen with his own eyes.

Those vague tales passed down from the time when the Six Pillar Gods were not yet Pillar Gods.

The thought-forms of deities.

Or rather, the thought-forms of seeds, young gods.

It seemed mature gods no longer exhibited this phenomenon. The few scattered records of the Inquisition mentioned only the evil god "Boundless Realm" — the former God of Knowledge, who had been slain by His Majesty the Golden Hammer — creating his own thought-form during his young god stage.

Whether any god had done this before Boundless Realm, the Inquisition had no records. Considering that anything was possible, perhaps one of the Six Pillar Gods had experience with it.

Solomon asked the Dragon of Light, whose Lord indicated He had not.

Solomon then urged the Dragon of Light to inquire of the other Pillar Gods, but ended up being dragged into a long complaint about inter-deity relations.

Fine, the Pillar Gods did not want to talk about it.

Solomon could only speculate based on those vague tales. Though he did not know exactly what a thought-form was, from the descriptions, the thought-form of Boundless Realm during his young god stage seemed very human-like.

Was it possible that a young god, upon birth, could create a thought-form that directly appeared as a fifteen-year-old human?

If the creation was not proficient or for some other reason, could this thought-form have an appearance different from any human race?

Solomon could only guess and probe.

Moses Gobi passed through the outskirts of a city, and the Inquisition discovered him, along with the followers of the Aberrant Cult chasing after him.

Solomon also knew that Hui Cui planned to meet her lover, who was on leave, under the guise of work.

Judge Lin had even made a reservation with the Church of the Mother of Blood in advance; getting his appointment time was too easy.

Solomon timed it perfectly, passing on Moses Gobi's whereabouts to the Church of the Mother of Blood, which seemed to be looking for him.

During the middle of the last divine war, as prayers increased, the Mirror-Eyed One gradually stopped responding to the calls of the Inquisitors in various cities and ceased handling the surge in cases of suicidal somnolence.

From this situation, it appeared that His computational power as a deity had not yet been fully developed.

If Judge Lin was a thought-form, Solomon could use the two apostles, Soft Wave and Hui Cui, to forcibly create a time conflict where He must divide His attention, forcing Him to reveal Himself.

If Judge Lin was not... the words of the Contradictory Twin Majesty to Hui Cui might have been misunderstood. When Hui Cui got married, he could send more gifts.

Solomon estimated both outcomes and waited for the results.

The results came quickly, and he unfolded the report to read it carefully.

"No lag in observation? ... Wait, could it be that the Young Prince of Dreams' computational power grew after the last divine war?"

"Doubts cannot be put aside... What is this?"

Noticing that the intelligence officer's report had another section, Solomon continued reading.

After finishing, his expression was peculiar.

"Because he fell off a chair and fractured his coccyx..."

Even if a young god's thought-form could not be detected as non-human by human technology, it could not possibly be so fragile, could it? It couldn't be more fragile than a human child, right?

Mortal means could not harm a divine body.

Solomon put down the report, sighed in relief, and muttered:

"Should... not be, right."