The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 21 Practical Magic
The next morning, Eric woke up very late, and when he opened his eyes, it was already very bright outside the tent.

He slept very well last night and didn't even dream. When he woke up, he was awake, but he still subconsciously touched the side of his head.

There is no alarm clock urging me to die, nor is there a mobile phone that has been charged all night.

Yes, he was reincarnated into another world and lived a life of luxury as a noble lord...

Shit.

The pain in his arms was even worse than last night. Just lifting them up made him grimace in pain. The ground beneath him was as hard as it could be. It took him a long time to sit up, and he felt like his whole body was falling apart.

In his previous life, when he was almost thirty, he often felt this way after physical labor, but his current body was only that of a sixteen-year-old.

Ultimately, the fighting yesterday was too intense.

“Hiss… It’s so annoying…”

But it was still a young body after all. After sitting for a while, Eric found that the soreness in his body was gradually fading away, just like the drowsiness that always dissipates when you wake up early.

I wonder if there are any practical magic techniques in this real world that are closer to life, such as those that can eliminate physical fatigue...

After thinking about it for a while, Eric listened to the noise outside again.

Through the tent, the camp outside was bustling with people. It wasn't quiet, but the noise was much quieter than yesterday, otherwise it would have been difficult for him to sleep until he woke up naturally.

"They are all still asleep, where should we put these repaired armors?"

"Just find a clean place to put it... Hey, don't put it with the food! It's said that you men only have brute force..."

The audible conversations were deliberately suppressed. Eric guessed that Leslie and the others were still not awake, or if they were awake they were still staying in the tent and no one got up.

He didn't care. After all, he had specifically told him last night to rest a little longer today.

However, after sleeping for more than ten hours, the food he ate last night was almost digested, and his stomach was empty, so he was very hungry.

Eric came out of the tent and quickly attracted the attention of some villagers, who came over to greet him or ask about what he had just heard.

He had just answered two questions when he suddenly saw Leslie pop his head out of the tent and look over here.

Eric waved his hand, signaling him to go back and lie down, but the captain of the guards still got up, dressed, and pulled the villagers who were harassing the young master to his side.

When he was done, he came to find Eric by the campfire.

"Master, you're up so early."

"Look where the sun is." Eric shook the bread in his hand and motioned him to sit down. "I've had enough sleep, and I'm mainly hungry."

Leslie turned his head to look at the other tents, took a deep breath, and was stopped by Eric before he could shout out.

"It's still early. Let's eat something first."

"Yes, Master."

The two of them bit their bread, talked and looked around. Occasionally, some villagers would come over to ask questions, but they were basically blocked by Leslie.

After eating for a while, Eric saw the head nun coming out of the tent.

"Good morning, Sister Alena."

"...Good morning, Mr. Eric." The head nun did not come over. She nodded to him and Leslie from a distance and went to wash up first.

Some vague silhouettes emerged in his mind. Eric took a big bite of bread and swallowed his distracting thoughts and appetite.

After his stomach was filled, he stood up and looked around, his eyes quickly landing on the black smoke rising from the mine.

"I'm going to go over there and take a look—no need to follow me, I'm just taking a look."

"Yes." Leslie sat back down.

Eric had no weapons or armor, so he could only look around.

Walking into the mine, the pile of burning corpses in the corner was not so conspicuous during the day, but that was only relative to the night. It was hard not to pay attention to the situation there.

Eric walked over.

The City Lord's Mansion was responsible for the fighting, while the burning was essentially left to the villagers. To dispose of the corpses as quickly as possible, they worked day and night, with several shifts taking turns. A new group should be busy right now.

The heat of the flames and the unpleasant stench of burning hit him in the face. Eric held his breath and approached, staring at the flames for a while. Finally, he couldn't hold it anymore and took a breath. The stench that instantly rushed into his mouth and nose made him almost vomit out all the breakfast he had just eaten.

Looking at the villagers, their faces were all wrapped in thick towels, which should have some effect.

Eric was about to back away when he noticed Sophie standing inside.

When he got up, he only saw the head nun coming out of the tent, but not the little nun. He thought she was still asleep, but he didn't expect her to come here.

She was watching several villagers pouring holy water on the newly moved corpses. Her face looked normal, as if she had adapted to the temperature and smell here. She didn't know how long she had been there.

Eric covered his mouth and nose with his arm and took a deep breath before walking towards her.

"Miss Sophie."

The little nun turned around, an expression of unexpected joy on her face, too great to conceal.

"Mr. Eric..."

"You're here so early." Eric held his breath and tried to be brief.

"Ah, I woke up very early and couldn't fall asleep, so I came here to take a look." Sophie said, pinching her hands.

Are you just going to a place like this to take a look?

Eric felt that she seemed to have become more positive, and he didn't know if it was the influence of what he had seen and heard in the camp these past few days. He wanted to say something, but he had already held his breath.

He raised his arm again, covered his mouth and nose with the fabric, and took a deep breath.

Sophie stared at him blankly, then quickly realized what he was doing. After thinking for a moment, she mustered up the courage to say, "I can help you, Mr. Eric."

"What?" "A way to block out the smell."

Eric looked at her. The little nun couldn't hold his gaze for too long, so she lowered her eyes and said, "Excuse me..."

She held the pendant hanging on her chest, whispered a prayer, then raised her other hand, hesitated, and gently pinched Eric's nose.

"..."

Her fingertips were soft and warm, and there was a hint of trembling in her cautious strength. Eric didn't have time to think about it, and suddenly he saw the pendant in her other hand light up briefly.

The next moment, he found that he could not smell anything.

"...How is it?" Sophie withdrew her hand and looked at him.

"I can't smell it anymore."

Eric took a deep breath, but still couldn't smell anything. "Is this also a divine spell?"

"Yes! Sister Alena taught me." Sophie said happily.

"It's amazing." Eric sighed casually, and then suddenly thought: Isn't this the kind of practical magic that is close to life that I have been looking forward to?
"How long can this magic last?" he asked.

Sophie said, "About an hour. You can cancel it yourself, otherwise you won't be able to smell anything else... I can only learn this elementary magic right now."

It’s not too elementary, at least it requires a medium to perform.

Eric glanced at the pendant on her chest and guessed that it was her divine medium. He remembered that Alena also had a similar but more exquisite pendant on her chest.

"What is Miss Sophie's current career level? Is she at level three?" Eric asked.

His question surprised Sophie for a moment, and she quickly shook her head, "No, I just reached the second level this year."

Only the second level?

Eric thought that if she could learn the magic, he could probably learn it too.

He spent the entire day killing in the mines yesterday, and the massive amount of experience he gained has pushed his level to 27. Three more levels will allow him to advance to the second level, so his attributes shouldn't be a problem.

"Miss Sophie, can you teach me the magic you just performed?" Eric asked.

Sophie was visibly stunned. "Me?"

"Ah."

"Sure! ...Uh...I'm not sure if I can..."

She agreed at first, but suddenly thought of something and shook her head.

"I'll have to ask the Mother Superior."

"This kind of elementary divine art shouldn't be a problem." Eric said, picking up a branch. "After all, Sister Alena even taught me this—"

He waved the branch, and a layer of golden light quickly enveloped it. It was the Holy Judgement Blade that Alena taught him.

Sophie was stunned for a moment as she looked at the faintly glowing golden branches.

It seems that this is the truth...

"Okay." She didn't hesitate for too long. If it were yesterday, even if Eric said this, she would definitely have to confirm with the head nun, but now she felt that she could make such a decision.

Recalling the process of how he learned that magic, Sophie taught him almost everything she knew. As Eric listened, a hint suddenly popped up in front of him.

"I learned it," he said.

"So soon?" Sophie blurted out.

"Hmm." Eric intended to perform the spell on her directly, but found that he lacked the divine medium.

"Can I borrow Miss Sophie's necklace?"

"Oh, sure..." She was about to take off the necklace, but Eric said it wasn't necessary and just held it.

"Cancel the magic."

Sophie followed the instructions and cancelled the magic on her nose, but she forgot to take a breath first. She breathed in subconsciously, and the stench that rushed into her nose made her whole face wrinkle in an instant.

Eric couldn't help but smile, then he clenched the pendant tightly, muttering something in his mouth, and raised his other hand, pinching her small nose, feeling the delicate and smooth touch with his fingertips.

There was a flash of light, and Sophie found that she really could no longer smell the stench.

"I really learned it...Mr. Eric is amazing!"

Eric smiled and let go of the pendant. "It's mainly because Miss Sophie taught me well."

After chatting with the little nun about divine magic for a while, he didn't stay here for too long and went to check somewhere else.

Watching him walk away, Sophie looked down at the pendant on her chest, raised her hand to hold it, and found that it was still warm.

"Mr. Eric... must be a good and pious man."

She murmured, and when she returned to the camp she said the same thing to the head nun.

The latter looked at her for a while and said nothing.

Sophie was stunned for a while, and when she came to her senses, she actually began to persuade her to write another letter to the saint.

"We didn't know Mr. Eric before... and he wrote a letter like that... If the Saint misunderstood..."

"-If the Saint really chooses Mr. Eric as her successor, he will serve the gods for life and must not abandon his duties, let alone marry anyone." The head nun spoke again, almost making it clear.

Sophie opened her mouth and froze in place.

(End of this chapter)