The Heretic of Cleric Academy-Chapter 50

"Please explain in detail."

I emitted Voodoo magic power and drew a spell circle in the air as I asked.

What had been twisted and mangled just moments ago was now drawn perfectly without any flaws. My hazy mind had become clear at some point.

[There’s nothing much to explain in detail. You were already using the same technique as So Do-jin unconsciously.]

Legba said. His tone was calm as always. A flat voice without any particular emotion.

"That’s why I’m asking you to explain that in detail."

[By now you should have gotten a sense of it. Do you deliberately draw spell circles when using low-grade restoration sorcery?]

I slapped my forehead.

Come to think of it, I don’t draw spell circles when using low-grade restoration sorcery. It’s because I know how to activate sorcery without having to draw spell circles.

[Don’t you feel something?]

Just then, there was a small wound on my ankle from being cut by grass blades while fleeing from the forest fire at Eden Hill. I used low-grade restoration sorcery.

When I concentrated on my fingertips, mist so faint it was barely visible rose up. The mist flowed smoothly toward the small wound on my ankle. The wound met the mist and disappeared completely. I did feel something.

[I don’t want to say this, but you’ve been using low-grade restoration sorcery frequently since the Holy War.]

"Well... that’s right."

[Right. Through that repeated training, you mastered the sorcery.]

I didn’t quite understand but nodded anyway.

[If you didn’t understand, say so.]

"I didn’t understand."

[Let me explain more kindly. First, casting sorcery goes through three processes.]

Legba continued his explanation.

To cast sorcery, you must go through three processes.

First, emit Voodoo magic power. Second, draw a spell circle with the Voodoo magic power. Third, designate the target of the spell circle and activate it.

In order, they’re called ’emission,’ ’manifestation,’ and ’activation.’

"Who came up with those names? They’re kind of lame."

[Your father did.]

"On second thought, they don’t seem that lame. Ah, they’re intuitive too."

[Let me continue the explanation. When you keep using sorcery and reach the level of mastery, you can skip the ’emission’ and ’manifestation’ stages.]

Also, there’s something called the level of mastery in sorcery.

When you repeatedly cast sorcery on yourself and reach the level where the sorcery mist ’permeates’ your body, that’s called mastery. Once you achieve mastery, you can activate sorcery without having to draw spell circles.

I nodded, but there were still things I couldn’t accept.

Setting aside whether it’s possible for mist to permeate the body, no matter how much you’ve mastered it, does it make sense to skip the ’emission’ and ’manifestation’ stages? Also, what’s the principle behind it?

[I don’t know either.]

At Legba’s following words, I let out a hollow laugh.

"You don’t know?"

[This isn’t something I figured out, but something your father discovered. I don’t know about the principles either.]

Legba continued his explanation again.

Father devoted his entire life to researching Voodoo magic power, and Legba had only observed it over his shoulder. So while he vaguely knew about the research results, he knew nothing about the principles behind them.

I asked if there were any research records left by father, like papers, but he said he didn’t know about that either.

[There probably are some somewhere. I just don’t know where.]

"Don’t you have any guesses?"

[I think they might be among his belongings.]

Legba said. I glanced at the top of the dresser. There were the belongings father had left behind.

One was a small wooden box about the size of a palm. The other was a simple-designed cremation ring.

These two items were all the belongings he left. There were no research records or anything like that.

[They might be inside that box.]

"I don’t think so."

The belongings box father left was too small. At least it seemed far too lacking in space to contain research records.

[There’s no law saying research records had to be left on paper.]

"What other recording methods are there besides that?"

[’There are various methods of recording.’ That’s what your father said. If it were him, he wouldn’t have recorded his research on paper like others. He probably used a more unique method.]

Legba muttered. To me, it was completely incomprehensible.

What else could there be to record research content besides paper?

No matter how much I pondered, the answer didn’t come easily.

"Maybe he saved it on a USB or something."

[That’s possible.]

"But father was computer illiterate."

[That’s also true.]

Legba only agreed with my words but didn’t say anything particularly helpful.

I gave up and put the box back in its original place. I wanted to open the box right now and check what was inside, but I couldn’t.

"Open the box when you become an adult."

Father’s last words.

A week before he died, as if sensing his death, he handed me the box and said those words. I don’t know why he said that. I just follow it because it was his last wish.

[You’ll know everything when the time comes. For now, focus only on what I told you.]

"The mastery thing or whatever?"

[Right. First, try applying it to sorceries other than restoration, and if you gain any insights, try applying it to blessings as well.]

I silently drew illusion spell circles. ’Unconsciousness,’ ’nightmare,’ ’intoxication,’ and so on. From low-grade to supreme-grade, regardless of type or intensity. And I used all of them on myself.

Mist enveloped my body, and for a moment dizziness struck as everything spun before my eyes.

However, that was only momentary. Occasionally headaches and dizziness occurred, but I didn’t faint, have nightmares, or lose my reason to pleasure. The sorcery activated but didn’t work on me.

[Your resistance is stronger than the sorcery’s power.]

I knew that each individual has different sorcery resistance levels. However, even supreme-grade illusions had no effect on me. Something was strange.

"Is my resistance too strong? Or am I not handling sorcery well?"

[You have exceptionally strong resistance compared to others. Because you’re the cult leader. However, you don’t handle sorcery as well as the previous cult leader. So both are correct.]

"Aren’t I pretty good at handling it?"

[Yes. But compared to your father, you’re far lacking.]

Legba said.

Except when teaching me, father never used sorcery in front of me.

So I don’t know how well father handled sorcery. I’ll never know. Father is dead.

I put aside my questions and drew spell circles again... I continued repeating this without noticing time pass, but I didn’t reach the ’level of mastery.’ I wasn’t disappointed though. It was greedy to expect results in just one day.

I believed that if I continued working steadily, I would someday reach that level, and I got up from my seat.

"Agh."

But my leg was numb so I sat back down.

[You sat still for two hours, so naturally your leg would be numb.]

"Two hours?"

Surprised by those words, I looked out the window and saw that the sky had become completely dark.

I hadn’t noticed earlier, but now I realized I was incredibly hungry. I must have been so concentrated that I forgot even hunger. I didn’t know I had such good concentration.

[It’s time to eat dinner. Nutritional intake is important during the growth period.]

"I think my growth period is already over."

[Don’t talk back.]

As expected, an old-timer, I thought to myself.

My tingling leg regained its sensation like electricity flowing through it, so I got up and headed to the refrigerator.

I intended to see if there was anything edible, but surprisingly, there was nothing to eat at all. Expired milk, eggs that had gone bad and turned black, moldy bread. That was everything.

I searched through the cupboard, but amazingly, we had just run out of rice too. The only edible thing was...

"There’s cat food."

[The situation has reversed. No human food but animal food.]

"Right."

Rustle!

I took the food bag and went out to the terrace. Though it was a cheap and shabby villa, it had a terrace.

The tile floor was yellowed with age and moldy in places, making it embarrassing to call it a terrace. But I decided to call it a terrace anyway.

Meow.

When I shook the food bag to make noise, a cat climbed up a tree and jumped onto the terrace. When I put food in the bowl, the cat immediately ate it as if it had been waiting.

Crunch crunch.

It’s eating so deliciously.

When I brought my hand close, the cat pushed its head forward as if asking to be petted.

[How cute.]

"It is."

With all the busyness and complex feelings these days from various incidents, this cat is what provides comfort to my heart.

I didn’t give it a name. Since I wasn’t going to keep it, there was no point in getting attached. So I decided to just call it ’cat.’

I kept petting the cat that had finished eating and was licking its tongue. The cat rolled over on its back and stretched its body. Its eyes were already half-closed drowsily.

Watching it made me laugh meaninglessly.

[You seem to have already grown attached.]

"Because it’s cute."

No matter how much I resolved not to get attached, I couldn’t help feeling affection.

On tired days like today when I’m worn out by incidents and people, I find myself unconsciously giving my heart to this small stray cat.

You can’t guess what’s in people’s hearts, but with stray cats, there’s no need to guess. That’s probably why sometimes I rely more on animals than people. Animals are always there unchanged in their place.

When I got tired of petting the cat, I stood up. The cat jumped over the terrace wall in surprise and climbed down the tree to the ground.

The cat’s green eyes stared at me intently. Soon the eyes disappeared.

[Cats are cute but have no manners.]

"That’s their charm."

I turned off the lights and left my studio apartment. My legs felt weak, and they trembled as I went down the stairs.

It was partly from hunger, partly from drawing so many spell circles earlier, and partly from doing leg exercises the day before yesterday.

"Truly a trinity..."

[Stop talking nonsense and go grocery shopping. I’ll tell you what to buy.]

"Sounds good."

Having Legba around is good because I don’t need to make notes when grocery shopping. He picks out only what’s necessary and tells me.

* * *

[There were no green onions. No garlic either.]

[You should buy some fruit. You’ll eat it eventually.]

[Buying chicken breast wouldn’t be bad either. Your diet overall lacks protein.]

I put ingredients into the shopping cart as Legba pointed them out. It was far too much for one person to eat, but it was fine since it wasn’t just for me to eat anyway.

I came to the mart not only to buy ingredients for myself but also to buy food for Jeong Yun-ah.

After putting in this and that, the shopping cart was soon full.

Even at a glance, it seemed like it would cost quite a bit, but fortunately I had plenty of money. Thanks to Uncle completing the first round of money laundering and sending me part of the settled money.

I finished paying and left the mart. The shopping bags in both hands were ridiculously heavy.

[How about using Bosu’s power?]

"Nah."

Legba suggested using divine power, but using divine power just to carry shopping bags was wasteful. It’s not like I had offerings to spare.

Actually, it felt like my shoulders might fall off from the weight, but thinking of it as exercise made it bearable.

"Ah."

Then, someone walking toward me sighed upon seeing me. Black hoodie, black mask, black slacks. Even black slippers. All black.

I tensed up in surprise and glared at the person with narrowed eyes.

The face looked familiar. But also unfamiliar at the same time. I felt like I’d definitely seen them somewhere, but they also seemed like a complete stranger.

After staring at me for a while, he, no, she soon pulled her hood down low to cover her face.

Tap tap tap tap tap.

Then she turned around and tried to run away from me with quick steps. I instinctively chased her. I didn’t know who it was, but I felt like I should chase her.

She might be a Satanist I’d seen before. If not, there was no reason to run away upon seeing me.

However, the shopping bags in both hands were too heavy to give chase.

"Bo, uh?"

Splash.

Just as I was about to use Bosu’s power, she slipped and fell with a splat.

She stayed down like that for a while. Not moving an inch. Her arms hung limply. Passersby looked at her with shocked faces.

...Is she dead?