The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 150 Inheritance of the Battle Soul
When Molly entered the room, she first picked up the longsword Eric had brought back and examined it.

"Magic weapon! You guys are in luck today."

"Ah."

"This sword is worth at least fifty gold coins."

Even though the sword was only a blue-grade item, it still fell under the category of magical weapons, so the price it fetched wasn't considered high. Eric simply responded with a nod.

"I'll sell them for you."

"Whatever. Have you disposed of all the weapons and equipment you brought back before?"

Molly nodded and put down her longsword. "They're all cheap stuff. I've saved the money for you."

“I don’t want money.” Eric glanced at her. “It’s been more than half a month since we arrived. Do you have any plans? If all else fails, you can set up a stall at the entrance of town and recycle equipment.”

"That's not very technical."

"...You used to set up a stall at the college gate, buying goods from the east gate and selling them from the south gate. That was quite a skill?"

“It was Simon who brought in the goods!” Molly corrected, somewhat annoyed. “Things were different back then.”

Eric couldn't see anything different about it.

"So, what are your plans?"

Molly bowed to him. "I've decided to become your personal financial assistant, boss, to handle the weapons and equipment you brought back from the ancient battlefield and manage your assets."

Eric looked at her for a moment. "What's the difference between that and now?"

"No difference."

"Oh, so that means continuing to freeload and just take it one day at a time."

She glared at him first, then plopped down next to him and sighed deeply, "Otherwise, I wouldn't know what to do either."

Eric glanced at the doorway, and Elise, who had changed her clothes, came over. "You've been leaving early and coming home late these past few days, haven't you figured it out yet?"

“Many people are already doing what I want to do and what I can do,” Molly couldn’t help but complain. “Why are these adventurers not going to their deaths, but instead thinking about making money off other adventurers?”

Eric was too lazy to respond, so he gave her a look that warned her not to talk about what had just happened, and then prepared to mail a letter and have dinner.

Elise and Molly naturally followed along.

The two found a tavern to sit down. Eric went to the church to mail a letter and happened to see the people he had helped earlier still in the church. The injured woman was lying on a wooden board, and judging from the little bit of skin showing on her abdomen, her wounds had almost healed.

They saw him too, quickly called him over, expressed their gratitude to him again, and then, as expected, invited him to explore the depths of the ancient battlefield with them.

Eric declined, saying, "I do have some plans, but it's not the right time yet."

Although it was a pity, those people didn't linger.

Eric found the nun he had met before and asked her to mail the letter. He even tested her, and she was indeed unaware of his identity.

That's good, it avoids trouble.

Eric smiled and thanked her, then left the church and found Molly and Elise in a roadside tavern that had gradually become established.

After filling their stomachs, the three of them strolled around for a while before returning to the hotel to rest.

The next day, Eric and Elise went to the ancient battlefield to level up as usual, while Molly continued to look for something to do while she had nothing to do.

This continued for several days. One morning, after Elise had killed an undead with her short sword, she suddenly stopped and looked at Eric after a while: "I've advanced to Tier 3."

Eric let out a long sigh of relief. "You've finally leveled up."

He has a job panel in the game system, which clearly shows his specific level. Everyone else in this world only knows their rank and can roughly sense which stage they are in before, during, or after their current rank.

Elise mentioned a few days ago that she had reached the mid-to-late stage of the second tier, and Eric couldn't help but feel a bit hopeful, but it wasn't until today that he finally advanced to the next tier.

She brandished her short sword a couple of times, a hint of joy on her face. "I feel like my body has become more agile."

“Otherwise, it would have been a waste of time to advance.” Eric smiled as well.

The first few levels progressed quite quickly, and by the third level, she had a certain ability to protect herself.

"That's enough for today, let's go back."

Elise was still basking in the joy of her rank advancement when she heard this, and she was somewhat surprised. "You're going back already? It's not even noon yet."

Eric nodded. "You've been relying mostly on instinct to fight until now. You need to improve your skills, but I can't help you with that much. You should go find a professional instructor in town."

In layman's terms, learning more skills will greatly enhance her overall capabilities.

Elise's combat class belongs to the "Swift One" among the four major class systems, which has nothing to do with his "Brave One" and "Devoted One" classes. Although he is also inclined towards agility in terms of attributes, he can't teach her anything.

Elise nodded; she had absolute trust in him in combat and followed his orders completely.

On the way back, Eric said, "I'll be operating alone for a while from now on."

Elise paused, then turned to look at him. "Are you planning to venture deep into the ancient battlefield alone?"

"No, I will work with those who want to explore the ruins, raise my strength to the fourth rank first, and then make further plans."

Elise couldn't help him for the time being; she could only tell him to be careful and make sure he got out alive.

Eric chuckled. "You know where I keep my money. If I don't make it out, just take the money and run south. The demons won't be able to reach there anytime soon."

Elise glanced at him twice.

"Should we share some with Molly?"

"I'm really considering it."

"Of course I must listen to Your Highness."

"Just watch and give it."

The two returned to town and went together to find an agility-focused career mentor.

The person was a wood elf, and although he looked young, it was hard to say whether his actual age was in the double or triple digits.

"She will need to undergo some agility-based combat training."

The female elf first looked at Elise, then at Eric, "Is she your slave?"

"No."

"Since she's the one who wants to receive training, let her speak for herself."

Eric shrugged, stepped back, and let Elise talk to her while he watched from the sidelines.

As a professional, the Wood Elf first checked her physical condition, and then quickly provided her with several sub-career options and suggestions for her to choose from.

Elise glanced at Eric instinctively, who pointed at the wood elf. "You decide for yourself; the rest is up to her."

She nodded, and when she turned back a moment later, Eric was already gone.

He was currently in front of the town's largest tavern, searching for adventurer teams that wanted to explore the ruins of the ancient battlefield.

There are groups like this every day, but the quality varies. He naturally wants to find a reliable one, at least not the kind that just goes in for sightseeing and thrills.

As he sized up the people shouting to recruit teammates, others were also sizing him up, and soon someone came over to greet him.

"Hello, I'm Leonard."

Eric shook his hand. "Eric."

"warrior?"

"Ah."

"What about their strength?"

"Almost at the fourth tier."

Eric looked at the man in front of him. He was tall and strong, carrying a greatsword. He looked quite strong, at least at the fourth or fifth level of strength.

“I’ve assembled a team to explore deeper into the region; we already have five people. I feel you should have some skill, and more importantly, you seem reliable. Would you like to join us?” Leonard extended an invitation.

“I need to check on the team as a whole,” Eric said. Leonard nodded in agreement and then led him to a table of people sitting in the tavern, telling him that this was the team he had temporarily assembled.

Eric had already glanced at it quickly as he approached.

The five people Leonard mentioned already included himself. The remaining four teammates were a tiger warrior, a wood elf archer, a dwarf axeman, and a mage whose specific class was unclear.

With everything from near to far, and no shortage of physical and magical items, Leonard's team has only one shortcoming: the lack of a healer. But a cleric wouldn't join an adventurer's team anyway.

Leonard introduced the five people to Eric. The weakest of them was at least Tier 4, while Leonard himself had reached the mid-Tier 5. He was considered a low-level player in the team.

"What are your specific plans?" "We'll venture deep into the ancient battlefield, but not into the core area. We'll explore the ruins and look for treasures in areas that a few of us can handle. Regardless of what we find, we'll stay there for a maximum of three days," Leonard said, his purpose quite clear. "We'll set off first thing tomorrow morning."

Eric thought for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, I'll join you."

Leonard smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "I knew you'd say yes."

After the group introduced themselves, Leonard reminded Eric to bring enough water and food, as well as any available medicines.

We'll meet here again tomorrow morning. After that, the group will separate, and Eric has made some preparations as Leonard suggested.

Back at the hotel, after Elise and Molly returned, he told them what had happened.

The two reacted differently. Elise already knew about his plan during the day and only said that he was fast enough. Molly, on the other hand, was worried that he would die inside because she had been watching the church for the past few days and had seen many adventurers who could not be saved in time.

"...What are you doing squatting in the church?"

"Looking for business opportunities."

"What business opportunity? Selling insurance?"

"Hmm? What kind of insurance?"

Eric gave an example and explained it in general terms. Molly's eyes lit up when she heard it. "You're something else. As expected of an imperial nobleman, you have so many clever ideas for making money."

Eric opened his mouth, but then, remembering that he hadn't told her his family name yet, he didn't bother to argue.

"However, to sell insurance in this area, you have to sell it for a very high price to have a chance of making money, but most adventurers are poor. People who have money and time to adventure don't care about your insurance premiums... Why are you looking at me like that?"

Molly rubbed her hands together. "Boss, you're just like that. Buy one, consider it support for my business opening. We're going on an adventure tomorrow anyway."

Eric looked at her for a moment and asked, "If I die, how much are you planning to pay in compensation?"

She thought for a moment, then looked at Elise, "One hundred Supreme Gods?"

She directly chose herself as the beneficiary of this insurance policy.

“Let me see if you can come up with that many gold coins first,” Eric said, and then Molly held out her hand to him.

"Boss, lend me some capital first..."

Snapped!
Eric delivered a powerful slap, which Molly grumbled about even at dinner time.

The next morning, Eric waited for Leonard and his friends at the entrance of the tavern.

"Everyone's here. Let's go."

Leonard, being the strongest among them and the team's leader, naturally became the leader. He was experienced in combat, and Eric was happy to have someone to command him.

According to Leonard's plan, as they ventured deeper into the area, they first sought out some undead on the outskirts to practice against, familiarizing themselves with their respective combat styles through teamwork.

"You know quite a few combat techniques."

Leonard looked at Eric with some surprise. He had been observing him for a while, and the more he looked, the more pleasantly surprised he became. "Logically speaking, you should have a lot of combat experience, so why haven't you reached the fourth rank yet?"

"I learned all of that through practice with other people; I don't have much real combat experience," Eric explained.

“I see.” Leonard nodded. “Then you will grow very quickly and will be able to break through to the fourth tier in no time.”

Eric thought that if the quality of the undead he encountered was high enough, he could probably advance to the next level today.

The team advanced through the fog, quickly surpassing the furthest distance Eric had ever taken Elise deeper into the region. This area was still considered the outer edge of the ancient battlefield; the ruins had already been explored. They didn't shy away from encounters, focusing primarily on coordinating their teamwork.

Around noon, Leonard's team stopped for the first time near some ruins for a short rest.

Eric took a sip of water and glanced at the wood elf who had jumped up high on the ruins. The wood elf looked around, but it was shrouded in mist and could not see very far.

He then looked at the tiger-man warrior beside him. Because he was not fluent in the common language of humans, he had been silent the whole way and kept his conversations brief when necessary. However, he was quite honest and simple, and his muscles were exaggerated, with his arms almost as thick as his thighs.

This is a racial trait of orcs, something even a fifth-tier warrior like Leonard can't match.

The dwarf warrior would polish his axe whenever he had the chance, until it gleamed, and now he was staring blankly at the sharp blade.

Eric finally looked at the mage, who spoke even less than the orc, only exchanging a few words with Leonard.

His intuition told him that these two people probably didn't just meet during this team-up.

After a short rest, the team set off again, continuing their journey deeper into the center of the ancient battlefield.

Because of the perpetual fog, the group's visibility was quite limited. The wood elf, however, used its exceptional hearing to act as the team's radar, always able to issue early warnings of any movement within the fog.

"Someone is approaching from the left front..." The wood elf pricked up its ears, nocked an arrow, and aimed in that direction. "At least four people."

The others immediately stopped and stood ready, for encountering someone of their own kind in this place did not guarantee safety.

Eric, along with the most vulnerable mage, was surrounded by his teammates.

He didn't say anything, after all, judging from the level alone, he was the weakest.

Eric stepped closer to the mage, who glanced at him and continued staring into the depths of the mist.

Soon, a group of people emerged from the fog and came face to face with each other.

Upon suddenly seeing them, the other party was also startled. One of them, who seemed to be the leader, immediately spoke up: "I swear to Yela, we were just passing by!"

“Yela above,” Leonard responded, then gestured to his teammates, who lowered their weapons.

"Are you planning to go deeper?" the other team leader asked.

“Yes, we just came in,” Leonard replied.

"We're about to head out, and we have extra water and food that we can sell to you at half price."

Leonard shook his head. "We have plenty of water and food."

"Ok."

The two sides maintained their distance, gazing at each other, and continued forward toward their respective destinations until the mist separated them once more.

“If it weren’t for this fog, the ancient battlefield would have been explored to its fullest extent long ago,” Leonard sighed. “That’s precisely why this place is full of all sorts of unexpected dangers.”

Eric nodded in agreement.

In "The Crown of Thorns", the fog on the ancient battlefield does not restrict vision so severely; it is purely for the purpose of creating a visual effect and atmosphere.

"Someone's approaching again," the wood elf warned, pointing in the direction with an arrow. "This way."

He quickly corrected himself based on the clearer footsteps: "The Undead."

The group relaxed a little.

The wood elf added, "There's only one."

“I’ll do it,” Eric volunteered. Leonard nodded, and as the undead limped out of the mist, he strode forward and quickly dealt with it.

Judging from the amount of experience gained, this is probably an undead of level 40 or 50.

In the past two weeks of helping Elise level up, he also leveled up once, and is now very close to reaching level 45 and the third job advancement.

As they ventured deeper, Eric was always the first to charge at any undead creature he encountered that he could handle on his own.

Finally, after he sliced ​​off the head of an undead with his sword, two notifications popped up before his eyes: "Upgrade" and "Level reached the cap, need to change classes."

Following his pre-planned career path, Eric chose the Ascetic as the second sub-profession in the true sense of the word within his Devout class.

[Job change to 'Ascetic (Apprentice)']

[Gained Trait: 'Sublimation of Suffering I']

'Sublime Suffering I': Increases Faith attribute by 5% when damaged, stacking up to 3 times.

[The "Profession Class: Devout Believer" has been upgraded to Tier 4]

As for the other job class, "The Brave Warrior," Eric has also made his final decision after much deliberation in recent days.

[Job Change to 'Battle Spirit Inheritance (Apprentice)']

[Gained Trait: 'Undying Fighting Spirit']

[The "Class: Valiant Warrior" has been upgraded to Tier 4]

"Eric?"

Seeing that he suddenly stood still after killing the undead, Leonard called out to him.

“I’ve reached the fourth rank,” Eric said, raising his sword and swinging it a few times. A semi-transparent phantom rose from behind him, swinging its sword in the same manner to slash through the air.

(End of this chapter)