The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 164 New Phase

Eric is a brave, fearless, and highly strategic adventurer who is also very responsible to his teammates—this is the consensus among most people in Northtown who know him.

Although this reputation was bought with money in the tavern, it was based on solid evidence: another group of adventurers, led by him, emerged alive from the ruined city, bringing with them a large number of ancient treasures that others wouldn't even dare to dream of. These treasures were placed in front of them, allowing them to touch and examine them personally—of course, they couldn't take them away.

He himself broke through to the seventh rank during this expedition, becoming one of the top adventurers in North Town.

Someone else secretly revealed that Eric's actual strength was far greater than what he displayed; he possessed a hidden, insane power. However, the person remained tight-lipped about the specifics of this insane power.

The adventure ended with the usual tavern party, which lasted until late at night, but none of the participants left because they were still waiting.

Eric, as usual, immediately announced that he was about to embark on his next adventure and was recruiting new teammates.

But even after Eric himself left the tavern, they still hadn't seen another round of job fairs.

The adventure is over?
Or does he need to rest for a while?
At this moment, the young master Boas, who was extremely wealthy materially but extremely lonely spiritually, said that he didn't know either. Eric was not under his jurisdiction; to be precise, Eric seemed to have already decided to part ways with him.

He finally realized his true role in the adventure team, and his spirits were severely shaken.

"Eric!"

Eric turned around and looked at a warrior who had caught up with him. "I'm a sixth-tier warrior. When are you planning to go on another expedition? Take me with you. I understand all your standards. I'll definitely follow your orders and I won't be greedy. I'll take whatever you give me."

"I don't have that plan for the time being," Eric said.

The man was taken aback and blurted out, "You've made enough money?"

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Pretty much."

After that, he turned and left.

The warrior stamped his feet in regret, wishing he had gotten on board sooner—he had been watching Eric begging and pleading in the tavern to get a single fifth-tier warrior!
Hearing the commotion behind him, Eric didn't turn around and continued walking towards the hotel.

In terms of gold coins, he has already earned enough.

What truly made him decide to stop taking risks was that his strength had reached a point where it would be difficult to improve further here.

Eric opened his career attribute panel.

……

[Class: Valiant Warrior (Tier 7)]

Subclass: Swordsman (Senior)
Level: 45 (Level cap reached)

Sub-class: Battle Spirit Inheritance (Proficient)
Level: 30

Subclass: Blade Master (Proficient)
Level: 17

……

[Profession: Devout Believer (Tier 7)]

Sub-profession: Monk (Senior)
Level: 45 (Level cap reached)

Sub-profession: Ascetic (Apprentice)

Level: 15

Sub-profession: Fanatic (Apprentice)

Level: 15

Sub-profession: Unforgivingly Obsessed with Cultivation (Proficient)
Level: 17

……

Dual-class system, tier 7, level 92 – this was his final achievement after spending half a year in the ancient battlefield.

Because his level was too high, he could no longer gain a significant amount of experience in this area, which is why he decided to pause his adventure.

His level is already sufficient; now he should consider improving his external resources, such as better equipment, rarer skills, or special items like [Agnes's Ring of Protection] that can save his life in critical moments.

There are many dungeons in the Starry Sky Continent, and he needs to think carefully about which places contain what he needs.

Back at the hotel, Elise and Molly were both in his room.

Elise leaned against the window, concealing herself, and said, "Why are so many people following you?"

Eric also went over and secretly glanced down. Many people followed him back down to the basement of the hotel, but they didn't dare to come up and disturb him, and were slowly dispersing.

"fan."

"Ok?"

"It's nothing, they're all people who are counting on me to lead them to explore the ruined city."

“They must be so disappointed,” Molly said, slumped over the table.

"I didn't see them being particularly enthusiastic before."

Eric, too lazy to look any further, returned to the table and sat down. "Didn't you all say you were tired? You can take a break for a while now. Especially you, you have enough capital now, you can develop any business you want."

Molly smiled, and slowly reached her hand from the table toward him, poking his arm.

"It's all your fault. You've corrupted me over the past six months. I've forgotten almost all the business skills I've studied for so many years."

"Really? That's great!"

"..."

The soft fingertips poking my arm now held a hint of annoyance.

Eric looked at the two of them and said, "I don't have any plans for now. You can decide for yourselves whether to go on adventures with others to continue improving your strength, or go to Tallinn City to relax for a while."

Elise and Molly exchanged a glance.

“If I weren’t with you, I wouldn’t have any interest in improving my strength at all. I’m already a fifth-tier mage, that’s more than enough,” Molly said.

Elise nodded, expressing the same view.

"Alright then." Eric didn't say anything more. "Let's all stay home together."

It was getting late, and Elise and Molly stayed in his room for quite a while longer, neither of them willing to go back to their own room first. They didn't leave together until almost midnight.

The next day, Eric got up early, bought a fairly detailed map of Dorne from a nearby shop, took it back to the hotel, and began to recall the locations on it.

Then he realized that he couldn't leave the ancient battlefield yet—outside the ruined city, there was one more place he absolutely had to go:

The ruins of the underground cathedral of the Jela Church, built during the First Kingdom period.

At that time, the demon race was still rampaging all over the Gaia continent. The Church of Yela was founded in Lesel. After decades of spread, it had become the mainstream belief of mankind. However, it was still impossible to openly build churches in the areas controlled by the demon race. So, the cultivators at that time secretly built a large number of underground churches for believers to worship gods.

Eric's goal is the largest and only underground cathedral in the ancient battlefield area that has survived the war.

Centuries have passed, and that area has long since been occupied by the undead, with a significant portion of them transformed from the monks who remained there. They guard the underground church and do not cause trouble. They also manage the Dorne Cathedral on this side of the ancient battlefield, and have simply designated the underground church as a forbidden area that cannot be explored.

The church preserves some ancient, lost magical arts, some of which Eric needs.

Although it was a forbidden area, it was very close to the ruined city, making it both secluded and extremely dangerous. In fact, no one was guarding it, so if he sneaked in, it would be virtually impossible for him to be discovered.

Eric thought for a moment and realized that, based on the recommended challenge level of the [Underground Cathedral Ruins] in "Thorns of Souls", he didn't even need to recruit other teammates. He could clear it with just Elise and Molly.

In particular, his purpose was only to steal a few divine skill books, and he had no intention of disturbing those true sages.

"Three people should be enough..."

Eric planned to tell the two of them his plan when they came to him.

The first person to come looking for him was the young master from Lutia, Boas.

They first met at the tavern after the New Year, and it's been almost a month since they met—considering their interactions in this world alone, Eric had already known this somewhat unreliable nobleman in the game.

In most respects, the cooperation between us during this period has been quite pleasant:
Boas sought fame and tried to make a name for himself on the ancient battlefield to prove himself to his family, especially his father.
He needs some reliable teammates to deepen his exploration of the ancient battlefield, since the real experience-giving bosses hidden deep within the dungeons are just minor trouble compared to the ghouls on the roadside.

In the end, both sides got what they wanted.

However, in the last battle the day before yesterday, this guy made a foolish mistake again. He actually rushed over to steal the kill when they were challenging the BOSS, and was kicked away by him. He was also scolded a few times without any mercy, and then he has been sullen ever since.

Although in hindsight, Boas probably just wanted to achieve some substantial results in combat—after all, most of the battles were handled by Eric and his teammates—Eric kicking him away wasn't mainly because he was worried about him stealing experience, but because the battles at the time were really dangerous.

However, after the battle, both sides felt somewhat awkward and unsure how to begin. On the way back, they tacitly avoided speaking to each other.

Eric didn't know if his friend had come to him now to continue organizing adventures, or for some other reason.

It turned out that Villas-Boas had come to say goodbye.

"During my month-long stay at the ancient battlefield, I gained a lot... especially from meeting Mr. Eric, a true talent who is younger than me but far superior in every way... I only now realize how incredibly lucky I am to have been able to enter and leave the ancient battlefield so many times alive... I think I should go back now."

Eric stared at him for a while, wondering if his kick had shattered his confidence.

"It's alright, you're still young. There's plenty of time in the future."

He patted Villas-Boas on the shoulder, who opened his mouth, looked at him for a while, but ultimately had nothing to say and could only say goodbye.

"The guards have prepared the carriage, and I'm about to set off... If Mr. Eric ever passes through Lutia, you can come and find me. I haven't told you my surname yet, but I come from the Vergo family, and my father is the Marquis of Vergo."

Vergo, one of the twelve noble families of the Empire's knights, ranked ninth.

Eric, of course, already knew about his family, but he was a little puzzled: since Boas had been staying in Lutia all along, even if he hadn't heard of him, he should have seen Irene and wouldn't be unaware of him.

“I’ll remember.” Eric didn’t ask any further questions, and smiled at him. “I hope Young Master Boas will remember me too.” Boas pursed his lips and nodded. “I won’t forget.”

This was the final farewell. Boas turned and left, just as Iris came out of the room.

Goodbye, Miss Elise.

"goodbye?"

Watching him go downstairs, Elise looked at Eric again. "He came to see you?"

"We've come to say goodbye. Young Master is going home."

Elise clicked her tongue twice. "All my confidence was wiped out by that kick you gave me."

“I’ve been reflecting on this.” Eric returned to the room, and Elise followed him in, closing the door behind her.

"Have you decided where to go next?" She looked at the map on the table, which was covered with various markings.

"There's an underground church outside the ruined city. It contains what I need, something I'd forgotten about. That will be our last stop on the ancient battlefield."

Elise raised her eyes, "If we're outside the city..."

"Yes, we don't need to look for anyone else."

She looked at him. "Just the two of us?"

Eric glanced at her. "And Molly too."

The two clearly have different definitions of "others".

Elise lowered her gaze, sat down at the table, stared at the closed door, and after a while said, "Leaving tomorrow?"

“No rush.” Eric shook his head. “I don’t want to make too much of a commotion this time. It’s best to avoid fighting and focus on making more preparations.”

Elise knew that to better prepare for avoiding combat, she needed to bring more special alchemical tools, and there were quite a few alchemy shops in Northtown.

"Let's go down and take a look."

"Ah."

As Eric walked out of his room and reached Molly's door, he had just raised his hand when Elise grabbed it.

The two looked at each other.

"Let's just stroll around quietly," she said softly. "She's too noisy."

Eric didn't say anything, and the two of them went downstairs together and wandered around the nearby alchemy shop.

Because he had never considered avoiding war before, Eric was relatively unfamiliar with these places, but it was precisely because of this unfamiliarity that he found it more enjoyable to explore them.

"Now I can understand why Eileen likes to buy these little alchemical junk items."

Eric picked up a bottle of deodorant powder, about to open it and smell it, when the alchemy apprentice in the shop reminded him that he had to buy it before he could open it, "Even if you don't need it now, you'll feel like you'll definitely have a chance to use it later."

Elise smiled. "I remember Eileen saying something similar."

Eric was in a better mood upon hearing this. He took out a gold coin and handed it to the alchemy apprentice, then opened the small glass bottle, smelled it, and had Elise smell it as well.

"It has no taste."

"This powder itself is odorless. It combines with substances that produce odors, changes its properties, and then stops emitting the odor," the alchemy apprentice explained.

"Will that affect other things?" Eric asked, knowing that these cheap alchemical products all had some side effects.

The alchemy apprentice dodged the question, saying that alchemy was always full of randomness, and that doing business here was not easy.

Eric asked again.

"Uh... this deodorizing powder is quite strong, which may harden the fabric of some clothes and make them crumble at the slightest touch... so use it according to the situation."

"Ok?"

“Let’s go check out something else,” Elise said, leading him to the next area.

The two visited several alchemy shops, buying a lot of things, some useful and some not. When they returned to the inn, Molly was waiting for them in Eric's room, and she was quite displeased after learning where they had gone.

"They didn't even call me when they bought alchemy tools. Is there anyone who knows more about this than me?"

"I was afraid you weren't awake yet." Elise took the things from Eric's hands.

"It's already noon!"

Elise walked past her and placed the things on the table. "Besides, Eric and I can understand it; we don't need someone who understands it too well."

Molly glared at her for a moment, but the latter remained unmoved. She then looked at Eric and asked, "What do you want to buy?"

Eric sat down and began to talk about his plans to explore the underground cathedral and his intention to avoid war as much as possible.

"I know that! Attract the attention of the undead with sound, so I need to buy a sonic bomb..."

"I bought them." He picked up a few black pellets, each about the size of a ping-pong ball.

"Uh... and then there's the human scent smoke, which is for the undead who still retain their sense of smell."

"Here it is."

"...a visually camouflaging smoke screen that creates the illusion of a human figure..."

"This is the one we buy the most."

Molly fell silent, glancing down at the things on the table.

Elise spoke up at this moment, "I already said, Eric and I can understand it."

Molly looked up, met her gaze, then looked at Eric. "Are you planning to abandon me?"

“What are you talking about?” Eric shook his head. “I just forgot to call you, it’s like I didn’t take you out to eat.”

"Is eating more important than leaving me to buy alchemy tools?!"

"That's not it?"

She looked at him for a while before smiling and saying, "Okay."

Molly got up and walked behind him, put her hands on his shoulders, and slowly leaned forward. "You brought me here, you can't leave me behind."

“I’m counting on you to find your teacher,” Eric said.

He was off duty today and wasn't wearing his light armor, so he could clearly feel the pressure and deformation caused by her covering him from behind.

She wasn't wearing any either.

With two hands extending from his shoulders, Eric looked up and saw Elise sitting opposite him glaring at him and the people behind him.

The two remained silent for a moment.

Molly glanced at the things on the table, then steeled herself and simply wrapped her arms tightly around Eric's neck.

"I mean……"

She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

I love you, and you can't leave me behind in the future.

Elise was dumbfounded.

Eric was also taken aback for a moment.

"Stop joking... I am a clergyman of the church, and my body and soul have long belonged to God."

"You're just lying. You've taken advantage of me and her so many times. When we're sleeping in the wild, you're either touching her thighs or rubbing your arm against my chest. You've also gotten drunk several times. You don't look like a proper clergyman at all."

"..."

Eric was quite embarrassed. He couldn't deny that he was drunk, and the mutual taking advantage of each other was an unspoken agreement that had been going on for a long time.

"The standards when I'm out adventuring are naturally different from those in the church. Some things are unavoidable, and I did indulge myself a bit... but I always have to go back to the church."

Molly leaned closer, her green eyes meeting his deep blue ones. "Then let me be your woman outside of the church. I know what to do, and I won't make things difficult for you."

The ambiguity didn't arise suddenly; it's just that it's only now being made clear.

Eric looked at her, making one last tentative move, "I have to tell you, I already have another woman."

"How dare you call yourself a clergyman!" Molly roared.

"Is it Elise?" she then asked.

"No."

"Then let it go, she won't be able to find me anyway."

After saying that, she leaned forward and kissed his lips directly.

The two faced each other, and Elise bit her lip tightly.

(End of this chapter)