Leonidas had never eaten his fill in his life. He had the appetite of an Ogre, but how could his mother afford to feed such a thing?

The Ogre Tribes were the epitome of savagery. In order to avoid scarcity, they had harsh rituals and rites of passage. It wasn’t even rare for them to perform acts of cannibalism and consume their own. It could be said that there was no low they wouldn’t stoop to for the sake of satisfying their hunger.

Unfortunately, Leonidas never got the chance to do such a thing. Even while he was practically inhaling what was left over from the food, an amount that toppled over even from three plates, he still didn’t feel it was enough.

So, of course, when Daisy called out to him, even with his sharp hearing, he completely missed it all.

Daisy blinked and went over to Leonidas’ front. Looking from the food he was consuming, to his handsome face, then back to the food, she couldn’t help but giggle lightly and sit across from him. It was only then that Leonidas’ hands and mouth came to a slight pause, his cheeks partially bulging.

This was the first time he had gotten a good look at Daisy’s face.

Unlike the rest of her body which was littered with a bevy of scars, Daisy’s face only had a single one. But, while the scars on her body almost looked like tiger stripes, just small discolorations, the one on her face was like a deep trench that traveled from the top of her left eye to the left corner of her lip.

Against her delicate brown skin, it was a striking white that seemed completely out of place. However, after a simple glance, Leonidas' eyes had already focused on her deep brown eyes. They seemed to be observing him as he observed her.

Daisy blinked like a curious cat observing a ball of yarn.

Since she didn’t say anything, Leonidas returned to his food. As for what he appeared like gouging so much food in such a short period of time? He didn’t particularly care. It wasn’t like he’d get anything out of appearing prim and proper before her.

It was only after Leonidas finished the last morsel that Daisy spoke.

“You have a good appetite.”

“I guess so,” Leonidas said lightly, not knowing what else to say.

The truth was that he was still feeling a bit hungry. But, his rolling digestive system told him to slow down.

Having not been used to having such rich food, Leonidas felt like if he ate anymore, it would run right through him, or worse, run in reverse. Plus, it wasn’t like there was any food left to speak of. Next time, he would definitely have to get here earlier.

“You don’t seem like the others,” Daisy said with a smile.

“Like what?”

“You don’t have their dreams.”

Daisy’s words could be deemed to be quite offensive if heard by the right person. But, Leonidas didn’t seem to care.

What Daisy actually meant to say was that his dreams weren’t painted across his eyes like it was for everyone else. If you looked at Leonidas, you may very well mistake him for a dead person if he didn’t move for long enough. Only he knew what he kept buried deep within his heart.

Daisy continued to smile as she observed Leonidas.

“Did you need me for something?” Leonidas finally asked.

He didn’t want to alienate people, but he also didn’t intend on forming any close ties with people in this place. Anyone tactful would realize what his words meant. But, Daisy’s response left him speechless.

“Can’t I just observe a handsome face for a bit? Do I need another reason?”

Leonidas shook his head. “I am going to the library.”

If Clergymen were only here to do chores, who would ever pay ten silvers a month to be here?

There were two main reasons one would pay to be here.

The first was to have a chance to catch the eye of a noble person. ‘Noble person’ wasn’t an official title, it was just a colloquial way of addressing someone of higher standing. In this case, it referred to Knights, Paladins, and even the mighty Apostles.

Of course, those who could succeed in doing this were exceedingly rare. However, if one wanted a chance, there was only one choice: absorb as much knowledge as you could and train as hard as you could.

Then, when the Clergymen were needed to take part in missions taken on by these noble persons, you would then have a chance to shine your brightest.

Leonidas didn’t know what he could learn from the library, honestly. However, he had always felt that knowledge was powerful. That was why, despite not being a noble person, he learned to read and write.

Of course, that came at the expense of no small bit of sacrifice on his mother’s part. So it was a gift he had that he would most definitely cherish.

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Daisy blinked in amusement as Leonidas stood and walked away.

The truth was she was only interested in Leonidas because she knew who he was. Unlike the other well-off people here, the ten silvers she used for this month’s stay were among her last. The only reason she wasn’t seen as a ‘new’ recruit like Leonidas was because she had been a Clergyman in the past who simply failed to meet her payment date and was expelled.

This was all to say that she was aware that Leonidas was the son of a whore. After all, this wasn’t a big secret within the town, and she as a person of lower standing was even more likely to know.

So, the question was… How could the son of a dead whore afford to be here? It was quite interesting, don’t you think?

…

Leonidas found his way to the library, his stomach still rumbling.

The library itself wasn’t very large. It was located in a ten-by-ten meter large room and there were only ten bookshelves, though each was at least seven or so meters tall and two meters wide, separating the library into six rows and three columns.

Still, this was the largest library Leonidas had ever been in. All the books he had ever read were given to him directly by his mother and he never had any idea where she had gotten them from. By now, though, he had read those three books until their pages were worn and their words faded.

Simply put: this expanse of knowledge… it was the greatest Leonidas had ever had at his fingertips.

Though the library wasn’t particularly large, how could Leonidas know this? To him, it was like an all-new world.

The heavy scent of worn paper and old wood filled his nose. He couldn’t help but take a deep breath, feeling that his mind had been soothed, even if for but a moment.

Not knowing exactly where to start, Leonidas walked to the back of the library out of habit. The only spot to sit and read was near the back to begin with, so he thought he might as well.

Making it there, he randomly picked out a book at the end of the shelf.

‘The Path of Apostles: Missionaries.’

Leonidas opened his eyes wide. He had never expected the very first book he picked out to have such important information within its pages. To the outside world, the Apostles were almost deified as much as their Gods themselves. In truth, Leonidas felt he knew more about Yves than the Apostles of their small town.

What Leonidas didn’t know, though, was that to the people of the Church, this information was practically worthless. What to him was a new wealth of knowledge, to them was useless fluff that was ubiquitous amongst their ranks.

However, Leonidas still soaked it up like a sponge.

As though he was a child, he read by following the line of words with his finger, making sure not to slice the pages with his sharp nails.

‘So Missionaries are Apostles, but not all Apostles are Missionaries…’

Leonidas’ crimson eyes glowed.

Apostles were men and women Blessed by Gods. They swore their allegiance to Gods in exchange for power and strength, giving them abilities unfathomable by the normal human. Among Apostles, the lowest ranking members were Missionaries.

As for what level was above this, Leonidas had no idea. Though Missionaries were low enough to be described here in this small library, it was clear that the higher levels were far more important.

However, what Leonidas did learn was that the Healer that had operated on him in his youth was a Missionary. Realizing this, Leonidas was absolutely stunned. He was once again in awe of his mother’s methods. What she had to go through to manage such a thing… Leonidas couldn’t fathom.

According to the book, Missionaries were split into just three Classes: Healer, Fighter and Mage.

Healers were fantastical Apostles capable of curing even the most terrible of diseases. Fighters were warriors even more powerful than Knights and Paladins, they could wield weapons as heavy as mountains or as swift as the wind.

Then there were the Mages. They were bestowed Blessings by the Gods that allowed them to cast all sorts of fantastical magics. Leonidas read about flaming balls of fire, blades of wind and even lightning striking down from the skies!

The more he read, the more shocked he became. Were these people really living in the same world as his own? Just how much strength did they wield? How great would it be if he had such power?

Leonidas raised a hand to his chest, trying to calm his erratically beating heart. And, he was right to, because everything he read beyond this point seemed to be a bucket of cold water pouring over his head.

The first blow was that a God could only have a certain number of Apostles under their charge. They had a limited amount of Divine Power or Blessings to spread. How could they produce an infinite army of subordinates?

The only way to become an Apostle, then, was to either hope there were still spots left, hope an Apostle died in the line of duty, or defeat an Apostle and take their position for yourself.

This might not have been so bad. Even though everything about this world of Missionaries sounded amazing, Leonidas had lived long enough to know that everything came with a catch. In a world that only knew how to take, it was impossible that a God would bestow such power without reason.

This was all to say that Leonidas had a feeling that the turnover amongst Missionaries was probably quite high. It was just a small deduction, but Leonidas had no idea just how right he was.

The issue, though, lay in the fact that this was just the first blow.

The second lay in the fact that a God had no desire to take on the untalented. Even if Missionaries had a high turnover rate, why would a God ever waste Divine Power on trash? Becoming an Apostle required an exceptionally high affinity for at least one of the Three Classes.

But how could Leonidas possibly have any of that?

He was the crossbreed of a Lower Half-Beast and a Lower Ogre. Even among his own races, he was a bottom feeder. And, to make matters worse, the synergy of his bloodlines had negative effects rather than positive ones.

Leonidas sighed, finally flipping through the last page and sliding the book back into place.

That night, he learned a great many things. Not only did he learn of the existence of Missionaries, but he also learned that Paladins were the special Divine Knights directly under the purview of Apostles. As for Knights, they were the subordinates to Paladins.

Though Leonidas already had a vague idea of this in the past, having the details so plainly laid out before him like this made him truly realize just how far away from becoming a Missionary he was. He couldn’t even deal with a Knight’s butlers without coming up half dead. Who was he to have dreams of becoming a Missionary?

Still, this only reaffirmed things Leonidas already knew. He was a bottom feeder of the world, an ant most thought they could just crush on a whim. But, wasn’t he still here? Wasn’t he still breathing?

His mother’s corpse was still waiting for him on that ledge. By now, it was likely being picked at by scavenging birds. Who knew, it might have already been pulled into the ocean by the wind.

Yet he was sitting here powerless to do anything.

Leonidas clenched his fists. In this library, there had to be something for him to learn that would help, some small chance he could grab onto.

So that was what Leonidas did. He cobbled together the knowledge even the Clergymen couldn’t be bothered to care about and began to better himself to the best of his ability.

He just needed a chance. Just one chance. As long as it appeared, he would grasp it.

What he didn’t know was that this chance would come. But, it just might take his life.