Leonidas was right. The most common Blessings to place on weapons were elemental in nature.

There were blades that breathed fire, released wind scythes, could freeze an enemy with a single cut… The list was endless.

However, Leonidas didn’t want something like this. All of these just seemed like various ways to cause damage that his current Blessings could accomplish on their own.

While these were Level 4 weapons at the weakest, because they were designed for long-term usage, the single-use output was only about as good as a Level 1 to 3 Blessing depending on the price of the weapon.

In addition to this, using a Level 4 Blessed Weapon required pouring energy into it, so there really wasn’t much of a point in Leonidas’ opinion.

What he wanted was a Blessed Weapon that could either strengthen his already existing attacks to a Level where Deacons could be threatened, or a Blessed Weapon that could accomplish something he had no ability to do.

The first weapon of interest Leonidas found was a weapon marked with a Quake Blessing.

Quake was a Level 3 Blessing stronger than Leonidas’ Level 2 Tremor Blessing. However, rather than being an Earth Elemental spell, it relied entirely on neutral Mana. Thanks to this, it was a Blessing both Mages and Fighters of a certain caliber had access to. Though, it was a higher Level for Fighters as they needed more than usual strength to use it.

If Leonidas chose this Level 4 Blessed Weapon, he could add vibrations to his Mana Blades, making them far more lethal.

The next that caught Leonidas’ attention was a blade equipped with a Level 4 Slow Blessing.

Slow was a debuff Blessing some Healer and Mage paths gained access to.

Every nick of the blade would stack the Blessing up to three times, weakening an enemy’s speed by up to 30%. This would also impact their Spirit, Mana and Breath circulation.

If you managed to land a devastating blow with the weapon, it would briefly stun your enemy as well.

If Slow was applied to Leonidas and his Mana Circuits were 30% slower to form, it would be a devastating blow to his prowess.

Leonidas was very tempted to pick this weapon, but the price was heart-rending.

A base blade like this would cost around 90 Blessing Units as it was made of Level 3 materials.

But, the Blessing alone cost almost 400 Blessing Units.

When you factored in the fee to fuse them and hours spent forging, the entire weapon cost over 1000 Blessing Units.

Leonidas had around 3000 Blessing Units to work with. He had already used 500.

Things would be fine if he only had to worry about himself, but he needed to buy Eve and Anabel proper equipment as well.

Leonidas’ gaze sharpened.

‘There’ll be a nice boon of Blessing Units soon before the final battle. Now isn’t the time to be stingy.’

With that thought, Leonidas pressed onward.

Realizing the selection of twin chained sabers was rare, he began shopping for chains and sabers separately. So long as they had the proper connecting pieces, fusing them shouldn’t be a big problem.

Chains were often used as whip-like weapons. Their heft and lethality weren’t to be underestimated, and they were especially popular among Mages who usually needed to maintain their distance from enemies.

There were many amazing selections to choose from, but Leonidas ultimately made his choice.

For his twin sabers, he went with the very same Slow Blessed Weapons that had caught his attention.

As for his chain, he made a very special choice. He went with a Blessed Chain matched with a very unique Blessing.

This Blessing wasn’t a Magic, Breath or Spirit Blessing. Rather, it was known as a Rune Blessing.

Rune Blessings were Blessings that could only be applied to an object. They could take the form of tattoos or carvings depending on the target.

Blood Magic was a type of Rune Blessing, as were specialty carvings used by Blessed Blacksmiths.

This Rune Blessing was known as Extend, a Level 4 Rune Blessing.

Extend was exactly as advertised. It could increase the length of a weapon up to double depending on how much energy was poured into it.

Leonidas felt that with this Blessing under his belt, he would be able to catch some enemies off guard.

‘Seven days. I give myself seven days to reach the peak of the Entry Level.’

Leonidas took a deep breath. He was on a time crunch, the event he believed would happen should occur very soon.

Of course, Leonidas wasn’t referring to the entire [Twin Saber Style: War God] technique when he said this. Rather, he was referring to its very first part.

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The portion didn’t have a name, but it rather had three Styles, each of which had its own variations, for 12 total forms.

The three Styles were split into short-ranged attacks, control and long-ranged attacks. This was a pattern that would continue as Leonidas progressed.

For short-ranged, the Style was known as Stomping Bear.

For long-ranged, the Style was known as Leaping Tiger.

For control, the Style was known as Chasing Viper.

Within each, there were three variations.

It was a bit confusing to Leonidas, but the technique seemed to emphasize an enigmatic sort of feeling and conception just as much as it emphasized the actual form and function.

Leonidas wasn’t entirely sure what this meant, but he also wasn’t sure what Mana Sense had represented previously either.

The spirit had yet to steer him wrong, so Leonidas kept a mind out for that odd feeling and conception as he began to slowly start with Stomping Bear.

As he moved, the sabers felt heavy in his hands. To get used to the heft of a Level 4 weapon, he had chosen a pair of chained training sabers that were easily ten times heavier than his real weapon would be.

However, what was odd was that just following the movements burned into his mind, the heaviness of the weapons in his hands seemed to increase further.

His every step shook the ground beneath him. His swings were slow, but the air accumulated around their edges—Leonidas could almost feel that anyone beneath this attack would feel as though a mountain was pressing down on their shoulders.

He diligently performed every movement, his breathing becoming more labored with each shift.

After just completing the base stances of Stomping Bear, Leonidas’ chest heaved, sweat pouring down his brows.

Steam came off of his weapon as it seemed to heat up outside of his control.

Leonidas’ eyes glowed. This technique seemed to also be capable of training his body!

As Leonidas continued, he realized that Stomping Bear placed great strain on his muscles and bone, Leaping Tiger placed an enormous strain on his mind, and Chasing Viper pressured his Mana like no other Blessing ever had.

By the time he completed the 12 variations, every fiber of his being was crying out in pain.

However, Leonidas knew he couldn’t stop. Thankfully, he had a Healer for a wife.

***

Leonidas spent every waking moment he wasn’t sleeping in the training room, pushing himself to the limit.

Every time he collapsed, Eve would come by from her own training with Anabel and heal him.

Then, the cycle would begin all over again.

On the fourth day, though, something unexpected occurred.

Leonidas sat against a wall, his heart screaming and his breath coming out like billowing smoke.

Today, he had managed to finish three rounds of the variations. He felt that he was slowly approaching the pinnacle of the Entry Level.

It was then that the door to the training room opened.

When Leonidas looked up to find Father Barat, his dull eyes couldn’t help but flicker with a peculiar light.

Though this was the Church and he should be safe, living in a brothel for practically all his life, he had seen all sorts of men do crazy things for the sake of love.

Leonidas had lost a woman he loved once to a man who could provide better than he could. He understood the feeling quite well, the kind of things that could drive a man to do.

It was just that he hadn’t had the strength to do them back then.

Father Barat wasn’t as strong as a Level 1 Apostle, but he was still stronger than most Knights as this was the Blessing Yves had bestowed upon him.

With Leonidas’ Mana, body and even mind exhausted, there really wasn’t any better time to kill him.

However, if Barat thought that he was so easy to kill, he would be sorely mistaken. He would lose his head before he understood what happened.

Barat walked toward Leonidas, stopping about ten meters away as his heart rolled in waves.

Though Leonidas hadn’t moved and his eyes seemed dull, Barat’s mind roared with the warning signs of danger.

Barat had had this sense ever since he was young, it was the reason why he had been such a strong Knight.

Back when Eve asked him to scout out a useful batch of pseudo-Knights she could use, he had warned her to be careful of Leonidas. Now, though, that feeling had increased a hundredfold.

He had no doubt that if he had thoughts of killing Leonidas, he would be dead before he realized what happened.

That wasn’t a feeling he got often.

“Apostle Leonidas.”

Barat bowed respectfully.

His expression was still as unmoved as it usually was.

His next words, though, made even Leonidas’ own unmoved demeanor shift.

“I would like to become your Paladin.”

Hearing such words, Leonidas didn’t know how to react. Was he trying to win Eve back through this method?

But, then again, Eve had already spoken to him about the promise she made to Barat and apologized for doing so without asking him.

If Barat wanted to chase after Eve, then he should choose to become an Apostle, not a man who was at his beck and call.

Barat asking this of him was like a man lowering himself before an enemy who stole his woman. Why would he ever make this choice?

Leonidas was supremely confident in himself, so he didn’t really care if Barat became an Apostle or not, the difference between them would only grow.

But this decision… he couldn’t make heads or tails of.

Was it because he knew he couldn’t catch up to him, and thus chose the “keep-enemies-closer” approach?

“I know that you have no need for useless Paladins, but I can guarantee you that there is no better Knight in Violet Waters than me. If not for the choice I made back then, I could have easily become a Paladin, even if not for the Bruthers family, any noble family would have taken me in.”

“Why?” Leonidas asked.

“Because I’m the strongest spear in—.”

“I don’t mean that. I mean why do you want to become my Paladin?”

Leonidas’ gaze flashed with a dangerous light. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like Barat just wanted a chance to backstab him.

Barat took a deep breath.

“This town is nothing but a shackle to me.”

“Then become an Apostle and travel to a Main Shrine, no one is stopping you.”

“I do not want to become an Apostle.”

“Why not?”

“I do not have such ambition. In my youth, my only love was the spear. When I grew, a girl stole my heart, but I never held hers. Now, my only love is the spear I have forsaken.”

Leonidas slowly turned his head away.

This man was seeking his own punishment. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to become an Apostle, he was just choosing to shackle himself so he would never forget the wrong step he made in his youth.

Leonidas wanted to say no. He didn’t trust this man even the slightest bit.

But, something tugged at his heart.

In a not-so-different way, this man was making the very same choice he had.

A woman would never again be his reason. He would live for his spear and nothing else.

Not power. Not ambition. Not love.

Just the spear he had abandoned.

For some reason, Leonidas felt a hint of sadness when he had that thought.

His mind couldn’t help but wander to an innocent young lady with a bright smile. Despite her circumstances, she had always been so innocent and so full of life. But, eventually, the world wore her down.

The last night they spent together, Leonidas had sensed that something was wrong. But, in his cowardice, he didn’t ask her, afraid of what the answer would be.

Then, the next day, she was gone. Married off to a man who continued to frequent the brothel just the same.

Leonidas closed his eyes.

It had been a long time since he thought of that face. His pride didn’t allow him to.

Even when he had regaled Anabel with the story, there was nothing but a hazy caricature in his mind.

“Alright,” Leonidas said without opening his eyes. “If you can pass this test, I’ll allow you to be my Paladin.”