CH358 Theology
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The new week passed quietly, without much drama.
The Golden Palace gradually delivered Alexâs resource orders to the HQ, where he personally collected them before transferring everything into his Sanctuary Pocket Dimension.
The less sensitive and general supplies were later moved out and stored in two large interspatial chests. The more sensitive itemsâthe ten top-grade Mana Stones, thousands of high-grade Mana Stones, high-tier materials for his rune tattoos and othersâremained secured within the Sanctuary.
Since he hadnât received any word from his father and had no clear line of contact regarding troop deploymentâespecially as his expedition was meant to remain a secret even within the Fury familyâAlex decided to take another route.
He asked Zora to scout the Enclave for talented individuals he could bring along. If not as direct party members, then as part of his expedition force in other vital rolesâmilitary or otherwise.
Officially, his upcoming journey was listed as a sabbatical. That meant anyone joining him would have to do so willingly, ready to travel across the lands and, most likely, choose to place themselves under his command.
Unfortunately, despite being the heir of the infamous Mad Earl, Drake Fury, and winning the hearts of both the Enclaveâs Ice Queen and the Empireâs Flower, very little else was known about Alex.
That particular situation with the two women had already made him public enemy number one among the men of the Enclave. And that was on top of the envy he already attracted as Merlinâs most favoured and supported student.
Since it hadnât been revealed that he was, in fact, Merlinâs True Disciple, many of Merlinâs paid studentsâpast and presentâwere deeply dissatisfied with the disparity in treatment between themselves and Alex, who was also technically a paid student.
He was not treated like an in-name disciple at all. Instead, he enjoyed close rapport with key figures like the Enclaveâs Chief Financial Officer, several Grand Magesâincluding Grand Mage Agrut and Grand Mage Taman, who represented the Enclaveâs non-human and human circles respectivelyâand even a number of elite craftsmen, among them Tier IV Masters and Tier V Grandmasters.
These two matters had caused most talented individuals who met Alexâs standards to grow dissatisfied with himâand, as a result, unwilling to join his cause.
Alex, in turn, wasnât particularly keen on them either once he understood their mindset. He simply couldnât bring himself to trust them anymore.
Still, his search wasnât entirely fruitless. The dwarven forgesmithing Grandmaster he had collaborated with to produce the first Rune-Net Serverâthe very one now used by the Enclaveâapproached him personally to recommend a promising candidate.
Not long after, Agrut also sent word that Alex could visit his tribeâs home in a few days to personally select a gifted youth from among their ranks.
Hence, Alex decided to meet all potential candidates simultaneously.
Interestingly, he found himself biased toward the Enclaveâs candidates, as they leaned more towards magical and craftsmen-type professionsâprecisely the kind of diversity he wanted for his expedition team.
In contrast, he imagined most candidates from the Fury Agoge would be warrior-typesâbrutes who knew more about fighting than crafting.
That wasnât to say they lacked value. They likely possessed useful auxiliary skillsâespecially in the field of security and survivabilityâthat would prove handy in the field.
Still, Alex preferred to select a few from the Enclave to keep his roster well-rounded. After all, even if there happened to be a mage among the Agogeâs candidates, he couldnât bring himself to trust their magical competence, not after seeing the standard of spellcraft practiced within the Fury family.
While waiting to meet the candidates, Alex turned his attention elsewhereâtowards a name that had piqued his curiosity; Zedicus Zoran.
The Runesmith whose book heâd found sitting on the shelf in his Golden Palace office.
As it turned out, the man was even less renowned than Alex had expected. Still, thanks to Haggleworthâs network, his team managed to locate and acquire three more of the Runesmithâs books.
After reading them, Alex quickly realised why the manâs fame had crumbled. The Runesmith was less a craftsman and more a philosopher of Runecraft.
Most of his writings were abstract musings on the possibilities within Runes rather than their practical application.
Yet, one theory stood out.
The man had speculated about the potential of an individual who mastered every Rune in existence. He claimed that such a person would, in essence, become a Navi.
Musings like these were precisely why his reputation had plummeted into obscurity.
The rise of the Era of Interplanar Travel brought many changes to the Realm of Pangea. One of the most profound was the Faith Enlightenment of the realm.
Among its many consequences came the fall of every god that once reigned over Pangeaâslain by a coalition of the realmâs Legendary and higher beings.
With the dawn of the Era of Interplanar Conquest came a chilling revelation: every plane across existence had its own so-called gods.
And so the Pangeans wonderedâ
If every world had gods, were they truly divine?
Their curiosity became obsession. In their relentless quest for truth, the Pangeans discovered a way to kill these beings.
Eventually, a group of Pangean denizens achieved the impossibleâthey slew a god in a lesser realm.
From this victory, they uncovered the secret behind these so-called deities.
The answer lay in Emotional Energy, Faith, and... Providence Theft.
From that moment, the Pangeans ceased to see those beings as gods.
They renamed them Navi.
In their eyes, the Navi were not omnipotent creators, but merely powerful entities walking a different branch of powerâ
The Path of Faith.
And once that truth became known, the proud powerhouses of Pangea came to scorn that path.
Unlike the Warrior, Mage, or Warlock routesâeach rooted in self-discipline and personal cultivationâthe Faith Path depended on others.
It drew strength not from within, but from the belief of others.
Without faith, those who walked that path became powerlessâparasites in the eyes of the Legends And beyond.
This revelation spread swiftly through the realm, and in what amounted to an instant on the cosmic scale, faith collapsed.
The five gods of Pangea lost their kingdoms of belief... and were massacred by the worldâs most powerful beings.
Since then, the Pangeans became theistsânot believers of planetary gods, but of a True God, a Creator of all things.
A being self-sufficient, eternal, and beyond worship.
However, since they had long forgotten how to properly honour this Creatorâbelieving the knowledge lost to time by the actions of the Naviâthey chose not to worship at all, lest they offend that divine being further.
Thus, the closest thing the Pangeans retained to a religion... was cultivation itself.
The pursuit of power became a form of enlightenmentâ
An awakening to the vastness and beauty of existence created by this unfathomable being.
A silent reverence toward creation... and the creator
It was within such a world that the Runesmith dared to speak of the Navi.
âNo wonder he was cancelled,â Alex thought.
**(8/70)**