Episode 133
“How do you know that?”
Zeke was taken aback by Princess Arina’s words.
He had received the Book of Light from a random box, and no one should have known he had it, let alone that he was bringing it to her. He couldn’t fathom how she was aware.
Then, the princess turned to Klone.
“Klone, I’d like to speak with Sir Zeke alone for a moment.”
Klone bowed respectfully to the princess and left the room with Felix and Liam in tow.
Zeke continued to look at Princess Arina with disbelief.
She began to speak slowly.
“Laura Agamemnon. Are you familiar with her?”
Hearing his mother’s name from Princess Arina was something Zeke had never expected, leaving him momentarily stunned.
‘What on earth is going on?’
He had suspected some connection between Rubern and his mother when the topic of the Healer class came up, but he hadn’t anticipated such a direct mention.
Princess Arina continued.
“Laura Agamemnon is a benefactor to our Rubern, alongside Lord Favre.”
“Laura Agamemnon, a benefactor?”
“Lord Favre rescued Rubern’s kin from the clutches of the church fifty years ago. He couldn’t save everyone, of course…”
“Are you saying Laura Agamemnon helped with the rescue? The timeline doesn’t match.”
“Laura helped us settle in this temple afterward. She even changed our identities so we wouldn’t be pursued by the Holy Kingdom.”
Zeke was shocked to learn that his mother had been deeply involved in aiding Rubern’s kin.
Then, a curious thought struck him.
“Have you met Laura Agamemnon, Your Highness?”
Arina nodded.
“We shared a brief but profound friendship.”
Zeke found it hard to comprehend her words.
Her appearance suggested she was around his age, at most.
“Forgive me for asking, but how old are you, Your Highness?”
Arina covered her mouth and laughed lightly.
“Let’s just say I’m much older than you, Sir Zeke.”
Considering his past life, Zeke had lived quite a long time, but the princess seemed to surpass even that.
Zeke nodded slightly and returned to the main topic, asking Princess Arina again.
“You still haven’t answered my question. How did you know I was bringing the Book of Light?”
The princess smiled as she replied.
“The savior with black eyes will bring Rubern’s lost power.”
Zeke had heard something similar at the Agamemnon estate.
“Did Laura Agamemnon make that prophecy?”
Princess Arina nodded.
“It was the last thing Laura said to me before she left.”
Laura Agamemnon, a Healer class and an Irregular, possessed the power of prophecy.
Zeke finally understood how Princess Arina knew he had brought the Book of Light.
She looked at Zeke and spoke.
“Your mother, Laura, was the most beautiful and remarkable woman. I was fortunate to have such a wise and passionate person as my friend.”
“You knew I was Laura Agamemnon’s son.”
“Being in hiding, we keep our ears to the ground for news across the continent. I heard that the one who broke the curse of the Agamemnon estate was none other than a pure-blooded Draker with black eyes.”
Zeke, busy with his own affairs, hadn’t realized it, but the continent was abuzz with news about the genius knight, Zeke Draker.
Zeke chuckled awkwardly and retrieved the Book of Light from his inventory.
He slowly handed the book to the princess.
“This is the latter part of the Book of Light.”
Princess Arina’s eyebrows twitched slightly at his words.
“Finally…”
With trembling hands, she touched the book, and it began to emit light.
A message appeared before Zeke’s eyes.
[The Book of Light recognizes the mark of the successor.]
[Code verified.]
[Commencing the transmission ritual.]
The Book of Light began to unfurl, and the characters within shimmered with light.
Zeke watched the transmission ritual with curious eyes.
The characters lifted from the pages, surrounding Princess Arina, and then transformed into light, merging with her body.
With a rustle, the pages turned, and all the characters rose and were absorbed into her.
When the final page’s characters turned to light and entered her, the book fell onto the table, now blank.
‘Is it done?’
Princess Arina, eyes closed, breathed softly.
At that moment, a message appeared before Zeke.
[Main quest mission completed.]
[You have earned the title of Knight of Light as a reward.]
[You have acquired the skill Sacred Flame (S-rank) as a reward.]
[You have obtained the coordinates for the ‘Forgotten Temple of Origins’ as a reward.]
[You have received 500 Karma Points as a reward.]
[Intermediate administrator system privileges have been further unlocked.]
[Item dismantling/repair functions are now available in the shop.]
[Item enhancement functions are now available in the shop.]
[Item crafting functions have been newly activated in the shop.]
As the mission cleared, a flood of rewards came in.
Zeke focused on the name ‘Forgotten Temple of Origins.’
‘Temple of Origins?’
It was a name he had never heard before.
Simultaneously, a quest window appeared.
―Main Quest Mission―
[Take the relics imbued with the power of origins to the Forgotten Temple of Origins. (No time limit / The temple’s coordinates will activate automatically once all three relics are obtained)]
[Quest mission reward: ???]
Seeing the sudden main quest window, Zeke was bewildered.
‘What is this? What is the power of origins, and what are these relics? And why is the mission reward a question mark?’
This quest felt distinctly different from any he had encountered before.
‘I’ll put this quest on hold for now. There’s plenty else to do.’
Zeke decided to postpone the quest and checked the newly unlocked shop categories.
―Shop―
Buy/Sell Items
Dismantle/Repair Items
Enhance Items
Craft Items
‘The item crafting option has been added. Does this mean I can make items myself?’
While Zeke was examining the shop categories, Princess Arina slowly opened her eyes.
“I’ve finally found the latter part of the Book of Light. I can finally function as a proper mage instead of a half-baked one. Thank you so much.”
Princess Arina’s face, as white as snow from head to toe, flushed slightly, her cheeks turning a soft pink.
“Congratulations on completing the transmission ritual safely, Your Highness.”
Princess Arina smiled at Zeke.
“It’s all thanks to you, Sir Zeke.”
Zeke hesitated before asking Princess Arina.
“Your Highness, I have a question about the Healer class.”
“What would you like to know?”
“Sister Klone mentioned that those with the Healer class can use light magic without divine power.”
Princess Arina nodded.
“That’s correct. Light magic is akin to a bloodline ability granted only to Rubern’s kin. Others need an artifact imbued with light magic to use this power.”
“While magical artifacts can be activated with aura, why does light magic specifically require divine power?”
Princess Arina continued.
“Divine power is different from aura or mana. If I had to describe it… it’s like drawing upon the soul’s strength through a strong will.”
Zeke felt a connection to her words.
‘If it’s the soul’s strength… it feels similar to the spirit technique.’
Zeke used his will to unleash the spirit technique, utilizing his language skills and mana from his middle dantian.
If light magic was about invoking the power within an artifact through will, it indeed felt closer to the spirit technique than aura or magic.
Princess Arina spoke to Zeke.
“Sister Klone mentioned that you can invoke light magic without divine power, Sir Zeke.”
After a moment’s thought, Zeke replied.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
She smiled as she spoke.
“Perhaps it’s due to Laura’s influence. You might have the potential for the Healer class within you.”
Fortunately, Princess Arina didn’t probe further.
Zeke posed another question.
“Is the Healer class exclusive to Rubern’s kin?”
Princess Arina tilted her head slightly and spoke slowly.
“According to the records, yes. But considering Laura was also a Healer, we can consider two possibilities. One, the Healer class can emerge from other bloodlines. Two, the Agamemnon family might be a branch of Rubern’s lineage.”
Zeke was taken aback by her words.
“Are you suggesting the Agamemnon family might be of Rubern’s bloodline?”
“When Rubern’s kin lost their imperial power in the Holy Empire, most were killed or taken by the church, but some might have escaped. They could have changed their name and continued the Agamemnon lineage.”
Listening to Arina, Zeke found her reasoning plausible.
The Agamemnon’s golden swordsmanship bore similarities to Paladin or Imperial swordsmanship, and most notably, the family’s sacred artifact, the Agamemnon Mask, was an artifact exclusive to the Healer class.
If Agamemnon’s ancestors were indeed of the Lubern bloodline, it made sense why they had a tradition of elevating the Healer class as the head of the family.
“Could it be that, fearing pursuit by the Holy Empire, they hid their lineage, causing their history to be lost?”
Zeke’s mother, Laura Agamemnon, might have discovered the connection between their ancestors and the Lubern bloodline while searching for the secrets of the Healer class, leading her to aid them.
“I never imagined there was such a secret behind the Healer class, which I thought was cursed.”
Even his mentor in his past life, who was well-versed in ancient knowledge, didn’t know much about the Healer class, so the information Arina shared was both unfamiliar and fascinating to Zeke.
Then, looking into Princess Arina’s eyes, Zeke suddenly asked, “By the way, Princess, why haven’t you healed your eyes?”
Arina looked slightly surprised by his question. “Are you referring to a miracle?”
Zeke tilted his head in confusion. “I don’t know about grand terms like miracles, but I thought healing could restore your sight. I’m just curious why you left it as is.”
Arina responded with a perplexed expression, “Sir Zeke, healing can aid recovery, but it can’t restore lost sight or reattach severed limbs. That would indeed be a miracle.”
“What? What do you mean…?”
Zeke was taken aback by her words. In his past life, he had healed burst eyeballs, broken bones, and reattached severed limbs countless times.
“Then what on earth was the healing I did?”
Amidst his confusion, Zeke cautiously asked Arina, “Princess, could you show me your healing?”
Arina smiled and extended her hand toward Zeke. He placed his palm against hers, and a warm light emanated from her hand.
A gentle hum filled the air as the light seeped into Zeke’s palm. It reminded him of something familiar.
“It feels similar to the skill that restores stamina when I use the Light’s Veil.”
It was clear that this level of healing wouldn’t be enough to mend wounds.
“This is healing. Even as a Healer class, it’s impossible to perfectly heal wounds. Ah, but Laura was a bit different. She could use healing strong enough to close fresh wounds immediately.”
Hearing this, Zeke realized the healing he used was vastly different in power.
After a moment of contemplation, he looked at Princess Arina and said, “Princess, if you’ll allow me.”
Zeke took Arina’s hand and cast a wide-area buff along with his healing.
A powerful surge of restorative energy flowed from Zeke into her.
He could feel his power concentrating on Arina’s eyes.
Arina, sensing the sudden influx of external energy, looked startled. But as the warmth enveloped her, she slowly closed her eyes.
The waves of energy gradually subsided, and Arina opened her eyes slowly. This time, her eyes shone with a radiant light.
She touched her eyes, tears welling up and spilling over.
“My… my eyes?”