Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

At the city gates of Brol– a city in the Kaisaayan empire. A city close to Brol forest and Kizamgaar's ruins.

As the sun was setting on the horizon, Brol welcomed another stranger at its gates. 

"Hold up. State your name and business in Brol."

With a stern gaze and strict tone, a city guard halted a green-eyed young man at the city gates. In the next moment, however, his tone changed and his expression softened after realizing the man was a Grand Knight by his Ranking Status.

"How may I help you, sir Grand Knight?"

He asked while looking at the man's emerald green eyes. Meanwhile, he tried to search for the man's features in his memory.

"Hello. May the light of the triad sun shine on you forever. My name's Eren Idril and I'm here to pay a visit to Ishgar's temple," Eren answered truthfully.

He wasn't surprised by what the city guard referred to him as. Labh Salem had its own distinct nomenclature to refer to the A-Ranked Grandmasters after all.

"Ishgaar's temple?" the city guard frowned before responding.

"Grand Knight Eren, you may not have heard about this. But most of the Ishgaar's Templars, priests, and managing personnel are not here in Brol. They…"

Eren interrupted the city guard before he could finish saying what he wanted to say.

"I know. Most of them have gone out to hunt the Helenbora coven. I want to speak to the person in charge of the Ishgaar's temple in Brol right now regarding the same matter as well," he said calmly.

"I see," the city guard nodded at Eren. he was about to ask Eren to show the proof of his identity. But Eren pressed on before he could do so.

"Let me tell you something else, Grand Knight Servano. The Menaka's Blessing over me was wiped by the Helenbora coven members during my recent encounter with them. As such, I can not confirm my identity. But I have something else that can help you confirm what I just said now," Eren said before producing a runic sword he had by his waist.

The city guard looked at Eren with a doubtful gaze. He had never heard about a Skill that could wipe out Menaka's Blessing on someone. After all, if Skills like these existed, everyone would have invested their time, money, and efforts to get those Skills. Wiping away Menaka's Blessing meant robbing someone of access to their respective Skills.

Still, since it was a fellow Grand Knight, the city guard did not object to Eren's claim outrightly. Instead, he took the sword given by Eren and analyzed it carefully.

"This is… this is indeed a Hex Artifact issued by Ishgaar's Templars. Where did you get this—" The city guard stopped abruptly before he opened his eyes wide in surprise.

"I recognize this sword. It is owned by Priest Hildon!"

"Was—" Eren corrected.

"What?"

"It WAS owned by Priest Hildon but not anymore. One can't own things after they die, you see," Eren said and sighed dramatically, his eyes drifting far away as if he was relieving a painful memory.

"WHAT? Who killed Priest Hildon?" the city guard asked, the expressions of shock and disbelief on his face intensifying.

"The Helenbora coven," Eren said and shook his head. "It was a one-sided massacre. I believe I'm the only one who escaped the trap set by those damn witches. It was Priest Hildon himself who wanted me to come here. His only condition was that I tell the authorities of the Ishgaar's Templars what happened to him. This is why I'm here."

The city guard didn't waste time. He sidestepped and allowed Eren to pass through the city gates. He also arranged a carriage for Eren that would take him directly to the Ishgaar's temple.

Eren smiled to himself after getting into the carriage. 'That man wasn't afraid of me when he greeted me. He respected me the same way one respects someone of their equal. In Anfang, the city guards would have lost their cool at the time of interrogating a Grandmaster,' he thought to himself.

***

As a Grandmaster-ranked entity, Eren couldn't be called a nobody even in Labh Salem. However, he felt that the weight behind his Ranking Status had been significantly reduced. He felt that he was just a tad bit stronger than the average Practitioners of Paths found in Labh Salem.

The reason for this drastic change and contrast in treatment was simple. It was much easier for the Rankers of Labh Salem to break into the Grandmaster Rank than those who hailed from Anfang. The Rankers of this world practiced an entirely different kind of Ranking Technique after all.

In Anfang, almost nobody cultivated their Spiritual Force. The Ranking Techniques practiced by the Novices to high-ranking entities only focused on one's mana and Elemental Attainments.

However, in Labh Salem, the Ranking techniques involved the cultivation of Spiritual Force as well. As such, they had a different name here– Tantras. Tantras worked in almost the same manner as the Ranking Techniques found in Anfang. The only difference lay in the fact that it enabled the Rankers to tape into their Soul Space as well.

The Tantras made it possible for the Rankers of Labh Salem to not see almost any form of bottlenecks till the B-Rank. Things did get tough for them after breaking into the A-Rank. However, compared to the Rankers of Anfang, their Ranking Journeys could only be described as smooth sailing. 

It was easier for Rankers of Labh Salem to awaken their Spiritual Force as well, thanks to the various Tantras they practiced. Since they didn't have to worry too much about their Elemental Attainments, the Rankers could focus on increasing their Spiritual Force through the use of the compatible Tantras.

Thus, using intent-based magic was a norm in Labh Salem. Everyone could use their Soul Sense, which was referred to as the Third Eye or Spiritual Sense in Labh Salem.

As most Rankers awakened their Spiritual Force by default by the time they became Knight or Grand Knight, they adopted intent-based magic much more easily.