Light and Darkness

Rhode took out a gold coin and placed it in Brother Joshua's hand. "That spell you just cast... was it Greater Heal?"

Rhode had never seen it before, but he could guess.

A healing spell with such a long chant could hardly have been Renew or Lesser Heal.

"Yes." Brother Joshua pocketed the coin. "Her injuries were too severe. Only Greater Heal could save her."

"If... I mean if-if she had died, could you still have saved her?" Rhode asked tentatively.

This was something he had always wanted to figure out.

In the game, priests could bring dead players back to life. Of course, players could also resurrect through the rather implausible method of running back to their corpses, but those were probably just gameplay mechanics.

But in this real world, could someone actually return to life after death?

If a priest could resurrect him, wouldn't that mean he could afford to be a little more reckless?

"Of course not!" Brother Joshua answered firmly. "Though the Holy Light guides us to elevate our spirits and spread its gospel by serving others, it is not all-powerful. Life and death follow their own course. Bringing the dead back to life would be more like desecration."

"Desecration?" Rhode laughed. "Aren't you getting the wrong idea, Brother Joshua? If it's a proper resurrection, what does that have to do with desecration? Surely it's dark magic that raises the dead as undead creatures that desecrates them."

Still, true resurrection wasn't possible in this world, at least for ordinary people-perhaps someone on the level of Medivh the Guardian could manage it. So recklessness was out of the question. When caution was called for, he would have to play it safe.

His words, however, shocked Brother Joshua. "D-dark magic? You know about the Way of Shadow? It can bring the dead back to life?"

Rhode knew Brother Joshua had gotten things mixed up again.

Besides saving people with the Holy Light, priests should also have a shadow branch, though it seemed to be something they couldn't openly acknowledge.

The dark magic Rhode meant, however, was the magic the Scourge used to raise the dead as undead creatures.

But the Scourge didn't exist here yet, and there probably weren't any necromancers or acolytes either. No wonder the monk was confused.

"No, I don't know anything about the Way of Shadow, and it can't bring the dead back to life," Rhode hastily clarified. "All I know is that light cannot exist on its own, apart from darkness..."

"Light cannot exist on its own, apart from darkness..." Brother Joshua murmured, repeating Rhode's words. "That makes so much sense."

Rhode was genuinely starting to dread this priest's mystical ramblings.

But where had that line come from? Rhode couldn't remember. Some famous character in the game had probably said it.

"Then do you understand the Way of Shadow?" Rhode suddenly felt a little interested.

Based on his experience learning mage spells, magic could be broken down and studied like a programming language. Could dark magic also be the product of code compiled through some particular process?

Of course, he couldn't try that lightly. It would be quite a joke if he lost control, went off the rails, and turned himself into this world's first necromancer.

But since priests had both light and dark spells, analyzing their similarities and differences might give him some inspiration without so much risk.

"The Way of Shadow? No, I don't understand it. I don't." Brother Joshua shook his head vigorously. "But I know how it comes about."

"Oh? Let's hear it. I'm not a priest, but I'm interested in spells too. We could study it together."

Brother Joshua nodded and continued.

It seemed he really did need someone to listen.

Staying alone in such a large Monastery must have been enough to drive him mad.

"We priests manifest the light within our minds, allowing us to channel and wield the power of the Holy Light. Conversely, if we manifest the darkness within our minds, we can wield dark powers..."

Rhode asked, "Then why don't you try learning shadow spells? From the sound of it, there isn't much difference between light and darkness."

"It's too dangerous!" Brother Joshua shook his head again. "When a priest does that, even the slightest lapse can cause tremendous mental backlash."

"Then are there no priests who know shadow spells?"

"There are. Within the Church, there are indeed priests who study the Way of Shadow, but they're regarded as complete outcasts..."

So holy priests really are the way to go. Shadow priests have it rough. Rhode nodded to himself.

In any case, the monk before him knew none of those spells, which meant he couldn't offer any useful help with the dark magic that had suddenly caught Rhode's interest.

"Mmm... ah."

Just then, a girl's moan came from the stone slab.

She was awake!

"Where are my mom and dad? Where's my little brother?" The girl looked around and asked as soon as she woke.

When her eyes met Rhode's, a flicker of terror crossed her face, but her expression quickly returned to normal.

Then she realized something. She remembered.

The girl's eyes immediately reddened, and she burst into tears.

Grief spread through the hall.

Rhode didn't stop her.

Go ahead and cry. You'll feel a little better once you've let it out.

Once her crying had eased into sobs, Rhode said, "Try not to let the grief overwhelm you. I'll find the murderer and avenge your family. But first... you'll need to give me enough information."

The girl nodded through her tears.

"What's your name?"

"Julie."

"All right, Julie. Did you see what the person who attacked you looked like?"

"It was a mage," Julie said through gritted teeth. "A mage in a gray Mage Robe."

Sure enough, it was a mage.

Julie must have gotten a fright when she first woke up and saw her Mage Robe.

Fortunately, his were blue.

But that didn't prove anything. After all, mages could change their Mage Robes frequently.

"Would you recognize his face?" Rhode asked.

"No. All I could tell was that he was a young man." Julie shook her head in anguish. "We were attacked out of nowhere. I don't know why I couldn't see his face clearly, and then I lost consciousness..."

A young man-that was a new clue.

But there had still been some kind of visual concealment.

It seemed this fellow was extremely cautious. Even when he intended to slaughter an entire family, he still remembered to disguise himself in case something went wrong.

Without an eyewitness, Rhode would have to approach this from another angle.

What exactly was his motive?

That was something Rhode had puzzled over endlessly without finding an answer.

"Julie, were you wearing something around your neck before?" Rhode pointed at her neck.

"Yes, the Ruby Necklace Dad gave me." At the mention of her father, Julie's eyes reddened again. "But that villain stole it."

The Ruby Necklace?

Haven't I heard of that somewhere before...?

The Ruby Necklace, the Ruby Necklace...

Wait.

Don't I have a pair of Ruby Earrings?

The Ruby Necklace, the Ruby Earrings...

Isn't that the so-called "magic set" Mr. Audric mentioned?

The murderer's target was the Ruby Necklace!