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The Church, the Mage, and the Snarky AI Chapter 25: The War Begins
Though the hour was late and the curfew in effect, Benjamin made it back to the Lither estate without incident, safely ensconced by his knightly escort.Slipping past the watchful eyes of the night servants, he stole back to his bedchamber, his movements undetected. Once the door was securely bolted, he collapsed onto the bed, fishing out the crucifix and admiring it with unabashed delight.The pendant was a dainty thing, wrought of silver and exquisitely crafted. As Benjamin pressed it to his brow, he could feel the faintest whisper of sanctified energy radiating from within, pure and incorruptible.So this was the power of holy magic.Compared to the arcane arts, the common folk of the Horian Kingdom were far more familiar with the divine workings of the Church. Every town had its chapel, every parish its priest, and scarcely a soul hadn't born witness to some miracle or another.According to Church doctrine, holy magic was a gift from the Almighty, a sacred bulwark against the depr
The Church, the Mage, and the Snarky AI Chapter 26: War Games
Thoroughly befuddled, Benjamin followed Grantt into the castle. As they went, the terminally work-shy AI finally deigned to pipe up and shed some light on the situation."Seven or eight years back, tensions were running high on this continent. There was another nation that rivaled the Horian Kingdom, and war seemed all but inevitable. As such, you young aristocrats were put through some fairly rigorous combat training. But as luck would have it, that rival nation soon collapsed into civil strife, the looming conflict never materialized, and your martial education was cut short."The AI paused for a beat, then continued:"But you restless little scamps, you'd absorbed all this military lore and were chomping at the bit to put it to the test. When the real deal failed to deliver, you got it in your heads that your battlefield talents were being wasted. And so, at someone's bright idea, this little tradition was born. A gaggle of young lords gathering at this old castle for a spot of sim
The Church, the Mage, and the Snarky AI Chapter 27: Drop Your Weapon!
They arrived at the entrance to the final room.As Grantt pushed open the last door, he remained fully focused, proceeding with utmost caution, like a special agent executing a high-stakes raid. At the instant of entry, he even performed a deft combat roll to the right, braced for any potential ambush.Erring on the side of prudence, Benjamin hung back a step, maintaining a safe distance.And yet, as the door swung wide… nothing. No attack came.Perplexed, Benjamin advanced a few paces, peering into the room from the threshold. There, he spied Dick Fur standing shoulder to shoulder with a hulking young man. The moment Benjamin's gaze found them, they turned as one to face him.Judging by their stony mien, they'd been awaiting this confrontation.The air fairly crackled with menace.A chill rippled down Benjamin's spine. The urge to simply turn tail and beat a hasty retreat was nigh overpowering.He knew, with grim certai
The Church, the Mage, and the Snarky AI Chapter 28: Shots Fired
That's right, a gun.The weapon's profile didn't quite match the sleek, modern firearms Benjamin was used to seeing in police procedurals and action flicks. Rather, it called to mind the old-timey six-shooters favored by gunslingers in Westerns. The metal of the barrel was rough and unadorned, the craftsmanship crude, yet it still exuded the singular menace of a lethal weapon - an aura of impending death.Ever since crash-landing in this madcap realm, Benjamin had simply assumed that guns were off the table. The AI's exhaustive lore dumps had never once name-dropped firearms as a going concern. He'd just figured that in a world where divine miracles and arcane magic ran rampant, the tech tree had never bothered unlocking the "ballistic weaponry" skill.So much for that theory.And now, at this very instant, he found himself staring down the business end of a pistol, the finger on the trigger belonging to a hormone-addled adolescent who'd let his emotions
The Church, the Mage, and the Snarky AI Chapter 29: An Old Friend Revisited
Benjamin had another dream.This time, mercifully, his boss was nowhere to be found. Instead, he found himself submerged in a vast expanse of deep blue seawater, a school of merfolk circling him in an eerie dance. And these merfolk… they wore the faces of everyone he'd met since stumbling into this madcap world.Their expressions were alien, chilling. Unsettling, really.But soon enough, the circling merfolk began to morph, one by one, into glowing blue glyphs. They whirled around him in dizzying patterns as the endless ocean vanished in a blink, replaced by a yawning void of purest black.Benjamin strained to make out the strange symbols, but for some maddening reason, they remained stubbornly illegible.A faint buzzing began to fill his ears.Blinking at his surreal surroundings, a sudden realization struck him like a thunderbolt - wasn't this the very dreamscape he'd crafted to house his inner world? The memory of his first foray into this mental sanctuary came rushing back, the od
The Church, the Mage, and the Snarky AI Chapter 30: Magic and Miracles
"When this book has outlived its usefulness to you, please pass it on to someone in need. The truth deserves to be preserved."This was the first line that greeted Benjamin as he cracked open the front cover.Sure enough, as he read on, the pages that followed contained the mages' version of the origins of magic and miracles - a different spin on the tale of Cain and Abel.In this story, there were no demons, only the God of Magic and the God of Light, who bestowed upon the two brothers the powers of sorcery and divine blessings, respectively. The true villains of this fable were the harsh, unforgiving wilderness and the fearsome magical beasts that roamed it. Cain and Abel worked hand in hand to tame the untamed land, leading humanity to establish a home they could call their own.As with all stories, the good times couldn't last. The brothers found themselves at odds over the matter of ritual offerings. The God of Magic favored tributes of grains and ve
The Church, the Mage, and the Snarky AI Chapter 31: Prayer Space and Holy Seal
Benjamin was stunned into silence by the AI's words.Not that he was particularly shocked, mind you. It was more that the AI's revelation had suddenly brought a key detail rushing back to the forefront of his mind.When Grantt had been preparing to unleash his miracle, gathering that blinding nimbus of holy light… the first thing that caught Benjamin's attention was the unmistakable pulse of magical energy. Things had been a bit too hairy at the time for him to give it much thought, but looking back, there was no denying it…The resonance of that holy aura had been dead ringers for the ripples of power that accompanied a spell."Based on my comparative analysis of the data, the underlying waveform of Grantt's miracle was a direct match for the one generated by your Aqua Sphere. Both involve the channeling and reordering of ambient elemental energies." The AI paused for effect before twisting the knife. "Granted, the amplitude of HIS emissions was several orders of magnitude greater th
The Church, the Mage, and the Snarky AI Chapter 32: Choosing Skills
Benjamin had to admit, he was a total skill junkie.Just like when he used to game back in his old world, he couldn't care less about graphics or story - all that mattered was the skills. As long as a game had a wild, wacky, endlessly inventive set of abilities to play with, he was hooked. Leveling up barely registered as a blip on his radar, existing solely as a means to score more skill points. Every time he unlocked some shiny new technique, his sense of achievement went through the roof.And yet…Here he was, finally spirited away to a realm of magic, only to be told he could only have THREE measly skill points to his name?And one of them had already been wasted on freakin' Aqua Sphere?"This build is borked, I wanna reroll," he groaned, glancing skyward as if pleading with the cosmos."You do realize talking to yourself like that just makes you seem chuuni as all get-out, right?" the AI chimed in, its tone bone-dry. "It's not li
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Chapter 40: The Silver Pistol
Hearing this, Benjamin hesitated for a moment before replying, "But I haven't bought a gun yet."He wasn't planning on heading home just like that.The other knight immediately tried to persuade him: "Lord Lither, you've seen the chaos of the outer city for yourself. What if the heretic who abducted you shows up again? Please, it's best if you return home for now."Benjamin thought for a moment, and suddenly hatched a plan.Whether or not he bought a gun was beside the point now. He could milk a bit more out of these knights.Putting on a stubborn, resolute air, he declared firmly, "No can do! These heretics are so powerful, without the means to fight back, what's the difference between the inner and outer city? You saw it yourselves - if I hadn't opened fire, today's heretic wouldn't have even fled. Soon enough, my father will take this pistol back, and then if the heretics slip past your watch and come for me, what am I to do?""This is…"The knights weren't as silver-tongued as the
- The Church, the Mage, and the Snarky AI
Chapter 39: The Academy of Silence
Before long, Benjamin left the warehouse where they'd been lying low.On his way out, he gleaned some intel about this"Academy of Silence"from the two young mages.When the Kingdom of Horia was first established, the Church cemented its position and began hunting down mages with a vengeance, forcing them to take their activities underground. The surviving mages banded together, trading spells and know-how, helping each other evade the Church's pursuit - and thus, the Academy of Silence was born.Later, as the Church's power grew, eclipsing even the monarchy, they only intensified their mage-hunting efforts. At the time, a handful of the strongest mages joined forces to ensure their survival, founding the Academy of Silence with the goal of keeping the magical arts alive and the dream of building a brand new mage-ruled nation.The Academy's headquarters lay hidden in the mountains to the west of the kingdom. The terrain there was treache
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Chapter 38: When Mages Have to Perform Surgery
The elder mage had been stashed by his two students in a sack, shoved into a corner of the warehouse.When Benjamin watched Stumpy brusquely hauling their teacher out of the burlap, the first thought that popped into his head was that if this mage knew what his disciples had done, he'd be pissed enough to rise from the grave - even if he was already six feet under.But he wasn't dead yet, so he probably wouldn't find out what had transpired.At least, not dead yet."What cosmic crime did your teacher commit to deserve students like you…"Benjamin couldn't help but marvel."Teacher's said stuff like that too!" There was a bizarre note of glee in Stumpy's voice. "He's always saying if we didn't have crazy good elemental affinity, enough to cast spells even when we botch the chant, he wouldn't have taken us on in a million years!""…"Benjamin had decidedly mixed feelings about Stumpy's little speech. He opted not to comment.Better to focus on saving a life. Right, saving a life, that was
- The Church, the Mage, and the Snarky AI
Chapter 37: What's More Terrifying Than One Idiot?
The situation had reached a bit of a stalemate.Every time the knights shattered a Water Barrier, the elder mage would just conjure up another one. Their longswords couldn't lay a scratch on their foes. But it was much the same on the other side - the two younger mages were too dense, so the trio couldn't do much against the holy knights either.However, Benjamin knew this gridlock wouldn't last long.Judging by the elder mage's easy, unconcerned demeanor, it was clear he still had tricks up his sleeve. Right now, he was just trying to show these newbies the ropes, sticking purely to defensive magic. The moment he busted out some attack spells, these two holy knights would likely be toast.And if they couldn't hold the line, Benjamin would be in deep trouble too.Sure, he was starting to feel a little bad for the elder mage, but right from the jump, the guy had declared his intent to silence them all for good. Benjamin didn't dare gamble on whether
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Chapter 36: Adventures in the Outer City
Unlike the inner city, Havenlet's outer city remained bustling even as night fell.Although this world had yet to invent electric lights, the glow of oil lamps still illuminated the streets, with plenty of residents out and about. Most shops were still open for business, with a steady stream of customers coming and going, showing no signs of closing up. And that was to say nothing of the taverns, where the raucous din of patrons could be heard from a dozen meters away.But that was to be expected. The Church's curfew only applied to the inner city. The outer city was simply too vast, and enforcing a curfew would require a staggering amount of manpower. The Church couldn't be bothered, so they simply let it develop as it would.The Fur family, for instance, derived most of their income from the outer city's entertainment industry. With such intricate ties binding them, the outer city's nights were even less pious. Devout folks who enjoyed their peace and quiet either became priests and
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Chapter 35: Lend Me That Gun
In the military, under any circumstances, strength is king.After experiencing it firsthand, Benjamin's understanding of this point deepened.Thanks to the shooting interface that had somehow popped up from the AI, he had stunned the entire marksmanship camp with a single shot. The attitudes of these new recruits towards him had taken a rollercoaster ride. There was no longer any mockery in their eyes, replaced by a fair amount of respect and admiration, and occasionally even a hint of envy.Benjamin felt a bit guilty about this.Unlike these people who had trained hard, he had relied entirely on external help, which wasn't exactly honorable. If it hadn't been for the sudden appearance of the shooting interface, he would have made a fool of himself. It was just that when he had the gun in his hand, his mind had gotten hot and he really wanted to fire a shot to test it out. Once the muzzle was raised, there was no backing out, he could only go with the flow.Therefore, after flexing a
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Chapter 34: Coach, I Wanna Flex Too!
Around the middle-aged man, a group of young recruits turned their heads in unison, staring at Benjamin with less than friendly eyes.Benjamin immediately sensed trouble brewing.Those scenes from the novels weren't really about to play out, were they?Taking a deep breath, Benjamin had no choice but to steel himself and walk over."What's your name?" the middle-aged man asked.Benjamin pondered for a moment, deliberately omitting his surname, and answered, "I'm Benjamin."The middle-aged man, however, had no tact. He curled his lip and said, "You're the Lither family's kid, the useless one, right?"A burst of laughter instantly erupted from the crowd.Benjamin could feel that when the word "Lither" was uttered, the eyes of those around him changed again, becoming a mix of envy and disdain.He could only sigh inwardly.The military held a unique position in the Kingdom of Horia. They didn't fear the nobles, not even the royals. Although they claimed to be loyal to the nation, in reali
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Chapter 33: Military Training?
Over the next few days, Benjamin enjoyed a rare stretch of peace and quiet.He got up on time, ate on time, ordered Jeremy around on time, and didn't set foot outside again. The relentless barrage of shenanigans seemed to have died down all at once. His father Claude was away on a tour of the domain, and the handful of people left in the house kept to themselves, exchanging little more than daily greetings.After finishing "The Beginner's Guide to Thaumaturgy", Benjamin had long since returned the book to Grantt's desk. The little episode in Grantt's bedroom that night was treated as if it had never happened, a tacit understanding between the two.Every day, Benjamin would hole up in his room pretending to sleep, then cultivate in his inner world. Sometimes he'd "meditate" to strengthen his triangular sigil, other times he'd speed up the condensation of his new sigils, encountering no further issues along the way.But he knew this peaceful training routine couldn't last long.What he
- The Church, the Mage, and the Snarky AI
Chapter 32: Choosing Skills
Benjamin had to admit, he was a total skill junkie.Just like when he used to game back in his old world, he couldn't care less about graphics or story - all that mattered was the skills. As long as a game had a wild, wacky, endlessly inventive set of abilities to play with, he was hooked. Leveling up barely registered as a blip on his radar, existing solely as a means to score more skill points. Every time he unlocked some shiny new technique, his sense of achievement went through the roof.And yet…Here he was, finally spirited away to a realm of magic, only to be told he could only have THREE measly skill points to his name?And one of them had already been wasted on freakin' Aqua Sphere?"This build is borked, I wanna reroll," he groaned, glancing skyward as if pleading with the cosmos."You do realize talking to yourself like that just makes you seem chuuni as all get-out, right?" the AI chimed in, its tone bone-dry. "It's not li
