"Your Excellency, this matter is far too significant. Please forgive my caution. I'm afraid I cannot agree to your request just yet, and I have two reasons for this:

  First, we are far too weak. To charge forward blindly is not wisdom—it is recklessness.

  Second, even our current lives in the Kaine Empire are difficult. How can we possibly carry out such a grand vision? Ideals are not achieved by mere words; they require a solid material foundation to support them.

  Therefore, I ask that you grant us some time."

  Kenley spoke slowly, making his thoughts clear.

  To outsiders, his response might have seemed a bit petty, perhaps even lacking in ambition. But he didn't care in the slightest.

  Your ideals are yours. Your light is yours. Your glory is yours. None of it belongs to me.

  Besides, Kenley knew that the Golden Bloodline Questline didn't solely revolve around Tia. There were other paths—other, potentially more rewarding quests. He just needed time to grow stronger.

  Accepting this mission now would mean binding himself to the church's cause, tying his fate to theirs. From that moment onward, he would be obligated to fight against the dark aristocracy on the Eastern Coast, shouldering the burden of restoring the church's influence there.

  That would mean losing his freedom.

  It would also mean sacrificing the chance to pursue other quests he was interested in—because this one task would consume all of his time and effort.

  At Kenley's response, Tia grew anxious.

  In her heart, she had already come to see him as a heroic figure—a savior.

  From the moment he rescued her, to when he shielded her from the Holy Knight's blade, and just earlier, when he recited the Golden Judgment Prayer in the Grand Cathedral—recognized by the Sun God himself.

  Kenley had proven himself a man of purity and righteousness.

  So why?

  Why, at this moment, did he suddenly seem so calculating, so shrewd, like a seasoned merchant carefully weighing profit and loss?

  Why was he not thinking about honor, integrity, and sacrifice?

  She was desperate, but she said nothing.

  Her pleading gaze lingered on Kenley, but she dared not voice her thoughts.

  Perhaps my master has his own reasons…

  Maybe, if I can talk to him later, I can change his mind…

  The bishop observed both of them carefully—Kenley's measured words and Tia's conflicted expression.

  Then, with a warm smile, he nodded and said,"The Holy Mother does not force her children's hands. She does not impose upon others that which she herself abhors.

  Your response, child, is an expression of Her divine love, and as one of Her children, I respect your choice.

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  That said, I have a proposal. Would you be willing to hear me out?"

  Kenley's heart stirred slightly.

  A proposal?

  "Please, Your Excellency, I am listening."

  At that, the bishop reached into his robes and pulled out a pristine, custom-made parchment scroll. With great care, he unfurled it on the table before them.

  "This is the contract of an Honorary Holy Knight.

  The church rarely grants this title, as it is reserved for those who are not formally part of the Holy Order but still seek the path of knighthood.

  If you accept, child, you will gain the right to study under the church's Holy Knights at any time. Any question you ask, they will answer without reservation."

  Honorary Holy Knight?!

  Kenley was stunned.

  He vividly remembered his past struggles in the game—how he had begged the Pope over a dozen times for this very opportunity, only to be repeatedly denied.

  And now?

  A single bishop was offering it to him outright—of his own accord.

  This was no ordinary offer.

  The Honorary Holy Knight title was incredibly valuable.

  It wasn't a class, yet it was even better than a class in some ways.

  To explain why, one needed to understand the game mechanics of Aude Continent.

  Every player character was officially allowed to take on one main class and up to two secondary classes.

  For example:

  A Warrior could dual-train as a Mage, or even a Priest.

  However, dual-classing required significantly more experience points compared to one's main class due to the secondary class experience penalty.

  The second class incurred a 1.25x experience penalty.The third class incurred a 1.5x experience penalty.

  Some players—especially casuals—already found managing a single character exhausting. They didn't want to create multiple alts just to experience different classes.

  So, when they reached the late game and realized their main class didn't suit them, many of them shifted focus to their secondary class instead. This system allowed them to find their true playstyle, leading to overwhelmingly positive feedback about the multi-class system.

  But this also created a limitation—players could only take two secondary classes at most. No more, no less.

  Kenley's main character followed this exact rule:

  Main class: WarriorSecondary classes: Mage, Ranger

  However, Honorary Holy Knight was different—it didn't count toward the class limit!

  As long as a player had any of these three melee classes—Warrior, Berserker, or Knight—they could merge the Honorary Holy Knight title into their main class without taking up a secondary class slot.

  For example, since Kenley was a Warrior, acquiring the Honorary Holy Knight title would alter his class skills, infusing them with Light elemental properties and granting him access to exclusive Paladin magic!

  Additionally, his skill tree would receive a massive upgrade.

  For instance, take the Charge skill—normally, Warriors could only use it once per cooldown. But with the Honorary Holy Knight title, Kenley would gain a second Charge, allowing him to use his Warrior Charge first, then immediately follow up with a Paladin Charge!

  This was a game-changer.

  Unlike Mages, who relied on mana and casting times, Warriors had no resource cost—their skills only had cooldowns.

  In the mid-to-late game, some abilities did require Rage Points (RP) to unleash their full potential, but with Honorary Holy Knight, Kenley would essentially be playing with cheat codes enabled.

  Of course, in PvP, the double-charge mechanic was officially banned to preserve game balance.

  However, in PvE, the developers placed no such restrictions.

  In fact, the Honorary Holy Knight discovery was originally a complete accident—a random player stumbled upon it, and soon after, everyone started trying their luck to obtain it.

  Had Kenley not been busy raiding the Golden Forbidden Court with the Dragon's Roar Guild, he definitely would have tried for Honorary Holy Knight.

  After all, leveling a brand-new alt was too exhausting, and resetting his main character would have been an incredible waste of time.

  But now?

  He hadn't even asked for it, and the bishop was offering it to him on a silver platter.

  For a moment, Kenley froze, feeling conflicted.

  There was no way he wasn't tempted.

  "Honorary Holy Knight?" Kenley asked, keeping his expression neutral, careful not to reveal his true emotions.

  Because, in reality, this hit him right in the heart.

  With this, he could essentially quadruple-class—combining Paladin with his existing three-class setup.

  That was insanely powerful.

  And the biggest strength of Paladins?

  They allowed Warriors to use mounted combat and wield large shields. Normally, Warriors were limited to small shields, but with this, he could equip knight-grade armor, purchase mounts, and ride more than just horses.

  Paladins weren't restricted to horses—they could ride all kinds of bizarre and rare creatures.

  Just imagine—switching gear mid-fight, transforming from a Warrior into a tank-like mounted knight…

  Now that was exhilarating.