As Rocky walked out of the principal''s office, he found a smiling middle aged man waiting outside for him, as for a moment Rocky''s face beamed with joy.


    "Pope Cole!" Rocky said, sounding exhrated as he chuckled and rushed up to greet the man.


    The red eyed Sophia, who followed Rocky out of Liam''s cabin, felt confused by Rocky''s reaction, as she warily noticed Rocky''s interaction with the man from a distance.


    "Oh bless the Gemini Gods, you look so strong! It''s only been a few months since Ist saw you" Pope Cole said, as tears of joy began flowing down his cheeks upon noticing Rocky''s transformation.


    Rocky was much taller and stronger than Pope Colest saw him, so his astonishment upon seeing him again was justified, however, Rocky felt embarrassed by his exaggerated reaction when he began crying non-stop.


    "Jeez Pope Cole, you can''t embarrass me here, it''s campus grounds, also look behind me, the Champion Of Poseidon is watching on, is this the face you wish to show her?" Rocky asked, as upon the mention of Sophia''s presence, Pope Cole''s demeanor saw an instant shift.


    His tears dried up, his chin pointed upwards as he gazed down upon Sophia with a stern look in his eyes.


    "I was wondering why it smelled like a sea of rotten fishes….. now I know why-" Pope Cole said, as even Rocky was left mouth agape by this insult.


    Sophia, feeling as if this was just not her day, decided to not retort against this cheap shot, as she waved at Rocky and took her leave, but not before ring back at Pope Cole once.


    "If you give me the order, I shall execute that woman for you right here, right now-" Pope Cole said, as Rocky chuckled and shook his head in dismissal.


    "Let her be, haha, principal Liam will turn you into a specter if you dare touch her" Rocky said jokingly, as Pope Cole tried to say that he did not care about the consequences, however, held his tongue.


    "So Pope, why are you here? Is everything okay back home?" Rocky asked, as he knew that unless there were special circumstances, the university did not allow visitors within its campus grounds. chapter hosted on m,vle-mpyr


    "Yes…. The monster outbreak…. It''s finally about to begin" Pope Cole said, as Rocky paused in his tracks, his heart skipping a beat.


    Rocky was no stranger to monster outbreaks. As a kid, those used to be the most stressful times where all the normal human families gathered together and watched the climber''s fight against the beast tides.


    He still remembered the days when he and Riva would hug their mom and dad while watching the climbers fight on the TV.


    He also distinctly remembered how their dad would keep a shot-gun rifle loaded and ready that day, in case the climbers failed in their duty and the fight against the monsters reached the masses.


    "What''s it going to be this year Pope? What kind of monsters are we expecting to fight?" Rocky asked, as Pope Cole smiled at the choice of words Rocky used.


    He said ''We'' instead of ''You'', indicating his intention to join in this fight.


    "This year we expect a difficult challenge. An undead themed tide seems most likely, the kind that devastated us in the 1600''s" Pope Cole said, as Rocky winced at this piece of news.


    The undead were the most difficult type of monsters to face in a tide, because they were organized as an army and had no obvious weakness apart from life magic which was not widely adopted.


    On the entire Earth, there would be less than 20 mages capable of performing life magic ( also called holy magic ), which was not enough to turn the tide of the war on a grand scale.


    "We are thinking about recruiting external help for this year''s monster outbreak, hoping to recruit a lesser god for our cause" Pope Cole said, as he dutifully reported the internal discussions of the War Council to Rocky.


    "Oh? That''s not a bad idea at all-" Rocky admitted as Pope Cole smiled at his far-sightedness.


    "But we the church hope that you can perhaps return to Earth for this monster tide, taking a break from your semester activities if you can.


    Of course it''s not mandatory and we shall understand if the champion has other things to attend to, however, I personally feel as if your presence itself on the battlefield will help motivate the soldiers" Pope Cole said embarrassedly as Rocky frowned at his choice of words.


    "Of course I''m returning with you Pope, what are you even saying?


    I''m not a strong warrior, nor am I an experienced fighter.


    However, I am an Earthling" Rocky said, as he dismissed Pope Cole''s unnecessary concerns.


    "The university does allow students to take a leave in case their home is under attack and even if they did not have such a facility, I''d still be returning.


    Earth is my home and of course I will contribute however much I can in its defense" Rocky said as Pope Cole once again began crying tears of joy.


    "Oh lord Gemini, what a noble champion you have chosen….. you are truly the stream of consciousness for the unthinking fools.


    I cannot evenprehend what you n, my noble master" Pope Cole rumbled as he broke down into a prayer right down in the middle of the university campus.


    At first, Rocky found the Pope''s illogically religious behavior to be slightly irritating, however, over time he had started to view it differently.


    When he had lost everything within the snake-men chamber. There was a moment when he did nothing but frantically pray to Gemini gods to give him the strength to pull through the difficult times that he was facing.


    Before, he could not understand it. However, he could see it now.


    Religion provided an anchor for men that were lost.


    Living life by certain rules, following a moral code, having faith in an entity, all these things helped channel one''s internal energy in a positive direction and prevented one from feeling as if their existence was purposeless.


    "Praise Gemini-" Rocky murmured under his breath, as he too joined Pope Cole in his prayer.


    ***********


    ( Back On Earth )


    The man who was the most happy with Rocky''s return was not Pope Cole, but rather Climber Association Leader Cody, as he half expected Rocky to not return.


    Unlike other climbers who had a financial bond with the climbers association and were forced to contribute to the defense of the, Rocky had none.


    When it was time to pay his university fees, first Pope Cole decided to step-up and then the university decided to waive off his semester fees, because one of the teachers was kind enough to offer Rocky a schrship.


    Under such circumstances, where Rocky had nopulsion to return to Earth and risk his life fighting for it, Cody did not expect him to return, however, he was d that Rocky did.


    When Rocky first decided toe out as the Champion of Gemini and made his talent results public, Cody thought he was an immature brat hungry for attention, however, that opinion changed slightly today.


    ----------


    /// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the PS target, good job everyone! ///