Chapter 99 – Truth (7)

Irian’s strike severed the neck, which had been barely held together by numerous tentacles, and Cha Hyewon’s subsequent attack pierced the enemy’s heart, causing its body to fall to the ground.

The massive tentacles, which had been twitching intermittently, also lost their strength and fell to the floor one by one.

“Is it over?”

The head of the clergy barely managed to speak, his lips parched. I nodded in response, and he slumped down. That old man, he doesn’t look well, yet he was pushing himself.

He was the one who, along with Diana, was responsible for defending the group. Diana, being a saint, used her immense divine power to block Albert Hamatan’s magic and tentacle attacks, but this old man had been fighting hard despite his already poor condition.

Even Saint Diana was struggling in the fight, so there was no way he would be okay. And it wasn’t just the head of the clergy. The mercenaries and city guards were in similar states. They were supposedly the elite, carefully selected, but they were still just mercenaries and city guards. They didn’t play a big role in this battle, but they suffered a lot.

“Diana, please heal the injured. Irian, Cha Hyewon, come here. Ah! Sandra, you should rest too.”

I left Diana to heal the injured and called the group together while the exhausted ones rested. Everyone looked worn out, but we couldn’t rest for long. A short break. In that brief time, we had to achieve our goal in the dungeon and head back to the city.

“I, Irian, and Cha Hyewon will go investigate the door where the tentacle monster came from. Rest a bit, reorganize, and prepare to leave again. Please, Diana.”
“Yes. I’m fine, so don’t worry. Yurian, you do what you want. I’m always on your side.”

I could feel the fatigue she couldn’t quite hide in Diana’s faint smile. Before Albert Hamatan became a tentacle monster, Diana and the head of the clergy were the ones who bore the brunt of his magical attacks. Especially since the head of the clergy was in bad shape, the burden on Diana must have been even greater.

She had clearly pushed herself to protect dozens of people from the powerful mage Albert Hamatan, and it felt wrong to make her work without proper rest, so I gently took her hand.

“Ahem. Yurian, here… let’s be mindful of the place.”
“Stop with the lovey-dovey stuff.”

I quickly turned my gaze away from Irian and Cha Hyewon’s grumbling. Ugh, the jealousy of these single people, honestly.

“Irian, how are you? Are you okay?”
“You’re asking now? It’s way too late.”
“Yeah. I’m okay. Cha Hyewon?”
“I’m tired.”
“I’m okay too.”
“Hey! Are you ignoring me?”
“I said I’m tired!”

So noisy. As if they’re more tired than me, with my debuff and glass body. …Well, they do look exhausted, covered in dust from rolling around on the floor. At least their wounds were healed with healing magic, so that’s a relief.

I also felt like I could lie down right now. But we couldn’t rest here. The words of the tentacle monster kept echoing in my mind, making it hard to even wait for this short break.

“Diana, have you healed all the injured?”
“Yes. It’s too late for some, but… all the injured have recovered.”
“Good job. I’m sorry for making you push yourself when you’re not feeling well.”
“It’s okay. I was happy to do something befitting a saint for the first time in a while.”

With these core members of the group, we could form a small elite party in case of an emergency. The mercenaries and city guards… maybe it would be best to leave them to the head of the clergy.

“How is the head of the clergy?”
“He’s just exhausted, but his condition is fine.”
“Good.”

Seeing the mercenaries and guards lying on the ground, which was torn up and broken from the fierce battle, it was a relief that the damage was only this much.

Considering that the tentacle monster’s power, which was gradually losing its human form, was steadily increasing, it was fortunate that we ended the fight quickly. I kicked and rummaged through the monster’s fragmented corpse, but there was nothing special.

‘Ah, this cheapskate mob. If this were a game, it would have dropped some decent items. There’s nothing useful.’

I took the ‘Sealed Stone’ and a few other items that the monster had and headed beyond the massive stone door. This was supposed to be the space where the boss monster of this dungeon appeared… but judging by the state, there must have been a battle here too.

This huge space was completely wrecked, so it must have been quite a fight? The massive body of the ‘Tomb of the Ruler’ boss monster, ‘Ancient Lord in Eternal Slumber,’ was lying collapsed, and there were small things scattered around it.

The boss monster, a huge suit of armor about 5 meters tall, was dead with its armor broken in several places, and the mobs that the boss summoned were lying around it. And the humans scattered here and there… what are they?

“Are they that guy’s subordinates? They have the same kind of tattoos. Hmm… I don’t know what shape it is.”

I rummaged through the corpses, but there was nothing special except for the geometric tattoos near their hearts. The funny thing was, these guys must have really been after the Sealed Stone because they left the boss monster’s reward items untouched.

“What’s this old scroll? I can feel divine power from it?”

Just then, Irian was holding a bundle of papers, looking puzzled. I quickly approached, and there were all sorts of items piled up.

“Oh, this sword looks pretty good? What’s this? Armor? Why are these piled up here?”

Cha Hyewon, who had been peeking from behind, also quietly approached and started picking out items, seemingly selecting only the good ones from the information window. Well, she suffered this time too, so I’ll let her have that much.

“Give me the scroll.”

I took it from Irian and unfolded it, and a white light flashed, and a semi-transparent system message appeared in front of me.

【Do you want to learn the skill ‘Saint Cure’?】
【Y/N】

In this game world that had become reality, learning magic or swordsmanship required one’s own constant effort. However, there were a few exceptions. Skills in scroll form like this could be learned immediately if the requirements were met.

“What! Yurian, that… that just now, I felt divine power?”
“It’s ancient divine magic. Saint Cure.”

As the knowledge flowed into me, I channeled divine power and cast the skill, and the ‘Undying Archduke’s Mark’ debuff that had been tormenting me disappeared.

My body, which had been plagued by chronic fatigue, felt lighter. Indeed, the physical stats that had been red in the status window had returned to their normal color.

【Yurian】 ● Priest

▼ Stats
[Strength: 17(+4)] [Agility: 19(+4)] [Knowledge: 60] [Wisdom: 62] [Luck: 59]

Finally…! Finally, I’m free from that annoying debuff!
Moreover, with the effect of the unique item ‘Blazing Frostfire Dagger,’ I now had stable physical abilities in the late teens, including the additional stats. My eyes are getting teary from all the suffering. Goodbye, glass body.

“What is that? I’ve never seen that divine magic before?”
“I told you, it’s ancient divine magic.”

‘Saint Cure’ is also a unique-grade divine magic. With this, I’m practically immune to attacks that inflict curses or debuffs. It’s a versatile and effective skill that’s essential even if the player isn’t a priest.

If you get this skill, it’s best to have the party’s healer learn it, usually ‘Saint Diana,’ but personally, I think it’s a necessary skill to have before entering the late game.

In the late game, there are many instances where you’re hit with all sorts of debuffs and curses, and without this skill, it’s a real tearjerker. Since I got the most important and best thing in this dungeon, I’ll give the rest of the items to Cha Hyewon.

She’s already taking care of her share of the items without me having to tell her, so she won’t starve anywhere.

“Hey, the rest are just junk. Let’s just take the rare items or higher and get out of here.”
“Wait a minute. You never know, there might be a good item hidden somewhere.”

I dragged Cha Hyewon out, and the mercenaries and guards were almost ready to leave. I gave a look of apology to the exhausted head of the clergy, but we couldn’t delay any longer.

“Let’s go.”

* * *

The city was burning. Even from above, it was engulfed in flames here and there, but now that we were down here, the heat was so intense that it was hard to breathe.

Karsilla recalled the city’s first appearance just two weeks ago. The countless crowds filling the streets, the lively markets, the lavishly decorated high-rise buildings, the mages of the magic tower in their colorful robes, the guards who would smile when their eyes met, even while being aloof.

All of it was gone.
The city she had seen in the past had disappeared into the acrid smoke and blazing flames. Screams could be heard in the distance, and the ground was shaking.

“Kid, if you fall, I can’t guarantee your safety, so hold on tight. You have to take care of yourself. If you get separated from us… go to the nearest magic tower as quickly as possible and ask for help. They won’t treat you badly if they see the ‘Blue Magic Tower Necklace’ around your neck. Got it?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”

Two strings hung around her small neck. A string with a knuckle attached and a string with a small, glowing blue bead hung around Karsilla’s white neck.

“Um.”
“Hmm?”
“Grandpa… does Grandpa Jackson not have any close friends?”
“……That old man, no, that old geezer…….”

The young mage, wearing a combat-modified, highly mobile robe, hesitated for a moment, then stroked Karsilla’s hair and left.

The old mage wasn’t very sociable. Is that why he didn’t have any close friends? Karsilla silently followed behind the mages.

One day after the old mage left, the second expedition was decided at the magic tower. Karsilla, who had been lingering near the exit of the magic tower since morning, quickly noticed and followed behind them without anyone telling her.

It wasn’t difficult to slip out among the mages of the magic tower who were heading out for the second expedition. With the city under attack and the leading mages having already gone out for the first expedition, no one was paying attention to the child entrusted by the magistrate amidst the chaos of the second group of combat mages heading out. Especially not to Karsilla, who wasn’t under the care of a renowned or well-connected mage.

Some mages who liked children, were kind, or knew her tried to stop Karsilla, but she insisted on meeting her group, causing the mages to sigh repeatedly. After preparing for battle and leaving the magic tower, Karsilla looked back at the towering magic tower that was getting farther away.

A circular structure that seemed to pierce the sky. A mysterious blue mist floated around it, and the blue tower occasionally rumbled with thunder. Karsilla had a hunch.

Maybe… this blue tower, the Elemental Magic Tower, would be the last she’d see of it today.
Feeling the smooth texture of the knuckle against her chest, she turned her body.

‘I hope they come soon.’

Thinking of her family’s faces, which she missed more than ever today, Karsilla followed the line of robes with heavy steps.

And the woman who had been watching the line of combat mages leaving the magic tower also moved with quiet steps.