Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Pigeon, Let's Eat - 1
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Late at night.
The lord's manor office, empty of everyone.
I lit a single mana lamp and examined the "Ability Upgrade Scroll" I'd received as a reward. It looked like an ornate scroll on the outside, but its contents were anything but ordinary.
"…."
'An item that adds a single legendary ability. Even if it's one-use, it's good enough to just hand out as a gift.'
I'd known about these things from the gallery, but I never imagined I'd actually see one.
'Unlike NPCs, who are heavily influenced by their innate abilities and aptitudes, climbers rise quickly to high-rank jobs through scrolls like this and awakenings.'
Even a heroic-grade upgrade scroll was something you could barely get from clearing layer world quests or raiding rare dungeons. That's why when a heroic-grade ability upgrade scroll with clear versatility and purpose popped up, it caused a massive uproar.
'Even with equipment restrictions like Niva's or Bow Ghost's, if it fits you, people grit their teeth and make it work.'
But…
This one was legendary-grade.
The pinnacle among holy attribute abilities.
'The moment word gets out, it'll be chaos.'
⚙ LEGENDARY ABILITY UPGRADE ⚙ Grant: Legendary Ability (1 time) Light of Life: Awakens infinite vitality through faith. Condition: Holy Attribute Ability (3/1)
*Lord Lucius is eligible for ability upgrade.
The conditions and effects were clear-cut, and it even specified an "infinite" scope.
'Condition: One holy attribute ability. Cost: "Faith," a mental resource. Activation return: "Vitality." It's gotta be the ultimate endgame ability among pure priest ones that handle healing and buffs.'
You could tell at a glance.
This was a blatantly overpowered ability.
And yet, there was a problem.
'My blessings fulfill the condition, but I can't use it because I'd lose out on my other abilities.'
I quickly checked my own abilities.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Lucius Baran (24 years old) Lord of the Walled City / Mage
> [Legendary] Blessing of the Sky: Escapes sudden death. [Legendary] Blessing of the Earth: Resource acquisition fixed at maximum. [■■] Blessing of ■■: ■■■ Never forgets. "…."
A person could only have three abilities.
To upgrade with the new "Light of Life," I'd have to delete one of my three. But that would be tantamount to suicide.
'Losing even one would make me spit blood.'
The third one, foundational to construction magic and perfect memory, not to mention the core ability for running the territory, Blessing of the Earth—the moment I lost any of them, everything would fall apart.
'And questioning whether I really need to ditch Blessing of the Sky, which stacks extra lives.'
In other words.
As "Lord Lucius," I had my abilities optimized for maximum efficiency, so the best move was to pass it to someone I could trust.
'But who to give it to?'
A few candidates came to mind.
For instance, Sister Lucia.
My childhood friend, a priest and holy knight upholding the teachings of the late high priest. She'd make the best use of this legendary ability.
'But if I give her this and send her to the front lines with the climbers after upgrading... who handles internal healing in Baran and church operations?'
With nearly all the city's priests wiped out in the Great Catastrophe already.
The moment I upgraded her to legendary priest and deployed her forward, the church would be left without pure city-born personnel. Keeping her in the rear would make the upgrade pointless.
'Not like we desperately need a legendary healer buffer right now.'
Next candidate: Captain Luciana.
Another childhood acquaintance, like a little sister, and the vanguard captain who spends the most time with me on the front lines. She's also midway through upgrading to holy knight under Aslan's teachings.
"…."
But.
Did she really need this?
'It's clearly a pure priest ability. Having Luciana, who charges in wielding heavy weapons on the battlefield, handle buffs and heals...'
No matter how I looked at it, inefficient.
After that, Milla, Albert, Fabio, Dinara, and others crossed my mind. But they were either mismatched in aptitude or already irreplaceable in their roles.
In the end.
Moving past the NPC category, I thought of the climbers.
"Climbers—."
Hmm.
Uhmm….
Honestly.
I had no idea.
'Can I entrust it to people who might leave anytime?'
Of course, I didn't dislike climbers.
I had plenty of fond memories with them. Niva's warm, soft kiss, laughing and chatting in that rundown tavern with everyone.
'And what I've seen on the gallery.'
Climbers were great.
More than mere business partners.
They'd been a huge boost to me, worn down by responsibility.
But….
"…."
Squeeze—
Separate from that.
I questioned if they were truly my people.
'Right now, they're just actively going along with a likable NPC's plans.'
If I had to trust someone…
Niva, who'd given me an advanced magic tome.
But handing it over as a mere favor to someone already packed with high-efficiency legendary fire and warp archmage abilities felt off. Deleting one ability was fatal for someone with a completed build.
'Put it up as an item? Even for a brutally tough quest, climbers would grit their teeth and clear it for this.'
Even after deep thought.
There was no urgent need that pressing.
After agonizing, I stowed the upgrade scroll deep in the office safe.
"…Hoo."
Well…
This was a happy dilemma.
'This quest basically auto-completed thanks to Inquisitor Abel's bold move and Saint Angela's resolve. And since I was judged the top contributor, no messy distribution fights.'
Clunk!
I closed the safe and hit the sack for tomorrow's schedule.
"…."
Thump
Thump
But my pounding heart kept sleep at bay.
'Feels like winning the lottery.'
*
The next morning.
The climber representatives—Sword Empress and Aslan—headed straight to me in the lord's manor conference room. They'd been in "WTF? What the hell?" mode since last night's sudden alert and the snowstorm of experience points.
"Lord!"
"Is it true the 52nd floor main quest is cleared?"
"…."
I glanced at Niva. The sole witness just shrugged and fiddled with her sunglasses. So I explained to Sword Empress and Aslan again.
"Yes, here's what happened—."
I gave them a rundown, laced with my interpretation.
Sword Empress let out a relieved sigh, while Aslan gaped in shock.
"Phew… We ended the main quest without major sacrifices again. Truly fortunate."
"R-Really? It just... cleared—!?"
I nodded.
"Yes, though there were some political circumstances… I suspect the key precondition for clearing the 52nd floor quest was 'sustaining the holy land without the saint's power.'"
"Your abilities combined with smooth supply lines via the roads made it happen in a flash."
"That's the result, yes."
Aslan laughed heartily.
"Hahaha! Who'd have thought building from the roads as you willed would be the fastest solution. Amazing."
Sword Empress followed bitterly.
"If it were just us, we'd have wasted ages countering the instant-death curse in the Mist Forest. Meanwhile, the saint gets caught in the archbishop and pope's schemes… Phew."
She shook her head, unwilling to dwell on the rest. They'd likely hit a variant quest twisted into nightmare difficulty from bad timing.
'I didn't expect this either.'
-All roads lead to Baran.
-Lay roads through anything, and most problems sort themselves out.
Following my father's teachings,
I'd reflexively paved the road first.
'From now on, pave roads first in uncharted areas.'
Anyway.
We began the meeting.
Baran's representatives arrived on time, and we exchanged various info. Talk flowed to the uncharted zones.
"Separate from our bloodless entry to the 52nd, we still have the five villages and uncharted regions. We'll handle them this winter, centered on the holy land."
Aslan chimed in.
"Ah… That place where Paul the archbishop fled with the opposition?"
"Yes, and the uncharted zone beyond the Mist Road."
I pointed to the Heart of the Mist on the conference table, then addressed Dogkin Tribe Princess Dinara, blacksmith Grun, and secretary Milla.
"The massive mana stone floating in the lake—planning to use it as fuel for this artifact. But the quantity's hefty, so if mana stone supply's an issue, we'll hold off."
"Mana stones…."
The three exchanged glances and opinions. Finally, they nodded to me.
"The Dogkin Tribe workshop's complete, producing stationary ballistae and artifact crafting without issue. The current mana stones suffice."
"City forges, smithies, and mines are fine, Lord. Plenty from Hrekal subjugation and quests to last the winter."
"City facilities have over 20% surplus from plan. Leftover mana stones are yours to command, Lord."
"Mm."
Fuel-rich life.
The mana stones from climbers were sweet.
"…."
I locked eyes with chief librarian Fabio and nodded. He was swallowing hard at news he could use this historic artifact freely.
"Fabio, arrange a small freighter at the docks. Goal's transport near the mana stone to activate the Heart of the Mist."
"Understood, Lord."
Fabio shot me an excited look.
-We goin', 'Lu'?
-Damn right, 'Fa'.
Let's roll!
That look held the fondness from our childhood days secretly testing one of Father's artifacts.
Finally, we wrapped up discussing road installation order in uncharted zones with climber reps.
"That concludes today's city meeting."
"Good work, Lord."
Heading back to the office with Niva to broadcast daily quests to climber halls via mana receiver, a report came from Max at the waterwheel village branch.
-Inquisitor Abel visited and reported in.
"?"
What?
'Something happen at the holy land?'
*
I warped with Niva to the waterwheel village. Passing climbers and catkin in water jars greeted us.
-Hello, Lord!
-Nyaang, it's our king! Worship him!
"…."
'What the hell are those cats?'
Unlike diligent Dogkin Tribe,
catkin behavior was bizarre.
'No major incidents, but no clue what they do, always crammed in tight spots.'
I gave up understanding and headed to the hut behind the waterwheel. Sure enough, Abel stood blankly out front, hooded and eyepatched again.
"!"
Abel turned at my footsteps. Notably, his arms brimmed with white flowers.
'White flowers blooming thick before the holy land.'
I approached and said,
"Heard you dropped by suddenly. Urgent business?"
"Ah, no."
Abel held the flowers awkwardly.
"Just wanted to leave these at the hut."
"Plant them?"
"No. These flowers can't be planted in soil blessed by the Earth."
"?"
He shook his head.
"These scentless white flowers only bloom when the earth is so barren nothing else can grow. Even eaten, they pass through empty, no nutrition."
I asked,
"And your church made that its symbol?"
"Yes. When they blanket the earth… that's when you feel the Earth Goddess's solemnity most. Humans inevitably bow before the land's cold wrath."
Abel gently set the flowers down. Next to the grain sack I'd left inside the hut.
"But even so… flowers and memories from such barren soil become unforgettable to someone. Ominous memories, yet cherished ones."
"Hometown memories?"
"Yes."
"…."
Ironic.
A priest of the earth bringing flowers that bloom in starvation.
And though heartbreaking,
holding even those as hometown treasures.
'No one who knew him left now. Even Emil didn't know an Abel.'
"…."
An emptied hometown.
The lone priest had betrayed even the holy land.
'What must he feel.'
After a moment's thought,
I told Abel, gazing at the hut's graffiti,
"…Come rest anytime."
"Understood. I'll get hall permission each visit."
"No need."
"!"
I turned.
"It's your hometown. We'll keep a room free at the hall. Rest there."
"…."
He asked,
"The saint too? Can she visit?"
"The saint? She's from here?"
"Yes. She couldn't leave the holy land, bestowing pink flower blessings. Now free… thought she might return once—."
"…."
'Various things happened, but can't keep walls up forever with folks minding boundaries like this.'
I nodded.
Abel bowed politely. He whistled, stroking the pigeon on his shoulder.
"Thank you. Then, mornings we visit, we'll leave a white pigeon here. Convey any commands for us via it."
"Mornings?"
"Yes, we'll come evenings from now."
"Nights bad for riding?"
"It's fine."
He removed his eyepatch in the hut's shade, smiling faintly. His eerie gaze turned it chilling.
"We… are very fast at night."
"…."
'Weird. Looked pitiful seconds ago. Now super suspicious.'
The power of squinting eyes?
I tilted my head and left.
'But saint riding too? Better allocate stable space.'
Glanced back, but.
Abel knelt praying knee-deep. Awkward to interrupt. So Niva and I returned to the climber hall.
She whispered,
"Dunno why, but he looks seriously shady."
"…."
You think so too?
*
That night.
Another guest visited the waterwheel village where I stayed for work.
The pink-haired saint sat demurely on the hut roof, giggling. Bride-like grace. Her pink hair sparkling in moonlight, crimson eyes suspicious.
Angela greeted me.
"Hello, Lord. Nice to see you again. Hehe."
"…."
Do these guys get ability penalties if they don't act like hidden villains?