Chapter 60
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Holy Kingdom (7)
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“Hmm... Got a message~?”
Having woken up thanks to my excitement and Hyeji's, Yena approached from behind, draped her arm around my neck, and asked.
“No, no contact yet, but something else popped up instead!”
When good news arrives, everything starts feeling different.
The anxiety I'd felt from all angles due to no word from the Saintess had flipped to the idea that no news is good news.
“Aw... It's not a dagger.”
Hyeji showed her disappointment upon realizing it wasn't her gear.
“Hyeji, if you don't get excited now, there won't be anyone to celebrate with you when gear suited to you gets made.”
“W-Wow! It's an A-Grade staff...!”
Even so, I didn't hold it against Hyeji.
She picks up one thing and knows about two... and she's good at doing as told, so I trusted that once shown like this, she'd do well from now on.
Anyway, this staff held tremendous potential and meaning right now.
For starters, the fact that it could be endowed with an attribute meant it would fetch a huge price, and if the attribute we were aiming for came up, it would be a massive jackpot.
“We should aim for fire or light, right?”
If fire attribute, then Chae Yeonhwa; if light, the Saintess.
Chae Yeonhwa didn't urgently need an A-Grade Fire Stick right now, but she had the advantage of being the closest ally outside our guild members.
On the flip side, the Saintess was still just a business contact, but handing her an A-Grade Light Staff immediately would offer huge help.
Of course, the original plan had been to recruit her to our guild after the Holy Kingdom failed to clear the S-Grade gate, but the situation had unexpectedly shifted toward them possibly succeeding.
Rather than just watching blankly as the Holy Kingdom cleared the S-Grade gate, it was better to support them with an A-Grade staff and at least get a foot in the door.
“Everyone, get ready.”
“Hehe... We're doing 'that', right?”
Hyeji suddenly twitched her eyebrows and put on a wicked grin.
I wondered where she'd picked that up from, but she seemed the most enthusiastic about our Boastful Guild's traditional event, which made me feel proud of her.
“Yujun, hurry and take it out...”
“...Take what out?”
“The gear.”
“Ah.”
Yena didn't show it much, but she seemed to enjoy it too, which was a relief.
“Whoa, the weight feels different.”
All the gear from the inventory was floating around, spun up by Yena's wind magic.
Even the S-Grade gear demotion wasn't an exception.
And so, we began our thoroughly divided prayer ritual.
Yena handled creating the atmosphere with wind magic.
I, as the forge owner, handled pressing the screen.
And Hyeji was in charge of praying—no, it wasn't forced at all.
“Alright, what attribute are we praying comes out?”
“Fire or light!”
“That's right. Let's begin.”
Schwick-schwick-schwick-schwick...
Swipe-swipe-swipe-swipe-swipe-swipe...
“Come on fire, come on fire, clink~! Come on light, come on light, clink~!”
Hyeji had prepared various templates herself to add diversity to the prayers.
I hated to admit it, but she was better at this than me.
“Come on fire, come on fire, clink~! Come on light, come on light, clink~!”
Just as our prayers and sincerity should have reached the heavens...
“Now!!!”
I performed the attribute endowment right on Hyeji's cue.
Click-
Successfully endowed 『Staff (A)』 with Water attribute!
Acquired 『Water Staff (A)』!
“Ah...”
“Eek... Not the right moment...”
——
“Uwaaaaaah!!!”
“Save me!!!”
It didn't take long for even those devoutly faithful to Gregorio to realize something was terribly wrong.
Monsters that looked extremely vulnerable to water had already completely surrounded our formation.
And now, a torrential downpour surrounded those monsters encircling us.
In other words, we had become prey for the S-Grade gate's monsters, trapped in the deluge.
“Kaaaaah!! Just kill me!!!”
The only reason they hadn't been wiped out instantly in this situation—
No, the only reason they were barely clinging to life was purely thanks to the Saintess's healing.
There wasn't a single person capable of properly fighting back against the S-Grade monsters.
Everyone was burning to death at a rapid pace, only to recover just as quickly.
And that was no point of pride.
They were endlessly enduring pain they should have died from dozens of times over—it was tantamount to torture.
“Stop...!! Stop it alreadyyy...!!!”
The Saintess was permitted only to heal others.
No other skills or combat methods were allowed.
Not even self-defense or self-healing.
She could only hide behind the shield of her guildmates, endlessly repairing that shield.
That shield becoming irreparably broken came down solely to their mental strength running out.
After all, they were people, not shields.
Already, half of the ten excluding the Saintess—five people—had given up on life.
Ironically, those five were the ones who had escaped Gregorio's near-brainwashing gaslighting.
Those still clinging to sanity by sheer force of will were solely the ones who couldn't let go of their faith in Gregorio.
“Reinforcements will come soon!!! Hold out until then!!”
“Protect the Saintess!!! That's how we survive!!!”
The assault team formed a pentagonal formation around the Saintess, blocking the monsters' attacks.
Or rather, taking every attack on their bodies was more accurate.
The damage piling up from that was merely offset by the Saintess's heals.
Originally, with ten people maintaining distance in formation instead of her, there hadn't been major issues.
But as numbers dwindled, gaps widened, and occasional damage reached the Saintess.
Each time a precarious moment repeated, the drizzle pouring from the clouds hovering overhead would slightly ease their breathing.
It was as if they were deliberately dragging it out to avoid total annihilation.
Of course, if it was to buy time until reinforcements arrived, they might hold onto a sliver of hope.
“Gregorio, Gregorio...”
But communications had gone silent since the order to hold out was given.
They had clearly been abandoned.
“Reinforcements are coming soon!!! Protect the Saintess at all costs!!!”
“Only unwavering faith creates miracles!”
“Only unwavering fait—hiiik... Guh...”
Another one had just met their end, leaving only four...
Though they had pledged loyalty and trust to the wrong person, they hadn't given up until the end.
Thus, she couldn't abandon herself either.
The Saintess... no, Veronica Estelle wanted to live.
'Boastful Blacksmith...'
Honestly, she had no idea what help Boastful Blacksmith could provide in this situation, but it was still better than doing nothing.
She couldn't just keep waiting, relying solely on her guildmates' mental fortitude.
Let's communicate
In that brief instant of accessing the Gallery and sending a PM to Boastful Blacksmith.
Returning to reality, two more had died, leaving only two.
“Kuh...”
The remaining two shielded the Saintess front and back, but flames assailed from all directions.
'Saintess! What's the situation right now? I'll send helpful gear first. Accept and use it immediately!!!'
There was no time to read the contract.
Trade with seller 'Boastful Blacksmith' has been completed! Contract conditions must be fulfilled, and cancellation is possible only by mutual agreement.
As soon as she signed the contract, a staff appeared before her eyes.
Just like when she'd received the moon's and protection rings before.
She didn't know its specs, but it had to be better than Dali's D-Grade Light Staff, which was why it was sent.
'Boastful Blacksmith' has requested Status Window sharing.
[Accept / Decline]
'What was that just now?'
The report of Status Window sharing was unbelievable.
But she had no luxury to show such emotions.
'You should be able to use Water Ball now! You're still holding up okay, right?!'
She couldn't make sense of what Boastful Blacksmith was saying.
“Water Ball...”
Yet, miraculously, the one piece of info desperately needed in this moment lodged in her brain, commanding her right hand.
Wooong—
A water droplet formed at the staff's tip, gradually growing until it formed a generous spherical water barrier enveloping them.
“Haa... Haa...”
Only as the temperature dropped did they realize how scorching their endurance had been.
“Saintess... I want to stop now...”
“Just a bit longer...!”
“Sainteeesss!!!”
“...”
“Please... let me die...”
Until now, the Saintess had worked harder than anyone to save those around her.
And her efforts had yielded results—more than expected, even.
But not today.
She was binding people to eternal death.
“At the end of this pain, may you now meet a miracle...”
The one who had just breathed their last was likely the second in the world to endure death's agony the longest.
And soon, the one to claim first turned to face the Saintess for the first time.
White hair weathered by years.
A massive frame etched with scars large and small everywhere.
Even the Saintess, who never judged rashly, was certain he was unawakened from his aged, wrinkled face as he smiled and said.
“I will protect you without fail... Worry not.”