Chapter 307: Lindelheit (3)
Chapter 307: Lindelheit (3)
"Hmm. Certainly. My chest is smaller than Helena's. But my legs are longer, aren't they? They call this a 'slender' build."
"??? No, why is the conversation going in that direction?"
"Because you were looking at my chest first, Yandel?"
"……."
Tsk.
I got caught.
However, I hope you don't misunderstand. It's not like I was leering at Clara's chest with some lewd intent.
Until just a moment ago, I was sitting and Clara was standing. Naturally, my eye level was bound to be aligned with her chest.
"For someone who just happened to look, you were staring for quite a while, weren't you?"
"…That was also an act of God."
As Clara said, my gaze did linger a bit long for a coincidence! And thanks to that, I got caught!
But wasn't it unavoidable…?
I was currently holding back because I had promised to do it with everyone, including Fay, once we returned to the Academy—and then a chest suddenly appeared before my eyes.
My instincts had already been sharpened by the lingering effects of Dragonification; how could I have looked away immediately?
But it would be troublesome to continue this conversation, so I had to change the subject.
It was absolutely not because Elisha, Iris, and Iona were all pinching my sides at the same time.
While I forced my eyes away from Clara—who was patting her chest with one hand and her thigh with the other—and searched for words, she continued with a smirk as if she knew everything.
"Well, to be serious, I'm the average one, and Helena is the outlier."
"Is… that so?"
"It is. Right now, a Saintess hasn't appeared for 300 years, so many things related to the role have been lost, but that wasn't the case when I was alive."
Not only could I meet the previous Saintess, but depending on the circumstances, I could even seek advice from the one before her.
Methods to awaken one's qualities as a Saintess, how to utilize the bestowed power, how to share consciousness, and so on.
Clara said that back when she was alive, there was plenty of information regarding the Apostles.
"Actually, even if we forget, the Lord could just tell us again… but as you know, Lord Light is a bit of an 'instinct' type."
"He does tend to handle things with a whoosh of intuition rather than calculating with his head."
"The Apostles of the past used to sugarcoat it by saying it's impossible for humans to fully understand the will of a God, or that the oracles are vague… but anyway, that's why the Church organized its own information and training methods for Apostles."
"I heard about that last time. You said you'd teach Helena?"
"I did. …But I realized something while teaching her this and that. A Saintess of this era doesn't need those petty tricks."
"???"
To call the methods of handling an Apostle's power 'petty tricks.' I blinked blankly, wondering what on earth she meant, and Clara hummed, narrowing her eyes.
"Hmph. That cute expression might work on other girls, but it won't work on me."
"When did I ever…."
Only after laughing heartily at my indignant face for a long while did Clara speak.
"Don't think too hard. It's exactly as it sounds. Ultimately, the training for a Saintess is a process of the Apostle becoming more like their God, but Helena didn't need that—she was already like Him."
"Aha?"
"Look. Even communicating like she is now is something that usually takes years of training. But Helena managed it in just a few months. Of course, it's only possible because the recent events allowed her to feel the Righteous Light more closely."
I see.
Everyone was getting stronger quickly, but Helena seemed to be growing even faster than the rest.
Well, it makes sense. She basically maxed out the final tier of the Priest class first and is now leveling up, so the efficiency is bound to be high.
Of course, I gained a lot from this incident as well.
Though I did it while I wasn't in my right mind, I succeeded in increasing the density of my magic to burn divine power.
While it's still impossible to perfectly replicate that moment… I've become capable of increasing the density of my magic more than before.
Originally, there were slight differences depending on the environment—like how it's hard to use water magic in the desert while earth magic becomes more powerful.
Now, even if I light a fire underwater, its power won't drop. Of course, using water magic would still make it even stronger.
It's not that the power of the magic itself has increased, but rather my control over it has become much stronger.
Of course, aside from this kind of enlightenment, there were things I gained from the System.
While giving Clara appropriate responses as she grumbled, I reopened the notification that had popped up a few days ago.
Ding!
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【Cultists Defeated!】
You have defeated Fiona de Levantine, the leader of the Boiling Silence!
Furthermore, you succeeded in exposing a spy who was hidden more covertly than ever before, and even inflicted massive losses on the Boiling Silence by preventing an Apostle's awakening.
The Boiling Silence can no longer exert significant influence within the Levantine Empire and will face fierce opposition in other nations as well.
This is a magnificent achievement, ranking among the greatest feats you have accomplished so far!
Even the Gods of the Heavens cannot help but praise you!
However, be careful. The Boiling Silence is petty and treacherous.
Having lost their vessel, their foundation, and their divine power—and having been insulted by you on top of that—the Boiling Silence's grudge runs deep.
…And the Evil God who hates you is not limited to the Boiling Silence alone.
- Significant increase in all stats
- Trait: Blessing of All Gods (A) has grown
- Trait: Cultist Detection (B) acquired
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It was a short list of rewards, but it was more or less what I expected.
In truth, my build is already complete, so there aren't many areas left to grow.
Well, if I really wanted to, I could grind for hidden pieces in dungeons to grow the 'Clumsy Treasure Hunter' title.
Or I could aim for the awakening of the 'Excellent Weapon Skill' trait through an incredibly complex and annoying process….
But since all my traits and stats are focused on being a Mage, it's much more beneficial to just keep practicing magic.
Especially now, when I'm on the verge of reaching the realm of a High Magician.
In other words, the traits growing now are the real cream of the crop.
Stats are the foundation of everything, so they're obviously important, but the 'Blessing of All Gods' is even more vital.
I realized this while facing the consciousness of the Boiling Silence this time—the mental contamination of an Evil God is nothing to scoff at.
I now understand why the blessing bestowed by the combined power of all the Good Gods had to be a defensive trait focused on resistance.
It wasn't even the main body, just a sliver of consciousness, yet no one except a Sword Master and a Saintess could even move properly.
If one were to face the actual body, even a superhuman who has surpassed the wall would find their movements sluggish.
In fact, in H&A, if you entered the final chapter without a proper resistance setup, it was common to suffer miserably from all sorts of debuffs.
However… unfortunately, 'Blessing of All Gods' didn't rank up.
It's only natural, considering it's an incredibly difficult trait to level up, and it only reached A-rank after stopping the invasion of Solaris.
It would be stranger if it ranked up again so soon.
The final reward, 'Cultist Detection,' is one of the rewards given for taking down Fiona….
Originally, I would have received much more than that, but I suppose I only got 'Detection' because I caught Fiona before she fully awakened as an Apostle.
'Cultist Detection' itself is an extremely useful auxiliary trait.
The problem is that, much like how you have to hunt a storm-summoning monster to get storm-resistant armor, you can only get this detection trait after smashing most of the Boiling Silence cult—which is made up of assassins and spies—and even defeating their leader, Fiona. Because of this, it was treated as a white elephant in H&A….
If you've already caught almost all the cultists with stealth abilities, how much work is there left for a detection trait to do?
You might as well just use detection magic, which has a much wider range and can provide other topographical information.
Of course, the story is different now.
Most of the Boiling Silence spies hidden in key positions have been purged, and Fiona has been defeated, but that's only within the Levantine Empire.
There must still be countless followers left in the Boiling Silence cult. Since they've been hiding for the past 300 years, they've never been properly exterminated.
Judging by what the Boiling Silence said last time and the sentence the System added at the end, it seems they'll soon return to their original profession as assassins.
In such a situation, 'Cultist Detection' will be extremely useful.
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【Cultist Detection (B)】
You have become a master at hunting cultists.
Most cultists cannot escape your gaze, and sometimes you may even see through the traps they have set.
You may boast of this. You are already no different from a Grim Reaper to the cultists.
- Detects stealthed cultists within a certain range
- Chance to detect traps set by cultists
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The detection range varies depending on the level of the cultist and how powerful a blessing of stealth or disguise they have received.
For example, a follower of the Confused Unity who has never received a stealth-related blessing would be detected at the maximum range, while a high priest of the Boiling Silence would have to get much closer before I could sense them.
Trap detection works in a similar way.
The probability of detection changes based on how carefully the trap was hidden and what powers of stealth or disguise were applied to it.
If I use detection magic on top of this, assassination and traps will effectively become useless against me.
Of course, some boss-level assassins are exceptions….
Nevertheless, it remains an incredibly useful trait that is exactly what I need right now.
Finally, I opened my status window to check my stats.
'Status Window!'
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Name: Yandel
Title: Adversary
Basic Abilities
Strength: 19 -> 20
Endurance: 19 -> 20
Agility: 20
Dexterity: 20 -> 21
Magic: 27
Traits
Endless Mana (A)
Elemental Affinity (B)
Excellent Memory (B)
Excellent Weapon Skill (B)
Lintblum Mana Core (A)
Intermediate Magician (B+)
Sun God's Favor (S)
Cultist Hatred (A)
Medicinal Constitution (C)
Element Combination (A)
Blessing of the Sea (B+)
Blessing of All Gods (A)
Intimidation Resistance (B)
Mana Affinity (A)
Origin Regression (S)
Cultist Detection (B) NEW!
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I never expected my Magic stat to increase in the first place. I'm only three steps away from the maximum stat, after all.
I'll probably need to receive several more 'significant growth' rewards for it to go up.
Since I don't have any growth-assisting traits for other stats either, it's only natural that they'd go up by one step at most.
It's a bit disappointing that my Agility stat stayed the same… but just like with 'Blessing of All Gods,' I've probably accumulated a fair amount of hidden experience, so it'll likely go up next time.
While I was enjoying a long-awaited rest with a satisfied smile,
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
And before long, a polite voice drifted in.
It was a message announcing the final schedule at the Imperial Palace.