Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: King of Wolves (1)
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‘Go, Bellia. The Calamity has not noticed you yet.’
Bellia recalled the faint smile on Saintess Aria’s face.
The Saintess’s Child was a Saintess-candidate class.
An epic class, the Saintess’s Child possessed various buffs and outstanding healing abilities. As a candidate, she followed the Saintess and learned many things.
‘Saintess…’
Bellia’s eyes reddened. She had successfully escaped through the portal created by Saintess Aria.
Bellia’s beauty was breathtaking. Black hair and skin so clear it was almost transparent.
She was of average height at 165cm, but her looks, comparable to any celebrity, were enough to make many a man’s heart flutter.
‘What am I supposed to do?’
Bellia bit her lip.
As usual, the Saintess’s Child had been accompanying the Saintess on a visit to a temple.
The Church of Ares.
The greatest of all churches.
Temples of the Church of Ares were established all over the world.
Some temples were old and worn, while others were as vast as castles.
The place they had intended to visit this time to deliver the word of god was the Reas Temple.
The Reas Temple was like a fortress.
Long ago, it was known to have been a fortress-temple used during the Church of Ares’s battles with their rival, the Church of Calamity.
The Church of Calamity.
It was a religious order that worshiped evil, the opposite of the Church of Ares.
The Church of Ares and various other churches had been at war with the Church of Calamity for a long time.
Bellia recalled what had happened.
The Saintess had been delivering her warm words to the followers of Ares, just as she always did.
Then, a streak of black light shot up into the sky, and an alert rang out.
[The Fifth Calamity has appeared.]
[The Fifth Calamity is using the Book of Calamity to form a barrier over the entire territory.]
That barrier was the problem.
[NPCs and users level 200 or higher cannot penetrate the barrier.]
[The barrier extends for 5km with the temple at its center.]
[All beings imbued with divine power are weakened by 20%.]
The streak of black light spread, forming a barrier around the entire fortress-temple.
What was the Fifth Calamity?
They were the powerful leaders of those who served the evil god.
The higher the number, the weaker they were, but the Fifth Calamity, Jack, was still absurdly strong.
Of course, he could have been dealt with by borrowing the power of the Church of Ares, but Jack had aimed for this.
No one level 200 or higher could approach.
The power of this debuff defied common sense.
Of course, this also meant that Jack and the followers of the evil god within were also greatly debuffed.
But Jack had achieved his primary objective.
To kidnap the Saintess.
‘There’s no time.’
Bellia heard the alert.
[In 3 days, Saintess Aria will be stripped of all her divine power and offered as a sacrifice.]
The Fifth Calamity intended to sacrifice the Saintess to bring about evil.
A single tear rolled down Bellia’s cheek.
‘Saintess…’
Although Bellia was an NPC, the thought that the Saintess might die sent a wave of sorrow crashing over her.
They might be called artificial intelligence, but in this world of Ares, they were no different from real humans.
The bond she had formed with the Saintess was special.
‘What should I do?’
Her mind raced.
Should she post on the Ares community forums and ask for help from high-rankers?
‘Impossible.’
The level 200 restriction was the main obstacle.
‘Then should I gather super rookies below level 200?’
That, too, was impossible.
She had only three days left.
Even if super rookies gathered in that short time, there was no chance of victory.
‘Even though Jack’s level has dropped as a price for using his power, he’s still strong.’
Bellia paced back and forth, unable to decide what to do.
‘What if the Saintess is sacrificed because of this?’
A sense of powerlessness washed over her as she realized how weak she was.
Just then.
*Tiring!*
[Class Quest: In Search of a Savior]
Grade: A
Restriction: Saintess’s Child
Reward: 200 Divine Power
Penalty for Failure: Destruction of the temple.
Description: Your temple, and the Saintess Aria whom you serve, are in peril. Go and find the savior. That savior is currently located in the Tower of the Sword Blacksmith.
Bellia saw a glimmer of hope.
‘There’s a savior?’
The system itself was telling her.
A savior was there. Bellia had no time to hesitate.
She wore a puzzled expression.
‘Why would the savior be in the Tower of the Sword Blacksmith?’
Soon, she realized.
‘Ah… they must have commissioned the masters of the Sword Tower to craft a weapon!?’
The fact that Ares was a supercomputer was already public knowledge.
‘What kind of person could it be?’
Ares wouldn’t want the Saintess to die either.
It was presumed that a very strong and special individual had been carefully selected for this reason.
‘A legendary combat class. Something like that? Could it be…’
Her eyes gleamed.
She had heard that one of the hottest rookies recently had become the Successor of Changcheon, one of the continent’s Ten Legends.
‘Could it be that person?’
She pushed further thoughts aside.
To meet the savior, Bellia headed for the Tower of the Sword Blacksmith.
***
[Class Quest: The God’s Wish is being generated.]
A new story was unfolding for Hyun-soo.
[Class Quest: The God’s Wish]
Grade: S
Restriction: Successor of the God of Blacksmiths
Reward: Mineral Asnium, God’s Secret Technique.
Penalty for Failure: Unable to proceed to the next class quest.
Description: The God of Blacksmiths has been shunned not only by his followers but also by the other gods. The gods denied Aska, who possessed great power and was an outstanding creator. Currently, the Saintess of the Church of Ares is in danger. Rescue her and show them all what power the God of Blacksmiths possesses. Soon, the Saintess’s Child, Bellia, will come to you, the savior.
Hyun-soo looked at the new quest with a puzzled expression.
‘The Saintess’s Child, Bellia?’
This was someone Hyun-soo didn’t have much information on.
Just then, Balam, the God’s Messenger, rose and approached Hyun-soo.
“Successor, I knew what your next trial would be. It was to create a legend. Since you have already accomplished that, I believe a new mission has been assigned. May I ask what that mission is?”
[Balam’s faith in you is at its MAX.]
Balam’s voice was as soft and humble as if he were addressing a king.
Balam, who had once wished for the lineage to end, now had the strength to believe in and follow his god.
It was all thanks to the achievements Hyun-soo had shown.
Hyun-soo explained the contents of the quest.
Balam looked surprised.
“Haha, it seems the god wishes to show his power to the other gods through you, Successor.”
Hyun-soo had one question.
“What is the mineral Asnium?”
“Asnium? Are you saying you will be obtaining Asnium?”
Balam’s voice grew agitated.
Hyun-soo looked puzzled. From his voice, he could tell this mineral was no ordinary thing.
‘It’s a mineral I have no information on, to begin with.’
In Ares, besides commonly known ores like iron, mithril, and orichalcum, there were many other divine minerals.
“It is a sacred mineral forged by the God of Blacksmiths himself.”
That meant it was a mineral created by the god Aska.
“It is one of the three divine minerals and is imbued with a very powerful divine force.”
The myth as Balam knew it.
Listening to him, Hyun-soo had a sudden realization.
“Could it be…”
“That’s right. Asnium, one of the three divine minerals, is a legendary mineral that contains divine power.”
Hyun-soo’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘A legendary mineral?’
The only legendary mineral Hyun-soo had ever possessed was the lowest-grade orichalcum.
And it had been such a small amount that he could only make a single arrowhead.
‘This is insane…’
A small flame ignited in Hyun-soo’s chest.
It was because of Asnium, a mineral containing immense divine power.
There was a sword he desperately wanted to craft using it.
Hyun-soo had already tried making it once through God’s Emergency Production.
But the sword from back then was nothing but a fake.
Even though it was a sword Hyun-soo had made in reality, there was a clear reason why it was a fake.
‘The system grants a high effectiveness rate if it judges the crafting method to be the most suitable.’
But in reality, that sword couldn’t be made that way.
It had to be crafted only during the Year, Month, Day, and Hour of the Tiger, and if one were to actually follow that, it could only be made once every 60 years.
However, a mineral containing strong divine power would likely bend such conditions.
The sword Hyun-soo would craft with Asnium.
It was none other than the Tiger Blade.
‘What kind of power would a true Tiger Blade crafted in Ares possess?’
When most of the tower masters had left and it was late at night.
“The Saintess’s Child, Bellia, has arrived.”
Hyun-soo was able to meet her. The two exchanged brief introductions; they were short on time.
They mounted the horse Daeng had prepared.
“Where do we need to go?”
“We must go to the Sanctuary of Wolves in the north. We can only reach the temple by passing through it.”
The horse carrying the two of them galloped swiftly toward the Sanctuary of Wolves.
***
The Sanctuary of Wolves.
A hunting ground for users between levels 110 and 180, it was unpopular due to its remote location.
The place had become chaotic.
[A boss monster has appeared!]
[Gray Wolf Lv. 212]
[Whoever hunts the Gray Wolf will receive a reward.]
It was because the Gray Wolf, which appeared once a month at best, had shown up.
“Run! Our party can’t possibly take down the Gray Wolf!”
The party leader, Lukkeu, hurriedly led his party members toward a safe zone.
“Kraaaahk!”
“Keoheok!”
“U-Uwaaaahk!”
From behind, the chilling sounds of users being torn to shreds by the Gray Wolf could be heard.
‘The Gray Wolf has never been defeated by users of the appropriate level for this hunting ground.’
The terror of the Gray Wolf lay in its special trait.
Its Gray Howl applies more debuffs the more enemies the wolf recognizes within a 30-meter radius.
With ten people, all stats would drop by a staggering 40%.
Furthermore, its speed was like a flash of light.
As he ran, Lukkeu spotted two people who had just dismounted from a horse.
A beautiful woman who appeared to be a priest-class. Even to Lukkeu’s eyes, she was admirable. She spoke.
“A level 120 blacksmith? Not the Successor of Changcheon?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Hyun-soo-nim. Is it really okay to go in? When the Gray Wolf appears, many other wolves gather around.”
“……?”
Lukkeu frowned.
‘A blacksmith?’
And a priest-class?
And a level 120 at that, going in there?
Glancing back as he ran, Lukkeu saw the priest and the blacksmith walking inside.
‘Did the bravado go to his head?’
Just as the priest said, wolves gathered around where the Gray Wolf appeared.
A level 120 blacksmith was going in there?
‘Is it because he’s in front of a pretty girl?’
Having reached the safe zone and catching his breath, a pleasant thought crossed Lukkeu’s mind.
“Let’s go back in after 30 minutes.”
“Are you crazy? Why would we go back in there?”
“Didn’t you see the gear on that priest and blacksmith?”
Lukkeu had scanned their equipment.
When users are forcibly logged out, they drop their items.
“You want to go back and pick up their dropped items?”
But the other party members shook their heads.
“They were right at the entrance. We’d die before we could pick anything up.”
“If you want to die, die alone.”
“I’m not going either.”
The members left the party.
Since it was a temporary party for hunting in the Sanctuary of Wolves, Lukkeu didn’t care much.
‘Bunch of cowards. The sword that blacksmith was wearing looked at least epic-grade.’
After 30 minutes, Lukkeu started to head back in.
‘I hope they died right near the entrance.’
Since the priest and blacksmith would have died together, their items should be dropped side by side.
Entering the entrance area, Lukkeu’s eyes widened in shock.
“Wh-What is this?”
The remains of dozens of wolves, turned to ash and scattered, littered the ground everywhere.
Soon, Lukkeu heard a shocking notification.
[The Gray Wolf has been hunted.]
It was an alert stating that the Gray Wolf, which had never once been raided by users, had been hunted.