Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: A Whole Barrel of Luminous Holy Water
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Minerva approached me. I opened my mouth in a voice full of disbelief.
“Is this the one barrel you were talking about, Lady Minerva?”
“That’s right. I thought the child would naturally know, but you didn’t?”
“I thought it would be much smaller than this.”
I carefully observed the glass bottle filled with luminous holy water. Inside the perfectly transparent cylinder, the liquid was so clear and pure that it almost gave the illusion of being empty.
I absentmindedly fiddled with the brooch pinned to my left chest. The Pope of the Sun had personally told me that with just this brooch, I could carry not one barrel but a hundred without any issue.
It hit me anew just how valuable this brooch truly was.
“Even I’ve never seen this much before, so it’s understandable. With this amount of holy water, you could become the richest person in the Empire.”
It was the same in the game.
Until the 11th playthrough, when enemy specs hit their limit, luminous holy water was one of the few items whose price rose with each playthrough.
After the 11th playthrough, its price was absurdly expensive. In truth, it was practically a quest-exclusive item, so there was almost no reason to buy it.
“Now, it’s time for you to fulfill the reason I came here.”
Minerva snapped her fingers lightly. The top of the cylinder slid open smoothly. In her hand was now a small potion bottle.
The air-clear, transparent liquid inside the cylinder began to float up gently and flow into the potion bottle. Minerva’s movements as she directed it with her fingers looked extremely cautious.
It made sense, considering the characteristics of luminous holy water.
‘It’s ridiculously weak to shocks.’
The most iconic and fatal trait of luminous holy water.
It was insanely vulnerable to shocks.
The moment the liquid received even a certain minimal amount of impact—no matter how—it would instantly turn black and lose its power as holy water. And that ‘minimal amount’ threshold was ridiculously low.
That was why Ceres’s material gathering quest had such a notorious reputation for being a pain. Due to its extreme fragility to shocks, the holy water became useless the instant your character slipped up even slightly.
Basic walking, running, rolling, swinging weapons, taking hits, using weapon special abilities, enchanting, casting spells, chanting divine spells, using consumables, and all sorts of other miscellaneous actions.
All of them were judged as ‘shocks,’ corrupting the holy water.
In other words, while transporting the holy water, players couldn’t run, roll, swing weapons, get hit by enemies, or use magic or divine spells.
Even using statues for fast travel or various forms of rest affected it, so you couldn’t even fast travel near Ceres’s hut.
The other materials could be fast-traveled without issue, so it was clearly intentional on the developers’ part.
‘They’re basically saying you have to walk the whole way.’
Therefore, players had to transport the holy water to Ceres’s location solely by ‘walking,’ with all other actions sealed off.
Even normal movement was judged as a shock, so it wasn’t just regular walking—you had to use the slow walk with the Alt key.
The only place to obtain holy water was the Holy Kingdom, and Ceres’s house was at the very edge of the Empire’s fringes. It essentially meant traversing the map from one end to the other at the slowest possible pace.
If you got hit by an enemy along the way, it was over. Dodging attacks by rolling? Over. Trying to handle them from range? Over the moment you chanted a spell or divine incantation.
Even walking in a straight line without interruptions was an enormous distance, and factoring in detours around enemies and impassable terrain doubled the actual distance.
‘At first, everyone thought it was an impossible quest.’
No matter how you tried to deliver the materials, the holy water would corrupt, leading some to mistake it for a bugged, unclimbable quest.
When the clear method finally got posted on the community forums, countless players were shocked by those insane transport conditions.
‘Traversing the entire map slowly on foot, without getting hit even once, and no using statues. It’s just insane.’
That was a big part of why holy water was so ridiculously expensive. How do you even sell something that corrupts if a human just carries it at a brisk walk?
“Child?”
Lost in thoughts of that filthy old memory—not even worthy of being called a ‘recollection’—I snapped back to reality at Minerva’s voice.
“What is it, Lady Minerva?”
“Are you done thinking? Your face looked so serious I had to call you. Sorry if I interrupted.”
“No, Lady Minerva. Just some pointless thoughts.”
“For pointless thoughts, you looked awfully angry.”
“…….”
No helping it. It’d be weirder if your face didn’t show it while thinking about something like that. Minerva smiled slightly at my expression and moved her fingers.
“Here, take it.”
The potion bottle was placed ever so lightly in my palm. It was small enough to hold three or four at once, but its price would be astronomical.
“You’re sending the rest to the Magic Tower?”
“That’s the plan.”
Minerva lightly shook her staff. Far more complex magic circles than usual floated up around us. Blue orbs of light rose from each one, enveloping the cylinder.
The orbs wrapped the holy water bottles in triple layers and blazed brightly. Before long, the cylinder had vanished without a trace.
“Now the rest can be left to the other children. Come on, let’s head back.”
The magic circle used for transporting the holy water enveloped us both. It felt much gentler overall than the instant teleports we usually used.
I clutched the potion bottle with both hands, eyes squeezed shut as if frozen in place, then opened them as the light gradually faded.
“…….”
Ceres stood right in front of us, her face etched with surprise.
“How are you back already? I thought it’d take at least a few days…… Did the Holy Kingdom folks wrap it up this fast?”
“It just worked out this way. Here’s the promised holy water.”
I held out the potion bottle with the holy water. Ceres’s eyes went wide as she rushed over and took it with the utmost care, like it was a sacred relic.
“Finally…… finally…….”
Ceres’s face was on the verge of tears. Her eyes were brimming, ready to spill at the slightest touch.
“Save the感動 for after success—it won’t be too late. Get started quickly. We have our promise too, remember?”
“R-right! Gotta do it now! It won’t take long, so make yourselves at home and rest! I’ll be right back, seriously!”
Trembling all over, Ceres clutched the potion bottle and dashed beyond the wall, only to zip back moments later and sweep up the remaining materials from the desk.
Soon, a pungent odor began to waft through the air.
“Done!”
How much time had passed? Ceres came rushing toward us with an excited face, holding a small potion bottle—the same glass vial used for the holy water.
Seeing that, I cut off my story about the crystal scroll short. Minerva, who had been listening with rapt interest, looked like the world had ended.
Ceres skidded to a stop right in front of us. Then, she bowed deeply.
“Thank you. Truly. It’s all thanks to you. This debt…… I’ll repay it, no matter what. I stake my honor on it.”
I nodded silently. Minerva was staring fixedly not at Ceres, but at me. What was the point of explaining when she’d see the real thing soon enough?
“So…… shall I drink it?”
With the happiest expression in the world, Ceres uncorked the potion bottle. She gazed at it with teary eyes, then downed it in one gulp.
“All done! Man, it’s been ages since I worked up a sweat!”
Ceres approached me with a huge grin plastered across her face. She was drenched in sweat. Her skin glistened under the light, smeared here and there with thick black soot.
In her hand was a sharply gleaming sword. She held it reversed and offered the hilt toward me.
“If it feels off, just say so. I’ll adjust it to fit. I eyeballed it for now, but the real test is holding it yourself.”