Chapter 21
Chapter 21
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: I Am Your God - 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
According to the stories from the gallery, the 15th floor of Hell difficulty featured a group of orcs led by an orc mage.
As always, Extra difficulty was definitely something else.
-Grrr...!!
Arthur let out his signature displeased growl, as if he sensed something off.
I felt the same way.
Orcs. Goblins. Trolls. Kobolds.
Nothing special about these monsters, but each one had a strange symbol etched on their foreheads.
"Follow... the god...!!"
"Follow our god...!!"
The orc priests were chanting their faith, wielding staffs shaped like spears.
Talking orcs?
Nothing weird about that.
If there are orc mages, why wouldn't orcs talk?
The important part was what they were dragging around.
A massive symbol.
They were openly displaying their worship.
"Offer the sacrifice!!"
"We offer sacrifices to our god!!"
The orc priests were urging on the other monsters.
And their sacrifices? Other monsters.
The ones without the symbol on their foreheads.
They were using them as living sacrifices to their god.
"This is wild..."
I couldn't pass up filming this.
I started recording right away.
"There! An unbeliever over there!"
"Capture the unbeliever!!"
Huh? Busted?
One of the guys who had been grabbing living sacrifices to burn spotted me.
The armed ones started charging my way.
"Arthur."
-Grrrrr!!
With a roar full of disgust, Arthur charged forward.
"Shadows!!"
"Unbeliever before the great god!! Lose your power!!"
Whoa.
This is kinda impressive?
The orc priest thrust out his staff and shouted, and light burst from the symbol they worshipped.
The light enveloped the monsters charging at Arthur, and their bodies began to grow larger.
Daring to use support magic in front of a mage?
I can't let that slide.
"The glorious Lord has commanded, 'Do not worship idols.'"
If their prayer based on an idol strengthens them...
Then I'll weaken them with magic that forbids idols.
"Kraaak!!"
"Kwelek!!"
Unlike the priests, the speechless monsters hesitated in confusion as their power suddenly dwindled.
And that was their last movement.
-Grrrrrr!!!
That's my Arthur!
I knew I could count on you!!
The massive shadow sword began slicing through their necks effortlessly.
"O harvester, the glorious Lord stands behind you. All that you reap with your hands shall be offered as gifts to the Lord alone."
Arthur's power grew even stronger as he mowed down the enemies like wheat.
The monsters felled by Arthur's sword vanished as corpses.
Using the enemy corpses as sacrifices, the empowered Arthur rampaged further, but then the priests stepped up.
"How dare a formless shadow punish the children of god!!"
"Our god will protect his children!!"
Nope. No way.
I opened Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.
"The Increasing Heavenly King has decreed: Those who speak of false Buddhas shall receive fitting punishment."
I pulled out the prayer beads I'd gotten from the temple last time.
Then hurled them—they flew like arrows and wrapped around one orc priest's neck.
"Keurk! Gack!!!"
He struggled, but the beads had already tightened fully around his neck.
As he staggered and fell, the nearby priests shouted.
"That guy! Take out that wicked mage first!!"
"Kill the unbelieving mage who uses false gods for his magic!!"
What?!
Daring to deny the god who aids me!
Unforgivable!
"The only recognized gods in this world are the Lord, Buddha, the Primeval Lord of Heaven, and the Great Mother of all creation!!"
I don't acknowledge any others since I haven't acquired their grimoires.
Pfft, jealous? Go get your own grimoire.
The monsters that had been fighting Arthur turned toward me and charged.
-Grrrr!!
Arthur rampaged and took them down, but even he was struggling against the numbers.
But don't worry.
I've got tricks up my sleeve too.
"Where there is light, there are shadows, and where there are shadows, there is light. My enemies shall lose the light and wander lost in darkness."
I lit the incense I'd prepared.
The smoke rising from it was sucked into the charging monsters, and they began hesitating as if blinded.
Of course, that's not the end.
"O walkers of the earth, your feet shall be bound by sturdy vines."
I cracked open the 100% arrowroot juice I'd bought online last time.
Splashing it on the ground, roots shot up from the earth and bound the legs of the oncoming monsters.
"Hm..."
The arrowroot power feels a bit weak?
This isn't 100% pure, is it?
Gotta leave a complaint review.
But it was effective at binding their feet, so I'll let it slide for now.
"Since ancient times, leopards and tigers have been known as ferocious beasts. Thus, leopards and tigers possess the strength to drive away evil and save people."
I had some leftover materials from the Choi sisters incident.
One of them—a tiger claw that became mine by custom—I flung it out.
The moment it was absorbed into my shadow, a massive tiger emerged from it.
-Roaaar!!
It went wild.
One massive paw swipe from the shadow tiger sent monster heads flying.
"Arthur!!"
-Grrruk!!
Arthur, who had been soloing the monsters, charged over.
He leaped swiftly onto the shadow tiger's back.
"Now that we've formed the stance of riding the tiger, my sword, my guardian beast—do not stop or retreat until the enemies are exterminated."
I cast magic using the idiom "mounting the tiger."
Now, Arthur and the tiger's full power would grow stronger until every last one of them was dead.
"Th-that!"
"God!! Grant us the strength to tear apart that unbeliever!!"
As if.
"The great God said, 'Let there be light.'"
I shone the flashlight Arthur used as bait at the priests.
Switch on.
"Kraaagh!"
"Eyes! My eyes!!"
"This is the power of holy light!!"
I bought this one blessed by the Vatican, and it's performing better than expected.
Time to order more.
"Go. Tear my enemies apart."
The tiger, with Arthur on its back, sprang into action.
It crouched low, then leaped massively, landing right among the priests.
-Grrrruk!!
Arthur's sword flashed, severing a priest's neck.
The blinded ones couldn't even resist properly.
"Kaaak!!"
"Kweeeek!!"
But the monsters held back by Arthur and the tiger started charging at me.
Some of them were twisting grotesquely, just like the ones on the first floor.
Do they think they have a shot at me, the lone mage in the back?
"Pathetic! You irreverent scum!!"
I swung Saint Martha's Staff.
With each swing, empowered by Saint Martha's legend of slaying the dragon, one flew back.
"Ka, kaaak?"
"Any who want their heads smashed, come on in."
I twirled the staff and beckoned, but none approached.
Fine then...
"I'm coming to you!! Hahaha!!"
"Ka, kaaak!!"
"Kweeeek!!"
A few opened their mouths and spewed black energy, but all my clothes were dyed with harm-repelling holy dye.
No way that weak crap would affect me.
-Crunch! Crunch crunch!
Smashing goblin heads, orc heads, kobold heads.
Ahh, Lord.
Sending one more idol-worshipping scrub your way.
-Crunch crunch!!
By now, Arthur and the tiger had finished off the priests and turned to the symbol.
With each sword swing and paw strike, it shook until it finally toppled, unable to maintain its dignity.
Looks like destroying that symbol was the goal after all.
A platinum chest appeared.
Skill book again this time?
"Huh?"
What's this?
Inside the chest was an egg.
It looked pretty good being in a platinum chest and all, but...
Why no status window?
"I'm back."
"Got Melona?"
"How's someone fresh from the tower supposed to buy Melona?"
"Hmph. Knew it, so I grabbed some."
"Good job."
Cleaning done, curry eaten too.
Maybe make her favorite pork stir-fry tomorrow?
"...Huh? What's that?"
"What."
"The egg."
"Oh. Reward from clearing the 15th floor of the tower."
And as an additional reward, I got a seed.
"They give out all kinds of stuff."
"You don't know what it is?"
"Nope. And that seed..."
"What do you think it is?"
I don't know either.
No status window for this one either.
"Hm..."
She examined the seed closely.
"Looks like a divine tree seed?"
That night, four virgin ghosts came over.
They really seemed to like the karaoke machine.
We drank and read romance novels until Leraje joined in, and we partied for three hours of karaoke before crashing.
"...Huh?"
Woke up to find the egg I'd left by my head hatched.
What? It hatched?
But why's there nothing here?
"...Uuung?"
What's this now.
Why are there two gold coins by the pillow?
"...What the?"
"Ahhh... Slept well...?"
"Hey. You know what this is?"
"Hm? Huh? Where'd you get this? It's an ancient gold coin?"
"Ancient gold coin?"
"Yeah. Can be used as magical tribute. Solomon used them a lot. Hard to get these..."
She grabbed her pad, hair messily tied back, and inspected the coins.
I'll check it out later—time to wash up first.
"Ung?"
It was right as I was putting toothpaste on my brush.
Something felt off.
"Uh... what."
My teeth are clean.
I opened my mouth and checked the mirror again.
"Whaaaat?!"
The cavities... are gone...?
Every tiny decayed spot is completely missing.
What miracle is this?
-Pling~!
Then a small ball of light floated over from the side.
No way, a fairy?
"You did this?"
-Pling pling~!
Is that a yes?
"You left the gold coins too?"
-Pling pling~~!
Hold up. A fairy that fixes teeth?
I opened Secrets of Light and Shadow to check.
There it was.
A tale of benevolent fairies.
"You're the Tooth Fairy?"
-Pling~!
With a cheerful sound, the ball of light—the Tooth Fairy—playfully orbited around me.
Wow. To think such a noble being would visit this humble abode.
"W-want some honey for breakfast?"
She twinkled happily at my offer of fairy-favorite honey.
The overwhelmingly positive attention made me even prouder.
-Ring!!
Hunter Association.
Someone with tooth pain maybe?
-Hello, Mage-nim. Hope you've been well?
"Yes. What's up?"
-Ah... We've got a request.
Request? What kind?
As I wondered, the association staff sent me a text.
-It's related to a cult. We'd appreciate your help, Mage-nim.
"Got it."
They told me to check the text, so I hung up and looked.
And went silent.
The photo in the text.
Had the symbol pattern from the tower.