Chapter 15
Chapter 15
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Part 4 Chain Reaction
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Phew… I’m sorry. High Priest.”
As the priests hurriedly adjusted the intensity of the light, the lich’s body, on the verge of collapse, began to recover bit by bit. The creature clicked its tongue and slammed its fist into the floor.
“Damn it! I was so close!”
“Now do you understand? We have been sealing this lich here for hundreds of years to prevent it from escaping to the outside world.”
Esix said with a heavy expression. I forcibly suppressed my excitement from the new event and cleared my throat.
“Ahem. That’s a scary story. So these priests suppress the lich’s power every single day?”
“That’s right. Thanks to the sacrifice of these ‘Sealing Priests,’ we can all live ordinary lives.”
That’s… truly a noble sacrifice, dedicating their entire lives to it.
Indeed, if a single lich were to rampage unchecked, it would be hard to stop even with a regular knight order. And even if you destroyed its body, it would resurrect somewhere else a few years later and relentlessly attack again.
“Lich are immortal, so they dedicate their whole lives here. But what about food or the bathroom?”
“There are four Sealing Priests in total. While one rests or attends to personal matters, the other three handle the lich here.”
“What happens when they get older and it becomes too hard to work?”
“We’ve been training candidates for the Sealing Priests in preparation for that. The ones here now are the seventh generation.”
“Seventh generation?”
“It’s been 200 years since we sealed the lich here. The duty of the Sealing Priests is so grueling that it’s hard to endure for more than 30 years.”
The dizzying tale made my head spin. Even after nine regressions, I’ve only lived about 90 years, yet these priests have endured in this basement for over 200 years, generation after generation!
“But now, that suffering and sacrifice will come to an end. The moment Turn Undead annihilates the lich’s body here, its phylactery hidden somewhere in the world will be destroyed along with it.”
Of course, I already know that from the records. But here, I naturally have to play dumb.
“Really? Even if it’s far away?”
“It doesn’t matter the distance. The lich’s body and phylactery are bound by an invisible chain of souls. That’s what the records say. The power of Turn Undead travels along the chain to destroy the lich’s essence. As proof, any lich that has been hit by Turn Undead and disintegrated has never reappeared in the world again.”
“Cut the act, Esix. As if this brat could use Turn Undead—passing dogs would laugh! Haha!”
The lich burst into laughter. Well, I’ve enjoyed this new event plenty by now, so maybe it’s time to wrap it up.
“Kek! Get lost while I’m being nice, brat! Even in this state, I can turn you into a corpse in an instant!”
“Is that so? Then, Turn Undead.”
There was no need to say it aloud, but the moment I deliberately uttered the name of the spell.
Everything in the sealing chamber was enveloped in light.
I hadn’t realized it when using it outdoors, but… the light itself emanates from my body.
It seems the light shoots up into the sky from my body, then comes crashing down over the heads of all undead within a certain range.
But in this narrow underground space, it simply poured straight down onto the lich’s body in a massive beam.
“Kyaa, kya啊啊啊啊啊!”
The lich twisted in agony with a scream.
As expected of a high-rank undead, unlike the ones in the village stronghold that turned to ash in an instant, it held out for quite a while.
About five seconds, roughly.
“No way! This can’t be happening…”
But it did happen, didn’t it? What now?
I smiled toward the pile of ash scattered on the floor. At the same time, the three priests who had been backed against the wall threw themselves to the ground in prostration.
Thud!
“Saint!”
“The true Saint!”
“Ooh! Spirits of the Five Gods!”
One overwhelmed priest began banging his head on the floor, shedding tears. Esix, who had been frozen stiff, hurriedly lifted the priests and embraced them all.
“Indeed. May the blessings of the Five Gods be with you. In our generation, the Saint has finally descended.”
“High Priest…”
“Finally… sniff.”
“I can’t believe this is real. Sob…”
“You’ve all suffered so much all this time. You’ve worked hard.”
“No, High Priest, you’ve suffered the most. Dragging your frail body here every few days to give us breaks…”
Ah, so that’s why the High Priest rarely left the temple? He had a reputation as a homebody.
Anyway, these priests have dedicated their entire lives to this duty so far—and would have continued to do so forever. They’ve been freed from it now.
So it’s only natural they’re bawling and rejoicing. Even watching them, the tip of my nose tingles.
But then, something popped up from the scattered ash on the floor.
What’s this? Like a large, sparkling salt crystal?
Before I could react, it flew straight into my body.
“…Huh?”
My head spun, and I fell flat on my butt. Esix, who had been sharing the joy with the priests, rushed over like lightning and supported me.
“Prince? Are you alright? The mana consumption from Turn Undead must have been too much.”
“No… I’m fine. But just now, something…”
Wait, should I mention this here?
The situation feels off. Right after defeating the lich, something popped out and entered my body?
“…Didn’t you see a shiny crystal just now? It came out from the lich’s ashes over there.”
“A crystal? Ah! Did something like a crystal rise up and get absorbed into your body, Prince?”
“…”
“It seems another record about liches was true after all.”
Esix nodded as if recalling something.
“Don’t worry about it—it’s normal. It’s called a ‘Mana Crystal.’”
“Mana Crystal?”
“That’s right.”
Esix helped me to my feet and brushed the dust off my clothes.
“There are already records about it. The one who destroys a lich obtains a portion of the lich’s accumulated mana in crystal form.”
Really? There was such a thing?
Well, no wonder I didn’t know. In my nine previous regressions, I never completely destroyed a lich down to its phylactery.
“But lich mana? The name alone sounds ominous.”
“It has nothing to do with the evil lich itself—it’s purely a crystallization of mana, just as the name implies. At least, that’s what the records say. How does it feel in reality?”
“Well…”
I closed my eyes for a moment and gauged the sensation of the new power inside me.
Mana Crystal.
Indeed, it was a pure power, like distilled water, free of any impurities.
But mana’s essence is a comprehensive expression of brain processing limits and concentration. Taking that into account, I analyzed the mana crystal that entered me for a bit.
Ah, so that’s what it is…
A sort of additional computing device.
Calling it another brain in my head sounds off, but it feels like an extra device dedicated solely to magical calculations has taken root in my mind.
Anyway, total jackpot?
In simple mana terms… this one thing feels like it expands my mana limit by at least 30%.
“…It doesn’t feel bad.”
I never knew things like this were still hidden in the world. Power-ups like this are possible? I might need to tweak my pre-planned early-game tech tree a bit.
* * *
As we climbed the stairs after roughly wrapping things up, Esix brought up the Sealing Priests who had gone ahead.
“The Sealing Priests now wish to serve the Saint—no, Your Highness.”
“Why?”
Esix turned to me with a smile.
“Because that’s how it’s supposed to be.”
“It’s a Sealing Priest regulation?”
“It’s an unwritten rule. The end of the Sealing Priests’ role means the Saint has returned. Naturally, their role shifts to escort priests for the Saint.”
Escort priests? Like using them as escort knights?
“Of course, they’re not as physically strong as knights, but every one of them could become an Arch Priest within the next ten years. They’re exceptional priests.”
Thinking about it, it makes sense. How many priests in the world can control a high-level holy spell like ‘Anti Evil’ at such a fine intensity for extended periods?
This fact alone makes me happier than even the mana crystal I just got.
To think I can now utilize four powerful priests I didn’t even know existed during my nine previous regressions!
But I can’t show it too openly. Managing my expression, I feigned ignorance.
“It’s good for me, but after finally being freed from a lifetime of bondage, wouldn’t it be pitiful to tie them to a new duty?”
“Absolutely not.”
Esix shook his head as if it were absurd.
“Serving the Saint is the dream and happiness of all Sealing Priests. I know because I was one in my youth.”
“You were a Sealing Priest too, High Priest?”
“Embarrassingly, I retired about twenty years ago when my strength waned. Anyway, not right away—I’ll have them finish preparations in a day and send all four to your mansion.”
“A day is a bit harsh. Since it’s come to this, how about giving them a long vacation of a few months? They could go to the sea and have fun.”
“The sea… Hm, I see. They’ve never seen the ocean in their lives. Your Highness truly has a deep heart.”
Esix nodded with a warm smile. Just then, the stairs ended, revealing the familiar underground passage of the temple I knew.
“Ah, here…”
Since things have turned out this way, there’s something to check before moving on. I turned and pointed to the end of the corridor.
“What’s down there? The Sealing Priests’ break room?”
“No. There’s a library.”
“A library?”
“The library containing all the records I mentioned. Would you like to go in?”
“Sure, why not.”
I answered lightly, but inwardly, I was fairly surprised.
I can really just go in like this?
Normally, you’d have to complete multiple quests and donations to build a top-level relationship with the temple.
Then undergo a rigorous body search, and even then, you’re allowed only ten minutes to stay, reading just one book, with strict warnings.
To enter the Grand Temple’s secret library.
“There. It’s open now.”
Esix personally operated the complex mechanism at the library entrance and opened the door.
“Please, come in.”
“Wow, it’s huge inside?”
Acting like it’s my first time is becoming second nature now. Esix cast a holy spell that lit up his hand instead of using torches or lanterns, and stepped into the dim library.
“This is the library containing a thousand years of the temple’s history. Outsiders can never enter, and attempting to force your way in triggers a fire and collapsing ceiling.”
Yeah. I know that all too well.
In my third regression, I tried forcing my way in once and burned and collapsed everything. The shock and panic I felt then…
“Why set up such a device? Wouldn’t it be more dangerous if the temple’s history burned?”
“Better that than the knowledge here falling into evil hands. Let’s see…”
Starting from the entrance, Esix pulled out a black-bound book from the ninth shelf.
“This is the book containing the various records about liches and saints. It was written 350 years ago by High Priest Creibuler, the saint of that era.”
“That’s ancient. Back then, someone who could use Turn Undead became the saint too?”
“Usually, a miracle accompanies it, but yes, ultimate holy spells are the criterion for the saint title.”
“I see. But the saint was a High Priest?”
“Typically, yes. If Your Highness weren’t royalty, I would have done everything to bring you to the temple and hand over my position.”
As he flipped through the book briefly, Esix suddenly stopped at a page and asked me.
“There’s a passage here that I love most. May I read it to you?”
“Sure.”
“Thank you. Then… ‘In the end, as long as humans have desires, liches will be reborn. But you who serve the Five Gods, never despair or falter. Even if I perish, someday another saint blessed by divine miracle will appear and annihilate our enemies, the enemies of the world.’”
“That’s me?”
“Yes. Your Highness is the very saint we’ve been waiting for.”
Esix closed the book with a smile. I awkwardly turned my head, then began touching the books on the tenth shelf right behind.
“I just… couldn’t stand by and let people be torn apart by monsters.”
“Your Highness’s kind heart reached the sanctuary of the Five Gods and wrought a miracle. Well, it’s late today, so please return to your mansion. You can come here anytime and read to your heart’s content.”
Esix placed a hand on my shoulder, urging me to go home. Meanwhile, I pulled out a book, checked its contents, then put it back and nodded.
“Got it. I’ll visit often. Seems like there are a lot of interesting books here.”