Chapter 66
Chapter 66: The Protagonist (4)
When a being possesses both power and authority, and is overflowing with human kindness, their charm becomes immeasurable.
To the Battalion Commander, Eric was nothing short of a paragon of virtue.
'He's even young on top of that.'
It was hard to believe, but that towering Holy Paladin was only fifteen years old.
His face resembled a handsome man in his twenties, yet his eyes carried the mysterious allure of a middle-aged man, and his physique called to mind a dependable father...
"Ahem."
Battalion Commander Iris, the second daughter of the Marquis of the Border who protected the western frontier of the empire, was deeply moved by such an Eric.
She removed the helmet she had been wearing all along.
"Sir Saint, would this be acceptable?"
At the sight of her face revealed beneath the helmet, Eric's direct unit surrounded Iris.
A giant wall seemed to form around her.
"The Saint has already left far from here, so it's fine."
Iris's gaze followed Eric's departing figure, her eyes distant.
After even collecting the bodies of the dead, he had taken his companions and departed, declaring he would seal off the Stratified Lord.
'He truly is a saint. No...'
Eric had saved everyone without asking for anything in return.
Moreover, the way he left so suddenly, declaring he would take on the greater threat himself, was just like—
'...a hero.'
It reminded her of the ancient heroes who had saved the world alongside the Three Gods.
"If only there were no curse..."
Iris's eyes grew moist.
'To fight alongside you on the battlefield, by your side...'
A long time had passed since Eric's presence had faded, yet her gaze remained fixed on that direction.
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"—Sigh."
The soldiers of her direct unit surrounding her felt their breath catch.
'The Battalion Commander... is crying.'
She was far too beautiful to be called a soldier.
She kept her hair neatly tied up under a mesh net for her helmet, and from the rough battles on the battlefield, dirt and sweat had matted her hair down.
Yet still, her pink hair gleamed with luster, and her youthful face and delicate features could not be concealed.
"Move out."
After her brief reverie ended, Iris put her helmet back on and walked the path Eric had carved through.
It was to rendezvous with the Imperial Army that had climbed the layers together with Eric.
"Everyone, prepare for battle."
Her direct unit quickly formed a defensive formation to protect Iris.
"Battalion Commander, it seems no battle will be necessary."
The weariness of body and mind had been washed away by the blessing of sanctity.
They were a fully prepared army, ready to fight at any moment.
Yet there was no battle to be fought.
"I see. All those monsters, eliminated in a single sweep..."
Following the path Eric had taken, a long lingering echo of sanctity poured out light.
Thanks to that, they were able to reach the entrance to the 5th Layer without any casualties.
"Boom!"
There, familiar faces awaited Battalion Commander Iris.
"Is that... really the Battalion Commander?!"
Three Company Commanders who managed Layers 2, 3, and 4.
Iris's three Company Commanders greeted her with bright smiles.
"Report first."
Battalion Commander Iris was glad to see them, but she prioritized her duties as a soldier, putting the pleasantries aside.
"Company 1, casualties: 13."
"Company 2, casualties: 23."
"Company 3, casualties: 19."
The reports were simple.
In a world where any wound could be recovered as long as the head and heart remained intact and breathing hadn't stopped, the Holy Power of Eric had restored even the severely wounded to their original state.
"Thanks to the Saint, our casualties are few."
Unlike the Continental Allied Forces, the number of soldiers in the Labyrinth Management Army was not that large.
Three platoons of 100 soldiers combined made one company, and three companies combined made one battalion.
The Battalion Commander, her direct unit, plus company commanders and their aides, made a battalion of roughly 1,000 soldiers.
"How was it for all of you?"
Only after completing the task of gathering the bodies of the dead and covering them with the imperial flag did the conversation between the Battalion Commander and the Company Commanders begin.
"...The Saint, he—"
"We were also saved by the Saint!"
The Company Commanders and Battalion Commander had all experienced the same thing.
Being saved by a saint in their moment of desperation.
"Ah, and the adventurers have agreed to cooperate with us."
Additionally, they had gained the cooperation of the adventurers, who were famous for not listening to anyone.
"Just... just tell us what to do."
It wasn't reluctant assistance; they were practically begging to be given something to do.
Iris glanced around and looked toward the center of the adventurer camp.
'The imperial flag in the middle of adventurers. And that is—'
Flap!
She discovered something incongruous hanging below the imperial flag.
The imperial flag erected in the center of the adventurers, and below it on the flagpole, a head had been pierced and preserved with sanctity.
"Those who do not cooperate with the Labyrinth Anomaly are heretics. The Saint spoke thus."
Iris was deeply impressed by those words.
'That conviction that doesn't waver even against a massive force—'
"Everyone, do not forget to be grateful to the Saint."
Everyone closed their eyes for a moment and offered a prayer of gratitude.
***
The 5th Layer of the Labyrinth was a location with the setting of an ancient city, with all buildings constructed from weathered gray bricks of two-story height.
Though it was said to be two stories, the buildings were all enormous structures exceeding ten meters in height.
Everything was so large that one would think the average inhabitant here must be at least five meters tall.
"All of you, wait at the entrance."
In one corner of the city stood a unique structure in the form of a dome, like a town hall—this was the Boss Room where the Stratified Lord would appear.
Eric stepped forward confidently and entered the Boss Room alone.
"Boss, are those huge dogs coming out of holes like that?"
Jang Du-sik and the Possessors watched Eric from the front of the open Boss Room.
Eric made a stopping gesture, worried they might cross the room's entrance, and Jang Du-sik took another step back with the Possessors.
Only then did Eric begin to examine the Boss Room in earnest.
'The tunnels running to even the Boss Room make it look like a city that's been overrun by monsters.'
Eric, recalling the tunnels dug throughout the city, held such thoughts.
Then he looked at the hole where the Stratified Lord would appear.
A large tunnel opening in the center of the town hall—Eric placed his hand above it.
Thud!
A heavy weight of sanctity descended from his fingertips.
'Is this what it feels like?'
Thanks to his training with his master since childhood, using his body and strength, Eric was quick to comprehend his own power.
Upon reaching [4-Tier Divine Power], he sensed that he could inject his new strength into specific locations.
'1-Tier was my body and weapons, 2-Tier was influence over others, 3-Tier was the extension of range.'
Crackle!
Flames erupted from Eric's fingertips.
The golden flames were small like candlelight, but their brightness was enough to illuminate the entire Boss Room with brilliance.
He dropped the flickering Sacred Fire from his fingertips into the tunnel.
Thud!
Following the flames, the dark tunnel gradually brightened.
The Sacred Fire, with concentrated Divine Power, transformed into a great light at the end of the tunnel, and soon became a massive wave that flowed through the tunnel, overflowing.
"Hoo..."
At such a sight, Jang Du-sik, who had been peeking out to watch Eric, let out a gasp.
"Eek!"
The Possessors, trembling at the overflowing sanctity, immediately backed away in fear.
Yet even amid such commotion, Eric remained expressionless, watching the changes his power was creating.
'4-Tier Divine Power is—'
The Gnoll King appears from a massive hole in the center of the town hall.
Splash!
Yet from the hole where the Stratified Lord should appear, Holy Water poured out like a deluge.
'—The power to establish Divinity.'
Eric recalled the battlefield against the Catastrophic Black Mage.
To face them, he had to establish Divinity under God's permission.
Eric doesn't hear God's voice. For such an Eric, the act of establishing Divinity was nearly impossible.
However, because his body resembled that of a god, he could establish Divinity if he pushed himself.
Of course, the problem was that his body would shatter from the backlash.
'Thanks to the Ring of Conviction, I managed to get through it.'
Having lost the ring, Eric had instead established his own complete Divinity.
Drawing on that experience, he had created this small flame.
'Now I can establish Divinity without any side effects.'
To establish Divinity.
This literally means manifesting the power of God, the supreme will, on this land.
It wasn't power obtained through faith, but directly receiving God's power from the divine realm—this was what establishing Divinity meant.
'It feels similar to the Divine Power in my temple.'
Divinity carried a different feeling of power compared to ordinary Divine Power.
"...Boss, what exactly is this?"
Jang Du-sik, watching the sight from in front of the Boss Room, blinked his eyes.
Who asks what this is with such a face?
Eric defined his power.
'This Divinity is—'
Establishing Divinity was the act of manifesting the supreme will of God through faith and conviction.
'—My conviction and faith, and the direction I must go.'
However, the other party was Jang Du-sik.
Eric simplified his explanation.
"Can't you see? It's like a fountain of sanctity."
"Well, I've never seen a fountain spewing holy water before. And wouldn't the Stratified Lord be dead without even showing its face?"
Jang Du-sik blinked his eyes, looking at the massive fountain of Divinity.
A black box popped out from within the golden waves.
"From that box, it seems the Stratified Lord did appear."
The Stratified Lord?
It had simply vanished.
Maybe it respawned.
"Looks like we'll have to do some box gacha again."
The black box in Eric's hand.
That was an item signifying the conquest of the Stratified Lord.
Before Eric could even say anything, Jang Du-sik crossed into the Stratified Lord's room to fulfill his purpose.
Three Possessors followed behind him.
"Eek!"
The Divinity-tinted water was slowly covering the floor.
Soon the water was ankle-deep at the feet of the Possessors.
'Eek.'
'Will we... will we too'
The fountain of Divinity that filled the space purified everything, and the Possessors who had been frightened by that sight—
"...Huh?"
Suddenly realized they were fine.
"Ah. We're now the faithful."
"Y-yeah. That's right."
"Phew."
All three Possessors let out sighs of relief.
Testing cautiously, they dipped their hands into the Holy Water, and a sensation of purification flowed through their bodies—an indescribably refreshing feeling.
The Possessors were deeply grateful for the reality of not being opposed by such a tremendous power.
"Hmm."
Meanwhile, Eric, who had achieved such a miracle, stood with his arms crossed, lost in deep thought.
Because his mind now had room to contemplate.
'I've already sealed the Stratified Lord, and the Monster Wave will be burned away by Divine Power.'
The situation with the Imperial Army at the 5th Layer entrance was also without problems.
Cooperating with adventurers to hunt the disorganized monsters would be straightforward.
Now, the task was to organize what had been accomplished.
He had gained far too much.
'What should I do first?'
Eric cherished his people, which is why he had entered the Labyrinth to rescue Jang Du-sik.
He had come without hesitation to the 5th Layer and rescued Jang Du-sik and the Possessors.
Jang Du-sik, trusting his brother completely, had perfectly completed the mission Eric had given him, earning the conditions for forming a body.
These things had interlocked, allowing him to open 4-Tier.
'I've gained so much from this disaster.'
When you do good deeds with a good heart, good results follow.
This was a truth.
'4-Tier Divine Power is...'
Eric considered his priorities.
4-Tier Divine Power, opened upon forming the Divine Body.
He had discovered he could establish Divinity, but there was still much to confirm.
'This is something I'll learn as I use the power.'
However, power is something that must be learned through use.
Power has vast applications and many ways to handle it.
In contrast, the [Divine Power Management] window and [Divine Edifice Facilities] were different.
The complete golden screen displayed all information clearly at a glance.
'—There's no way to use this.'
A 3D bird's-eye view appeared, with an explanation that facilities could be expanded here...
[Faith Acquired.]
[Current GP: 47,835]
Eric clicked on the temple's territory shown in the bird's-eye view, but—
[Available Facilities]
[Oversized Planter: 2,000,000 GP]
There was only one thing he could do.
The fortunate part was being able to understand the purpose clearly.
'This must mean to plant the World Tree here.'
Even knowing the purpose, he couldn't touch it due to the 2,000,000 GP cost.
In truth, the planter had long been pushed to the lowest priority.
'I need to make Janson a Believer.'
Expanding the Believer Slot for 100,000 GP was the highest priority.
Only then would Janson be able to accept Divine Power.
[Faith Acquired.]
[+325 GP]
One way or another, the currency GP would be needed frequently.
However, Eric was confident he would earn it quickly.
Though the quantity was slightly decreasing, notification windows for GP acquisition kept appearing.
'This is exactly like God Points.'
As Eric had predicted, GP was indeed that type of currency.
In any case.
Divine Power would be understood only through use, and the temple facilities would require waiting for answers.
Having organized what would be done, he now needed to handle what could be done immediately.
'600-pull gacha.'
That was precisely box opening.
"Du-sik."
"Ready!"
Eric took out all the boxes stored in his [Inventory] and handed them to Jang Du-sik.
Four black boxes with the number 150 written on them.
"Let's do 600-pull box gacha."
An unprecedented event was about to unfold, both in-game and in reality.
***
MMORPG, Continental Online, had earned the nickname of a hardcore genre.
There was a meme that if you properly enjoyed the game, your real life would turn into hard mode.
'600 box openings?'
The rewards were meager, and to match set items, it was basic to try against one boss hundreds of times.
Moreover, because the world was divided into surface and labyrinth, resource consumption was overwhelmingly high.
"Insane."
Furthermore, the 'pay-to-win' characteristic inherent to MMORPG genres was also extremely difficult.
That's why Continental Online was a game where you had to invest both time and money to enjoy it.
"Guys, is that number real?"
"...Yeah, those are really 150-pull boxes, and there are 4 of them."
"So... we're really doing 600 pulls?"
From Nishida Ryo, who had squandered inherited wealth through cash spending.
To Park Chang-ho, who had blown all his Olympic gold medal advertising fees on weapon enhancement.
To Kang Pung-ho, who had dedicated his retirement fund entirely to the game to live as a netcafe gamer.
Could this be real?
The three Possessors were dumbfounded.
They had been serious about the game.
'My body is nothing but an organ to supply nutrients for gaming—'
They thought to that extent.
For such people, being excited about the game-like elements that manifested after possession was natural.
"We'll pull without fail, all at once."
Black Grade Labyrinth Box.
This was an extremely rare item even in the game.
If it appeared on the auction house, it could fetch tens of millions in cash the instant it was listed.
Though it was only a 5-pull and the odds were low, it was worth it.
Because it was a reward obtainable only on a first clear.
"—Ahhhh, this is refreshing—!!!"
Jang Du-sik opened and closed such boxes like a madman.
'These crazy locals...'
From the Possessors' perspective, it was maddening.
What good was opening boxes so carelessly?
'At least we should go to—'
After searching the entire map and gathering guild members at locations rumored to be lucky spots, praying together before opening such boxes...
"Wait—."
200 pulls with nothing.
Eric stopped Jang Du-sik.
'Right, even so, a Black box—'
The Possessors felt it was too wasteful for something that wasn't even theirs.
A Black box would give extremely poor odds in exchange for a tremendous item that the user specifically needed.
Just as the Possessors thought Eric might finally stop the mindless box gacha.
"Consecration."
Eric merely uttered two words casually.
"Let's go again!"
The mindless box gacha resumed at frantic speed.
'Soon we'll hit 300 pulls with nothing—'
The Possessors' faces went pale.
Though seemingly unconcerned, Eric's trapezius muscles were twitching like crazy.
Click!
That's when Jang Du-sik's hand stopped.
"Hey, Boss. What's this?"
It was around the 300th empty box.
The Possessors were about to lose their minds.
But then!
"Huh—?"
"That... why?"
"...What?"
The Possessors were shocked.
With stunned faces, their mouths fell open.
[Auction House Creation Right]