Chapter 109
Chapter 109: Make Me Water (3)
The human body is like steel. The more you strike it, the stronger it becomes.
"Hahahaha!!"
Beyond the walls of Arman in the Imperial Capital. The work of refining humans had begun. A woman of pure white was throwing a man of golden light in all directions.
"Cough."
Erik spat out blood and glared at his master.
'Still so harsh.'
There was no time to catch his breath with the continuous barrage of attacks flowing like water. Moreover, what was hidden in those hands?
"Just one arm."
Erik retrieved his sword from his torn-off arm and grasped it with his opposite hand. His arm was attempting to regenerate moment by moment, but the supreme divine power left by his master prevented any healing from occurring.
"Pick up your sword again."
If Erik were to use excessive force, he could recover. But now, he couldn't do that.
'Pain and endurance. And adaptation to power.'
To become accustomed, one had to endure discomfort. Erik lifted his sword with his left arm and pointed it at Riferoze.
Whoosh!
"Faith is earnest desire."
A white afterimage flickered. Erik tightened his left arm and tilted his sword sideways, then instantly struck down diagonally.
Clang!
"Earnestness is conviction itself."
As the swords clashed, the master's words continued, and the disciple listened intently.
Screech!
"To establish conviction and achieve miracles is divinity itself."
Thud!
Erik collapsed to the ground. It was difficult to find any intact part of his body.
The human body is like a flower. Petals fall and bloom anew. Each time, they become more radiant.
"Humans resemble both steel and flowers."
The master, observing her tattered disciple, withdrew her power.
Saaaaa!
Golden divinity rippled over the wounds, and the severed body began to regenerate. Erik rose with his restored body and asked his master.
"Master, isn't this not flowers falling, but flower petals being forcefully torn away?"
His expression was somewhat stubborn. At this, the master laughed deeply.
"Hahahaha!"
Then she instantly flew her body over Erik.
'Surely not.'
At that familiar flow, his instincts began to shine. Erik's body was enveloped in brilliant golden light, and six wings soared forth.
Screech!
At the same time, Erik's sword tilted diagonally. He bent his sturdy thighs firmly. It was an act of restoring his body's balance. The tilted sword and body gathered as one force. Erik unleashed that concentrated power all at once.
Whoosh!
It was instinct. As the skill motion of [Creation] overlapped with instinctive action. The world resonated.
Clang!
The master, suspended in midair with swords locked, looked down at her disciple.
"Behold."
Riferoze's sword was blocked by Creation. But it didn't end there.
"Didn't it?"
A massive greatsword rose from behind Riferoze, and it pierced into her back. Red blood spread over her pure white sacred robes.
"You touched me."
The [Judgment] that had only been blocked by his head before. This time, it had wounded Riferoze's back. It was merely a shallow cut. But he had wounded Riferoze.
'The robes... turned red?'
A drop of red blood wetted the back of Erik's hand. As if in disbelief, Erik's eyes widened.
'This... works?'
Erik raised his head to look at his master. In that brief moment. A deep smile was clearly visible. Between those clear eyes, a pure white pupil glinted.
"-Damn it."
But. That was all.
Boom!!!
With a small fist striking down on his skull, Erik was driven into the ground.
"Are you getting the feel for it?"
Short and thick. There was no more accurate way to describe Erik's training than this. For several hours, he continued exchanging blows in units of seconds. His body broke and regenerated countless times, consuming an enormous amount of divine power in the process.
"I never thought I'd spend 1 billion Gold on training..."
The use of skills, not to mention the number of times he replenished his depleted divine power, was beyond counting. He had burned 1 billion Gold just on training.
"...Still, Master's training method is truly remarkable."
Yet Erik was satisfied beyond measure. His body was shattered and in pain, but the speed of mastery was overwhelming.
"Yes, I'm glad to hear it."
The master and disciple laid their bodies down roughly on the broken earth.
"It brings back old memories."
There was a minor matter of having flattened the area next to the imperial capital, but this too was acceptable.
"Nature regenerates even when broken."
The vitality and mana drifting in the atmosphere steadily fortify nature as well.
"So is the human body the same?"
"Do you believe it now?"
"Of course you would..."
Humans become more resilient the more they regenerate. It was something he had thought insane in his childhood, but now it was different. It was something Erik had directly experienced and proven.
"The sky is so clear."
Riferoze stretched her body in an X shape.
"I'll specially give you a rest period."
She said so, but Riferoze was also resting her body like Erik.
'When was the last time I felt this fatigue?'
She was exhausted. Unlike Erik, who could fully recharge by spending merely 10,000 Gold, Riferoze needed time to recover her depleted power. In her youth, she had never known hardship...
'To recover such power with merely 10,000 Gold... truly a monster.'
The current Erik was different. His divine power was overwhelmingly abundant, and hadn't its quality risen to a remarkable level through this training? She anticipated the moment her disciple would become stronger than herself. With such thoughts, she turned her head to look at Erik lying beside her.
"By the way, now that I think about it, I'm curious, disciple. How did you accept that Ruelle offers prayers before so many spectators?"
To rest. This also meant a time for conversation. The two naturally exchanged casual talk.
"I ultimately lost."
"From Peran onward, you fought so stubbornly... But in the end, you surrendered to Ruelle's attention-seeking nature."
"But aren't we earning a tremendous amount of GP?"
"You mean the divine currency?"
Ruelle's supreme beauty would lead to unlimited GP.
"Divine currency... the nuance is curious."
"With that, the Possessors will receive Master's teachings."
Riferoze nodded with keen interest.
'Well, regarding GP...'
Erik also posed a question to her.
"Master, what is the Imperial Tower Master?"
The Imperial Capital Army general had fallen to Mong-Ma's authority. Now that the general had regained his senses, questions still remained. When, where, and how. This part was ambiguous.
"That's what the Spirit said."
"What is it?"
"Apparently, it's an authority that truly invades through dreams."
"After nature, even dreams... Why didn't you just kill him then? What's with that measly Thomas with 6 tiers?"
At Erik's question, the master's eyes narrowed. She raised herself up from where she was lying and looked down at Erik.
"That one was the most troublesome."
Her gaze was cold.
***
Massive banners fluttered above every gate of the capital. Amid an endless stream of people, not only soldiers but also nobles who came to support expressed difficulty.
"This is worse than the Procession of the Almanism Church Leader."
"Rather than golden carriages scattering money, hearing the voice of Priestess Ruelle once is far better."
"That's..."
Soldier Jin, who guarded the gate. He couldn't understand at all.
'What nonsense is this...'
But it was difficult to voice aloud. The soldiers were fine, but the condition of the citizens seemed somewhat strange.
"Those fanatics right there are the residents of District 3."
The previous Labyrinth Catastrophe. At that time, the Floor Master who had escaped the Labyrinth had swept through District 3. It was said that those among them who survived at Ruelle's church had become a sort of fanatics.
"Believe, and salvation shall come down upon you!!!"
Excessive crowds had gathered at this dedication prayer service. Originally, it was estimated that around 10,000 to 30,000 people would attend. No matter how much promotional coverage the [Imperial Daily] provided, only 5-10% of the newspaper-reading population actually converted to actual foot traffic.
"An enormous crowd..."
But Ruelle's epithet.
"...The Saintess of the Empire."
The designations of the great empire are special. The name of the great empire was affixed as a designation, and furthermore, the title 'Saintess' followed after it.
The Saintess of the Empire bestows blessings!!!
The fervor of the imperial citizens had become so intense it seemed to tear the ceiling. Soldier Jin, observing this, thought.
'If I misspoke here, I'd be beaten to death by the masses.'
There was no fanaticism like this fanaticism. The massive stream of people passed, and before the empty gate. The soldiers counted the estimated number of people.
"90,000."
An unprecedented crowd had surged into the church in District 3 of the capital. And.
"Everyone!!! The time for the dedication prayer service has arrived!"
The massive Imperial Central Church. A huge platform had been erected on the roof of the church, which had been hastily renovated. It was like a stage.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whump!
Countless spotlights shone on Ruelle standing there. It was the divine power radiating from her body. As Ruelle revealed herself.
"Waaaaaaaa!!!"
A roar that caused everything to vibrate echoed out.
'Ahhh-!!!'
Ruelle felt a chill. Her entire body tingled. A thrill ran from the tips of her toes to the crown of her head, and she surrendered to that excitement as she stepped forward before the crowd.
Swish!
As Ruelle swept her hand horizontally, the massive roar instantly subsided. Silence fell with a thump.
'So many people came to see me...'
She looked down below. The vertically pierced ceiling connected the church's interior to the rooftop platform. The interior of the church filled with people. Ruelle turned her gaze.
'The outside is packed with people too!'
Not only were the courtyard and connected spaces beyond the church grounds filled with people, but also the roofs of adjacent buildings. And all of these people had fallen silent with just one gesture of her hand, hadn't they? A tingling pleasure swept through her entire body.
Click. Ruelle took one step forward on the platform built on the church's roof. A pointed heel called a stiletto. Following the elegant line of her refined foot, a clear sound spread out elegantly. All eyes poured toward Ruelle. Ruelle, looking down at the assembled crowd, recited calmly.
"The time has come for dedication to the divine."
Along every street, countless boxes were placed among the crowds. In a world filled with formidable masters, honesty was a virtue and a means of survival. Everyone opened their wallets wide.
"You there, from this side to that side, collect it, Janson."
Where the reach of the boxes didn't extend, Jang Du-sik and Janson went around carrying large containers to collect donations.
"What salary do they earn to only give this much?"
Jang Du-sik twitched his club. At this, an elderly man grinned, showing yellow teeth.
"This old man doesn't earn much money, and even this is money earned through begging."
"Is that so?"
Jang Du-sik smiled broadly and brought his club down on the old man's head.
Crack!
Black blood splattered through the crushed skull, but soon Jang Du-sik's divine power erased it.
"Wh, what happened?"
The strike of the divine war-mage's club came down like lightning. So the citizens couldn't accurately discern what had happened.
"Hey, why won't you pay?"
Jang Du-sik continued collecting donations matter-of-factly. People who had harbored slight doubts moved their hands back to their wallets. After the collection time ended.
"The time for prayers you've all been waiting for has arrived!"
Ruelle walked across the platform with a dizzying curve. Her swaying hips and the fluttering platinum-blonde hair that followed. When she reached the end of the platform, heaven and earth trembled.
Waaaaaaaa!!!
A roar that swept the world away. And maddening enthusiasm.
'Ahhh!'
Ruelle didn't know what to do with the dizzying pleasure. And.
"Crazy Ruelle."
Erik, observing this, felt the same way.
[You have obtained GP.]
[You have obtained GP.]
[You have obtained GP.] . . .
[+85,040,954]
***
"You've worked hard."
"Hmm. Why thank me for this?"
Ruelle said so nonchalantly, but her two legs were still trembling as the excitement hadn't faded. Erik brought her a chair.
"Please sit."
Ruelle sat in the chair, and Erik stood behind her, whispering to her ear.
"You've earned 100 million GP."
"100... million?"
It was insane speed.
"How much is GP worth if converted to Chanel bags?"
"...Well. I honestly have no idea what the standard is."
After that, Erik briefly explained about GP and Gold. It was a simple structure: increasing believers with GP and appointing with Gold. But the values were strange.
"So... that chubby guy—ahem, Nishida Ryo is 200 million, but our pretty Pung-ho is 15 million?"
"Jackson is 1 billion."
Ruelle was confused. How should she understand this value?
"Still, 100 million is an enormous figure no matter how you look at it, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is..."
"So it's an overwhelming achievement. You're truly amazing, as expected of Ruelle."
Erik drew a very wide smile and sat down across from Ruelle.
"Then... the Fountain and Dimensional Gate can both be installed at once?"
"Well, there's a bit of a problem with that."
Erik had already attempted to install the [Dimensional Gate] and [Fountain] during the prayer service. But then a problem had occurred.
[To install the Dimensional Gate, a [World Tree] is required.] [To install the Fountain, a [World Tree] is required.]
In other words, a World Tree was necessary.
"Probably, the human-form World Tree feels like a real World Tree, and a large tree was treated as an item instead."
Could it be a concept of main body and spiritual form? Such a speculation occurred to him. Certainly, the [World Tree] name tag hadn't appeared at the Divine Edifice.
"Then what do we do?"
But Ruelle felt bewildered at this situation. This massive prayer service had received full imperial support on the premise of solving Arman's water resource problem. But wasn't that now impossible?
"The World Tree should arrive soon."
According to what he heard from the Imperial Prince, the migration procession of Elves had approximately reached the vicinity of Arman. It would be resolved in a day or two.
"Then what about until then?"
"Do you know why having work is good?"
"What?"
Erik rose with a deep smile. Then he extended his hand to Ruelle.
"If one task is delayed slightly, you can start solving other tasks instead."
"Huh?"
Ruelle, expressing puzzlement, took Erik's extended hand. The two left the church.
"Not quite at the level of the prayer service, but how about the Possessors' appointment ceremony?"
Ruelle recalled the prayer service from earlier.
'That tingling sensation again-.'
A chill ran through Ruelle's body.