[Stats]
[Level] 25
[Health] 1
[Mana] 1
[Faith] 1
[Endurance] 1
[Skill] 1
[Power] 1
[Magic Power] 10
[Divine Power] 10
[Durability] 7
‘This will do.’
After pumping my durability to 7 with stat points, I released my hand from the verification orb. As the blue light faded, the letters and numbers that had appeared in the air like a status window disappeared.
It was rewarding to have been clearing out mobs in my spare time. Comparing it to the serious stats of the Forsaken, which were 1s across the board when I first arrived at the Silver Dawn Knights, I’ve made remarkable progress.
From now on, I just need to raise my faith to about 3 or 4 and allocate strength and mana in a reasonable ratio. Or, depending on the situation, I could boost endurance a bit for stamina. That choice was entirely up to me.
Health was a stat that meant nothing in Darkest Light Mod, and faith was only needed at the level to cast a spell once or twice. Skill wasn’t really necessary either unless you’re a magic or faith character.
To be precise, even for melee characters, the needed stats differ based on weapon types and builds, but in my chosen build, there was really no reason to allocate points to skill instead of strength.
‘Now, the only question is how to get that weapon.’
Lost in thought, I left the room. The conditions were perfectly set, but the blind spot remained: how to obtain a weapon to use after the Blood-Stained Sword.
The quest needed to obtain it was notoriously dreadful for being utterly mind-numbing—not because it was hard, but because it devoured time like crazy while being unbearably boring. Unlike the rock centipede, which complained, “Why was this made like this?”, this quest felt like it was made to say, “They made this just to mess with us!” The purpose was so evident that it received less flak.
It was a quest that took over 10 real-life hours to complete for a full clear, and now it could take months.
“Are you ready?”
As I turned the corner, lost in my thoughts, Lize, donned in shiny silver armor with a helmet tucked under her arm, greeted me. Her armor shone bright, indicating extra care in maintenance this time.
“I’ve had it ready for a while. What about you, Lize? No wait, I don’t need to ask. Your armor gives it away.”
“I’m glad it shows my effort. Even our Delta noticed right away.”
“It’s obvious just by looking. You could use that as a mirror! Why go to such lengths?”
“Because I’m meeting someone as important as the Pope. A Pope in the Holy Kingdom is practically equivalent to an Emperor for them, so I can’t be careless.”
‘The Emperor…’
That mention brought a slight bitter taste to my mouth. Just two days ago, I had spent a sleepless night because Selene shocked me with the news that the Emperor was extremely concerned about me.
Now time had passed, and my emotions had calmed somewhat, but I still didn’t understand why someone who had only seen me once would be so concerned.
“Are you really going like that? Not even in armor? Aren’t you nervous?”
Lize scanned me from head to toe. I was wearing my usual cloth clothes, leather pants, and suitable sneakers, the Blood-Stained Sword sheathed at my waist.
I didn’t need anything else. We weren’t responsible for our food or shelter in the Holy Kingdom.
Armor? That would hinder my roll. Nervous? Sure, it’s a game, but I had met the Pope more times than I could count. My only task was to pray that my personality wouldn’t change too much.
“The armor is a hindrance.”
“That’s not the issue.”
Lize looked at me with narrowed eyes.
“You absolutely must tell me about that secret later. No exceptions.”
Her insistence had become stronger, and for good reason.
After Selene left, while talking about my experience hunting the Arachnae, I had mentioned that my stats had increased. So, the Inquisitor probably sensed my divine power.
I had a backup excuse prepared. I could say that as I gradually regained my past memories, my physical abilities also returned little by little.
But I hated lying, so I gave up on the excuse and simply said it was a secret. That led to Aurora and the knight commanders giving me death glares.
‘I can’t let the Emperor find out, so it can’t be helped.’
Honestly, I had considered that maybe it was okay to reveal the truth to those five. The knight commanders were allies I could absolutely trust, and Aurora had no personality to betray.
But after hearing Selene’s words, I resolved to keep my mouth shut a bit longer. I just felt like I might be watched at any moment.
If the Emperor had not taken an interest in me, I might have revealed my secret soon.
At least until I was sure I could handle that interest, nothing about my secrets could reach the Emperor’s ears. I still couldn’t handle it now, and giving more excuses would really get me in trouble.
“Of course not! I’ll tell you someday.”
“I’ll keep watching.”
I ruffled Lize’s hair as she poked her lips out. I could guess what more meaning was behind her saying she’d keep watching. Lize closed her eyes obediently and accepted my touch.
As we headed to the Castle Main Gate, the sight of the knight commanders donned in shiny silver armor came into view. Iris, standing at the front, opened her mouth upon seeing me.
“You’re not wearing armor again. Aren’t you nervous?”
“Not really? Lize just asked me that; is there really a connection between armor and being nervous?”
“Meeting the Pope of the Holy Kingdom, and you can remain that calm? Aside from the Emperor, you’re the only one who could pull that off, Delta.”
Her response was filled with disbelief. I thought Iris would be keeping her calm but apparently, she wasn’t.
“Are we all gathered?”
Pop! Cellene appeared right beside us, her robe flipped over her head. The sudden appearance startled the knight commanders, who instinctively reached for their weapons, but relaxed once they confirmed her identity.
“Is that… magic?”
“Call it a miracle, if you would. It’s entirely different from magic.”
Cellene replied flatly, pulling a divine catalyst from the sleeve of her robe. It was a deep silver hue, with a full moon drawn in the center.
“Gather around me. I will teleport.”
As soon as she said that, the divine catalyst shone brightly. Darkness descended around us, and bright moonlight broke through the darkness. A white light mixed with silver spread in all directions.
Ding! A clear, chime-like sound echoed from the divine catalyst, wrapping us in light.
When the surrounding light dissipated, we found ourselves standing in the Lord’s Mansion’s garden. There, Aurora was waiting for us, arms crossed.
“My Lord?”
Iris let out a confused voice upon spotting the Lord.
“I asked the Inquisitor to stop here for a moment before heading to the Holy Kingdom. We aren’t just going for a simple monster hunt; it’s a meeting with the Pope. I can’t just say ‘good luck’ and send you off.”
Aurora unfolded her arms and walked toward us, handing over a heavy pouch she was holding. Iris accepted it and opened the pouch.
Inside were piles of Imperial gold coins.
“What is this…?”
“I just put in a fair amount. Since Holy Kingdom and Empire currencies are the same, you won’t lose by having them. I figured you might not need it, but better to have it just in case.”
“Then can I return the leftover coins later?”
“What? Why return it? I’m just giving it to you guys. Do what you want with the leftovers—share it, or treat it as public wealth for the knight order. The last pig shredder made sure I have only pocket change left so don’t worry about it.”
“Understood. Thank you, My Lord.”
“……”
After finishing her words, Aurora stared at me with her characteristic golden eyes. It was just a bit uncomfortable. I could almost picture the Emperor with the same black hair and golden eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m just curious. What could make you draw such interest from even the Emperor and the Pope… You have a lot of secrets, don’t you?”
“If I knew that, I would have avoided it long ago.”
It seemed bizarre that both the Emperor and the Pope had begun to care about me even when the main story hadn’t progressed much. If I had known such things would happen, I would have rewritten my plans from the start.
Hearing my response, Aurora chuckled.
“Well, I guess I’m not in a position to say anything about that.”
“Huh?”
“I just wanted to wish you a safe trip. Don’t die recklessly.”
With those words, Aurora abruptly turned on her heel and walked towards the mansion, her hips swaying. Meanwhile, the knight commanders were all staring at me.
Although their expressions were hidden behind their helmets, I could sense a kind of understanding.
“Are we done with the greetings?”
Only Cellene, as if nothing had happened, was preparing to infuse the divine catalyst with divine power for teleportation again.
The knight commanders turned back to Cellene, and Lize stared at me a bit longer before finally looking away.
“Seems so.”
“Understood. I will start moving to the Holy Kingdom now, but there’s a limit to how far you can all teleport at once. So, we will need to divide it into several jumps and take short breaks along the way. Do you have any remarks regarding this matter?”
“Does anyone have anything to say?”
No one spoke up. Once Cellene confirmed that, she raised the divine catalyst.
“Then I’ll begin. We need to travel much farther than just now, so you might feel a little dizzy, so please be careful.”
Another chime echoed, and silver moonlight surrounded our bodies. Suddenly, I felt my body lift, as if being pulled into somewhere.
Everything spun around. What was supposed to be just a dizzying feeling was no bluff—my sense of direction vanished and I could not even tell which way was up or down. I couldn’t even tell if I was standing straight.
“We have arrived.”
Did we struggle for almost 10 seconds? Along with Cellene’s apathetic voice, my feet touched the ground again. I briefly wobbled before regaining some balance.
Looking around, I found that while I felt a slight dizziness, the knight commanders probably seemed fine.
“This… is not just a bit dizzy!”
“Seems so…”
“Ah, wait a moment. My legs have gone limp…”
“…Me too, sis.”
But contrary to my expectations, the knight commanders were all trembling and collapsed on the floor, struggling to get up. I was frozen in place, wondering how this had happened.
“You are less affected due to the sacred power you possess. They, on the other hand, are not, so it is only natural they would struggle much harder. This has nothing to do with physical toughness, so it is unavoidable for them.”
Cellene, who had silently moved beside me, answered my question. It turned out my divine power stat I had allocated beforehand allowed me to remain unharmed.
I definitely hadn’t planned for this.
“Inquisitor, could you inform us how many more times we’ll need to teleport to reach the Pope’s location…?”
Erica raised her shaking hand to ask.
“If we move the same distance as before, then eight more times.”
“…Ah.”
A barely audible gasp echoed through the quiet forest.
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