Minerva approached me. I opened my mouth in disbelief.
“Is this the one you mentioned, Lady Minerva?”
“That’s right. I thought you, as a child, would know this, but I guess I was mistaken.”
“I thought it would be much smaller than this.”
I carefully examined the glass bottle filled with the holy water that glimmered with light. The liquid inside was so clear and transparent that it almost felt empty.
I mindlessly fiddled with the brooch pinned to my left chest. Minerva herself had said that with this brooch, I could carry not just one but a hundred bottles of holy water without issue.
I suddenly realized just how valuable this brooch was.
“It’s understandable since it’s my first time seeing such a quantity. With this much holy water, you could become the richest person in the Empire.”
It was the same in the game.
Before the enemies’ specs capped out in the 11th run, one of the few items whose price increased each run was the holy water that sparkled with light.
After the 11th run, the price of this holy water really became outrageous. Practically a quest-exclusive item, so purchasing it was practically non-existent.
“Now, it’s time to fulfill the reason I came here.”
Minerva lightly snapped her fingers. The top part of the cylinder slid open smoothly. In her hand was a small potion bottle.
Clear and transparent liquid started floating up from inside the cylinder, beginning to fill the potion bottle. Minerva’s fingers moved with extreme caution.
Naturally, considering the characteristics of the holy water.
“It’s ridiculously weak to impact.”
The most symbolic and deadly feature of the holy water.
It was weak to impact to an insane degree.
Any time the liquid received a shock beyond a certain level, it would immediately turn black and lose its power as holy water, and that threshold for “beyond a certain level” was astonishingly low.
That was precisely why the quest to gather materials for Ceres was notoriously challenging. Due to its insane sensitivity to shock, if the character even slightly messes up their action, it becomes useless.
Basic walking, running, rolling, wielding a weapon, taking damage, using the weapon’s special abilities, casting enchantments, invoking spells, casting sacred spells, using consumables, and other miscellaneous actions.
All of those were considered ‘impact’ and would spoil the holy water.
In other words, players could not run, roll, swing their weapons, take damage from enemies, or use magic or sacred spells while transporting the holy water.
Even moving quickly using statues or resting affected the holy water, meaning quick travel to Ceres’ hut was impossible.
Other materials could easily be transported using quick travel, so this was clearly intended by the developers.
“They basically want you to move only by walking.”
Thus, players had to move the holy water to Ceres’ location while sealing all other actions and moving solely by ‘walking.’
Even simply moving was considered impact, so it wasn’t just walking; they had to move using the slow walk that appears when pressing the Alt key.
The only place to gather holy water was the Holy Kingdom, and Ceres’ home was at the very edge of the Empire. In other words, this meant walking at the slowest pace from one side of the map to the other.
In that meantime, if hit by an enemy, that was the end, and if they rolled to dodge an attack, that was also the end, and if trying to deal with it from a distance, casting magic or sacred spells would also sign their demise.
Even if they walked in a straight line without any interruptions, the distance was enormous; if there was an enemy in the way, they would have to detour far away, and considering impassable terrain, the actual distance would be about twice that.
“At first, I thought all of them were quests that were impossible to clear.”
No matter how players tried to deliver materials, the holy water turned into waste, leading some players to think it was bugged and thus impossible to complete the quest.
When the method to clear the quest was finally revealed in the community, countless users who confirmed that absurd transportation condition were left stunned.
“I have to walk slowly from one end of the map to the other, without taking a single hit from enemies, and I can’t use statues? That’s just insane!”
The reason the holy water is ridiculously expensive also included such circumstances. How could one carry an item that would spoil if humans sprinted with it?
“Child?”
I was lost in thought, recalling that old, filthy something that I couldn’t even call a memory, when I snapped back to reality at Minerva’s voice.
“What’s the matter, Lady Minerva?”
“Are you done thinking? Your face looked way too serious, so I called you. If I interrupted you, I apologize.”
“No, Lady Minerva. It was just pointless thinking.”
“For that, your face looked quite angry, didn’t it?”
…….
I couldn’t help it. It would be more bizarre if those thoughts didn’t show on my face. Minerva smiled slightly at me and moved her fingers.
“Here.”
A potion bottle was gently placed on my palm. It was small enough that I could hold three or four of them at once, but the price would be staggering.
“Will you send the rest to the Mage Tower?”
“Indeed, I will.”
Minerva lightly waved her staff. A far more complex magic circle appeared around us than usual. Each magic circle emitted a blue light mass that surrounded the cylinder.
The light mass that wrapped around the bottle filled with holy water shone brightly. Soon after, the appearance of the cylinder vanished without a trace.
“Now we just have to leave the rest to the other children. Now, let’s go back.”
The magic circle used to transport the holy water wrapped around both of us. Overall, it felt much cozier than the usual teleportation.
I stood there, hugging the potion bottle with both hands, closing my eyes until I felt the light gradually dim, and then I opened my eyes.
…….
Right in front of me stood a surprised-looking Ceres.
“How did you get here so soon? I thought it would take at least a few days…… Did the children from the Holy Kingdom finish their tasks this quickly?”
“I guess it just turned out this way. Here, the promised holy water.”
I extended the potion bottle filled with holy water. Ceres widened her eyes in surprise and dashed over, carefully accepting the holy water as if it were a sacred relic.
“Finally…… finally……”
Ceres looked as if she was about to cry. Her eyes were teary, ready to spill over at any moment.
“The emotions can wait until after success; it’s not too late. So, let’s start quickly. We made a promise, remember?”
“Y-Yeah! We should hurry! It won’t take long, so just rest comfortably like you do at home! I’ll really be back in no time!”
Ceres trembled all over as she held the potion bottle, disappeared beyond the wall, and immediately returned at high speed to collect the other materials that had been on the desk.
Soon after, a foul smell started to waft around.
“I’m done!”
How much time had passed? Excited, Ceres came running at us with a small potion bottle in hand—the glass bottle that had contained the holy water.
Seeing that, I completely cut off the talk about the crystal scroll. Minerva, who had been listening eagerly, looked as if the world had collapsed.
Ceres stopped right in front of us, bowed her head deeply.
“Thank you. Really. It’s all thanks to you. I will definitely repay this…… I swear on my honor.”
I silently nodded. Minerva was staring at me, not Ceres. I mean, I would be meeting her in person soon, so what was the point of talking?
“Well then…… shall we drink it?”
With the happiest expression in the world, Ceres uncorked the potion bottle, looked at it with teary eyes, and gulped it down in one go.
The next chapter will be updated on November 6th at 1:00 AM.
“Alright! It’s all done! I haven’t used my strength in a while!”
With a radiant smile plastered across her face, Ceres approached me, soaked with sweat. Her skin shone under the lights, covered in black soot here and there.
In her hand was a sharp sword. Holding the sword upside down, she extended the hilt towards me.
“If it feels uncomfortable, let me know. I’ll adjust it for you. I guessed the size, but you can’t check it properly unless you hold it yourself.”
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