After finishing my job change and opening my eyes, I found myself back in the forge.
The door leading down had been closed tightly for a long time, and the Muscular Uncle was hammering away like it was nobody’s business.
“…You’re back.”
“Hmm.”
“How do you feel? You should be much stronger now.”
“…I’m not sure.”
Maybe because I experienced the fourth job change once already, it didn’t feel all that impactful.
My unique stats and powers weren’t significantly different from when I was on the path of the Saintess, but there was one special thing: the ‘Holy Destruction’.
As the name suggests, it is a holy power specialized in ‘destruction’ that can deal damage when attacking, unlike the Holy Healing.
Since the level of the holy power is similar, I should be able to take down a Kraken that has awakened without the help of a raccoon.
And while I worried a bit about the possibility of my ‘tendency’ changing due to mental corruption, thankfully, I was the same as before.
Just me.
Me, whether it’s destruction or compassion, it doesn’t matter.
“I’m still quite lacking. It’s like I’ve just stepped onto the starting line.”
[What’s this?]
[Lily is in her growth period]
[Why isn’t she choosing the spear?]
[I wanted the spear, damn it]
[Lily is suited for the hammer, okay?]
[Are we heading to the New Continent now?]
[Are we going to catch some demons?]
[Let’s go catch a monthly report as a celebration for the fourth job change]
“The starting line, huh… that’s an interesting story.”
“Is there anything more?”
“Not really! There might be more later, but for now, that’s it.”
So, there really isn’t a ‘fifth job change’ yet.
I had heard about it from some people who had already undergone the fourth job change, but it was as I expected.
I think we’ll get the next job change through some special updates or something for the fifth anniversary.
And if there’s another thing I’m curious about…
“Anyway, that’s all I can give you for now. Is there anything else you want to know?”
“What exactly is Teshiniria?”
“Oh! Are you interested?”
“A bit. I learned about the ‘Source of Explosion’ from another me…”
“First, before talking about techniques, you should know what that place is. Teshiniria is ancient. It’s a place where the ‘old race’ lived a really, really long time ago, and they all possessed tremendous power. They founded a powerful kingdom based on that overwhelming strength and once ruled the world—”
“Just get to the point.”
“It’s an amazing place.”
With a thud, the long bar the Muscular Uncle was making hung over his shoulder once again.
“Unfortunately, I don’t know much about techniques. It’s not that I can’t tell you, but the technology is so old that it hasn’t been properly passed down.”
“Then what do you know?”
“Just the basic operation methods and some intermediate pole techniques. Oh! I learned blacksmithing-related techniques at a professional level. At a professional level, I’m pretty outstanding.”
“I’ve learned it at a professional level. If it’s at the professional level, it’s outstanding.”
“…….”
“So, what do you think? Are you going to check out Teshiniria first? If you say you’re going, I’ll definitely let you know.”
“No.”
“Right. Of course… hmm?”
“Goodbye.”
Bang!
[?]
[Hahahahaha]
[Yeah, not going~]
[Oh, haha, the celestial being is first]
[Useless]
[You’re not going to that Tesh-whatever?]
[No use for martial arts, lol]
[Since you’ve learned a technique, it’d be good to go to Teshiniria first]
[Look at that immediate response, lol]
[Can’t stand a scatterbrained giant?]
“I also think Teshiniria isn’t bad. I got some techniques through the 4th class.”
I obtained a blunt technique related to Teshiniria.
Even if they’re not amazing techniques like “Roar of the Spear” or “Eye of the Spear” made by the Eight Seats or the highest-ranking Celestial Race, I can at least deal with the ones below that level.
Above all, it’s definitely better than the blunt techniques my dragon kin and I created together.
“The origin of explosion is basic skills. But despite being basic, it matches the Four Great Dragons.”
Black Dragon, Ice Dragon, Thunder Dragon, Light Dragon.
Even compared to the four strongest techniques among the dragon kin, it’s not lacking, so it has enough value.
“One is not a blunt technique but a martial art, though.”
“But that’s why we have to go later.”
It’s unreasonable to face the real ones there with just this clumsy blunt technique.
I might not be behind in power, but it’s a blunt technique I’m not used to, plus they’ll know all the weaknesses of the techniques I don’t know.
First, I need time to get used to this technique.
I headed straight to Elbrite for the last-minute preparations before leaving.
■
My real-life identity is a NewTuber and streamer with millions of subscribers.
I live a very busy life due to the nature of my job, where I almost have to broadcast every day and have at least one or two big or small meetings a day, but Deoen is busier.
He’s a top ranker, the Duke of Elbrite, the Dean and Professor of Eli Academy, leader of the Bandit Guild led by the raider Rapina…
Besides that, he’s caught up in countless relationships with users, residents, and something systematic, to the extent that he lacks even a few bodies.
So, to reduce that busy time, I delegated part of my work to many people, while reality is handled by editors and managers.
“…Huh.”
Deoen’s work is fully taken care of by Besk, who used to be one of the Eight Swords.
“All done.”
“Are you finally here?”
In front of me was Besk Ronhadia, the practically overworked ruler of Elbrite, with dark circles under his eyes down to his chin, instinctively handling paperwork.
On his desk lay countless magical documents waiting for processing, alongside messy remnants of half-finished coffee. Given that the servants cleared it every two hours, it was easy to guess how much coffee he usually consumed.
‘Besk is somewhat superhuman, huh.’
[That kid is dying.]
[? Hahahahahaha.]
[Come to think of it, he was here.]
[Besk is about to kick the bucket.]
[Look at those dark circles.]
[He’s turned into a panda.]
[Slave #1 is about to die, huh?]
Creeeak…
“Here you go.”
“What’s this?”
“It’s my resignation. I can’t take it anymore.”
I took the paper Besk handed to me.
Inside the paper were details about retiring and a dense record of thousands and thousands of the cases he had processed.
In particular, the last entries were almost ten thousand cases that had occurred recently within just “one month.”
‘Ten thousand cases in a month, huh.’
Even I, who temporarily took charge of the kingdom, had never experienced such a level.
Hoo…
“The sandy woman just up and left for the desert while helping out. Do you even understand how many disasters have appeared that need to be dealt with?”
“You’ve had a tough time.”
“Yeah, it’s been rough. Just look at my face!”
Boom!
Papers scattered all over the desk.
He shoved a mirror from the corner of the office in front of him to reflect his face.
“Look! This face worn out from labor… huh?”
“What about your face?”
Just a moment ago, Besk had been mired in fatigue. But in the mirror, Marquis Besk appeared surprisingly neat, caught off guard.
Not a hint of fatigue, his face radiated vitality.
Whoa…!
With my touch, compassionate holy power rippled around him.
‘Is this the heart of a saintess?’
With the skill activated, I felt like a vastly generous person.
It was a power that didn’t distort the mind or apply pressure, but instead brought peace to the heart.
Simile time: it’s like enjoying a banquet of exquisite delicacies at a super expensive spa, then soaking in the water afterwards.
Revived, Besk’s knees slowly bent as he looked up at me with trembling eyes.
“You’ve had a lot of work and suffered, haven’t you?”
“Y-yes… that’s right.”
[?]
[Hahahahaha.]
[Why suddenly like this?]
[No, I believe!]
“Unfortunately, we need someone to handle this matter. The reason we sent Serrek back to the desert was that we needed someone to take care of the issues over there to prevent disaster. It was a necessary decision.”
“I-I see. But—”
“Even if that’s the case, Marquis Besk, it doesn’t change the fact that you will have to go through hardships.”
Ugh.
As I reach out, something black bursts forth from the space.
That black cloud now covers the sky of the office.
—What’s that?
“Hmm… what should I name it?”
—Why are you suddenly calling for…
“Right. Let’s call it Dark Cloud. You’ve been playing around quite a bit, huh?”
—…
This black cloud, also known as the Spirit of Darkness, is the first one I caught after my return.
It came from Bluering’s dungeon and hasn’t done anything since the siege battle a few months ago.
At best, it just frolicked around in the Space of Despair or realized that the real power there is Lasty and followed her like a servant.
Even in battles with Kraken, it hung around Lasty pretending to ‘participate,’ but when the Demon King of the One and the Red Horse were getting slaughtered, it just casually drifted away and did nothing.
Dark Cloud’s expression. Well, cloud doesn’t really have a face, but it looks at me with a tense vibe.
—… That battle was too high level for me to get involved…
“So I’ll introduce you to a less intense fight.”
I lightly nudged Dark Cloud’s head with Holy power.
At the end of my gaze, Besk sparkled as he found a new slave… I mean worker.
“You two are now working together.”
—I can’t handle administrative work like that.
“You’re doing just fine casting magic next to Lasty. It’s much easier than magical formulas.”
—…
“Well, if it’s too hard, you can just assist. That should be enough, right?”
“That’s more than enough.”
Besk’s expression brightened significantly.
[Hahahahahahha]
[Another slave?!]
[Oh lol go ahead and work if you played around]
[Compassionate Lily, whoah]
[But yeah, the Spirit of Darkness really has been pretty inconspicuous]
[Who is Dark Cloud? (for real no idea)]
[Shall we go?]
Anyway, now that there are two people to handle things, I don’t have to worry about this for a while.
“Now let’s really go.”
It’s time to head to the new continent, Ertarn.
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