Hummm…
In the heart of Rosellia Temple, injured people were being carried out one after another to the treatment room.
It was a sight the Saint Liesta could never have imagined she would witness here.
She looked at the scene with a heavy heart, knowing that despite everyone throwing themselves into battle, her own shortcomings meant she couldn’t fulfill their wishes.
Just then, her gaze fell upon a knight surrounded by priests in one corner of the treatment room.
It was Heinrich, his body still marred with dark stains despite having received purification treatment several times already.
Sigh…
Another deep breath escaped her lips, one of many that day.
“Saint, you’re still here?”
“Oh, Cardinal Cordelia…”
The cardinal, wearing a similarly tired expression, approached her.
“You must take a break, Saint. You’ve overexerted yourself today.”
“I just can’t seem to rest, perhaps because my heart is unsettled.”
Having expended excessive holy power fighting the Undead King, she was also at her limit caring for the injured right after the battle…
But looking at this situation, she found it impossible to relax.
“And I still can’t forget the final scene from earlier.”
“If you’re talking about that moment… then yes.”
Cardinal Cordelia’s gaze shifted to follow the Saint’s.
“Heinrich…”
“His life isn’t in danger. It looks like his recovery will take some time, though.”
“That’s a relief.”
“But…”
The Saint was well aware, having examined Heinrich herself, just how severe the curse’s effects on him were.
A type of black magic that inflicted extreme pain and dealt a significant mental blow.
Even a paladin would become incapacitated if hit directly while defenseless.
Well, normally, you wouldn’t suffer that much damage if you had holy power wrapped around you…
Yet Heinrich took the hit barehanded.
He couldn’t have been unaware of the curse’s danger right before him, but he endured it purely by willpower.
Every drop of holy power he could spare was funneled into his weapon, all to pierce the heart of the Undead King, to ever so slightly increase his odds.
For his mission… for his belief.
Seeing him act so obstinately, she felt a heavy weight in her chest, thinking that if he hadn’t pushed himself so hard, they might not have defeated the Undead King.
“At that moment, I thought it was the only way… but was it really? If only I had… tried harder, would there have been another possibility?”
A blessing that allows spatial movement, instantly activated whenever desired, was an incredibly rare power.
At that time, Heinrich was the only one who possessed it right there.
She had considered it the best option then, but was it truly?
Wouldn’t it have been better to put herself at risk rather than push others into danger?
Maybe then they could have dealt with the Undead King right then and there…
“Saint!”
Cardinal Cordelia’s firm voice cut through the Saint’s endless self-recrimination.
“That was indeed the best method at the time. Everyone present did their utmost for that, and he exceeded our expectations. You have no reason to blame yourself here.”
“But…”
Seeing the Saint still hesitating, Cordelia offered a soft smile, like a grandmother observing her granddaughter.
“And thanks to that, we have a new hero. Now that the Undead King has returned, it’s absolutely necessary to have a hero capable of standing against him.”
A young knight in his early twenties, possessing holy power on par with the bishops in the paladin order.
His combat ability was no less impressive, making him a promising talent for the future.
“This trial will only make him stronger. He’s not a man who’ll easily fall to such events. He is a hero receiving the Holy God’s attention.”
Helping that hero grow even faster and stronger was, in the Cardinal’s view, their duty to fulfill.
Hero…!
The Saint clenched her fists, glancing back at the unconscious Heinrich.
Thinking back, she realized it made sense.
As she had read in countless stories, she had always been the supporting figure beside the hero.
Even in the vast experience of reading many tales, she had never come across a story where the saint directly fought the Demon King.
Demon King, Hero, Saint!
The imagination of a dreamy 18-year-old girl swelled.
With a now brightened expression, her resolve shining in her eyes, the Saint was merely met with a gentle smile from Cardinal Cordelia.
*
Clap Clap Clap
“Excellent, just excellent.”
I couldn’t contain my emotions and stood up to give a standing ovation.
A round of applause for myself, the writer and director of this magnificent scene.
“I’ve started off on the right foot. The narrative between Hans and Heinrich as rivals is now complete.”
With the final boss Hans fully realized, the rapidly growing hero candidate Heinrich was no longer lacking in hero potential.
His newfound bishop-level holy power was on par with that of the paladin leaders.
Of course, he would still lag behind them in actual combat skills and experience, but those could be compensated for through future effort and Heinrich’s skills.
Getting the blessing: Radiant Blade was also a major win. An attack that could slice through darkness like paper!
Whether it was due to Heinrich’s pure effort or because a watching patron had supported him for a dramatic effect no longer mattered.
What matters is that power suits a hero’s tale perfectly!
Now that I had successfully impressed the upper ranks of the Church, I could say I had wrung out every benefit from this situation.
Though, the biggest win is something else entirely.
My gaze turned towards the floor of the room.
Slither…
The floor turned dark in an instant as a black shadow slowly rose from below.
It was Hans, now a ragged skeleton clad in tattered robes, after the fierce battle.
Thanks to careful concealment, his energy hadn’t leaked out, but just looking at him sent chills through my soul.
What an incredible atmosphere he has.
In truth, the powers he wielded were even more astonishing.
*
-Entity Name: Hans
-Race: Undead (Undead King)
-Common Traits: “Mind Hub”, “Persona”, “Enlightened Wisdom”
-Entity Traits: “Heart of the Undying”, “Evil Wisdom”, “Forbidden Knowledge”, “Path of Magic”, “Eye of the Abyss”, “Magic Control”
-Special Notes: Fully inherited the ‘Heart of the Undead King,’ a disaster of the Auterica dimension, becoming the third Undead King. Black magic is supplied endlessly through the heart. As long as the heart is not destroyed, he regenerates ceaselessly. Transcending death, he has become the king of all the dead and an enemy of all living beings.
Having already experienced the “Eye of the Abyss,” although it wasn’t an ability that could be used infinitely, its effects were highly satisfying.
“Heart of the Undying” not only enhanced his existing abilities but also strengthened all his skills, such as “Evil Wisdom” and “Forbidden Knowledge.”
Moreover, “Magic Control” not only improved his basic magic control but also allowed him to seize some level of control over enemies…
The ultimate evolution of a spellcasting profession.
He was truly the Demon King itself.
To make matters worse, unless the heart of the spatial dimension took damage, any harm he sustained was meaningless, making him practically invulnerable.
Thanks to that, this entire performance was able to succeed.
Hans, seemingly unscathed despite his heart being pierced and scorched by holy power.
Since “Radiant Blade” hadn’t possessed the power to cut through dimensions, it was only natural he had fully recovered by now.
Heinrich would need quite some recovery time due to the dramatic effects of the curse, but that was an unavoidable part of a hero’s trials.
Thus, the “Operation: Living Room Theater: Demon King and Hero” commenced smoothly.
According to the setup, Hans would have to remain active on Earth for a while, but that gave him the perfect opportunity to clean up the accumulated mess.
Now, what remained was…
It’s time to cash in! Time to settle the viewing fees!
A play on a continental scale.
Of course, it would take time for the echoes of this incident to spread elsewhere.
Although its direct impact was confined to the church for now, given the achievements involved, I’d say the karma generated wouldn’t be small.
『Karma Shop』
『Unique Skill Enhancement (800,000)』
『Status Enhancement – View Details』
『Available Karma – 1,641,132』
Oh, it looks like I gained around a million?
Points that could allow an Awakened One to return to Earth in an instant.
That’s quite the scale for just one event.
At any rate, it was a good outcome for me.
Without hesitation, I chose to enhance my unique skill.
I felt the familiar headache once again, and I realized I could generate another avatar.
And…
《Unique skill has grown, unlocking potential. Acquired special skill “Customization”.》
Now I could change various settings for each avatar once per instance.
This is…!
It’s like that character creation service that makes people ponder for hours before starting the game!
My hands were itching to try it out right away.
At that moment, I noticed Hans standing idly in front of me.
With other avatars busy with their own affairs, Hans was the only one I could test this immediately on.
Besides, if I could change his appearance using “Customization,” perhaps I could revert him to a human form!
With such hopes, I quickly used “Customization” on Hans, and…
I was left speechless.
-Smooth skull, round skull, cracked skull…
-Round eye sockets, tilted up eye sockets, sagging eye sockets…
-Neat teeth, sharp teeth, vampire teeth…
A detailed list floated before my eyes.
Not only that, but I could also sculpt my own skeleton through additional fine-tuning!
…The limits of the race can’t be exceeded.
In truth, Hans, who usually wore a mask and made no human connections, wouldn’t find this ability particularly helpful.
If absolutely necessary, I could just layer some illusion magic. Given my improved magic level, I should be able to keep it under wraps.
As I rationalized my thoughts while examining other features, unfortunately, Hans could only access the appearance-changing option.
“Initial Status Settings” included in “Customization” was restricted to avatars being created anew.
But still, this is amazing! Now I can adjust the stats ahead of time according to future professions!
Currently, his stat distribution resulted in overall high values across the board.
He could quickly adapt to any field, but this approach was inherently inefficient.
But now, I could specialize those average stats to one particular field.
For instance, a wizard could focus on intelligence and magic, a warrior could focus on strength and endurance…
Perfect timing! Now that I can create a new avatar, I’ll test it right away. Which direction should I take…
Just as I was about to use “Customization” for the avatar creation…
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, a piece of information flashed through my mind.
Skills didn’t reveal all their information right from the start.
They were usually unlocked through personal realization or meeting specific conditions, making skill mastery an essential task.
But no! That’s not important right now!
What I realized at that moment held immense potential.
Generating avatars related to that race through a medium is now a possibility!
Though the word “medium” was quite ambiguous, I instinctively understood what it signified.
I made my way to the small pot in the corner of the living room.
The environmentally friendly air purifier given to me by Cecily… no, the ‘Branch of the World Tree’ was over there.
I’ve actually grown quite fond of it.
Regrettably, there was no choice; I reached for it and pulled it out of the pot.
This was the medium that would allow me to generate an avatar as an ‘Elf.’
