Chapter 15
Battle Aura.
Among the Priest’s cost-effective basic skills, it boasted peerless performance alongside Cure.
For just one skill point, it granted a buff that increased attack and defense by 15% for a full 60 seconds.
‘If Priests weren’t so dependent on their ultimate skills, they’d be the default choice for most multiclasses.’
Vwoom─!!
A faint white aura began to rise around Zion, and before long, a halo of light spread in every direction.
Battle Aura’s hidden strength was that it strengthened not only the user, but every member of the same party as well.
[The protection of God descends upon you.]
[Attack increased by 200%.]
[Defense increased by 200%.]
‘What the hell……!! What kind of buff is this?!’
‘Is this the new power Big Sis bestowed upon us!?’
But just like Cure and Revival, Battle Aura’s performance had also been enhanced to an absurd degree.
Thanks to Zion’s buff, Ifrit and Rin could only stare in shock at those outrageous numbers.
It was enough to easily overpower even the buffs granted by <Miracle>. This was the power of a legendary Saintess……!!
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< The Forgotten Battlefield >
It should have existed only in the records,
yet in a distorted reality, it spread its wings once more.
The trials of the past may have been light,
but the murderous intent now before her was harsh reality.
And so the hero clenched her fist once more.
Help her defeat the nemesis of her past.
Reward: ???
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But that wasn’t the end of it. The two checked the quest that had suddenly appeared, their eyes widening like saucers.
The difference between a normal quest and a hidden quest was whether it had a reward. If the reward was displayed outright, it was a normal quest.
Otherwise, it was a hidden quest. It wasn’t 100% reliable, but most adventurers made the distinction that way.
“Let’s see……”
“Zion!!”
“Yes?”
“Leave the front line to me!!”
They would have gladly helped Zion even without a reward, but having one only made them more eager.
Ifrit was the first to attack. Flames erupted around her and took the shape of a giant firebird.
Then, like a savage storm, they swept over the Golden Griffin. Her enhanced flames melted its feathers with ease.
[Kyeeeeeee!!]
“My turn next!”
The moment the blazing inferno burned away the griffin’s hide and feathers, Rin kicked off the ground and shot forward like a flash of light.
With an overwhelming buff and Ifrit’s flames having stripped away its defenses, every condition was perfect—except for one.
There was just one thing missing to finish off that monster…… Rin’s skill.
‘With my skill as it is now, I can’t even cut off all its legs, let alone its head. Then at the very least……!!’
The youngest High Ranker in the Tower’s history. In terms of talent alone, she was considered the very best among all the High Rankers……
Put another way, her talent had yet to fully blossom. It was a painful truth she had no choice but to face.
She wouldn’t make the same mistake again. In that instant, the Sword Dragon’s blade came crashing down on the griffin’s forelegs like a bolt of lightning.
“Now, Big Sis!!!”
The griffin’s upper body pitched forward after losing both forelegs. Its wings had melted away, leaving it unable to fly.
Perhaps it was because they were High Rankers, but even though they’d never worked together before, their teamwork was flawless.
The Golden Griffin was almost pitiful by now, but what could they do? They still had a job to do.
“At least I’ll send you to the Lord painlessly, in one blow!!”
Crunch!
The ground cracked under the immense force it could no longer withstand. At the same time, Zion shot into the sky.
It was closer to a leap than a glide, but she rose so high that everyone watching momentarily thought she had flown.
“Meteor Kick.”
In Dungeon and Soul, it was originally a mediocre skill that did little more than deliver a diagonal kick while jumping.
A niche skill scorned in both the Arena and raids was now beginning to display overwhelming power.
A streak of light fell from the sky. Zion’s figure traced a meteor-like arc as she cut through the air.
Crunch! KWAANG!!
At last, Zion’s meteor-like kick struck the Golden Griffin squarely in the head. A thunderous boom followed.
The force was so immense that even the two High Rankers were pushed back for a moment. How much time had passed?
“Phew.”
The thick cloud of dust cleared, and Zion emerged, holding an unfamiliar item in her hand.
◇
‘It even drops items just because it’s a boss monster, huh.’
Zion gave a faint smile as she looked at the items in her hands. Every one of them was a nostalgic item she hadn’t seen in ages.
In her right hand was a necklace bearing the Golden Griffin’s emblem, while in her left was a white sword.
A white longsword with a clean, elegant shape, closer to a ceremonial sword than a standard longsword. Both were items dropped by the Golden Griffin.
“Big Sis! Are you feeling all right?!”
“That was one fiery attack!”
‘I don’t need these right now anyway…… I should just give them to the two of them.’
No matter how easy someone was to exploit, if you put them to work, it was only right to pay them a fair wage.
Besides, the Golden Griffin was a tutorial-zone boss, so none of its drops were particularly good.
If she could get away with tossing two High Rankers junk as payment for their help, she’d come out ahead.
“First, I’d like to thank you sisters for so readily pitching in to help.”
“It’s fine, this was nothing.”
“I’m happy as long as I was able to help you, Big Sis. If you don’t mind, perhaps we could take a bath together sometime……”
“That might be a little difficult…… Instead, I’d like to give you these as a reward.”
Zion showed the items in her hands to the two of them. They could each choose whichever one they wanted.
But rather than looking delighted as she’d expected, the two fell silent and stared at the items with serious expressions.
Had they realized they were junk items? Zion felt a little guilty, but unfortunately, that wasn’t why.
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< Faded Valor >
There was once a time when its valor could tear the sky apart
and make even the earth tremble.
But now, having sinned and been cast out,
its claws and fangs have grown dull,
and its valor has become nothing but a hollow echo.
Effect: Attack increased by 275%.
Attack increases by 1% for every 1% of health lost.
Generates a barrier when health falls below 10%.
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< Rusted Glory >
In the past, when it was a divine beast,
this accessory was permitted only to royalty.
It once protected the majesty of the royal family,
but now, no one even remembers it.
Effect: Negates death once.
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Rusted Glory’s ability to negate death once was astounding, and Faded Valor’s effects were just as absurd.
The attack increase on legendary gear crafted using that precious Dragon Heart as a material was around 300%.
But Valor’s base attack was only slightly lower than that of legendary gear. In every other respect, it was nearly on par.
“Then I think I’ll take the sword.”
“That’s unexpected. I thought you’d choose Rusted Glory.”
“If you’re by my side, I won’t die.”
“……I can’t stay by your side forever, can I?”
“Then I guess that means Rusted Glory is mine.”
Just as each of them was choosing one item as a reward, something began to happen to the giant griffin’s corpse.
Like the remains of a fire, its body crumbled into ash, which drifted on the wind and scattered across the golden forest.
What remained was a purple crystal about the size of a boulder. Zion tilted her head.
“……What is this?”
“It’s a magic stone. A kind of material item dropped when a monster dies. And at the same time……”
[Kyuaaah!]
Just as Ifrit was in the middle of explaining, something came leaping over with the sound of pounding feet.
As it turned out, the hatchling had secretly run away before the fight began, but had come back after catching the scent of the magic stone.
But this time, the hatchling rushed not to Zion, but to the boulder-sized magic stone left behind by the Golden Griffin.
“Well, as you can see, dragons eat them as food too.”
“I see.”
“Anyway, now everyone can be happy.”
“That’s true…… My goal was only to find food for that little one, after all.”
Watching the hatchling greedily devour the magic stone, Zion fell into thought. She was a little tired, but……
She’d hunted a nostalgic monster in a nostalgic dungeon after all this time, and achieved her goal, so it really wasn’t bad.
‘The problem is, what should I name it?’
Zion ended up agonizing over it for no good reason.