Chapter 21
I descended the spiral staircase and stepped onto the second floor.
I pushed open the door.
As always, a dimly lit stone corridor stretched ahead, its end hidden from view.
I lit the lantern and stepped into the corridor.
As I walked along the straight corridor, I suddenly sensed something strange behind me and turned around.
A hazy, human-shaped shadow was quietly approaching, as if slipping through the wall.
—So this is a wraith.
Unlike skeletons, wraiths were troublesome because they approached without making a sound.
I swung my staff at the spirit.
It felt like striking water.
The wraith's outline wavered slightly.
I managed to push it back, but it didn't seem to have taken much damage.
Next, I tried magic.
The moment I touched the wraith, a chill crawled up from my fingertips.
The strength drained from my body.
Even so, I didn't hesitate to activate 'Life Steal.'
Perhaps because it had no body, the spell worked effortlessly.
A magic stone dropped to the floor.
—Life Steal works, but it retaliates the moment I touch it.
As I cast 'Heal' on my blackened fingertips, I considered how best to handle them.
I tried activating 'Life Steal' through my staff—but the mana flowed poorly.
Even so, I relied on my mana and forced it through.
—Crack.
A cracking sound rang out from the staff.
“Damn...”
I stared at the cracked staff.
Though it was consecrated, it was still made of wood. It could break.
But if I took it back, would they really replace it without a fuss?
It would be bad if they decided the second floor was too much for me already.
“...”
—Wait. This staff is made of wood.
'Heal.'
The cracks were repaired in no time.
Just as I thought, Life Magic works on wood, too.
—In that case...
I followed it with 'Enhance.'
I infused the staff with mana, as if strengthening each and every cell in the wood.
The staff glowed white.
Success.
The mana flowed through it far more easily, too.
I slammed my staff into the next wraith that appeared.
At the same time, I activated 'Life Steal.'
The wraith dissipated effortlessly, leaving behind a magic stone.
“This is more efficient than fighting skeletons.”
Now that I'd worked out how to deal with them, I immediately spread my mana deeper into the dungeon.
Drawn by my mana, wraiths came swarming toward me, but they were no match for me now that my Rank had increased.
With every swing of my staff, the wraiths vanished like smoke.
One after another, they dissipated without even having time to scream.
Eventually, silence settled over the area, leaving only the wraiths' magic stones scattered at my feet.
I gathered the magic stones, went out into the passageway, and entered the next door over.
I still had plenty of holy oil left.
I spread my mana from the entrance, drew in the wraiths, and hunted them the same way.
This method let me focus on hunting without worrying about travel time, and it was overwhelmingly efficient.
With two leather pouches packed full of magic stones hanging from me, I left the dungeon.
I set the staff and lantern on the counter.
The effect of Enhance had worn off, so the staff wasn't glowing anymore.
“Aren't you going a bit too hard on your first day?”
Baldo laughed as he glanced at the leather pouches.
“No. There still isn't enough to illuminate the darkness.”
I replied with a pious air.
“At your age, you'd think you'd be a little more arrogant... You're truly devoted to your faith.”
Baldo picked up the staff and returned it to the shelf.
On my way to the offering hall, I saw a boy with a shaved head walking toward me.
It was Kyle, one of my fellow trainees.
Apparently, he'd been selected for this training, too.
Our eyes met. He smiled happily, then walked past me.
【Name】Kyle
【Rank】I
【Magic Power】C
【Skill】Light Magic
【Magic】Heal Purification Holy Light
Kyle seemed to be making steady progress, too.
If anything, his magic might be better suited to the dungeon than mine.
I quietly watched Kyle's back as he headed for the dungeon.
Turn in magic stones.
Enter the dungeon.
Turn in more magic stones.
Monotonous days passed, spent repeating the same routine while shut away underground.
Even I, who could make my way through the dungeon with ease, was growing weary of it.
It truly was an ordeal, just as they said.
Hunting wraiths had become nothing more than routine.
I might be able to grow more efficiently if I advanced to the third floor.
But the Church would probably consider that thought “arrogant.”
To raise my Rank as efficiently as possible, it was better to make the most of the Church's system as a devout believer.
Today, too, I set out to gather wraith magic stones.
—And so, a little over two months passed.
I set a pouch of magic stones on the offering hall counter.
The priest weighed them without a word and entered the amount in the ledger.
Normally, that would have been the end of it.
But today, the priest spoke.
“Noah, today marks your hundredth consecutive day of offerings—and so, I grant you the Title of Darkness Illuminator.”
The priest made his announcement in a ringing voice.
The underground chapel was a place of training.
No one said a word.
But the atmosphere grew faintly charged.
“From now on, in accordance with your wishes, you may venture to whichever floor you desire.”
With that, the priest handed me a gold medal.
“By the Lord's light, I shall dispel the darkness.”
I recited the familiar scripture and hung the medal around my neck.
—Now I could challenge whichever floor I wanted.
I could raise my Rank even more efficiently.