Chapter 95
[Entering the 38th Floor (EXTREME).]
The familiar alert appeared, and the scenery changed.
The starting point of this floor was a temporary camp set up on a plain.
“This doesn't look very good.”
The smell of blood hung heavy in the air, and groans never ceased.
It seemed a fierce battle had already swept through here once.
I appeared right in the middle of it.
All the soldiers turned their eyes to me at once.
“It's the Little Sage!”
“We're all saved now!”
Hope and relief spread across their faces in an instant.
At the same time, I felt a faint warmth flow into my body.
The same sensation I felt on the 36th floor.
The people's awe was turning into milky-white glimmers and being absorbed into me.
Of course, the amount was still small.
Then a familiar figure approached. It was Sharon.
Her greasy hair and face smeared with sweat and muddy water were full of fatigue, but the moment she saw me, she smiled brightly.
“Sage! You vanished so suddenly last time that I was so shocked....”
I nodded and looked around.
“What happened this time? I thought we had more or less wiped out all the undead last time.”
Sharon's expression darkened again at my question.
Sharon let out a sigh and began explaining.
“They were quiet for a few days, then they appeared again. With far more of them than before.”
According to Sharon, the undead horde from last time had only been the beginning.
If anything, the enemy's identity had only now become clear.
There appeared to be a powerful black mage behind them.
“There is a powerful black mage behind them. He's endlessly reviving dead orcs.”
Sharon could not continue and bit her lip.
Fear was hidden in her eyes.
“He wasn't an ordinary black mage. Even if the soldiers merely caught sight of his shadow from afar, they would collapse under the weight of his curse. We couldn't do anything....”
Fear was spreading throughout the entire kingdom.
An irresistible power of death.
The soldiers' morale had already sunk to the bottom.
'Does one mere mage really have enough power to fight the whole kingdom?'
I thought to myself.
After meeting that old man who could grind magic to dust, a mere black mage didn't feel threatening at all.
If anything, I was interested.
'I'll be fighting a mage for the first time.'
Up until now, most of the enemies I had faced were monsters that relied on strength and instinct.
What would a fight against an intelligent mage feel like?
'Maybe there'll be magic I can copy again, too.'
I didn't know where it had suddenly come from, but...
I had a feeling I would end up fighting it before reaching the 40th floor.
I looked around.
I could see soldiers groaning in pain inside the tents.
“They're sick because of magic?”
In that case, there was a way.
I pushed the power of the Eye of Insight to its limit.
Then I saw it.
Magic clinging to the soldiers' bodies like leeches and draining their life force.
It was clearly the death curse Sharon had mentioned.
“I think I can get rid of this.”
One method came to mind.
I focused power at the tip of my finger.
A golden grain of sand appeared.
I walked into the nearest tent.
“I-I see... so it's finally time to die.... It feels like an angel has come to take me away....”
The dying soldier opened his eyes weakly when he saw me.
I lightly sprinkled the golden grain of sand onto his forehead.
Ssssssss-!
The instant the sand touched him, the black energy enveloping the soldier's body vanished like smoke.
“It works, as expected.”
It was effective.
The soldier's ragged breathing quickly settled down.
The soldier looked down at his hands with a bewildered expression.
“My body feels light.... Is this what becoming a soul feels like?”
“Stop spouting nonsense and get up.”
The soldier was babbling nonsense, perhaps because his mind was still hazy.
I ignored him and moved to the next bed.
“M-my goodness....”
Sharon, who had been watching from the side, gasped.
I sprinkled the same holy sand on the other soldiers as well.
Of course, I didn't forget to collect every grain of sand afterward.
This was limited edition, after all.
The soldiers whose curses had vanished sprang to their feet as if a miracle had occurred.
They all slammed their heads to the ground at once.
“Thank you! Thank you, Sage!”
“He's not a sage! He's a god!”
The soldiers' eyes grew even hotter than before.
Far more faith flowed into me than before.
But I still felt it wasn't enough.
'At this rate, when am I ever going to raise my rank, and when am I supposed to stain my body with sand?'
Then a familiar voice rang in my head.
[Sand Worm advises that it's because there isn't a system in place yet.]
'A system?'
[What you're gaining now is closer to personal worship. It's far from organized faith.]
'Aren't those basically the same thing?'
[Sand Worm advises that, for true faith, you need a focal point to gather their faith and spread it.]
Sand Worm's explanation was clear.
Right now, I was just an incredibly strong and grateful benefactor.
For this to develop into faith, other elements were needed.
[Sand Worm advises you to make an apostle.]
'An apostle?'
[A follower who proclaims the master's greatness, spreads his teachings, and guides others along the path of faith.]
[Doctrine and holy sites will be needed in time as well, but for now, an apostle.]
I nodded at Sand Worm's words.
I understood.
In other words, I didn't have a salesperson to spread my doctrine.
I looked around.
The perfect candidate was right next to me.
“Sharon. I need to talk to you for a moment.”
I led Sharon to a quiet corner of the camp.
She followed me with a tense expression, not knowing what was going on.
After pausing for a moment, I got to the point.
“Sharon, how about quitting being a ranger now?”
“Huh?”
Sharon's eyes widened.
It seemed completely unexpected to her.
“Why...? Did I do something wrong?”
“No, nothing like that. It's because I have a better job for you.”
I said, making my expression as serious as possible.
“Would you like to become my apostle?”
“....A priest?”
Sharon repeated it as if she didn't understand the word.
I changed my wording.
“Hmm, priest is a bit much? Then how about a holy knight? The holy knight in charge of the team's stamina. Holy Knight. Doesn't that sound cool?”
“I... I'm not quite sure what you mean.”
“Hmm, then....”
I decided to explain as simply as possible.
“I'm saying I'll let you use the same power I just used to lift the curse.”
Sharon's eyes widened at my words.
She had clearly seen the miracle I had just shown her.
The overwhelming power to solve, with a single finger, a death curse that no one in the kingdom could do anything about.
To think she herself could wield that power.
“But how could I possibly use power like yours, Sage...?”
“Of course, you won't become as strong as me. You'll just borrow a portion of my power. Think of it as some kind of proxy.”
I explained the role of the apostle that Sand Worm had mentioned.
In the end, an apostle would serve the exact same role as my flag.
It would spread my faith in my place, gathering it like an antenna and transmitting it to me.
Of course, Sharon would receive a portion of the faith power in the process.
I supposed that would be the fee.
“With this power, you can heal soldiers and purify cursed lands. And you'll be able to face those wraiths yourself, too. You'll be able to save far more people than you ever could as a ranger. What do you say?”
Sharon fell into thought for a moment at my explanation.
But her hesitation didn't last long.
The wraiths her arrows had passed through helplessly.
Her comrades dying without any way to fight back.
And my power, which had solved all of it in an instant.
There was no reason to hesitate.
“I will do it.”
She answered resolutely.
“Sage, you never once asked us for anything. You helped us out of pure goodwill.”
“...”
“So I will gladly become your sword and shield. What do I need to do?”
I nodded.
As expected, Sharon did not disappoint.
“Good. Then let's start with baptism.”
“Baptism...?”
“Yes. It's kind of like a contract. Come here for a moment and kneel down.”
Sharon followed my words without complaint.
She reverently knelt on one knee before me and bowed her head.
I conjured golden holy sand at the tip of my left index finger.
How should I pass this on?
“Do you want power?”
“Yes, I do.”
No, this felt a bit off.
Soon, one method familiar to me came to mind.
I dusted a few grains of sand into Sharon's mouth.
“Take and eat this. This is my body, which will be given for you.”
I recited a line that sounded very familiar from somewhere.
It had history and tradition behind it, so it would probably work. Probably.
The moment the holy sand touched Sharon's tongue, a soft golden light enveloped her entire body.
Sharon's body trembled slightly.
I could feel part of the divine power within me flowing out.
As the light faded, Sharon slowly raised her head.
The look in Sharon's eyes was subtly different from before.
It felt somehow deeper.
“This is... your power, Sage....”
Sharon murmured in awe as she looked down at her hands.
A faint golden aura was rising over her palms.
I lightly patted her shoulder.
“Come on, it's time to get up. We still have work to do.”
“Yes, Sage.”
“Now we need to find that black mage. Which way do we go?”
At my question, Sharon pointed toward the wasteland ahead.
“The undead all appeared from that direction. There should probably be his lair at the end of it.”
“Good. Then let's set off right away.”
After ordering the soldiers to tidy up the camp and wait for the reinforcements, the two of us headed into the wasteland alone.
After walking a short while, we encountered new enemies.
[Grrrr....]
Black shadows crawling along the ground.
They had no form, but they radiated clear malice.
If this had been before, I would have had to step in myself, but not anymore.
“Sharon, give it a try.”
“Yes.”
Sharon nodded with a tense expression.
She took out the bow slung across her back.
Then, with a deep breath, she focused her new power into the arrow.
The ordinary arrowhead began to glow with a dazzling golden light.
Ping-!
The arrow left the bowstring and flew, tracing a trail of light.
The arrow pierced the center of one of the shadows exactly.
[Kieeek!]
The shadow screamed and burned away.
An enemy that was wiped out with a single arrow.
Sharon swallowed hard, her gaze darting between the shadow and the ashes it turned into.
“... It really works.”
“Of course. Whose power do you think it is?”
I said with a smile.
Sharon drew her bowstring again.
This time, there was no hesitation.
Golden arrows were fired in quick succession, purifying the shadows one by one.
Every time an enemy fell, a tiny but unmistakable amount of faith points flowed into me.
Every little bit adds up.
This was exactly the scene I had wanted.
And so we crossed the wasteland.
With each successive battle, Sharon quickly adapted to her new power.
How far had we gone?
At last, a strange structure came into view at the end of the wasteland.
“Is that... a temple?”
It looked like the ruins of an ancient temple.
But an ominous aura was seeping out of the entire temple.
A curse aura many times stronger.
It was certain. Our next target was there.
“It's probably inside.”
“Are you going in right away?”
“I would like to, but....”
Based on my experience climbing the tower so far, I judged the situation.
This was probably the end of this floor.
That place would be the stage for the 39th floor.
“I think we'll probably have to meet again in a few days. Wait until I come back. Oh, and gather faith diligently! Proselytize to everyone around you!”
It was the moment I finished speaking.
[Congratulations on clearing the 38th Floor EXTREME difficulty.]
[First clear bonus applied!]
[Rank 1 bonus applied!]
Familiar clear messages appeared as I was flung out of the tower.