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HELHEIM SCANS
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Chapter 37: The First C-Rank (1)
The first ones to attack us were a pack of wolves.
Massive gray wolves, much larger than humans.
They dashed madly toward the already destroyed castle gates.
“Fire!”
Arrows rained down from the still intact parts of the castle wall, but the wolves charged ferociously, undeterred even as arrows pierced their bodies.
“Summon Flame Chariot!”
A chariot of fire roared to life.
Wolves were engulfed in flames as they collided, but even as the fire spread around them, they charged on without fear.
I commanded the Flame Chariot to circle the entrance repeatedly and drew my sword.
“Silion, please help.”
Diana unsheathed one of her twin swords and kissed it.
A green wind enveloped the blade, and it floated into the air by itself.
Its tip pointed toward the wolves and then flew forward.
The speed was blinding, and in the blink of an eye, the heads of dozens of wolves were severed.
“We will join the fight as well.”
The warrior awakeners who had been idle so far stepped forward confidently, defending the hill from the wolves’ attacks.
Feeling reassured, I charged toward the wolves.
“Grrraaaah!”
Thunk.
As a wolf opened its jaws to bite me, I drove my sword into its mouth and thrust it through.
Unable to withstand my strength, its teeth shattered, and my greatsword pierced through the inside of its mouth.
Slash!
I yanked out the sword and swung it in all directions.
Just my right hand was enough to wield the blade, while my left crushed the skulls of wolves lunging to bite me.
Boom!
“Grrrr…”
The wolves tried to surround me and subdue me, but the gap in physical ability was insurmountable.
While their movements might seem fast to others, they appeared excruciatingly slow to my eyes.
As they attempted to form an encirclement, I broke through it, crushing and smashing each of their heads.
At this rate, they were no different from mere Uruks.
Even though my buffs had decreased, I was confident I could take them all down on my own.
“Grrr…”
Having seen their comrades die as soon as they approached me, the remaining wolves hesitated, retreating step by step as they warily watched me.
Well then, it’s my turn to go to them.
I leapt into the midst of the wolves and resumed the slaughter.
Their flesh was tough and dense, making it hard for other awakened ones to deal with, but they were no match for me.
“A monster…”
I heard an awakened mutter in a stunned voice behind me.
By the time I turned around, the area around me was already littered with the shattered bodies and blood of wolves.
This seems manageable enough.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, a sharp pain suddenly hit my forehead.
Danger detection?
Here?
I dodged to the side, and a massive axe slammed into the ground where I had just stood.
Immediately, a massive figure descended from the sky.
An enormous orc, even larger than the already huge Uruks.
Its skin was brown, with large scars across its eyes and cheeks.
With an ogre-like frame, it wore crimson armor and looked directly at me.
“Are you the Apostle of the Gods?”
“Yes. And who are you?”
“Grosh. I serve the Earth Mother Goddess as her Apostle.”
Grosh pulled the massive axe, larger than my own body, out of the ground.
“If I sever your head and offer it to the temple, perhaps I will once again hear the Goddess’s voice.”
Grosh… If I remember correctly from the strategy guide, he’s an orc hero.
So he’s not just another mob.
This is going to be a hassle.
Still, I’ve got to deal with him somehow.
[Grosh is a neutral Apostle of the Earth God and one of the few orcs not mentally dominated by the Black Dragon Arkardian. He is aware of the unusual situation in the Black Dragon Legion but has yet to receive a revelation from the Earth God. As chaos becomes evident in the Black Dragon Legion, his actions may change. Your objective is to force Grosh to retreat.]
[Side Quest]
[Difficulty: Hard]
[Objective: Force Grosh to retreat without killing him.]
[Quest Reward]
Blessing of the Earth God
Enhanced affinity with Earth Spirits
A sudden quest, huh?
It’s a side quest, so I don’t have to complete it, but the reward is tempting.
Fine.
Let’s subdue him first.
“Earth, bind him!”
The ground suddenly turned into a swamp-like texture, and giant hands emerged beneath me.
This guy can summon spirits too.
I kicked the hand aside and rushed toward his body.
“Hup!”
Grosh leaned back, gathering energy.
A burst of mana exploded from his body, trying to repel me.
It’s similar to how I used to release mana.
As my speed momentarily slowed, he struck my sword with his axe.
Clang!
The impact pushed me back.
“A mere human with such strength…!”
Our physical strength was evenly matched.
This is doable.
However, the unstable terrain makes fighting him troublesome.
The Earth Spirit’s constant interference is an annoyance I can’t ignore.
“Summon Flame Chariot!”
I mounted the chariot and charged at Grosh.
Holding the fiery reins with my left hand, I thrust my greatsword with my right.
The charge of the chariot combined with my sword strike.
Even if he could block the sword with his axe, the force of the fiery chariot would be difficult to withstand.
“Earth Shield.”
But Grosh formed a shield of earth in front of him.
The clash of mana caused the chariot to rebound.
Immediately, his axe came crashing down.
I parried with my sword, but the force pushed me back.
I tumbled backward along with the chariot.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Grosh’s massive frame charged forward relentlessly.
I maneuvered the chariot to dodge his attack and drew Artemis’s bow.
I aimed for his eyes and fired, but he instead lowered his head, deflecting the magic arrow with his helmet.
The arrow of light disappeared entirely.
What’s that helmet made of?
It’s incredibly tough.
Is this what being a hero gets you?
High-end gear?
On top of that, divine energy doesn’t work on him.
“Phoenix, come help me!”
[Understood, master.]
I called the phoenix I’d sent to deal with the wolves.
If I don’t subdue this guy quickly, I’ll run out of mana, and this will get really annoying.
As the phoenix flew toward us, Grosh paused momentarily to observe it.
“A phoenix! But it’s still young. Earth Spirit, restrain the phoenix!”
The ground surged upward, forming wolves out of earth.
Though small, there were dozens of them.
The wolves leapt into the air, harassing the phoenix and preventing it from joining the fight.
Damn it.
What a troublesome foe.
But there’s no way he can keep summoning Earth’s power indefinitely!
Boom! Boom!
The clash of sword and axe echoed like explosions through the air.
I had never fought an opponent with such brute strength before.
My entire body ached, but every ache only fueled my vitality thanks to the infinite stamina skill that reinvigorated me.
The phoenix was battling the wolf spirit, but it occasionally spewed fire in this direction to assist, gradually shrinking the size of Grosh's earth shield.
"Impressive... Truly worthy of being a Apostle of order!"
My sword strikes were slowly breaking through.
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As Grosh's earth shield dwindled, he used his shield and axe to block the Flame Chariot while taking my sword strikes directly with his body.
Grosh’s armor was pierced, and his flesh was torn, but his subtle evasive movements made it impossible to land a critical blow.
"Urgh... Oh Earth Mother Goddess, grant me your strength!"
Blood began trickling down his body, and his movements became visibly slower.
If we kept fighting like this, I would gain the upper hand.
As long as I didn’t run out of mana.
It seemed this battle would be decided by whose mana ran out first.
“Apostle, let me help you!”
Diana, who had been cutting down wolves, shouted toward me.
I was tempted, but having her join me would make it harder to keep Grosh from escaping.
“No, focus on helping the others. I can handle this on my own.”
“Understood.”
Diana nodded at my words and leapt back into the battlefield.
Grosh growled, glaring at me.
“You dare to underestimate me?”
“Underestimate you? Not at all. But if this keeps up, it’s obvious I’ll win, don’t you think?”
Grosh's face turned beet red, and his eyes began glowing crimson.
Ugh, did I provoke him too much?
Is he about to use some ultimate move?
I hastily spoke.
“If Diana joins me, you’re dead for sure. Why don’t you retreat now?”
“…What’s your angle, Apostle of the gods?”
“I encountered a lich at the Fire Sanctuary. Undead who follow chaos. Don’t you think something about this whole situation seems off, given you’re a Apostle of the Earth Mother?”
“A lich, you say?”
“Yes. It destroyed an orc village and turned the inhabitants into zombies.”
“Hmm… That’s hard to believe.”
Despite his words, Grosh seemed less eager to fight.
He might just be convinced if I push a little more.
As I pondered my next move, I suddenly remembered my title.
[Bat Awakener]
[Grade: B]
[A title earned by receiving the blessings of two divine factions.
When equipped, it reveals only the blessing of the main patron god.
Can be detected by Grade A or higher awakened beings.]
If I unequipped this title, wouldn’t it hide the neutral patron god's blessing too?
I removed the title, and Grosh’s eyes widened in shock.
“No… How can this be? The blessing of the Volcano…?”
“I am also blessed by the Goddess of the Volcano. If I were truly your enemy, would I tell you to retreat?”
“…You have a point.”
“Go back and investigate. You were unharmed by attacks infused with holy power, but the dragonkin were destroyed with just one holy arrow. Chaos and the Black Dragon are definitely connected.”
“I did sense faint traces of chaos in the dragonkin, but the Black Dragon assured me it was fine… Perhaps I must look into this further.”
Perhaps because of the blessing of the Volcano, Grosh accepted my words more easily than I had expected and began retreating.
Before turning to leave, he gave me a warning.
“Beware the earth. The Giant Wyrm is stirring.”
With that, Grosh dashed off and disappeared.
A notification popped up before me.
[Your affinity with earth spirits has been strengthened.]
[The Goddess of Earth, Skadi, bestows her blessing upon you.]
[Your neutral faction stats are increased by 1.5 times.]
[When standing on the ground, your physical regeneration and mana recovery increase.]
1.5 times?!
That’s incredible!
For a side quest, this blessing was ridiculously good.
I deactivated the flame chariot and stepped back onto the ground.
The difference in mana regeneration was immediately noticeable.
My physical stat, previously at B, now felt significantly stronger.
The improvement was tangible, even more so than when I had exclusive access to Athena’s buffs in the past.
“Kill the Apostle of the goddess!!”
Although Grosh had retreated, the massive orcs continued charging, undeterred.
Was Grosh not as influential as I thought?
Well, it didn’t matter.
The quest rewards were fantastic.
My level had also risen to 48.
Just two more levels to go.
The area was swarming with orcs, wyverns dropping statues from above, and now a Giant Wyrm rumored to be coming from below.
The battlefield was chaos, with enemies in every direction.
The number of awakened fighters guarding the entrance alongside me had noticeably dwindled.
This was bad.
We couldn’t afford to lose more people yet.
“Flame Chariot, summon!”
I used the Flame Chariot to mow down enemies while instructing the phoenix to focus on the skies.
“Try to thin out the wyverns.”
[But going that high will drain a lot of your mana.]
“I’ve got the Earth’s blessing now, so my mana regeneration is much better. Go wild up there.”
[Understood. I’ll do my best to pin them down.]
The phoenix soared into the sky, while the Flame Chariot rampaged across the battlefield, eliminating orcs left and right.
I swung my sword relentlessly, cutting down any orcs that evaded the chariot.
Time became a blur.
My Hephaestus armor was dented and damaged, and the Flame Chariot had disappeared.
My greatsword was dull, so I sheathed it and picked up a club from a fallen orc, smashing monster heads with sheer force.
The hill of earth spirits had become a flat plain from the sheer number of bodies.
Hearing the sound of drums, the frenzied orcs hesitated momentarily.
“Ugh… Don’t retreat! The wrath of Akardian will fall upon you if you do!”
“Focus on him! Kill him, and it’s over!”
As the orcs renewed their assault, our warriors fell one by one.
“Kim Jiho… I’ll revive and return.”
“Argh…!”
Glancing around, I noticed the warriors’ numbers had dwindled significantly.
More than half were gone.
Diana had gone to deal with the Giant Wyrm that had emerged at the heart of the stronghold.
At this point, it was just me and a few warriors holding the entrance.
“Kill him! Kill him now!”
“Throw the axes!”
“Shield.”
Blocking the axes flying from all directions, I charged forward again, smashing orc skulls.
Even with my infinite stamina, I was growing tired of this endless battle.
How long would these maniacs keep charging?
Exhausted, I continued fighting.
This felt like the Battle of Changban, except I was alone.
If the other warriors fell, the line would eventually break.
Even I couldn’t hold them off forever.
My only hope now was to reach level 50 and ascend to C-grade.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, a long-awaited notification appeared.
[You have reached Level 50.]
[You are the first Earthling to reach Level 50. You have earned the title ‘Pioneer of Earth (Hero).’]
[You have fulfilled the achievement conditions.]
[You can now ascend to C-grade.]
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HELHEIM SCANS
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