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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 47: Seems Like the Order Faction is Skimming Rewards (2)
Whoosh.
Suddenly, flames surged forward from my forehead, and a phoenix emerged.
[Master. I’m back.]
“Oh, welcome back.”
[I could’ve come out earlier, but I held back out of consideration for you... Hah.]
The phoenix, now returned to its former size, flapped its wings once and let out a breath.
The flames flared brightly before fading away as smoke.
[Disappointing. Master, you’re no man.]
“Hey, shut up.”
[Huuuuuu.]
The phoenix exhaled flames like it was blowing out cigarette smoke.
Ah, I felt an urge to punch it.
[It’s a pity I couldn’t watch something entertaining. I’ll take a flight around the area.]
“Go ahead.”
The phoenix spread its wings and flew off into the distance.
I was feeling good after receiving my rewards, but now I was left feeling unsettled again.
Let’s check the Blessing of the Sun God.
[Blessing of the Sun God]
[The power of all fire-related skills increases by 30%.]
[The limits of flame magic can be expanded further.]
[Your mana increases by 20%.]
A blessing related to fire, huh?
This was quite useful.
Stacking it with Athena’s Blessing beautifully boosted my Order Alliance stats.
Even after spending the day like this, no main quest appeared.
Everyone decided to return to Earth.
The awakened ones agreed to rest for three days before coming back again.
“Jiho, did I make a scene yesterday while drunk? I’m so sorry.”
“No, not at all. It’s fine; these things happen.”
“Ugh... That Dwarf beer was way too strong.”
Seeing Kang Shia apologize with a red face made me feel like I handled things well yesterday.
Yeah, I probably just got swayed by that pervy Pollux’s talk and thought I missed my chance unnecessarily.
As soon as I returned, I was led to the Hall of the Gods by Liana, who had been waiting in advance.
She seemed extremely excited.
The moment we stepped through the portal to the Hall of the Gods, Liana grabbed both of my hands tightly.
“Hunter Jiho Kim. What on earth happened?”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“There’s now a statue of me in the Hall of the Gods!”
“They said there wasn’t one before because your merits weren’t enough, right?”
“Exactly. This is such an honor!”
She released my hands and ran toward the path lined with statues.
Wait, isn’t running prohibited in a sacred place?
I followed her, and Liana stood staring in awe at a statue that looked just like her.
“A statue of me in the Hall of the Gods... Ah, it feels like a dream…”
“Are you that happy?”
“Of course! Now I’m eternal... Ah…”
“Eternal what?”
“Oh, this is something only accessible after reaching the legendary rank... Please forget it.”
Ugh, how anticlimactic.
Anyway, Liana kept pacing around the statue, dusting it even though there was none.
She finally snapped back to her senses when I cleared my throat.
“Hmm. I made a scene. My apologies.”
“If you know that, let’s go.”
“Yes… But really, what did you do?”
“Do you remember the name you used in Kevrian?”
“Nope. I don’t remember anything from back then. Others seem to recall bits and pieces, though…”
Liana tilted her head with an innocent expression.
Well, maybe forgetting is a blessing.
Things didn’t end well back then.
“There’s a high elf named Diana who looks just like you. I helped her become the Sun God’s Apostle... It might be related to that.”
“Diana…”
Liana walked off, murmuring Diana’s name.
Her face looked troubled when I glanced at it.
As she kept repeating Diana’s name, I spoke up.
“Do you want me to tell you about Diana?”
“No, it’s fine. If the gods made me forget, there must be a reason…”
Trailing off, she closed her mouth.
Following her brisk pace, we soon reached another portal.
Passing through, we found Pollux seated as before, though this time he looked utterly dejected.
“Sigh. You’re here, you impotent fool.”
“Hey, if I had done it yesterday, it would’ve been disastrous.”
“Tsk. If you’re given an opportunity, you should seize it. Are you planning to live your whole life toying with your manhood?”
“My manhood is my business, old man.”
“Ugh, what a waste of a skill. Just return it already.”
“No take-backs after giving, hehe.”
The Infinite Stamina skill was really useful.
Not getting tired was amazing.
Grumbling, Pollux tapped the floor with his hand, and three golden pillars rose up. I quickly grabbed the two items I had been aiming for.
[You have acquired the A-rank weapon, Amplification Sword Yeoui.]
[You have acquired the A-rank skill, Thunder God.]
[Thunder God LV1]
A-rank Active Skill.
[Harness and control thunder. Emit and manipulate electric shocks at will. The quantity and power of the shocks can be adjusted based on mana. Upon leveling up, physical transformation becomes possible.]
Simple enough.
As I mastered the skill, I got a sense of how to generate electricity from my body.
“Thunder God.”
Summoning a moderate amount, white electric currents crackled in both my hands.
It was small now, but increasing mana consumption would quickly amplify it.
With the recently acquired Focus Enhancement and full deployment of Thunder God, it’d probably be overwhelming.
The Amplification Sword Yeoui was also very satisfying, allowing me to adjust its size at will.
I couldn’t wait to test these out in Kevrian.
And the opportunity came quickly.
“There it is, the orc fortress, Ebiwood.”
“It looks sturdier than I expected.”
On the 20th day since our return to Kevrian, we stood with a force of 5,000—including 3,000 hunters, elves, and dwarves—camped before the orc fortress.
“We need to breach this fortress to access Arkardian’s lair.”
“But their defenses are so solid…”
“We’re busy protecting the Earth Sanctuary, so we don’t have any siege weapons.”
Elf Alfid and Dwarf Lord Ambrosian spoke with grim expressions.
Ambrosian, who had joined us while defending the Earth Sanctuary, stood out with his height—1.5 times that of a typical dwarf.
His white beard, hair, and wrinkled face left a strong impression of a seasoned elder.
He was adept at controlling earth spirits, making him a formidable ally, though not quite on Diana’s level.
“By the way, I heard Lady Diana has finally become the Sun God’s Apostle…”
“Yes, she’s currently drawing out the Apostle’s power at the World Tree.”
“It would’ve been nice if she were here right now. What a shame.”
When I received my quest reward, Diana, who had finally been appointed as the Apostle of the Sun God, wasn’t able to join our unit.
Diana, who regretfully said she’d join us soon after drawing out the Apostle’s power.
It would’ve been convenient to have her, but…
For a fortress like this, we can manage without her.
“Can we win if we destroy the gate and bring down the surrounding walls?”
At my sudden question, Ambrosian widened his eyes in surprise.
“Well, that would work, but…”
“In that case, I’ll take care of it.”
I left the barracks alone.
Riding a flame chariot, I sped toward the gate of the enemy’s fortress.
Stone walls loomed before me.
The massive walls completely sealed off the canyon.
Adorning the walls were bones hung like trophies, and towering Uruks stood guard, wielding rocks and axes with fierce determination.
But that was all.
“Blessing of the Whole Body.”
I charged the flame chariot straight toward the enemy’s walls.
Weapons rained down from all directions, and rocks hurtled toward me.
But their trajectories were strangely warped.
Every weapon narrowly missed me, harmlessly dropping to the ground.
“Binding of the Air!”
When weapons failed, they turned to magic.
Shamans mobilized to stop the flame chariot that sped through the air.
The flame chariot, which had been moving smoothly, stopped just shy of the fortress.
The shamans tried to bind my body as well, but I couldn’t help but scoff.
“Magic Discharge.”
Enhanced by Athena’s magic encyclopedia, my magic discharge broke their binding.
And with it, I drew my sword—Yeoui.
A sword so sharp it could split stone.
Strengthened to its utmost.
Large enough to cover the entire wall.
Infused with my will, I focused its power.
“Focus Enhancement. Thunder God.”
The target of the enhancement: Thunder God.
As Yeoui enveloped in lightning, it began to grow.
What had been a small dagger quickly amplified.
Yeoui swelled to the point of obstructing my view and extended toward the wall.
“Blessing of the Earth!”
“Shield of the Wind!”
Earth rose as a wall, and shields formed of wind appeared in midair, but their magic was torn apart like paper.
“Reinforce the gate!”
Magic gathered around the gate, but Yeoui was already there first.
The extending blade paused for a moment before piercing straight through.
Crash!
The gate was utterly destroyed.
But I couldn’t stop there.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
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With the massive blade still in hand, I swung it.
My grip felt like it would tear, and my arms felt as though they’d fall off, but it was fine.
It only needed two swings.
Once diagonally to the left.
The wall split like tofu, white lightning engulfing it.
The proud Uruks burned to cinders, turning the top of the wall into a scene from hell.
“Aaaargh!”
Then I bisected the wall entirely and reduced Yeoui once again.
In an instant, Yeoui shrank.
My arms felt like they might give out.
But I had to cut the right side as well.
This time, I didn’t use Focus Enhancement, only Thunder God.
“Thunder God.”
I could feel my chest emptying.
My magic was nearly depleted, but it didn’t matter.
I could still attack once more.
After all, my task ended here.
Yeoui amplified again, extending toward the broken wall.
This time, the blade lightly sliced across the wall to the right.
What had been hell on the left was mirrored on the right.
As Yeoui’s tip carved through the wall and reached skyward, I reduced it once more.
In moments, it shrank to fit in the palm of my hand.
“Phew.”
This should suffice.
Even with my vast mana reserves, another swing would’ve been impossible.
I turned my back and slowly returned to the unit.
I saw the shocked expressions of people standing there with jaws agape.
“How…”
“How is that even possible? Is he really a Hunter?”
“Did you record it?”
“Uh… This is going to be huge…”
Even with my stamina, this one took a toll.
While my torn muscles rapidly regenerated and the bleeding from my shredded hands stopped, the fatigue didn’t fade.
I looked at Jinseong, who was sitting astride his horse at the forefront.
“Jinseong.”
“Y-yeah.”
“Charge.”
“Y-yeah. Let’s go! Everyone, the Kevrian Expeditionary Force, forward!”
At Jinseong’s shout, everyone summoned their spirit mounts.
In an instant, the cavalry surged through the breached walls.
Following them were the archers and mages.
Thus, the first wave charged, supported by elves and dwarves.
Unlike us, they don’t have three lives, so we must preserve them.
And for experience points, this was the best approach.
For now, I returned to the unit and stood still, recovering my mana.
Once again, I opened the quest window.
The main quests this time were a staggering four:
[Capture the Canyon Fortress Ebiwood.]
[Invade the Black Dragon Arkardian’s Lair.]
[Stop the Black Dragon Arkardian’s Summoning Ritual.]
[Reverse Summon the Death Knight King Ampellion.]
Each quest was ranked by difficulty: Normal, Hard, Very Hard, and Impossible.
Reviewing the rewards for each quest made my brow furrow.
I wasn’t imagining things.
The rewards were miserly.
Capturing Ebiwood granted one level up.
Invading the lair gave 1,000 SP.
Stopping the summoning ritual provided one B-rank or higher random item box.
And the cherry on top was the reward for reverse summoning Ampellion.
That quest was already marked as cleared.
This is the achievement reward for the title “Qualification of Salvation.”
Not even a title, just an achievement reward I don’t even know how to use.
I subdued Ampellion, and this is all I get?
Just this?
[Pollux says that this achievement is an absolute necessity for advancing to B-rank. He emphasizes that it’s truly important.]
“Sigh.”
Even so, this feels excessive.
I suddenly feel really let down.
Is it because the difficulty has been lowered?
I succeeded at something that seemed impossible and drastically lowered the difficulty, yet the rewards are becoming increasingly lackluster.
Sure, Yeoina and Thunder God are great, but honestly, this is a rightful reward for intermediating a soul trade.
The main quest reward doesn’t excite me like the last one did.
If anything, it dampens my motivation.
If this is how it’s going to be, I’d rather the difficulty stay high.
Ugh.
I can’t help but feel irritated.
Guess I’ll just crush Uruks.
Once my magic replenished to a decent level, I climbed back onto the flaming chariot.
As I flew toward the fortress, I spoke to the Phoenix.
“Phoenix, assist our allies. But don’t overdo it. At this point, fighting Uruks hardly gives me any experience points. Let’s give the Earthlings a hand.”
[Understood, Master. I will prioritize their protection.]
“Good. I’ll just scatter some lightning around.”
The cavalry broke through the castle gate while the Uruk troops desperately tried to stop them.
From above, I watched over the battlefield, raining down lightning bolts whenever our allies were in danger.
I also targeted places where the enemy’s defenses were well-structured or where shamans were preparing spells.
“Arghhh!”
“Cursed... apostle...”
“Where is... Lord Grosh...?”
The Uruk soldiers fell one by one, cursing me in the skies and coughing up blood as they collapsed.
The hunters made sure to finish off the wounded Uruks.
“Wow, the experience points are insane.”
“It’s reassuring to have Captain Kim Jiho watching over us from the sky.”
“When we were just marching, I thought we’d picked the wrong planet, but today’s experience haul is incredible. Seriously.”
The hunters, ecstatic, celebrated their gains.
They didn’t leave a single survivor, hunting every last one for experience points.
Ebiwood was soon filled with corpses, and the hunters reveled in their level-ups.
I, too, leveled up by one.
All thanks to the quest reward.
One night in the fortress of Ebiwood
Our unit decided to rest at the fortress for the night and return to Earth the next morning.
Though we could have returned immediately, we needed the mages’ powers to turn the enemy fortress into our stronghold.
I considered offering my help, but the mages insisted we rest, saying they had overexerted themselves today.
Reluctantly, I went to my room.
Lying on the large, rugged bed designed for Uruks, I began to drift off.
It felt strange.
I’d never fallen asleep this quickly before.
Could it be because I wasn’t feeling well today...?
Then again, with such disappointing rewards, it’s no wonder my motivation has tanked...
As soon as I lay down, I fell asleep.
And then, I dreamed.
“Greetings, Awakened Kim Jiho of Earth. The one the entire universe has long awaited, the master of souls.”
In the dream, I found myself in a strange space with an unfamiliar man.
“I am Hades, once the god of death... and now, a humble figure known as the Lord of Death.”
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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