Chapter 178: Holy War 3
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/Week Wed-Sun
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At the gate of the 35th floor, priests and nuns stood in formation like an army.
The nuns were adorned in pure white garments with silver symbols and intricate patterns, while the priests bore them in gold.
In their hands were staffs resembling flagpoles, some crafted from pure silver, others shorter and made of gold, studded with jewels.
The sheer amount of gold spent was staggering, especially considering the white marble they had brought to build a temple.
Amidst this dizzying display of wealth, someone parted the crowd of priests and nuns and approached me.
Brother, are you ready?
Yes, anytime.
An elderly man with a kind face approached me amidst this overwhelming scene.
His white eyebrows and partially bald head may seem unimpressive, but his upright posture exuded an extraordinary aura.
In contrast to the neatly lined up priests and nuns, he wore a tattered and faded brown monk's robe.
His sleeve revealed an old wooden staff, humble compared to the ornate gold and jewel-encrusted ones.
Holding the well-worn staff and pulling out a weathered leather-bound book, the old man's presence involuntarily made me stand straighter.
...Wait, what? He's not a born 6, but he has six? Can NPCs level up and increase their stars without a player?
-He said he came from the capital, probably someone you can't meet except in the main storyline.
-Irene is a saint-in-training, but this old man is like an actual saint.
-Why are these NPCs so intimidating?
-So, whats this old mans skill?
-A 6 buffing another 6, I pity the boss.
This gentleman seems more like a monk than anything else.
Beneath his loose robe, his wrists were not frail but supported by muscles as tough as ancient trees, and the hand gripping the staff felt heavy and large enough to easily crush a human skull.
He must specialize in enhancement magic, favoring monk buff skills.
Instinctively, I sensed that he could deal significant damage to me if fully buffed.
Regardless of Han Se-ah's gaping in awe or my tensed shoulders, the old man paid no mind.
Glancing briefly at Han Se-ah's streaming window, I learned his name and title.
6 Torchbearer Saint* Ambrosio.
I plan to infuse you with divine energy through a holy ritual.
Right now?
No, we will walk towards that monstrosity and perform the ritual on the way. All you need to do is follow and keep pace.
With a calmness as if inviting me for a stroll, he turned and began to move forward.
The priests and nuns started to follow in unison, their majestic formation captured by Han Se-ah's rapidly moving camera.
On the left, priests adorned in resplendent white and gold, and on the right, nuns arrayed in white and pure silver.
The start of this luxurious parade, more befitting a show of power than a religious event, prompted my companions to huddle close.
"Is it really alright for us to be here?"
Their worried expressions suggested they too, as adventurers, either instinctively sensed Ambrosio's formidable power or were intimidated by the overwhelming opulence of the temple's forces.
Indeed, such a spectacle was not something even nobles would commonly witness.
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter; they would've stopped us otherwise. Looks like they're heading forward, probably planning to enter the 35th floor. ...Did Irene go to assist with the holy rites?"
"She went ahead, following that old man."
That explains why I couldn't see Irene; she must have been summoned as a saint candidate.
With this thought, the priests and nuns, who had briefly stopped at the passageway's entrance, began to move again.
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Raei Translations
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The passageways of the tower are quite narrow.
To put it more precisely, they are not built for large-scale passage.
While the stone doorways can accommodate a cart, they certainly can't fit hundreds of priests and nuns marching in formation.
These doorways, just wide enough for a single cart, about 3 meters wide and 5 meters high, had been the standard I'd known in the tower for the past decade.
"Damn, did they lower the game's difficulty instead of increasing it?"
And then, that standard was effortlessly broken.
"Roland, the passageway, its?"
Priests and nuns, chanting hymns, moved forward.
They did not attempt to conceal their divine energy, boldly advancing to convey the will of the Goddess.
Then, the previously narrow passage expanded grandly, transforming to resemble the entrance of a majestic temple.
Just as the mages in the Magic Tower had researched and opened gates every ten floors for players, could the temple also manipulate the tower for smoother player progression?
The priests and nuns walked into the now widened and majestic passage, like a grand event cutscene designed for player enjoyment.
As we followed, a brilliant cascade of white light poured down from above like a waterfall.
A tingling sensation coursed through my muscles.
"Oh, it's starting. I really want to watch with some popcorn."
-Keep it down, please?
-Talking about popcorn at such an incredible scene
-How dare you during the Holy War, the Pope's lifelong dream?
-A guerra santa comea! Toque a trombeta celestial! (The holy war begins! Blow the heavenly trumpet!)*
-The thumbnail must be beautiful because theres an increase in American viewers.
As we stepped into the widened passage of the 35th floor, we were greeted by a vast meadow.
More precisely, it was a storm of divine energy forcefully filling poison pits and paralyzing swamps.
Like my own inefficient physical enhancement, the temple seemed to be forcibly flattening the field with a crude infusion of divine energy.
Advancing towards the large tree without regard for what lay ahead, their movement seemed stubborn to the point of foolishness.
"Roland, how are you feeling? It seems like divine energy keeps flowing into you."
"My body is getting lighter. I'm still not sure what to expect."
As the poison pits were filled and the tainted land overturned, divine energy surged into me, endlessly like water from a fountain.
The priests and nuns, bearing sacred relics, emitted divine energy from both sides, while Irene and Ambrosio up ahead manipulated it.
"Even in a place of blasphemy, we fear not, for the Goddess is with us. Her grace comforts me like a mother's love.
With every recitation of scripture by the priests and nuns, the divine energy intensified.
At the edge of my vision, grey waves rose against the fiercely swirling divine energy, almost mocking the safe zone as child's play.
What are they planning to do with those ash-white vines that are absorbing the divine energy and expanding?
As I pondered this, I continued walking unhindered through the center of the priests and nuns.
Suddenly, something leaped forward.
Of course, it was Ambrosio, wearing his worn and frayed brown monk's robe.
"The Goddess bestows her bounty before my enemies and anoints me with oil; my cup overflows with her grace."
The old man, cloaked in divine energy like armor, faced a terrifying surge of vines, resembling the violent waves of a stormy sea.
It looked as though he would be overwhelmed and swallowed up any moment, but the reality was quite the opposite.
The vines, attacking like a school of piranhas on a bleeding animal, disintegrated into dust and scattered into the air in the blink of an eye.
In that brief moment of darkness, as my eyelids shut, the world seemed to move in slow motion, imprinting the scene onto my retina.
The old man's gestures were infusing the vines with an excessive amount of divine energy.
"Damn, that's brutally straightforward."
This revealed that Ambrosio's combat style was similar to mine.
As a monk, he might know physical techniques, but his essence was to overpower through sheer force, relentlessly pushing forward regardless of the opponent's reaction.
"Huh?"
"Where did Roland go?"
Lost in my thoughts, I suddenly found myself beside Ambrosio.
Turning around in surprise, I saw Han Se-ah's camera drone swirling in the air.
I, who should have been amidst hundreds of priests and nuns, had leaped dozens of meters to the forefront in a single stride.
It was unintentional.
Glancing around, I saw Ambrosio, who had just shaken off the vine dust from his sleeve, leaping towards me.
"Brother, you seem to absorb divine energy quite well. In my eighty years of practicing holy arts, I've never seen anyone adapt so effortlessly."
"This, right now?"
His kind smile resembled that of an elderly man watching a playful child.
And thanks to that, I began to understand my condition.
Like my first day transformed from ordinary to superhuman, I hadn't yet adapted to the specifications of my enhanced body.
Like a superhero who gained superhuman abilities from a spider bite and accidentally broke the sink, I had leaped from the center to the front of the group without proper control of my strength.
Realizing this, my head started to feel hazy.
Each breath made my chest swell to the brink of bursting, and every slight twist of my wrist and clench of my fist produced an eerie sound.
Staring at my alien hand and taking one step forward, I felt the weight of my new capabilities.
"...Now, Brother, you may proceed."
Walking feels like treading on a bed of cotton candy, with the soft earth beneath yielding and cracking.
As I slowly relax my arms and draw my warhammer from my waist, the leather belt attached to the handle snaps like aged thread, and objects like the lantern clatter to the ground.
That was a special belt made in the Magic Tower, not part of my character.
As these thoughts cross my mind and I take two more steps forward, my vision suddenly darkens.
In just three steps, I have bypassed the vines and ashen trees, finding myself standing before the gigantic tree.
Exhaling a long breath, I realize that I have covered hundreds of meters in a single breath.
This is neither a situation for a hammer, nor an anvil, nor a needle.
I instinctively lift my warhammer to strike down, but then a thought strikes me.
If I hit the ground in my current state, it would be a disaster.
So, I grip the warhammer with both hands as if holding a baseball bat.
"Ha, hahaha-"
Even to myself, my laugh comes naturally at the awkwardness of my stance, devoid of any basic weapon skills.
My head has been oddly hazy, making me feel lighter.
It's as if I'm not gearing up for battle, but rather an adult rampaging through a children's playground.
My head is cloudy, and my feet feel light.
Holding the warhammer feels like grasping air, and even as I tense my muscles, they seem to relax.
If I push my hips back a bit more, I might look like a comedian imitating a baseball player.
However, the crackling sound near my ears indicates a destructive power far beyond a child's toy.
I put all my strength into my shoulders, twist my waist, and feel an odd sensation of relaxation in my body as I take a deep breath.
"...Is this my third breath now?"
And then, as I exhale Bang!
A refreshing breeze blows through, and the world brightens.
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