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Chapter 79: Heading for the Highest Difficulty
There were three planetary portals.
Eshtar, Kalvine, and Al’ Aasma.
There should have been a fourth one, Kevrian, but it wasn’t there.
Maybe it disappeared because I cleared it last time?
But that’s supposed to happen in the future.
Originally, there were five portals, but this time there are only three.
“I heard that two regions have yet to establish their systems. For now, only three are accessible.”
“Hm... What about the difficulty levels?”
System establishment, huh.
I was curious about what might have happened, but Valkyrie didn’t seem to know much.
Might as well ask about something else.
“Eshtar is the easiest, followed by Al' Aasma, then Kalvine.”
“Could you tell me roughly what each place is like?”
“Eshtar starts in the magical city of Erundal. You’ll spend time clearing nearby dungeons, but eventually, you’ll be attacked by an unknown enemy.”
Ah.
That’s where Hercules is.
The place where one roar from Hercules wipes everyone out.
I think I could withstand the roar, but beyond that, it’d be tough.
Plus, it’s beginner-level, meaning there won’t be many monsters.
Not ideal.
Pass.
“What about Al' Aasma?”
“Al' Aasma starts underground. Challengers all die quickly, so no one tries again.”
“And Kalvine?”
“That’s the most difficult zone for our neutral faction. You have to protect a dragon while the Order faction’s heroes and army attack.”
“Oh, so you become the guardian of a dragon’s lair?”
“That’s one way to look at it.”
Well, there’s no death penalty anymore, so I might as well go for the hardest one.
Wherever I go, the place that gives the most experience points is best, and Kalvine seems like the best bet.
Eshtar would take too long finding dungeons, and Al' Aasma sounds too vague—could end up just wandering aimlessly.
“I’ll go to Kalvine.”
“The difficulty is very high. Are you sure?”
“It’s fine. Leveling up is my priority. The more enemies, the better.”
“Understood.”
Valkyrie guided me to the portal marked Kalvine.
I skimmed a walkthrough guide beforehand, but there wasn’t a single mention of Kalvine.
Ugh, so useless…
Even though we’re on the same side now, they’re no help at all.
After switching to spirit form and equipping all my armor, Valkyrie spoke.
“Commencing teleportation.”
“Bring it on!”
So, the highest difficulty starts with this as an introduction?
A knight in white armor was striking his sword down at me.
Clang!
Aegis’s shield moved on its own, deflecting the attack instantly.
I thought my spirit form would protect me, but on closer inspection, the sword was imbued with holy power.
A paladin, huh?
“The shield radiates holy power…”
“Thunder God.”
I immediately unleashed lightning on the momentarily stunned paladin.
He looked human, but this wasn’t the time to worry about that.
“Gaaah!”
The paladin collapsed, electrocuted.
Looking around, I saw we were inside a massive cave, much like the dragon lairs I’d visited before.
Groups of paladins in white armor were gathered nearby.
Their numbers easily exceeded hundreds at a glance.
But…
“Grr…”
“We can’t win... grr…”
Around me were orcs who could barely wear proper armor, growling weakly.
Not just orcs—there were other small monsters, all looking utterly demoralized.
They seemed like they’d flee at the slightest touch.
Ah, in Kevrian, I had elves and dwarves as allies.
Now it’s orcs and goblins?
At least Kevrian was visually pleasing.
“Kill him!”
The paladins began charging at me in formation.
A powerful holy aura emanated from them, forming a protective shield.
They seemed full of confidence, but…
Compared to Leonidas’s crew last time, they seemed far weaker.
“Phoenix. Burn them all.”
[They’re human. Are you sure?]
“Why bring up humans? Earthlings matter more to me.”
[Understood.]
This world’s already broken anyway.
The phoenix emerged from my head and flapped its wings with force.
“It’s a phoenix!”
“No way…!”
The phoenix’s attacks quickly broke their holy shields.
Time to unleash a combo.
“Summon Flame Chariot.”
A fiery chariot charged forward.
“Thunder God.”
I unleashed a powerful bolt of lightning.
As the chariot smashed into them, their shields shattered, letting the lightning surge through.
The pristine white armor blackened instantly, charred from the electricity.
One by one, the holy knights began to fall.
Even though the difficulty is high, the first stage is still manageable, I see.
“Ugh… A powerful enemy has appeared.”
“We must report this.”
“Fall back for now!”
As the holy knight squad charging at me was instantly massacred, the remaining knights hastily retreated.
Following closely behind them was the phoenix.
“Don’t chase too far; subdue them moderately.”
[Understood.]
Having given the order, it should handle them appropriately and return soon.
“God’s apostle… it is you…”
“Reverence… reverence…”
Once it departed, the surrounding orcs and goblins started bowing to me.
Sigh.
After looking at elves, seeing orcs and goblins drooling while muttering “reverence, reverence” feels so surreal.
Ah, the good old days were better…
“Get up and fortify your defenses.”
“Yes… will do…”
Ugh, they can’t even speak properly.
Feeling frustrated, I turned my attention away from them and looked at the message window.
A flood of messages had appeared.
[You have entered the broken world of Phase 1 as a B-rank. Your stats will be limited to 75%.]
What?
B-rank restricts stats?
Was it because, back in Kevrian, I reached B-rank in Phase 2, so it didn’t matter then?
I decided to ask the Valkyrie about it later and continued checking the messages.
[Thor, the God of Thunder, bestows divine blessings exclusively upon Kim Jiho, the sole Awakened of Kalvine.]
[The stats of the neutral faction are doubled.]
[All attacks will now contain Thor’s Thunder.]
[Living beings affiliated with the neutral faction will regard him as God’s apostle.]
[The major languages of this world will be automatically translated and understood. The words of the Awakened will also be automatically translated.]
Oh-ho.
This is similar to the blessing I received from Athena before.
Instead of divine power, it’s thunder power this time.
Looks like the thunder god is even more powerful.
No wonder I don’t feel particularly weakened despite the 75% stat restriction—probably thanks to the double buff.
So, effectively, I’m operating at 1.5 times my usual strength.
And there’s a quest, too.
[Due to your high rank, the quest difficulty and rewards are reduced by one level.]
[You have been summoned to the dragon lair “Drakina” on the planet Kalvine.]
[Drakina, designated as a “Demonic Dragon” by the Holy Empire Roman, was burned alive after being captured by their champion despite defending the lair against the Empire’s invasion.]
[Main Quest]
[Difficulty: Very Hard]
[Repel the first invasion of the Holy Empire.]
[Quest Rewards]
SP: 30,000
Title: “Dragon’s Protector”
Awakening: “Dragon’s Power”
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Ah, so the rewards are reduced because of the lower difficulty as a B-rank.
SP 30,000…
It used to seem like a lot, but now it’s barely what I earn in a day back on Earth.
Still, titles and unique rewards like the awakening of “Dragon’s Power” are interesting.
Those aren’t things you can earn with just SP.
I accepted the quest and started exploring the cave.
The layout was similar to the dragon lair I entered after defeating Arkardian, with a vast space that didn’t seem ideal for defense.
“Hey, you guys.”
“Yes, Apostle.”
One of the orcs, wearing some semblance of armor and looking somewhat competent, responded.
“Are there multiple entrances? Why are there only us here? Where are the dragonkins or other strong ones?”
“They… are all dead, grrr.”
“Ugh, if you can’t speak properly, just drop the formalities. It’s annoying.”
“They’re all dead.”
The orc immediately switched to casual speech.
Looking around, there were only orcs, goblins, and a few tiny wolves left.
Are these the only ones expected to hold the line?
I scouted around the lair.
There were many corpses of large monsters scattered across the ground.
A few human corpses remained, but most had likely been recovered by the retreating enemy.
Ogres, minotaurs, trolls—everything was hacked and slaughtered.
Behind us stood a massive iron gate.
If that gate opened, would it lead directly to the dragon?
Or perhaps a second defensive force?
I roughly surveyed the surroundings.
However, there was one type of monster noticeably absent among the corpses.
“Where are the dragonkin?”
The dragonkin I remembered from Kevrian that breathed fire from their mouths—they would’ve been useful in a large-scale battle, yet none were present.
“The master has not yet become a true dragon.”
“No true dragon, no dragonkin?”
“You didn’t know that?”
The orc tilted its head, looking at me as if I were pitifully ignorant.
Instinctively, my hand shot out, and I smacked the orc on the head.
“Ouch, ouch, that hurts!”
“Your eyes were annoyingly defiant toward God’s apostle.”
The orc, clutching his head with his hands, looked at me pitifully.
His expression was ever-changing.
“So we have to hold this place by ourselves? No reinforcements?”
“The reinforcements come from the entrance. But the humans kill them all before they get here.”
“What’s at the back door, then?”
“There’s the master. They’re in the middle of evolving into a holy dragon.”
“Can’t they help us during his evolution? Like casting magic or something?”
At this, the sharp-looking orc pointed at the corpses of monsters.
“Then would they all be dead like that?”
Hmm.
This is a no-win situation.
“So it’s just us defending this place?”
The orc nodded.
The rest of the underlings were trembling with fear.
At least this one looks a bit smarter.
“Hmm... What’s your name?”
“Arik. Grrr.”
“Arik. Alright, you lead them.”
“I already was.”
Arik looked at me as if asking how I didn’t know that.
The pitiful look from earlier was gone, replaced by disdain.
In Kevarian, being a divine apostle meant people revered me, but why is this place like this?
This won’t do.
Thwack!
“Ow! That hurts!”
“Your gaze is disrespectful. Show proper courtesy to a divine apostle.”
The orc’s defiance quickly faded from his eyes.
I need to tone down the strength of my slaps in the future.
I nearly cracked his skull.
“You lot just stay back. Guard the door.”
“Us? Guard the door?”
“Yeah. I’ll fight at the front. Just watch from behind. My attack range is too wide; you’d get caught up in it.”
“Understood.”
It’s clear this situation is hopeless.
At least in the Kevarian fortress, we had soldiers...
Right now, with these orcs and the generic fodder combined, there are fewer than 20 of us.
Even if they lined up in a row to defend, the door’s still bigger than their formation.
And beyond that door, there’s an even larger cave to defend.
It feels like I’ll end up soloing this fight, fail, and it’ll be game over.
Hmm...
“This could actually work.”
I came here to level up anyway, and this situation is a blessing in disguise.
There’s no penalty for dying, so I’ll just burn through all my mana and go out with a bang.
The dragon power reward is intriguing, but SP 30,000 is just a day’s worth of soul trading.
I’ll focus on leveling up for now.
Tap, tap, tap.
The sound of boots echoed through the quiet cave.
Divine power stretched to the ceiling, filling the cave with light, making it as bright as day.
Through the radiance, a phoenix was flying toward me in a hurry.
[Master, there are too many of them!]
“It’s fine. We’ll fight until we die.”
[Ugh... The more of them there are, the stronger they become. I doubt we can break through divine defenses.]
“I just want to kill as many as I can before going down...”
Should I boost my stats?
No, since I don’t mind dying today, I’ll fight as is.
The number of paladins has grown since before; there must be at least a thousand of them in this cave.
Identical white armor, identical helmets, identical swords, and shields.
As they emitted divine power, an immensely thick divine barrier formed, far stronger than before.
“Phoenix, burn through your mana. I’m going all out, too.”
[Understood.]
I’ll use up all my mana, even tapping into Dragonheart if it comes to it.
Charging forward with a blazing chariot of fire, I channeled power into Thunder God mode.
Bolts of lightning cracked through the divine barrier, causing fractures.
As gaps appeared in the massive white barrier, surrounding paladins were electrocuted and collapsed.
“Argh!”
“Oh, Minerva, protect us!”
“Heal!”
But the barrier must have been exceptionally strong.
They didn’t die and were quickly revived by the healing magic of nearby paladins.
“Reinforce the barrier!”
“Oh, Minerva!”
“Oh, Jupiter!”
The rear ranks raised their swords to the heavens, radiating divine power, while the front ranks advanced steadily with their shields.
Every time they seemed weakened by Thunder God, they healed and pressed forward.
Attacks from the blazing chariot and phoenix were absorbed or deflected.
I’d rather not waste my special abilities on these guys...
Should’ve picked up another offensive skill earlier.
“Grow, Yeoui.”
Without sweeping broadly, I stabbed repeatedly at the barrier where Thunder God had already weakened it.
While keeping one hand generating lightning, I pressed the attack, gradually breaking through the barrier.
Lightning, fire, and blade pierced through the cracks into the ranks of the paladins.
“Argh!”
“Oh, Minerva, save your servant... Heal!”
Wow, just when they seem about to die, they cling to life.
No matter what I throw at them, they just won’t die.
Meanwhile, the paladins steadily closed their formation, pushing forward.
Their resilience is like cockroaches.
Fine, let’s go for melee combat instead.
If I’m dying anyway, I’ll treat this as reconnaissance.
Just as I resolved to charge inside the barrier...
Suddenly, an orc beside me dashed headlong into the enemy ranks.
Huh?
Has he lost his mind?
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