What kind of comfort should one offer to a Holy Maiden who suddenly became unemployed?
Duke Yuma pondered for a moment.
“Try looking for another job.”
The blonde Holy Maiden, Ermel, widened her eyes in surprise.
“…Huh?”
The divine power she had used as a servant of Incrinew. There was no way she could use it again by serving a different god.
How many times in history had gods died after being served, anyway?
“Is it easier for a Holy Maiden who has once connected with a god to connect with another god?”
At Yuma’s words, Ermel trembled, shaking her head vigorously.
“I-I’ve never heard of such a case…! Hic!”
Tears welled up in the corners of Ermel’s eyes.
Just moments ago, she had been prostrating herself worshipping the god. Now she faced the one who killed him.
It was bewildering. She couldn’t help but feel fear.
“Ah, there’s no need to experiment unnecessarily.”
Yuma continued speaking while meeting Ermel’s gaze.
“It seems like you won’t be able to trust any gods in this world for a while.”
No matter how much a god claimed to be ‘good,’ he didn’t think he could trust them if they appeared right in front of him.
Yuma lowered himself to meet the sitting Holy Maiden Ermel’s eyes.
[Lv.29] Ermel
Race: Human
Alignment: Good
Class: (Former) Holy Maiden, Mage
Level: Circle 2
Unique Characteristics:
While in the Holy Maiden class, Lv.86
Ermel, who could directly communicate with the god she served, [Incrinew, the God of Compassion and Suffering], lost all her divine power when that god died for some reason.
Judging by her alignment as a good person, Yuma concluded that Ermel wasn’t lying.
Still, he couldn’t fully release his doubts.
“Did you not know that Incrinew was such a god…?”
Ermel, slowly raising her head, looked visibly shaken.
“I didn’t know! I didn’t know! Hic…! Hic!”
Ermel nodded hastily.
‘I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m dying…!’
It was the truth.
She never dreamed that Incrinew was an Evil God.
She hadn’t even suspected it. He always gave his prophecies in such kind words.
Gugugugugugugugu!
Ermel felt a murderous aura that wasn’t even present in Yuma’s blue eyes.
After all, the one who just killed a god was asking if she knew of that god’s evil. As a Holy Maiden, she could only feel it was akin to confronting death…!
Yuma had no idea how he was perceived by Ermel at that moment, but he placed a hand on her shoulder.
Chomp—
“EEEK!!! I’m going to die— I’m dying!!!”
Yuma’s mouth opened slowly again.
“Did you ever feel talent for something else before becoming a Holy Maiden?”
“Ma, magic… I had a tiny bit of talent!”
“Even having just a tiny bit of talent makes magic hard. You know that all too well. Just switch gears and become a magician, unemployed one. The royal court will support you. Once you’re at Circle 4, you can belong to the royal mages, right?”
Brigitte nodded at Yuma’s words.
“Yeah, I can be with the royal mages.”
Yuma looked back at Ermel.
“Until then, just keep working hard.”
After commanding her to change her occupation, Yuma stood up.
“Off you go.”
Yuma and his group teleported to the princess’s palace.
The ex-holy maiden was left alone, muttering as she sat down.
“Can I… become a magician? Sniff! Boo-hoo…”
Suddenly jobless, Ermel resented the world.
*
Yuma turned back to see the people staring at him with wide eyes.
“Brigitte, will you be able to ascend the throne right away?”
At his words, she slowly shook her head.
“We need to hold a noble assembly to announce it in advance, so the coronation will take about two weeks.”
“I see.”
Yuma slowly made his way towards the First Princess’s palace.
“Can I use the same room as last time?”
Brigitte’s voice replied.
“Yes, it’s been cleaned up.”
Yuma surveyed Cloney, Bell, and Hestia.
“Everyone should rest well today; you must be tired.”
As the person who was surely more exhausted than anyone else said that, they couldn’t nod in agreement comfortably.
Yuma walked in majestically.
He opened the door to his room and collapsed onto the bed.
Thud-
He felt all the strength leave his body.
The key to parrying, after all, is concentration. He had pushed that concentration to its limits.
It was a necessary situation.
‘Eight Evil Gods.’
Now there were seven Evil Gods remaining.
And questions about the [System].
Countless questions swirled in his mind, but they didn’t seem like things he could ponder on right now.
He needed to sleep on it and think things over with a clear mind.
Yuma fell into a deep sleep.
*
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
“……”
When Yuma opened his eyes, he was greeted by countless notifications popping up.
So many notifications that his mind felt hazy.
‘Looks like I won’t have the mental capacity to deal with others today.’
He also needed to check the items in the divine pouch that Incrinew had.
A day.
He needed a day to sort through his thoughts.
Yuma opened the door first.
And slowly opened his mouth.
“Chief Attendant.”
A middle-aged man in a black suit standing stiffly at the end of the hallway quickly approached.
It was Royan, the chief attendant of the First Princess’s palace.
He bowed politely.
“Yes, Lord Yuma. What can I do for you?”
“I want to rest in my room today, so don’t let anyone in. Just bring my meal at noon once.”
“Hey, don’t let anyone in. Just bring the meal once at noon.”
Royan bowed his head again.
“Understood. I hope there’s no other reason for this?”
Duke Yuma easily guessed the implication of that statement. They were asking about any health issues.
Yuma slowly shook his head.
“I’m just a bit tired.”
The chief attendant once again bent at a right angle.
“Understood, Duke.”
Click-
Yuma returned to the room.
After sitting down, he faced the notification windows still hovering.
[Evil God, [The Suffering Mercy Incrinew] has been defeated.]
[You have achieved an accomplishment far beyond your capabilities.]
[Rewards will be granted!]
New!
[Item – ‘Golden Ratio Sprout’!]
[No growth potential exists.]
[As a reward for your achievement, your stats will increase.]
[Name: Yuma
Lv.80
Alignment: Good, Personality Trait: Cold
Strength: 90, Health: 105, Defense: 90, Agility: 110, Growth Potential: 0
State: Ordinary – You can transcend from Ordinary if you elevate your physical status to an extraordinary level.]
This time, the level rose by 40.
Accordingly, all stats increased uniformly by 40.
After leveling up by a significant margin this time, Yuma felt a swell of pride.
Seeing this rise in level, Yuma realized that the feat of slaying the Evil God was indeed quite monumental.
Yuma’s level and the level designation visible through his Search Eye had to exude different nuances.
Yuma was fundamentally trapped within the framework of being “Ordinary.”
A swordsman emitting sword energy, a magician wielding spells. He couldn’t be anything else.
“With these stat numbers, I could at least hold my own against a Sword Master at the beginning level in sheer strength.”
If that guy used sword energy, he’d eventually have to parry, but it seemed feasible to at least match in an arm wrestling contest.
Training, raising the Aura realm, and the circle-based swordsmen and magicians. The fundamental difference in stats came from the rewards based on their level and accomplishments compared to Yuma’s ‘level,’ which increased based on mere numbers.
While it was true that only Yuma held the Search Eye to see the levels existing in this world.
“To stack Mana Hearts and train sword energy, the only option is to consume a Dragon Heart and transcend from Ordinary.”
To shed the limits placed upon his body, he had to remodel that body. And to accomplish that, he needed to consume a Dragon Heart.
And the system felt as if it knew Yuma’s thoughts, bestowing upon him the [Golden Ratio Sprout], one of the essential auxiliary items needed to consume the [Dragon Heart].
Yuma gazed at the slowly descending golden sprout, the Golden Ratio Sprout.
The sprout of the Golden Rule landed in Yuma’s right hand and radiated a glow.
‘Now the only essential item left is the Great Demon King’s blood…’
The demon army is set to invade in five months.
At that time, I should be able to get a grip on the Great Demon King as well.
‘By the way.’
System.
Could it be that there really are gods belonging to the “Good” side behind this?
The sprout of the Golden Rule was also associated with the gods in the game “Loop Blood” or items discovered from the World Tree.
‘The fact that they told me about the Eight Evil Gods right after I took down Incrinew is something.’
This guy desperately wishes to eliminate all the Evil Gods.
After sorting out the rewards, Yuma decided to check the items dropped by the slain “Incrinew.”
First, the thing to check is the [Divine Pocket].
Yuma took out the Divine Pocket, which could be described as Incrinew’s spatial pocket, from his spatial pocket. He opened his mouth wide and shook it, spilling its contents onto the floor.
Several items were scattered across the ground.
Among them, Yuma picked up the most eye-catching bright red fruit.
[Fruit of Immunity to All Poisons
Forms a body that is unaffected by any poison.
Caution: Upon ingestion, you will undergo a process of transforming your blood into Immune Blood. You may experience occasional coughing up blood for about a month.]
Oh.
Yuma couldn’t help but let out a low gasp.
According to the standards in the game “Loop Blood,” this would be an SSS+ rated item.
It was obvious it would be rare even here.
Given that it was a so-called god’s item, it was probably held as a trophy rather than being susceptible to poison.
Without hesitation, Yuma popped the [Fruit of Immunity] into his mouth.
Chomp!
And swallowed it.
Now it was time to check the next item.
[Aegis
Protective artifact.
A bracelet-type artifact that attaches to the arm. It automatically activates when the wearer is faced with an unavoidable attack. It carries ‘Athena’s Blessing.’
Caution: There’s a usage limit. After ‘5 uses,’ it will lose its function as a protective artifact.]
Athena’s Blessing.
Having the name of a god means there’s a high probability that the god’s power itself has been bestowed.
‘When I face an attack that even parrying isn’t possible, this will save my life at least once.’
Of course, I should avoid getting into such situations.
Without hesitation, Yuma wore the bracelet.
He glanced over the remaining four items and carefully put them away again. The rest weren’t as impactful or useful as the top two items.
Now there was only one left.
The Sword of Lamentation and Annihilation, [Balmung].
Yuma grabbed the shimmering silver blade of Balmung in his right hand.
