87. Divine Name
[You have achieved a special achievement.]
[＜Master of the Divine Sky Dragon＞]
[You are protected by the Divine Being and can distinguish evil.]
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Joo-Heon’s eyes widened at the unexpected notification.
‘This is.’
It was an achievement that even Joo-Heon knew well.
＜Divine Protection＞ is a protection effect from the Divine Being.
＜Divine Eye＞ is an eye that can distinguish evil.
However, these were abilities that only heroes could use, so Joo-Heon had never used them before.
It was an ability he wouldn’t regret having.
If he had both abilities, he would also gain Divine Power, although it would be weak.
‘Of course, he’ll naturally become hostile toward evil-type jobs.’
At the same time, the Sky Dragon rubbed its cheek against Joo-Heon’s shoulder and cried.
This was definitely a sight that acknowledged him as a hero. That’s why Joo-Heon felt dizzy.
‘If the Sky Dragon’s egg had been corrupted by the Mahwas… .’
At that moment, the Sky Dragon would have been born as a Dragon with an evil nature.
And evil nature had the power to ignore the opponent’s defense.
Just think about it. A Breath that absorbs the opponent’s power and fires it would ignore the opponent’s defense.
Any hero-level ally would die in one shot.
In that case, the protagonist would be in trouble.
‘Because I won’t be able to clear the last achievement.’
Then everything ends.
It was a death end as it is.
It was no use for the protagonist to get stronger alone.
In order to escape this place, I had to see the last ending.
Not even one of my companions should die.
I don’t know why such a difficult problem was given to me, but anyway, this was a very important issue.
But the possibility of an achievement that no one had ever achieved began to appear.
Just looking at the ability of the newly achieved achievement besides Sky Piercer, I could tell.
[A special achievement has been made.]
[＜The One Who Perfectly Sealed the Barbarian King＞]
[You can perfectly subdue and summon an opponent with a job class of King or higher.]
[Current summonable target: Barbarian King]
The protagonist’s lips moved pleasantly.
‘I can summon and fight the Barbarian King?’
The Barbarian King clearly swore that he would never come back.
But was summoning really possible?
I needed to check.
‘Of course, since he’s the one Karacen kicked out, I should do it secretly from Karacen.’
But besides the achievement, there was something else that came into my hand.
It was the jewel that the Great Mage’s soul left behind.
A great power dwelled within it.
Karacen, the chieftain, also willingly yielded it to the protagonist.
[Heart of the Great Mage]
-Rank: Legendary
-A sorcery that wants to protect the owner dwells within.
-Has strong resistance to sorcery and magic.
-Replaces the owner’s death only once.
But the written content was unusual.
‘Only once. It replaces the owner’s death?’
It was a very good item, but the reason the protagonist found it strange was for another reason.
‘There was no item with a similar effect in the game.’
If there was an item with such an effect in the first place, my companions wouldn’t have had to die.
If I had only left it to the hero, I would have cleared the game.
‘If only I had this…….’
If I gathered items that would replace the deaths of my companions.
No, if I armed my companions with items with similar effects.
This time, I could finally clear the last achievement.
But why was I checking these things when I said I was leaving?
He said he would leave, but he couldn’t leave right away.
The macho warrior was a problem for one.
“You’re my son?”
“Yes, Father.”
“What?!”
The main characters screamed at the unexpected truth.
The strangely inclined macho warrior.
He was Karasen’s son.
Daedo seemed surprised as well.
“I-Is that true?”
“Yes.”
Karasen also showed signs of rare confusion.
At the same time, they came to understand what had happened until now.
‘No wonder he was so loyal to Karasen.’
Not only his abilities, but was it because he didn’t believe in the power of the Grand Sorcerer?
‘He must have been protecting his childishly regressed father.’
No matter how wise Karasen was, he didn’t know what to do, as he was so flustered.
He was a son who had left to go on an adventure with a hero and hadn’t even seen him being born.
“Then she is?”
“My mother died during the tribal war. I disguised myself as someone else to avoid the Grand Sorcerer’s hand.”
“Huh…”
The macho warrior didn’t have a name.
It was because his father, a warrior, hadn’t given him one.
“My mother believed that my father would regain his senses. That’s why she didn’t give me a name.”
To the barbarians, the name given by their father was special.
It meant inheriting and also developing his name.
That was why the macho warrior had lived with a fake name until now.
“In case I used a similar name to my father’s, the bastard might notice.”
That was why he had been able to survive.
Karasen nodded.
“In the past, I promised your mother a name. Karaon. [He who carries glory].”
“……!?”
The macho warrior.
No, Karaon, as he was now called, shouted with burning eyes.
“Thank you, Father. No, Chief!”
“You may call me Father.”
“No. I will follow you as a tribesman until the tribe is rebuilt.”
Karasen and Karaon had each found a son and a father.
However, the real work was just beginning.
Karasen’s face hardened as he checked the state of the village.
“The tribe has declined considerably.”
The current state of the barbarians was at its worst.
Most of them had been intoxicated by the power of the Barbarian King, who called himself the Supreme Being.
Some of the great warriors who had followed the Great Shaman even fled upon Karacen’s return.
Karaon also spoke with a serious face.
“All that remains now are those blinded by wealth and power, and the elderly and weak who cannot protect themselves. Most of those who pursued honor and glory have left the tribe.”
Even those who remained were addicted to violence and drugs and could not think straight.
The glorious barbarians of the past were no more.
However, Karaon puffed out his chest and said,
“But don’t worry. The true will of the barbarians has not yet been broken.”
“Is that why you stayed by the Great Shaman’s side…?”
“Yes. I was waiting for my father’s return with the true warriors of the barbarians.”
Karaon had been pretending to be a macho warrior all this time, hiding the true warriors.
The true barbarian warriors had been guarding their pride as warriors in a remote place where no one would find them.
For a while, they had not been able to contact each other properly due to the Great Shaman’s surveillance, but they would return as soon as they were contacted now.
Karacen’s expression brightened.
“Then we shall gather the tribe together once more. Karaon, light the beacon.”
“Yes, sir!”
Karaon did not hesitate to set fire to the village.
The village, which had been corrupted by blood and gold, no longer existed.
The smoke from the burning village rose over the mountains like a giant beacon.
Haken’s mouth fell open at the sight.
“Are you crazy? I thought you were going to burn something on top of a mountain because it was a beacon.”
He never would have guessed that they would burn down the village.
However, Juyeon shrugged his shoulders.
“They’re barbarians.”
“Even barbarians can’t be this ignorant, can they?”
“They’re not ignorant. That’s their tradition.”
“Tradition?”
“It’s a pledge to bid farewell to the past and live in the present. It also means burning and purifying things that have defiled the honor of warriors.”
Those barbarians were the most fearsome of all.
Those who knew honor only looked at one thing and ran towards it.
They did not even fear death.
It was the spirit that the apostates and the demons had wanted to corrupt.
‘Well, it must have been their doing to manipulate Sanderson.’
In any case, the barbarians were often spread out doing mercenary work all over the world.
News of this place would already be spreading through the continent.
But then a problem arose.
Karacen approached with a hardened face.
“There’s a problem, brother.”
“What is it?”
“The warriors who were supposed to come with the beacon haven’t arrived. I tried contacting Karahan just in case, but…”
The warriors themselves have actually run into a problem.
Apparently they got into a big fight with the Great Shaman’s minions and some demons and were badly injured.
Normally, they wouldn’t have gotten hurt, but they were protecting the tribesmen and ended up with a lot of casualties.
Even with the great chieftain’s return, there were only a handful of warriors who came back.
Karahan looked genuinely apologetic as he spoke.
“I’m sorry that I can’t travel with you, brother. As chieftain, I have a duty to protect my people.”
Jooin had intended to take the savage chieftain Karahan with him on his journey along with Daeho.
But it was impossible now.
At the very least, they’d have to wait until the savages could stand on their own two feet again.
“It looks like I’ll have to hold down the fort until the warriors return.”
“How long will that be?”
“A few years at least.”
A few years was a problem.
Jooin had less than two years left.
He had to defeat the Demon King in that time.
So what could he do?
‘I’ll either have to leave Karahan and find a new companion, or help him fulfill his duties as chieftain quickly.’
The solution was simple.
Jooin decided to change his next destination.
‘I was going to visit the Elf Godfather, but I guess I can’t.’
The Elf Godfather is the guardian of the World Tree.
Any player who has defeated the Demon King even once can receive help from the World Tree.
The World Tree is a demigod with the power of omniscience.
Jooin had intended to use the World Tree’s help to learn some information.
It was a necessary choice, as Daeho couldn’t open a subspace yet.
But now that things had changed, he had to change his order of destinations.
‘I’ll have to meet the Saintess first.’
The Saintess and the Order’s power could restore the savage warriors.
This was a request that Jooin, with the hero’s holy sword, could easily make.
Fortunately, a cardinal from the Order had been dispatched to the Edmer territory in the north.
“I’ll ask for the Saintess’s help through the cardinal for now.”
If all goes well, he could request the Saintess’s support and then go meet the Elf Godfather.
Daeho suddenly spoke.
“Do you really think a hoodlum hero like you will be able to meet the Saintess? Aren’t you going to get brainwashed in the name of god?”
Jooin smiled.
“It’s fine.”
He knew the Saintess better than anyone.
On the contrary, I’m the one who gave that Saintess mental training.
Having made that judgment, Joo-yeon quickly sprang into action.
* * *
Inside the radiant church,
A man knocked on the wooden door.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
A woman with a melodious voice answered from within.
The visitor spoke with a hardened expression to the woman whose face was hidden by a white veil.
“Grave news, Saintess.”
Yes.
She was the Saintess of the Order of the Great Sea.
Esmeralda, the Saintess who, in the past, had defeated the Demon King alongside the Hero.
She tilted her head, her expression gentle.
“Cardinal Hansen. What seems to be the matter?”
“A Hero has appeared.”
“I have heard tales of a Hero emerging in the North. Thanks to that, our Order has been searching for apostates, have we not?”
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“That is not it, Saintess. A genuine Hero. It is said that a true Hero has appeared, separate from the Hero of the Edmer Dukedom.”
“……!”
The Saintess’s face hardened.
A genuine Hero.
It was a statement she could not comprehend.
“Explain this properly, Cardinal. What exactly are you saying?”
“A true Hero has appeared, bearing the divine mark on his neck. He demands verification, claiming that the Hero of the Edmer Dukedom is a fake.”
This was an absurdity.
In every era, there has only ever been one Hero at a time.
Yet, a new Hero had appeared, and he was saying that the current Hero was a fake.
But what if his words were true?
That would be a great problem in its own right.
“How dare they…… trifle with the sacred title bestowed by the gods?”
Yes.
There was a reason why there had never been a fake Hero until now.
Upon the appearance of a Hero, the temples would perform their verification, and if they were proven to be a fake, the temples would burn the fraud at the stake.
Of course, there were times when the Monarch of Knights would act before that.
If so, they would be subjected to horrendous torture and executed in the plaza of the royal capital.
The reason being that they had sullied the name of their comrades and the sacred title.
But what if Joo-yeon was truly a fake?
“Contact all the temples. I must meet this Hero myself.”
Joo-yeon, too, must face the wrath of the temples.
He must face the punishment of being burned at the stake for the sin of sullying the title of Hero bestowed by the gods…