94. New Power
“Come on out!”
BOOM!
Joo-yeon’s light greeting.
To think that the main gate of the temple would be smashed to pieces and blown away was a major incident.
In an instant, weapons were drawn from all sides.
However, Joo-yeon’s voice remained calm.
“Isn’t Cardinal Galatheron inside? Bring him out quickly.”
The knights who came running looked at each other with wide eyes, wondering what was going on.
“How dare you….. speak the Cardinal’s name so casually!”
“I’m sure the Cardinal would want to see me?”
“What is this…..”
Joo-yeon pointed behind him.
There, Leon, who was pretending to be a fake hero, and the Inquisitor were tied up.
The eyes of the priests who recognized them grew wide.
“L…… Lord Leon!?”
“That person is….. surely Inquisitor Shaska?”
“Why are those two tied up like that!”
Oh my, look at these guys?
Who do they think they are getting angry at?
Instead of answering, Joo-yeon pointed at Leo.
“What do you think the crest on that necklace is?”
Those who had charged at Joo-yeon froze.
“S…… surely, the Hero?”
“Are you kidding me? The Hero is obviously the Lord…..”
“Priest Zalman said that the Cardinal’s son is fake.”
“……!”
“Priest Zalman?”
The paladins and priests were abuzz with questions, but Jooyeon didn’t give them time to think.
“So, where is Cardinal Galatheron?”
“He is currently inside, but……”
“Then bring him. I have business with him.”
“Bu…… But he is currently with the Saintess……”
Saintess?
Could it be Esmeralda?
Jooyeon thought she would be at the Hero’s Tomb.
It was natural since the two were as close as siblings.
“I told Zalman to bring the Saintess, but I didn’t think he would actually bring her. Esmeralda is with the Cardinal?”
However, the priests unexpectedly exchanged glances at those words.
“We…… We are not referring to the previous Saintess.”
“What? Previous? Esmeralda is the previous Saintess?”
“That is correct. The current Saintess is someone else.”
Jooyeon was taken aback by the priest’s words.
There is a Saintess who wasn’t chosen by the Hero?
Originally, the Saintess was decided by the Hero.
To be exact, the player could choose on behalf of the Hero.
It was a way to induce a kind of ＜Awakening＞.
‘Then, usually, the affiliated temple is randomly decided.’
It didn’t matter if he was a priest of the Sun Temple.
Since the ＜Awakening＞ of the Saintess could make her a priestess of the Ocean or Moonlight Temple.
However, veterans had a tip that went beyond that.
‘If you have a certain item, you can change the affiliation of the Saintess to the desired temple.’
There was an item for that.
[Emblem of the Sun]
Using the Emblems of the Eight Temples that each Inquisitor had, it was possible to awaken them as the Saintess of the desired temple.
‘Most people don’t know. That you can control the awakening of the Saintess with this item.’
But why is the affiliation of the temple important?
For one, each temple’s Saintess had different characteristics.
[Attack]
[Defense]
[Recovery]
[Buff]
For example, the [Punishment] of the Sun Temple deals additional damage to targets with evil tendencies.
The [Barrier] of the Earth Temple increases various defense powers.
The [Tidal Wave] of the Ocean Temple amplifies healing abilities with divine power.
[Moonlight] of the Silver Moon Temple recovers resources for using skills.
Of course, Joo-Yeon always chose a saintess from the [Great Sea] Temple as the lead.
The reason was simple.
From Noble mtl dot com
‘[Great Sea] Temple boasts powerful divine power and inclusiveness that never runs out.’
In a word, it specialized in recovery. But this time, it was different.
‘Do I really need to choose a saintess from the Great Sea?’
He didn’t need recovery.
If Joo-Yeon fought the Demon King in the front, the other party members just had to stay alive.
Rather, a saintess who specialized in defense or protection was more beneficial.
But there was a problem.
They said there was already a saintess.
‘If this happens, my plan will go awry?’
I was planning to shake down the cardinals of the sun and extract some compensation.
That’s how I was going to get the Artifact from Saintess Esmeralda.
‘And I was going to make a new colleague a saintess.’
This made things a little difficult.
However, Joo-Yeon did not give up.
No, to be exact, he couldn’t give up.
‘A saintess that the hero didn’t even decide on? Something about this is suspicious?’
This had never happened before.
However, it wasn’t unexpected.
‘If there’s a fake hero, there could be a fake saintess.’
Then the solution was simple.
Just like the fake hero who got his neck cut, all I had to do was deal with the fake saintess.
And the priest that Joo-Yeon chose would become the saintess of the time.
She would be able to give him the buffs he needed.
‘For that to happen, I have to meet the cardinal first.’
The Grand Master sighed, wondering what he saw in that expression.
“You’re full of thoughts about shaking us down.”
“Aren’t I the best leader for thieves?”
“Well, judging from the looks in their eyes, it seems like they’re going to rip your flesh off.”
“Aha, just like someone who threw hidden weapons without warning?”
“What, what? That’s because I didn’t know much about your guy……!”
“Oh, if you didn’t know twice, you’d kill someone?”
“Ahem…….”
Like that, Joo-Yeon and his party headed towards the inside of the Sun Temple, guided by the priests.
At that moment, Joo-Yeon recalled something.
‘Come to think of it, I forgot.’
Like the saintess, each temple had its own special player perks.
Of course, I don’t know if those perks would be activated in reality, but if it’s the [Sun] Temple, it’s definitely a place with skill-related perks.
“Why don’t we try?”
If it worked, then it would be possible to obtain things in other places as well.
After organizing his thoughts, Jooyeon remained in place.
The knights’ gazes sharpened at his behavior.
“Don’t stop.”
“If you’re planning on doing something reckless…”
But Jooyeon smirked.
“Come to think of it, I’m not sure if I can follow you guys.”
“What?”
“Wasn’t it the Cardinal who made the fake hero? From what I can see, he’s a fraud, so isn’t it only natural that his subordinates would also be frauds?”
“What, what?”
“Even now. Perhaps you’re planning on taking us away to silence us.”
“Nonsense. There must be some kind of misunderstanding…”
“Or perhaps it’s this.”
Jooyeon pointed to the sky with a smile.
“Did God perhaps order you to create a fake?”
Sparks flew from the knights’ eyes at Jooyeon’s words. Of course they understood the meaning behind his words.
“How dare you blaspheme God!”
“Subdue the heretic!”
“Wash away his sins with blood!”
Without hesitation, the knights stabbed Jooyeon.
But then something surprising happened.
Swish!
Suddenly, Jooyeon’s legs wobbled.
He had allowed the knights’ attack to hit him.
Even so, if Jooyeon hadn’t grabbed the shaft of the spear, he could have been in a considerably dangerous situation.
The knights laughed at Jooyeon.
“Was that all the arrogance you had?”
As Jooyeon bled, Leo looked at him with apparent surprise, and the rest of the party also wore shocked expressions.
“How dare you attack Lord Jooyeon!”
“You’ll never get away with this!”
Haken and Olson even tried to fight the knights.
Daeho was just as shocked.
“Why… aren’t you using that power?”
He had been somewhat expecting the power of ＜Reflect＞.
Though he didn’t know its true nature, he hadn’t imagined Jooyeon getting hurt.
‘Could it be? Is he worried about the knights getting hurt?’
That didn’t seem like him.
But Jooyeon had been injured and was now in a dangerous situation.
Daeho’s eyes blazed with fury.
I think I was over-relying on Joo-in and putting too much burden on him.
“I won’t lose any more of my comrades!”
He rushed forward, and the Paladins charged at Joo-in.
However, Joo-in just smirked.
‘I didn’t use Reflect on purpose.’
In fact, the Paladins had intentionally provoked him.
There was only one reason for this.
At that moment, something incredible happened.
Wheeing!
Red light began to pour out of Joo-in’s body.
It was a warm red light, like the sun, and as comforting as the beginning of all things.
The Paladins were astonished and stepped back at the sight.
“Th…this light?”
“Surely not the same divine power as ours, from the Temple of the Sun?”
“No. How! Doesn’t killing the young master…mean you’re a heretic?”
The Paladins were genuinely bewildered.
But Joo-in laughed inwardly.
‘This is the power of the Conqueror.’
-Unique recovery skill of the Paladins of the Temple of the Sun-
[Sun’s Mercy]
It was a technique he had taken from the Inquisitor.
A unique recovery skill primarily used by the Paladins of the Temple of the Sun.
There was no way they wouldn’t recognize it.
That’s why he could be a bit cheeky.
“Isn’t this a bit harsh, for believers who worship the same god?”
He simultaneously drew his holy sword.
The Paladins looked at him in even greater confusion.
“You’re the Hero?!”
Dae-do looked at Joo-in as if he were crazy.
‘Well, yeah. There’s no way that punk would do that without thinking.’
By the way, that punk…he really lies without batting an eyelid.
‘Same faith, my foot.’
There was no way Joo-in had any faith.
Surely there was a reason he’d accepted the quest in the first place.
‘Those who don’t know that are the ones to be pitied.’
As expected, Joo-in laughed.
[You have achieved a special feat in the Temple of the Sun]
[Special benefits will be unlocked]
[The Akashic System will be opened]
Joo-in rejoiced as if he had succeeded.
‘Fine, I’ll bite.’
In the Temple of the Sun, there was no other way to unlock the achievement.
＜Use the skills of the Temple of the Sun inside the temple＞
In short, it meant using the priest’s skills. Originally, you would learn the basic skills by rolling around in the temple.
If you use it, you can unlock the achievement here, but haven’t you already acquired the skills of the Temple of the Sun?
Right from the interrogator.
‘If there’s a downside, this recovery machine can only self-heal.’
In the end, Joo-yeon needed someone to inflict wounds.
‘I feel a little sorry for the Paladins, though.’
In fact, the Paladins were really flustered.
That was because there was absolute discipline within the temple.
[Never attack a believer of the same faith]
[Do not spill the blood of believers on the floor of the temple]
What happens if you don’t follow this rule?
‘You will be cursed by the Sun God.’
There is no way to avoid the curse.
The Paladins were sweating profusely.
“No, that’s…”
“We really thought we were heretics…”
They didn’t even ask how he used divine power.
In the first place, it was natural for a warrior to use divine power, as long as they wielded a holy sword.
‘Divine power is a sign of firm faith in God.’
The demons alone could not imitate that.
That’s why the Eight Great Temples were respected on the continent.
Because the possibility of a turncoat was extremely low.
But you attacked a believer who uses the same divine power?
And on top of that, it’s a hero?
Needless to say, the despair that the Paladins must have felt.
That was the moment.
[The Paladins feel strong despair]
[The effect of ＜Conqueror＞ is activated]
[Acquired ＜Divine Blessing＞]
[Acquired ＜Holy Shield＞]
[Acquired ＜Devotion＞]
[Acquired ＜Exorcism＞]
[Acquired ＜Divine Protection＞]
Countless spears rose.
As a result of the Paladins surrendering to Joo-yeon, the effect of ＜Conqueror＞ was automatically activated.
Joo-yeon didn’t come here for nothing.
‘Aside from the Knights, this is the place with the most professions in the Edmer Dukedom.’
I intended to subdue them to gain skills.
And it was a bullseye.
‘Sorry. But I need to live too.’
Soon, Joo-eun turned her head.
If that was possible, there was something she had to do before meeting the Saintess.
In fact, she did this because Leo showed up.
Soon, the statue in the temple emitted light like the sun.
[Opening the Akashic System]
Joo-eun’s physical body was in the temple filled with marble, but her mind was moving to a new place.
A scene like being in the middle of the universe unfolded.
Transparent trees that seemed to be made of stars were spread out in front of her.
[Skill Tree]
All the skills that Joo-eun currently had were displayed. Among them, one shone the most beautifully.
[＜Reflection＞ can be strengthened]
It was time to gain new abilities.