152 – I Told You We’re Not Enemies – 2

The moment the king’s voice, with a bit of exaggeration, resounded throughout all of Cor.

That which anyone who had contributed even a little to this quest had craned their necks waiting for appeared before everyone’s eyes.

In Gi-jun’s case, it was a bit more splendid.

—The Grand Quest has been successfully completed! You have surpassed all summoners and heroes of Leta to proudly claim first place in contribution for this quest!

—Your legendary achievement of tracking down the vampires, uncovering their abominable secrets, and ultimately staking and killing the Lord of Thorns, a central figure of the vampire faction, will remain in the history of Gratia forever. A highly positive correction is applied to the [Vampire Hunter(L)] title. Charm(L) has increased by 5. You have obtained 500,000 Leta points.

—You have uncovered many secrets entangled with the quest and eliminated the culprit of the quest. With the added effect of the title [One Who Lifts the Veil(U)], the rewards are amplified beyond their limits!

—Your level has risen by 15, becoming 30! Strength(L) increased by 18, Dexterity(L) by 6, Endurance(L) by 15, Light Mana(L) by 3, and Spiritual Power(L) by 3!

—As a quest reward, your lowest stat [Strength(L)] increased by 7, the next lowest stat [Endurance(L)] by 5, and additionally, Charm(L) by 1!

—As a quest reward, you have obtained 3 skill points that can raise the level of a desired skill!

—An unbelievable performance. All the gods who govern Leta unanimously agree to present you with an entry permit to the Sanctuary. As long as you can enter the Sanctuary, you will be able to directly petition the gods.

—The Grand Quest has been successfully completed! You have surpassed all summoners and heroes of Leta to proudly claim first place in contribution for this quest!

—Your legendary achievement of tracking down the vampires, uncovering their abominable secrets, and ultimately staking and killing the Lord of Thorns, a central figure of the vampire faction, will remain in the history of Gratia forever. A highly positive correction is applied to the [Vampire Hunter(L)] title. Charm(L) has increased by 5. You have obtained 500,000 Leta points.

—You have uncovered many secrets entangled with the quest and eliminated the culprit of the quest. With the added effect of the title [One Who Lifts the Veil(U)], the rewards are amplified beyond their limits!

—Your level has risen by 15, becoming 30! Strength(L) increased by 18, Dexterity(L) by 6, Endurance(L) by 15, Light Mana(L) by 3, and Spiritual Power(L) by 3!

—As a quest reward, your lowest stat [Strength(L)] increased by 7, the next lowest stat [Endurance(L)] by 5, and additionally, Charm(L) by 1!

—As a quest reward, you have obtained 3 skill points that can raise the level of a desired skill!

—An unbelievable performance. All the gods who govern Leta unanimously agree to present you with an entry permit to the Sanctuary. As long as you can enter the Sanctuary, you will be able to directly petition the gods.

He closed and opened his eyes where he stood.

Because that was the only thing he could do.

It was the same when he blocked the overflow of Turis last time, but—the feeling of his body, magic power, and even his soul undergoing a major change at the moment his level rose all at once after a big quest ended was indescribable.

Even when he defeated the Lord of Thorns, his species rank had advanced and his level had risen significantly, but to think it would rise by another 15 levels on top of that.

Before entering Valahia, he had been around level 80 of the Rare grade, but in just a few days, he had grown by nearly 50 levels.

[Gi-jun (1st Year): Earth Representative]

[Title — The Last Hero (Legendary) and 13 others]

[Lumen(U) Guide of Light(U) Lv30]

[Strength(L) — 65+40]

[Dexterity(L) — 73+30]

[Endurance(L) — 66+30]

[Light Mana(L) — 90+35]

[Charm(L) — 90+30]

[Spiritual Power(L) — 90+30]

[Flame Control(U) — 15+30]

[Gi-jun (1st Year): Earth Representative]

[Title — The Last Hero (Legendary) and 13 others]

[Lumen(U) Guide of Light(U) Lv30]

[Strength(L) — 65+40]

[Dexterity(L) — 73+30]

[Endurance(L) — 66+30]

[Light Mana(L) — 90+35]

[Charm(L) — 90+30]

[Spiritual Power(L) — 90+30]

[Flame Control(U) — 15+30]

Gi-jun let out a hollow laugh as he checked his status.

Because his physical abilities and magic power had changed too drastically, his body did not feel like his own.

It was funny, but to fully utilize this immense ability, it seemed he would have to take a few days to slowly examine himself and adapt.

‘Still, as expected, the growth of Light Mana and Spiritual Power is starting to slow down.’

Most of the stats obtained from the level up just now had increased his Strength and Endurance.

Thanks to that, it was a good thing that the two stats, which had not been in the Legendary grade for long, grew to the upper-middle rank in one go, but…… once even those stats got on track, a stagnation that could not be helped even by level ups would arrive.

He needed to ask Biche at least once what would happen to the stats gained every time he leveled up when that time came.

‘And I’ll also have to ask what that Sanctuary is. It seems to tell me about the gods’ intervention at the end of the Grand Quest…… but it feels like that itself might be a trap. No, but I can’t be asking about things like that during a date. What should I do? First, after Biche goes back, via Letaphone…….’

Gi-jun, who was thinking of a date at the moment the Grand Quest that decided the fate of Gratia was achieved, suddenly snapped out of it upon hearing the king clear his throat.

When he silently raised his arm with a clenched fist, the people gathered in the palace began to cheer all at once.

The king nodded with satisfaction and declared.

“I designate today as a temporary holiday and will exempt all consumption taxes for the next three days! Let us raise a toast to the eternal future of Gratia, which was protected by everyone’s strength!”

* * *

That afternoon, when a festival was held throughout Gratia, Gi-jun was meeting the king along with Ye-min.

“I know your contribution well. I am sorry for not being able to summon you to the royal palace directly.”

“No, Your Majesty.”

Ye-min was welcomed by the king more than she had expected, because she had not only successfully salvaged the expedition force—which would have definitely led this Grand Quest to a disastrous defeat had they fallen for the vampire bastards’ tricks—but also succeeded in dealing an effective blow to the vampire faction.

As clear proof of that, the reward she received from the system after the Grand Quest was completed was within the top five.

Therefore, the king decided to give her a very special reward.

“Since the discussion was already completed beforehand, there is no need for long words. I permit the establishment of a giant guild in Cor, and the royal family will support the process.”

That was none other than the permission to establish a guild—specifically, a ‘Representative Guild of Civilization’ centered around Earthlings.

Naturally, Ye-min had no intention of requesting such a thing at all.

Ye-min acting as the leader of the Earthlings was strictly only during the first round of the tutorial.

Because ever since the second round of the tutorial, she had no other thought but to stay with Gi-jun and make him a true king.

However, the problem arose from the expedition force.

In the expedition force that returned after achieving many results under her leadership, a large number of people—centered around the summoned, especially the Earthlings—emerged, wishing for her to continue leading them.

While Ye-min was at a loss and troubled, she consulted Gi-jun, thinking that they might eventually be of help to him.

As a result of Gi-jun honestly telling the king about this fact, the king had suddenly made her a Guild Master.

“Your grace is immeasurable……”

“There is no need for formalities, so speak comfortably.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

A Representative Guild of Civilization, to be appointed as the head of a group that had tens of thousands of members at the very least.

‘All I need is Oppa, though!’

Ye-min bowed her head deeply to express her gratitude, trying to hide her complicated feelings.

The king stared at her with a look of unknown meaning for a moment, then shifted his gaze to Gi-jun and spoke.

“Are you really fine with this? If you take off your mask and step to the forefront at this point—you might be able to create a guild of humans massive enough that even I, the King of Gratia, would have to be wary of it.”

“I am not cut out to lead many people.”

Gi-jun, who answered flatly, shifted his gaze to Ye-min and said.

“She is the one suited to be a leader. You can tell just by looking at how she saved an expedition force of millions from the vampire bastards’ schemes.”

“Oppa……”

“I think you could do well too, though.”

“Me? No way.”

Gi-jun let out a chuckle.

True, he had gained quite a bit of confidence compared to the past—but this quest had given him a lot to think about in many ways.

He also realized deeply that if he got cocky relying only on his own abilities, he could lose the people precious to him.

His vision was still endlessly narrow, and the judgments he made were short-sighted and complacent.

He could not protect anyone properly with just the thought of protecting everyone.

He had to become stronger, become more decisive—and if his ability was lacking, he had to at least be able to set priorities.

‘This quest…… my personal record is certainly at the top, but how was it in terms of party operation?’

No matter how generously it was graded, it was a failing mark.

If it had not been for many miracles, starting with Biche’s intrusion, and the struggle of each individual party member, he would have definitely seen blood in this quest.

On the other hand, how about Ye-min?

She did not speak any nonsense about protecting everyone from the beginning.

She looked at the quest as a whole, and chose a way to achieve the maximum record with the minimum number of casualties, and made it succeed.

Gi-jun thought once again that there was no talent more suited to the role of a leader commanding an entire civilization than her.

He did not feel inferior about it now, but he had to acknowledge what was to be acknowledged.

“If you think so, there is nothing I can do.”

The king, who had no choice but to nod at Gi-jun’s appearance of having firm thoughts, continued speaking as if he had suddenly remembered something.

“The Piercing Awl has already been bestowed…… and the remaining rewards will be given in two days. It would be best to give them to you right away, but the artifacts to be given to you are in a secret warehouse protected by strict magical seals even within the royal treasury, so it takes a full 30 hours just to undo those seals.”

“I understand.”

“I express my gratitude once again. If not for you, my son Lectus would not have returned alive.”

“You can direct that gratitude to Patum. It was he who struggled to protect Lectus.”

“The Hero of Light…… Yes, if we can contact him, that is.”

The king, who nodded with a bitter smile, signaled to the guard knight to open the door so the two could leave, and asked a final question.

“Jun, where do you plan to go next? As I said before, I would like you to stay in Gratia as long as possible. If you wish, the royal family is willing to provide full support until you are appointed as a Hero.”

“I don’t need such things. Still, I’ll be in Gratia for the time being. The Lord of Turis told me to go to Uralta.”

“Uralta, the volcanic city!”

Hearing those words, the king’s complexion brightened.

“It is a place where skilled craftsmen gather. If you have obtained good loot, you will be able to process it there.”

“Really? That’s lucky.”

The Epic-grade wings that fully contained the power of the evil dragon, and the dragon scales and bones that, though slightly inferior to that, were the hardest things Gi-jun had ever encountered…….

Since he had been planning to use them to overhaul the armaments of himself and his party members overall anyway, he thought he did well to set his next destination to Uralta.

However, that very day, the dwarf Glittertoss, who visited the lodging to hear user reviews of the Silver Moon of Contradiction, snorted upon hearing Gi-jun’s words.

“No matter how many skilled craftsmen are gathered there, do you think Epic-grade materials can be processed so easily? The craftsmen are one thing, but there won’t be any tools capable of processing them.”

“Then, even if I give up on the wings for now, what about the dragon bones and scales? They are Legendary Plus grade.”

“It’s the same! I’ve known since you brought back a Divine Beast, but you’re a fellow who always commits absurd things. With those kinds of materials, the strength of the material itself is a problem, but the resentment harboring inside them is even more serious.”

Resentment? Gi-jun tilted his head at the word that he had quite a connection with recently, but the evil spirit, who was knowledgeable in this field, was still asleep and could not give him an answer.

Instead, Lucy nodded, saying that Glittertoss was right.

She added that even for her, it would take at least a few years to purify the materials of the evil dragon.

“Since those things are deeply condensed and will never disappear easily, if you are thinking of splitting the bones and scales one by one to make personal equipment, give up on it for now. Not only will the craftsmen all die in the process of making them, but a proper product won’t even come out. Just to purify that, you would have to sacrifice about a hundred pure unicorns.”

“I’ve thought this for a while, but you seem to like unicorns way too much.”

“That’s how much purification of pure energy is needed in large quantities! It would be more efficient to gather them all together and make a siege weapon instead!”

“Damn it, my plan to equip the entire party with dragon armor……”

As Gi-jun lamented quietly, Glittertoss snorted as if he had expected it, but then suddenly let out a sigh and murmured.

“Well, if we search, there might be a way, but……. If it comes to this, do I have to accept that person’s proposal?”

“That person? Proposal?”

“Huh? Ah, it’s nothing. Anyway, is it set that you’re going to Uralta, VVIP?”

“Yeah, it’s confirmed. Once I leave Gratia, I will be targeted in earnest…… so I have to grow as strong as possible before going.”

Gi-jun knew well the meaning of the attention he was receiving now.

Within Gratia, he was treated as a hero, so the Letans would actively protect him, but what about outside of Gratia?

He had achieved an enormous feat and obtained many sweet fruits accordingly.

At this point, whether he was a civilization representative or not, it would not be strange for powerful people targeting him to appear.

“You’re already that strong, and yet you want to get stronger? I don’t know much about it, but by that point, isn’t it hard to raise even a single level?”

At Glittertoss’s words, Gi-jun merely smiled faintly.

Was he perhaps thinking that Gi-jun’s species had already reached the Legendary grade?

He was curious how he would react if he told him the fact that his level had risen by a whopping 15 just by completing this quest—but with only the smile Gi-jun wore, Glittertoss seemed to have realized the general situation.

“Ha—you really are a monster.”

“Are you afraid?”

“I’m excited……! Just thinking about how the VVIP will bring all kinds of rare materials in the future makes my body tremble!”

It was clear that the craftsman’s instinct to go into fits at the sight of rare materials was suppressing his reason.

After finally checking the fragment of the Unique Territory in Gi-jun’s possession, Glittertoss stood up from his seat, openly urging him to quickly bring materials filled with positive energy and a unicorn’s horn.

“Then I will leave it at that, see you in Uralta.”

“Yeah, in Uralta…… in Uralta?”

The dwarf craftsman waved his short arm to leave a farewell and departed.

Left alone, Gi-jun sat tilting his head for a moment at the words Glittertoss had left behind—but soon he recalled what he had to do and rose from his seat.

While he had time, he had to see Biche’s face even a little more.