193 – Collapse – 8

―Level increased by 3 to become 55! Strength(L) increased by 2, Dexterity(L) by 2, and Endurance(L) by 4!

―Level increased by 3 to become 55! Strength(L) increased by 2, Dexterity(L) by 2, and Endurance(L) by 4!

The moment the system message popped up before his eyes, Gi-jun wondered why his level had suddenly risen—but he soon realized that this was none other than the reward experience points from the lava earthworm.

“Did it take nearly two months to calculate the experience points?”

Gi-jun, who shook his head in amazement at the thought that the barrier had indeed been special, soon recalled that now was not the time.

Kurenai was dead, and although he had managed to save Renka somehow, it remained an unchanging fact that the remaining shrine maidens were in a position to become slaves.

However, as soon as he had that thought, messages popped up before his eyes once more.

―Hidden Quest Achieved! You have broken the special barrier, the anomaly that was disrupting the balance of the Leta continent, and restored order. All the gods who govern Leta will recognize this as a great achievement. You have obtained 1,000,000 Leta points!

―As a reward for the quest, you are granted priority purchasing rights for the slaves who lost the Civilization War. The reward has been greatly amplified, and a 70% discount is applied.

―[One Who Lifts the Veil (U)] has transcended its limits and grown to Legendary grade! You are now able to perform all types of quests without restriction. The rewards of all quests will be significantly increased, and it will become much easier to find the secrets hidden within quests.

―You have completely destroyed the sanctuary that had been ruled for a long time by the power of a high-status god. A very positive modifier is granted to the [One Who Challenges God (Legendary)] title.

―Level increased by 10 to become 65! Strength(L) increased by 6, Dexterity(L) by 6, Endurance(L) by 6, Light Mana(L) by 5, and Spiritual Power(L) by 5! As all stats have grown to their limits, a new possibility sprouts from your soul and mana. You have obtained the unique stat Halo! Halo(U) increased by 2.

―As a quest reward, your lowest stat [Halo (U)] increased by 5, your lowest stat [Halo (U)] additionally increased by 3, and Charm (L) increased by 1!

―Hidden Quest Achieved! You have broken the special barrier, the anomaly that was disrupting the balance of the Leta continent, and restored order. All the gods who govern Leta will recognize this as a great achievement. You have obtained 1,000,000 Leta points!

―As a reward for the quest, you are granted priority purchasing rights for the slaves who lost the Civilization War. The reward has been greatly amplified, and a 70% discount is applied.

―[One Who Lifts the Veil (U)] has transcended its limits and grown to Legendary grade! You are now able to perform all types of quests without restriction. The rewards of all quests will be significantly increased, and it will become much easier to find the secrets hidden within quests.

―You have completely destroyed the sanctuary that had been ruled for a long time by the power of a high-status god. A very positive modifier is granted to the [One Who Challenges God (Legendary)] title.

―Level increased by 10 to become 65! Strength(L) increased by 6, Dexterity(L) by 6, Endurance(L) by 6, Light Mana(L) by 5, and Spiritual Power(L) by 5! As all stats have grown to their limits, a new possibility sprouts from your soul and mana. You have obtained the unique stat Halo! Halo(U) increased by 2.

―As a quest reward, your lowest stat [Halo (U)] increased by 5, your lowest stat [Halo (U)] additionally increased by 3, and Charm (L) increased by 1!

The messages about slaves and purchases were also eye-opening, but what caught his eye more than that was none other than the ‘Halo’ stat.

Although he could not yet grasp it in detail, he could intuitively tell that this stat would strengthen the light he manipulated.

He had known for a while that unique racial or class stats could exist due to the existence of [Blood Power], [Anti-Blood Power], and [Flame Control], but he had never expected that such a thing would appear for him as well.

He also thought that they could have given it to him sooner—but the reason this stat had sprouted was probably, as written in the message, because all of his other stats had grown to their limits.

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

[Title — The Last Hero (Legendary) and 14 others]

[Lumen(U) Guide of Light(U) Lv65]

[Strength(L) — 99+32]

[Dexterity(L) — 99+30]

[Endurance(L) — 99+30]

[Light Mana(L) — 99+42]

[Charm(L) — 99+40]

[Spiritual Power(L) — 99+40]

[Halo(U) — 11+30]

[Flame Control(U) — 45+30]

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

[Title — The Last Hero (Legendary) and 14 others]

[Lumen(U) Guide of Light(U) Lv65]

[Strength(L) — 99+32]

[Dexterity(L) — 99+30]

[Endurance(L) — 99+30]

[Light Mana(L) — 99+42]

[Charm(L) — 99+40]

[Spiritual Power(L) — 99+40]

[Halo(U) — 11+30]

[Flame Control(U) — 45+30]

‘As expected.’

Seeing that all stats, except for the newly acquired Halo stat and the Flame Control stat applied due to wearing the mask, had hit 99 as if they had been copy-pasted, Gi-jun felt a strange emotion.

…No, some of them had only recently been grown to Legendary grade, and yet they had already reached 99, so to be honest, he felt somewhat flustered.

It might also be because Light Mana and Spiritual Power had reached their limits early on, accelerating the growth of the remaining stats by that much.

‘This is where the real problem starts. It’s not like I can raise my stat grades just by mindlessly leveling up…’

Although growth would be focused on the Halo stat for the time being, he could not leave the remaining stats at Legendary grade forever.

He was also aware that since falling onto the Leta continent, his growth had been absurdly fast because his good luck had attracted only major quests.

If he did not want to lose this momentum, he would have to raise his stat grades even if it meant pushing himself a little.

“Even so, for now…”

After checking his stats, Gi-jun looked around and smiled bitterly.

The party members, as well as the shrine maidens who had been clutching their heads in agony, were now all staring at him.

They were probably realizing that their future depended on him.

―No, Contractor. It’s just because of the fluorescent light above your head.

‘…Huh?’

Gi-jun cautiously reached out and touched the top of his head.

Then, hovering slightly above the center of his head in a shape like a donut, he felt a strange texture that seemed to be somewhere between a liquid and a gas.

At that moment, the thought of the Halo stat he had just obtained flashed through his mind.

Thinking there was no way, he picked up a mirror to check, and he was able to confirm that an angel’s halo, the kind that would appear in cartoons… had shrunk to a very small size and was floating there in the shape of a mini-donut.

It was only natural that his face turned pale.

“What is this?”

―It’s an angel.

“How do I turn this off!”

Fortunately, if he wished to get rid of it, it was also possible to make the Halo disappear temporarily.

Not only that, but he could also change its position: from above his head to behind his head, then down a bit more to behind his back—indeed, it was the very halo commonly depicted in media.

―You have finally learned how to turn on your own halo, Contractor. It’s an essential skill for a protagonist, indeed.

‘Something is wrong with this…’

In the truly mystical and majestic atmosphere, the gazes of the shrine maidens looking at him were infinitely earnest.

Their expressions seemed to show that they had no doubt Gi-jun would save them, who had been despairing because everything had collapsed, the memories of countless repetitions had returned to leave them utterly devastated, and now all that remained was to become slaves.

“Hyung, what is that?”

“I’d like to ask what you are.”

“Shin-kun…”

To the question Eun-shin asked on behalf of everyone, Gi-jun countered by pointing at Renka, who was clinging tightly to Eun-shin’s arm.

Renka, who had returned safely after falling into the underworld, seemed to have a quite different look than before—with her eyes dyed red fixed on Eun-shin, she held onto his arm tightly and leaned against him as if she had no intention of ever letting go, and Gi-jun even felt a certain madness from her appearance.

―It seems she has obtained a power similar to mine. If I stole my power, it should be said that that girl formally received it.

The evil spirit, who had vanished again before long, floated over in the form of an estoc and settled in Gi-jun’s hand as she gave a brief explanation about Renka.

―Clinging to a worthless man and acting cute is annoying… but she was probably influenced by that shabby goddess.

―Though, someone who lacks self-awareness is equally annoying.

―Fufu… The one I wish to serve is the most brilliantly shining person on this continent.

He did not have the luxury of quietly listening to Lucy and the evil spirit bicker in an already chaotic situation.

Gi-jun sighed and clapped his hands.

Actually, there was no need for that as everyone’s eyes were already focused on him—but after checking once more if his halo had disappeared under the blindly trusting gazes sent by the women, Gi-jun began to sort out their current situation, including their location.

* * *

Originally, when a civilization fell, the priority right over those belonging to the fallen civilization was given to the individual or group who killed their last Civilization Representative.

If there was no specific target, some of the slaves would be given to Letans according to the system’s will, some would help with the operation of the system, and some would be handed over to a special auction—

Because Gi-jun and his party had beautifully executed the quest related to the shrine maidens, and because Gi-jun had a special title that amplified quest rewards, they were able to obtain this priority, and furthermore, even a 70% discount.

At this point, it was as if the system was pushing him to purchase them all.

Of course, since it was only priority and a discount rather than ownership itself, it did not mean he could buy them without any hesitation.

Above all, the act of ‘buying slaves’ did not feel very pleasant to Gi-jun, who came from modern Earth.

“But if Jun doesn’t take them in, they will end up in a much more pitiful situation.”

“Probably…”

Gi-jun nodded at Tilla’s words and let out a sigh.

For reference, the surviving shrine maidens numbered around 200, excluding Renka, who had become a Letan.

If he were to buy them all with the 70% discount applied—he would have to pay a whopping 7,000,000 points.

To put it bluntly, it was the entirety of the points Gi-jun had accumulated.

Once Gi-jun paid that now, he would be left with only 250,000 points.

Although he also thought that it did not seem that expensive considering the lives of 200 people were at stake.

“It only costs that much?”

Right, he had expected Tilla to react this way.

“Think about it, Jun. Most of these shrine maidens are close to Rare grade and even have special abilities. No matter how big of a discount we get, it’s too cheap…”

“That is probably…”

A shrine maiden who served near Kurenai—meaning one who belonged to the higher ranks among the shrine maidens—said with a bitter smile.

“It is probably because we were trapped inside the barrier for so long. On the system, it seems to have treated it as if a vast amount of time had passed, judging that our value has depreciated due to aging, weakening, and the like.”

“Is that so? Specifically how long—no, it’s nothing.”

They were shrine maidens who had only lived the same repeating month anyway.

Even if they had recovered all their memories, they would not actually feel like they had aged, so there was no need to bring up the passage of time.

“If Lord Jun purchases us, we will serve you with our whole bodies. We will also be able to make up for the points you spent.”

“Well, if a slave obtains points, they go to the owner. I know Jun hates thinking that way, but purchasing them now is definitely a gain.”

Tilla spoke like an enthusiastic show host.

Of course, Gi-jun had intended to purchase them from the very beginning.

No matter how old they actually were, were all of the shrine maidens not young and beautiful women?

Although age or gender had nothing to do with the miserable life of a slave, his brow furrowed at the thought of the hardships they would face.

“Are you all okay with this? The fact that you will live as slaves remains unchanged.”

“If we have to live as slaves anyway, it is better to be by the side of someone we can serve willingly.”

At the shrine maiden’s unhesitating reply, voices of agreement burst out from among the shrine maidens waiting behind.

He also heard whispers saying that Gi-jun was handsome, had a good body, and was good at cooking, but he decided to ignore them for now.

“Then there is only one problem. …Where do we house so many people?”

Just because they became slaves did not mean Leta became a safe land.

Although they would not fall prey to civilization hunters, they were still vulnerable targets.

Under these circumstances, would he have to ask Ye-min in Cor for a favor?

“Actually, about that, Jun.”

Tilla, who had become even more clingy to Gi-jun after recovering her memories, held his arm and said with an adorable smile.

“I obtained a very special reward from catching that earthworm…”

* * *

[Eun-shin (Leta): Seriously, what should I do, Noona? I’m a bit scared…]

[Ye-min (Leta): From the sound of it, you don’t seem to hate it either? You said she’s super pretty and has a great body, so is there any reason to hate it? Honestly, you’ve lived thinking too much about Ji-hye until now. Wouldn’t meeting other women broaden your horizons?]

[Eun-shin (Leta): For reference, when it comes to Noona meeting someone other than Hyung…]

[Ye-min (Leta): I don’t really want to kill a close dongsaeng with my own hands.]

[Eun-shin (Leta): Double standards! Noona, that’s what they call double standards!]

[Ye-min (Leta): My romance can only exist with Oppa, so it can’t be helped.]

[Eun-shin (Leta): I thought so too!]

[Ye-min (Leta): See, that’s in the past tense. This is why men are hopeless.]

[Eun-shin (Leta): …It’s just that she’s a bit pitiful. Cut me some slack, seriously. Renka suffered a lot too.]

[Ye-min (Leta): You’ve already fallen for her.]

[Eun-shin (Leta): If you keep doing that, I won’t tell you about Jun-hyung’s two hundred shrine maidens.]

[Ye-min (Leta): Don’t tell me, King Uija and his three thousand court ladies… No, wait. Two hundred?!]