When I checked the hologram screen, a message from Leon appeared in detail.
It didn’t seem to be about the festival. Unlike usual, a sense of desperation permeated the entire text.
**[Urgent Quest: Operation Save the Holy City of Ceres]**
**Requester: Leon, Saintess’s Escort**
**Content: I bring terrible news. This evening, an army of thousands of demons attacked Agnes. The Saintess and the Holy Knights are establishing a defensive line, but the situation is desperate. Without the help of the Rocket Store, the entire Holy City will fall into the hands of demons.**
**Reward: Depends on achievement.**
“Wait, what is this? Ceres was attacked?”
“Guardian, is Leon in danger?”
Aria flew to my shoulder in surprise. I quickly checked the situation on the scene through the hologram. As the screen displayed the view, the Agnes Cathedral appeared from Leon’s perspective.
The sacred and peaceful appearance from the Saintess’s appointment ceremony was nowhere to be found.
“What on earth is this…”
Black smoke covered the sky, and countless demons and monsters surrounded the cathedral. On the screen, ordinary soldiers were trembling in fear. Overwhelmed by the oppressive energy of the monsters and demons, they couldn’t even hold their weapons properly.
That was when Leon and the Agnes Holy Knights stepped forward.
“Goddess Althemia, please turn this place into a sanctuary!”
As the Paladins stepped forward with Leon at the lead, the area around the cathedral was surrounded by holy light. As the sanctuary unfolded, the demons’ movements slowed, and the recovery rate of the allies increased.
“Do not be afraid!”
As other Paladins performed the blessing ritual, a golden light began to radiate from the bodies of the trembling ordinary soldiers.
“The Goddess is with us!” Leon shouted, encouraging them.
The expressions of the blessed soldiers gradually stabilized.
“As long as we are here, the demons cannot set foot in this place! Let us fight together!”
Leon was establishing a circular defense formation with other escort members to protect the Saintess. However, the number of demons pouring in from all directions was overwhelming.
“Goddess Althemia, please give us strength!” Leon shouted, raising his sword high.
A holy light burst from the blade, defeating several nearby demons, but even more demons swarmed in behind them.
“In a situation like this, a large-scale supply drop is the best option.”
I checked the system.
**[Massive Supply Drop Cooldown: 1 hour 32 minutes remaining]**
‘There’s still time left. Can they hold out until then?’
No matter how bravely Leon and the Holy Knights fought, there was no sign of the number of demons decreasing. First, I started with the support I could provide. I urgently dropped Lamia’s magic potions.
I released all existing inventory, including the Snake Scale Barrier Potion and Healing Potions. When the support I sent fell around Leon via Rocket Delivery, Leon hurriedly distributed them to the surrounding soldiers.
“These are potions sent from the Rocket Store! Use them quickly!”
The wounds of the soldiers who drank the potions healed rapidly, and shields were generated. However, Leon’s expression remained dark.
“Thank you, but there are just too many of them!”
Looking at the screen, it was helpful to dozens of people, but it wasn’t a significant enough effect to change the battlefield. At that moment, a loud explosion echoed on the screen. A part of the city wall collapsed under the attack of a giant demon.
“The wall!”
Leon had a look of despair on his face. Through the collapsed gap, demons poured in like a flood. The ordinary soldiers tried desperately to block them, but most of their attacks were ineffective against the demons.
However, looking closely at the screen, the attacks of a few soldiers were working against the demons.
‘What’s the difference?’
— Leon, I have a question. Some of the ordinary soldiers are damaging the demons, but most seem ineffective. What is the difference?
[Ah! If that is the case, the effective soldiers are using consecrated weapons or silver-plated weapons. Demons are weak to holy power or silver.]
— Are there many of those weapons?
[Yes. But there aren’t many spares. The consecration ritual takes a long time, and since we send them to the front lines as soon as they are ready, there are almost no consecrated weapons in the Holy City, which is the rear. We brought all the silver-plated weapons from the warehouse, but it’s not enough.]
On the screen, a soldier holding a silver-plated weapon was seen cutting down a demon. However, there seemed to be only about one soldier with such a weapon per squad unit.
‘In this situation, we’ll need a large quantity of silver-plated weapons. And barricades to temporarily block the collapsed wall. Maybe the Association can help?’
I quickly contacted Yun Tae-seong.
— Mr. Yun Tae-seong, I’m sorry, but it’s an emergency! Could you possibly find silver-plated weapons and barricades for dungeon breaks?
[What happened? Is it urgent? I didn’t go to work today because I’m off-duty after yesterday’s shift.]
“Ah, I see. He said he was on duty yesterday.”
A sudden wave of guilt washed over me. To ask for such a favor when he must be tired.
— I’m truly sorry. It’s an urgent matter. It’s fine if you can’t.
[No! I don’t know what’s going on, but if it’s for the Rocket Store, I have to help. I’ll prepare it for you right now.]
— Thank you so much. I will definitely repay this debt later.
[If it’s silver arrows, the Association should have supplies prepared for undead-type monsters. There aren’t many barricades at the Association, and most are held by the mobile strike teams that take initial action when a dungeon break occurs, so it will take some time. I will send an official cooperation request immediately.]
— Yes. Then I’ll leave it to you.
I felt sorry and grateful at the same time for Yun Tae-seong’s swift response. To help like this even though he was off-duty.
Despite saying it would take time, I was able to secure a decent amount of supplies in 30 minutes thanks to his prompt action.
“Let’s send the support supplies to Leon right away.”
As the collapsed wall was reinforced with barricades and silver-plated arrows were distributed to the ordinary soldiers, the front line slowly began to stabilize.
“Silver-plated arrows! To think you would send such precious weapons…”
Leon expressed his gratitude as he received the silver-plated arrows. When he notched an arrow and fired at a demon, the demon screamed and collapsed under the holy power of the silver. The ordinary soldiers were also finally able to deal meaningful damage to the demons once they received the silver-plated weapons.
“The effect is outstanding! I think we can hold out a bit longer now!”
But then, the sky suddenly turned dark red.
“Kieeeeeek!”
With a piercing shriek, a high-ranking demon with giant wings appeared. Leon’s face turned pale.
“Berias… The mid-level demon Berias has appeared in person!”
As Berias appeared, the surrounding Holy Knights began to crumble. Enveloped in an aura of despair, the Paladins dropped their swords and fell into despondency. Leon also stepped back, overwhelmed by Berias’s oppressive presence.
“This. How can we face such a being…”
At the moment of life or death, the Saintess stepped forward.
“Goddess Althemia! Use this body to drive away the darkness!”
The Saintess began to perform the Great Purification Ritual. The high-grade mana stone staff I had sent showed its true value.
“Saintess!”
Leon looked at the Saintess with concern. As the life force of the World Tree radiating from the flower crown resonated with the mana stone of the staff, a powerful light of purification burst forth.
“Wow! It’s a light that feels warm.”
“Oh.”
An exclamation escaped my lips involuntarily. The holy light filling the screen was completely overwhelming Berias. For a mid-level demon, he was helpless before the Saintess’s power.
‘So that’s the Saintess’s true power.’
Aria was also watching the screen with a surprised expression. Every time the purification light touched Berias, the demon screamed in agony. The surrounding lower demons were also swept away by the Saintess’s purification power and vanished in a chain reaction.
‘That’s amazing. To handle that many demons alone.’
However, perhaps because she had performed such a powerful purification ritual, it seemed the Saintess’s strength had reached its limit. She began to stagger, exhausted from the excessive consumption of holy power.
“Saintess! Do not overexert yourself!”
Leon hurriedly supported the Saintess. The Saintess was panting heavily with a pale face. Just then, the notification I had been waiting for popped up in the system.
**[Massive Supply Drop is available]**
“Now!”
This time too, a massive number of Rocket Deliveries descended from the sky, and countless supply boxes began to be dropped simultaneously all over the battlefield.
“What is that?”
At a soldier’s question, Leon looked up at the sky with a surprised expression. As the boxes burst open, various weapons, potions, and barricade parts poured out.
“All of this… from the Rocket Store!”
Leon checked the fallen items with trembling hands. Lamia’s high-grade healing potions and barrier potions were dropped in large quantities without shortage, and the defensive line could be made even more solid with additional barricade parts.
And more than anything, what caught the eye were the various buff boxes. When the boxes were opened, light burst out and applied random buffs.
“Everyone, take the items sent from the Rocket Store!”
At Leon’s shout, the Holy Knights and soldiers opened the boxes all at once and began to receive buffs. At that moment, their combat power increased several times over.
“In the name of Goddess Althemia!”
The simultaneous attack of Leon and the Holy Knights overwhelmed Berias.
“This can’t be. Kieeeeek!”
Berias, weakened by the Saintess’s power, let out a final scream and vanished into black smoke. The monster army that had lost its leader was also quickly being cleaned up.
“We won! We have won!”
Leon knelt and let out a sigh of relief. As the battle ended, a message of gratitude arrived from Leon.
**[Ceres would have been finished if not for the Rocket Store. The Saintess also expresses her deep gratitude. I also convey my thanks on behalf of the people you saved.]**
“It’s finally over.”
Aria flew around with an expression of relief. “Guardian! We saved Leon and the Saintess!”
I also wore a proud smile. I was able to save Ceres with precise support at a moment of crisis. Pragmatically, the bond with the Agnes Holy Knights would deepen, and we would be able to maintain a continuous cooperative relationship in the future, right?
The long, long day finally came to an end.
***
The next morning, I woke up later than usual and checked the community. Since I had spent quite a bit of coin on the events of the day before yesterday and yesterday, I was curious about the sales status and the reaction of the hunters.
**[Is something going on at the Association?]**
**The Association has been extremely busy since yesterday. Does anyone know what’s going on?**
**— I’m curious too. Even the police mobile strike team was moving.**
**ã„´ Is it a response to a dungeon break? I heard the frequency has been increasing lately.**
**ã„´ Or maybe they’re preparing something related to the 25th floor raid.**
**ã„´ But they really did look busy. Different from usual.**
‘The Association is busy? Ah, did the urgent request I made to Mr. Yun Tae-seong have an impact?’
Since the public didn’t know I had helped Leon, the Association’s sudden movement could only be seen as strange. As I scrolled down a bit more, even more surprising news was posted.
**[USA has cleared the 30th floor]**
**News just broke that the US Hunter Association successfully cleared the 30th floor. Is this for real?**
**— What? Really? We haven’t even broken through the 25th floor yet?**
**ã„´ Link please.**
**ã„´ã„´ Found it. It’s real. Breaking news on CNN.**
**[China also cleared the 30th floor lol]**
**Two hours after the US news came out, China announced they also cleared the 30th floor lol. This is an overt competitive demonstration.**
**— The timing is exquisite. As if they planned it.**
**ã„´ã„´ Or were they both preparing and then popped it at the same time?**
**ã„´ã„´ It’s like competing with the Soviet Union in the Cold War era;**
**— Our country hasn’t even broken through the 25th floor yet T_T**
**ã„´ Any country would look like that compared to the US and China.**
**ã„´ Do you think they earned their G2 status by playing around?**
However, there wasn’t only good news.
**[Global Trend of Increasing Dungeon Breaks]**
**Report says the frequency of dungeon breaks worldwide has increased by 30% over the past month. The occurrence of anomalous cracks is also on the rise.**
**— Something feels uneasy.**
**— Is it related to the Tower?**
**ã„´ It could be related to breaking through the 30th floor.**
**ã„´ã„´ Or maybe the Tower itself is undergoing a change.**
**[Anomalous cracks are also increasing]**
**Three Grade 5 and higher cracks occurred simultaneously in Europe. One each in France, Germany, and Italy. This doesn’t seem like a coincidence?**
**— Three S-ranks?**
**ã„´ã„´ Korea should also be careful.**
**ã„´ã„´ Can you even be “careful” about that? It’s just a disaster.**
**— It feels like something is changing globally.**
**ã„´ã„´ Is it the influence of the Tower? Or some other cause?**
Among the unsettling news, reactions to the Rocket Store also caught my eye.
**[Silver Grade Benefit is seriously OP]**
**Did you see the Rocket Store Silver Member Badge benefits? 20% increase in experience, +3 to all stats, and it even increases critical probability. This is hero-grade, and the effect applies just by owning it.**
**— Isn’t this seriously a cheat item?**
**ã„´ã„´ Everyone is going crazy trying to reach Silver Grade lol.**
**ã„´ã„´ What are the conditions? How do you become Silver Grade?**
**ã„´ It seems to look at Rocket Store usage performance and contribution.**
**ã„´ã„´ Seeing things like this, the Rocket Store is truly amazing.**
**[Global situation is unstable lately, but glad the Rocket Store is here]**
**They say the US and China broke through the 30th floor, but we’re also preparing solidly for the 25th floor thanks to the Rocket Store. Increasing dungeon breaks are scary, but what would have happened if there was no Rocket Store?**
**— For real, Rocket Store is a privilege exclusive to our country.**
**ã„´ã„´ It’s hilarious how other countries are jealous lol.**
**ã„´ Even if the US and China went to the 30th floor, we’re climbing more stably.**
**ã„´ Feels like the overall skill of our country’s hunters is being standardized upward thanks to the Rocket Store.**
**ã„´ã„´ It’s really reassuring. Even if something happens, it feels like the Rocket Store will solve it.**
“I’m wishing for the same thing.”
Looking at the community reactions, Korean people seemed quite reassured thanks to the Rocket Store. Even with unsettling factors like the sudden 30th-floor breakthroughs by the US and China, increasing dungeon breaks, and anomalous cracks, they didn’t seem greatly disturbed because they had a reliable pillar called the Rocket Store.
“The mere existence of my ability gives people hope.”
It wasn’t a bad feeling. No, it was actually good.