The might of a 6th Circle Mage was truly incredible.
Even though Seong-jun’s buffs played a significant role, the 6th Circle Mage’s powerful magic attacks allowed them to clear the wave more easily than Stage 16, despite five Demon Warriors appearing from each direction.
Naturally, a Skill Level Up Card appeared again, though it was disappointing that no Mage appeared in the additional selection for Stage 17.
Instead, Seong-jun chose a Senior Knight to bolster their lacking defensive forces.
As a result, they managed to clear Stage 18 and Stage 19 somehow.
In Stage 18, a boss-class Demon Warrior appeared alongside a Death Knight, an A-rank monster.
In Stage 19, three Death Knights appeared from each direction, totaling twelve.
**[You have completed Stage 19. All consumed Divine Power has been restored.]**
**[You have obtained the skillbook [Divine Insight] as a reward for completing Stage 19.]**
**[An additional reward is granted. You may choose one of the following: [990 regular soldiers and ninety-nine senior soldiers], [Wall Upgrade], or [four Ballistas].]**
**[The final wave, Stage 20, will begin in 10 minutes.]**
[Divine Insight], the skillbook received as a reward for clearing Stage 19. Seong-jun checked the skillbook immediately.
**[Active Skillbook] Divine Insight**
Pierce through the opponent’s information and identify weaknesses using Divine Power.
– Upon using Divine Insight, detailed information about the opponent can be viewed.
Casting Time: **[Instant]**
Cooldown: **[5 minutes]**
The skillbook [Divine Insight] shared a common thread with the analysis skills used to identify an opponent’s information.
It seemed like a higher-tier version of analysis.
‘Divine Insight. Is it an analysis skill? I already have Deep Analysis, so will this even help? Well, I’ll know once I learn it.’
Seong-jun learned [Divine Insight] immediately.
**[You have learned the skillbook [Divine Insight].]**
**[The skill [Deep Analysis] has recognized the skill [Divine Insight]. The skill [Deep Analysis] is beginning Predation.]**
Seong-jun looked bewildered by the sudden notification.
‘What? Predation? What is this now!’
Before he could even process the situation, another notification appeared.
**[Predation complete. The skill [Deep Analysis] has evolved into the skill [Divine Eye].]**
[Deep Analysis] was an F-rank skill.
Or rather, that was what he had been told.
Since it was one of the skills he obtained when he awakened as an F-rank, he naturally assumed it was an F-rank skill.
Although there were many strange aspects for an F-rank skill—such as being able to see psychological states and Reliability—he hadn’t paid it much mind.
But for it to “predate” [Divine Insight], which was presumably a high-grade analysis skill?
Putting everything else aside, he had never heard of one skill predating another.
‘What on earth happened? Sudden predation? Let’s check it first.’
He hurriedly checked the details of [Divine Eye].
**[Active] Divine Eye [Level 1/10]**
Through the eyes of a god, pierce through all information about the target.
– Detailed target information can be viewed.
– Target vulnerabilities can be viewed.
– Target’s Reliability toward the caster can be viewed.
– Can borrow skills from targets with an [Absolute Trust] relationship. [Maximum: 2]
– Target’s psychological state can be viewed.
– Can view the target’s last thought before casting Divine Eye.
Casting Time: **[Instant]**
Divine Power Consumption: **[50]**
Cooldown: **[30 seconds]**
The name had changed from [Deep Analysis] to [Divine Eye], and several other parts had changed as well.
What used to be “basic information” had changed to “detailed information,” and a new feature to “view vulnerabilities” had been added.
Furthermore, the number of skills he could borrow from those with an [Absolute Trust] relationship increased from one to two.
Finally, instead of just grasping their psychological state, he could now see the target’s very last thought.
‘Crazy. What is this? Maybe Deep Analysis wasn’t an F-rank skill to begin with. I only assumed it was because I awakened as an F-rank.’
Only then did Seong-jun realize that [Deep Analysis] might not have been an F-rank skill.
Honestly, he should have realized sooner that it wasn’t a normal analysis skill just from the fact that it could read psychological states.
However, because he had used it so naturally, the thought hadn’t occurred to him.
“I’ll figure out the details later, but anyway, this means I can borrow up to two skills, right? I was planning to borrow Yuseon’s Spirit Magic Light Cannon if necessary, but now I can also borrow Spirit Bombardment or a sniping skill. I’ve gained a great card right before the final Stage 20.”
There weren’t many skills worth borrowing from Gwang-taek right now.
It wasn’t as if Seong-jun was going to be the tank, so there was no reason to borrow [Chain of Light] or other aggro-pulling skills.
At most, a stun skill might be useful.
On the other hand, Yuseon had many powerful skills.
He had already planned to borrow the [Spirit Magic Light Cannon]—her ultimate move—if needed, so being able to borrow one more meant he could use the area-of-effect [Spirit Bombardment] or a sniping skill that was even stronger than the light cannon for single-target damage.
“That aside, I should probably ask for some advice on this additional reward as well.”
He had summoned a 6th Circle Mage based on Count Olrient’s advice, and as a result, they had fended off the waves more easily than expected.
Since there hadn’t been anything particularly special after that, he had mainly summoned Senior Knights, but now a new choice had appeared before the final stage.
Thus, he sought Count Olrient’s advice once more.
“Count Olrient.”
At Seong-jun’s call, Count Olrient spoke with a determined expression.
“Only the last wave remains. I do not know your true identity, but thanks to you, we have overcome the crisis of death and gained a new chance. For that, I am very grateful. But what is the matter?”
There was a commonality between those summoned from the start and those summoned later: they were all people on the verge of death.
In other words, they were people who would have surely died if they hadn’t been summoned here.
Those people had gained a chance to live again.
And thanks to Seong-jun, they were only one step away from that chance.
When Count Olrient, having expressed his gratitude, asked why he had been called, Seong-jun told him the options.
“It’s a new set of choices. One thousand soldiers, a wall upgrade, or four ballistas. What would be best in our current situation?”
Count Olrient looked thoughtful for a moment at Seong-jun’s question.
Then, he spoke quietly.
“Hmm. The monsters that will appear in the final stage will be difficult for ordinary soldiers to handle. Regular soldiers who cannot wield Aura will not be of much help. As for the ballistas, they would be good for attacking large monsters, but the fact that there are only four bothers me. If we place one in each direction, the efficiency will be too low, and if we group them in one spot, the other sides will be too vulnerable.”
Ordinary soldiers could only cover low-grade monsters.
However, after passing Stage 15, the monsters that ordinary soldiers could handle were few and far between.
Especially in Stage 19, the regular soldiers didn’t play a significant role beyond being meat shields.
Needless to say, it would be the same in the final Stage 20.
In the end, the choices were the wall and the ballistas, and since there were only four ballistas, their efficiency wasn’t great.
“Then, are you saying I should choose the wall?”
“Our ultimate goal is to protect the Crystal Pillar. If we focus on the objective of defense, the wall would be the best choice.”
Count Olrient said that the wall was the best option in the current situation.
Seong-jun nodded at his words.
“I see. You certainly have much more experience in these matters than I do, Count. I understand. Then I will choose the wall.”
In the end, Seong-jun chose the wall following Count Olrient’s advice.
‘Select Wall Upgrade.’
As soon as Seong-jun selected the Wall Upgrade—
*Rumble, rumble, rumble!*
The wooden fence disappeared, and a high, sturdy stone wall was created in its place.
Count Olrient expressed his surprise at the sight.
“Hah! I expected a mediocre wall, but it looks very sturdy. A wall of that level won’t budge under most attacks.”
To Count Olrient, the newly created wall looked incredibly solid.
Even considering the entire continent, not just the Karhen Kingdom, it was a high and sturdy wall that would rank among the best.
“It certainly feels different from when there was just a wooden fence.”
Now that a solid wall had been created, it felt like a proper fortification had been established.
“It will be very useful for defending against monsters as well. Finally, we can fight a proper defensive battle. All troops! Mount the walls and prepare for the final battle!”
At Count Olrient’s shout, the soldiers and knights hurried onto the wall.
Although there were two more Senior Knights besides Count Olrient, both held the rank of Viscount, so Count Olrient maintained overall command.
“Yes, Sir!”
“Hurry and take your defensive positions!”
Once the order was given, the knights and soldiers quickly took their places on the wall.
*Clack! Clack! Clack!*
Perhaps because they were accustomed to siege defense, both the knights and soldiers finished their deployment swiftly.
“Then, let us see each other again after the final battle.”
With those words, Count Olrient slowly climbed the wall.
‘Since it’s the last one, I should do everything I can.’
Facing the final Stage 20, Seong-jun activated [Sanctuary], which he had been saving until now.
“Sanctuary!”
Because the duration was 1 hour while the cooldown was 22 hours, he had saved it as much as possible.
*Flash!*
After spreading the Sanctuary, Seong-jun cast all his remaining buffs.
‘All-in-One! Wide Area Mode! Healing Light! Wide Area Mode! War Cry! Wide Area Mode! Holy Weapon Enchant! Wide Area Mode! Holy Armor Enchant! Wide Area Mode! Energy Amplification! Wide Area Mode!’
*Hummmm! Whoosh! Flash!*
A feast of buffs unfolded rapidly.
After casting every buff available, Seong-jun began to walk slowly.
He headed toward the southern side, the most vulnerable direction.
Count Olrient, the 6th Circle Mage, and an Intermediate Knight were stationed at the north, while Senior and Junior Knights were stationed at the east and west.
Only the south was filled with Intermediate Knights, so he went there to provide support.
‘The best strategy for now is to clear the south first, then move the troops stationed there to the east and west, and finally focus on the north, where the strongest entity will appear.’
Seong-jun quickly climbed the southern wall.
The knights who saw him hurried over.
“You’ve come.”
Seong-jun had played a massive role in the previous stages.
Having seen it with their own eyes, they treated him with such respect.
“Yes. It seemed like this side was the most vulnerable. It’s the last stage, so let’s do our best to block it. We all have to survive and return to our original world, right?”
At Seong-jun’s words, the knights replied with determined expressions.
“Of course we will.”
“It’s a chance we gained at the doorstep of death; we must seize it. We’ll hold them off somehow, so do not worry.”
And at that moment—
“Kwooooooo!”
With a loud roar, the final Stage 20 wave began.
“The final wave has finally begun! Let’s wipe those bastards out and return to our world!”
“Wooooooo!”
Because their fear had been removed and their fighting spirit pushed to the limit by [War Cry], the soldiers’ morale was sky-high.
***
As it was the final stage, even the fodder mobs were at least C-rank, and normally, the attacks of regular soldiers shouldn’t have worked.
However, thanks to the powerful buffs Seong-jun had cast, the regular soldiers’ attacks were damaging the monsters.
“Hold them back! Do not let even a single one over the wall!”
The soldiers tried their best to prevent the monsters from crossing the wall, while the monsters climbed over the corpses of their dead comrades, desperately scaling the stone.
*Swoosh! Zip! Whiz! Boom! Crash! Bam!*
Meanwhile, Seong-jun was using [Surge of Holy Arrows] to quickly eliminate the fodder mobs.
Of course, the number of monsters was so great that more were piling up than were dying, but by picking out and attacking the most critical areas, they managed to hold the wall somehow.
“Kwooooooo!”
And finally, the Death Knights, the A-rank monsters, began to move in earnest.
‘The Death Knights are finally moving. Before the Death Knight King, the main threat of this wave from the north, starts moving in earnest, I have to clear this side as quickly as possible.’
The final boss of Stage 20 was the A-rank boss, the Death Knight King.
Since they had three Senior Knights—who were equivalent to S-rank—and a 6th Circle Mage, they should be able to hold it if Seong-jun joined them at the right time.
The problem here was that the Senior Knights were scattered in different directions.
To deal with the Death Knight King, he had to bring them all to the north, which meant the south had to be cleared as quickly as possible.
‘Come on!’
While waiting for the Death Knights to enter his range, Seong-jun fired [Surge of Holy Arrows] at the fodder mobs.
A moment later—
“Kwooooooo!”
“Kieeeeeee!”
The Death Knights strode toward the wall through the fodder mobs, finally entering Seong-jun’s range.
“Now! Form Transformation! Bow!”
Seong-jun quickly switched his Mace into its bow form.
Then, he immediately cast one of Yuseon’s skills, [Spirit Magic Light Cannon].
‘Spirit Magic Light Cannon!’
Ariel, the Intermediate Spirit of Wind, appeared and began to infuse the power of wind into the bow in Seong-jun’s hand.
As Ariel’s power was poured into the wind arrow nocked on the string, its energy grew powerful rapidly.
*Vroooooom!*
And when the gathered energy reached its peak, Seong-jun released the tightly drawn string.
*Twang!*
At that moment, a massive arrow carrying enormous energy shot out, sweeping across the area.
*K-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!*
The Light Cannon, shooting out ferociously and consuming everything in its path, eventually swept through the Death Knights within its range.
*Boom! Bam! Crash! Rumble!*
“Heh! What on earth…?”
“My God… to think that such an attack was unleashed by the hands of a priest.”
Only monster corpses remained where the [Spirit Magic Light Cannon] had passed.
Although the [Spirit Magic Light Cannon] was much more powerful than when Yuseon cast it—thanks to various buffs and Seong-jun’s unique passive options—the Death Knights were still standing, as expected of A-rank monsters.
Additionally, some monsters that weren’t caught in the Light Cannon survived, but their numbers weren’t very large.
“Surge of Holy Arrows!”
*Swoosh! Whiz! Whish!*
Seong-jun immediately cast [Surge of Holy Arrows] to attack the Death Knights.
*Boom! Crash! Thud!*
‘Finish them as quickly as possible!’
“They’ve entered the Sanctuary, so we can definitely win! I’ll support you from behind, so everyone, go out and fight! We need to clear this as quickly as possible!”
The Death Knights’ stats would have dropped because they entered the Sanctuary, while the knights’ stats were massively boosted by the various buffs Seong-jun had cast.
Even if they were Intermediate Knights, they were now at a level where they could fight the Death Knights.
At Seong-jun’s shout, the Intermediate Knights immediately jumped down from the wall.
“Let’s go!”
“The representative of God is fighting with us, so there is no need to fear!”
As the Intermediate Knights jumped down and charged at the Death Knights, Seong-jun fired [Surge of Holy Arrows] from atop the wall and cast healing skills whenever necessary.
The fodder mobs tried to rush the knights, but they fell one by one to the barrage of arrows the soldiers fired from the walls.
And finally—
“Kwoooooooo…!!”
*Thud! Crash!*
Under the persistent attacks of the Intermediate Knights and Seong-jun’s repeated strikes, the Death Knights collapsed one by one.
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