Chapter Sixty-Two
Five minutes eventually passed, and Ludvan’s right arm was perfectly healed.
“There, it’s done. However, since it was just restored, it won’t be quite the same as before. Still, it’s better than having no arm at all, isn’t it?”
Looking at his completely regenerated right arm, Ludvan wore a bewildered expression.
“My goodness! To think… to think such a miracle was possible!”
As it was almost time for the first wave to begin, Seong-jun turned to Ludvan.
“Now then! The wave should be starting soon. Go and get ready for the fight.”
Ludvan replied hurriedly at Seong-jun’s words.
“Ah, yes! Do not worry! No matter what happens, I will never let them break through!”
With that, Ludvan walked toward the wooden fence.
His senior soldiers approached him as he drew near.
“Sir Ludvan. Are you alright? What on earth happened to your arm…?”
They were naturally shocked.
He had clearly lost an arm while fighting monsters alongside them, yet here he was, perfectly healed.
Ludvan himself found it just as incredible.
Since it wasn’t a trained arm, it felt somewhat foreign, but it was still far better than his previous situation.
“This is truly… a miracle. To think this was actually possible.”
Ludvan was a dual-wielder by nature, so he held a sword in each hand.
However, unlike his left hand which held a longsword, his restored right hand held a shortsword that was lighter than a longsword.
As Ludvan moved his right arm to test the weight of the shortsword, one of the senior soldiers spoke up.
“I heard that the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom, who was reportedly killed after entering the Dark Forest, could restore severed arms and legs.”
Ludvan nodded at the senior soldier’s words.
“I have heard those rumors as well. But hasn’t there been no priest with such an ability since the Saintess disappeared? Besides, the idea of the Saintess having such power was ultimately just a rumor. Yet, perhaps it wasn’t just a simple rumor after all. If I told someone what I experienced today, would they even believe me?”
The rumors regarding the Saintess were widespread across the entire continent.
She was legendary while alive, but after her reported death, the stories were inflated until she was practically deified.
Consequently, people were beginning to wonder if the abilities she had displayed were merely fabricated myths.
At that moment…
“Enemy spotted!”
The first wave finally began, and monsters made their appearance.
“It finally begins. Everyone, into battle formation!”
At Ludvan’s command, the soldiers began to form their ranks in an orderly fashion.
Meanwhile, Seong-jun, who was observing the situation from in front of the crystal pillar, let out a small smirk as he watched the monsters emerge.
“Are there only ten goblins for the first wave? How ridiculous.”
The first wave consisted of a mere ten goblins.
It was a level that two or three well-trained regular soldiers could easily handle.
‘At this level, there’s no need to deploy Sanctuary yet.’
He had debated whether to use Sanctuary from the start, but looking at the situation, it didn’t seem necessary.
He decided it would be better to hold out with just buffs for as long as possible and only deploy Sanctuary later when the situation became difficult for the soldiers to handle.
‘I should still give them a buff, though. Should I start with a simple All-in-One?’
‘All-in-One! Wide Area Mode!’
Seong-jun immediately cast All-in-One, significantly boosting the soldiers’ stats.
*Flash!*
As the unexpected buff washed over them, not only the knight Ludvan but also the regular soldiers felt their morale soar to the heavens.
“Whoa! Th-this is the priest’s buff I’ve only heard stories about!”
“The power is overflowing! I can feel it!”
“They’re just mere goblins! Bring it on!”
“Raaaagh!”
Ten goblins rushed toward the soldiers, whose morale was at its peak.
*Slash! Thwack! Slice!*
“Skreeee!”
The goblins were annihilated in an instant without being able to land a single proper attack.
**[You have completed Wave 1. As a completion reward, your Divine Power has permanently increased by 100, and all spent Divine Power has been restored.]**
**[Wave 2 will begin in 10 minutes.]**
Wave 1 was cleared in the blink of an eye.
As a reward, his Divine Power increased permanently by 100, and his spent Divine Power was fully restored.
‘Oh! I expected my spent Divine Power to recover, but I didn’t know a certain amount would increase permanently. But only 100? If you’re going to give me some, give me a decent amount.’
Though he was pleased with the permanent increase, he felt that 100 was a bit stingy.
‘Anyway, there’s nothing much for me to do.’
A low-ranked healer would have been agonizing over how to heal the soldiers with their restored Divine Power or how to defend the next wave with limited troops, but Seong-jun, having already healed everyone, had no such worries.
Therefore, he simply rested for the ten minutes until the next wave.
***
Thirty goblins appeared in Wave 2, and 50 appeared in Wave 3.
Furthermore, Wave 3 provided an additional reward where he could choose between a set of regular and senior soldiers or a single Low-level Knight.
After some deliberation, Seong-jun chose the Low-level Knight.
In the following Wave 4, 40 goblins and ten orcs appeared.
The clear reward was a permanent increase of 800 Divine Power.
In Wave 5, his Divine Power increased by 1,600 permanently, and a new set of choices appeared.
He continued to select a balanced mix of soldiers and knights, and soon he had cleared everything from Wave 9 through Wave 10.
**[You have completed Wave 10. As a completion reward, your Divine Power has permanently increased by 51,200, and all spent Divine Power has been restored.]**
**[As a reward for completing Wave 10, you have obtained the skillbook: Energy Recharge.]**
**[Additional rewards are available. You may choose one of the following: [190 Regular Soldiers and 19 Senior Soldiers] or [1 Mid-level Knight].]**
**[Wave 11 will begin in 10 minutes.]**
‘What’s this? Energy Recharge?’
A skillbook had appeared in his hand. Seong-jun checked it immediately.
[Active Skillbook] Energy Recharge
Consumes Divine Power to restore another person’s energy.
– Can restore another person’s Divine Power using your own. [Additional consumption: None]
– Can restore another person’s Mana or Aura using your own. [Additional consumption: 20%] [Additional consumption decreases as skill level rises.]
– After designating a target, you can restore as much energy as you desire.
– Can restore up to 3 people simultaneously. [Maximum targets increase as skill level rises.]
Casting Time: [Instant]
Cooldown: [10 minutes]
After checking the Energy Recharge skillbook, Seong-jun’s eyes widened.
“Hah! What? I can restore someone else’s Mana or Aura? This is incredible!”
There were “Drain” skills that stole health or energy from others or monsters, but he had never heard of a skill that filled someone else’s energy using one’s own.
Of course, unless Seong-jun knew the abilities of every Hunter in the world, someone like that might exist, but as far as he knew, there were none.
‘Even though I currently hunt without needing any mana-recovery time, I still hold back on using skills to manage my resources. But with this, there’s no need to manage anything; I can just spam skills and hunt as fast as possible. Of course, it’ll drain my Divine Power, but unless I’m casting wide-area buffs on hundreds of people simultaneously like during a Dungeon Break, I’ll never run out.’
Mana management was an eternal struggle for all Hunters.
The primary reason they took breaks in Dungeons was to recover Mana, Divine Power, or Aura.
Energy Recharge was a skill that could solve that problem completely.
Of course, this only applied to a healer like Seong-jun, who possessed an astronomical amount of Divine Power.
“They called it a privilege Dungeon, and they weren’t kidding. Giving out such an absurd skill… Anyway, I reinforced the troops in Wave 7, so is it the knight’s turn this time?”
From Waves 1 to 5, enemies only came from one direction.
From Waves 6 to 10, they appeared from two directions.
It was obvious that enemies would come from three directions starting from Wave 11 to Wave 15.
He had enough troops to defend three fronts, but having only two Low-level Knights made the leadership a bit awkward.
Therefore, he decided to pick a knight this time so he could place one knight in each direction.
‘Choose Mid-level Knight.’
As soon as he made his choice, a knight wielding a massive shield appeared near the crystal pillar.
*Whirrr!*
“Ugh! Wh-where am I…?”
However, the newly summoned knight also appeared to be severely injured.
Seeing this, Ludvan was startled and rushed toward the newly summoned Mid-level Knight.
“Wait! Sir Baron! Are you alright!”
The knight called Baron struggled to lift his head and looked at Ludvan.
“Lud… van? *Cough!* I was… I was surely fighting the enemy and suffered a fatal wound, so why… why am I here?”
Seong-jun strode toward Baron, who was barely supporting himself with his shield.
“Just a moment.”
He immediately cast his skill.
‘Divine Healing.’
*Flash!*
A brilliant light enveloped Baron’s entire body, and his frame, which looked like it would collapse at any moment, was rapidly healed.
“Huh? A… a priest?”
Ludvan spoke to the bewildered Baron.
“If it weren’t for this Priest, we would have all been annihilated. More importantly, he is no ordinary priest. He even healed my arm after it was severed by a Living Armor. I don’t know if you heard this when you were summoned here, but if we protect that crystal pillar until the final wave, we can return to our original world.”
The Mid-level Knight nodded at Ludvan’s words.
“I heard. I was on the verge of death, surrounded by a legion of monsters, when I was suddenly summoned here.”
He then turned to Seong-jun.
“In any case, thank you. I am Edward Baron, a Mid-level Knight of the Kingdom of Karhen. I don’t know how this happened, but since I must return to my original world as well, I will do my best to help you protect this place.”
Seong-jun nodded in response to Edward Baron’s words.
“Yes, since we share the same goal, let’s join forces and hold out until the final wave. For your information, up until the previous wave, enemies rushed in from those two directions. I expect they will add another side in the next wave, totaling three directions. You knights should discuss and coordinate the details among yourselves.”
Seong-jun mentioned the high probability of enemies coming from three directions and told the knights to handle the specific formations and placements themselves.
Since they all seemed to be knights from the same kingdom, they likely had their own chain of command.
“We will handle things according to the situation, so you needn’t worry too much, Priest. Now! Let’s prepare before the enemies arrive!”
Under Edward Baron’s command, the forces on the field were quickly reorganized.
***
The current forces were sufficient to defend from Wave 11 to Wave 13, so Seong-jun used the rewards to recruit more troops to prepare for after Wave 15.
However, powerful entities began to appear from Wave 14.
They managed to block Wave 14 without much damage thanks to Seong-jun’s wide-area healing, but by Wave 15, the situation had become difficult to resolve with healing skills alone.
“Graaaaaa!”
“Roaaaaar!”
Massive humanoid monsters clad in pitch-black armor from head to toe appeared.
These were Demon Warriors, categorized as B-class monsters.
“Ugh! D-Demon Warriors!”
“H-how are we supposed to block that…?”
The Demon Warrior was a monster ranked just below the Death Knight, which was classified as an A-class monster.
They used giant greatswords as weapons.
Fortunately, only one appeared as a sort of boss.
However, its sheer presence exerted such pressure that the soldiers’ morale plummeted.
Seong-jun decided that All-in-One wouldn’t be enough and cast an additional buff.
‘All-in-One was enough until now, but not anymore. Most importantly, the soldiers’ morale has broken. I need to raise their spirits first to turn the tide. War Cry! Wide Area Mode!’
Seong-jun cast War Cry in Wide Area Mode, removing the soldiers’ fear and pushing their fighting spirit to the limit.
*Flash!*
“Wh-what is this? Suddenly, I’m not afraid of those things!”
“Whooa! Kill them all!”
“I was actually scared of these punks? You bastards! Die!”
By removing their fear and maximizing their combat will with War Cry, the soldiers’ combat power rose noticeably.
The defensive line that looked like it would break at any moment became firm again as the soldiers fought aggressively.
Conversely, the monsters that had been pushing hard seemed to falter against the soldiers’ response.
*Whoosh! Swish!*
*Clang! Crash! Boom!*
Fierce battles broke out everywhere, and in the midst of it, the Demon Warrior slowly approached the wooden fence.
‘Is this as far as I go with just support? Considering the next stages, I need to minimize troop losses here. I suppose I have to step in. First, Holy Weapon Enchant!’
Even if they cleared Wave 15, it would be a failed strategy if they took significant damage.
There were still five more waves after this.
Thus, Seong-jun decided it was time for him to act in earnest.
After enchanting himself with Holy Weapon Enchant, Seong-jun walked toward the direction of the Demon Warrior.
Seeing this, the Mid-level Knight leading that flank, Edward, shouted in a panicked voice.
“Priest! Get back! It’s dangerous!”
He was startled because a priest, who had only been providing support from the rear, was suddenly stepping onto the front lines.
But Seong-jun ignored him and stepped forward, raising his mace toward the Demon Warrior.
He immediately cast a skill.
‘God’s Wrath.’
Upon casting God’s Wrath, a massive pillar of light struck the Demon Warrior.
*K-Boom!*
Simultaneously, a massive shockwave swept through the surroundings.
*Rumble!*
Since the Demon Warrior and all the monsters currently summoned on the field were Dark Attribute, they were devastatingly affected by the Holy Weapon Enchanted strike.
“Skreeee!”
“Gah!”
“Agggh!”
The B-class Demon Warrior didn’t die in one hit, but its life force was nearly depleted.
As for the lesser mobs, they were all wiped out by the shockwave alone.
The soldiers froze with expressions of utter shock.
“Gasp! Wh-what is this!”
“No way!”
“…”
With just one use of God’s Wrath, Wave 15 was practically cleared.
The knights, including Edward Baron, were equally stunned by the turn of events.
“What on earth was that…!”
The shockwave had centered on the Demon Warrior and affected a 500-meter radius, reaching all three fronts.
As a result, the low-level monsters were mostly annihilated.
There were very few monsters left alive.
Seong-jun spoke in a calm voice to the dazed Edward.
“What are you doing? You should go finish it off.”
Edward finally snapped back to his senses at Seong-jun’s instruction to finish the job.
“Huh? Ah! Yes! Everyone, attack!”
With those words, Edward charged toward the Demon Warrior with his shield in front.
*Boom! Crash!*
A fierce clash between Edward and the Demon Warrior ensued, and the soldiers quickly provided support. Eventually…
“Groooooh…”
*Thud!*
The Demon Warrior, which had very little life left, finally collapsed.
At that moment…
**[You have completed Wave 15. As a completion reward, your Divine Power has permanently increased by 1,638,400, and all spent Divine Power has been restored.]**
**[The permanent Divine Power increase benefit has ended. From the next stage, only the Divine Power recovery benefit will be provided.]**
**[As a reward for completing Wave 15, you have obtained the skillbook: Energy Amplification.]**
**[Additional rewards are available. You may choose one of the following: [490 Regular Soldiers and 49 Senior Soldiers] or [1 High-level Knight].]**
**[Wave 16 will begin in 10 minutes.]**
A message appeared indicating Wave 15 was complete.
‘Huh? The permanent Divine Power increase ends at Wave 15? That’s a shame. Well, I still gained over three million Divine Power, so I should be satisfied.’
The permanent increase had doubled every stage from Wave 1 to Wave 15.
Because of that, the increase that started at 100 had reached 1,638,400 by Wave 15.
When combined with all the previous increases, his Divine Power had risen by a staggering 3,276,700.
His pure Divine Power was now close to five million, and when combined with his additional Divine Power, it exceeded ten million.
Without a doubt, no Hunter in the entire world possessed such a gargantuan amount of energy.
‘By the way, what is Energy Amplification?’
Not only had he secured over three million additional Divine Power, but he had also obtained a new skill called Energy Amplification.
Though he could guess what it was just by the name, he quickly checked the skillbook to be sure.