Since no one but Seong-jun could enter, everyone stared at him through the doorway with bewildered expressions.
“Seong-jun, what is this? It says only those with the power of the Goddess of Light Hemeias can enter? Is this something only healers can go into? No, that can’t be it. If that were the case, that healer over there should be able to enter too, but they’re stuck outside.”
Just as Gwang-taek said, the healer from Karl’s team was also unable to cross the threshold.
It seemed that not all Divine Power was treated the same.
“I guess so. I thought all Divine Power was the same, but it looks like it’s divided based on which god’s power you possess. Anyway, what should we do? At this rate, it looks like I’ll have to scout the interior by myself.”
There was no other choice.
Seong-jun was the only person capable of entering the ruin.
At Seong-jun’s words, Karl sighed and spoke.
“Sigh, it can’t be helped. It doesn’t look like we can force our way in, so you just go in and take whatever you can find. For now, that seems to be the only way.”
Under the current circumstances, that was indeed the best course of action.
Karl felt relieved that at least Seong-jun was the one who could go inside.
To Karl, Seong-jun was a man he could trust.
Even if that weren’t the case, they had no other options.
“I suppose so. Don’t worry. People call me a Saint; do you really think I’d mess around with artifacts? Especially when we’re about to face thousands of Harpies? I’ll take a look around and bring out everything I can find.”
Seong-jun reassured them.
His own party members would trust him without such words, and Karl seemed to trust him as well, but the other Hunters needed a reason to believe.
By emphasizing his title as a Saint and the fact that they were facing a massive monster wave, he instilled confidence that he wouldn’t secretly pocket the artifacts or treasures.
“Of course we trust you. So, look through everything thoroughly and bring it all out. We’ll be waiting right here.”
“Yes, I’ll be back after a quick look.”
As Seong-jun turned his back and moved away from the door…
*Rumble!*
Suddenly, the stone door began to close.
*Thud!*
The massive stone door shut tight, as if it refused to let anyone outside even witness what was happening within.
“Huh! It’s closing again. Damn. I guess we have no choice but to wait until Seong-jun opens the door from the inside.”
With the stone door shut, they truly had no way to intervene.
Eventually, one by one, the Hunters sat down on the ground with dejected looks.
***
Seong-jun was briefly flustered when the stone door slammed shut the moment he walked away.
“What? Did the door just close completely?”
He stared blankly at the stone door for a moment before letting out a smirk.
‘Hmph, not bad. Now I can look around as much as I want without worrying about anyone watching.’
If the door had remained open, he would have had to mind their gazes, even if their field of vision was limited.
But now that the door was shut, there was no need to worry about anyone else.
He could do whatever he wanted.
‘Anyway, it’s quite spacious.’
The interior was much larger than expected.
It boasted a grander space than any ruin he had seen before.
Consequently, there were quite a few things that caught his eye.
‘Gold candlesticks and cups. Are they just decorations?’
On one side, several golden candlesticks and cups were laid out.
At first glance, they looked like ordinary decorations, but since anything he could carry out was money, he picked up a candlestick to check.
Then…
**[B-rank] Candlestick of Mental Stability**
**—Lighting the candle stabilizes the mind and body of people within a certain area. [Radius: 10m]**
Information about the candlestick popped up.
“Oh? What? This was an artifact? Don’t tell me everything here is…?”
Although the effect wasn’t particularly outstanding, an artifact was still an artifact.
Seong-jun began checking the candlesticks one by one.
“Let’s see… this one increases concentration significantly. It would be perfect for high school students preparing for entrance exams. This one relieves pain, and this one alleviates diseases. The efficiency is much lower than the Cure I cast, but it would be quite effective if placed in a hospital room for long-term patients.”
There were several other candlesticks with various effects.
None of them were particularly helpful in combat, and each candlestick only had one minor option, but they seemed quite efficient for use by ordinary people.
“Well, I’ve seen enough of the candlesticks. Is this cup also that kind of artifact?”
Seong-jun picked up a golden cup sitting alone among the candlesticks.
**[A-rank] Golden Chalice**
**—Filling the chalice with water and casting [Divine Enchantment] creates Holy Water.**
**—Can only be used by someone who possesses the skill [Divine Enchantment].**
The golden cup was an artifact called the Golden Chalice, and unlike the B-rank candlesticks, it was A-rank.
While he wasn’t sure exactly what the Holy Water did, it seemed to be a necessary artifact for its creation.
The problem was that one needed both this chalice and the skill Divine Enchantment to create Holy Water.
‘Hmm, a chalice that makes Holy Water. It seems useless without the Divine Enchantment skill, but I might get it when my rank increases later, so I’ll take it for now.’
He didn’t have a use for it immediately, but since it might become useful later, Seong-jun stored the Golden Chalice in his Subspace.
Since no one was watching, he intended to pocket anything he deemed necessary.
“This side seems to be it. Should I go over there?”
After checking the candlesticks and the chalice, Seong-jun moved toward another area.
There, he found a dazzling, five-colored potion, a book that appeared to be a skill book, and a small golden statue of a woman who appeared to be the Goddess Hemeias.
“Oh! There are some decent things here. Let’s start with the potion.”
Seong-jun reached for the radiant potion and checked its information.
**[S-rank] Holy Water of Experience**
**—Greatly increases the class level experience of an individual who possesses the Divine Power of the Goddess of Light Hemeias.**
It was a very short but powerful description.
It was a potion that massively increased class level experience.
“Whoa! An experience-increasing potion? Crazy! Just how much does it increase? I hope drinking this doesn’t just instantly level me up… or would it?”
Since reaching Level 4 and S-rank, his leveling had been stagnant because the required experience points had skyrocketed.
Although he had cleared several A-rank Dungeons and upgraded his primary hunting grounds to B-rank, he had expected it would take at least two to three months to level up again.
He didn’t think he would level up immediately by drinking this, but it would surely shorten that period significantly.
‘By the way, it’s Holy Water. It’s not a simple potion; it’s Holy Water. Does this mean if I can create Holy Water, I can make experience-increasing potions too? This is insane.’
The information explicitly called it Holy Water, not a potion.
Given that this Holy Water was S-rank, he likely wouldn’t be able to make one exactly like it the moment he learned to create Holy Water, but it suggested it would be possible in the future.
If he could make these, he wouldn’t have to grind for experience points anymore.
Of course, he would still enter Dungeons regularly, though.
“Anyway, let’s drink it first.”
He could worry about the future later; for now, he had to drink the Holy Water in front of him.
Even if it only increased his experience a little, that was enough.
Seong-jun immediately uncorked the potion and gulped it down.
*Gulp!*
The sweet liquid, tasting like honey water, flowed down his throat.
Soon, unbelievable notifications rang in his ears.
**[The Holy Water containing the blessing of the Goddess of Light Hemeias resonates with the Holy Heart. Experience gain is significantly increased.]**
**[You have acquired a massive amount of experience points. Level up!]**
**[You have leveled up and attained a status appropriate for the next rank. Your rank has increased by one stage.]**
**[New skills have been generated due to the level up and rank increase.]**
**[The efficiency of existing skills has significantly increased due to the rank increase.]**
**[Class has evolved from [Saint of War] to [Radiant Saint].]**
By resonating with the Holy Heart, he gained far more experience than the Holy Water originally intended.
As a result, Seong-jun’s level and rank both rose.
“M-my level rose? I thought I’d have to hunt for at least two or three months, but one shot of Holy Water did it?”
It was an unbelievable situation—a literal stroke of luck for Seong-jun.
“This is insane… Ha, haha. Is it really this easy to level up? This easy?”
Seong-jun, who had been Level 4, was now Level 5, and at the same time, his rank rose to S-rank.
Naturally, his basic stats soared, new skills were created, and his existing skills were significantly enhanced.
As his skills adjusted from A-rank to S-rank, the efficiency of his buffs, the amount of healing, and the damage of his attack skills all increased drastically.
His basic stats had increased more than tenfold compared to before, and most importantly, the increase in his Divine Power was staggering.
His previous Divine Power, which had been close to 20 million when combining pure and additional power, had now surpassed 100 million.
This meant his Divine Magic would be far more powerful than the option values suggested.
“This will make clearing the monster wave much easier. I should check the newly added skills first.”
Under normal circumstances, he would have looked them over at home, but he had to face over 2,000 Harpies shortly.
To do that, he needed to be fully familiar with his new abilities.
**[Active] Radiant Wind [Level 1/10]**
**Creates a wind infused with Divine Power over a wide area, dealing a crushing blow to enemies and providing buffs and healing to allies.**
**—Deals Light attribute damage [300,000] to all enemies within range.**
**—Inflicts Light attribute continuous damage to all enemies within range. [350 per second]**
**—Inflicts status abnormality [Stun] for 3 seconds on all enemies within range.**
**—Inflicts status abnormality [Confusion] for 10 seconds on all enemies within range.**
**—Base Range: [500m] radius centered on the first enemy hit.**
**—Fixed damage and continuous damage increased by [30%] against Dark attribute targets.**
**—Continuous HP recovery for all allies within range. [1,000 per second] [Stacks with other continuous healing skills.]**
**—Strengthens the mental power of all allies within range.**
**—Grants Light attribute attack power [50,000] to all allies within range.**
**—Grants Light attribute defense power [100,000] to all allies within range.**
**—If [God’s Wrath] is used while [Radiant Wind] is active, the damage of God’s Wrath increases by [20%].**
**—If [God’s Wrath] is used while [Radiant Wind] is active, wound healing and regeneration speed increase options are added to the Vitality Recovery effect.**
**Casting Time: [10 seconds]**
**Duration: [Maximum 10 minutes / Can be canceled midway]**
**Divine Power Consumption: [1,000,000 per minute]**
**Cooldown: [1 hour]**
As expected, upon reaching S-rank, he gained Ermia Jaylin’s second core skill, Radiant Wind.
It possessed insane performance.
“Crazy! This is Radiant Wind? Ha!”
Radiant Wind was a wide-area skill like God’s Wrath, but it wasn’t a one-time blast.
It was a channeled skill that dealt massive initial damage followed by continuous damage for its 10-minute duration.
Furthermore, it provided continuous healing to allies and buffed their Light attribute attack and defense power.
It was literally an all-purpose skill that combined damage, healing, and buffs.
More importantly, if he cast God’s Wrath while Radiant Wind was active, its damage would increase by 20%, and it would gain additional healing and regeneration effects.
“So this is why God’s Wrath and Radiant Wind are core skills. They have to be used together to maximize efficiency. I guess I should use the Skill Level Up Cards on Radiant Wind.”
After seeing its insane performance, Seong-jun decided to use the Skill Level Up Cards on Radiant Wind instead of Holy Weapon Enchant.
It would be a huge help in the upcoming monster wave, and he judged it would be invaluable for future waves or potential Dungeon Breaks.
Seong-jun immediately pulled the cards from his Subspace.
**[Would you like to use the one-time artifact [Skill Level Up Card]? Yes/No]**
“Yes.”
**[Please select the skill to apply it to.]**
“Radiant Wind.”
**[The level of the selected skill has increased from Level 1 to Level 2.]**
He didn’t stop there and used the remaining two cards as well.
**[The level of the selected skill has increased from Level 2 to Level 3.]**
**[The level of the selected skill has increased from Level 3 to Level 4.]**
After using the three cards in succession, Radiant Wind reached Level 4, the same as God’s Wrath.
Perhaps because of this, the skill’s power increased significantly.
The Light attribute damage rose from 300,000 to 600,000, and the continuous damage increased from 350 to 500.
The bonus damage against Dark attribute targets rose from 30% to 45%, and the healing and buff values for allies also increased.
Most importantly, the damage boost for God’s Wrath while Radiant Wind was active increased from 20% to 35%, further strengthening the synergy between the two skills.
Additionally, the cooldown was reduced to 50 minutes, matching God’s Wrath, allowing him to use both simultaneously every time.
‘If I use Sanctuary on top of this, the wave might be wiped out in an instant. This is great.’
He judged that while elite monsters might be a different story, normal B-rank monsters could be decimated by the combo of Radiant Wind and God’s Wrath.
Even if some survived, there wouldn’t be many left.
Plus, new powerful single-target attacks, buffs, and healing spells had been added, making Dungeon hunting much more comfortable.
‘I can even play the tank since I got Paladin skills. If I really wanted to, I could probably solo a B-rank Dungeon.’
Of course, party hunting was still more efficient.
“That’s enough for this. Now, what is this skill book?”
Seong-jun, who had leaped to S-rank in an instant thanks to the experience potion, reached for the skill book.
**[Active Skill Book] Divine Enchantment**
**Grants divine power to create Holy Water.**
**—Converts water inside the Golden Chalice into Holy Water by infusing it with divinity.**
**—Currently manufacturable Holy Water [2/10]: [Holy Water of Vitality], [Holy Water of Power]**
**—Can only be learned by someone who possesses the power of the Goddess of Light Hemeias.**
**Casting Time: [30 seconds]**
**Cooldown: [1 minute]**
The skill book was none other than Divine Enchantment.
Since it had the specific condition of requiring Hemeias’s power, only Seong-jun could learn it.
“Oho! Divine Enchantment? Since I have the Golden Chalice, I can make Holy Water now? I’ll learn it now and experiment when I get home.”
Seong-jun learned the skill immediately.
*Flash!*
“That’s done. Is there only one thing left in this row?”
Finally, Seong-jun picked up the Hemeias statue.
**[S-rank] Statue of the Goddess of Light Hemeias**
**A statue carved in the likeness of the Goddess of Light Hemeias.**
**—Upon use, you can receive an invitation from the Goddess of Light Hemeias. [One-time use.]**
The statue was a one-time artifact that allowed him to receive an invitation from Hemeias whenever he wished.
‘An invitation from Hemeias… does that mean I get to talk to her directly like last time? I’ll keep this in Subspace for now. She said she’d call me again when I reached the appropriate status, so there’s no need to use it now. I don’t have much to ask her anyway.’
Hemeias had told him she would call him again when the time was right.
Since he wasn’t in a hurry and didn’t have any pressing questions, there was no reason to use the statue yet.
He stored it in his Subspace.
“That’s everything here. Let’s see… those are artifacts over there, and those are gold coins and ingots. I can check the gold and ingots later, so I’ll look at the artifacts first.”
Items were placed in four rows.
One row had the golden candlesticks and chalice, and another had the Holy Water, skill book, and statue he just checked.
A third row contained five or six artifacts lined up, and the final row held gold coins and ingots.
Since gold had no special function other than being currency, he moved toward the other artifacts.