‘Is it really necessary for the Saintess to be in the Hero Party?’
The question was whether it was right to include the Saintess, who was not particularly strong in combat and had merely received a divine oracle from Eris, in the Hero Party.
It was not entirely strange to think this way.
‘After all, the hero party is a place where monsters gather. Illian Sigrud has reached the pinnacle of elves through centuries of training, and Madukelan can be considered the guild master of the Empire.’
If the party were to include a Saintess simply because she had received a divine oracle, it would be hard to understand, given the combination of such extraordinary individuals that made people think, “Wow, those people are insane.”
However, Ian did not share that view.
‘But… if you knew the true power of the Saintess, you would never say such things.’
It was true that the Saintess did not have exceptional combat power. That was an undeniable fact.
But the Saintess had extraordinary talents in other areas.
‘She can imbue divine power… Enchantment, that is.’
Enchantment.
Originally, it meant adding mana with a certain attribute to an object. But the Saintesses who received Eris’s oracle could enchant divine power.
‘You might think that anyone with the Holy Attribute could do this, but that’s not the case. The Saintess can enchant targets without limitation.’
It was a mad skill that allowed the Saintess to imbue divine attributes not just to weapons and terrain but even to other people’s skills. That was the true value of the Saintess.
Isn’t it impressive when you think about it simply?
Even without that, what would happen if the Holy Attribute was further amplified by the support of the Saintess, what if the power of Elysion, which is already powerful against demons, was further amplified by the Holy Attribute?
‘Even Ariel, who is just an Expert…, could deal damage that would surpass even a Master for that moment, making the Saintess an indispensable member of the party.’
Seriously questioning the necessity of a Saintess in the party was foolish.
She was not just a healer. Her main role was enchantment, but she also took on the additional responsibility of healing party members.
‘Just look at Glendia. How much divine power did she have left to not only enchant party members’ equipment but also to create holy water by enchanting ordinary water?’
As Ian recalled this, he let out a wry smile.
The reason for his thoughts was simple.
‘I remember that pendant is something only high-ranking figures of the Erisian Church possess, right? Upon closer inspection, it seems to have a symbol indicating the Saintess.’
It was curious that Igor, who seemed far removed from divine power, was wearing an item belonging to the Saintess.
If that was truly a Saintess’s item, it would not be strange if it could kill a ghost with just a simple choke.
‘It must be that the pendant’s divine power reacted due to the choke.’
The mystery of why the ghost was killed had been resolved. Now the question was why Igor had it.
There seemed to be no need to ask directly.
“Curious about this? I received this pendant from a Saintess who came to preach in Vischen when I was young.”
Igor started explaining first.
When the pendant was opened, the face of a woman standing next to young Igor came into view.
“I had been injured a lot due to excessive training and once fainted in the forest. The Saintess, who was out for a walk at that time, healed me. Afterwards, she gave me this to keep me safe, saying it would protect me in times of danger.”
Igor carefully handled the pendant as if it were a precious item.
It must indeed be important, considering it was a memory of someone who helped him in his youth. More importantly, it was a gift from the Saintess.
‘Although I don’t know her face well, it’s likely from the Saintess before Glendia.’
Igor might be wearing it simply as a talisman. But it wasn’t just that.
Being an item worn directly by the Saintess and high-ranking Erisian priests, it likely had its own protective features.
It was probably covered with buffs that the Saintess herself had applied.
‘Then… could Igor’s extraordinary recovery be due to that?’
It wasn’t certain since the item was from someone other than Glendia.
In Glendia’s case, she carried various buffs for safety, as well as buffs for physical and mental recovery.
If the same kind of buffs were applied, it could explain why Igor was so intensely focused on training.
‘Anyway, I should stop thinking about the pendant here.’
With the dungeon exploration still ongoing, there was no room for relaxation.
‘Having already missed two patterns, it would be best to finish within ten.’
The next course of action was clear.
“Let’s move. Keep up.”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
Ian sprang into action, with Igor following closely behind.
***
The moment Ian made the decision, he and Igor tore through the mansion like a storm.
“Move aside. Before I kill you!”
“Gaaah!”
It didn’t matter if there were people screaming or if doors that shouldn’t be open were found open. They pushed through without caring about patterns.
Fortunately, within three minutes, they had managed to scour from the first to the third floors, covering every part of the mansion.
Though there were occasionally monsters desperately trying to block their way, they didn’t pay them much attention.
“Break your backs in half!”
Crack!
Whether they were ghosts or anything else, Igor’s powerful strength bent their backs like bows.
Ian, charging forward with the force of a rampaging tank, came to a stop at the right wall on the third floor.
Ian stood there, staring at the wall, causing Igor to express his confusion.
“Hey Ian. So where exactly is the boss? It seems like we’ve searched almost every possible place.”
It was no exaggeration to say they had searched every corner from the first to the third floors.
Not just wandering through corridors, but also releasing mana to smash through locked doors.
However, what Igor had seen so far were only monsters, with no sign of the boss.
Even though they had searched every possible spot, the boss was nowhere to be found.
Ian had suddenly stopped in front of a wall.
He had touched and knocked on it, suspecting there might be some mechanism, but it was just an ordinary wall.
‘What on earth is here…’
Igor tilted his head in confusion.
But Ian’s thoughts were different.
‘It’s definitely here.’
He was certain that this was not an ordinary wall.
Otherwise, Rebrion wouldn’t be reacting.
[Enemies detected nearby! If you release the seal, you can gain a bonus based on combat power.]
Even if it was sealed, Rebrion’s ability could still activate.
The activation of the ability meant that a boss monster was present nearby.
Of course, it was understandable that Igor found this puzzling.
From an outsider’s perspective, it might seem like Ian was just staring at a wall.
But there was a hidden secret here.
“This is it. I’m sure of it.”
“No matter how you look at it, it’s just a wall… Is there a hidden space or something?”
“That’s not it. This is an ordinary wall.”
“Then why are you so sure it’s here?”
“Igor, did you happen to see a management room while we were wandering around?”
“Management room? Now that you mention it…”
Ian’s question made Igor pause.
Indeed, amidst their search, he hadn’t seen a management room.
Of course, it was possible he hadn’t seen it because the mansion’s layout, attached to the rules of conduct, indicated that the management room was underground.
If that were the case, it would make sense to find a way down to the underground.
“Now that I think about it, why wasn’t there even a way to go underground?”
“It’s simple. The management room was designed to be inaccessible from the start.”
According to the manual, if ghosts were spotted or anomalies occurred, it instructed to stop patrol and head to the management room.
“But most people would only know that there is a management room but wouldn’t know how to get there. Because they’re only focused on avoiding the current situation.”
In other words, the management room was an illusion.
It was like tempting a person dying of thirst in the desert with the promise of an oasis just a little further… making them think there was a glimmer of hope.
Intruders who saw ghosts would only think about going to the management room, their judgment clouded.
And this was intended to induce them into falling into the pattern again.
‘For example, they might just think about going to the management room after passing by a ghost in the hallway, blindly using the stairs.’
What would happen then? No matter how far they went down, they would fall into the pattern of returning to the starting point. Of course, they might be told to wait in place and wait for the maids, but…
‘This is a haunted house… Even if morning comes, the maids won’t come to open the windows.’
At the moment of following this, rather than salvation, one would slowly die.
As time passed, monsters would become stronger, and if one acted impulsively to escape, they would soon fall into the pattern and lose their life.
There was no safe zone in this dungeon to begin with.
That was the reason.
‘The boss must be in the management room.’
It was certain that the source of all evil was located there.
When the boss fell, the dungeon would disappear. So wouldn’t it make sense for it to be hiding in the safest place?
A location that could never be reached by normal means. They wouldn’t leave such a place unguarded.
Even though Ian had pinpointed the location, Igor’s doubts weren’t completely resolved.
“Then why come here? Is there a hidden passage or something?”
“Exactly. A passage.”
“Huh?”
A hidden passage? It had looked like an ordinary wall.
“What exactly is here…?”
Was he supposed to start punching the wall or something? Just then…
“Step back for a moment.”
Pushing Igor aside, Ian stepped forward, placing his hand on the wall and began to infuse mana into it.
The dark mana flowed from his hand and spread across the wall, eventually covering one side completely.
Whoosh!
“Ah? Suddenly a portal!”
The wall distorted, revealing a hidden portal.
Ian had used mana to erase the illusion that had been overlaid on the wall.
Seeing Igor’s mouth drop open in surprise, Ian smiled.
“If we go through this, we should be able to reach the management room. The boss’s level shouldn’t be too high, but be prepared for an immediate battle.”
“…Got it.”
Although Igor seemed to have many more questions, he didn’t ask any at that moment.
He understood that it was better to save his questions for after they had cleared the dungeon.
As Ian and Igor prepared to jump into the portal, they saw a figure trembling in fear.
“Gahh! H-How did you find the location of the portal!”
It was Fletta, unable to hide her shock.
At that moment, Ian muttered to himself.
‘Ether.’
It was time to clear everything in this dungeon.
