The Church of the Sun is the enemy of, not just the Ameri Kingdom, but the entire continent.
That showed just how evil the Church of the Sun is, but, on the other hand, it also could mean that they were just that strong. Strong enough to put the entire continent in danger.
The headquarters of such a group would probably be heavily guarded.
I've leveled up a lot and upgraded my equipment, but it was still impossible for me to do alone.
Of course, Shione's father, Harrison, and his forces will help out, but, in order to keep this quiet, we will only be able to use a small number of troops. That is the reason I don't have much expectations for them.
I needed to gather a few strong individuals to create a team.
'Who would be good?'
The first person to pop into my mind was the Warrior of Light, Kaicher.
But I shook my head soon after thinking that.
I was doing this secretly, without the Ameri Kingdom or the Athena Temple knowing about it.
The Ares Temple and Athena Temple were well connected, and are said to share information a lot. Kaicher was also not someone who would throw away the Ares Temple for me.
It would be hard to keep this a secret with him helping me out.
'Sigh, just how many years have I been living in this Royal Roader world? How can I still not have some strong individuals as part of my crew? I'm such an idiot.'
It is because my skills are still lacking. I need to first show off some type of overwhelming strength in order for strong warriors or magicians to be my friends.
There was nothing I could do about it. I needed time to get stronger.
'Let's think about it slowly as I head there.'
I immediately headed to the Magician's Tower.
"Please tell me your destination."
"The Dwarf Village."
"Huh? Where?"
The magician in charge of the portal asked in shock. The Dwarf Village portal was something only people who have the dwarves' permission can use.
"Please send me to the Dwarf Village. I have their permission."
"Ah, I understand."
With a flashing light, I arrived at the Dwarf Village Temple.
The dwarf protecting the portal recognized me.
"You are that human from before. What brings you here?"
I didn't come here because I needed something from the dwarves. I just needed to pass by this place to take care of something else.
"To head to the Peria Desert."
"I see. Go ahead."
Coming to the Dwarf Village made me think of a specific dwarf.
"Where is Goonto?"
"He went Demon Cave hunting. It should be a few days before he returns."
I was going to say, 'Hi,' since I was here anyways,but I didn't want to waste time by waiting for a few days.
"Can I borrow a horse?"
"You are a friend of the Dwarves. I will ask the bishop-nim."
A horse was prepared for me after a bit of time. It seemed to be a very strong and fast horse.
I quickly headed to the Peria Desert. Once I got to a spot where the horse could not pass anymore, I walked with my own two feet.
I was able to quickly get there because I had already been there once before.
It really was a magical place. The surrounding was a heated desert that felt like the land of the dead, but, once you take a single step forward, it suddenly turns into a green forest.
It was a small area, but it was so cool that it wouldn't be wrong to describe it as, 'heaven.' It might seem even more refreshing because it has the desert heat right next to it for comparison.
I opened my bag and took out a Fairy's Tear.
The quest I got last time was recovering 100 Fairy's Tears. I only needed 68 more when I left last time.
However, I have hunted a lot of Midnight Black Alligators since then. Even though I hadn't planned for it, I had collected 123 Fairy's Tears.
Including the ones from before, that was a total of 160.
Will there be an extra reward?
I put the Fairy's Tears into the oasis.
Once I did that, the Perias that were released from the Fairy's Tears flew up into the sky. Each time one flew up, it thanked me before gently kissing my face.
The Perias' kisses continued 123 times.
But my magic stat stopped rising after raising 68 points. No matter how many more kisses I got, I did not hear the message about my magic stat rising anymore.
Once all 123 of them kissed me, the Perias started to circle around me.
"Thank you very much. You have been of great help to the Perias."
There were so many of them that I didn't really know which one was talking.
"As promised, we will put our powers together to gift you a guardian spirit."
"We pray that your life will be filled with blessings."
The Perias circled around me a few more times before floating up to the sky. They were probably heading towards the Peria Mountain.
I wanted to follow them to check it out, but that wasn't possible.
The Perias were a race that was as covered in a veil as the Drakes. No matter how much friendliness I may have with the fairies, I will still not be welcomed in.
'A guardian spirit.'
I opened my bag, but it was not there.
'Where is it?'
The moment I thought about the guardian spirit and questioned its location, a white light appeared in my hand.
Not only that, I could feel the existence of that light. It was a light that only existed for me.
I could even see its information.
[Guardian Spirit]
Spirit Energy: 1,000/1,000
Damage Absorption: 20%
Connection Level: 64%
The Shadow Fox's Leather Armor also has a 21% damage absorption option. Then I should now have a total of 41% damage absorption.
But this was not the only benefit of a guardian spirit.
'Fly.'
Once I thought about it, the guardian spirit read my thoughts and flew up into the sky.
I could see the entire oasis in front of my eyes. This was because I could use the guardian spirit's eyes like my own.
I could use the guardian spirit to figure out the situation of places I could not see with my own eyes.
Of course, it was impossible to do this at incredibly far distances. I sent the guardian spirit up as high as possible, but it seems like it can't go more than 30m away from me.
It was because of our connection level. Since our connection level was only at 64%, it could not be very far from me.
But even this will be very helpful for me.
I wonder what my magic stat is at now.
[Kang Hwi Ram, Level 351]
Dexterity: Advanced level 7, 34%
Strength: 340
Agility: 1,558
Stamina: 96
Intuition: 126
Magic: 170
Vitality: 39
Mana: 708
HP: 766
Endurance: 37
Reinforced Toughness: 150
Guard Point: 2,451
Intelli Point: 2,381
My magic had instantly shot up to 170.
My strength and agility were much higher as well. I did use some bonus points for them, but it was because the options for strength and agility on the Shadow Fox's Leather Armor were pretty large as well.
With these kind of stats, I will probably have no issues with the restrictions, even if I fortify Goonto's Twin Blades.
'Ah, Jewel of Fortification!'
I suddenly recalled the Jewel Alchemy skill. When I received the Flame Fairy's Breath, my Jewel Alchemy skill shot up significantly.
I believed that it was because my friendliness with the fairies shot up.
My friendliness with the fairies supposedly increased by 160 by rescuing the Peria.
Fairies and Peria may be different, but there are some similarities, so it probably had some effect.
The existence of the guardian spirit probably plays a role too.
I quickly checked my skill.
[Jewel Alchemy: Intermediate Level 7, 9%]
'Wow! Instantly jumped up to intermediate level 7!'
It is possible to use the Jewels of Fortification once Jewel Alchemy reaches intermediate level 5.
I just held back because the success rate is low and since it is difficult to find Jewels of Fortification, especially ones with high fortification indexes.
That was why I was waiting to reach intermediate level 7. At that level, the success rate will be at least 70%.
Now it was time to use my Jewels of Fortification.
I took the Jewels of Fortification out of my bag.
[Jewel of Fortification: Fortification Index 9%]
[Jewel of Fortification: Fortification Index 9%]
It would be stupid to use the jewels as they currently are. If you fortify with one that only has a 9% fortification index, your equipment will only strengthen by 9%.
I need to raise the fortification index as much as possible before fortifying, in order to bring out the most of the equipment's abilities.
I used Jewel Alchemy to combine the Jewels of Fortification.
After spending some time, I was able to turn 9 jewels into three.
Only then did I have Jewels with satisfactory fortification indexes.
[Jewel of Fortification: Fortification Index 18%]
[Jewel of Fortification: Fortification Index 18%]
[Jewel of Fortification: Fortification Index 18%]
This is about the highest fortification index I can create with my Jewel Alchemy skill right now.
I took out Goonto's Twin Blades.
[Goonto's Twin Blades: Personalized for Kang Hwi Ram]
This cutlass was made by Goonto, the current greatest blacksmith in the world. Two
blades were created as a pair.
Durability: 231/231
Attack strength: 101
Attack speed: 80
Restrictions: Strength 121, Agility 671, Level 250
*Attack strength is increased by 15% when used by Kang Hwi Ram
*30% chance of adding 230 lightning damage
*11% chance of causing Stun
*Special Skill: Nullify 30% of Enemy Defense (Use 50 MP)
The current stats were already extremely satisfactory. However, it would become much stronger once I use the Jewels of Fortification.
I have two blades. One jewel is required per blade. That means, I need to use two Jewels of Fortification to fortify both blades.
I grabbed one of the blades and put the Jewel of Fortification on top of it. I then pushed down on it with my palm and started to focus. It looked like I was trying to push the jewel into the cutlass.
However, it was very different compared to combining two jewels. It required a significant amount of focus.
It also took a really long time. It took only about 30 minutes to combine nine Jewels of Fortification into three, but it took over an hour to use the Jewel of Fortification on the weapon.
It also took an intense amount of focus to the point that I even wanted to give up in the middle because of the pain.
But I clenched my teeth and persevered. It is not that easy to get a good weapon.
After continuing like that, I finally felt it. It felt like there was a warm storm brewing in my hand. The fairy's power was leaving the Jewel of Fortification and started to move.
'Alright. Now go into the weapon!'
I focused even harder, convincing myself that this was the final hurdle. After about ten more minutes, the fairy's power slowly started to disappear.
I let out a deep breath.
"Huuuuuuu."
I seem to have sweated a lot during the process. The beads of sweat that were on my lips bursted out like a fountain with my breath.
My clothes were damp as well. I was covered in sweat from head to toe.
Maybe that was why, but I felt extremely tired. I wanted to just lay there and take a nap.
But my curiosity for the final product overcame my exhaustion.
'Did it work properly?'
[Goonto's Twin Blades +1 Fortification: Personalized for Kang Hwi Ram]
This cutlass was made by Goonto, the current greatest blacksmith in the world. Two
blades were created as a pair.
Durability: 273/273
Attack strength: 119
Attack speed: 80
Restrictions: Strength 138, Agility 790, Level 273
*Attack strength is increased by 15% when used by Kang Hwi Ram
*30% chance of adding 230 lightning damage
*11% chance of causing Stun
*Special Skill: Nullify 30% of Enemy Defense (Use 50 MP)
It seems to have worked properly. Both the durability and attack strength have increased by 18%.
The restrictions regarding strength, agility, and level increased as well. However, they did not increase by 18%. If it remains like this, I should be able to still equip it after fortifying it three levels.
Of course, i need to increase my Jewel Alchemy level to fortify it more than twice right now.
I still needed to fortify the other blade, but I had no desire to do so. I was completed exhausted right now, so how was I supposed to stand the fortification process for over an hour?
'Let's take a break first.'
This was a safe spot anyways. It was right next to the Peria Oasis.
I just laid down where I was sitting.
'My forces are too weak. Who else can I take with me?'
Shione's father, Harrison, should be able to recruit a large number of soldiers.
However, this was not a battle of numbers. In order to stealthily complete this, we needed a small group to strike quickly and disappear.
But it wasn't like we could rescue Morris from the underground prison.
It was too early for that.
Just thinking about it was giving me a headache. I had been thinking about this the whole time I was riding the horse over here as well.
I suddenly heard a voice while I was laying there thinking.
"Kang Hwi Ram. Long time no see."
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Translator : Miraclerifle
Proofreader :Borderline Masochist