God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 199: Episode _You Can Come Whenever You Want, But You Can Only Leave When I Say So (7)

Chapter 199: Episode 199_You Can Come Whenever You Want, But You Can Only Leave When I Say So (7)

13.

The Grand Temple of the Empire. Amidst the chaos, this was undoubtedly the most frantic place of all.

“Grand Priest! We have a crisis! A plague has broken out!”

“It’s a curse!”

“We’ve received a report of an insect swarm in the north spreading a contagious disease!”

If demons represented evil, the temple stood for good. They were polar opposites. The priests were the ones who could most easily defeat the black magic mages. Conversely, the priests were also the easiest targets for the black magic mages. This wasn’t the one-sided relationship of fiction, but an equal opposition.

Of course, in a direct fight, the temple would win. Worshippers of the gods were spread across the continent, while those who learned black magic were few. But in a situation like this, the temple was at a disadvantage.

“Pour all of the temple’s resources into saving the continent from this crisis,” the Grand Priest commanded.

“Yes, Your Holiness,” the priests replied.

Nevertheless, the servants of the gods would not give up, especially when facing the darkness.

The power of faith was no different in the fantastic continent than it was in reality. Unwavering belief. Trust. And hostility towards those who opposed it. The priests, who had quietly prayed in the temple and healed the sick, began to move. Holy Knights, radiating pure white light, and all manner of holy water spread across the continent. The people who received their grace bowed their heads and praised the gods.

Unfortunately, their reach could not extend everywhere.

“The Imperial Capital is also in danger.”

“We cannot dispatch too many priests.”

The continent was vast, and though there were many temples, the priests within them could not be responsible for the entire land. The continent was simply too large. Furthermore, the number of priests who could wield divine power was limited. What if they were ambushed by black magic mages while traveling? They could dispatch priests from the Empire, but there was no guarantee of their safety, and doing so could put the Imperial Capital itself at risk. The capital still had a large military presence, but the black magic mages’ attacks were not direct assaults.

“Erect a Sanctuary in the capital,” the Grand Priest decided. The Imperial Capital was the most important location. If it fell, the continent would fall with it. It wasn’t simply because he resided there. It was because of the Emperor, the iron-blooded monarch who currently led the continent. He was stronger than anyone, but he also had more enemies than anyone. The nobles, no, the kingdoms that followed him now would betray him and rise up the moment they saw an opportunity. They might even use this crisis to advance their own ambitions, regardless of the demons. As the Grand Priest, a position that required him to love all people of the continent, it was not a thought he should have, but he was a realist.

That was why he had made his decision. The Imperial Capital, at the very least, had to be maintained, safe from any evil touch. That was why he had decided to install the Sanctuary held by the temple.

“I apologize, Your Holiness. There is currently no Sanctuary in the Grand Temple.”

The Grand Priest looked at the priest, confused.

There was just one problem.

“The Sanctuary that was created a short while ago was installed in the Rich Territory, was it not?”

“Ah. You mean that one was the only one.”

“Yes.”

The thing they needed wasn’t there. The Grand Priest’s brow furrowed slightly. He recalled the Sanctuary, a crystallization of divine power created through prayer not long ago. He remembered the document stating that with its successful creation, they could now produce about one a year and would install them in territories selected by the clergy for the safety of the continent. The Grand Priest had intended to install the first one in the Imperial Capital, but he had readily agreed when a territory had made an unprecedented offering and prayer to the clergy.

“Hmm.”

At the time, it hadn’t been a problem. There were no demonic energy-imbued gates, and the black magic mages hadn’t been seen in so long they were all but forgotten. A Sanctuary in the Imperial Capital would have been of little use. Especially since the Sanctuary only reacted to dark magic, making it practically useless otherwise.

Still, he had thought it wasn’t a bad idea to install it in the Rich Territory, which was close to the demons’ former base from their last invasion of the continent.

"It can’t be helped," the Grand Priest finally decided after a long moment of deliberation, choosing to relinquish the Sanctuary. "As a countermeasure, prioritize the purity of the Empire above all else."

"Yes, Your Holiness."

It wasn’t a rental, after all; it had been installed as a token of gratitude for the many benefits the Grand Temple had already received. He could certainly demand its return, but what would become of his prestige? It would be dragged through the mud, making him a laughingstock for even the beggars on the street.

And that wasn’t all. The black magic mages could use the incident to mock the Grand Priest and question his sincerity. The Grand Priest had to guard against even the smallest blemish on his reputation.

"It is a shame. With that, the Empire would have been a zone completely free of demonic energy, so long as the Demon King himself did not appear."

Only the Grand Priest’s regret lingered in the halls of the Grand Temple.

*

Ten minutes. Twenty. Thirty.

With every passing minute—no, every passing second—the number of infected grew exponentially. Hiding inside a building or a hotel offered no protection.

"Ugh, blargh!"

"Cough, cough!"

They vomited blood and collapsed, losing consciousness. This was the terror of black magic: the ability to create diseases against which humans had no defense. If just a little more time passed, people would start to die, and that would be the beginning of hell.

Just as the entire population of the Rich Territory was on the verge of collapsing and the first death seemed imminent, a change began.

A low hum filled the air.

It started at the source of the plague, at the feet of the first person to be cursed—the first victim of the black magic mages’ spell. A pure white mana began to flow from beneath him. It was faint at first, but as if to announce its presence, it quickly grew. The light, once a mere thread, swelled in size until it was thick enough to envelop the entire body of the man who had lost consciousness to the curse.

Then, it soared into the sky.

Simultaneously, the light spread across the entire territory. It was a magnificent spectacle, a scene of indescribable beauty. Believers who were still conscious immediately fell to their knees and bowed their heads, while priests shed tears of overwhelming emotion. Within seconds, the people who had been languishing under the curse regained their color, and even the first victim was healed by the light.

A miracle! A miracle had occurred in the Rich Territory.

And there were those who witnessed it from the sky.

"Wow, that’s beautiful," Simin said.

"It looks like a magic circle has been cast over the entire territory," one of the Specialists commented.

The third Specialist remained silent, his gaze fixed on Han Simin.

It was Han Simin and the Specialists. They had faith in him, but this was a situation that warranted their immediate presence. When your own house is about to be ransacked, you don’t just stand by if you’re the owner. During the incident with the Marquis, he had been confident they couldn’t even breach the walls. But now, as if to prove they weren’t needed, the brilliant and divine spectacle concluded, and the light faded.

"What was that?"

"Looks like a magic circle they bought from the Temple."

"Whatever it was, that’s not what’s important right now."

With that, the three of them turned their gazes to Han Simin, their expressions demanding an answer. But Simin couldn’t provide one.

"Holy crap," he muttered. "How much did that thing cost?"

Because it was a magic circle he knew nothing about.

Or rather, he could have known. His aide undoubtedly reported all major expenditures in the territory whenever Simin bothered to visit. Simin had simply ignored it. He tuned out any report that didn’t involve money coming his way. He had a talent for neatly erasing anything that didn’t make him money.

"Haaah."

His head throbbed. The crisis had clearly been averted, and he knew he should be happy. But he was just worried.

’Don’t tell me we’re in the red.’

It was just a gut feeling. A magic circle of that scale, with that kind of power... there was no way the notoriously extravagant Grand Temple would have installed something so magnificent for free.

’Those bastards are even bigger rip-off artists than I am.’

His heart heavy with worry, he landed in the Rich Territory, instantly becoming the center of attention for thousands of people. His aide spotted him and rushed over, a practiced smile on his face.

"Everyone! The Rich Territory is safe, thanks to the grace of our Lord! A curse from the black magic mages? Such things are powerless here! All you need to do is enjoy the theme park of the Rich Territory!"

"Waaaaaah!"

A thunderous cheer erupted.

14.

The players saw it all.

[All abnormal statuses have been removed by the effect of the ’Sanctuary’.]

[The effect of ’Holy’ attribute skills has been increased by 30% by the effect of the ’Sanctuary’.]

[The effect of all ’Dark’ attribute skills has been reduced by 30% by the effect of the ’Sanctuary’.]

[Your health has been restored.]

[Your mana has been restored.]

They saw the holographic messages that had miraculously appeared at the moment of their near-deaths. The players, who had almost been forced into a two-day real-world break just for visiting, excitedly rushed to post on the community forums.

But that wasn’t all. In the past, such an event would have been a hot topic only among the players on the forums, but now, a channel of communication had opened between adventurers and NPCs. News like this spread to the NPCs even faster and more widely. Perhaps it was only natural. Even if a rumor spread at the same speed, the reaction it caused depended entirely on how seriously the recipients took it.

—Wow. That’s insane. What kind of territory installs something like that? 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

—I wonder how much that costs.

—I heard a rumor they bought it from the Grand Temple.

—Nah, it wasn’t a purchase, it was a donation.

—A donation is basically a purchase. For the price-gouging Temple to do something like that...

—There’s also a rumor that the Rich Territory’s monthly income rivals that of a major corporation.

While the community’s reaction was less about the awe of surviving and more about curiosity over the price of the spectacular Sanctuary...

"What? Absolute safety from black magic?"

"It even lifts existing curses?"

"That means your life is unconditionally guaranteed."

...the reaction of the nobles who heard the news from the NPCs was like that of people who had just found the world’s most secure bank. It was as if, in a world where nukes were going off left and right, a bunker that was absolutely safe from nuclear fallout had just been revealed.

What would happen then? The answer was obvious.

Nobles from all over began to show interest in the Rich Territory. Not to the point of moving there, of course. The ones interested were people who had something to lose. To abandon everything because of a war that hadn’t even started was an absurd notion to their greedy minds.

It was simply insurance. A fallback plan. If a situation arose where they truly had to abandon everything and flee, they needed at least one insurance policy that could definitively save their lives, no matter how bitter a pill it was to swallow.

As interest mounted, a new rumor began to spread from the Rich Territory, as if in response to everyone’s attention.

"A Rich Territory VVIP Membership? What’s this?"

*