The Healing Solaris Cleric-Chapter 274: Monster Arena (1)

"But you know..." Balter, who had been sneaking glances at Desmond and gauging his reaction, quietly said, "We’re still missing one hundred and seventeen residents we were supposed to eliminate."

That was the number of vampire nobles still remaining in the city, along with the women and children they were protecting.

"Don't worry about that.” Kai glanced behind him. There, Desmond stood, looking at the ruins of his city with a complex gaze. "Desmond.”

At Kai’s call, Desmond slightly turned his head and gave a small nod.

—Oh, right.

Letting out a brief sigh, Desmond began to gather his power.

Rumble.

As if an elevator had suddenly started ascending, the ground beneath them shifted.

"Whoa!"

"Wait, what’s happening?!" Seol Eun-Yeong called out, barely managing to grab onto something nearby to steady herself.

Kai responded, "You know where the Sanctuary of Corruption is located, right?"

"The Ithaca Jungle."

"Right. Then do you remember how this dungeon first appeared?"

"Yes. The swamp in Ithaca Jungle split apart, and the dungeon emerged from between—oh!" As she spoke, she suddenly gasped as she realized something. "No way..."

"If my guess is correct, town-type dungeons have two ways to be cleared."

Town-type dungeons were first discovered by Kai’s party. Naturally, unlike other dungeons, there was no established method for conquering them.

"One method is to follow the dungeon quest’s instructions and eliminate all the residents."

Rumble.

The roof split apart, revealing the cloudy night sky above Ithaca Jungle.

"And the other is..."

Kai was interrupted mid-sentence.

Ding!

[The Sanctuary of Corruption, Brookheim, which has been buried underground for centuries, is now revealed to the world.]

[The vampires of the city have been changed from monsters to neutral NPCs.]

[You can now change your race to Vampire, through the Bloodline Management NPC of Brookheim.]

[Affinity with the vampires is currently very low.]

[Dungeon cleared.]

[Level increased.]

[Level increased.]

[Level increased.]

[Acquired 15 stat points.]

[With the mercy of the strong, the vampire children and women have been spared.]

[Helik, who was sleeping soundly, unknowingly smiles softly in her sleep.]

[+10 Benevolence.]

[Due to the effect of Witness of the Sun, your Benevolence stat has additionally increased by 5.]

[Title acquired: Visitor of Brookheim.]

"W-what...?"

"Race change? I’ve never seen anything like this before..."

"Oh, shit! Bro! The community is blowing up right now! Hundreds of posts are already asking where Brookheim is!"

"But wait, you can’t even change your race to elves, dwarves, or merfolk... So why vampires?"

"It’s probably because demihuman races can’t be changed unless you’re born as one. Vampires, on the other hand, can be turned through a bite."

"Ah..."

Even Seol Eun-Yeong and Yoo Ha-Rin, who rarely showed emotions, looked visibly thrilled. Kai was no different.

You can change your race to a vampire?

To be honest, the only reason he hadn’t considered it before was because he himself was already too powerful, but vampires were far more powerful than humans in almost every way.

"Desmond. What are the benefits of becoming a vampire?"

At Kai’s question, Desmond let out a chuckle.

—Heh. Have you finally come to appreciate the nobility of the Nobles of the Night?

"Cut the nonsense and just give me the facts."

—First, regeneration. Unlike the frail human body, vampires possess extraordinary natural healing abilities. Wounds from blades will heal within a day or two. Second, near-immortality. As long as blood is consumed periodically, vampires do not age and require no food to survive. Lastly, all of a vampire’s abilities are enhanced at night. And on nights with a full moon, they become even stronger.

Just hearing about it made it sound tempting enough for anyone to want to change their race.

However, Kai simply nodded lightly and asked another question. "Of course, there are drawbacks too, right?"

Desmond frowned, having deliberately left out that part.

—How unfortunate.

"Hurry up and say it."

—Vampires follow a strict hierarchy. The stronger one becomes, the purer the blood flowing through their veins. Powerful vampires can exert absolute authority over lower-ranking ones.

"That can’t be all.”

—... And during the daytime, when the sun is up, all abilities experience a slight penalty.

"Okay. So during the day, all stats take a significant hit. Oh, now that I think about it..."

The vampire race was fundamentally classified as demonic. Naturally, their compatibility with holy power was terrible.

The moment I change my race to a vampire, I would have to forget about all the church buffs and healing effects.

As clear as their advantages were, their drawbacks were just as apparent, so Kai erased any lingering interest he had in the vampire race.

It doesn’t suit me.

If he recklessly changed his race to a vampire while being an apostle, Helik might even end up crying.

"Well, a tank loses all value the moment they can’t receive healer support, don’t they? It’s a pass for me."

"The benefits are tempting, but the drawbacks seem too severe for me."

One by one, the party members declared their disinterest.

Only Michael was grinning.

"Michael, judging by that smile, are you planning to change your race?"

"Nah. I just realized this program is gonna be a massive hit."

"Why all of a sudden?" Kai asked.

"Hey, Bro. What do you mean why? You’re not seriously asking because you don’t know, right? Think about what we just went through over the past two days. What if I perfectly edit this adventure into a two-part special?"

"Hmm... But there weren’t many funny moments for it to be considered an entertainment show."

Kai's self-awareness was eerily accurate. Additionally, the party members weren’t particularly close, so there weren’t many fun interactions.

"Hehe. Bro, you’re seriously underestimating my editing skills.”

But Michael was different. Grinning to himself, he had already completed the entire scene composition in his mind!

Follow current novℯls on ƒгeewёbnovel.com.

I’ll make sure to repay Bro and Sisters for letting me tag along for the past two days.

The moment he clenched his fist with determination, an adorable sound suddenly broke the moment.

"Urgh..."

Naturally, everyone turned their heads in the direction of the noise.

There, Yoo Ha-Rin, succumbing to the jungle’s humid and stifling heat, was slowly removing her helmet. Her silver hair, slightly damp with sweat, fell smoothly from beneath her helmet like silk.

At that moment, the crescent moon, previously hidden behind the clouds, revealed itself.

"Oh..."

Sensing the gazes of the other members, she blushed and quickly hid her face behind her helmet.

"D-don’t stare at me like that... It’s embarrassing."

Michael unconsciously clapped and became certain.

This program is going to be a massive hit.

***

As the party members, exhausted from the past two days of relentless battles, logged out one by one, only Desmond remained standing beside Kai.

He still didn’t seem particularly fond of Kai, speaking in a curt tone.

—I’m gonna go rest. Summon me when you find a moment that reveals humanity’s true nature.

With that, he vanished into particles of light.

Now alone in the ruined plaza, Kai pulled up his stat window.

[Kai]

Class: Solaris Cleric

Level: 451

Title: Envoy of God

HP: 187,200

Holy Power: *361,500

Stats

Strength: 2,707 Stamina 1,872

Intelligence: 1,744 Agility: 1,217

Holiness: 3,615 Dignity: 1,184

Benevolence: 594

Remaining Stat Points: 55

Poison Resistance +30

Magic Resistance +40%

Nature Affinity +200

Effectiveness of skills that consume Holy Power +50%

Damage dealt to demons/undead +50%

His level surpassed 450, and what was even more astonishing was that every single stat had exceeded 1,000!

Just looking at this is satisfying.

With a pleased smile, Kai took out a skill book.

"Memory Dive."

It was the skill book that had dropped when he defeated Desmond.

Honestly, something about this feels strange.

Most boss monsters tended to drop skills they had personally used. Aosa's Blue Plague, Zatan’s Gravity Field or Petrification were prime examples.

But I never saw Desmond use a skill like this.

All the techniques Desmond had used relied on blood, which was typical of vampires. That left only one possibility.

Desmond might have simply been storing this skill book.

As a former servant of the Demon King, he must have been keeping it locked away in the depths of the underworld.

With a trembling sense of anticipation, Kai checked the skill’s details.

"Item Appraisal."

[Memory Dive]

Grade: Legendary

A demonic technique that once led Lucifer, the strongest being in the Celestial Realm, to corruption.

Allows the user to dive into another’s memories and alter their mind and memories.

Cooldown: 1 week.

Learning Requirement: Level 400+

"Memory Dive, huh...” Kai murmured, slightly surprised.

So this was the skill that caused his downfall?

To be able to enter someone’s memories and rewrite their thoughts and minds...

It’s an incredible power. If the skill’s description is accurate, corrupting a target would be effortless, but...

There was no rule stating that the power had to be used only for corruption.

If it can corrupt, then perhaps it can also be used to redeem the wicked...

Of course, there was no way to know until he tried.

"Use item."

After acquiring Memory Dive, Kai tightly clenched his fist.

An opportunity will come to use this someday.

Hoping that day would arrive soon, he said, “Shadow Shift."

Then, his figure appeared in a back alley of a city.

"Summon Mimic... Oh, right. It hasn’t been twenty-four hours since it was unsummoned."

Letting out a small sigh, Kai eventually stepped into the snack shop himself.

***

A man appeared in the quiet paradise above the sky, the Celestial Garden.

"Helik...?" Kai tilted his head in confusion as he looked around. "Where did she go?"

Normally, Helik would have shouted, "Snack time!" and rushed over with Kai’s appearance, but today, not only was Helik nowhere to be seen, even her radiant golden hair, reminiscent of sunlight, was absent.

"No way..."

Kai’s expression turned grave. It was the exact same expression parents made when their second-grade daughter didn’t return home even after six in the evening.

Did she get kidnapped?

A sudden wave of concern hit him, and he immediately used Shadow Shift again.

Bang! Bang!

He reappeared in a massive forge with lava flowing within it. It was the place where Horn, the God of Earth, lived.

I had visited the homes of the nearby gods just in case something like this happened.

Kai knocked on the workshop door.

"Horn!"

Knock, knock!

"Horn!"

The hammering sounds from inside suddenly stopped, and with a click, the door swung open.

"Hmm? Well, look who it is. It’s Chimek!"

"It’s Kai. More importantly, Horn, do you know where Helik is? She wasn’t in the garden."

"Ah, that little girl?" Horn laughed with an ambiguous expression. "Go back to the garden. Hide yourself and wait patiently. You’ll see something amusing."

"Something interesting...?"

"That’s a secret for your enjoyment. Now, I have work to finish."

Kai stared blankly at the closed door before following Horn’s advice and returning to the garden, hiding himself.

An hour passed. Then two. And by the time five full hours had slipped by, a brilliant ray of sunlight flashed, and Helik appeared.

"Aww..."

Dragging her feet, completely absent of enthusiasm, she walked to her chair. Then she flipped over the bundle hanging at her side and shook it.

What fell out was a lollipop as big as her own face.

She looked at the lollipop and closed her eyes.

"Oh, great god. I offer this prayer to you. Please, let my envoy bring me a house made of candy next time he visits. Going around begging is just too, too exhausting..."

Kai watched her, at a complete loss for words.