The Healing Solaris Cleric-Chapter 309: Wings of Freedom (10)

—I am a Sea Serpent, the Sea Dragon who governs the Black Sea and...

"More like a crybaby."

—Dragons do not cry! Haven’t I already said I did not cry?!

Kai watched Harley’s furious reaction with amusement.

Ah... It’s kind of fun to tease.

He hadn’t expected to meet another creature as fun to tease since Helik.

Come to think of it, I should go see Helik again to refill snacks.

There were many places to visit once this adventure ended.

Kai looked at Harley, fuming, and decided it was time to stop teasing. “Okay, alright. Let’s say you didn’t cry. Satisfied?”

At those words, Harley, worn out completely, let out a sigh.

—Think whatever you want. Stupid human.

Thinking the conversation was over, Harley closed its eyes again.

—Now, return me to the river of death.

“Huh? We’re not done talking yet.”

—What do you mean by that?

“We haven’t even gotten to the main point yet.” Kai shrugged and said in a persuasive tone, “Don’t you want to see it with your own eyes? The Church of Muldine guys begging for forgiveness, running away in terror, or their headquarters going boom!”

Harley’s eyes trembled at Kai’s words.

—Y-you think such sweet talk will tempt me...

“Dragons are known for their pride. Can you really die peacefully after such humiliation?”

—Hmph, you’re truly a cunning human. You think I’ll let myself be used by you?

“It’s the opposite.” Kai shook his index finger from side to side. “Think about it. Why would I use you? You’re weak.”

—I am not weak!

Harley roared furiously.

But from Kai’s perspective, having already defeated him, that wasn’t very convincing.

“You lost to me.”

One match, one win, zero losses! The record between Kai and Harley was undeniably clear.

“If you follow me, you’ll witness the downfall of the Church of Muldine you fear so much...”

—Who said anything about fear!

Harley glared at Kai with wide, furious eyes.

—What an insult. I do not fear the Church of Muldine.

“Then why didn’t you take revenge? Why did you hide in the Black Sea for hundreds of years?”

—Who says I was hiding? I was merely... waiting for the right time.

“Then that makes this easier.” Kai extended his hand “Now is that time. Take my hand and let’s take revenge on the Church of Muldine together.”

Harley fell into deep thought. Could it trust this human? Was he not just another human saying fancy words? But dragons were supreme beings. Even if Harley was a created one, it had wisdom accumulated over centuries.

—I have a condition.

“Name it.”

—If you ever betray me, or make me think I can’t trust you, I will leave without hesitation.

“I accept.”

As Kai nodded without hesitation, Harley snorted.

—And you must punish the Church of Muldine alongside me.

“That’s fine too.”

With their intentions aligned, things proceeded smoothly.

“If I betray you, or if you ever lose trust in me, I will set your soul free.”

Ding!

[You have recruited the Sea Serpent Harley as a Warrior of Light.]

[It has been transformed into a Warrior of Light through a soul contract.]

[Sea Serpent Harley will follow you until the downfall of the Church of Muldine.]

Harley’s translucent body began to shine brilliantly. Its shattered blue scales became newly covered in golden ones. The unfortunate part was that the three broken horns still remained broken.

—Keep your promise... human.

"I will."

That one simple sentence held more weight than any sweet speech.

—Annoying human.

Speaking its final words to the end, Harley shattered into particles of light.

Kai watched it for a moment and quietly said, "Army of Light.”

[Please designate the Warrior of Light to summon.]

[1. Desmond.]

[2. Harley.]

[3. Empty.]

"Successfully recruited it."

As a bright smile spread across Kai’s lips, the delayed rewards surged in like a flood.

Ding!

[You have defeated the Ruler of the Black Sea, Sea Serpent Harley.]

[Acquired special title: The One Who Defeated Harley.]

[Level increased.]

[Level increased.]

[Level increased.]

.

.

.

[Acquired 50 stat points.]

[You have acquired 120 Sea Dragon Scales.]

[You have acquired Sea Dragon’s Tear.]

[You have acquired Skill Book-Absolute Zero.]

"Nice."

This was the greatest advantage of a Warrior of Light.

It’s on a whole other level from regular taming.

Taming boss monsters was nearly impossible to begin with, but Warriors of Light took it one step further.

You get the rewards and get to recruit them.

In other words, there were no losses whatsoever.

—That was a moving battle. Take care, then.

"Oh, Patrick..."

Unlike Cherantia or Shimizu, Patrick had not said a single word during his descent, and now his presence vanished.

He’s a quiet one.

It didn’t feel uncomfortable, in fact, it felt rather reassuring.

"Let’s check the rewards first."

The first thing Kai checked was, of course, the title.

[The One Who Defeated Harley]

Grade: Special

Description: A special title given to the one who defeated the Ruler of the Black Sea, Harley.

Effect: +50 Intelligence, greatly increased mana recovery speed, +50% magic resistance. (This effect remains even when title is unequipped)

"Wow."

Strictly speaking, Harley was a Sea Serpent, that is, a Sea Dragon.

According to the Sky God, dragons from the western continent and the ones from the east are entirely different species.

However, Harley was an artificial creature created by the Church of Muldine. Perhaps that was why no dragon-related titles appeared.

This is similar to the title I got when I defeated Aosa.

Of course, the effect was on a completely different level.

+50 Intelligence and a huge boost to mana recovery speed...

For Kai, who had been struggling with mana shortages ever since he started using magic skills more frequently, this was like rain in a drought. However, the real main dish was elsewhere.

+50% magic resistance. That’s the main prize.

Kai was already widely known for his high magic resistance. After all, he had openly crushed the Black Bee guild’s wizards head-on, making the whole world take notice. Moreover, the wizard community had even voted him as the number one player they least wanted to face.

And it’s going up even more?

Kai had caught the Orc Sorcerer in Glendale and acquired a Unique skill, Skin of Magical Resistance. At Beginner level 1, it had granted 30% increased magic resistance, and the bonus increased by 0.5% for each level up.

And currently, the Skin of Magical Resistance skill is at...

Kai opened his skill window.

[Advanced Skin of Magical Resistance (Passive) LV.3]

Increased magic resistance by 41.5%

Proficiency 12/100

Currently, Skin of Magical Resistance reached Advanced Level 3. It had the effect of increasing magic resistance by 41.5%.

On top of that, it increased by an additional 50%.

Finally, there was the +10% magic resistance from the title of Orc Sorcerer Slayer. Adding all those together meant his final magic resistance increased by nearly double.

And when I’m wearing the White Death Dragon Set like I am now...

Kai’s lips naturally curled into a grin.

It’s certain now. I’ll never have to worry about magic again.

Of course, if he encountered a very high-level boss, or if players’ spell power were to become uniformly stronger, it could be a different story. But that was only if Kai also stayed at his current level.

I’ll keep growing, too. So there’s no problem.

Kai erased the word magic from his mind. He wasn’t leisurely enough to keep something that couldn’t even threaten him constantly in consideration.

“Sea Dragon Scales aren’t a big deal now anyway...”

Now, even Unique scale material items were nothing special to the top-ranked player!

Kai’s gaze turned toward an item called Sea Dragon’s Tear. It was a ring—a blue ring carved with swirling wave patterns.

“Item appraisal.”

[Sea Dragon’s Tear]

Grade: Unique

+10 to all stats.

+100% Underwater Movement Speed

Skill Pressurized Water Cannon usable.

A ring made from the hardened tear shed by Sea Serpent Harley.

Why did he cry?

Requirements: Level 450+

Durability: 100/100

Looking at the item description, Kai couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

“Bahahaha! What, he really did cry.”

Harley had gotten all worked up denying it, but in the end, the proud Sea Dragon had shed tears.

“Anyway, Pressurized Water Cannon, huh. Is it the one Harley used?”

Kai slipped the ring onto his finger and tried activating the skill. “Pressurized Water Cannon.”

Seawater was immediately drawn from all directions toward the front of Kai’s ring and began compressing. After a moment, Kai felt it.

The skill’s charged.

Kai fired the pressurized water cannon toward the lingering patches of storm clouds in the sky. The clouds scattered, and a perfectly clear sky bathed the world in light, with a vivid rainbow overhead.

“Nice. And now for Absolute Zero.”

Kai picked up the final reward, the skill book lying on the ground.

[Absolute Zero]

Grade: Unique

Freezes everything in the area by bringing it under the state of absolute zero degrees.

“Dang, that’s intense.”

A powerful weapon could be terrifying, but when held in his own hands, it was the most reassuring thing of all.

[You have learned the Absolute Zero skill.]

Through this battle, the already monstrous Kai had once again greatly strengthened his power.

***

“Ugh, seriously...”

“It never ends.”

Icarus and Blizzard looked up at the sky, exhausted, watching the gargoyles overhead. The two of them were strong enough that even dozens of gargoyles weren’t a threat individually, but the problem was the numbers.

There are just too many of them.

No matter how many we kill, they just keep coming.

To make things worse, the one who seemed to be the gargoyles’ leader was only observing with his hands behind his back.

He’s waiting for us to wear ourselves out.

Narrowing his eyes, Blizzard realized the enemy’s plan, but he had no solution.

We just have to wait until Master returns...

In the end, the two shifted into a defensive stance, just when...

“Gahh!”

“Icarus!”

Though he had become a proper warrior, Icarus was still just a child. The lack of experience Blizzard had worried about finally resulted in a mistake.

“It’s over.” Kazrun, who had been watching, finally began to move. “Everyone, attack at once and kill those two.”

With Icarus unable to fly anymore, Blizzard had no choice but to stay by his side. The moment their signature agility and mobility were sealed...

“Pressurized Water Cannon.”

A refreshing stream of water burst forth, tearing through the ranks of the gargoyle army.

“Th-this is...!” The king of the gargoyles, Kazrun, was visibly panicked.

That’s definitely Harley’s skill, but why would Harley suddenly...?

As confusion filled his eyes, he spotted a human. A human who wasn’t supposed to be here.

“Why are you here?! What happened to Harley...?!”

“He’s dead. But he lives on in my heart.” Kai finished his simple explanation and gave a casual warning. “I don’t mind continuing, what about you?”

Seeing more than half of his gargoyle subordinates vanish from a single water cannon blast, Kazrun deeply bowed his head. “Let us leave this place.”

“Disappear before I change my mind.”

As Kazrun and the gargoyles quickly fled, Kai walked over to Icarus, who had fallen.

“Ugh... Kai hyung...”

“I told you not to let your guard down. What were you thinking going against gargoyles like that?” After healing his wounds, Kai smiled and asked, “How do you feel?”

“Uh... I don’t think it hurts anymore.”

“No, not that.”

Kai lifted his head and looked up at the sky. The dark clouds had dispersed with Sea Dragon Harley’s death, and the brilliant sun now shone down on all the birdfolk.

“Oh... Ohhh...” Tears welled up in Icarus’s eyes.

“There’s a lot of crying kids today... Are you crying because the sun is too bright, or because you’re moved?”

At Kai’s question, Icarus smiled brightly and replied, “It looks exactly... exactly like the sun I imagined.”

It was the moment a child who dreamed of flying under the sun saw his wish come true.