The Shelter of the Goddess of Life. A knight clad entirely in silver-white heavy armor stepped out and shut the door behind him, sealing in the thick stench of blood.
The knight’s name was Kavel, a mid-tier demon-hunting master, sent by the Goddess herself to hunt down a particular blood demon.
Kavel turned to the subordinates around him, all dressed in silver-white light armor, and said:
“The deceased is confirmed to be a Divine Guide. He did a lot of shady things while he was alive. Go investigate the people he frequently interacted with. And remember— no one acts alone. I suspect this blood demon is at least Tier 5. Plus, the Goddess herself singled it out. This won’t be simple.”
“Yes, Captain!”…
The day after the labyrinth collapse, a large number of injured adventurers were teleported out, bringing with them some exhilarating news.
The Tier-2 adventurers on the main route had defeated the second floor’s boss and successfully unlocked the teleportation node.
But instead of exiting immediately, they stayed behind to rescue as many buried people as they could.
By afternoon, the last group of adventurers had made it out.
They rescued a total of 31 people, confirmed 24 deaths, and listed 11 as missing.
Most of the students on the side paths also managed to escape, so the preliminary death toll was estimated at around 37.
For the Adventurers’ Guild and Deya City officials, these numbers were acceptable.
After all, death was part of adventuring.
Even Mistveil, a dungeon famous for beginners, claimed twenty-some lives every month.
Luckily, the collapse happened quickly— before the next wave of over a hundred adventurers could enter.
Otherwise, the insurance company covering adventurer accidents would’ve suffered a massive loss…
【Name: Truth】
【Level: LV.9 (89/364)】
【Race: Human】
【Stats: HP 48, Constitution 52, Mana 99, Intelligence 72, Strength 22, Agility 31, Faith 742】
【Skills: Healing Mist (Proficiency 71%), Enhanced Perception (Proficiency 25%)】
【Talents: Mist Veil Adept (Fusion Progress 9%), Mist Believer LV.1】
【Faith Points: 1】【Available Stat Points: 0】
At night, within the peaceful Suho Manor, Truth lay in casual clothes on the spacious guestroom bed.
She looked at the panel in front of her and nodded with satisfaction.
Just one more level and she’d reach Tier 1.
She had a feeling she’d unlock more abilities related to Supreme Authority.
Her faith points had reached 742, though they didn’t do much for her at the moment.
Still, her Healing Mist skill had gained a new “Purification” trait— apparently it could now cure poisons or something.
“So, that Goddess of Life is finally making her move, huh? Probably looking for me.”
Earlier today, Truth noticed that Deya City had been sealed off, and an indestructible barrier now covered the entire city.
She tested the barrier’s strength and realized she’d need to land a full-power critical hit just to break it…
Seriously? That’s weak? Don’t tell me this is a divine-tier spell or something!
She remembered that before crossing over, it took her a dozen hits to break a priest’s defense of the same level.
“So, am I just being too cautious? All these gods feel so weak… No, no, I can’t think like that. What if only that one goddess is weak?”
Back at the goddess’s shelter, Truth had even considered stabbing the Goddess of Life in the back to see how much damage she could do, but the goddess completely ignored her follower’s summons.
Better to keep hiding for now. After all, a hidden assassin can deliver the most terrifying and devastating blows.
Knock knock knock!
A knock came at the guestroom door.
“Come in,” Truth called out. Everyone had been busy lately— who could be looking for her this late?
Suna had a lot on her plate and was staying at the academy tonight… though mostly it was because she didn’t want to see Truth right now.
She said she needed to cool down and told Truth to come find her tomorrow.
Suna’s father also had family matters to deal with. Could it be the butler, Norton?
Creaaak— a familiar head peeked in. It was “Mole” Anderson?
He crooked a finger at Truth.
“Hey, little Truth, you free tonight? I found a gig on the black market—need a priest. Interested?”
“Another fight?” Truth eagerly grabbed the wand Suna had given her.
“Nope. It’s an escort mission. Pay’s a whole gold coin!”
A whole gold coin! That kind of reward was rare on the black market— no one could say no to that. Hurry up and say yes, Miss Priest!
“Ah… then never mind. I’m not going,” Truth said, putting the wand back.
“What?”
You’re not going? Don’t you need the money? Before, you were working so hard to heal people for just a few silver coins, and now even a gold coin doesn’t tempt you?
It took me a lot of effort to sneak into this manor… Ah, right, there was that rumor at the academy— Suna’s supposedly keeping a little priest. Could it be Truth?
Damn it. No wonder she’s not short on cash anymore!
But I can’t leave empty-handed.
After hiring Truth once, Anderson realized how essential her skills were.
No matter what, she had to come on this job. So Anderson tested the waters:
“This escort mission… there’s a high chance of a violent clash…”
Before he could finish, Truth flashed in front of him with her wand in hand, eyes shining:
“When do we leave?”
Holy crap— so this girl’s into watching people fight?!
……
An hour later, in front of an inconspicuous tavern, Truth— wearing the classic priest robe that practically screamed “I’m no threat”— stood alongside Anderson, both cloaked in black.
They were meeting with a masked man.
“We’re all here. Let’s go.”
The masked figure nodded from the shadows, sneaking a glance at Truth… and at the wand in her hand…
Wait a second. Why does that look so familiar?
“Truth?”
The masked man pulled off his face covering— it was Reg…
He pointed at Truth and turned to Anderson, demanding:
“You’re saying the cost-effective priest you found on the black market last time is Truth?!”
What kind of twisted luck was this? He had just decided today to distance himself from Truth and Suna, which was why he’d refused Suna’s latest job and came to join Anderson in the black market instead, only to run right into—
“Yeah, so what? She’s practically perfect— except for not knowing how to drive a carriage.”
Anderson replied. Sure, Truth did flip the carriage they’d worked hard to hijack that night, but that was an accident on top of an accident. He didn’t hold it against her.
Truth gave Reg a little wave, then raised her head to meet his eyes with a half-smile that carried a subtle hint of threat in her gentle tone:
“Let’s head out.”
“Uh…” Cold sweat instantly broke out on Reg’s back.
Okay, okay, big boss calls the shots— he wasn’t about to argue.
He pulled his mask back on, and the three of them headed into the alley.
Truth followed silently, secretly looking forward to either Reg or Anderson getting beaten half to death.
Reg felt immense pressure and vowed to return to Suna after this job was done.
Only Anderson seemed relaxed— because he had no idea what kind of being the priest behind him really was.
At the end of the alley, a mysterious figure was already waiting. His voice was hoarse as he addressed Anderson:
“You’re punctual, Mr. Sparrow.”
Tsk tsk, so Anderson frequently changed his alias. Smart habit, Truth nodded to herself. Then Anderson said:
“Hello, Mr. N. The three of us will get you out of the city safely. Even if things get rough, don’t worry— we’ve got a priestess who’ll do everything she can to keep you alive.”
“Excellent…”
On the way here, Anderson had explained: ever since the city was sealed off, a lot of people with questionable identities were panicking.
The black market had become flooded with high-paying escort requests.
If you knew a secret way out of the city, you could make a fortune.
Mr. N was one of those questionable individuals.
He examined Truth closely, then handed her a gold coin:
“I know the rules. Priests get paid first.”
The cold coin landed in Truth’s palm, drawing envy from the other two.
At the same time, Truth sensed something was off.
That scent on Mr. N… smelled familiar. She twitched her nose.
Ah, now she remembered— that was Norton, the butler’s scent. What happened? Did he panic after hearing that the Divine Guide guy had been killed?
No… Truth sniffed again. There was something else— an undertone of demonic essence!
So he’s been consorting with demons? Interesting.
Tftc!