Chapter 3: From 500 Years Ago

“Eh?”

Healing the enemy?

Suna and the hunter froze in place at the same time.

The hunter was the first to snap out of it, then burst into raucous laughter.

“Hahaha! Sure thing, little priest! Hurry up and patch me up!”

His laugh echoed through the mist, and only then did Reg, not far away, realize someone had slipped into the chapel.

But he was tied down by the remaining three enemies and couldn’t spare the time to check on Suna or Truth.

Suna shook the hem of Truth’s priest robe anxiously.

“What are you doing?! That guy clearly has bad intentions toward you!”

Kindness and compassion were common traits among priests, but this was the first time Suna had seen someone this softhearted.

Healing an enemy in the middle of a fight? There had to be limits!

“But Reg said it’s a priest’s duty to save people, didn’t he?”

Truth replied casually. Suna was instantly filled with despair.

As Truth’s hands glowed with the Healing Mist, the deep slash on the hunter’s shoulder from a longsword began to slowly knit back together, the scar fading away.

What shocked Suna more was that Truth didn’t even use a staff— she was casting magic barehanded.

That was an ancient technique humans were said to have mastered long ago. And the spell she was using? Suna had never seen it before.

The hunter, meanwhile, was just as baffled. Was someone really this dumb?

He looked down at the petite girl healing him— barely reaching his chest in height, with rare silvery-white short hair and mismatched eyes, one pink and one… red?

Wait. Red?

Weren’t both her eyes pink earlier? When did one turn blood-red?

Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed through the hunter’s brain. He looked down—

A thin, black-red line had appeared across his right elbow.

The next moment, blood exploded from it.

THUD.

Half his arm fell to the ground.

“Aaahhh! My hand!”

The searing pain surged through his entire body. Clutching his severed arm, the hunter screamed in agony. Who?!

Who the hell had sliced off his arm without any warning?!

Was it a remote weapon? A long-range spell?

He turned frantically to Truth, shouting:

“Quick, stop the bleeding!”

“Don’t move! I’m trying my best!” Truth focused on staunching the bleeding as blood poured out in pulses, the hunter trembling and scanning his surroundings, drenched in cold sweat.

Then—another black-red line appeared.

Splurt!

His thigh was cleanly severed. The leg tumbled down the chapel steps.

“Aaaaaahhhhh! My leg! My leg! Help!”

“I told you to stop moving!” Truth huffed, hands flying in all directions.

Even though she was giving it her all, the blood wouldn’t stop.

【Skill “Healing Mist” proficiency increased to 16%. +6 XP to class level.】

At that moment, the hunter happened to glance up—

Only to see Truth’s right eye glowing with malevolent red, her face splattered with blood, lips curled in a faint, sinister smile.

A jolt of terror seized him.

“Y-You…”

It was her.

This priest had cut off his limbs!

“What the hell is going on?!”

One of the other hunters finally rushed over.

Truth merely looked at him.

In the blink of an eye, a black-red line slid across the newcomer’s throat.

Splat.

Head and body parted ways.

【Skill “Healing Mist” proficiency increased to 18%. +2 XP to class level.】

“Oops, sorry~ I can only treat two wounds at a time right now. Any extras will just have to exit the stage.”

Truth beamed, watching the skill proficiency and EXP bar skyrocket.

Tsk.

She hadn’t wanted to get involved in this mess—

But she still needed Suna alive to get some information out of her.

Also, what the hell was that about flat chests, huh? What’s wrong with being a loli?

Killing this guy outright would’ve been a waste—so why not cripple him and use him for skill grinding?

Not long after, the last two hunters showed up—

Only to have their heads lopped off with no warning, their corpses collapsing at the chapel entrance.

It was only then that a battered Reg emerged from the mist, eyes widening at the sight of three headless bodies and Truth, crouched down, still doing her best to save the enemy.

“They’re… dead…”

Truth’s eyes slowly faded back to their original soft pink.

Despite all her efforts, the hunter had bled out and died.

“Um… Miss Priest?”

Reg’s face was pale. He approached carefully, noting that while Truth wasn’t hurt, her robe was splattered with blood.

Truth cleared her throat, then suddenly turned toward the mist and bowed deeply.

“Thank you, senior, for your timely assistance!”

She’d made up a mysterious “senior” to cover up the truth—just in case Reg or Suna started asking too many questions about what happened.

A senior?

Reg blinked.

So it was some passing veteran adventurer who saved them?

He had honestly thought the priest had finally revealed her true power and rescued Suna herself.

Guess I was overthinking it. Priests can’t even learn offensive skills, after all.

He quickly bowed as well.

“Thank you, senior!”

Suna also poked her head out from inside the chapel, unable to believe what she was seeing.

Then she quickly pulled Truth back inside and urged the overly kind priest to start healing Reg— immediately.

【Skill “Healing Mist” proficiency increased to 26%. +6 XP to class level.】

Ten minutes later, Reg and Suna sat just outside the chapel, most of their injuries patched up, still reeling from what had just happened.

Truth, of course, claimed total ignorance.

“I only saw a blurry silhouette,” she said innocently.

“That guy must’ve been really powerful— probably a mage. No other way to explain that kind of clean, instant kill without a trace. And so brutal too. Ugh, those decapitations almost gave me a heart attack.”

Suna shivered as she offered her theory.

Correct~

Truth gave a subtle nod behind her back. Blood magic, a forbidden technique in the game’s lore.

“At least that mage senior didn’t seem hostile to us,” Reg added. “And if they didn’t want to show themselves, we shouldn’t try to figure out who they are. Let’s focus on getting out of this fog.”

“This whole thing feels like a dream…”

Then Suna turned to Reg, raising an eyebrow.

“By the way, Reg, where on earth did you find such a hopeless priest?”

She glanced at Truth, who seemed to be spacing out.

“Miss Priest, could you introduce yourself to us?”

Truth may have saved them, but there were way too many question marks around her.

For starters, it made no sense for a priest to be out here alone and even more ridiculous that she’d managed to reach the core of the Mistlands without a scratch.

Highly suspicious.

“Sure, I can,” Truth replied cheerfully. “But on one condition— you have to tell me about the history of Deya City and this fog.”

History?

Why’s she asking that?

Suna was about to question her when Reg suddenly leaned in and whispered into her ear:

“Let’s just tell her what she wants. I think there’s something off about her too.”

The hell?! I heard that, you know! Who whispers right in front of someone?! I should slice your tongue out!

Truth’s expression twitched ever so slightly.

After a brief pause, Suna began her explanation:

“According to the records, the fog appeared about 500 years ago. It was filled with King-class creatures no human could defeat. People called it the Forbidden Zone of Life— no one dared set foot inside.”

“But then, for some reason, the fog began to thin. Treasures started appearing, and even the King-class monsters began to disappear. That’s when adventurers started flocking to Deya Village, which was the closest settlement to the fog.”

“Three hundred years later, Deya Village had grown into Deya City, thanks to the Mistlands. But the fog had weakened so much by then, and the monsters were so weak, that the whole area basically became a beginner’s zone.”

“To this day, Deya City is the first stop for rookie adventurers.”

“That’s the rough history of Deya and the Mist. Your turn, Miss Priest.”

“Ah…”

Truth blinked blankly for several seconds.

Wait a sec. So after I got the Supreme Authority… this world fast-forwarded 500 years? The Mistlands—a King-tier dungeon— got nerfed into a starter zone? And Deya Village became Deya City?

Crap. That means all the intel I have is hopelessly outdated!

“Miss Priest?”

Suna narrowed her eyes. “Playing dumb won’t work. You can at least tell us your name, right?”

Truth tilted her head slightly.

“Um… My name’s Truth. Uh…”

Think of an excuse, think of an excuse!

She twirled a strand of her silvery hair, looking a little flustered.

“I think… I’m from Deya Village. From 500 years ago. I, uh… accidentally stepped on a trap in the chapel and got sealed until now. Probably…”

“What?!”