R4STWH - Chapter 79

Chapter 79

The Saintess’s eyes were filled with conviction.

‘She believes her god will easily forgive impersonation. It seems she serves a rather lenient god.’

‘Or perhaps she’s done this before.’

It would be the easiest and simplest way to manipulate people while hiding her precognitive abilities.

“It’s better to be a liar than to watch this world be destroyed and thousands, tens of thousands of people die!”

The Saintess’s desperate cry caused Crow's expression to shift. He sighed deeply and said, “You don't have to bear the responsibility alone, Saintess. You are one of the two pillars supporting the religious order. I’ll be your accomplice.”

“Thank you, Sir Crow.”

Elias and I exchanged glances, watching the Saintess and Crow reach an amicable agreement.

‘It went according to plan.’

If persuasion hadn’t worked, I’d been planning to resort to threats. I knew firsthand how a religious order without a god would decline.

Since we’d have to work together for a long time, it was a relief that we were able to resolve this amicably.

“Here’s a draft of our official announcement. Please send this to every corner of the continent.”

The document Elias handed them contained information about dungeons, the dangers lurking within, standard clearing methods, and countermeasures in case of failure.

The Saintess and Crow huddled together, reading the document line by line.

“There’s a limit to the number of people who can enter a dungeon? So that’s why. That’s why I couldn’t enter.”

“Levels…? What is this genre…?”

I watched them with amusement as they murmured to themselves, their expressions alternating between shock and relief.

Some of the terms the Saintess used didn’t seem to match this world’s level of scientific development, so I made a mental note to ask her about it later.

“You said this information is… accurate?” Crow asked.

I nodded without hesitation. “Yes.”

“Then we must hurry. We’ll draft the letter and send it immediately.”

“Good.”

Even if they formed teams as soon as they received the letter, it would still take three or four days to clear a dungeon, since it was all new to them. And what if they failed?

They might have a second or even a third chance, but no more than that.

As if understanding the urgency, the Saintess and Crow hurriedly drafted the letter right before our eyes.

They revised and rewrote it several times, and in less than an hour, they were done, stamping the Saintess’s seal on it and sending it to the religious order’s headquarters.

It was a commendable display of efficiency in dealing with the calamity.

Now that we’d taken care of one thing, it was time for the next.

Last night, when I’d said I’d personally clear as many dungeons as possible, Elias had firmly objected.

‘You can’t clear every dungeon in this world by yourself.’

And… he wasn’t wrong.

Assuming twenty dungeons appeared per day, I could probably clear a maximum of five.

Some dungeons couldn’t be cleared by simply smashing everything, and I also had to factor in travel time.

Moreover, the dungeon rank increased according to my level, so it would be impossible to clear them any faster.

So, our other plan was…

‘Increase the number of awakened. As many as possible.’

We would send Tenaclad’s forces into dungeons to help them awaken.

Within a month, the difference in stats between ordinary people and awakened would be more than tenfold. So, our priority was to awaken all of Tenaclad’s available combat forces.

Then, we would select those eager to improve and train them as the core force for dungeon clearing.

We made the same proposal to the Saintess, offering to send Crow and the Templar Knights to assist.

Crow seemed amenable, but the Saintess said she would return to the religious order and discuss it with them. She left Tenaclad after asking me one last question.

‘Is it true that the First Prince… is no more?’

Had the god she served given her a hint before cutting off communication when the quests began?

In any case, I couldn't give her a proper answer. I was hesitant to talk about the being currently occupying Leonard’s body.

It would be a problem if there was a reason, like with Yumi and Baeksa, why I shouldn't.

‘Zero… I wonder what he’s doing. I wonder if he’s met Yumi and Baeksa.’

I hoped they wouldn’t do anything reckless. Even if they had to take action, adapting to their new bodies should be their priority.

“Your Excellency, we’ve deployed knights to five dungeons,” Kallen reported.

Eight dungeons had appeared within the vast territory controlled by Tenaclad. Fortunately, none had appeared in Lakdel yet.

We had sent knights from both Tenaclad and Lakdel to five of the dungeons. I had personally prepared a list of essential items for them, so they should be able to escape if things went south.

“Let’s go.”

Elias and I decided to go together.

If Elias, with his already high base stats and significant boost from several “world first” achievements, entered a dungeon with ordinary knights, the dungeon rank would undoubtedly increase.

It would be much more beneficial for him to continue leveling up rapidly with me.

‘Though my desire to be with him is more than half the reason.’

I grinned and took his hand.

‘My amazing, wonderful husband!’

I had decided to call him “husband” instead of “Pair” to blend in with this world.

Even though it lacked the fateful connotations of “Pair,” I liked the idea of being bound to each other by law and custom, with mutual rights and responsibilities.

Elias seemed slightly nervous as we stood before the dungeon entrance pillar, but he took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Today, Elias and I planned to clear three dungeons.

‘My comrades are a given, but among the people of this world, Elias has to be the strongest.’

I followed him into the dungeon with that ambitious goal in mind.

Dungeon - Single-Log Bridge (F) - generated.

Adjusting difficulty based on the average level of 2/25 entrants.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Adjustment complete.

Dungeon - Single-Log Bridge (A+) - generated. Time limit 11:59:59…

I looked past the translucent window as it appeared and disappeared.

Seeing humanoid monsters kicking up dust as they charged towards us from afar, I had a feeling we were lucky with this draw.

“The quest is to defend against seven monster waves. It’ll be a failure if we lose the bridge behind us.”

As expected.

The clear condition for this dungeon was simple and straightforward.

Annihilate all enemies in sight. In other words, Elias would level up explosively.

“Ilesha, protect the bridge. Some monsters might get past me.”

“Okay.”

I sauntered over to the bridge.

Despite my casual reply, I wasn't planning on slacking off. I would support Elias and make the fight easier for him.

‘Let’s return twice as strong, Elias.’

I couldn't help but smile, excited for the battle and the rewards to come.

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