The Healing Solaris Cleric

Chapter 140: King of Leveling Up (1)

"Level 200. That’s the task I need to complete within two weeks."

Kai’s eyes shone brighter than ever as he left the Elven Forest.

The minimum requirement to equip the holy relics left behind by Shimizu and Cherantia was level 200.

Well, my level has been pretty low compared to the stats I’ve accumulated.

It wasn’t that he had been lazy. It was just that he hadn't had much time to focus on leveling up due to being caught up in various events.

First of all, my level is currently at...

Kai opened his status window for the first time in a while.

[Kai]

Class: Solaris Cleric

Level: 163

Title: Envoy of God

HP: 39,600

Holy Power: 64,900

Stats

Strength: 655 Stamina: 396

Intelligence: 303 Agility: 301

Holiness: 649 Dignity: 240

Benevolence: 183

Remaining points: 60

Poison Resistance +30

Magic Resistance +70%

Nature Affinity +200

All Attack Power +6%

All Speed +6%

“Hmm. Very good.”

It was a display of unbelievable stats, and even after all that, there were still 60 stat points remaining.

I leveled up while taking down the Black Bees, and I gained quite a few levels while healing Luteria this time.

Moreover, with the two new special titles he acquired, all his stats had significantly increased! There wasn’t a monster he would be afraid to face.

For now... let’s split the stat points half and half.

Kai assigned 30 points to Strength and the remaining 30 to Holy Power.

"Hmm. Now I'm a strong and mighty Cleric."

The power of an all-strength Cleric surged within him, almost ready to burst.

However, even with this mighty strength, there were those he couldn’t easily defeat.

If the Church of Muldine was bringing just a few hundred people, Luteria wouldn’t make such a fuss about preparing for war.

Therefore, Kai had to assume the enemy’s numbers were at least in the thousands. The difference in power was truly overwhelming!

Kai closed his eyes for a moment, thinking of ways to bridge the gap.

There’s no choice. We need to increase our numbers too.

But how? Ordinary players couldn’t be trusted. Especially if someone from one of the top ten guilds infiltrated as a spy and intentionally sabotaged the plan, there would be no way to stop it.

So, players are out. Even Cheonhwa... is out for now.

Though they had fought together before, Cheonhwa was currently very busy. They were working to win public favor by significantly lowering the entrance fees for the hunting grounds previously controlled by the Black Bees.

That leaves NPCs.

First, there was Tardal of the Darkness Hunters. If he informed Tardal of the situation, he would be able to receive support. However, it was uncertain whether NPCs would follow the commands of an adventurer like himself.

And the other option is the merfolk.

However, they were powerless on land.

The key to solving this dilemma is...

Kai's mind worked quickly, various ideas coming and going.

After a while, once he had organized his thoughts, he opened the map.

“Map.”

Whoosh!

The continental map of MID Online spread open before his eyes and he quickly scanned the terrain of the Kingdom of Rashion.

The Elven Forest. To the north, there's the Phevez Mountain Range, and far south is the Zigmunt Desert.

And to the side was a massive artificial waterway that ran through the entire Kingdom of Rashion, the Suver Canal.

If I can connect this canal to the sea, I could get help from the merfolk.

The only challenge was figuring out how to connect this vast canal to the ocean.

After thinking deeply for a long time, one corner of Kai’s mouth slowly curled up into a grin. It was a smile he wore when he came up with a satisfying plan.

This might actually work.

***

Just as Karius had said, the merfolk had remained in the same location without moving. Thanks to this, finding them wasn’t difficult.

Of course, breathing underwater was entirely another matter.

“Well, look who it is!”

“The hero of our tribe!”

“It’s Uncle Kai!”

The merfolk greeted Kai warmly! As they swam closer, gently swaying their fins, they cast a spell after seeing bubbles coming out from his mouth, struggling to hold his breath.

“Whew...! It really is tough holding your breath underwater.”

“Well, you don’t have gills.”

“What brings you here without any notice?”

“I’ve come to see Karius.”

“His Majesty is in his office.”

After a brief chat with the merfolk, Kai headed straight to see Karius.

“Kai?”

“Oh, that’s a familiar face.”

Karius and Cyrus tilted their heads at Kai’s sudden visit.

“Yes, it’s good to see you, but it’s a bit surprising. What brings you here?”

“I’m a bit surprised as well.”

“I know I have no right to do so, but I’ve come to ask a favor of you, Karius,” Kai replied.

“Hmm, go on.”

“I’ve actually just come after meeting the elves.”

“Oh! The guards of the forest!” Karius’s expression brightened. “It’s been quite a while since I’ve met them, being chased by the nagas and all. How are they?”

“Not well. They’re preparing for a war that could determine the fate of their entire race.”

Kai’s serious expression caused both Karius and Cyrus’ expressions to harden.

“War? It’s not against humans, is it?”

“No. I believe both of you would know them well. Do you remember the device that made the nagas so violent?”

“How could we forget! We suffered greatly because of it...”

“Are you saying it’s connected to those who installed that device?”

“Yes. The ones responsible are none other than the Church of Muldine!” Kai informed them.

“What?!”

“The Church of Muldine?”

The two of them responded with surprised expressions. When they had repelled the nagas from their spawning grounds, Kai had known nothing about the Church of Muldine. Because of this, the merfolk were still unaware of the connection between the nagas and the Church of Muldine.

"They fear the reunion of humans and demi-humans, who formed the leaders of the World Alliance."

"Hmm... Are the guards of the forest in a situation similar to ours?"

"Yes. If I had been even a little late, the World Tree Luteria would have perished, and the elves would have fallen under their control."

"That's horrifying." Karius shook his head slowly, then leaned forward with his large body and asked, "Are you asking us merfolk to join this war?"

"Yes, I am."

"The guards of the forest and the artists of the underground are like brothers to our tribe! Of course, we can't ignore this."

"Then...!"

Kai's face brightened momentarily, but Karius continued, "But we merfolk are not as powerful on land. In the water, it's a different story, but..."

"Then how about a canal?"

"Hm? Canal... You mean the artificial waterways created by humans?" Karius stroked his chin in thought for a moment and then nodded. "It doesn't necessarily have to be the sea. As long as there's a stage with deep enough water, we can exert our full strength."

"In that case, I'll create that stage."

Hearing this, Karius grinned. "I’ve told you before, haven’t I? Even though we are of different races, you are a brother, a friend, and family to our merfolk tribe!"

Thud!

As Karius stood, slamming his hand on the armrest of his throne, the royal robe he wore fluttered in the water.

"Eight hundred of the best merfolk warriors will stand with you. Let’s save the guardians of the forest together!"

"Thank you for your help."

With that, the first condition was met.

Feeling more at ease, Kai hesitated for a moment before asking, "Um... Since you're helping us anyway, could we possibly take the Magic Conch as well?"

"We cannot do that. If we leave to help you, the conch's power must stay behind to protect our village."

Karius's refusal was as firm as a rock.

"Ahem."

After informing Karius of the detailed plans and concluding their conversation, Kai left the sea.

His next destination was Tardal's mansion.

"Hmm? Didn't you say you were going to the Elven Forest?"

"I did."

Kai began to explain everything, and even as he spoke, he was certain of one thing.

Tardal will definitely support me with an army.

The Darkness Hunters were part of a secret organization that opposed the Church of Muldine. Therefore, they wouldn’t ignore this opportunity to strike at the Church's forces.

However, Tardal wore a troubled expression and shook his head. "Sigh. What unfortunate timing... This is quite troublesome."

"Pardon?"

"If we raise an army, the secret will inevitably leak to the Church of Muldine through a spy within the Darkness Hunters."

"...Are you saying there's a spy within the Darkness Hunters?"

Kai wondered how there could be a traitor within an organization that had such a rigorous entry test, but after giving it some thought, it made sense. After all, it was difficult for the royalty, nobility, and high-ranking aristocrats of every nation on the continent to be truly united in purpose.

"They may have succumbed to fear, or perhaps they were tempted by rewards, but recently, the mortality rate of Darkness Hunters on missions has risen significantly."

"That means information is leaking," Kai said, his expression growing serious.

The shock of realizing that a place he had believed to be absolutely secure was, in fact, not so safe after all was significant. Moreover, it wasn’t something that just ended with being shocked.

Tardal is right. If the army is involved, any strategy we come up with could very well reach the enemy's ears.

In war, strategy was like a game of rock-paper-scissors. The most crucial aspect was concealing what one intended to play. The moment one’s plan for deploying the army was exposed, the war would be lost.

"Ugh..."

As Kai scratched his head, troubled, Tardal said in a subtle tone, "However, from the Darkness Hunters' perspective, this is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss."

"You're right. But if the information does leak..."

"If we assign someone from within the Darkness Hunters, it would be reported to officials in various nations, but if I send them personally, it won't."

"...What do you mean?"

“If it’s just one Ironblood Knight unit, it means the Emperor can send them on an external inspection under his command.”

This meant that Tardal was offering to support Kai with the Ironblood Knights!

The unexpected good news brightened Kai's expression.

Right, a single unit of Ironblood Knights could be more valuable than thousands of ordinary soldiers.

Moreover, the likelihood of information leaking would nearly be eliminated, as it wouldn't be an assignment from within the Darkness Hunters but a direct order from the Emperor to his subordinates.

Additionally, the Ironblood Knights were directly under the Emperor's command, wielding their swords solely for him! So naturally, their ideological and identity verification were far more rigorous compared to the Darkness Hunters.

That would be enough.

Elves, merfolk, and now the Ironblood Knights! Even though the numbers could still greatly differ, the quality of the allies was the very best elite force.

"Oh, by the way, Tardal, would it be okay to use the Suver Canal for this war?"

"...The Suver Canal? Ah, to supply war materials, I assume?" Misunderstanding Kai's intention, Tardal readily nodded. "Use it as you wish. I'll issue a restriction on its use under the pretext of repairs about a week before the day of the war. I'll propose it to His Majesty. I'm sure he will grant permission."

Having gained Tardal's full cooperation, Kai headed directly to the teleport gate.

"Where would you like to go?"

"To the Zigmunt Desert."