The Healing Solaris Cleric

Chapter 249: Baron Basker (1)

The only small pleasure to be found in the celestial realm was conversing with other gods, so introducing the gods to exceptional food and entertainment naturally produced a positive response. On top of that, each of them was sent off with a generous bundle of food, ensuring they didn’t leave empty-handed.

I didn’t expect to gain quite this much in return, though.

Upon returning to Libertia, Kai immediately began reviewing his gains. The first thing that caught his attention was none other than the special titles. His title book was nearly bursting at the seams from the newly added pages.

Seventy-one new pages.

A total of seventy-three gods had attended the banquet. However, since the Witness of the sun and Witness of Earth titles had been acquired beforehand, the number of new special titles amounted to seventy-one.

"Hah."

Even obtaining seventy-one regular titles in a matter of hours would be nearly impossible, but these were special titles—unique titles that only one person in the game could possess.

Now leveling up stats is going to feel a lot more rewarding.

A wide variety of gods had attended the banquet. As a result, Kai had acquired various Witness titles, but their effects were greatly similar.

About half of them were stat-related titles.

Much like how the Witness of Earth title increased the Strength stat, many of the new titles had overlapping effects.

The question is whether these effects can be stacked...

That was something he could test immediately. Kai opened his stats window and put one point into Strength.

"Wow..."

At the same time, a gasp of admiration escaped his lips. His Strength stat, which had been at 1,516 instantly rose to 1,520.

It works!

This meant the same would likely apply to his other stats as well. Unknowingly curling his lips into a smile, he immediately began calculating. The relatively simple calculations were completed quickly, and the results were astonishingly fascinating.

Is this just a coincidence?

The combined effect of all the titles resulted in a 300% increase across all stats.

For every point I invest, I increase four in total.

The absurd result left him with his mouth hung open. From now on, the significance of him leveling up would be on an entirely different level compared to others.

So, other players would need to level up four times to match the impact of me leveling up once.

Kai had been taking a break from hunting ever since the Zatan Raid because the fight with the Death Dragon Sineras, to Lucifer, and finally Zatan, had left him physically and mentally exhausted.

It’s been a while since I’ve actually wanted to go hunting.

His blood stirred, and his hands itched with the desire to draw his sword and slash monsters. The additional stat bonuses provided all the motivation he needed.

"Now, where should I allocate these 256 unused stat points?"

Kai had been leaning toward investing in the Holiness stat. Summoning the Holy Sword and using it with Supernova and other buffs caused his holy power to drain rapidly, like pouring water into a bottomless pit.

But thanks to the banquet, I don’t think I need to worry about holy power anymore.

His Holiness stat had surpassed 3,000, and he had even obtained the special title Infinite Holy Power.

As a result, Kai’s stats window now finally resembled that of a proper Cleric. The similar values of Strength and Holiness stats seemed far from what one would expect for a Cleric’s attributes, no matter how he looked at it.

"Then I suppose the answer is Strength and Stamina."

As Kai’s level increased, he had come to realize the importance of Stamina. Of course, as long as he wasn’t killed at once, he could quickly restore his stamina with healing skills.

But if I die before I get the chance to heal, there’s no point.

The increasingly frequent battles with celestial players would be contests of split-second decisions. This was especially true after hearing from Seol Eun-Yeong that the Titan and Black Bee guilds were conspiring together.

It’s better to be cautious.

Kai allocated 100 of his remaining 256 stat points to Stamina and the remaining 156 to Strength.

[Kai]

Class: Solaric Cleric

Level: 416

Title: Envoy of God

HP: 130,900

Holy Power: 305,200

Stats

Strength: 1,988 Stamina: 1,309

Intelligence: 701 Agility: 674

Holiness: 3,052 Dignity: 621

Benevolence: 461

Poison Resistance +30

Magic Resistance +40%

Nature Affinity +200

Effectiveness of skills that consume Holy Power +50%

Damage dealt to demons/undead +50%

"Hmm."

Kai nodded quietly, showing his satisfaction.

My Holy Power has nearly doubled.

His Holy Power, which had previously been around 160,000, had soared past 300,000 thanks to the banquet. This meant he no longer had to worry about running out of Holy Power during battles, as he had during the Zatan Raid.

Of course, a prolonged battle would be a different story...

Still, if he fought at full strength using this abundant Holy Power, there wouldn’t be many who could stand against him for too long.

Good. As soon as the cities are stabilized, I’ll head out to hunt.

Kai thought as he reviewed the territory management window, Libertia should be fine as it is.

Once the ongoing Ultimate Blacksmith Competition concluded, the territory would solidify its position as a hub for spreading the advanced civilization and art of the demi-humans.

The real issues to solve are Arkan and Haveros.

However, the solution to this problem had already been addressed during the banquet, as he had received assistance from Yanir, the god of wisdom.

Yanir, what’s the best way to rapidly develop a territory in a short time?

Hmm, that’s not a particularly difficult question. Build facilities that will attract those in power.

Kai could still vividly recall Yanir’s expression as they replied, as though asking why he would bother with such an obvious question. After hearing the response, the first idea that came to Kai’s mind was an academy.

I realized it during the last special auction.

The true power holders in this game were still the NPCs, not the players. The massive sums of money that left players helplessly watching, unable to compete, were wielded effortlessly by the NPCs.

So if Kai could establish an academy in his territory so prestigious that the continent’s royals, nobles, and wealthy elites would want to enroll their children...

Then I’ll rake in money like leaves.

Making his decision, Kai headed straight to Arkan. As he got there, he furrowed his brows as he surveyed the state of the land.

The facilities had been left in ruins by the aftermath of consecutive sieges. Residents were preparing to flee, loading carts with bundles of basic necessities.

"Howard, where are we supposed to be heading now?"

"To Sunshire. It’s a two-day ride from here on horseback."

"Ugh, since we don’t have horses, that’ll be at least a ten-day walk."

"What can we do? Arkan is beyond saving at this point."

"The new lord hasn’t arrived, and now there’s talk of another war breaking out... This is terrible."

"Let’s move quickly."

Overhearing the two men’s conversation, Kai approached them and asked, "Excuse me, but you mentioned another war. What do you mean by that?"

"Huh?"

One of the residents quickly scanned Kai’s appearance, then continued pushing the cart as he began to say, "You look like an adventurer cleric. Go about your business. If you overheard us, you already know."

"So is it certain that a war will break out?"

"Absolutely. About three days from here, there’s a city called Basker. Its lord is so greedy that even we’ve heard rumors about him."

"Recently, Arkan territory was handed over to adventurers, but one day they packed up and left. Now, the territory is practically ownerless."

"I see..."

Kai hadn’t visited the territory since receiving it from the Warriors guild, but he hadn’t expected someone to covet it so quickly.

It’s been mere days... That lord certainly lives up to his greedy reputation.

Scratching his head, Kai passed by the fleeing residents and headed for the lord’s mansion. The mansion was firmly shut. What might have once been a well-maintained residence now had its valuables stripped away, leaving the yard barren.

"Unbelievable."

Even the front door to the mansion didn’t have a doorknob.

How on earth was the lord’s mansion managed... Oh, right, there was no one to manage it.

Realizing this obvious fact a bit too late, Kai pushed the front door with an embarrassed expression.

The inside is relatively clean, though.

The interior of the mansion was certainly well-kept. Compared to the outside, it felt as if someone had been regularly maintaining it.

“Who’s there...?” A quiet voice echoed from behind Kai as he inspected the first floor.

“Eeek!” Kai instinctively placed a hand on the hilt of his sword and quickly turned around. “Huh?”

What came into view was an elderly gentleman dressed in a sharp black suit. His fashion stood out with a red pocket square accentuating his chest area.

The man looked at Kai and let out a faint sigh. “If you’ve come to take your share, I suggest you leave immediately. All the valuable items have already been taken.”

“... And who might you be?”

“I am Prescott, the butler of this mansion.”

“Hmm. The villagers all seemed to be fleeing, though.”

"I have served the lords of this village since my grandfather's time. Old and without a family, I’d rather spend my remaining days maintaining this mansion."

His voice carried no trace of enthusiasm for life.

Looking slightly troubled, Kai said, “If you’re wondering who I am, I’m the new lord of this territory.”

“... Are you serious?”

"I don’t think there’s anyone crazy enough to claim ownership of a territory with nothing of value."

Using his own words against him, Prescott let out a bitter laugh. “Welcome to Arkan territory, my lord. However... you have come too late.”

“Too late? What do you mean?”

“Baron Basker, the lord of Basker territory, has had his eyes on this territory for years. However, after the monster invasion severely weakened the territory, and the ownership eventually shifted to an adventurer, he finally revealed his ambitions."

“Just to be sure, does this territory have any forces capable of going to war...?”

“None. If you count me, perhaps one.”

Kai furrowed his brow.

Those Warriors bastards... Don’t tell me they handed me this territory just to avoid the hassle of dealing with a war.

Even if that were true, there wasn’t much to say. It wasn’t as if he had expected them to hand over prime land in the first place.

“Hmm. A territorial war, huh.”

It went without saying that to maintain his noble title, Kai couldn’t afford to lose either Arkan or Haveros. Moreover, Kai was the current lord of Arkan—an individual unaffiliated with any guild. With the village lacking any military forces, he would need to hire mercenaries at the very least.

If I ask the Pray guild or the Holy Blood Order, they’d come running.

But he wondered if that was really necessary.

Crack, crack.

Having restored his body to peak condition after a few days of rest, Kai slowly stretched his neck.