Zachary Manor, the underground passage.
In front of the ruins' gate.
"Let's go, Alicia." Leon stood up and took Alicia's hand, leading her out of the underground passage.
As he walked, he used Radiance Perception to lock onto the movements of that blurry figure.
"Not... dealing... with... these?" Alicia followed behind Leon, glancing back at the Gramophone Golems.
"No rush. We'll head back to Eldenborg first to pick up some essentials. I forgot to tell Ratahn earlier," Leon said.
Alicia nodded, asking no further questions as she followed him.
After a quick word with Zachary, Leon mounted a horned horse and headed back to Eldenborg.
Along the way, that blurry figure followed him, maintaining a fixed distance.
Its traveling speed was actually comparable to that of a horned horse.
This sent a chill through Leon's heart. With such movement speed, the stalker's strength certainly wouldn't be weak.
...
Back at the Rose Cathedral, Ratahn and the others had already packed their luggage and equipment. They were preparing to head back to Jellyfish Town when they saw Leon and Alicia return.
"Master Leon, did something happen in Jellyfish Town?" Ratahn asked, confused.
"Nothing. I just forgot to have you bring something," Leon said casually, still sensing the stalker.
The stalker didn't follow them into the Rose Cathedral but waited outside instead. Leon swept his gaze across the area with his peripheral vision but saw no one.
Clearly, the stalker possessed some ability to hide their presence.
If it weren't for the fact that his Radiance Perception had been upgraded and its range increased through Linkage, Leon would have found it very difficult to detect them.
Pretending he hadn't noticed the stalker, Leon sought out Old Hunter.
"Butler Hunter, is the welcoming banquet for His Highness Aaron ready?"
"It is ready, Master," Old Hunter replied.
"Good." Leon nodded slightly. "Based on what I know of His Highness, he should be arriving in Eldenborg soon. Go and inform Baron Pierce of Prince Aaron's arrival."
"Yes, sir." Old Hunter didn't suspect anything and left the Rose Cathedral to find Baron Pierce.
Inside the Rose Cathedral, Leon sat in his room, his gaze fixed on his panel.
When he had previously blocked the hundreds of Gramophone Golems from swarming forward, he had used the Radiance Longbow, which was linked to the Hammer of Sacred Light.
In that moment, the Hammer of Sacred Light had finally leveled up.
However, Leon's attention had been focused on sensing the stalker at the time, so he had momentarily ignored the notification.
Now that he realized the stalker hadn't made a move against him, Leon finally calmed his mind.
After all, worrying was useless. Since the stalker could remain undetected for so long, their strength was undoubtedly exceptional.
Whether he was anxious or not wouldn't help him deal with them.
However, seeing that the stalker had stayed outside the cathedral instead of entering, Leon leaned more toward the theory that the Sage King had sent someone to protect him.
But regardless of the theory, he needed strength to verify it!
Steadying his mind, Leon opened the panel.
【Hammer of Sacred Light Lv2 (289/300) → Hammer of Sacred Light Lv3 (2/1000)】
【You have leveled up the Hammer of Sacred Light. You may choose one of the following three traits to enhance it:】
【Swiftness: The striking speed of the Hammer of Sacred Light will increase according to the intensity of the mental power you infuse, up to a maximum of 300% of its original speed.】
【Hidden Hammer: You can continuously infuse mental power into the Hammer of Sacred Light and hide it within your priest's scepter. The longer the infusion time, the stronger the power of the Hammer of Sacred Light, up to 2000% of its initial power. You can trigger and release it at any time.】
【Linkage: Link with the Divine Art 'Moonlight Cloak'. Overlaying the Moonlight Cloak onto the Hammer of Sacred Light hides the form of the hammer's head and handle, making it difficult for enemies to judge its exact position. Simultaneously adds the 'Moonlight Mark' effect to the Hammer of Sacred Light, increasing its attack speed.】
"Swiftness, Hidden Hammer, and Linkage..."
Leon pondered for two seconds before saying:
"I choose Linkage."
【Enhanced Trait Selected: Linkage】
This was a strategy Leon had held for a while: unless the other traits were exceptionally powerful, he should always choose the Linkage trait.
First, it reduced mental power consumption, and second, it allowed the linked Divine Art to gain experience as well.
Among the three traits presented, the speed boost from Swiftness was decent, but not a must-have.
While the 2000% power bonus from Hidden Hammer could be a great trump card, it didn't fit his fighting style.
He currently relied primarily on the Radiance Longbow's linkage to manifest the Hammer of Sacred Light. Hidden Hammer required him to strike opponents by releasing the hammer stored in his priest's scepter, which meant engaging in close-quarters combat.
Furthermore, his primary combat method now involved saturated strikes with multiple hammers.
Hidden Hammer, which could only be used once before needing a recharge, was somewhat inefficient.
The final Linkage trait was quite good, as it could conceal the form of the Hammer of Sacred Light. This way, enemies wouldn't be able to track the hammers fired from the Radiance Longbow.
Later, even if the Hammer of Sacred Light was held by the Hand of Thunder, it would be difficult for enemies to determine its attack range and angle with the naked eye.
It was just as devious as Artoria's invisible holy sword.
Having made his choice, Leon sat in his room and continued practicing Walking Meditation.
...
Half a day passed.
Leon continued his meditation, and the stalker remained outside the cathedral, showing no intention of entering.
"Master, Prince Aaron has arrived."
Old Hunter knocked on the door and announced.
Hearing this, Leon quickly withdrew from his meditative state. "Let's go meet His Highness."
With that, he stepped out of the room and followed Old Hunter to welcome Aaron.
Outside the Rose Cathedral.
A crowd of Eldenborg citizens stood on both sides of the street, curiously watching the lavishly dressed procession being personally greeted by Baron Pierce.
At the head of the procession was a young man with golden pupils.
The youth was dressed in a green robe, with a handsome face and an extraordinary aura.
However, as soon as he saw Priest Leon walking out of the cathedral, that refined air instantly shattered, replaced by a carefree, roguish grin.
"Oh, Priest Leon! It's been a while, and you've definitely gotten more handsome!"
Aaron opened his arms with an exaggerated expression and walked toward Leon.
Leon didn't recall being on such close terms with Prince Aaron.
Nevertheless.
"Your Highness Aaron, it has been many days. You are as radiant as ever."
Leon broke into a smile and shared an embrace with Aaron.
He was exactly who Leon needed, along with his Royal Guards!
After the embrace, Leon looked at the two people following half a step behind Aaron.
One was the female priest he had met during the priest examination, who seemed to be Aaron's childhood friend, Sylvia.
The other was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man.
However, in Leon's Radiance Perception, this man's presence was like a black hole, directly warping the surrounding perception.
When Leon's perception field brushed against him, he couldn't detect any information. Instead, he felt a sinking sensation, as if his entire mind was about to be sucked into the void!
Leon's mind tightened, and he quickly manipulated his Radiance Perception to bypass the area around the middle-aged man.
Only then did the sensation of falling into a black hole vanish.
Looking up, Leon's eyes met the middle-aged man's meaningful, slightly warning gaze.
However, Leon wasn't annoyed by the look. On the contrary, he felt delighted!
Rate on N.U.
