"Phew!"
Ryan let out a long breath. Although he had just fought an ink monster, he felt surprisingly good at this moment.
It was as if a warm power was surging from within him, making him feel like he was lying in the arms of a big-chested girl from the Red Pavilion.
But he knew that wanting such treatment without paying was undoubtedly a dream, so...
Ryan looked at the sphere of Light Prayer, which possessed the hue of the sun.
There was no doubt that this was the buff provided by the Light Prayer sphere.
"Lord Leon..."
"Oh? You know to call me 'Lord' now?"
Leon's voice interrupted Ryan's subsequent words. Ryan froze, his face flushing with embarrassment.
He scratched his head and said, "Lord Leon, it was a misunderstanding. I thought you were like those young masters from the great families, only caring about your own life and wanting to order me to abandon the townspeople..."
"I'm sorry, Lord Leon!"
"Once we're out of the gray mist and reach Solainem—"
Hearing this, Leon quickly cut him off. "Stop! Let's not discuss what happens after we reach Solainem. Let's get through the current crisis first."
It was best not to start raising flags.
Leon said, "Light Prayer will make those monsters find us faster. We must hurry."
"You and the guard squad protect me. We'll head in the opposite direction of the exit for now, trying to let more lost residents see the light and gather here."
"In two minutes, no matter what, we can't delay any longer. We must exit the gray mist immediately!"
Ryan immediately replied seriously, "Yes! I will follow your orders, Lord Leon!"
Leon acted decisively, immediately walking toward the depths of the gray mist. He didn't walk fast, but his steps were steady.
Captain Ryan and the guard squad members followed closely by his side, alertly watching every shadow that flickered in the surrounding gray mist.
Fortunately, their luck was good, and they didn't encounter a second group of mist monsters along the way.
Meanwhile, Light Prayer acted like a lighthouse at sea, radiating an attraction that gave hope to those lost in the gray mist, allowing them to successfully find the guard squad's location.
"Alice! Alice! Are you okay?"
"Little Alessio, my god, you scared me to death! Thank goodness you found the guards!"
"It's thanks to Priest Leon! Priest Leon's Light Prayer saved your lives!"
"Thank you, Priest Leon! Once we reach Solainem..."
"Don't worry about it. This is the duty of a priest of the Sacred Light Church," Leon quietly interrupted another flag-raising attempt.
He estimated the time. Seeing that no residents had found the guard squad for over ten seconds, he decided not to delay any longer.
"Time's up. Let's head back!"
With that, he immediately turned around and walked toward the rear.
Ryan looked at the crowd within the guard squad; a few familiar faces were still missing, but he understood that delaying any longer would mean greater risk.
Thus, he didn't dare to hesitate either, waving his hand to lead the guard squad after Leon.
The guard squad possessed supernatural items called mist stones. Whenever a mist stone was held near the center of the gray mist, the gray vapor inside the stone would quickly gather.
Using this trait, one only needed to move in the direction where the vapor inside the mist stone dissipated to move away from the center and exit the gray mist.
This was why people in the gray mist had to move toward the guard squad.
On the way out of the gray mist, Leon continued to cast Light Prayer to attract lost residents, while light flowed across his vision.
...
【Divine Art Performance Rating: Normal】
【Light Prayer Experience +5】
【Healing Experience +4】
【Light Prayer Lv2 (12/300) → Light Prayer Lv2 (17/300)】
【Healing Lv1 (12/100) → Healing Lv1 (16/100)】
...
The information on the panel filled Leon's heart with joy. After strengthening the Linkage trait, casting Light Prayer actually increased the experience for Healing too?!
Holy crap!
The Linkage trait was truly god-tier!
Just as he was rejoicing, at that moment—
"Roar!"
A monster's angry roar suddenly erupted from ahead, followed by two hurried figures rushing out of the gray mist.
Leon focused his gaze and saw the orphanage girl who had saved his life.
On the girl's back lay an old woman with a bleeding head. Leon recognized her as Granny Taylor from the town's Delicious Bakery.
"Save them!"
Leon shouted to those behind him, then rushed forward with his priest's scepter raised, taking the old woman from the girl's back.
Ryan and the guard members behind him bypassed the three of them and engaged the monsters chasing from behind.
"S-save... save!"
In such a moment, the girl's stutter became even more severe. She pointed at the unconscious old woman, her tears nearly overflowing from her eyes in anxiety.
Leon understood what she meant and said quickly, "I'll ask, you nod or shake your head."
He observed the injury on the old woman's head and asked, "How was she hurt... wait, was she attacked by a monster?"
The girl quickly shook her head.
"Then she fell and hurt herself while running. Did she fall on a big stone or a small stone... nod if it was a big stone."
The girl nodded anxiously.
Hearing this, Leon observed the wound again. He pulled a dagger from his waist and cut a piece of fabric from his sleeve to perform a simple bandaging.
In his previous life, he had been quite adventurous and had many experiences with injuries, so he knew some basic bandaging techniques.
The reason he asked about the size of the stone was because a wound from a big stone was relatively simple to handle. If it were small stones...
The feeling of sticking tweezers into the flesh to pick out bits of gravel one by one without anesthesia was something Leon still felt phantom pain from just thinking about.
After finishing the bandage, Leon spoke: "With this emergency bandaging and the slow mending from Healing, she'll be fine."
Hearing his words, the girl visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
Leon noticed her clothes were even dirtier than before, as if she had rolled on the ground several times, and her body was covered in scrapes and bruises.
She had encountered a mist monster head-on and successfully escaped?
Leon made a deduction in his mind but said nothing. Instead, he raised his priest's scepter and moved to the front, standing on the sidelines of the battle between the guards and the monsters.
With the help of Light Prayer's healing and burning auras, the guard squad quickly and smoothly dealt with the two mist monsters that had caught up.
With the mist monsters slain, the group resumed their march.
As they stayed longer, the roars of monsters in the gray mist became more frequent and distinct.
Fortunately, as the third wave of monsters attacked, they finally burst out of the gray mist and arrived at a pass guarded by mages and bloodline warriors.
The Gray Mist Barrier within the pass acted like an invisible screen, isolating the vast gray mist outside.
The two sides of the barrier were clearly demarcated: on one side was the surging, ink-like gray mist, too thick to dissolve; on the other was a clear, washed-out blue sky, pristine and spotless.
Having cast Light Prayer multiple times in quick succession, Leon, whose mental power was nearly drained, plopped down onto the ground.
"Finally, I can say it... once I reach Solainem, I must... first have a good, long sleep."
He had been a refugee in the wilderness since the moment he transmigrated, unable even to sleep soundly. Who could endure this!
Rate on N.U.
