Chapter 50
Holy Water of Valterus.
That is the holy water created by the Valterus Cult, for those who serve the sword.
Originally, when speaking of a cult's holy water, most would first think of medicine.
Among divine miracles, curing incurable diseases easily captures the hearts of the people.
Thus, while it became more widely known as medicine, holy water is originally something bestowed by God. Its proper use is not merely for healing the body.
The true purpose of holy water is—
"Exorcism of demons."
Repelling and purifying things tainted with evil is the true use of holy water.
-Grrruuuuaaagh! Uuuurgh!
And the origin of trolls is precisely connected to that evil.
'Bastards of giants and demons.'
Half-human, half-demon.
That is the very root of trolls.
Even with just a slight amount of holy water, it can inflict excruciating pain.
Originally, this would be a strategy one could only discover after gathering various pieces of information...
'I set it up, after all.'
There's no way I wouldn't know.
"Luteon... has he lost consciousness?"
After screaming one last time, he seems to have lost consciousness.
I quietly watched the troll thrashing about.
The cries of pain grew louder, but it still seemed bearable.
I wanted to feed it more holy water to end it, but I only had one in my hand.
The rest were with Brans.
"It'll be resolved by time anyway."
If left alone, it will soon die.
-Graaaagh!
The troll suddenly sprang up and started fleeing.
At first, it rose and vomited blood while crawling, then shrieked as it walked, spewing blood everywhere.
It's probably trying to return to its original lair.
'Hmm...'
Normally, one would feel anxious, but Callius was relaxed.
Thinking it wasn't bad, he slowly followed behind the troll.
He jumped down to face Luteon.
The situation was roughly wrapped up, Luteon was in a near-death state, so the remaining question was how to get up to the forest.
Probably, following the troll would provide the answer.
-Grreeh! Ggrreaaaah!!
Whether it was the first time experiencing the pain of internal organs breaking down, the troll continuously shed tears and snot, writhing in agony.
At the noisy screams, nameless demonic beasts hastily fled.
Slow as a turtle, it slowly advanced step by step.
Instinctive fear forms a sense of unease, eventually driving it naturally toward the lair where it feels most secure.
Because the creature fled while throwing a tantrum, nearby demonic beasts dared not approach Callius.
Thanks to that, I could follow it with peace of mind, and after walking for quite a while, we finally arrived.
The troll's cave.
Its lair had a similar appearance to a dragon's lair.
Many luminescent stones were embedded, making it noticeably brighter than other places, and even at a glance, it looked like a troll's cave.
Probably, having no natural predators allowed it to live like that.
The cave carved out of rock was quite massive.
Given that the troll's height exceeded seven meters, that was only natural.
Inside the cave, there were many sights to see here and there, but what interested me the most was the place filled with knick-knacks. Various miscellaneous things had accumulated over a long period, covered in dust.
As one of the troll's habits, they like shiny things and cherish such miscellaneous items like treasures.
"So this is the place."
The traces of how this creature had desperately lived through the years were here.
"Originally, before the Sunken Forest was created, this place was..."
Among the knick-knacks, I picked up an object engraved with a strange pattern.
A ring with a wing pattern.
"It's a relic of the Bira tribe."
Bira.
Due to the terrain characteristics, an indigenous tribe had lived here long ago.
Being somewhat remote and independent, they had their own mysterious culture and believed in a peculiar god.
The Forsaken Valley.
Altara's original name was the Valley of Wind.
They were a tribe that enjoyed flying while facing the strong winds blowing between the cliffs.
With an artifact called Retetira, which had become an item of a forgotten god.
An ancient people situated thousands of meters below.
The Bira. And the artifact called Retetira, a sacred object bestowed by the Winged God they served, was the only way to escape this place.
"But this one has exhausted its energy."
Too old and too damaged.
It probably won't function properly.
I tossed the Retetira aside and searched a bit more, finding many similar items.
Most of them were like that.
Still, the Bira tribe had flourished considerably thousands of years ago, so if one searched this place thoroughly, many of their relics would be discovered.
They had quite deep knowledge of hunting and combat using flight techniques.
If not for the disaster that struck this place, today's North might not have belonged to Karpe.
"Was it ruined when the troll packs that fled from the demons came? Ah, found it."
Searching with the Three-Color Eyes made it easy to find.
Using force to open a golden wooden box, I found the Retetira inside.
It was a ring that looked higher grade than the others, and its condition was excellent.
It seemed to be a Retetira used by a Bira tribesperson of high status.
Callius immediately put the ring on his finger and operated his divine power.
When divine power was injected into the Retetira, an amount exceeding one level disappeared in an instant.
Surprised for a moment, but not stopping there, when I injected a bit more, the wing pattern on the ring glowed with colorful colors.
"Unfold."
Soon, the metal part of the ring unfolded, and massive wings made of iron and divine power were created from Callius's hand.
Immediately grasping the handle created from the ring part, the splendid wings flapped smoothly as if they had been waiting.
Callius felt a strange sense of floating and nodded in satisfaction.
"Better than I thought."
Since I was holding the base of the wings with one hand, I thought it would be difficult if my arm strength was insufficient, but that was a needless worry.
It was as comfortable as if the wind was supporting Callius's body.
With this, climbing the cliff wouldn't be too difficult.
When I cut off the supply of divine power and retrieved it, the Retetira returned to a small ring as if nothing had happened.
It was an artifact so intricate it was hard to believe it was made by an ancient tribe.
"Originally, this isn't something I could dare to obtain at my current level."
It was no different from a treasure that Callius's level couldn't dare to acquire.
If I were alone, I wouldn't have even thought of facing the troll.
Even if I had created a slight opening, I wouldn't have been able to inflict wounds on it like Luteon did. It was an artifact I could possess only because the variable called Luteon was with me.
"This gives me some relief. The question was how to take this without the troll noticing, but thanks to this, things got easier."
Originally, ever since falling here, Callius had been constantly worrying about how to obtain the Retetira.
The trolls of the Forsaken Valley were half-human, half-demon that required at least a Phantasm Sword to conquer, and Callius was merely someone who possessed a half-broken Spirit Sword.
Of course, the reward for that was welcome, but the risk was quite large.
Moreover, if the troll wasn't alone, things would become quite complicated, and the survival rate was too low, causing much concern.
"In the first place, how to deal with Luteon was the key."
However, it was fortunate that things worked out more easily than expected.
Luteon would still be collapsed in a near-death state, and the troll would languish and die if left like that.
"No matter how great the troll's regeneration is, it can't overcome holy water."
Trolls with the root of half-human, half-demon cannot do anything about holy water that possesses the energy of demon extinction.
Even if it vomits it out immediately, holy water has the property of being absorbed into the body in an instant, so the troll's death was as good as predetermined.
"If I searched for other trolls elsewhere, I could probably find better ones..."
Maybe I could even obtain something worthy of being called a sacred object, not just this level of Retetira.
However, Callius shook his head.
Greedy desires bring disaster.
In the first place, it was obtained so easily because that troll wasn't a Holy Body.
It was disappointing, but I had to aim for the next opportunity.
'Even this alone is amazing enough.'
Just in case, I searched around more, but nothing came up.
Perhaps because of the long years, most only glittered but didn't function.
There were things like swords and bows, but they weren't useful weapons.
While rummaging through the troll's lair, Callius grabbed a decent bag and a few old-looking ceramics.
Looking around more and collecting a few things, a quest completion soon appeared before my eyes.
[Sub Quest]
[Giant Tribe's Bastard Completed]
[Reward for being the first to successfully hunt a troll will be given]
[Reward - Refined Troll Potion]
[Health +4]
"Oh!"
Refined Troll Potion!
An unexpected reward was given.
Troll blood contains half demonic energy, so it must be refined before consumption, but to receive this as a reward...
It had been a while since one arm and my whole body were covered in bruises from the encounter with Luteon and the battle with the troll, and the holy water was used to catch the troll, so it was exactly what I needed.
Callius gulped down the refined troll blood in one go.
"Ugh, it tastes horribly."
Like all medicine, the troll potion was unimaginably bad.
The fishy smell was so overwhelming that if my stomach were any weaker, I would have vomited.
"Still, the effect is good."
I felt a slight pain and itchiness, probably because my broken bones were being set.
This was true for my entire body.
For a moment, I circulated divine power throughout my body and checked my condition, and surely, the wounds were gradually healing.
A potion is indeed a potion.
As bad as it tasted, the effect was certain.
"But 'first to successfully hunt'... That's strange."
First successful hunt?
There should be many beings who have hunted trolls besides myself.
Among those who have risen to the Master's ranks, some have records of hunting trolls.
Yet 'first'...
'Does it mean first as a player?'
But that's also funny—saying it like that implies there are other players besides myself, doesn't it?
"Probably not."
It's likely just one of the systemic aspects.
"Seeing things like this makes it really feel like a game... but I still don't know how to accept it."
Whether this place is a real world.
Or a game.
Or if not, what on earth it is.
I fell into thought, but there was something I needed to do first. Passing through the massive corridor, I went to the hollow where the troll would be, and found it curled up on a bed made of soft grass.
"It's dead."
It's not breathing.
Nearby, there's a large pool of its blood.
A smile formed on Callius's lips.
Though it inherited the blood of the giant tribe, in the end, it was one species.
Just as the term half-human, half-demon suggests, a hybrid of human and demon is exactly what a troll is, and that meaning was no different from the demon person at Callius's waist.
Callius immediately bit his index finger and shed blood.
With that, he began to draw something on the floor around the fallen troll.
The letters written in blood all exuded reverence, filled with his divine power.
"I call upon the god, praying that the god responds with my sword."
Unlike other pilgrims, Callius could normally perform corpse-ification without conducting a proper corpse rite.
Originally, that was also a player's privilege. However, today he decided to conduct a formal corpse rite.
It was a troll that hadn't yet become a Holy Body.
However, even for such a troll, he looked forward to seeing what would happen if he turned it into a corpse weapon.
Huuuuung.
The holy characters written in blood glowed silver.
As Callius's lips moved to call upon the god, the light grew stronger.
When the light of divine power filled the surroundings, the troll's body crumbled like burning paper. The crumbled flesh became fluttering ash and was reborn as a single sword.
The base was a broadsword.
A medium sword with a wide blade.
It was a double-edged sword with a grayish-white color covering its entire body, as if made of bone.
The color of both blades was dark red.
A Spirit Sword made from a troll.
"Damn it."
Callius saw the sword's condition and immediately spat out a curse.
He wondered if it would at least be at the edge of a Phantasm Sword, but that was nowhere near possible.
"Stingy, really."
[Divine Descent Sword - Gwid]
Grade - Spirit
Imbued Soul - Troll Gwid
Unique Ability - Divine Descent.
"Hmm? Divine Descent?"
However, the unique ability.
That caught his eye.