Isabella shattered the incoming pincer with force. Flesh and shell fragments flew in all directions. However, despite defeating one, more than double that number surged forward.

The number simply didn't decrease. The reason lay in the surprisingly low attack power of the Snake Cult.

The swordsmanship specialized for killing humans. Against abnormal monsters, the Paladins were particularly weak. The Snake Cult neither initiated holy wars nor conducted regular monster hunts.

"Swing your swords! Hold the line!"

The situation was too overwhelming for proper leadership. All they could do was swallow their words and step forward with all their might.

Swords flashed. Split pincers scattered in all directions. A Paladin saved by a hair's breadth gasped on the ground.

"I'm, I'm sorry, Lady Isabella!"

"If you have time to apologize, then move!"

The pincers were powerful.

They were much stronger than most other monsters. Yet, their numbers seemed endless.

Isabella tried to find a way to break through the situation. However, no matter how she looked at it, it seemed impossible.

As the pincers surged forward, Isabella, who had been slipping aside, was startled.

There was a Paladin standing behind her. The person, still reeling from the shock of falling to the ground earlier, was groggy.

Isabella gripped her sword again. She swiftly changed her sword’s path, which she had planned to deflect. But because of that, she had to bear the full brunt of the impact herself.

Boom!

Isabella was thrown back. With a thunderous noise, she rolled on the ground.

"Captain!!!"

"Please hold on for a moment!!"

"Don't come!"

If even one person fell back, the front line would collapse. What followed would be the worst outcome. With trembling hands, Isabella struggled to stand somehow.

A shadow loomed over her.

A massive pincer fell before her eyes. Isabella clenched her teeth.

‘After all the effort to succeed, now...

Now, to be taken down by such a mere crab shell?’

"Damn it!"

"You've got quite the voice."

Flames came soaring in.

"Save your strength. Don't waste it unnecessarily."

The Flame Wings wrapped around her body. Isabella couldn't gather her wits as her view changed in an instant. Amidst the belated sound, she saw the pincer strike the spot where she had been.

She was being held. But by whom?

There was no one who would come running to save her.

‘Except for those damned heretics...‘

Isabella was startled. The hands holding her were gentler than she expected. She was half-hanging onto the boy she’d seen earlier.

Ra's acolyte, his name was Jahad... if she remembered correctly.

"Why... you?"

"A special service from the Cult of Ra."

The boy smiled. Behind him, flames swirled. With the fierce shouts of the Inquisitors, the tide of battle turned.

"We’ll be the ones to kill you!

Are you planning to die to mere monsters?"

The members of the Snake Cult blinked in disbelief, then their anger flared.

"What nonsense is this?!"

"What?! Are you saying we'll die by your hands?!"

"Damn it! What did you just say?!"

"How dare mere heretics talk like that!"

Enraged, the Snake Cult members began pushing the front line forward.

"Are you really going to accept help from such fools?!"

"Push them backkkk!"

"We can't lose to a mere crab shell!!"

Two groups clashed. In the midst of it, Isabella felt a sense of strangeness.

She saw the Paladin of the Snake Cult and the Paladin of Ra’s Cult standing back-to-back.

A sight never before seen. A landscape she never thought she would witness.

"...Is this your doing?"

"Oh, damn."

Isabella was thrown aside. Jahad shook his hands clean.

"You just said it yourself earlier. Move instead of wasting time talking."

Flames danced at the tip of his sword. A smile flickered behind his dark priest robes.

"Priest Isabella of the Snake Cult. Are you going to keep sitting there?"

"Hah."

Isabella stood up.

"...We can't possibly accept help from the Sun God Religion."

"Seems like you've already gotten plenty."

"I never asked for it."

"You're not being honest."

Isabella lifted her sword. She pointed it at the monster, not Jahad.

A peculiar feeling. Isabella glanced at the priest beside her.

"...You, are you really an apprentice priest?"

His combat skills and understanding of the situation were far beyond someone inexperienced. It was as if a veteran who had seen it all was trapped in the body of a boy.

Jahad shrugged and slashed at the approaching pincers, shattering them.

"Am I too competent?"

"......"

"Damn. What if I get even stronger here? Then I’ll be a really big deal!"

"......"

‘He's definitely not someone I want to keep close.’

Isabella quickly came to a conclusion.

Monster wave.

More specifically, the parasite wave had ended. Once a day, precisely at midnight, the monsters began to retreat slowly.

They dragged human corpses away with their pincers and ate their kin's bodies on the spot. As they disappeared back into the ice shards, people blinked in disbelief.

"We survived."

"Is it over?"

Who's jinxing it?

Well, they'll come regardless of whether someone does or not.

Now, the only thing left was to recover their strength. Radatok swiftly assessed the situation and, as he passed Isabella, he glanced down at her nonchalantly.

"Don't die, Isabella."

"What?"

"It's up to us to judge you."

"You crazy bastards."

Isabella stuck out her tongue with an exasperated look.

"Don't you die, Brown Bear. If anyone's going to kill you, it's me."

"All talk, aren't you."

A simple dinner followed. We decided to conserve our food supply. I tapped on the hard, frozen meat.

It's already freezing here. If we don't circulate divine power, we'll freeze.

The supplies won't last.

"What is this..."

"Damn it..."

"The firewood is..."

I could hear the Snake Cult whispering. Without a proper fire, they can't even cook their meals.

No, that can't happen. If those guys starve to death, who will be our shields during the boss fight?

I stood up and checked beyond the line. As expected.

There wasn't much firewood, it was ridiculously insufficient. Most of the firewood, which seemed to have been salvaged from the broken wagon, scattered during the fall inside the ice cave, so it was no surprise.

I walked forward. Radatok blocked my path.

"What are you planning to do, brother?"

"Just trying to cook them some food."

"That's unnecessary. They are heretics."

"Didn't you agree with me earlier?"

"Even so, we can't provide everything from start to finish. It's wise to conserve our divine power, brother."

Radatok placed a hand on my shoulder.

"There are those who assume kindness as a right if it continues. The Snake Cult members are foolish. Their god is also incredibly violent. It's like gathering the dumbest people in the world. It's better not to give unnecessary help."

"But..."

"I admire your compassion, brother, but trust my experience. They are like snakes. They turn goodwill into malice. Besides, they still have firewood, so there is no need to help at the expense of ourselves."

No.

Their maliciousness doesn't matter; we just need their numbers, right?

The Inquisitors however were impressed.

"You are too kind, brother."

"Your moves in fighting the monsters were very promising."

"To have such skill at a young age."

"You are a suitable candidate as a future Inquisitor."

"If you don't keep striving, others might catch up quickly."

...Isn't this feeling like I'm being pushed into becoming an Inquisitor?

For now, I sat down. It wasn't because I wanted to follow Radatok's advice. If I think about it, they still had means to eat.

...Inquisitor Radatok is right.

That means they aren't truly hungry yet. Even if we show kindness to those who aren't starving, it won't be received well. It might just make them wary.

We should let them starve. Once you throw them a bone, they'll roll over and show their belly, properly tamed. They'll need to listen if we want to use them in the boss battle.

"Let's not give them food."

"Thank you, brother."

"Indeed, if it's advice from Inquisitor Radatok, we should always follow it."

I smiled broadly.

"Inquisitor Radatok is the most trustworthy and dependable person here!"

His previously cold face relaxed a little. Radatok slyly turned his head and cleared his throat.

Oh, is he smiling?

Perhaps the Konjac Jelly wasn't needed after all.

"Brother."

"Yes?"

"...Never mind. I'll formally ask you once we get out of here."

Formally?

I felt a slight chill. The Inquisitors were grinning at me.

Wait a moment.

If I truly get scouted by the Inquisitors, my plans will be disrupted... And as an Inquisitor, I can't even attend the Academy!

The days passed by. The second day, third day quickly went by.

Every time I opened my eyes, it was a battle. After dragging my exhausted body to somehow eat, I would pass out immediately. The Inquisitors said I didn't need to keep watch, but I refused right away.

Amid the continuous battles, I was walking a fine line between life and death, a precarious edge where one misstep could lead to doom.

My skills weren't enough to keep up with them. However, I was rapidly improving to the point where my shortcomings seemed insignificant. It wasn't common to find such a perfect leveling spot—monsters that were high level but had clear weaknesses.

Wasting time in the best hunting ground would be more foolish!

"Excuse me, Inquisitor."

"Yes? What is it?"

"Could you teach me some holy spells?"

"...Holy spells?"

The Inquisitor standing watch with me discreetly glanced around.

"The holy spells of an Inquisitor, unfortunately, are not something that can be taught to just anyone."

"......"

"But you're different, Brother! We are comrades fighting side by side!"

"As expected, Inquisitor! I knew you'd say that!"

"Hahaha! Ask me anything! Future Inquisitor!"

I quickly learned the holy spells, which were divided into three categories.

Lower-tier holy spells.

Mid-tier holy spells.

High-tier holy spells.

The Paladins were being taught the mid-tier holy spells. High-tier holy spells were something only a few within the order could use, so they couldn't be learned from them.

But that didn't matter. I extracted every bit of power from the Inquisitor. Some of my skills transformed into higher-level skills.

[Ember (C) -> Holy Fire (B)]

[Song of Fire (C) -> Sword of Condemnation (B)]

[Weapon Blessing (C) -> Fire's Whisper (B)]

[Holy Barrier (C) -> Holy Wall (B)]

[Jahad Balton] [Level: 32]

[Race: Human] [Class: Apostle of the Sun God]

[Class Unique Skills]

Love of the Sun God: Skills related to the Sun God grow rapidly.

Grace of the Sun God: Holy power recovers quickly.

Blessing of the Sun God: Can handle the Sun God's relics without risk.

Prayer of the Sun God: Immunity to mental corruption.

[Skills Held]

Stigmata (B): Provides high resistance to all magic. Can grant stigmata to others. (5/10)

Divinity (B): Greatly enhances the divinity of the Sun God. Relics react to holy power.

Healing (B): Can perform both healing and combat simultaneously. This is commonly referred to as the 'Battle of the Immortal.'

Blessing (B): Substantially increases resistance to status effects, maintaining composure in all but exceptional circumstances. Greatly enhances physical abilities and temporarily boosts holy power.

Holy Fire (B): Creates sacred flames. Purifies evil and can partly burn what normally cannot be burned. The size and limit of the flames are proportional to holy power.

Prayer of Fire (C): Maintains body temperature for a certain period while praying. Enhances physical abilities.

Creation of Holy Water (C): Infuses water with holy power. Activates the body's healing capabilities and increases resistance to magic.

Holy Wall (B): Can block off certain areas. Applies thinly on the skin to enshroud in flame. Can be applied to armor and neutralizes impacts below a certain threshold.

Fire's Whisper (B): Enhances weapon performance. Flames descend and can also be bestowed upon others' weapons. Gain resistance against curses.

Purification (C): Dispels curses and purifies contaminated entities.

Sword of Condemnation (B): Derived from the basic swordsmanship 'Song of Fire' of the Sun God Religion. It has been streamlined, and the Inquisitor's sword has been infamous for its lack of mercy.

Meat Cooking Method (C): Grills meat deliciously.

Crown of Ashes (EX): Offers tributes to raise the skill levels related to the Sun God.

Level is a measure of strength. Skills go without saying. They are complementary, and the rise in both significantly enhanced my power.

This is truly the protagonist's advantage!

I was literally soaring. Each time I woke up, my holy power replenished intensely, and eventually, I smashed the Crab Shell before the Inquisitors could.

"...Crazy."

"Lord Radatok. Does this... make sense?"

"I cannot believe it, even seeing it with my own eyes."

Radatok looked at me as if watching over a child.

"...It seems the cult has gained a remarkable talent. A truly extraordinary one."

Feeling slightly uneasy under the intense gaze, I turned my head slightly. After a week, when our food supplies were nearly depleted, and everyone’s lips were parched from exhaustion, something unexpected occurred.

Crack!

"What?!"

The Inquisitor stepped back in surprise. The crab shell that had been easily broken before had now bounced off. This was a different entity than we had encountered previously.

"...It's here."

I glared at the creature, smaller than the giant crabs but more humanoid in form. It was the leader of the parasites, a special entity above the sommeliers. Usually, they only came out when they were fed by those below them.

Crunch.

I sighed at the crab-like figure that stood on two legs. So, this is Stage 2? It's slower than I expected.

"Alright. You brat."

I didn't avoid the piercing black eyes staring at me, but met them directly. It was the superior entity of the sommelier. The creature which emitted a sweet aroma from its body had a nickname.

Coconut Crab

Its original name has been forgotten. This name leaves a stronger impression. Its pincer crushed the ice, grinding it down before shoving it into its mouth.

A gluttonous creature indeed. With fresh chunks of meat around, it must be infuriated if its underlings don’t bring them over.

Strong.

But so what!

"I’m stronger! You brat!"

I am not the person I was before! I’ll crush your skull!

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