HPV 53

A Stone Beast could be taken down with even the slightest strike to the weak spot on its underside.

However, the problem was that its rock-hard outer shell, like living stone, protected the weak point, making it incredibly difficult to attack.

And if you try to slip under it to strike the weak spot, the stone will notice and crush you.

Thus, they needed a mage who could use great strength to pin the rock down—or some other form of support.

Boom!

Dangerously, a stone smashed into the spot where Paronai had just been.

His evasive movements, barely dodging the flying rocks, looked almost like acrobatics.

But he would not last long.

Just then, Penzey finished his calculations.

A complex red magic circle spun out from his fingertips.

The nearby Stone Beasts all froze in place.

The mage, standing in one place and concentrating, looked like a puppeteer with strings tied to all ten of his fingers.

Magic flowed out from his hands in multiple streams.

It was like a human handling multiple computations and streams of information simultaneously.

But the brute strength of the beasts overpowered the magic.

Clang!

Like thin panes of glass, the spells shattered one after another.

Fragments of magic energy scattered in every direction.

“Expand the circle!”

Paronai shouted as he rolled to avoid the shock of the spell breaking.

When a spell fails, you expand the circle and intensify the concentration of magic.

It was basic knowledge—and not a difficult request for Penzey, who was hailed as the youngest genius magician.

Still, he did not use six-circle magic.

Around him, three crimson circles trembled precariously, as if about to crack apart.

Just three.

He had never shown magic beyond that before.

Paronai’s gaze grew heavier.

It was clear he was now watching Penzey with suspicion.

So far, he had managed to hide it well…

It would not be long now.

Like someone tripping over a rock in passing, the moment Penzey’s secret would be exposed was approaching.

Thud—

An arrow struck the surface of a Stone Beast and bounced off.

Bzhan had joined the fight.

Several arrows flew, aiming for the weak spots, but they were useless.

It wasn’t because Bzhan was slow, and it certainly wasn’t because his aim was poor.

It was a matter of angle.

Unless Bzhan himself ran underneath the Stone Beast, there was no way for his arrows to reach the weak spot on the underside.

Realizing this, Bzhan suddenly moved.

A small, swift figure dashed straight toward the Stone Beast.

When it turned its attention to him, he vanished and reappeared running along its side.

Finally, he slid under the Stone Beast while it was briefly lifted off the ground.

He leaned his body back to close the distance to the ground and used his feet to slide.

At that moment, an arrow struck true, piercing the weak spot.

A dreadful roar burst from the Stone Beast.

But the true danger of a Stone Beast didn’t end even when it died.

“Ugh!”

The Stone Beast’s trembling body exploded.

Thousands of shattered stone fragments shot outward in every direction.

Paronai, nearby, miraculously dove and hit the ground flat.

Even so, sharp stones embedded in his back, and from a distance, blood could be seen gushing out.

Had Bzhan escaped?

The sound of rough breathing came from atop a distant, intact boulder.

Blood quickly spread across Bzhan’s clothes in several places.

The boy remained still in a low stance, wiping the blood running down his cheek.

His heavy breathing continued.

It was only because it was Bzhan that he had managed to evade that much.

If he had been even a little slower, the explosion would have been fatal.

“Come over here!”

Yurichen shouted toward Bzhan.

But in truth, what he meant was—even with injuries, the hero was expected to keep circling and distracting the Stone Beast to buy time.

Tsk, a click of the tongue sounded.

The irritation was clear on Banwes’ face as he held me.

He seemed frustrated that the hero, the mage, and the archer were all struggling.

“Protect him.”

He tossed me to Yurichen.

A soft grunt escaped Yurichen as he caught me.

I did my best to relax my body and stare blankly, overcoming the audacity of being held in the High Priest’s arms.

A half-human, half-orc slammed head-on against a boulder many times larger than himself.

The tendons in his arms swelled and writhed like living creatures.

Each muscle seemed to thrash about like a dragon.

Thoom—

A low, heavy vibration spread through the ground.

Banwes drove his feet into the earth and, using only the strength of his arms, halted the force of the Stone Beast.

It was the first time he acted as the warrior of the group.

My eyes widened, staring at the man who displayed pure and overwhelming strength, as if he were not the hybrid of man and beast, but of man and a god.

With both arms, Banwes caught the house-sized rock about to crush him.

Under the tremendous pressure, he planted one foot forward and flipped the Stone Beast over. It was as smooth as if he were lifting not a rock, but a human.

“Haah…”

Gabie, inexperienced in such scenes, finally sank to the ground in relief.

Something rolled out of the priest’s pocket.

It was the object he had been fidgeting with earlier when he was nervous.

I stared at it closely.

A stone?

It was a beautiful stone, colored with the blended hues of sunset red and coral blue, called a Sunset Coral Stone.

The one that tumbled out from the priest’s pocket wasn’t rounded, but broken—like a fragment shattered from a larger piece.

Just like me, Yurichen, who had been absentmindedly staring at the stone, suddenly stiffened.

The arms holding me tightened with tension.

“Huh. Why’s a priest carrying something like this?”

Penzey spoke up, pretending to be casual….It was probably better for him to mention it.

Thanks to that, everyone’s attention shifted from his magic to Gabie instead.

Gabie’s face turned pale.

“It’s an old custom, isn’t it? If you split this stone in two and share the pieces, you’re said to never forget each other. How old-fashioned, for someone who’s still wet behind the ears.”

Penzey looked down at Gabie and crooked his lips into a mocking smile.

Gabie grew even more ashen.

Gabie’s reaction, and that split stone—the owner of the other half must be his secret lover.

And Gabie wasn’t just a low-ranking priest.

He was someone who, without exception, was bound to live a lifelong vow of celibacy.

“High Priest Daamil… knew, and still let him go.”

And even before Gabie could make any excuse, Yurichen had already seen through everything.

Gabie hadn’t fled for the sake of a mission—he was escaping for love.

And the one who had helped him was none other than High Priest Daamil.

Because he appeared in the game, I knew who High Priest Daamil was.

A man who, no matter how you looked at him, seemed like a kindly old grandfather, always wearing immaculate priestly robes, radiating holy power as strong as Yurichen’s.

The arms holding me trembled faintly.

I fidgeted, trying to find a chance to ask to be put down, but couldn’t.

Yurichen might punish Gabie.

No—he would punish him. How could someone dare to forsake God for love?

“…It is not my place to speak, so I shall remain silent.”

Yurichen suppressed his anger.

Even though his voice was so strained it sounded torn, he managed to hold it back.

High Priest Daamil was one of only two High Priests in the entire kingdom—

Yurichen himself being the other.

Moreover, Daamil was much older, making it all the harder for Yurichen to say anything.

“That old man had an interesting side after all,”

Penzey muttered in a voice barely louder than a mosquito’s buzz.

He at least had the sense to whisper quietly enough that Yurichen couldn’t hear.

My head was spinning from how different all of this was from the game, but there was another thing weighing on my mind.

That stone… is used like that?

I had one too, tucked away in my belongings.

To me, it was just a toy—the stone I used to secretly play with in the temple, the one I was heartbroken to lose when the other worshippers took it from me.

I found another just like it later and kept it with me ever since.

Now I was worried.

What if Penzey saw it and started teasing me about it?

After we escaped the danger zone, dry trees came into view again.

Once it got too dark to move, we made camp and lit a fire.

Since monsters could attack, it was decided we would take turns standing watch.

“Ria doesn’t have to keep watch.”

“Yeah, Ria should just sleep.”

“You’re just ignoring me, huh?”

“If you’re sleep-deprived and can’t move tomorrow, that’ll be even worse for us.”

Even Banwes joined in, and after a bit of arguing, I finally won the chance to stand watch like everyone else.

Standing watch was one of the things I had wanted to try!

Though, I was assigned to the first shift—the most convenient, since I wouldn’t have to wake up in the middle of the night.

I wrapped myself tightly in a blanket and sat near the campfire.

The dying fire crackled quietly, sketching reddish drawings into the air.

Everyone else seemed to have fallen asleep.

Or at least, they looked like they had.

Leaning against a tree, Banwes suddenly moved.

Very naturally, he began rummaging through my belongings nearby.

Why is he always going through my stuff like it’s his right?

First, it was stealing my razor… now this.

Banwes dug through my clothes for a while, then finally pulled something out from the bottom of the pack.

It was the rough Sunset Coral Stone. He must have known it was in there. Holding the stone, he looked straight at me. Is he going to tell me it’s dangerous again?

I braced myself for the scolding. But what he said instead was completely unexpected.

“Who did you share it with?”

His red eyes locked onto mine, as if he would stay there, unmoving, until I gave him an answer.