Chapter 166: Wow! The Iona Bus! (4)

Chapter 166: Wow! The Iona Bus! (4)

Ding!

A familiar notification sound followed by a system window floated in mid-air.

It was lengthy but it could be summarized simply.

-Your skills will slightly increase.

-Your magic power will increase.

Oh. It seems like he’s dead.

In other words, it meant that Iona’s interrogation had ended.

First, I needed to check.

As I put down the documents I was holding, I muttered to myself.

‘Status Window’

Name: Yandel

Title: Ghost Buster

Basic Abilities

Strength: 14

Durability: 14

Agility: 14

Skill: 16

Magic Power: 21

Traits

Endless Mana (A)

Element Affinity (B)

Excellent Memory (B)

Ordinary Weapon Skills (D+)

Lintblum Mana Core (C+)

Junior Magician (C) -> (C+)

Sun God's Blessing (B)

Cultist Hatred (C)

Weak Constitution (C)

Element Combination (A)

Sea's Blessing (B+)

Unfortunately, my stats did not increase. Well, the conventional limit for stats was 30.

Naturally, the higher the stats, the harder it was to increase them.

Only the skills had slightly increased, and given that my current magic power was 21, a single medium increase was far from enough.

However, it wasn’t that there were no changes at all.

Though not as dramatic as when a stat would increase, I could feel that my magic power had grown slightly.

Perhaps recognizing my skillful use of enhancing certain elemental magics through sympathetic resonance during combat, a plus was added to my magician traits.

Now, just one more step, and I could overcome one wall as a magician.

Which meant that the realm of becoming an intermediate magician was just within reach.

...Honestly, it didn’t feel real.

If I were to become an intermediate magician, would it be due to my own abilities awakening? Or because the system boosted me?

Well... it didn’t matter which.

What was important was that I could become a bit stronger. That was all there was to it.

With a satisfied smile at this good start, I headed towards where Iona was.

“Professor? Did you finally find out something this time?”

“Uhm. There are some results, but they’re a bit different from what I expected... I’ll tell you when we go up!”

Iona, who had been tilting her head in thought, lightly snapped her fingers.

Then, the thorn vines made of blood that surrounded us gently grabbed us and lifted us to the ground.

Iona set us down from a distance. As soon as our feet touched the ground, the area around the mountain lodge collapsed.

It must be because Iona’s thorn vines, which were holding the soil, disappeared.

Rumble.

By the way, in H&A, she appeared as a hidden boss that players could choose to confront or not.

She couldn’t be encountered through the story progression but must be tracked using clues from the surroundings.

As a result, many players miss her and reach the ending without encountering her during their first playthrough.

However, defeating her significantly would reduce the size of the undead legion that would appear in the grand invasion chapter.

That was why I planned to wipe her out with the help of the Church of Righteous Radiance once I got somewhat close to them.

After all, both the undead and curses melt away helplessly in the presence of divine power.

At least, that was the original plan.

However, Iona’s skills, which I witnessed firsthand, were far beyond imagination, enough to give it a try.

“How about it? Do you think you can do it?”

“......”

After hearing about Sophia and the undead warehouse, Iona closed her eyes in thought for a moment.

Then, swaying her upper body back and forth like a metronome, she suddenly opened her eyes wide and nodded her head.

“Good! Good! Let’s give it a try! But if we go straight there and fail, it’ll be hard to touch them for a while, so let’s destroy the other two places Yandel mentioned before attempting!”

“That sounds better. We probably don’t need to interrogate this time, right? After all, Archbishop Sophia would know more than the bishop-level branch head anyway.”

“Killing them and coming back will be much quicker. Less hassle, less effort!”

“Ah, but you haven’t forgotten that we still have to fight a bit, right? That was the condition.”

“Of course, of course. Whatever the goal may be, it’s important for Yandel, right? I’ll leave a few alive for you to finish off!”

The plans quickly fell into place.

This was the reason I liked talking with Iona.

Instead of pondering over stuff, if she felt like doing it, she would move to action right away.

It was the same when she said she would buy Elisha at the auction.

There might have been many issues upon closer thought, but as soon as Iona felt it was okay, she granted permission to go out.

“Right. Carla, Elisha. What do you think?”

“I will follow whatever Teacher wishes.”

“Hmm, I’m a bit worried it might be dangerous, but since we’re just adding spoons, it should be fine.”

As the discussion seemed to conclude, Iona, who was a bit away, peeked her head in.

“Now, now. Is all the talking done? Shall we teleport right away?”

“Uh, yes. Just a moment.”

Carla and I held hands, and Carla and Elisha held hands.

Thus connected as one, we reached out to Iona.

Iona, who had been blankly staring at us for a moment, smiled and took my hand.

“Then, shall we start with the nearest one?”

Iona chanted with a voice that seemed a bit excited.

A curtain of dark red magical light obscured our vision.

.

.

.

.

.

Thus, we were able to subdue a few more cult branches at a rapid pace.

Ding!

Name: Yandel

Title: Ghost Buster

Basic Abilities

Strength: 14 -> 15

Durability: 14

Agility: 14 -> 15

Skill: 16

Magic Power: 21 -> 22

Sweet.