Chapter 36 – LV.Five Priest Seo Yun – [One]

There is also a Goddess of Beauty in the Immortal Kingdom.

She is also the Goddess of the Undead. The Goddess of Liches and Vampires.

That goddess, an appearance supremacist, considered it a terrible thing for beautiful humans to grow old and become ugly. To allow beauties to remain beautiful forever, she spread her grace—the Vampire Blessing, which allowed one to maintain youth by sucking the energy of others.

The great gods of the Celestial Realm condemned that blessing as abhorrent, but she paid no mind. It was only natural that the ugly and worthless should be sacrificed for the beautiful and worthy.

The enraged Sun God expelled her from the Celestial Council. The Goddess of Beauty became an evil deity, and the Vampires, cursed by the Sun God, were driven to the New Continent, where they established their own kingdom.

And hundreds of years later, the Liches and Vampire Lords who followed her summoned a giant meteorite, and the sky was covered in ash and dust. The Sun God’s curse could not pierce that thick ash. Finally, the Sun’s curse vanished, leaving only the blessing of immortality.

The world of the Vampires had arrived.

In the era when the sun shone intensely, the existence of Vampires, once considered a dreadful disease, was now regarded as a great privilege. Nobles and royals, one by one, desired to become Vampires, and soon ‘Vampire’ became synonymous with nobility and royalty.

In the place where the Mortal Kingdoms had fallen, Kingdoms of Immortals rose.

The Centaur Empire is also one such Kingdom of Immortals, where being a Vampire is considered both a blessing and a right.

For the Centaurs of the Empire, the Vampire Blessing is the right of the Golden Clans, a reward granted to great generals.

Centaurs Warriors go to the battlefield to receive that very blessing. They fight and fight again to prove their greatness, and on the day they are appointed as generals, sharp fangs will pierce the warrior’s neck.

Thus, the great Centaur Warrior will gain eternal youth and strength transcending life.

That is the setting for the Centaur Vampire in the Rulebook.

The two-and-a-half-ton truck drove on.

Seo Yun looked at Seong Juri, who had boarded the truck with her. The kid’s expression wasn’t good. She seemed anxious, so Seo Yun spoke to put her at ease.

“Team Leader Kim Ak will probably be at the place we’re heading to now, right?”

Only then did Seong Juri look at Seo Yun and open her mouth.

“Probably.”

“It’ll be good to see him after so long, right?”

“Yeah. He must have had a really hard time alone, but now we… Did they say there are Centaurs there?”

“They did.”

“We’ll have to fight them too, right?”

“We’ll have to, but don’t be scared. We fought well against a snake monster the size of a house, so why be afraid of a horse monster? You know Centaurs have a lower Challenge Rating than Basilisks.”

At Seo Yun’s words, Seong Juri muttered.

“Really? I’m such a piece of shit that everything seems scary to me.”

Damn, it seems she’s still holding onto what I teased her about yesterday.

Seo Yun cautiously asked.

“Are you upset?”

Seong Juri nodded.

“Anyway, a piece of shit is narrow-minded even inside, huh? My noble Spirit 9 endures it.”

Seo Yun was in the middle of trying to soothe her.

It wasn’t just the two of them on the two-and-a-half-ton truck. One of the soldiers riding with them snapped.

“You guys on a picnic or something?”

As Seong Juri flinched, Seo Yun was about to apologize, saying sorry.

Another soldier took up the words.

“Leave them alone, you bastard. I feel so sorry for the little kids being dragged along, why are you picking on them?”

A soldier next to him also chimed in.

“Anyway, don’t take your anger out on them, man. My nerves are shot to hell, but hearing the kids’ voices helps me relax a bit and feels good.”

Then that soldier grinned at Seo Yun.

Seo Yun also recognized that soldier. That guy acting friendly now was someone Seo Yun had looked after, cutting him some slack at the Medical Corps. Perhaps grateful for that, he’d said he’d look out for her from now on, and it seems he’s keeping that promise.

Seo Yun gave a slight bow towards the soldiers, then quietly observed the surroundings.

The two-and-a-half-ton was passing through Seoul.

Unlike Incheon, where most buildings had collapsed, many buildings in Seoul were still standing. Were there so many buildings that even the Gutworms couldn’t destroy them all?

According to what Seo Yun had heard, those remaining buildings served as a kind of fortress.

Concrete buildings, as they should be, are sturdy enough not to collapse easily even under bombardment. They themselves can serve as defensive walls.

Some cities in Korea, including Ilsan, had built their buildings specifically in preparation for North Korean invasion. And now, those same cities were being used to block the armies of monsters, not North Korea.

A point densely packed with large and small villas came into view.

Half of those villas had collapsed, but half were still standing. The military, passing through, couldn’t ignore those densely packed buildings.

There was exactly one large road between those buildings.

The Dawn Corps’ defensive line was right there. Where vehicles would have originally driven, tents were now set up, revealing it as a military encampment.

The two-and-a-half-ton stopped there. Soldiers from the encampment approached. One of them spoke quickly.

“The Priest… I heard a Priest was on board. Who is it?”

Seo Yun raised her hand.

“Me.”

The soldier seemed a little surprised upon seeing Seo Yun’s face, but only for a moment. As if there was no time to stand around admiring, he immediately said what he had to say.

“Follow me, quickly…”

There was no chance to ask what was going on. Seo Yun and Seong Juri followed the soldier at a brisk pace.

At the center of the encampment stood a tent. Seo Yun entered it.

It seemed to be a Medical Corps tent.

The moment she saw the injured lying in the tent, Seo Yun slightly revised her assessment of the Division Commander’s character. She had thought sending her here was a retaliatory measure, but perhaps he had sent her here because there was a real need.

‘Of course, it could be both…’

More than anything, right before her eyes was a scene desperately in need of a Priest’s Miracle.

Half-corpses were scattered here and there in the tent. Everyone seemed to be in serious condition. There were several people whom it was unclear how they intended to save, given the poor facilities here.

The patients at the previous Medical Corps were also not in good condition, but compared to these injured here, they might as well have been faking it.

There were even injured who were still bleeding severely despite being bandaged.

Seo Yun hurriedly knelt before them. She prayed with her eyes open.

Just as healing light spread over the patient’s body, Seo Yun turned her head at the sensation of someone grabbing her wrist.

“Hey, you.”The face of a middle-aged woman who appeared to be around fifty came into view.

Judging by the colonel insignia on her chest, she seemed to be a Nursing Officer. She spoke.

“Don’t act on your own; follow instructions.”

“Yes.”

It seemed she had no time to scold us. The Nursing Officer quickly asked.

“You’re a Level 2 Priest, right? Can only use low-level healing?”

“Yes.”

“Cast low-level healing on that guy.”

Seo Yun did as instructed. The complexion of the soldier who received the healing spell improved slightly. His rough, ragged breathing also became somewhat calmer.

Still, his physical condition looked serious. It seemed he needed more healing spells, but the Nursing Officer immediately instructed to heal the next person.

“Cast a spell on the guy next to him too.”

It was a cold but rational instruction. There was no time to heal each person properly. There were several injured who looked like they could die at any moment.

Was it that in the rear Medical Corps, they couldn’t focus on healing one person too quickly for fear he would immediately return to the battlefield? Here, they had to do this to keep as many people alive as possible.

Another one. She healed a soldier who looked like he might stop breathing any second. Only then, perhaps relieved, the healed soldier muttered.

“Thank you…”

Seo Yun nodded and gave a slight smile. There was nothing more she could do besides smiling. She had already used all her spells.

When Seo Yun reported that fact, the Nursing Officer pulled something out of a drawer and handed it over.

Seo Yun looked; it was a medicine packet. Handing it to Seo Yun, the Nursing Officer said.

“This is a sleep inducer, so take it quickly and sleep.”

It was an abrupt instruction.

“A sleep inducer?”

“Spellcasters need to sleep and wake up for spell reuse, right? Take this and sleep over there.”

Where the Nursing Officer pointed, a man who looked perfectly fine was sleeping soundly. He seemed to be the priest of this Medical Corps. It appeared they made the priest cast spells, sleep, and repeat.

Seo Yun looked at the powder wrapped in paper and said.

“I probably won’t be able to sleep even if I take this.”

The Nursing Officer frowned.

“Why, have you taken it a lot recently and built up a tolerance?”

“No. My Health is 11 points. Drugs and such don’t work on me.”

The Nursing Officer, who had seemed almost emotionless, now looked slightly flustered.

“Health 11 points?”

“Yes. Instead, even without sleeping, my spells recharge after three or four hours. It should be in the Rulebook.”

“Well, I’m not a Player, so I don’t really know. Anyway… you’re saying your spells recharge like this anyway?”

“Yes.”

“Then help me a bit.”

What she meant by help was clear without explanation.

The Nursing Officer probably used to be a doctor or nurse in the past. She cared for the soldiers with old-era medicine, not the power of spells.

With practiced skill, she extracted bullets from soldiers’ wounds, bandaged them, and gave injections.

It seemed they couldn’t afford luxuries like using disposable syringes. A single syringe must have been reused hundreds of times; the injected soldier groaned in pain, but the Nursing Officer paid no mind. She did her job impassively.

Seo Yun also discreetly assisted her work.

How much time had passed? The work was finally finished. Only then did the Nursing Officer look at Seo Yun.

“You’re good at this? I kept asking the Division Commander to train some medics, but he wouldn’t listen. I wonder where they brought you from.”

“I was captured.”

“Is that so? Then I wish they’d capture just one more.”

Seo Yun was so astonished she stared at the Nursing Officer. This middle-aged woman said that even after hearing a young girl had been dragged into the army.

Was she a sociopath like she’d only heard about? Or perhaps after three years of seeing such scenes, she’d stopped caring about minor ethics. Either way, it was clearly not normal.

Even while giving what passed for praise, her face looked indifferent.

“Um…”

Seong Juri approached. Seeing the work was done, she cautiously spoke up.

“If the work is finished, can we go out with her for a bit? I heard there’s someone from our village here. We need to meet them…”

The Nursing Officer nodded. It seemed less like she was accommodating them and more like she couldn’t be bothered to argue.

“Do as you like.”

Seo Yun followed Seong Juri out of the Medical Corps tent.

The two crossed the encampment. Their faces and builds seemed to stand out. The gazes of passing soldiers all turned toward them.

Their stares were so burdensome they couldn’t muster the courage to ask for directions.

So the two quietly searched for Kim Ak, and surprisingly, found him quickly.

“Ah, over there.”

A group wearing plate armor was visible.

They were Players. As they headed that way, a familiar face appeared. Seong Juri called out to that person in a bright voice for the first time in a while.

“Team Leader!”

Kim Ak, seeing them, opened his eyes wide.

“Why are you guys here?”

Seo Yun smiled.

“It just happened. Have you been well?”

“Been well…?”

The three were exchanging somewhat awkward small talk when a voice cut in from the side.

“Are you guys the new recruits?”

Seo Yun turned her head and saw an unfamiliar face. Tall, with a grimy face, wearing plate armor—he seemed to be a Warrior Player.

He stared intently at Seo Yun’s face. Without breaking his gaze, he muttered.

“Runts… But you are Players, right? Seeing you wearing armor, I guess you are.”

Seo Yun frowned. She didn’t like the expressions “bitch” and “runts.”

“We’re new here and yes, we’re Players. Why?”

The man looked at Seo Yun and nodded.

“Right, Players, you say… What’s your Level?”

“2.”

Just as she answered, the man suddenly glared.

“Then who said you could speak informally?”

“Why, aren’t you a captured guy too?”

She wondered if he was a soldier in armor, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

The man didn’t introduce himself as a soldier or officer. He introduced himself like this.

“I’m Level 4.”

“So?”

“I’m higher level than you. I’m your Senior, damn it…”

For a moment, Seo Yun thought. What is this crazy guy talking about?