The Healing Solaris Cleric-Chapter 355: Preparation (1)

Helik and Rashya’s admission process progressed swiftly. There was no reason for it to go slowly, since Kai—the academy's chairman—had stepped in as both sponsor and guardian in the first place.

Kai looked at the two pairs of eyes full of anticipation and said, “Then, study hard while I go beat up those bad Church of Muldine guys.”

“Make it a hundred hits.”

“Give them a hundred more for me too.”

“Haha, got it, got it.” Kai patted the heads of the two girls who especially hated the Church of Muldine, and turned his head. “Prescott, I leave them in your hands.”

“Do not worry, my lord.” Even though he wore a suit, Prescott looked as if he were dressed in a butler’s uniform as he bowed politely, touching his mustache with grace. “Now, ladies, please follow me this way.”

“Bye bye.” Kai bid farewell.

“You too, bye-bye!”

“Go safely!”

Was this what it felt like to enroll one’s daughter in school? Just thinking about those tiny girls having to adjust to the little world that was the academy made his chest tighten.

“Well, it was what they wanted.”

Shrugging, Kai used Shadow Shift to head to the main church of the Church of the Solaris.

He immediately sought out a job class NPC, who greeted him warmly. “Welcome, Commander of the Holy Blood Order. Have you come to learn new powers?”

The tone was far more courteous than before. That was likely because the prestige of the Holy Blood Order had been growing by the day.

Kai nodded. “Yes. Please show me the skill list.”

“Of course. Here you go.”

A list of skills available for learning appeared before his eyes.

“Hmm.”

Kai’s current level was 524. Unfortunately, there weren’t many skills he could learn as an ordinary Cleric.

Because I haven’t done any second or third class advancements.

Swallowing his disappointment, Kai turned his gaze to the skill window exclusive to the Solaris Cleric.

“Huh?”

But there were some surprisingly interesting skills that caught his eye.

[Exclusive Support Skills for Solaris Clerics - 6 skills available for awakening, 3 skills available for activation]

[Exclusive Holy Magic Skills for Solaris Clerics - 3 skills available for awakening, 2 skills available for activation]

In the past, only the phrase ‘available for activation’ would appear whenever he could learn a new skill.

But... awakening?

Kai first skimmed through the list of support skills.

- Awakenable Skill List -

[Solaris Blessing] [Solaris Armor]

[Supernova] [Holy Chain]

[Haste] [Bless]

When he clicked the question mark next to Awakenable, a friendly explanation popped up.

[When awakened, you can fully draw out the true power of the skill. Awakened skills cannot be enhanced through Upgrade skill.]

I see.

In other words, it was a permanent upgrade.

Huge win.

If he could gain this much merit by spending his overflowing wealth, it would be stranger not to do it. Honestly speaking, the cost was a little expensive though.

A hundred thousand won to awaken a single skill...

But Kai, without hesitation, awakened all six of his support skills.

[Supernova has changed to Holy Frenzy.]

Some skills had their names changed, and some stayed the same. When he quickly checked the effects, a satisfied smile naturally formed.

The effects have almost doubled.

Solaris Blessing and Solaris Armor were skills that boosted Kai’s stats in proportion to his own abilities. In other words, the higher his level and stats, the greater the boost he received. However, the effects of the skills had improved even further through this awakening, and there was no need to even mention skills like Haste, Holy Frenzy, and Bless.

With this, I might even be able to take on Artroc.

After a brief silence, Kai checked the list of new skills he could now learn.

- Activatable Skills List -

[Land of Healing]

[Divine Absorption]

[Noble Shield]

Land of Healing designates a wide area that continuously restores HP and Stamina. Seems like an upgraded version of the Spring of Restoration. Divine Absorption deals holy damage to the enemy and converts the damage into healing... basically a drain skill. And Noble Shield is... just a wide-area barrier.

Having understood them, Kai tapped twice to learn the skills.

[You have learned the Land of Healing skill.]

[You have learned the Divine Absorption skill.]

[You have learned the Noble Shield skill.]

He then moved on to check the Holy Magic skill category.

- Awakenable Skill List -

[Holy Explosion]

[Wrath of the Sun]

[Chasing Light Arrow]

- Activatable Skills List -

[Guillotine]

[Point Explosion]

Not bad.

Just as before, he strengthened all the existing skills.

[Holy Explosion has changed to Solar Photon Cannon.]

[Wrath of the Sun has changed to Divine Wrath.]

[Chasing Light Arrow has changed to Four Spears.]

This time, the names of all three skills changed. Their effects had obviously improved, but since they were offensive skills, he would have to test them out to fully know..

Guillotine... if you strike an enemy whose HP is below 30%, there’s a 30% chance of instant death?

It was the appearance of an instant execution skill, and with a fairly high chance of activation, plus realistically achievable conditions. Kai barely suppressed the smile twitching at the corner of his mouth and looked at the Point Explosion skill.

“Hm.”

Like most attack skills, its description was a bit vague.

When you deal damage by thrusting, it triggers an explosion of holy power...

He would also have to try it out in combat to fully understand.

Diligently tapping through the hologram windows, Kai learned all the new skills.

“Oh, congratulations! Commander of the Holy Blood Order, you’ve taken another step forward.”

“All must be by the will of Helik.”

“Of course. There's no doubt that they hold great affection for you, Commander.”

Well, he’s not wrong.

Leaving behind the job class NPC, Kai headed toward the residence of the Holy Blood Order. He had heard from Albert that the order, which had been busy accomplishing feats all across the continent, had returned to the headquarters to rest.

The training ground came into view first, where some members were sparring and honing their skills. Elsewhere, some were sitting on stairs playing instruments, reading books, or even napping. They all seemed very relaxed.

It seems they’ve been doing well.

Though he had done little for them as their commander, seeing how well they were doing on their own made Kai’s nose sting with emotion.

Just then, one of the members spotted Kai standing and shouted with widened eyes, “Huh? Commander...?”

“Hm? What did you say?”

“The Commander’s here?”

All eyes instantly turned to Kai. Some even rushed inside to wake others who were still in their quarters.

“Oh, no need to call everyone together...”

Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, Kai walked slowly toward the training grounds, all while being showered with gazes of admiration and reverence.

“I heard he wiped out tens of thousands from the Church of Muldine in the recent northern reclamation battle, all on his own.”

“T-tens of thousands...?”

“That’s our Commander. His scale’s just on another level.”

“His prayers have gotten way more stable too. He must’ve reached some kind of enlightenment.”

The Holy Blood Order was currently the strongest military force within the Solarian Church. Naturally, each member was highly capable and could tell Kai had grown stronger than before. But as they looked at him, Kai also looked at them.

Teferen Lv. 375

Saladin Lv. 381

Dutaros Lv. 369

Jafa Lv. 365

.

.

.

The average level of the members was around 370. Of course, that average also included the members of the Pray guild.

The Pray guild has grown a lot too. Maybe it’s because they’ve been traveling with the Holy Blood Order.

In fact, Pray and Black Market had always been regarded as lacking in combat power among the world guilds. Pray was composed primarily of Clerics and Paladins, while Black Market was focused on production classes. Thus, Kai slightly smiled, feeling pleased.

Once the world sees the Pray guild’s real strength, they’ll be shocked. No one will call them weak again.

Once all the members gathered, Kai slowly began to speak, “You’ve all grown so strong, far beyond comparison to how you were before. At this rate, I might lose my position as commander.”

“Hahaha, as if that would happen!”

“Out of respect for our bond with you, Commander, we’ll refrain from staging a rebellion!”

Laughter burst out here and there at Kai’s joke. As the atmosphere relaxed, Kai smiled and met each member’s eyes.

“Thank you all.” His voice was filled with sincerity. “Even when I was absent and barely fulfilling my role as commander, you continued bringing me good news. It’s thanks to all of you holding things down that I can move around freely.”

The members lowered their heads and slightly began to tremble. They were the ones who had pledged their loyalty after being captivated by Kai’s strength and character the day they first met him. Knights regarded recognition from someone they respected as the highest form of praise, and this wasn’t mere recognition—this was a heartfelt expression of gratitude. It felt as though all the hardships and efforts they had endured were finally being rewarded.

“N-no, sir!”

“If not for you, Commander, none of us would be here.”

“And every time we hear one of your unbelievable adventure stories, it motivates us even more.”

“Please keep leading us from the front. We’ll do our best to keep up.”

Their passionate and wholehearted response moved even Kai’s heart. “You guys...”

Minerva, who had been standing in line, fanned her face with her hand as she blinked back tears. “U-ugh, men...”

Watching her strangely, Pray’s vice-master, Razley, let out a small laugh. “Master, you’re honestly touched, aren’t you?”

“What are you saying? I’m a grown woman, I don’t get... moved by stuff like this...”

Contrary to her words, her fanning only got faster.

***

Before leaving the Church of Solaris’ main church, Kai upgraded all the Holy Blood Order’s gear. Equipping all 300 members with top-tier gear cost about 2 billion gold, but not a single coin felt wasted.

They’ll be my greatest strength when I need it most.

These were people who needed to survive and grow stronger.

Feeling lighthearted, Kai strolled over to the capital’s auction house.

The Church of Muldine’s base in the Dark Zone might be massive. I need to prepare thoroughly.

As soon as he entered, a staff member who recognized his face immediately called the branch manager.

“Welcome, Mr. Kai!” The branch manager came running with a ninety-degree bow, recognizing one of the auction house’s biggest spenders. “Please, let me escort you inside.”

Now used to such treatment, Kai entered the VVIP room and sipped juice.

“Will today’s business be selling or buying?”

“Both.”

“Ah, then would you please place the items for sale in this basket?”

Kai looked at the large basket offered by the manager, then shook his head. “Sorry, but that won’t be enough.”

“Oh... shall I bring out a few more baskets?”

As the branch manager hesitantly stood up, Kai shook his head again.

“No, rather... is there an empty room available instead?”

“A room?”

“Yes. Preferably a fairly large one.”

The reason he needed a room was simple. Because today, the items he intended to sell and buy were none other than the armaments of the dullahan army.

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