Chapter 944

“My aide once told me, your ability is one that will be of immense help to the world. This is only the beginning.”

The calm, composed light in Marin’s eyes wavered for a moment.

“He... said that about me?”

As she pressed her lips shut, unsure what more to say, Kishiar continued his words in a tranquil tone.

“Until now, there hasn’t been a single case where his evaluation of an Awakener’s ability was wrong. Let’s see together today how these trees, which have brought joy to the people of the South simply by existing, can help.”

In the game that she would never remember, Marin hadn’t created joyful trees—but a red field filled with toxic thorns no one could enter. The red wasteland that covered the South lingered for a long time as a grim, bitter sight, evoking memories of bloodstained hatred.

But now. The forests that Marin raised with all her strength over several days—repeatedly collapsing from exhaustion—alongside members who wielded water and earth powers, now stood vibrant and sturdy in the locations Yuder had designated.

“......”

“Then, please continue to watch over this place.”

Marin responded with a silent Cavalry-style salute. Kishiar left the forest she had created and headed toward another location.

The merchants’ associations and nobles, who had behaved themselves ever since Yuder’s harsh reprimand, reluctantly provided shelters. The people being looked after there were under the supervision of House Hern’s private soldiers and stewards. Thanks to their disciplined conduct, the evacuees, though visibly anxious, appeared relatively calm and at ease. The prior recommendation that they prepare to evacuate at any time—just in case another day like the hailstorm struck—had likely influenced this well-ordered behavior.

Soldiers from the Southern Army, dispatched by General Gino, moved busily through the streets. With disciplined movements, they erected protective tents around structures deemed dangerous.

The temple priests, who had been harshly criticized for fleeing during the hailstorm, weren’t able to escape this time. They had been dragged out and gathered at a few temples on higher ground, where temporary clinics were now being set up. Leading them was none other than Galoam, the priest who had helped people selflessly before. She was busily preparing holy water, medicine, and bandages alongside Cavalry members assigned to protect the priests. When she noticed Kishiar, she was startled—but instead of reacting with fuss, she offered a short bow. Her serious disposition was clear in that simple gesture.

‘Despite being connected to First Princess Mayra, it’s surprising—and a waste—that such talent has spent so long nameless in some southern corner. If this all ends well, I should ask her to take over the Southern branch’s medical division.’

Priests who neither feared nor deified Awakeners were rare. To be honest, they were even harder to find than those with high divine power. That was why, even now, the capital’s medical division had yet to recruit anyone other than Lusan.

But that couldn’t continue forever. Once the second round of Cavalry recruits was complete, Kishiar planned to establish medical divisions in each branch and begin recruiting.

While Kishiar made his rounds, a large shadow circled high above. It was not a bird, but a winged man: Elpokin. Rescued from an illegal fighting arena and given a new life, Elpokin had since trained enough to fly for long periods. And today, he was using his ability to the fullest, surveying the situation and reporting from above.

The higher he flew, the farther he could see—but it was equally dangerous. From the ground, he now looked no larger than a fingernail. That meant he was flying at a height nearly equal to a small mountain.

When Kishiar raised his hand to shield his eyes and looked up, Elpokin, sensing the gaze, shifted direction and drew a circle in the air. That meant there were no unusual signs in the area currently within his view. As a human, he surely wasn’t without fear, but the way he flew through the sky looked utterly free.

“Well now, if it isn’t the lord himself.”

At the outskirts of Sharloin—an especially low-lying region connecting to other areas—a familiar voice greeted Kishiar. It was Helrem, clad in her usual mage’s robe and holding a staff. Beside her stood a weary-looking Alik.

“Ah... greetings, sir...”

Kishiar turned his head to observe the people hard at work around them, compacting soil and making preparations. They were the same Sapphire Mage Union members who had once diligently investigated magical flow changes due to rift traces near the Southern Cavalry branch. Since meeting Helrem in the South, they’d been pushed harder than even during their training days—their eyes looked more drained than fish on a vendor’s cart. They were so exhausted that none seemed surprised even at the sudden appearance of Duke Palletta.

A man who rarely went unnoticed in public due to his striking presence, Kishiar smiled and spoke.

“Looks like things are going well.”

“Yessir. We’ve been working hard to avoid the disgrace of mana depletion like last time. I’m more worried that these youngsters seem weaker than this old woman—but we’ll manage somehow.”

The society of mages was narrow, closed, and strictly hierarchical. The Sapphire Union mages, who acted fearlessly toward Awakeners or ordinary people, didn’t dare put up prideful fronts before Alik, an elite from the Pearl Tower, and Helrem, to whom he bowed like a mentor.

No one knew what kind of person Helrem had been in her past, but the /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ fact that she could wield such remarkable water-element magic at her age, along with the overwhelming knowledge she’d shown during debates with younger mages—and the legendary incident she and Alik handled alone on the day of the hailstorm—all pointed to someone extraordinary.

After the hailstorm, she had suddenly called them together, suggesting they do some good near the Shalama Sea. How could the mages have dared refuse?

Especially since they’d been taking heavy flak from the people of Sharloin for hiding and looking out only for themselves on the hailstorm day. In a sense, they’d ended up here in much the same way as the dragged-out priests now setting up treatment clinics.

What Helrem and Alik had assigned the mages to make were magical devices. Using venom extracted from the long-tailed black-purple Penpen, Helrem had refined the toxin, and Alik had modified a tear gas sprayer into a magical weapon. The result was a device that detected intruders within a certain range and dispersed the poison.

‘Each device only uses about a drop of venom, but underwater, even one drop can have quite a large effect.’

In short, the device was meant to help filter out monsters if the area flooded and something tried to crawl out of the water.

‘Penpen’s poison turns the skin black. It slows movement briefly, and if the monster’s body color changes from the toxin, even stealthy ones will be easier to respond to.’

The one who came up with that idea was, of course, Yuder Aile. He had once been poisoned by that venom in the west, spending a long time with black stains on his skin and eyes. If the incident hadn’t driven the accumulation of research and data on the toxin, this method might never have been developed so quickly.

Additionally, intel from the previous game that the Southern Earthquake monsters were largely stealth-based—and background knowledge of the Shalama Sea—were both invaluable.

Now, the hundreds of magical tools they had crafted were being buried one by one into the ground in the lands facing the sea.

“Then I’ll trust the two of you here and move on. Please continue your work. And even if preparations aren’t finished—if anything seems off with the sea, evacuate immediately.”

“Of course. I’ve lived long enough, but I’ll take good care of the young ones.”

“Oh my, that’s disappointing. Helrem’s life is just as valuable to me, you know. You promised you’d live another fifty years.”

“Good heavens, Lord. Fifty is far too long. I’ve lived more than enough already.”

Helrem chuckled and shook her head—then suddenly turned her gaze toward the sea.

“The tremors have been growing stronger since morning. Yuder’s down there now, isn’t he?”

“He is.”

“You must be worried.”

“...It would be a lie to say I’m not. But he promised to come back soon. So I wait.”

Nathan Zuckerman, his deputy, rarely asked such deep questions due to his serious personality—but Helrem was different. Kishiar, smiling at her frank inquiry, responded easily, and then shot back with a playful question of his own.

“You’re asking me about Yuder’s well-being, Helrem... but doesn’t that mean you’re quite worried too? Or am I wrong?”

“When you get to my age,” she said, “you realize there’s nothing harder—and more rewarding—than watching young gems bloom into their full colors.”