Chapter 555: New Encounter (3)

“Hunter Ham Eunsol, I understand what you’re saying, but you still need to participate in the purification work as scheduled today….”

“I’d like to, but it looks like I can’t today. You know, when you’re active, there are days when your condition isn’t great.”

“That’s also true, but….”

The Guild Union employees wore quite troubled expressions at Ham Eunsol’s brazen attitude.

Judging by her general condition, it seemed that purification-type recovery abilities were the awakened abilities needed for this subjugation event.

And for some reason, this Hunter named Ham Eunsol didn’t seem particularly keen on participating in the integrated management of the abandoned village using her purification abilities.

Maybe she was tired last year because there was too much work when she participated as the purifier, or perhaps she just doesn’t like purification work itself, something like that.

It was something I couldn’t know, as I had never even participated in the abandoned village integrated management event, let alone the purification work, last year.

“Ah~! I’m fine~! My holy power is strong enough on my own~! I’ll work twice as hard as Ham Eunsol-ssi by myself~!”

“…Hmm.”

“What should we do…?”

“If we only have one Saintess-nim participate in the purification work, it could lead to diplomatic issues….”

“But if we don’t purify this time, the number of monsters will increase even more next quarter….”

Even amidst this, the Saintess, true to her role, tried to lighten the mood by saying she’d work harder, while the Guild Union employees were caught in a dilemma, looking quite conflicted.

Judging from their reactions so far, purification work itself seemed to be generally avoided by recovery-type Hunters. Seeing as they mentioned that having only one Saintess-nim participate could even lead to diplomatic issues.

Yet, it was an important task, so it seemed they couldn’t completely skip the purification, leaving them in a difficult position.

Based on the situation so far, I could be reasonably sure of one thing: if I happened to be able to handle the ‘purification’ ability right now, I would definitely be able to work with Saintess Lulusia for the entire day.

…Of course, the problem was that my current awakened abilities didn’t include anything related to purification.

Still, there was a non-zero chance of acquiring purification abilities. Considering my current awakened abilities and the remaining points I had.

『Blessing lv. 3: 0/300』

『Remaining Awakening Points: 1285』

One of the biggest features of my awakened abilities. It’s a system where I obtain a new skill in the same category every time I unlock an existing skill up to level 5.

Among them, Blessing, a recovery-type skill, was currently raised to level 3, and if I raised it just 2 more levels, I could obtain another recovery-type skill.

In addition, I had already secured the 700 awakening points needed to raise it to level 5.

In other words, if I raised Blessing to level 5 now, there was a possibility of obtaining Purification as a new awakened skill.

It wasn’t just about whether it existed or not; the possibility was quite high. Recovery-type awakened abilities tend to have fewer variations compared to others.

…Of course, no matter how high the possibility, there was still a chance of getting other awakened abilities like Pharmacy or Revelation instead of Purification, so trying to raise Blessing to level 5 now to get Purification was essentially a gamble.

Separately from that, the condition attached as a reward was incredibly strong. So strong that it was hard to calculate efficiency or probability.

It made sense, because the reward was the chance to build rapport with the Saintess alone during today’s activities.

Of course, Guild Union staff would naturally be assigned to escort the Saintess-nim, but that was unavoidable.

Besides, Blessing was an awakened ability that I would eventually have to raise to level 5 anyway.

With a ‘go big or go home’ mentality, I boldly spent 700 of my points to raise the level of the Blessing skill.

『Blessing lv. 3 → lv. 5』

『Remaining Awakening Points: 585』

Meanwhile, I desperately prayed in my heart that Purification would appear as the third recovery-type ability, and as soon as Blessing reached level 5, a new recovery-type ability immediately appeared on my skill screen.

『(NEW!) Purification lv. 1: 0/100』

…Well, to be honest, it felt a bit too convenient, flowing exactly as I wanted, which pricked my conscience slightly.

Still, now that I had obtained this new awakened ability, I had to make sure to utilize it properly.

Opportunities to gain points come countless times, but a chance to build rapport with a Saintess-nim like this only comes maybe once a year.

“Excuse me, staff members.”

“Ah, apologies. We kept you waiting because of our meeting…”

“That’s not it. Actually, I can use purification abilities too, which is why I’m saying this.”

“…Yes?”

“If it’s alright, would it be okay for me to participate in the purification work instead of Ham Eunsol-ssi?”

The Guild Union employees suddenly started murmuring at my statement.

Although temporary, seeing the look of relief flash across several faces, it was clear my proposal had been positively received.

“What is your name?”

“I am Sung Taekyung of Eun & Ok Co., Ltd.”

“Ah, Hunter Sung Taekyung. You’re on the list. …However, when you applied, you wrote that you possess recovery and Blessing abilities? And you requested work in the recovery field.”

“That’s correct.”

“There doesn’t seem to be anything written regarding purification, are you really able to use it? Ah, it’s not that I doubt you, Hunter Sung Taekyung, but this is something we need to confirm…”

The Guild Union employee cautiously asked if I could really handle purification abilities, watching my reaction.

Although it was a freshly acquired awakened skill, I was certain I could use it.

To avoid any suspicion, I nodded more firmly and replied.

“You don’t need to worry, I can use it.”

“W-what should we do…?”

“But it would be more problematic if we take him and then he says he can’t use it…”

“If you don’t believe me, you can conduct a simple test. It’s my fault for not writing it down beforehand.”

The Guild Union employees showed a hint of relief upon hearing that a test was possible.

Just allowing them to do what they should have done elicited such a reaction. Recovery-type Hunters really seem to be treated with extreme caution.

Still, perhaps feeling the need to confirm things properly, one of the employees approached me with a determined look.

“In that case, excuse me, but we will now test Hunter Sung Taekyung’s awakened abilities.”

“By all means.”

“…Could you please follow me this way for a moment?”

The Guild Union employee led me to one of the abandoned cars nearby to verify my awakened abilities.

Pointing to a car, abandoned for over a decade, covered in moss and rust, he requested a test of my purification ability.

“Could you use ‘Purification’ on this car here?”

“So I just need to use Purification on this, right?”

“Yes. You don’t need to use it perfectly. Just confirming that even a little purification occurs is enough…”

Before the Guild employee could even finish speaking, I placed my hand on the abandoned car and channeled my holy power.

To prevent being suspected due to mediocre power, I had already raised the level of Purification using my remaining awakening points.

『Purification lv. 3: 0/300』

That made the current level of my Purification 3.

Since I hadn’t used Purification at level 1, I didn’t know the exact power of this awakened ability.

I could only hope it would purify even a little, just as the Guild Union employee had said.

With that thought, I chanted the purification spell towards the car where I channeled my holy power.

The rusted car, after emitting a flash of light due to my holy power, was more than enough to surprise the Guild Union employees.

“……”

“……”

The car, after being touched by my purification ability, had transformed into a state that, while not brand new… was considerably cleaner.

Excluding the wear and tear from time, all traces of rust, mold, or moss had vanished, revealing a car.

Judging by the astonished reactions of the Guild employees, it seemed certain that this purification was indeed what they needed.

“…Do you perhaps need me to show you more?”

“N-no! This is more than enough, Hunter Sung Taekyung!”

“S-so you really are participating in the purification work?! Hunter Sung Taekyung?!”

“Yes. But I didn’t mention purification abilities when I first applied, so if that causes any issues….”

“N-no! We’ll handle the paperwork changes! Hunter, please don’t worry about anything and just focus on participating in the purification work with Saintess Lulusia Belmonte!”

“We are truly grateful for your participation in the purification work!!”

…Just agreeing to participate in purification work doesn’t seem like something that warrants this level of gratitude.

I wondered what kind of grueling task they were planning to assign to elicit such an enthusiastic reaction already.

Although the reaction sparked a strange new sense of unease, I decided to let it go for now.

Regardless of whether the work would be tough or tiring, I had achieved my objective.

“Hello, Sung Taekyung-ssi~! Let’s work hard together today~!”

“Yes, Saintess-nim. Meeting like this is fate, so please take care of me today.”

As long as I could build rapport with the Saintess through this abandoned village integrated management event, it didn’t matter much if the work was tough or tiring.

“Ah~! Please don’t call me stuffy titles like ‘Saintess-nim’, just call me Lulusia~!”

“Understood, Lulusia-ssi. If you wish, Saintess-nim, you can also call me Taekyung-ssi comfortably…”

“Not Lulusia-ssi, it’s Lulusia~! Call me by my name~! Taekyung~!”

“…Yes, Lulusia.”

…It was the moment I got the feeling that this might be tiring in a different way than the hardship of purification work.

My preconceived notion that women from the Foundation were somehow strange was unlikely to be broken anytime soon.