Chapter 25

[I have a question, if the Rank is the problem, can’t you just close and reopen the Gallery?]

ㄴ[You fool, the Rank is like a water bottle. And the Gallery, in comparison, is the hole.]

ㄴ[If you’ve poked a hole, you obviously can’t fill water above it, and the contents are bound to leak out. Just because you plug the hole doesn’t mean the contents will immediately fill back up.]

ㄴ[And finally]

ㄴ[Every time you do that shit, the Gallery is bound to get fucked beyond repair, and are you telling me I have to watch it happen with my own eyes and even clean it up? I’d rather die.]

That was the final comment from the registered user, Fuck off, White Magic.

…

-The Rank is going up? No, this is..

-The Rank is recovering..!

The Demon cried out in disbelief.

Now that he understood, there was no time to hesitate.

As if he couldn’t bear to watch his power recover any further, he poured all his strength into a Shockwave and slammed it down.

Bang!

-If you won’t fall into the Nightmare, then just die!

Unlike before, a pure physical force struck hard.

Thick dust billowed upward.

“Cough, normally, it’s proper manners not to attack during a Transformation, but I guess you wouldn’t know that.”

I coughed once as I breathed in the dust.

“And if you think a Healer doesn’t know how to use a single Barrier, you’re mistaken.”

The Demon’s eyes flew wide open at the sight of me enduring the attack so calmly.

-..I should have realized it when you withstood the Nightmare.

“It seems you’re not even bothering with polite speech anymore. You should use it casually like I do, then it’ll become second nature.”

At my reaction, the Demon shut his mouth as if at a loss for words.

After a moment of silence, the Demon spoke first.

-Didn’t I ask earlier if we could call it a draw?

-Fine, let’s call it a draw. Let’s each go our own way.

-It seems neither of us can land a decisive blow anyway.

“Hm, that’s fine by me.”

There was no reason to refuse.

As I readily nodded at the Demon’s offer, he smiled pleasantly as if he’d expected as much.

-Just as I thought, you’re a Priest who speaks reason!

“But even if I’m fine with it, I’m not sure the Saintess feels the same.”

-..?

The moment the Demon tried to ask back in confusion.

A scorching heat blazed down.

The heat I’d dismissed as the sun typical of a seaside was steadily rising.

It was heat emanating from none other than a single person.

The Demon recoiled in terror at the blinding light and searing heat, shouting.

-You bastard!

-You woke the Saintess?!

At the Demon’s shock, I shrugged nonchalantly.

“What are you talking about? Healing people is my duty.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie.

“And besides, a Healer wouldn’t step to the front lines, right?”

In the first place, among all the skills I possessed, there wasn’t a single one related to attack.

That was the inherent limitation of a Healer Awakener.

“So I have to put forward someone who knows how to fight.”

The moment I finished speaking, a blaze engulfed the Demon.

-Damn it!

The Demon, his entire body singed, escaped from the flames.

Even considering the difference in compatibility, it was because the Demon’s Rank was superior.

But the Saintess’s assault didn’t end with a single strike.

-Why the hell won’t you fall into the Nightmare?!

Of course, the Demon wasn’t just standing there burning.

He fired off wave after wave to try to put the Saintess back to sleep.

However, the Saintess, as if nothing was wrong anymore, ignored the mental attacks and relentlessly pressed the Demon.

-You bastard!

The reason for the Saintess’s mental barrier, which had been pathetic compared to her high Rank, becoming so sturdy was obvious.

-Priest of Flowers!

The Demon’s words couldn’t continue.

The Sun had struck him down.

‘My power was too low to grant any other buffs, but I guess I didn’t need to worry.’

A moment later, a form reduced to charcoal emerged from the flames.

The Demon, burned by the Sun, was plummeting straight down.

-..I should have just accepted your offer from the start.

-..Truly, one can never predict even an inch of what lies ahead in this world.

Those were the last words the Demon spat out before it hurtled into the ground.

Thud.

At last, the Demon had crashed down.

And as I approached to confirm the Demon’s end, I couldn’t help but be overtaken by a strange feeling.

‘This Demon was carried by his gear.’

When I pried the black Mana Stone from its grasp, the energy emanating from the dead Demon was only a mere B Rank.

‘..So destroying the Mana Stone from the start was a mistake.’

If I’d searched carefully and found the Demon first, I wouldn’t have had to struggle so much.

Thinking about it, I couldn’t help the feeling of deflation washing over me.

“Priest Flawi.”

I turned my head at the voice from behind.

It was the Saintess, staggering toward me, the very one who had burned the Demon with her own hands moments ago.

“Thanks to you, I’m alive.”

“No, it’s the opposite. It’s because the Saintess slew the Demon that I’m alive.”

But the Saintess’s complexion, even as she expressed her gratitude, wasn’t all that great.

I had experienced it briefly myself, but it was because she had been trapped in a vicious Nightmare.

I wished I could at least help clear her mind, but unfortunately, I had no strength left to spare.

I had used it all to wake the Saintess and erect a mental barrier.

All I could do was offer words of comfort.

“..May I ask you one thing?”

The Saintess hesitated, biting her lip, before asking.

“Priest Flawi, what kind of Nightmare did you have?”

“…”

“How were you able to wake up so quickly?”

At the Saintess’s earnest question, I let out a troubled sigh.

“That’s something I can’t tell you. It wouldn’t be difficult to say, but honestly, it turns my stomach.”

“Ah..“

At my clear refusal, the Saintess’s head drooped.

But I couldn’t help it either.

‘Honestly, how could I possibly say this out loud?’

The Nightmare I’d had was about the time I was trapped in the Tower.

More specifically, it was the memory of cutting off a comrade’s arm and eating it to survive.

Of course, it was at the comrade’s request, and I regenerated it with Heal every time I cut, but that didn’t change how nauseating the situation had been.

It was the same reason I hadn’t even told the Goddess.

The Saintess apologized briefly, as if she’d overstepped.

“I’m sorry. ..For making you recall a bad memory.”

“It’s truly fine.”

As I’d told the Demon, it was something I’d been properly treated for at Psychiatry and was over with.

“..Still, if I had to offer advice, in my case, the harder I tried to force myself to forget, the more vivid it became.”

She quietly listened to my words.

“Just as you stop noticing a flower’s scent after smelling it often, sometimes you have to face things head-on for them to dull.”

The Saintess seemed lost in thought for a moment.

“Then I’ll rest for a bit. I’m sorry, but I really don’t have any strength left.”

And there was still one thing I needed to confirm.

After the Saintess had turned away to wake the fallen companions, I picked up the black Mana Stone and made my way to the site of the Orc village.

‘I had a hunch, and sure enough, it’s reacting.’

The black Mana Stone soon began to react with the Totem in the village.

Before long, a familiar message appeared before my eyes.

-You have recovered the original piece of the 60th Floor.

-The 60th Floor of the Tower will be restored.

-Rewards will be distributed to all participants in the conquest according to their Contribution Level.

-Based on your conquest Contribution Level, you acquire large Experience Points proportionate to your Level.

-A special reward will be granted based on your conquest Contribution Level.

-You have acquired 4 Contribution Level points.

Adding the points I earned this time, that made 5.

Fifteen points remained until I could earn a ticket to the Tower.

I still couldn’t be certain, but I was slowly starting to see a way back.

‘..Though I can’t say I really want to go back badly enough to go through all this hardship.’

…

Those who had been trapped in the Nightmare, flailing about, also came to their senses one by one.

And not long after, the Dungeon slowly collapsed.

It was because I had destroyed the Mana Stone to prevent the same thing from happening again.

But it wasn’t as if everything was over.

[The universe went out for a moment, no, a fucking long time]

[●▅▇█▇▆▅▄▇Everyone get down!]

[Mommy I was so scared Mommy I was so scared Mommy I was so..]

[I’m giving away all the Goblin porn I’ve collected!!!]

[♿♿♿Ah + Ja❗ + Ja❗ + Ja❗ + Ja❗ + Ja❗]

[●▅▇█▇▆▅▄▇]

[●▅▇█▇▆▅▄▇Main Admin, you better explain yourself right now!]

[If you don’t explain yourself, I’ll shit my pants]

“…”

I couldn’t bring myself to speak, faced with the karma I had to settle.

The Gallery had been restored, but public sentiment could not be.

‘There are too many dissatisfied users to resort to the stick.’

If I tried to suppress them, the resistance wouldn’t be easy.

In the end, it was time to offer a carrot instead of a stick.

Title: A new feature has been introduced to the Gallery.

Author: yea(123.123)

New Gallery Feature: Communication has been activated.

We hope you use it often.

[The new feature is… colmaommunicationlmao lmao]

[You think you can bribe us with such a pathetic feature?!]

[To think you’d treat me as a rice shit-eater satisfied with such shabby feed, I’m disappointed, Main Admin]

[A Main Admin who’s lost the public’s heart, thumbs up, I’ll start]

Just as I thought it might be a bit too weak to turn the situation around.

The atmosphere quickly reversed.

[This latest god-tier feature, what the hell is it]

[Lollol lmao this is just a live streaming feature]

[Praise the Main Admin]

[For this much, we should just consider it a brief maintenance, lol]

[It was too good a feature to scold him for..]