Wizard: I Add Points and Hunt Monsters

Two Rune Arrays, one above and one below, caught the Holy Professionals in a pincer attack.

From the Array at their feet, a deep, dark vortex swirled into existence. As black mist spread, countless withered arms shot out, grabbing at their ankles.

These Holy Professionals did not panic, swinging their one-handed swords to hack at the arms and occasionally smashing down with their shields.

Under their attacks, imbued with the Power of Dawn Faith, the withered arms were severed and destroyed. But they were replaced by even more twisted arms that appeared amidst miserable, desperate wails, seemingly endless.

Meanwhile, dark clouds gathered above the sailboat, slowly swirling under the Array’s influence. A giant skeletal hand emerged from the clouds.

”Oh? Annoying bugs from the Dawn Church?” a cold, sinister voice echoed from the clouds. ”Looks like you’re in big trouble, Little Mage of the Specters. Well... consider this one a freebie!”

As the voice faded, another hand shot out, moving with incredible speed. Its eight bony fingers stabbed down toward the Holy Professionals!

”Pavla!!”

The Judgment Knight attacking Wei’en saw the bones in the sky, and his expression flickered. ”It’s a legendary-grade Undead Creature!!”

He abandoned his pursuit of Wei’en and blinked above the Holy Professionals. Raising his Two-Handed Greatsword high, an astonishing aura gathered around him as he fixed his gaze on the bony fingers descending from the sky.

”Sanctify!”

Priestess Pavla also fixed her gaze on the bony fingers, her expression growing more devout. Her clasped hands parted, and she slowly opened her arms as if to welcome something.

The statue of the Lord of Dawn nearby began to glow, shimmering with a white light streaked with gold. She absorbed this radiance, then projected it through her wings onto the golden sword of light behind her.

The sword of light flared, erupting with a dazzling brilliance that formed a protective canopy above them.

”Holy Judgment!”

Huberto slashed out with his sword as well.

BOOM!

The bony fingers crashed down but were blocked by both Huberto’s greatsword and the golden sword of light. The violent impact generated a storm that sent the Holy Professionals stumbling back.

[You have used the Necromancer’s Claw (Death God) Magic, injuring Stefano Abudureyimu. Evaluation: Oh? A rather brilliant response... Special Reward: Survival Points +10, Spirit Level +1, Resilience Level +1.]

[...]

But the momentum of the King of Skeletons’ fingers was spent, and it had no choice but to retract them. ”CLICK. Annoying bugs.”

As the pair of giant skeletal hands retracted, the dark clouds in the sky slowly dissipated. The sun reemerged, casting its dim, yellow light upon the white sailboat.

A mast, unable to withstand the earlier impact, snapped with a CRACK. It toppled over, falling into the Deep Sea and stirring the startled aberrations below into a frenzy.

Wei’en seized the opportunity to leap from the ship, escaping the area of Element suppression. He used a Blink Spell to return to the slowly sinking Ronan, frowning as he watched the Holy Professionals.

He hadn’t expected to be taken so seriously by the Judgment Knight. His Element Magic was useless, and his trump card, the Corpse Explosion Skill, was being heavily monitored.

As for his other abilities, they were almost completely ineffective against the Holy Professionals of the Dawn Church...

Damn it!

Wei’en was in a real bind!

”Give up. You cannot escape, heretic!”

Huberto retracted his greatsword, his golden eyes locked on Wei’en. As a Judgment Knight of the Dawn Church, he couldn’t believe that even with such thorough preparations, he had failed to instantly kill the heretic.

Not only that, but if he hadn’t intervened in time, the Holy Professionals on the ship would have suffered casualties from that terrifying, legendary-grade Undead Creature’s attack.

And at that point... if Wei’en had seized the opportunity to use that terrifying Corpse Explosion Skill...

Huberto’s wariness of Wei’en deepened.

’For a Wizard who’s at most Governor-rank to have this kind of power... it’s terrifying!’

’Specters...’

At this thought, the Judgment Knight took a deep breath, his gaze sharpening. ”Pavla, empower me!”

”Hm?”

A solemn look flickered across Pavla’s face. ”My lord, are you sure? If we use that and fail to capture him, and he uses that forbidden item again, then we’ll be...”

”Do as I say!”

”Yes, Lord of Judgment!”

’Hm?’

Hearing their conversation, Wei’en grew wary. ’It seems this Judgment Knight has already figured out my strategy.’

After realizing the disparity in strength between himself and Huberto, Wei’en had planned to use the other Holy Professionals to keep the Judgment Knight occupied.

’According to my plan, if everything had gone smoothly, I could have used my sniper rifle and Blink Spell to whittle down the Holy Professionals one by one, luring Huberto into a field of corpses. And then—Corpse Explosion Skill, BOOM!’

’A pity...’

With this thought, Wei’en calmly took a silver Harmonica from his Space Ring. ’Looks like I have to rely on the power of a forbidden item in the end.’

”A new forbidden item?!”

The moment Huberto saw the Harmonica, he sensed the strange fluctuations of power emanating from it. ”It’s not the clown mask from before... You, where did you find so many of these...”

’Add to that the resurrecting coffin that caused such a stir in the Caster City State... Three forbidden items...’

Wei’en ignored the Judgment Knight’s question and brought the Harmonica straight to his lips.

”Woooo...”

A clear, crisp note from the instrument floated out, sliding into everyone’s ears.

’Hm?’

’What’s going on?’

Wei’en faltered. This wasn’t the forbidden item’s effect activating. Instead, as he played, an inexplicable sense of familiarity washed over him.

’It was as if this body had played the Harmonica often...’