The Evil God Summoned by the Saintess

Letes City is a coastal city.

The main attractions here, besides that towering lighthouse hundreds of meters tall, are the stunning sea views.

When she was clearing the Lost Lighthouse before, there was sea scenery too.

But since she was focused on the challenge, all Hilia saw was the view inside the Lost Lighthouse, and the seascape outside was never pure—thanks to subspace, the distant ocean was blurry and its features undiscernible.

Now that it wasn’t evening yet, Hilia was determined to go check out the seaside, to finally see what the real ocean looked like.

"Except during the Lost Lighthouse quest, I’ve never seen the ocean, you know?"

Dreams don’t count.

Standing atop a massive rock on the famous Lighthouse Beach in Letes City, Hilia gazed at the boundless sea before her, its waters clear and sparkling. All she could see was the horizon where ocean met sky, faintly veiled in white mist.

Rose’s ghostly projection appeared at Hilia’s side, also staring at the far-off ocean.

"Once you cross the continental shelf, you hit the Sea of Tranquility."

Hilia tilted her head, looking over. "Sea of Tranquility?"

Rose nodded. "The Sea of Tranquility got its name from its endlessness. Once you’re out there, apart from the sound of waves, there’s nothing else—and that’s why it’s the Sea of Tranquility. That’s where the Sea God’s treasure is, though I’m not sure if any crews head out in search of it."

Hilia pulled up her wristband and searched the Sea of Tranquility. A moment later, she said, "According to the Star Spirit Network, the Sea of Tranquility is super dangerous. Even ships built to withstand attacks from Tier Six Mages can’t make it through. Looks like it’s always been dangerous—even before the Era of Calamity."

Rose nodded again. "Yeah, the Sea of Tranquility is pretty dangerous. Before Tier Seven, I don’t think you can get there."

"Why would I even go to the Sea of Tranquility?" Hilia blinked.

Rose smiled faintly. "Obviously, to hunt for Sea God Ethel’s treasure. He put his most precious stuff out in the Sea of Tranquility."

"That’s way too far off."

Hilia didn’t take it seriously.

Waves suddenly rolled in, washing over the beach below, filling the air with their sound. The sea breeze brought its uniquely salty scent.

Hilia felt her mood gradually settle, carried by the rhythm of the waves.

Out of nowhere, a twinge of pain struck her forehead. Hilia clutched her head and shot Rose a look. "Mr. Rose, why’d you hit me?"

Rose replied, "You’re an Ice Element user. Don’t try to attune to the ocean’s power."

The Sea God Ethel is basically a lackey at this point—still doing hard labor for me, building the Divine Hall. What’s the point of attuning to his power? Rose thought to himself.

"Okay, fine." Hilia stopped her sensing.

"Aren’t you going to play on the beach below?" Rose asked.

Hilia shook her head. "Nah, I’m worried if I get down there, some sea monster will pop up from the waves."

Hilia still remembered that beautiful dream where she played at the beach with the old Rose—only to have a terrifying sea monster try to attack them.

She didn’t really believe there would be any sea monsters in real life, but just in case, she decided not to risk it.

If there’s no sea monster, great. But if one really does show up... Hilia figured she’d be scarred for life.

She had no interest letting the ocean—that gorgeous sight—get tainted by some shadow in her mind.

So, watching from a distance was just fine.

After staring at the sea beneath the lighthouse for ages, Hilia finally tore herself away with great reluctance.

Before she left, she remembered Pamisha’s habit of taking keepsake photos and decided to record herself with the lighthouse as a memento.

After that, she headed back into Letes City and made her way to the Mage Guild, where she bought a big supply of blank scrolls and material.

The materials cost her 100 Gold Coins and filled two huge bags.

She summoned her Magic Puppet to help carry the materials. Catching her breath, Hilia muttered, "I wonder when I’ll finally get one of those legendary Space Rings."

Rose said, "You can actually buy a Space Ring now. Once you’ve got it, I’ll help you upgrade the storage."

Hilia shook her head. "Nah, nah. The lowest-level Space Rings are like 500 Gold Coins and barely hold 0.1 cubic meters—can only fit a handful of tiny things, and they’re a pain to use. The decent ones all go for thousands of Gold Coins."

Rose explained, "That’s because only Tier Six Mages can manipulate subspace and create subspace. Those Space Rings can only be made by Tier Six Mages, and the process burns through tons of materials. If you get a Tier Eight Mage to make a Space Ring, then they can bring the cost way down."

"Tier Six is already the strongest mages in the world. Tier Eight... yeah right."

Even though she hung out with Rose, hearing about Tier Seven, Eight, Ten Mages all the time, Hilia knew clearly that Tier Six was the current peak.

Tier Six Mages generally don’t lack Gold Coins, so only a handful bother making Space Rings for sale.

"I’ll figure out how to get the principal to hook me up with one someday." Hilia muttered.

A certain principal monitoring the Golden Apple Stone Forest suddenly felt a chill on his back, as if being stalked by something.

...

Returning to the inn with her two massive bags, Hilia was greeted by Benovia—who was reading—and who paused, then quickly got up to help unload the bags.

"Did you... empty out the Mage Guild or something?"

Noticing the magic power leaking from the bags, Benovia asked in surprise.

Hilia rolled her eyes. "Is the Mage Guild that poor? It’s just two bags of materials."

"Why’d you buy so many magic materials? Planning to brew scroll ink?"

Hilia nodded. "Yeah. I plan to make some scrolls during the trials to sell. Want to buy some?"

Benovia blinked. "Sure! I’ll pre-order 100 Tier Three scrolls!"

"...Are you trying to kill me?"

Benovia covered her mouth, giggling, then asked, "What type of scrolls are you making? Big area attack spells? I recall, besides purifying heretics, one of our quests is to rescue civilians at various bases. If you use a scroll for sweeping attacks..."

Hilia said, "Nah, I’m planning to make Purification Skill scrolls."

Benovia slowly blinked in confusion. "?"

She wasn’t quite following Hilia’s logic.

Purification Skills...

Could be rare for mercenaries.

But they were Divine Magic Academy students.

Plus there was the Law Enforcement Knight Order under the Holy Court.

Are those groups really short on Purification Skills?

Hilia said, "Think about it—the Golden Apple Stone Forest has been polluted forever and hasn’t been cleared, so that means it’s a special pollution. If I can make scrolls that purify this special pollution, the Knight Order and the upperclassmen will definitely come to buy from me."

Benovia considered, then nodded. "You have a point. If you can produce Purification Skill scrolls for the Golden Apple Stone Forest’s pollution, people would definitely buy. But only if it can actually purify..."

She was a bit doubtful, but thinking of Hilia’s past feats—like single-handedly closing the Abyss Gate for the Northern Alliance...

Maybe it wasn’t impossible, after all.

Hilia got out her materials.

"Eh, whatever. We’ll see how it goes. If it doesn’t work, I’ll just make attack scrolls and bulldoze the Heretic Bases."

"Want me to help?"

"Yeah, sort these materials for me."

Hilia said, totally unreserved.