The Healing Solaris Cleric

Chapter 206: The Man of Darkness (2)

Adventurer was the title the residents of MID Online used for players, and they could be whatever they desired within the game. They could be Wizards who summoned thunder and lightning or Swordsmen who slayed enemies with a single stroke. They could even be Saints healing the wounded or Treasure Hunters finding dungeons and treasure.

However, no matter their job, they were identified as outsiders, adventurers—beings who explored the world of MID Online.

But...

There were four specific places that even players—known as adventurers—hesitated to go. These were places known as the four great cursed lands, where one had to battle both powerful monsters and harsh natural conditions.

The Cheska Snowy Mountains, the Black Sea, the Ithaca Jungle, and the Tuhara Desert. Of these, the only one Kai had visited so far was the Snowy Mountains, where he had battled extreme cold and defeated the Death Dragon.

In the Snowy Mountains, I had the warm clothing Luna gave me, my high magic resistance, and the powerful body of a Solaris Cleric, so it made the challenge more manageable than expected, but...

The Tuhara Desert, where he was headed now, posed a different level of danger. Kai once read a post in the community written by a treasure hunter who had traveled across the continent. They had evaluated the four great cursed lands as follows:

『Snowy Mountains? That place is manageable. I once went to the Everest mountain range in real life, and it’s about on that level. Just get some warm clothes and pray you make it back alive. The Ithaca Jungle is where things start to get a bit more annoying. Hire a native guide and pray. What? The Black Sea? Hah, are you asking because you actually want to go there? If so, get the best ship, captain, and crew and pray to the sea god. Shit, I died three times in that cursed saltwater. And if you’re thinking of going to the Tuhara Desert, well, there’s no need to pray. You’ll die anyway.』

After their post, a few other brave treasure hunters attempted to challenge the four great cursed lands to prove him wrong. Of course, most of them met their end at the hands of ferocious monsters or nature itself.

Sigh. Of all places, why does it have to be Tuhara Desert?

The Tuhara Desert was considered a level above the other cursed lands in difficulty. Even when Kai had visited the Zigmunt Desert before, he was regularly hit with debuffs just from walking around.

But Tuhara is on another level. It’s said that if you want to know what it feels like for sunlight to attack you, just step into the Tuhara Desert.

In fact, there had been incidents where low-level players with poor magic resistance unknowingly entered the Tuhara Desert and ended up melting under the intense sunlight. But that wasn’t even the most terrifying part of the place.

It’s where the Demon King was born.

Tuhara Desert was the place where the Demon King—who sought to overthrow the continent—had been summoned in the past. Because of this, demonic energy covered the entire desert, which led to serious consequences.

Monsters corrupted by demonic energy become incredibly strong, and prolonged exposure can cause status effects.

Especially for NPCs, prolonged exposure could make them lose their minds and attack their allies. Thus, Kai looked at Sydney with a troubled expression.

The members of the Holy Blood Order are elite NPCs, so they likely won’t be too affected by the demonic energy or the sunlight...

But this young girl was different. As soon as she set foot in the Tuhara Desert, various status effects would torment her.

Sydney herself seemed to have no idea the dwarves were in Tuhara Desert and asked with a bewildered expression, “I-is it really there? The place I mentioned—is it truly the Tuhara Desert?”

“Well, as far as I know, the only desert with strong northeastern winds and twin gorges visible in the distance is Tuhara.”

As the Holy Blood Order member who had introduced himself as being from Havier nodded, Sydney looked sad.

“If that’s true, then I...”

“Can’t come with us.” Shaking his head, Kai quickly accepted the reality.

Bringing Sydney would make finding the dwarves easier, but...

There was a very high chance she would lose her life. He couldn’t be sure he could protect her while also fighting the elite members of the Church of Muldine and monsters.

“B-but without me, what about finding the dwarves’ location...”

“Well, we know they’re in the Tuhara Desert, so we’ll just have to search there. We have no other choice.”

Finding someone in a cursed land wasn’t even remotely like looking for an NPC in a square. Fierce, powerful monsters would hunt them around the clock, and the natural environment wouldn’t let them rest.

And on top of that, Tuhara is a desert.

Which meant there would be extreme temperature fluctuations between day and night. It would feel like being in an entirely different map every twelve hours.

Kai looked to the Holy Blood Order members and said, “As you heard... our destination now is the Tuhara Desert, one of the continent’s four great cursed lands. It would be nice if we were just going for a stroll, but unfortunately, we’re on a mission to rescue the dwarves captured by the revived Church of Muldine. This will be a difficult operation. If anyone wants to opt-out, raise your hand. I promise you won’t face any penalties.”

But even after he finished speaking, not a single hand went up. Instead, they looked at him with expressions full of disappointment.

“Commander, did you really think we would raise our hands out of fear of entering a cursed land?”

“Guess you really underestimated us.”

“We’ve spent ten years in remote temples, unable to show our skills because we lacked opportunities and a stage.”

“We’re going.”

Kai was slightly moved by the fierce resolve of the Holy Blood Order members. After all, they had willingly volunteered to step into a cursed land without a single person backing out.

What’s unexpected... is the Pray guild.

Players naturally dreaded the cursed lands, but like the other Holy Blood Order members, they hadn’t raised their hands.

“You know if you die, your ranking will drop, right?”

“You’re a scary person, aren’t you? I’ll earn some points by keeping an eye on a scary person like you.”

When Minerva responded with a mysterious smile, Kai had nothing more to say and shrugged.

“Suit yourself. But don’t expect any special treatment just because you’re also a player.”

“I wasn’t even expecting you to.”

“Alright, let’s head out then.”

High Priest Albert watched the Holy Blood Order's first mission with a very pleased expression.

***

“Once we cross this, we’ll be in the Tuhara Desert.”

In this game, there was an extremely convenient mode of transportation known as the teleport gate. It was the overwhelming favorite in polls where players wished for in-game systems to exist in real life!

The teleport gate from the Kingdom of Rashion to the Kingdom of Havier had a fairly strict screening process. However, the Solarian Church’s emblem—especially with the title of Commander of the newly established Holy Blood Order—served as a free pass.

“So, this part isn’t the Tuhara Desert, but just over there is?” Kai asked, pointing to the faint, dark red veil before them.

Japa, the Holy Blood Order member from the Kingdom of Havier, responded confidently, “Yes, it’s a little strange, isn’t it? It’s all because of the barrier that Patrick set up.”

“Tsk, a barrier, huh.”

“Pardon? I couldn’t hear you; you spoke too quietly.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. But about this barrier—if Patrick created it, then it must have been done hundreds of years ago, right?”

“Ah, there’s a reason why he’s called a legend, isn't there? A barrier that’s held for centuries—truly astonishing, isn’t it? Patrick has been holding back the vicious demonic energy for hundreds of years, even after his death.”

“Hm.”

Kai didn’t know the mechanism behind it, but he could definitely sense a rather familiar energy from the land before him.

Could Patrick be more powerful than Shimizu or Cherantia?

Both Shimizu and Cherantia were also revered as historic figures within the Church. However, from Kai’s experience, Patrick’s followers were far more numerous.

I’ve only met a remnant of his consciousness, but he seemed like a straightforward ahjussi to me.

Shaking his head, Kai surrounded himself with buffs and looked back. “We’re about to enter the Tuhara Desert. If anyone’s divine blessing level is too low, let me know—I’ll cast them for you myself.”

No one raised their hand. How reassuring they looked!

“Alright, let’s go.”

As Kai stepped onto the sandy ground, sinking up to his ankles and passing through the dark red veil, he felt an unpleasant sensation.

Ding!

[You have entered the Tuhara Desert.] Nôv(el)B\\jnn

[A vast concentration of demonic energy is present. -5% to all stats, and the likelihood of mental debuffs is greatly increased.]

[Your Holiness stat is very high. You have completely negated the penalty from the demonic energy.]

[You are exposed to the intense sunlight of the Tuhara Desert. Stamina consumption is twice as fast as usual, and you may periodically suffer from heatstroke or burn debuffs.]

[You have a high resistance to magic. Stamina consumption is increased by 1.3 times, and you resist heatstroke and burn debuffs.]

“Hmm.”

Kai nodded, thinking it was more manageable than he expected. For entering a cursed land, it wasn’t too bad. Of course, only Kai and a few others were managing so well.

“Argh! Such overwhelming demonic energy...”

“A power so strong that it hasn’t faded even after centuries... Demon King, what are you...?”

“The sunlight is harsher than I thought. I’ll need to chant a stamina recovery spell periodically.”

Most of the Holy Blood Order members expressed some discomfort, as did the Pray guild members.

But the demonic energy doesn’t seem too critical for them since they’re all followers of the Solarian Church.

Seeing that his group was managing better than expected, Kai turned to scan his surroundings.

The land of death, Tuhara Desert. From its appearance alone, it was vastly different from other deserts.

This doesn’t look like a desert; it’s more like a pit of flames in hell.

The sky, which had been blue just moments ago without a cloud in sight, now looked dark and gloomy, and the desert sand was not tan but red.

So this is the Tuhara Desert.

Bones scattered across the sand highlighted the deadly nature of this place.

“Well then, where should we go from here... hm. There was no need to worry, after all.”

Rumble, rumble.

Kai felt a slight tremor underfoot and drew his sword.

“Everyone, prepare for battle.”

It seemed that the monsters of this cursed land had no intention of letting their long-awaited prey go easily.

Whoosh!

Various monsters burst from the red dunes, their red eyes shining as they glared at the Holy Blood Order.

[Demonically Corrupted Fennec Fox LV.370]

[Demonically Corrupted Desert Eagle LV.382]

[Demonically Corrupted...]

.

.

.

Their levels were frustratingly high for mere field monsters! But at the same time, the holy pauldron and ring Kai wore began to shine brilliantly.

Ding!

[You have encountered demons/undead-type monsters.]

[+50% damage dealt to demons/undead-type monsters.]

[You have encountered higher-level monsters, activating the Courageous Knight effect.]

In this moment, Kai became the very embodiment of a demon hunter.