The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor

Chapter 11 : The Sculptures Erected on the River of Lamentation

This chapter was brought to you by AnmesicCat, BeatJumper, Diabolic, Grisia, Lastear, and Lei.

Weed raised his sculpting knife again.

It was the start of the monumental task of changing the sculptures on the basin of the River of Lamentations from negative to positive.

The sound of the ghosts crying in the river was now familiar to his ears. The sound surged forward like echoes, exhausting all strength in the legs and raising gooseb.u.mps.

"What"s an affectionate expression you would have while looking at a baby Orc?"

His first sculpting attempt had failed; this was his second.

When he posed as the Orc Karichwi in the Yurokina Mountains, he had seen quite a lot of Orcs. However, he hadn"t been interested in the weak baby Orcs. Even if he had seen them toddling around in the village, as long as they weren"t his quarry for a quest, he immediately forgot about them once he pa.s.sed by.

Orc infancy was short, and they grew at a very fast rate.

"What kind of thoughts would a female Orc looking at a baby Orc have?"

It was an expression he could only understand if he was in the mother"s shoes.

Weed had a different idea.

Greedy female Orcs. They found meat. They would drool. But what if their bellies were full right now?

"They would have an absolutely peaceful expression!"

Weed made the female Orc"s head.

There was a splittingly satisfied smile on her lips, and her eyes were laughing, creasing into crescent moons. Her expression wasn"t really bright, but she was still quite pretty considering she was a female Orc.

At least there wasn"t a grievous feeling anymore, such as when she had been holding the child without a head.

Only one.

Weed had taken the first step, but the path he had to walk was very arduous.

Making one sculpture positive didn"t reduce the bitter wailing of the ghosts in the River of Lamentation. Looking at the sculptures all around the basin of the River of Lamentation, it was a bleak task.

The next sculpture he chose was the Trolls, who were fighting desperately while stabbing their opponents with spears.

Weed made a clear decision.

"It"ll work if I just get rid of the spears!"

He broke the spears and made them hold bowls of rice instead.

Now they were Trolls giving food as gifts.

The increase in Sculpting or Handicraft skill proficiency was almost insignificant.

"So slightly modifying someone else"s sculpture doesn"t raise the proficiency much."

The strength went right out of Weed"s shoulders. Even so, he altered 10 sculptures in a day. However, there was no change in the purification value of the River of Lamentation.

"I need to recover my levels first."

Weed engaged in desperate hunt to recover the levels he had lost by giving life to his sculptures! He repaired 13 sculptures daily, and led Yellowy and the Five Phoenix Brothers to battle.

If they went too far away from the River of Lamentation, the levels of the monsters leapt drastically.

Boars of h.e.l.l.

He estimated the Wild Black Boars to be slightly under level 400. Of course, he ascertained this fact through Death Knight.

"They can fight Death Knight neck and neck — they"re quite delicious prey."

He didn"t even glance at the Caltrops anymore, since stronger monsters yielded more experience and items.

"I should leave the Caltrops to the Five Phoenix Brothers. Phoenixes."

"Yes, Master."

"Hunt the Caltrops. Be careful not to melt the items."

"Yes, Master. Understood."

The Phoenixes were handy for being able to be ordered to do various things.

It was similar to Military Discipline Training of new enlisted recruits in the army received! How well they performed in this training enormously influenced their army life.

For the sculptures as well, it was good to establish the hierarchy immediately after their birth, but there was no need to give them this mental training separately.

The Phoenixes had realized something while watching Yellowy.

"Ah, we"re stuck with a really dirty Master."

"What rotten luck."

The outstandingly intelligent Phoenixes became obedient.

They were Phoenixes who didn"t die easily and were incomparably tenacious! They dove with their outstretched wings to avoid lightning attacks unleashed by the Caltrops.

And the flame attack they discharged! The damage was weak, but the flames spread over a wide area. The heat wasn"t enough to melt the rocky mountain, but it was still quite hot.

They didn"t even die from area of effect attack skills, and they were quick on chasing land monsters, not giving them a chance to run away. As long as he cautioned them not to burn the j.a.ptem dropped by the Caltrops, there were no problems with the hunt.

While the Phoenixes hunted the Caltrops, Weed went with Yellowy to deal with the Black Wild Boars.

The Wild Boars ran through the uneven rocky mountains!

Moooooooo!

Weed hunted them while riding Yellowy. Together with Yellowy, he defeated the Wild Boars one by one.

Weed"s Moonlight Sculpting Blade and Sword Mastery skill proficiency were increasing rapidly.

"This method of fighting isn"t bad."

Weed was pleased because the hunting speed was decent. Thanks to Yellowy, Stamina consumption was reduced and damage was doubled.

Sword Mastery did not acc.u.mulate uniformly by just swinging a sword. The proficiency rose when consecutively hunting monsters stronger than himself.

Weed"s Sword Mastery was currently at Intermediate Level 8!

It couldn"t be compared to the SwordNoobs, but it was much higher than normal users.

He had also modified a total of 262 sculptures in the basin of the River of Lamentation.

A hopeless purification level!

He was gradually reducing the level, but the point where he could bring the level to normal was still distant.

"This might not be the method to end this."

Weed thought deeply. He had raised his level by 2 while hunting for a week in real time, proof that it wasn"t a bad hunting ground. Since monsters stronger than Weed were all around, he didn"t need to go looking for them.

It was also the perfect hunting ground to raise Yellowy and the Phoenixes! Even considering the time he spent on mending the sculptures, they were growing extremely quickly.

His level had fallen frequently from granting life to sculptures. Since his combat-related proficiency remained the same, it was gradually acc.u.mulating.

"The problem was purifying the River of Lamentation. It will take too long…"

His brilliant judgement emerged every time there was a crisis!

Normally, it would have materialized earlier, but his declaration was delayed because he was grinding. As long as stats and skills definitely increased, he could repeat the same grinding for hundreds of days.

After all, he had the experience of carrying bricks and going up to the 20th floor while others were still going to high school.

"There"s no wage as fixed as the one for a construction site!"

When he returned home in the evening, he received crisp cash as his daily pay.

"Grinding has never lied!"

On the other hand, sewing in plus.h.i.+e eyes and beards was calculated by unit.

A fixed job gave a more definite income. Grinding was boring and difficult work, but the reward had an exhaustive aspect.

Weed had trained in dozens of kinds of grinding, but the task this time was really hopeless.

"There"s at least ten thousand sculptures. Doing them one by one like this isn"t the answer. It"s a hopeless task that I don"t know when it"ll end."

Weed carefully observed the sculptures he had to change in advance. He found out how much and what he had to modify! He meticulously examined and recorded the size, weight, and how much he had to match the balance of the body.

Then he made the necessary sculptures whenever he took a break while hunting. He utilized the division of labor method of taking sculptures made separately and attaching them!

As his method improved, he became capable of modifying 17 sculptures a day. He could fix an additional 4 sculptures, and the time he could spend focused on hunting also increased.

However, the purification level was still changing slowly.

"This still won"t do."

While surveying the area around the River of Lamentation, Weed found a swamp. There were a few trees and clay.

"This is it!"

Using the clay greatly shortened the time it took to make sculptures. It became possible for him to modify about 45 sculptures a day.

Every cloud has a silver lining.

Weed increased his work efficiency like an incarnation of grinding!

Weed was struggling alone to achieve a great accomplishment. While doing so, an idea suddenly came to mind.

"Altering all these sculptures would really be an enormous achievement."

It occurred to him the reward given to the Sculptor would be really big, because Fame and Contribution points to each of the Churches were very difficult to obtain.

Contribution to Churches or Kingdoms could be used however the player desired. They could earn a weapon or an item, but it was also possible to take an army or an order of Saintly Knights to battle.

"Do I really need to cling to only modifying sculptures?"

At his level, Weed could tell the sculptures on the basin of the River of Lamentation weren"t great. He estimated them to be completed with an Intermediate sculpting skill or lower, and the finer details weren"t finished either.

He occasionally saw a few Fine ones, but the sculptures were generally just ordinary.

"How about if I made sculptures here instead?"

As soon as the thought came to mind, Weed began moving to take action.

A large Orc family"s meal! Over 20 Orcs made of clay were eating food. It was a moment where Orcs had no choice but to be happy.

He could also lower the purification need by making a sculpture.

The sculpture was capable of overwhelming the the negative effects of other sculptures!

"This is the solution!"

Weed moved his sculpting knife quickly.

Improving a sculpture was also considerably difficult since he needed to form an idea in his mind. He would rather make a work overwhelming the sculptures around it.

"I"ve gotta make a sculpture embodying hope."

He made hopeful sculptures instead of the negative sculptures that were spread out on the River of Lamentation.

Each of the races who had been engaged in merciless slaughter was now laughing heartily. Money, weapons, and food made of clay were piled up abundantly in a warehouse.

The birth of a Fine sculpture!

The purification decreased by 3%.

The wails of the ghosts in the River of Lamentation were slowly diminis.h.i.+ng. The volume wasn"t as loud, and the grieving had decreased too.

However, Weed could still hear screaming sounds in places far away from where he had created the sculpture.

"This time, I"ll make a sculpture to comfort the Humans."

On the banks of the River of Lamentation, there was an unusually large number of Human sculptures being persecuted by the n.o.bility or Military.

A father hanged from a scaffold, and a mother being whipped!

There were even sculptures of children having their hands tied up together with the Soldiers" hands while being dragged into the battlefield.

Weed changed their appearance a little and sculpted anew.

n.o.bility, Royalty, and Soldiers hung from a scaffold while being whipped by young children.

It was not an elegant or peaceful sculpture, and had very little artistic value. However, such extreme sculptures could bring great happiness to the those who had been treated unjustly in their lives.

It was a sculpture channeling humor and satire!

The young children were smiling brightly while the n.o.bles and Soldiers wore agonized looks.

It was completed as a Fine sculpture, decreasing the purification by 4%.

2 Masterpieces.

17 Fine Pieces.

As well as miscellaneous sculptures!

Weed slightly changed the easy-to-repair sculptures and made the rest anew.

"The Great King" was a sculpture of a King leading Humans! The King sculpture was adorned with expensive jewels and his belly was well rounded; it came out as a Masterpiece.

In just two weeks, he was able to purify the River of Lamentation.

The groaning sound coming from the River of Lamentation faded away.

The grievous wails had disappeared, leaving only the sound of serenely flowing water. The river was still incomparably dirty, but the ghosts made far more comfortable expressions.

Ding!

He completely recovered the levels he used to grant the sculptures life and even went up by two more levels.

His current level was exactly 360!

"It must be done now."

Weed pulled out the Matallost Church symbol, the Statue of Death.

The statue was holding a sickle, and opened it eyes. Then it spoke.

It meant if he were to fail the quest; Rescuing the Prisoners, Eradicating the Embinyu Church"s 11th Sect, and the rest would also end.

Weed"s eyes had already started sparkling the moment "rewards" were mentioned.

"As a righteous adventurer journeying across the Versailles Continent, I cannot turn a blind eye on the evildoings of the Embinyu Church. For the sake of the Matallost Church, I will ensure their ritual will be stopped for good."

Black smoke gushed out from the Statue of Death, and the River of Lamentation began to overflow. The water surged to the riverbank like cras.h.i.+ng waves, and after a while, Knights walked out of the river.

Ghosts!

The 100 Guardian Knights who were hazily coming into existence were Weed"s reinforcements.

* * *

Weed put the Guardian Knights, the Five Phoenix Brothers, and Yellowy on standby where he stood and stealthily crept near the location of the Embinyu Church.

The Embinyu Priests and Dark Knights had suspended their slaughter ritual and were plunged into chaos. The over 1,000 Demonic Spirits who had been guarding them also looked somewhat weakened. The light in their eyes had weakened, and their steps were strengthless.

"Seems like the purification of the River of Lamentation had an effect."

Weed used the opening the Dark Knights on guard duty provided to inch closer.

There was a blood-red Skull and Coffin sewn on the robes of the Embinyu Church Priests. There were only 10 Priests who had Crows on their robes.

He could overhear their conversation.

"The River of Lamentation is not responding to our ritual."

"Sacrifice more offerings."

Priests with the Crow emblems looked like they were in charge. As they performed the ritual, hearts of lambs and deers were sacrificed.

The ritual showed a violent response, enough to flood the River of Lamentation! It had been potent enough to erode the rocks, and ghosts flew out helterskelter.

Weed watched the ritual nervously, but the river continued to flow leisurely.

The Priests, whose faces were barely visible due to upturned robe hoods, halted the ritual and said, "The strength of the ghosts has decreased."

"What about the Demonic Spirits we sent aboveground?"

"They will also become increasingly weak."

"The ritual must continue in order to make additional Demonic Spirits…. We"ll have to bring the Matallost Church prisoners and ask them the reason why."

The survivors of the Matallost Church!

It seemed they had become prisoners and were captives of the Embinyu Church.

"If we are to bring the prisoners, we will have to report to His Holiness, the Pope."

"His Holiness will lead us. Let us return to the temple for now."

They left about half of the Embinyu Priest and Dark Knight troops behind and moved downstream.

The temple was at a place where Weed hadn"t scouted yet. He snuck behind them, and after following them for about two hours, a brilliant fortress made of gold and jewels appeared.

It was a high-cla.s.s temple, entirely different level from the ruined temple of the Matallast Church!

The temple had been built into the natural terrain of the rocky mountain. It was equipped with a thick stone gate, a moat, ballistas, and even defensive installments for the deployment of Archers.

"Defend this place."

Uuuoooohh!

At the command of the Embinyu Priests, the Demonic Spirits guarded the fort like an iron wall.

Weed couldn"t go inside the fort, so he turned back to the place where the rituals had been performed.

"If they"re to come back, there"s probably only going to be a day, maybe two days in between!"

Weed mounted Yellowy in his full equipment, the armor and equipment gave him happiness!

He stood in front of the Guardian Knights with his cloak flapping.

It was a decisive moment.

Weed raised his sword high and burst out with Lion"s Roar—

"GUARDIAN KNIGHTS, ATTACK!"

60 Guardian Knights ran forward in unison.

It was a charge made by only 60 party members towards over 500 Demonic Spirits, Embinyu Church Priests, and Dark Knights!

It looked incomparably reckless, but the reality was actually very different from the exterior.

The Guardian Knights who lead the dead were not living beings. As warriors of the Matallost Church, they were no different from ghosts. They would never die from normal methods, and they only received blows from the holy power of high-rank Priests or the black magic of the Dark Knights and above.

"It"s the remnants of the Matallost Church."

"Stop them!"

30 Dark Knights and over 500 Demonic Spirits held the front lines, but the Guardian Knights broke right through them.

Grawr?

"Get them!"

The Dark Knights turned and chased after the Guardian Knights.

The Guardian Knights only had one purpose.

Eradicate the Embinyu Church"s Priests!

Just as Weed had commanded, they ran straight towards the Priests.

The Embinyu Priests uttered an incantation.

"O beastly and dark power, let merciless punishment fall. Dark Sword!"

Blessing magic! The Priests endowed holy power into the guarding Dark Knights" swords.

Rawr!

"Wipe out the remnants of the Matallost Church."

The Dark Knights intercepted the Guardian Knights. Demonic Spirits were surrounding them layer by layer, so they were really like rats in a trap.

*Woos.h.!.+*

Weed raised his hand. Then the Phoenixes outstretched their wings.

The Phoenixes breathed flames towards the ground as they flew over the battlefield. The Demonic Spirits were burnt and the Dark Knights were also wrapped in flames.

"Death Arrow!"

"Water Blaster!"

The Priests inflicted magic attacks on the Phoenixes, majestic magic creatures who soared in the air! The Phoenixes twisted violently as they dodged the magic. Guardian Knights were crouching down while on board the Phoenixes.

"NOW!" Weed"s voice erupted with Lion"s Roar at the exact moment.

Figures leapt from the flame-bodied Phoenixes! 40 Guardian Knights were falling to the ground.

"Let"s go. Yellowy!"

Weed matched himself to Yellowy"s rhythm.

Moooooooo!

Yellowy bellowed invigoratingly as he ran on all fours.

Weed cleaved through the weakened Demonic Spirits in an instant and advanced while the Phoenixes dominated the skies. They exhaled flames at Demonic Spirits in midair; wherever Demonic Spirits were gathered, the fires spread and became a sea of fire in all directions.

Weed and the Guardian Knights leapt within the sea of flames!

The 20 or less Priests were the first to be ma.s.sacred in the fierce battle.

"Guardian Knights, protect the relic of the Matallost Church, fight the Dark Knights and leave the Demonic Spirits alone! Make a blockade and DO NOT ALLOW EVEN ONE ENEMY TO SLIP AWAY!"

Weed burst out with Lion"s Roar as he commanded the battlefield.

The battle was already won.

As long as there weren"t any Priests, he was confident he could win even by only mobilizing the Phoenixes!

"I can"t just hand over my prey!"

The Phoenixes were still weak.

After surrounding the whole area with the the Guardian Knights, he hunted the Demonic Spirits and Dark Knights with the AOE flame attack of the Phoenixes.

Roaring, blazing flames!

Weed walked through the flames.

"Angry Pebble, Dirtmen!"

The Fire and Earth Spirits were protecting him. He had infinite intimacy with them, so even if their spiritual abilities were lacking, he could call on them anytime as long as he had the Mana for it. It was the benefit of being their creator.

Thanks to Dirtmen and Angry Pebbles, the ground where Weed walked was split open, and flames on his sides were diverted.

He arrived at the place where the Embinyu Church had been performed the ritual.

Weed picked up and looted the goods greedily.

Two relics!

There were also considerable amount of food for the lambs which had been offered as sacrifices.

*Chomp!*

Weed ate a baked apple.

While drinking its juices, Weed looked around for a place battle was still being fought.

The Dark Knights and Demonic Spirits were collapsing from burns.

Ding!

Quest success!

Weed took a breath at last. However, the linked quests were still continuing.

"I should go to a more remote location."

Weed finished the ritual interference quest and made time to take the Phoenixes and Yellowy somewhere farther away. He estimated that even if something dangerous were to happen, the Phoenixes would be able to pull out quickly. Weed could also escape by riding Yellowy.

"Even in the worst case, I"ll have to save Yellowy."

Moooooooo!

Yellowy"s innocent eyes watered in grat.i.tude. He hadn"t expected it, but his master would sacrifice himself to save him.

While Yellowy was overflowing with emotion, Weed coldly finished making his calculations.

If Yellowy died, the sorry one would be himself, Weed. The damage would be severe if he created yet another sculpture and granted it life.

Of course Weed would throw the Death Knight first before dying.

"Since I"m here, rest easy, Yellowy."

Moooooooo!

* * *

Weed pa.s.sed the River of Lamentation with Yellowy and the Phoenixes and moved into a region full of Plains.

There, he saw monster legions! Legions of monsters he couldn"t even identify were wandering around in droves.

They were probably one of the the beast-type monsters, but since it was the entrance to h.e.l.l, he couldn"t relax his guard no matter what kind of monster it was. Weed moved further back whenever he saw a monster horde.

"Mhm, where am I?"

Smith, who had gotten dead drunk and had fallen asleep, slowly opened his eyes.

He was riding Yellowy behind Weed"s back. Smith was one of the reasons why Yellowy had to be saved no matter what!

"We are on an expedition."

"Eh. I see."

Smith hadn"t woken from the alcohol and looked around with bleary eyes.

While conversing with him, Weed had gotten the feeling Smith had originally been a truly impressive Mercenary. The stories of adventuring everywhere around the Versailles Continent were impossible if not for a Mercenary of considerably remarkable skill.

However, he was now just a former Mercenary who was living intoxicated!

Nevertheless, Smith"s comprehensive knowledge of traps, terrain, and monster traits was a big help. If he was given a little liquor, he also stood guard well while Weed made sculptures. His sword skills had probably diminished, but he still had many uses.

His observation skills identified traits after merely a brief glance at the monsters! His ability to distinguish drinkable water and edible gra.s.ses was also excellent.

In any case, he was being very helpful in his own way.

Smith looked around and said cautiously, "This place seems too dangerous."

"What?"

"The level of the monsters is too high. Even with the protection of the Phoenixes and Yellowy, this isn"t a place where a Sculptor can come."

While Weed hunted, he gave Smith liquor and put him under Death Knight"s care. It might be the reason why Smith was still underestimating Weed.

"I see."

Weed absentmindedly listened to his words.

"Anyway, let"s head back."

The purpose of the expedition was to check the monsters and identify the terrain. Since going too far from the River of Lamentation was extremely dangerous and had no purpose, he was about to turn back.

But something white was flying towards them from the sky.

The dignified appearance of a monster flying towards them as if it was piercing the sky!

"ROOOOAAAAAAR!"

The monster roared, shaking the whole area. The faraway beast-type monsters were also standing nailed to the ground, petrified.

"It"s a boss-cla.s.s monster!"

The boss-cla.s.s monster dominating the area appeared. The monster was flying through the air was steadily increasing in size. Even from a considerable distance away, it appeared bigger than the palm of his hand.

As the distance gradually shortened, the body continued to grow! It was a huge figure easily exceeding hundreds of meters in length.

The monster closed in with formidable speed while permeating a cold chill all around it.

Smith"s face turned a sickly pale color.

"That"s an Ice Dragon. It"s an Ice Dragon!"

It was enough to intimidate and disperse the Phoenixes who had been circling above Weed in the air as if keeping guard.

"Hurry and run!"

Even at Smith"s urging, Weed stayed still. He narrowed his eyes and simply looked at the steadily growing Ice Dragon"s body.

Fierce eyes and long snout, a lengthy beard. A strong upper body and a weak lower body!

Even its broad wings comprised the majority of its body!

It was a look he had seen a lot somewhere.

"ROOOAAAAAAAAAAAR!"

The Fear hex from Dragon Roar broke out, sending s.h.i.+vers through the body!

In the face of the Dragon"s fighting spirit, Yellowy sank down, and the Phoenixes folded their wings.

The Ice Dragon flew in with its enormous power to defeat the Humans and Phoenixes who dared to intrude upon its territory in an instant.

The Ice Dragon"s large pupils glanced past Weed and Yellowy.

"You dare to intrude on my territor—…"

The words were suddenly cut short!

There was a slight spasm around the Ice Dragon"s eyes. Then, after examining Weed again with wide open eyes, it outstretched its wings.

Flap flap flap.

The Ice Dragon accelerated instantaneously, then displayed incredible agility while turning in a semicircle. It was going to quickly return the way it came.

Weed said casually, "Are you perhaps, Bingryong?"

The Ice Dragon"s body faltered in the air as if it had received a huge shock.

"You"re Bingryong, right?"

"Absolutely not."

The Ice Dragon even shook its head while flapping its wings hard.

An action indicating its desperate wish to escape!

Although it was obviously anxious, since it hurriedly turned around, but it still didn"t speed up very quickly.

"Each flap of the wings is about 500 million won."

The Ice Dragon"s wings stopped right away.

Although it was floating because of its buoyancy, it acted like it didn"t know what to do.

"You want to see the Wyverns, right? Wy-Three asked if you were doing well."

"Wy-Three! Is Wy-Three doing well, master?"

"See. You are Bingryong."

"..."

TO BE CONTINUED...