The Holy Kingdom also had a king, but he felt more like a high-ranking official rather than a leader.
He couldnāt enforce the Earthen concept where a godās believers should obey the personās words whose thoughts were closest to them since the Fantasy God was always watching and loved to interfere.
That was why authority over the kingdom was divided.
The Fantasy God worked in such a way that if Character A couldnāt cope with his duties, she would transfer it to Character Bās hands. If Character B couldnāt do it, then sheād pass it to Character Cā¦ If she couldnāt find anyone to do it, then sheād simply turn a passer-by to Character D and give it to them.
Because their spineless deity did as she pleased, the Holy Kingdom was divided into five major factions.
The Royals, filled with nobles and officials that worked together with the King as the center.
The Knights, which Commander Tomato led.
The Saintess Faction, composed of religious heroes that honored Saintess A.
The Shrine, a group of selfish priests and believers.
The Neutral Faction, or essentially the people who stubbornly followed nothing but the oracles.
āA Heroās Test? No, before thatā¦ā
āThis is the Holy Sword.ā
āā¦ Iāve never seen that design in literature, but thereās no doubt that itās the Holy Sword. As a saintess, I exist to aid the hero who wields that blade in their adventures. It is my duty to serve you.ā
Saintess A made a solemn declaration.
Tomato began to express his rage, but based on my previous experiences, I knew that he wouldnāt be able to influence her decision.
Howeverā¦
āYou acknowledge me, but I havenāt acknowledged you yet.ā
āIs this about the Heroās Test? I havenāt even heard of one that saints like us have to take. If there were such a thing, God would have told meā¦ā
āThatās only natural. I just made it recently.ā
āā¦ā
Saintess A was bewildered. Regardless, I continued.
āIāll be the judge if you can be useful to me.ā
āHa! I wasnāt going to say anything, but Iāve had enough. I canāt believe the Holy Sword is in the hands of such a despicable person. Fine. I shall prove that you donāt deserve a saint like me.ā
The MAX-Class Hero started a fair deal with Saintess A.
***
We left to explore dungeons.
Filled with EXP and treasures, such places were the most appropriate when testing the Saintessās value.
Each terrain had at least one dungeon. No matter how small the town was, there would be one, like a āSlime-infested Warehouse.ā
The natives didnāt clear them on their own.
Why?
Because dungeons generated great profits.
No matter how trivial a dungeon was, it could be a great adventure for newcomers and half-baked adventurers. In order to explore them, they would spend money to eat and sleep at the village inn near it, perhaps also pay a visit to the blacksmith or the village store.
But the dungeon we were about to go to was different.
Its monsters were on a different level, and its terrain was perilous. No one had ever been able to conquer it.
Chimera Haven S.
It was populated with monsters that were artificially created by merging different beings. It was the third most treacherous chimera dungeon I had ever found.
āDrug Hero, are you cheating on me?ā
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āWhat nonsense are you talking about?ā
There were three saintesses on the Fantasy Continent, and a hero could only be accompanied by one.
Three would be possible if they dragged them around on a leash like dogs. Otherwise, it was usually impossible.
They had the same role, so it wasnāt even rational to have more than one.
Rather than competing with their fellow saintesses, they preferred to save lost souls and receive their praises instead.
That was why I didnāt summon Saintess H. I needed to get Saintess A to join my side right now.
The Holy Kingdom was divided into five factions. The moment I acquired Saintess A, I would gain the support of both the Faction of the Saintess and the Knights.
The Neutral faction couldnāt be hostile to āthe Hero chosen by God,ā and I could use that same line as a pretext to purge all the corruption the Shrine had made.
There was no need to pay any attention to the Royals. The nobles who were vulnerable to trends would quickly betray their king and follow me anyway.
āIf you want to get Saintess A, then why are you making her do something so useless as a Heroās Test? Sheās already yours.ā
āItās part of my plan.ā
I had no intention of going on an adventure with her.
My aim was to use this trip as a political tool to rule the Holy Kingdom. For me to do so, she had to be both physically and spiritually loyal to me.
That was why I arranged this expedition.
āIāve been thinking about it for a long time, but human politics is too complicated. If everyone obeyed and cooperated with a hero more honorable than any king and emperor, then not only adventures, but life itself would be far easier and smoother.ā
āYouāre onto something.ā
āOf course! I am the First Spirit, after all.ā
The Saintess was supposed to follow the hero closely like a cloak, but Saintess A, whose pride was hurt, did so from a distance.
Next to her was Holy Knight Tomato. He was appalled at first, but he soon tagged along when he heard I was going to the āChimera Haven S.ā
They had been looking at me like I had gone crazy for a while.
āWuuuuu~ā
āWuuu~ā
I could already hear the chimerasā cries from this distance.
Chimeras were made by fusing different creatures, but this dungeonās chimeras were different.
The objective of their creator was obvious: artificial angels.
The chimeras in the dungeon were failures. The one thing they had in common was that they all had human heads. Without intelligence, however, they could only produce one type of noiseā¦ Until death.
As expected of a dungeon I chose, the monstersā stats were high. Their skills were weaker than their levels, but that was because we were still just outside of its entrance.
The deeper we went in, the stronger the monsters would become. The chimeras soon noticed and started running after us.
āIāll bless you, Hero.ā
Saintess A, who had been expressionless the whole time, spoke with a proud smile. I knew just how to reply to that.
āI donāt need your blessing. Iām already blessed.ā
āWhatā¦ Huh?ā
Mine was even more powerful.
These were natureās blessings from the spirits who sexually harassed me. I had strong resistance to the properties of the earth, fire, wind, water, and mind.
There was also the blessing from Divinity Z that boosted my abilities whenever a battle began.
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There was no room for the Saintessās blessing since blessings didnāt stack.
āWuuuuuuu~ā
āWuuuuu~ā
āWuu-ā
āWu-ā
The Chimeras approached us with loud cries, but they were immediately cut as soon as they came within range of the Holy Sword Nucleon.
They had human heads and bodies made out of different creaturesā parts, but none of it mattered. They were nothing in front of the overwhelming power of the righteous hero.
āThe Level 500 chimeras are easily being slain?ā
āHeās truly the legendary Hero chosen by Godā¦ā
āWe really shouldnāt judge a book by its cover.ā
The whisper of the priests and the knights who followed us soon entered my ears.
As thoughtless Fantasy natives who admired power, they badmouthed me before with the instigation of Saintess A and Tomato, and now they were praising me.
But I wasnāt in a hurry.
The Heroās Test was just beginning.
***
Chimera Haven S was a giant dungeon composed of a jungle inhabited by numerous monsters and the underground laboratory used to create them.
Using the spirit of the earth, I could go straight to the lab, but I headed towards the middle of the jungle where the entrance was instead.
Very slowly.
I planned to stay in the jungle for about five days.
āRiver. This is a perfect place to set up camp.ā
Making my way through the jungle, I dealt with chimeras and other monsters, and as soon as the sun went down, I chose a place by the river to settle down on for the night.
So far, no one had been injured, let alone killed. That was thanks to my amazing performance.
The greatest hero of the Holy Kingdom, Commander Tomato, followed my lead without complaints.
It was much better to have a river with open fields than a jungle that created blind spots on all sides. We could also get drinking water this way.
River monsters? They were certainly a threat, but the same went for land monsters. It wouldnāt be dangerous if we didnāt get too close to the river anyway.
Squeak, Squeak, Squeak.
Despite having walked all day, the Holy Knights cut down trees and removed rocks with their remaining stamina. As expected from the ones picked by Tomato, they worked in perfect harmony.
In an instant, a flat campsite was completed. They used trees and rocks to build a perimeter around us as well.
For the finishing touch, a thread with a bell had been connected to the entrance that was left open. Instead of trying to climb over it, the monsters would be lured into the open entrance instead.
It was a standard and flawless procedure.
āIām going to rest for now until dawn. Stand guard and watch. You two can at least do that, right?ā
āIsnāt this Heroās Test too easy?ā Saintess A asked.
I shook my head.
āCamping is a basic adventurer skill, but donāt look down on it. Securing food, clothing, and shelter is much more important than fighting in any journey.ā
āYou donāt have to tell me that. Who do you think we are?ā
āThe pride of the Holy Kingdom.ā
āYouāre right, so please refrain from treating me like a child.ā
āIāll keep that in mind.ā
I chased away a bug with my hands, then pulled out my sleeping bag from my inventory and spread it to the ground.
I wanted to get a āhot water bottleā to keep me warm for the night, but Shadow A was a married woman, not a widow, and Saintess H couldnāt be disclosed for political reasons. Boris was also still in critical condition.
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This was such a tragedy!
āItās been a long time since I last camped.ā
And for the first time in 50 years, I spent the night outside the comforts of a heating pad.
Unpleasant memories from the first round crept up. I remembered a bitch who complained that she wanted to take a bath and another idiot that insisted he couldnāt sleep without alcohol.
It tormented me in different ways.
At that moment, the five heroes at the Western Continent were camping under the starry skies. Wondering what they were doing, I began to observe them.
āHurry up and find an inn for us to stay at.ā
āThese damn insects are everywhere.ā
āThereās nothing but trees as far as I can see here.ā
āI think weāre lost. I canāt even find Lanuvel.ā
āHeroes, how about we camp here? I can stand guardā¦ā
āIād rather die, Alex!ā
āMe too!ā
Pretending to be cute, Lanuvel led the party through a bizarre path. She either made a mistake, lacked information, or did so on purpose.
I thought a real adventure included getting lost and suffering.
I became certain when I saw Lanuvelās hips swaying from side to side. That was her habit when she lied.
Perhaps, that party would wander around the area for another five days or so.
āA troll has appeared from the west!ā
āKill it! The eastern barrier is collapsing!ā
āHuh? Commander, the chimerasā levels arenāt normal!ā
āAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!ā
Our campsite was also slowly becoming a mess.
We had a pretty Saintess who couldnāt go poop without being accompanied, and stupid knights who went to the river to wash to lose their heads.
It was quite a natural development for an expedition, whose members were on average level 300, to be this way when thrown into a level 900 dungeon in the middle of the night.
Chimera Haven S. It was beautiful during the day, but it became a nightmare once the sun had gone down.