The Healing Solaris Cleric-Chapter 294: One Who Holds a Grudge (3)

Kai closed the thick book he had been reading, and the meaning behind that action was simple.

"Okay. Input complete."

He had memorized all the information about the enemies he needed to eliminate. He had started reading in the afternoon, but now a new sun was rising.

Did I just spend nearly thirteen hours reading?

Kai, who had sat in one spot and memorized the entire book for the sake of revenge, rubbed his temples with a slightly fatigued expression.

First, I need some sleep.

The moment he woke up, the Revenge Guild would experience something they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

***

"Oof, my stomach still feels queasy."

Welcoming the morning with a triple-shot espresso as usual, Kai immediately stepped into the teleportation gate.

"Where would you like to go?"

"Smear Territory."

"Smear Territory, understood."

The reason he was heading to Smear Territory, a place he had never visited before, right after logging into the game was simple.

The Illusory Forest.

The last known trace of the Revenge Guild had been in the Illusory Forest, and that forest was located within Smear Territory.

"So, this is Smear, huh," Kai mumbled to himself as he glanced around.

The city of Smear had an atmosphere distinct from any other city he had visited before.

It’s a city filled with a gloomy aura.

It rained frequently, and the surrounding hunting grounds were places like the Illusory Forest and the Graveyard of the Dead, where only ghosts and undead roamed.

Now, I need to find Raos's trail here.

Tracking him would be the key to locating the Revenge Guild’s hideout.

For several days, Kai lingered around the territory, staking out various shops one by one. If he noticed anyone purchasing food or repair kits in bulk, he secretly followed them. However, to put it simply, he couldn't find Raos.

Tsk. There are too many shops.

The city of Smear was not a tiny village like Frica. It was one of the massive cities, like Whitehall, where Ayana lived. Naturally, there were dozens of stores spread throughout the city.

In the end, Kai acknowledged his own limits.

Finding Raos’s trail alone is impossible.

Letting out a faint sigh, he muttered, "I wonder if the candy shop in Smear has any special treats."

After purchasing a banshee-shaped jelly from the candy shop, Kai visited the Celestial Garden.

"Hmph!"

Helik’s puffed-out cheeks made it clear how she was feeling. Still sulking, she refused to even make eye contact with him.

"Helik, please don’t be mad. Try this jelly."

"... Jelly?"

After much effort, the two managed to reconcile dramatically and continued their conversation.

"Please introduce me to the Sky God you mentioned last time. It’s too difficult to track them alone."

"Did I not tell you? If you had listened to me, you could have... um..."

"Gotten rice cakes?"

"Yeah! You would have gotten rice cakes."

Having devoured an entire bag of jelly in an instant, Helik grabbed Kai’s sleeve. "Then I shall take you to the Sky God immediately."

"I’d appreciate that."

Their surroundings changed in an instant, as the two had been transported to the peak of a jagged rocky mountain.

There, sitting cross-legged in a dignified posture, the Sky God, Iska, opened one of his previously shut eyes.

"Hm?"

His lower body was human, but from the waist up, he had the form of a bird—an eagle-human.

"It seems I have visitors."

"Iska, have you been well?”

"Thanks to you and your apostle’s efforts, quite well," Iska said while pointing toward a sack at the base of the rocky mountain.

Inside, there was still a good amount of delicious food left.

"Oh, I thought it would be rude to come empty-handed... I heard you liked these during the banquet, so I brought some."

Kai handed Iska a sack filled with sandworms that he had prepared in advance.

"Oh?"

Spreading his massive wings, Iska instantly closed the distance between them and peered into the sack. Inside, fresh, living sandworms wriggled.

"Fresh sandworms! I can’t remember the last time I had such a delicacy."

Seeing him in a noticeably good mood, Helik said, "Iska, my envoy is searching for someone and needs tracking skills."

"Hm. If it’s tracking skills you seek, then you have come to the right place." Feeling a great sense of pride in his tracking abilities, Iska nodded with satisfaction. "But I do not teach my tracking skills to just anyone."

"Of course, I wouldn’t expect to learn the Sky God’s technique without offering something in return. What do I need to do?" Kai asked, slightly nervous.

"Hmm..." Iska stroked his chin with his soft feather-covered hand and said, "Thanks to you, I had an enjoyable time at the banquet, and today, you even brought me fresh sandworms. I’d like to teach you for free."

It worked!

As the conversation went just as he had hoped, Kai clenched his fist in excitement.

However, the Sky God suddenly wore a troubled expression and continued speaking, "But, separate from that, once this task is done, would you be willing to visit me again?"

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"I don’t see a problem with that... but what is the request?"

"I have a favor to ask regarding the fruits I have borne."

The Sky God's fruits...?

Kai’s mind raced. If the Sky God were to be considered a tree, then he would be the roots, firmly planted deep within the earth.

Then his fruits would be...?

Naturally, they would be beings that shared his form.

Kai leaned toward Helik and whispered, "Helik, are there eagle-human tribes in this world?"

"Hmm. I don’t know if such a tribe exists, but there were definitely birdfolk. Now that I think about it, it’s been quite a long time since I last saw them."

Birdfolk!

Hearing her answer, Kai's eyes widened as his mind cleared.

But I’ve never seen any information about birdfolk in the community.

Elves, merfolk, and dwarves, these were the three demi-human races Kai knew of. While building Libertia, he had looked into other demi-human races just in case, but found nothing.

That means...

It was a race that was not publicly known.

It’s a hidden quest!

Kai’s eyes gleamed as he quickly nodded. "Of course. If you teach me your tracking skills, I will return here once my task is complete."

"I appreciate the positive response."

Iska’s sharp eagle-like eyes softened into a pleased smile. However, he soon looked slightly troubled.

"But you have no wings, which means you cannot fly, correct?"

"Yes."

"Hmm. My tracking technique is unparalleled... but it is fundamentally designed for those who can fly. What should we do about this..."

As Iska groaned in thought, Kai offered a suggestion.

"In that case, could one of my summons learn the skill instead of me?"

"Your summon? Let me see it."

"Alright. Enhanced Summon, Mimic.”

The rabbit, summoned onto the magic circle, glanced around the unfamiliar surroundings before hopping onto Kai’s foot, then his knee, then his arm, and finally perching on his shoulder in an instant.

Watching this, Iska spoke in a deflated tone, "Unless my eyes deceive me, your summon is a rabbit. It has no wings, just like you."

"Yes. That’s true for now... Mimic, wyvern form."

At Kai’s command, Mimic’s body was instantly covered in mercury and began to expand. In the blink of an eye, it took on the noble form of a wyvern, snorting out a puff of air.

Seeing this, Iska looked amused. "Wow. What an interesting creature."

"It’s called a Copycat Mimic. Would this one be able to learn your tracking skills?"

"More than enough."

Iska confidently placed his hand atop Mimic’s head. A moment later, a familiar sound echoed in Kai’s ears.

Ding!

[Mimic has learned the Unique skill Sky Watcher.]

[Sky Watcher]

Grade: Unique

Effect: Allows the user to hover in the sky and scout specific areas. Grants the ability to gather information about the scouted region.

Can track a target’s current location by recognizing their scent.

As skill proficiency increases, it will also be able to detect dungeons and buried minerals.

Cooldown: 1 hour

"Wow!" Kai exclaimed in admiration.

For a solo player like him, the Sky Watcher skill was incredibly useful.

This gives me another reason to summon Mimic more often.

This meant that every time he visited a new area, he could summon Mimic and send it on reconnaissance to gather most of the essential information. Compared to other games, it was essentially like playing with a map hack.

"Thank you very much. Thanks to you, Iska, I’ll be able to find what I need."

"I’m glad to be of help. I hope you are someone who keeps his promises."

"Of course. I will return soon."

After bowing respectfully, Kai took Helik’s hand and returned to the Celestial Garden.

"Helik, thank you for arranging the meeting with Iska. Now, I’m busy, so I’ll get going!"

As Kai hurriedly left, Helik waved and shouted after him, "Also bring jelly next time! Lots of it!"

***

An unnamed dungeon within the Illusory Forest was home to monsters with an average level of 350.

Boom! Boom!

Currently, an intense battle was unfolding in the boss room. The one fighting against a group of twelve players was a massive ghost, the Banshee Queen. It was a high-difficulty dungeon, one that only top-ranking players could hope to clear. However, despite the twelve players engaging the boss monster, there was no sound of voices.

"Argh."

"Shit."

Only occasional curses and groans escaped their lips. There were no commands, no party leader issuing orders, and the reason was simple.

The Banshee’s Veil has been activated.

If we cast a spell now, the damage will be reflected at twice the intensity. In short, we're screwed.

Looks like it’s my turn to step in as an archer.

Everyone present was a specialist in hunting.

—Kyaaaaaaah! To be defeated by such savage humans!

The Banshee Queen eventually let out a wailing scream and vanished.

Only then did the party leader finally speak.

"Good work, everyone."

"Well done."

"It wasn’t as difficult as I expected."

Among the players exchanging greetings, none collapsed or sat down from exhaustion. They simply controlled their breathing, quickly recovering their energy.

Watching them, the party leader, Senji, smiled proudly.

The Revenge Guild is strong.

Without a doubt, they were stronger than the former Titan guild even with only twenty-five members. Of course, the primary reason for that was the presence of their two co-masters.

But even without those two, we have grown stronger.

It was often said that those with a goal pushed themselves forward. Fueled by their thirst for revenge against Kai, they had rapidly improved.

Kai. Even if we face him head-on now, I’m confident we won’t lose.

With two masters of Mythic hidden classes, along with twenty-one top-tier rankers, they wouldn’t falter even against one of the world’s top ten guilds.

"Closing the dungeon. Let’s all exit safely." Senji led the party members out of the dungeon.

As a precaution against any unforeseen situations, the guild members guarding the dungeon entrance greeted him.

"Oh, you’ve returned."

"Good work."

Senji replied, "Yeah. No issues while we were inside?"

"None. Not a single ant approached."

"That’s a relief..."

Just as Senji nodded at the report, a strange feeling crept over him.

"Senji? What’s wrong all of a sudden...?"

With sharp eyes, Senji pressed a finger to his lips. "Shh!"

At his gesture, all the guild members swallowed nervously and held their breath.

Remaining silent, Senji carefully scanned the surroundings.

Someone is watching us.

His skin tingled as if being pricked. There was someone openly observing them. It was certain, as Aura Sense, a passive skill acquired by high-level spearmen, was issuing a warning.

But... from where?

He looked left and right, ahead and behind. Yet, he couldn’t spot the observer anywhere.

Then, Senji suddenly lifted his head.

No way...

Beyond the gloomy purple leaves, a single wyvern soared freely through the vast blue sky. And sitting atop it, Kai smiled, his eyes glowing green.

"Found you."