I planted a sacred tree in Tokyo.

Chapter 695 The Protagonist Makes His Debut

"Adelia?"

After everyone returned to 'Rogue Encampment',
First, I went to the cathedral to 'turn in the quest' and also told them Blood Crow's last words.

These students from the main world who came to participate in the 'exchange meeting' certainly didn't know who 'Adria' was; but as a big shot of a religious force in this world, and a blind nun skilled in 'prophecy', Akara should know something.

Inside the cathedral,
Simple and unpretentious, yet elegant and warm.

Not only were there no murals or statues, but there were also no decorations that religious sites should have;

Even the benches varied in age, clearly donated by different believers from the hall.

After thinking for a moment, the middle-aged nun named Akara frankly told everyone:

“I do know of a witch named ‘Adelia’,”

"It is said that after the fall of the mad King Leoric, she once entered the abandoned palace alone to investigate the truth, but was unfortunately captured by the devil."

Later, the witch managed to escape, but she became disheartened and stopped going to the front lines. Instead, she chose to create various magical potions to help those heroes.

"Prince Aidan, Morina (whom you brought to rest in peace, the 'Blood Raven'), and the mage Vizjere from the East—they all ventured together into the royal catacombs, slew Leoric, who had become the 'Skeleton King,' and rid the place of the demons that dwelled there. But in the end—"

The so-called 'victory' lasted only a few days.

Prince Aidan disappeared, and the Blood Crow, who had returned to the monastery, suddenly rebelled and drove Akara and the others out of the monastery that guarded the road to the east.

“There are very few people in our world who know the name ‘Adelia’.”

The gentle middle-aged female cultivator sighed. Since these were the 'Blood Crow's' last words, then it meant:
"The disappearance of the eldest prince and the fall of Blood Crow are both related to Adria!"

As a witch who sells potions, it couldn't be easier for her to poison the 'heroes': who would suspect the 'heroes' who provided the potions?
I see,

Amir and the others suddenly realized
They had always found it strange: King Leoric, the eldest prince, the captain of the monastic order—these powerful figures were either insane, missing, or had betrayed them. It gave the impression that the 'higher echelons' of this demiplane were unreliable.

Now it seems that it was all thanks to the traitor!
That's not surprising.
"Warriors from another world,"

"Thank you very much for bringing back this intelligence."

"On behalf of the survivors of Camp Rogue, I thank you, and—"

As Akara spread his arms, an ethereal and sacred hymn resounded in the simple church: like applause lining the streets, like falling petals, like countless words of praise. Accompanied by this hymn, platinum-gold light descended from the church dome.

The light was soft, gentle, and not at all aggressive;
It falls on people like a warm breeze and gentle water; whether they accept it or not is entirely up to them.

This is the 'reward'.

With a single thought, everyone felt an indescribable divine power washing over, healing, and strengthening them from head to toe!

This force did not attempt to influence their minds; it simply strengthened their bodies and the meridians through which spiritual energy flowed. In the process, it also deepened their mastery of their own abilities.

"That's all I can do."

As Akara's voice rang out, the light enveloping everyone gradually disappeared.

The students clenched their fists, their bodies brimming with power, which even caused some of them to exclaim in surprise.

"Did I break through?"

"C-level!"

The leaders of the Russian and English teams exchanged a glance amidst their excitement.

They were already just a step away from reaching the Tiger level of transcendence, but Sister Akara gave them extra boosts, allowing them to instantly reach the Tiger level.

This easy way to become stronger is truly irresistible.

Sister, let me see your limits.
"Fellow warriors,"

After raising her hand to 'upgrade' everyone, the middle-aged nun gave them earnest instructions.

"Strength is often the most important condition for success."

"But remember, never let power control you: I have seen far too many people who pursue power and end up becoming its slaves."

Throughout the history of this 'Sanctuary World', countless heroes have believed they could wield greater power, but many of them ultimately became controlled by that power, bringing various disasters to the world:

Calling out those mages who are always courting death!
If they don't come up with something new every now and then, they'd be doing a disservice to their monks' 'research spirit'.

Ultimately, it's all because 'someone' used the souls of scientists from the main world to create these mages: as everyone knows, the scientists who died in the main world were a group of madmen who laughed at their rampaging experimental subjects.

"I don't know much about Adelia, whom you all mentioned."

After giving out the rewards, the middle-aged nun issued another 'task' to everyone:
"But the wise man 'Cairne' of Tristram should know this witch very well. Could you please go to Tristram and rescue her?"

?

Sister Akara,

Saki, carrying a bow and arrows, raised her hand and was the first to ask a question.

"Isn't Tristram the fallen capital of your country?"

The calamities of the devil come from there. Not to mention how dangerous it is there now, how could there possibly be any living people left?
"Yes,"

“I ‘see’ that the wise man Kane is still alive,”

"Although I don't know why the demons just imprisoned him."

All eyes were focused on Akara's grayish-white pupils. She appeared to be blind, yet she could 'see' things from an unknown distance. Could she also possess some kind of 'divine eye'?
“Ms. Akara,”

Amir then raised another question.
"That city must have quite a few 'monster bosses', right?"

It's obvious to anyone with a brain that the demons who conquered the capital of this kingdom wouldn't just be a bunch of weaklings; there might even be others.
Legendary Demon!

"Yes, there are multiple monster leaders in that city."

? !
This time,
All the teams were in an uproar.

They need to cooperate closely and go all out to defeat a single monster leader.

They could only win by relying on numbers, ability, and the ability to kill on the first encounter. If they encountered multiple monster leaders, unless the other side attacked one by one while the others watched, these students would only be defeated and killed if a real fight broke out.

They came to the exchange meeting to seek extraordinary opportunities and showcase their country's extraordinary strength, not to be tormented.

Even if they don't die, no one wants to leave this demiplane right now.

I haven't even farmed many runes yet!
"Please don't worry,"

Akara had already made arrangements regarding this issue.

"While you warriors are fighting, adventurers from other countries have also arrived one after another."

?

Almost forgot!

Only then did everyone realize that the area they were in was just one country in this demiplane.

While this country's supernatural power was shattered by the demons, other countries were not greatly affected and most would send reinforcements.

As she thought this, Tokugawa Shizuka turned to look at the cathedral's entrance.

Because of her, everyone else turned their heads as well.

Clang, clang, clang~~
The sound of armor scraping against each other could be heard, and soon, two figures appeared at the entrance of the cathedral.

"Good day, warriors from another world."

The newcomer was dressed in standard knight's plate armor, but the armor was covered with golden patterns radiating from the left chest. The plate armor shimmered with silver light and the gold patterns were dazzling. The colors of the two precious metals complemented each other, and just by standing there, one could not take their eyes off him.

“My name is Haruka, a paladin from Westmarch.”

The young paladin with short silver hair gave a graceful bow: he was more like a prince at a ball than a warrior.

???

Such a flamboyant appearance left many students speechless and exchanging bewildered glances. Next, they were heading to the epicenter of the demonic disaster to rescue people; a bald, muscular giant, eight feet tall with an eight-foot waist and covered in battle markings, would certainly make them feel safer.
"cough,"

A cough came from next to the silver-haired, golden-armored paladin.

"You can call me Yura."

The girl, wearing a bark coat, a deer helmet, and holding a withered wood staff, spoke;
Half of her face was hidden under a helmet shaped like a deer's head, with only her smooth chin showing.

“From the eastern continent of Skosgreen, and the northern Turalyon Black Forest.”

After speaking, the girl paused for a moment.

"As you can see, he is a druid."

Hey, that soft, cute voice... it sounds like she's not even in high school yet. There's probably no compulsory education in this world. But is this 'young master + little girl' combination really reinforcements?
"Thank you for the arrival of the two 'legendary' powerhouses,"

"At such a critical moment, we extend a helping hand to the Kingdom of Kanduras."

However, Sister Akara, who was standing behind them, shattered their shallow understanding when she spoke.

legend!

And both of them are!

In their familiar classification, it would be: Ghost Level.

"You're welcome,"

Amidst the solemn expressions of students from various countries, the silver-haired young paladin smiled and waved.

"Because of the previous war, our country also needs to recuperate and rebuild—so I came first, please forgive me."

The paladin's country, Westmarch, was inexplicably attacked by the Kingdom of Kanduras not long ago; the fact that he can still send out legendary-level reinforcements is truly worthy of the name "paladin".

"Thank you so much,"

Akara bowed slightly again; she, too, was a legend.
Unfortunately, she's a support-type legend; maintaining a camp of hundreds of thousands of people with the 'Holy Light Barrier' is already her limit.

If it weren't for her presence, this 'camp' would have been overturned and slaughtered by the monster army long ago.

"I entrust the task of rescuing people in Tristram to you all."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"The Blood Crow was killed?"

These are the heroes.

"Praise be to you, warrior from afar, your courage amazes even angels, your bravery makes demons flee—"

After leaving the cathedral, the news spread: along the way, commoners and nobles dressed in medieval attire kept bowing to Tokugawa Shizuka, the Tatsuki Squad, and the Amir Squad, and even kissing the ground they walked on.

On the contrary, the English and Russians—whose attire did not match the rumors of 'foreign adventurers'—were mistaken for noble private soldiers.

"Gentlemen, if you have something to attend to, please do so as soon as possible."

"An hour later, everyone gathered at the camp entrance."

The young paladin with silver hair and golden armor raised his hand.

The teams then separated to prepare for the battle.

After killing the Bloodbird, no 'rune' dropped, but a longbow did; it was blown hundreds of meters away by the nuclear explosion, but miraculously remained undamaged.

This longbow, named 'Blood Raven's Attack,' fires arrows that explode with flames.

Whoever picks it up instantly becomes a sharpshooter with perfect aim; it's a powerful 'magical weapon' that immediately attracted teams from all over the world to compete for it.

If the crowd hadn't retained their rationality and known that this was an 'exchange meeting,' they probably would have started fighting on the spot.

In the end, the magical weapon was won in a bidding war among the four members of the Sanzu Town group.

The one that dealt the fatal blow to 'Blood Crow' was Yukino's 'Nether Slave Nuclear Bomb', so the four of them made the greatest contribution;
Besides, the other teams didn't have much need for 'bows and arrows': in the end, it fell into the hands of the girl with the side ponytail, 'Saki'.

"Such a powerful weapon, given to a Strong Dog-level?"

As she walked, the girl in the black robe, Fatima, couldn't help but mutter to herself.

Such a waste!

But how did a weakling at the level of a strong dog infiltrate the island nation's team?
"That's their business, we shouldn't interfere."

Amir casually recounted,
Having fled his hometown to Cairo and witnessed much of the world's complexities along the way, he easily discerned that the seemingly weakest girl with the side ponytail was actually the core of the group. Without her mediating intervention, the remaining three would have immediately gone their separate ways.

This role is both the 'group's darling' and the spiritual leader.

Now that their weakness has been addressed, that team... no, it's no threat.

"They have already exhausted a lot of their resources in order to bid for 'Blood Crow's Attack'."

He explained to his two friends as they walked.
"next time,"

"We will definitely take the runes we obtain!"

"Three people,"

They hadn't gone far when Amir and his companions were stopped by a tall figure.

"Sister Chaxi?"

The newcomer was a tall and beautiful female blacksmith: it is said that this female blacksmith has 'savage' blood, but she was adopted by Akara from a young age and trained to be one of the core members of the 'Blind Eye' monastic order.

"You're going to Tristram?"

The female blacksmith seemed to be in a low mood, but she forced herself to cheer up and called out to the three of them.

"I need your help."

"In Tristram, there once lived the country's finest blacksmith: Lord Griswold."

?

"But that place has already fallen, and this gentleman is very likely already..."

Amir tentatively opened his mouth.
"Yes,"

Chashi does not deny this, and in fact, many refugees have confirmed it:
It was because 'Griswold' covered their retreat alone that they were able to escape from the monster tide.

"Lord Gracewald is not only a legendary blacksmith, but also a master paladin: those demons will never let him go."

The blacksmith gritted her teeth; her so-called "not letting go" didn't simply mean killing, but rather:

"You may very well encounter a monster named Lord Gracewald on your journey!"

And it must be at the level of a leader!

"On Lord Gracewald's person,"

Chasi came to Amir's trio because he knew they could 'easily' kill the corpse.

"Clad in a full set of armor he forged himself: the legend of Gracewald!"

"I would like to ask you to bring it back."

This set of equipment is of immense symbolic significance and practical value.

"That set of equipment can only be used by paladins."

To prevent the 'otherworldly adventurer' from stealing her equipment, the female blacksmith also brought out her own bargaining chips:
“I have a rune number 8 that can be combined with your rune number 3 to form the runeword ‘Leaf’: This runeword isn’t particularly strong, but it comes with the ‘warmth’ ability, which can continuously restore mana.”

?

Amir was tempted by the reward.

(End of this chapter)