The God of Protection, Heim

The equipment section of the Character Sheet had gained four full magical items, two of which were shrouded in a layer of dark red light.

These were the Wight's bow and war blade—magical items of ordinary quality, yet both bore the same curse.

Wasting Curse: The wielder must make a medium-difficulty (18) Constitution Saving Throw once per day. Failure results in necrotic erosion, damaging vitality and reducing the maximum HP by one point.

A useless burden, Anse sighed inwardly.

Necrotic damage acted directly upon a target's life force, inducing disease, curses, or reducing maximum HP. Minor cases could be healed by the body itself, but severe cases could cause permanent damage.

If someone unaware of the truth were to use a weapon bearing the Wasting Curse, they would grow increasingly frail.

The other two magical items were relatively normal: a Bastard Sword and a silver cup.

The Bastard Sword was the Amn Captain's weapon, named "Silent Sword." It was of fine quality, possessing the traits "Tenacity" and "Wind Slash."

"Wind Slash" was quite rare, allowing the longsword to be swung almost silently while increasing the speed of strikes.

This sword was very valuable; Warrior weapons were always in high demand, though he had no intention of selling it for now.

What surprised Anse most was the silver cup, which shimmered with a faint, golden-white light.

[Magical Item: Guardian Holy Grail]
"Category": Wondrous Item
"Rarity": Rare

This was a sacred item from the church of the God of Protection, containing pure Light power.

"Sobering Aura": When resisting spells that affect the mind, such as Sleep, Suggestion, or Confusion, gain +2 to Saving Throws.

"Guardian Radiance": When activated, it erupts in a blaze of flame-like brilliance in a designated area, dealing 1d8 (1-8) points of radiant damage. If the target is a Fiendish creature or undead, the damage increases by 1d8.

Each charge covers a 5-foot (1.5-meter) square area. Every 10 charges dealt an additional 1d8 radiant damage, up to a maximum of 3d8 (3-24).

Current charges: 0/30.

When worn on the body, every act of "proactive and spontaneous" vigilance, protection, or keeping a promise resonates with the domains of Life and Light, granting 1 charge.

A Heim follower gains 1 additional charge per day.

"Heim?"

Anse took out the holy grail and, after a quick wipe, found the Gauntlet Holy Symbol of Heim on the bottom.

Heim was the God of Protection and Vigilance, presiding over the domains of Life and Light, guiding his followers to remain alert, clear-headed, and true to their word.

"Very powerful, yet very demanding," Anse didn't know how to describe this holy relic.

At full charge, its damage was on par with a Prismatic Sphere, but while a Prismatic Sphere dealt single-target damage, Guardian Radiance could cover an area up to 45 meters in diameter—the difference was night and day.

The key was that it didn't require "attunement"; it could be used as soon as it was held, though it was difficult for an ordinary person to utilize its core traits.

"Proactive and spontaneous" meant the user's motivation and the result had to align with the requirements; motivation took precedence over the result, and mere accidents didn't count.

But if someone were to consistently act according to the grail's requirements, wouldn't they eventually become a follower of Heim?

"I wonder who made this grail; they've got eight hundred schemes in their head."

"The Sobering Aura is decent enough, I'll make do with it."

He tied the grail to his necklace and tucked it into his cloak alongside his holy symbol.

These items were spoils of his solo battle, and they were his to dispose of as he pleased.

The Amnians were wealthy, and the weapons and gear they had tossed into the lake were likely quite good, but he had no intention of fishing them out. The group had accomplices; he would deal with that if the opportunity arose later.

Or, he could find time to draw up a treasure map; selling treasure maps wasn't a bad idea either.

As the sky brightened, the group marched in a long line through the wilderness.

Dozens of people, dragging their families and carrying bundles, looked as disheveled as refugees.

The leader rode a black steed over two meters tall, draped in a black cloak, occasionally galloping to high ground to scan the horizon.

But the wilderness was vast, lacking clear landmarks, making accurate navigation difficult.

Anse sighed and shoved the map in his hand back into his pack.

He would leave the guiding to Finn in the future; he truly wasn't cut out for it. Even when playing games with a 3D map and positioning, he still managed to get lost, let alone in a high-difficulty scenario like this.

Just then, Emon caught up from behind, waving at him from a distance.

Anse patted the horse's back, and Noronos turned down the slope, trotting over.

"Anse, no one followed us, right?"

"No."

"That's good. Perhaps we should part ways here. Our people can't go any further; we must rest for half a day." Emon didn't want to drag Anse down by exploiting his connection to Brat.

Anse was a spellcaster; his time was not the same as an ordinary person's.

"We'll rest for a while too, take a nap before moving on," Anse nodded.

"Good."

Watching Emon bustle about—setting up camp, soothing the others, and preparing food—Anse couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

Everyone had their own choices to make; in this life, he only wanted to be responsible for himself.

In his past life, many people claimed to owe this or that to others, but in reality, the person they owed the most was themselves.

Anse beckoned to Brat and the others, and they found a dry, elevated spot a short distance away.

They didn't cook this time; the three of them sat side by side, each clutching a bag of emergency rations.

Emergency rations were a mixture of cheese, sausage, cured meat, dried fruit, and salted crackers—a crumbly fare, but not unpleasant to eat.

After a night of turmoil, everyone was famished and ate with great relish.

"Thank you, Anse," Brat suddenly spoke up.

Anse smiled but didn't respond.

Looking back at the process, he had helped Brat many times, but each instance carried very little risk. Yet, at the Flying Dragon Bridge, when the javelin had come flying toward them, Brat had stood firmly in front of him, knowing full well he might die.

How many people could truly do that?

"Do you want the Void-Piercing Sword? It should be a bit better than the sword you have now," he said, changing the subject.

"I'm not used to a Bastard Sword," Brat shook his head. "Sword and Shield suits me better."

His Fighting Style was "Intercept," and he was accustomed to a one-handed sword; he wasn't particularly skilled with shields or throwing axes.

"Teach me some melee techniques later—unarmed, short blades, or a Longsword." Anse's Polymorph was better suited for close-quarters combat.

The Sorcerer class itself granted proficiency in Simple Weapons like daggers, quarterstaffs, and sickles, so learning Martial Weapons or unarmed combat wouldn't be too difficult.

"Sure," Brat agreed instantly.

As they were talking, an eagle's cry rang out in the sky. Finn froze, his eyes turning vacant.

After a long while, he turned to look at Anse. "A group has emerged from the Cloakwood Forest with several carriages. Their direction... is Giant Red Deer Village."

"Nahival." Anse suddenly recalled the threat the Amnian had made before he died.

"Nahival?" Brat asked in surprise. "The Nahival of one of the five great families of Amn?"

"I suppose so." Anse knew of the Council of Five Elders, but he wasn't clear on exactly which five families they were.

"Nahival controls Esmirtalan, focusing primarily on mining and the slave trade. Their reach spans half the Sword Coast, and they are very powerful. We must be careful; Nahival is known for holding grudges."

Brat had lived in Amn for a time and understood the arrogance and greed of the Council of Five Elders all too well.

There were no secrets in this world; the dead and the spirits could both speak, so it was only a matter of time before they were found out.

"Let them come. They're just a bunch of slave traders." Anse spoke tough, but in truth, he grew secretly vigilant.