A Two-Hundred-Pound Strongman

There was no doubt that saving these people would come at a cost.

But that cost

wasn't particularly high.

At least, not as high as Shana had imagined.

"The prompt offers two methods. The first is to upgrade these five Servants to Level 3. That would raise their base attributes above 2. Then, with Shana's 'Holy Light Healing' to support them, they should be able to pull through."

"But while upgrading a Level 1 Servant only costs five Mist Points, Level 2 costs 25, and Level 3 is even worse—it costs 150 outright."

Colin abandoned the idea without hesitation. Including his own Mist Points and the ones he'd just scavenged, he had a little over five hundred. He could get more from the Trade Market.

But it was simply too much of a loss.

Nobody was naïve enough to trade Mist Points for water anymore.

Even if someone did, there were very few of them. By the time he finished trading, the people on the ground would probably be nearly dead.

"The second method is more acceptable by comparison. Upgrade the Servants to Level 2, which will bring their base attributes to around 1.5. Then spend 300 Mist Points to upgrade Miss Shana once. She'll gain a skill."

Colin decided to go with the second plan without giving it much thought.

As for the first plan, he wasn't about to spend a total of 750 Mist Points to get five Level 3 Servants with all their attributes around 2.

But he was willing to compromise: spend 150 to upgrade the five of them to Level 2, then spend 300 to upgrade Shana.

Besides, Colin had already seen in the prompt that this would fulfill one of her deepest regrets.

He didn't know what that regret was, but she'd contributed the most this time. She was the greatest hero here.

So he'd grant her wish.

Colin gathered his thoughts and walked over to the mage's corpse. After first taking control of all the Servants, he checked their information.

[Servant]

Identity: Servant belonging to Colin.

Status: [Flesh Mushroom Poisoning]: "Berserk," "Frenzied," "Near Death," "Hallucinating," "Semi-Conscious."

Satiety: 11

Strength: 1.7 (decreasing)

Agility: 1.6 (decreasing)

Endurance: 0.4 (decreasing)

Stamina: 0.3 (decreasing)

The long list of debuffs made Colin's eyelid twitch. He hadn't expected eating that mushroom to have such dire consequences.

He didn't look any further. Swallowing his reluctance, he quickly upgraded their levels.

After 150 Mist Points were spent, the groans of the people lying on the ground noticeably quieted.

Colin saw their stats rise by a lot.

But it still wasn't enough.

"I still need you to step in."

Shana nodded without a word.

Colin opened her status panel and upgraded her without the slightest hesitation.

This time, he noticed something strange: three wisps of gray mist, pure and seemingly similar to the Gray Fog, yet utterly different, rose from his body.

Could only wisps of mist worth more than 100 Mist Points be seen?

Colin guessed.

Then he watched as the three wisps flew into Shana, and her presence changed with them.

[Holy Light Priest: Shana Heraka (Note 1)]

Identity: Holy Light Priest of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun.

Description: A kind and gentle Holy Light Priest who brings healing.

Power: Second Stage.

Status: "Inspired," "Blessing of Courage."

Satiety: 77

Strength: 3.9–7.1 (the first is the base value; the second is the value with blessings and other bonuses)

Endurance: 3.3–5.9

Stamina: 3.1–5.4

Agility: 2.1–3.4

Spirit: 2.8–4.1

Intelligence: 2.5–3.9

Mana: 1200/1200.

Skills: "Robust Body," "Meteor Hammer," "Sweep Kick," "Wind of Recovery (New)."

[Wind of Recovery: A healing wind will blow within an eight-meter radius of the user. All Order-aligned living beings in the area will recover rapidly. (Can stack.)]

[Level-Up Details: All attributes increase by 1, and all skill effects are enhanced by 10%.]

[Next Upgrade Requirements: 1000 Mist Points, 1 Trace of Light, 100 Condensing Light Stones.]

"Those are monster-level stats."

Colin took one look and felt a chill. Shana's appearance hadn't changed much.

But her bearing had become noticeably more holy and noble.

That is, if you ignored the fact that she could kill a bear with one punch.

"Only a world like this could make something like this possible. In a normal world, how could someone with this kind of strength look so tiny?"

Colin couldn't help but marvel. Even with all his muscles, Tyson's stats weren't as high as hers.

All she had to do was stand there, and a two-hundred-pound strongman might not be able to bend even one of her fingers.

Shana also felt the changes in herself. A new skill had appeared in her mind, and she knew exactly what it could do and how to use it.

"My thanks to you, Sir Colin."

Shana's blue eyes grew moist, and her eyes reddened. She bit her lower lip. She had so much she wanted to say to thank him, but only that short sentence came out.

She knew that this improvement must have cost a tremendous amount of resources.

[Holy Light Priest Shana Heraka's loyalty to you has increased by 30%. Current progress: 100%!]

[Note: She will never betray you again.]

[Prompt: Your efforts have not gone unrewarded. You have a vague sense that you will reap a rich reward at some point in the future.]

[Prompt 2: You realize that your willingness to save several dying Servants at any cost has deeply moved all the Servants present, and they empathize with them.]

[You realize that one day they will offer you the strongest, most unwavering loyalty—even if you are already dead.]

Colin ignored the system messages and paid little attention to the prompts. He patted Shana's shoulder. "Save them first."

"All right."

Shana nodded firmly and took a deep breath, suppressing her excitement.

But just as she was about to use her new skill, Colin suddenly called out to stop her. When she looked at him in confusion,

Colin gave an awkward cough. He remembered that Shana's skill would heal and purify everyone within an eight-meter radius.

As far as he could tell, there was no limit to how many people it could affect.

Whether it saved a few or many, the cost was still considerable. To spend that much just to save a handful of people—

That seemed like a waste.

Colin voiced the thought that had just occurred to him. Shana said she didn't mind, and the several dozen people quickly gathered together.

An eight-meter radius covered an area of roughly two hundred square meters. Four or five dozen people could fit inside, packed fairly tightly but not uncomfortably.

Soon, a light, gentle, pale-green wind stirred through the area, visible as it swirled around Shana.

Thanks to "Famous Beyond the Classics," "Baiyun Gui," "Big Big Garbage," and "My Cousin-in-Law and I Both Laughed" for the tips, and thanks to everyone for your support.

Phew. Thank you.