The Sweet, Adorable Priestess Was Acting Strange

The greatest value of this rare magical item lay in the knowledge it contained for taking up the [Elemental Artificer] profession.

The three attached spells were merely extras, but they had their own uses as well.

[Mending] was just a cantrip, capable of repairing breaks or cracks no longer than one inch on an object.

[Stone Polishing] was a first-circle spell that could summon a magical grinding wheel to automatically polish stone into the desired shape.

The polishing speed depended on the stone's hardness and size.

[Metal Shaping] was a third-circle spell that could shape metal into any form.

Its shaping efficiency likewise depended on the type of metal.

Shaping soft gold was vastly faster than shaping hard adamantine.

The targets of [Stone Polishing] and [Metal Shaping] had to be unowned or belong to the caster.

So there was no way to indulge in such tasteless fantasies as turning the longsword in an enemy's hand into a ridiculous metal fake dick during battle.

All three spells belonged to the Transmutation school. They were highly compatible with artisan professions and could provide immense convenience when crafting all kinds of items.

Marvin stroked the badge with his thumb. A white ray with a metallic sheen shot out from it and enveloped the pile of silver coins before him.

In about a minute, the coins fused together into a silver sphere.

Marvin used [Metal Shaping] on the silver sphere again, breaking it down into silver bullets with a diameter of 0.7 inches each.

The flintlock's caliber was 0.72 inches.

When loading ammunition, the paper casing of the cartridge was stuffed into the muzzle along with the bullet and rammed tight with a ramrod. This filled the tiny gap caused by the bullet being slightly smaller than the barrel's bore, improving the seal so that accuracy and range would not be affected too badly.

"Thank magic's mighty power. I made eighteen silver bullets so easily, and with such astonishing precision. Every single bullet is exactly the same size, without the slightest error." Marvin let out a long breath.

Afterward, he took kraft paper, Smokepowder, and various tools from the Packhorse Sack, then began manually making cartridges.

To speed things up, he constantly summoned [Mage Hand] to assist him.

With three hands working at once, he finally completed the cartridges before lunch.

He also gained 8 proficiency points in [Mage Hand].

Because [Mage Hand] was highly related to [Enhanced Mage Hand], the latter benefited as well and gained 1 proficiency point.

Then Marvin used the [Mending] attached to the Elemental Machine Badge to repair the chipped silvered shortsword of the rogue, as well as the dwarf's plate armor, which had been left with a dent after taking a heavy blow from a Lemure.

After working all morning and eating lunch, the Goddess Body Fragrance Squad had returned to the excellent condition they had been in when they first set out. They broke camp and continued onward.

Nothing happened that afternoon or evening, and they safely made it through the next day.

On the morning of the third day, everyone's spirits rose.

After another three miles, they would leave the side road and enter the main road. Only ten miles remained to the Druid Herb Garden. So long as nothing unexpected happened, they would be having lunch at the Druid Herb Garden by noon.

Then the squad ran into something unexpected.

Just as they emerged from the side road, they encountered the Sacred Eternal Sun Squad once more.

But this time, that "Mr. Hero" could no longer guard his harem like a lion.

He was lying on a mat, clutching his abdomen with a pained expression. He seemed to be badly injured.

The three girls surrounded him, some feeding him water and others wiping away his sweat. None of them noticed the Goddess Body Fragrance Squad approaching.

"Looks like Mr. Eruien is enjoying a wonderful life with his three girlfriends. Have fun," Toad, who never spared anyone with his mouth, mocked.

Devils had appeared in Blue Creek Valley now. Even Marvin and the others had experienced the feeling of being caught off guard in their previous battle.

No matter how much protagonist aura "Mr. Hero" had, Sacred Eternal Sun was only a rookie adventuring squad with an average level of 2.

They lacked experience, and given Eruien's personality, he definitely would not act cautiously. It was only natural that he would eventually get hurt or suffer a setback.

That was the consequence of blind confidence.

"Enough, let's go. Don't waste time."

As the captain, Slicked-back Hair was relatively steady. He stopped the halfling rogue, who still wanted to continue spewing trash talk.

They had not gone far when a pitiful voice suddenly called out from behind them. "Friends, please wait! We need help!"

Marvin turned around and saw the sweet, innocent-looking young priestess running toward them.

"Let's hear what she has to say," Slicked-back Hair said.

He had a fairly good impression of this sensible young priestess.

He was not such an indiscriminately kind person that he would help someone who had clashed with them for free, but if he could take the opportunity to make a deal and earn a little money, that would be nice too.

Followers of Waukeen could not pass up any opportunity to make money.

The priestess walked up to them and raised her right hand, which was clad in a chainmail glove.

This was the greeting gesture most commonly used by followers of Torm, the god of courage. It was called the "Steadfast Hand."

"Good morning, everyone. I'm Ahli." The young priestess smiled sweetly, revealing adorable dimples in her cheeks. "As you can see, Eruien has been injured.

"Last night, we were ambushed by devils. Most of them were Lemures, but they were commanded by a powerful Bearded Devil. We barely defeated them, but Eruien was slashed by the Bearded Devil's hellish cleaver while protecting me..."

Bearded Devils were the backbone of the infernal legions.

Whether invading the Prime Material Plane or fighting demons in the Blood War, they were always among the first to charge ahead.

In the hierarchy of devils, Bearded Devils ranked one tier above Spined Devils. They were challenge rating 3 monsters. And unlike the gelatinous monster Marvin had killed before, there was no trick to defeating one. It could only be done through sheer strength.

At the tavern, Eruien could defeat adventurers stronger than himself through his superior swordsmanship because everyone followed the rules and remained rational. They would not fight to the death over some petty "what the hell are you looking at?" dispute.

But when facing a Bearded Devil and forced into a direct clash, Eruien's strength was somewhat lacking.

For the Sacred Eternal Sun Squad, with an average level of 2, to defeat one Bearded Devil and multiple Lemures was already extraordinarily fortunate. Injuries were to be expected.

The troublesome part was that the Bearded Devil's hellish cleaver was a magical weapon. It could leave an "infernal wound" on a target, causing its vitality to continuously drain away.

To heal an "infernal wound," one had to use a spell with purifying effects to remove the corrosive dark energy from the wound before stitching and bandaging it.

Of course, if no purification spell had been prepared, washing the "infernal wound" with holy water could achieve the same effect.

The Sacred Eternal Sun Squad lacked adventuring experience, and Eruien had been overly confident. So when they came to Blue Creek Valley this time, they had actually brought no holy water. Faced with their current situation, they could only be helpless.

Moreover, the young priestess had used up all her divine spells.

Fortunately, they had encountered Marvin and the others. The priestess hoped to buy a few bottles of holy water to treat Eruien's injuries.

After hearing of their misfortune, Slicked-back Hair wore a sympathetic expression, then sold her two bottles of holy water at the "discounted price" of 100 gold coins per bottle.

Normally, a standard bottle of holy water was worth 25 gold coins.

This time, the priest of Waukeen had made quite a profit.

But that was not enough.

When the priestess was about to leave, he kindly advised her, "Devils have been appearing in Blue Creek Valley recently. You aren't properly prepared, and one of your members is injured. Continuing the mission is not a good choice. It would be best for you to return to Friendly Arm as soon as possible."

He looked as though he were considering the priestess's well-being, but Marvin and the others knew that he was probably plotting to monopolize the Druid Herb Garden and make a fortune.

"Thank you, sir. I'll discuss it carefully with my companions."

The young priestess accepted the holy water and returned with a grateful expression.

Marvin stared at her retreating back, deep in thought.

"Taken with her?" The half-elf rogue leaned over, his voice rough as sandpaper scraping against armor. "She really is a cute girl, but I always feel like something is off.

"Believe me, it's intuition I developed while growing up on the streets. I'm excellent at judging people, and I've never been wrong."