The Healing Solaris Cleric-Chapter 317: Stroke of Genius (2)

A look of immense confidence appeared on Helik’s face as she stood with her arms crossed. "The thing I completed... is this!"

As Kai looked away from her face and down at the table, he saw a crystal sphere placed on top. It was a phone.

"This is a phone, isn’t it?"

"Mhmm. Isn’t it amazing?"

There was nothing particularly amazing about it because this phone was the one he had bought for her.

"What’s so special about it? I gave this to you, remember?"

"Th-that’s true... but listen until the end."

Slightly taken aback, Helik shook her head and picked up the phone.

She began explaining the product like a shopping host. "The phone you gave me runs on magic, which means it can’t function in the celestial realm."

"Right. Isn’t that why you lost interest? You played with it for a while, then stopped, so I figured you had gotten bored."

"Hehe. I am the Solarian God. I do not know the meaning of giving up." As she raised the phone up, a flash of light sparkled above her head. "This is no ordinary phone. It is a phone that I myself modified."

"Modified? You did?"

Finally intrigued, Kai reached out with a curious look and started to examine the phone.

"Yup. I modified it."

"What’s different about it?"

"To get to the point, it now works in the celestial realm."

"Oh?"

Impressed, Kai asked about the mechanics.

"It’s simple. I removed all the magic circuits and rewired it to use holy power instead."

"Whoa. That sounds like a pretty advanced task."

"I wouldn’t be a god for nothing."

Kai nodded as he watched her shoulders rise with pride.

"So now I can contact you with this?"

“Yes! I also modified all the phones you gave me and distributed them to the other gods as well."

For some reason, he had a feeling things could become a bit of a hassle.

"And this is your phone."

Kai accepted the phone Helik handed him and examined the crystal sphere from all angles.

Hmm. This’ll be my first time actually using a phone myself.

He didn’t have any player close enough to contact through phone. After all, MID Online already had a built-in messaging system. To compare, the base messaging system was like a phone’s default text app, and the phone Helik made was like a downloaded messenger app.

"Do you know how to use it though?" Kai shook the phone as he asked.

Helik nodded in response. "I learned."

"Oh, then want to give it a test run?"

"Yes!"

Excited, Helik picked up her phone. A moment later, the phone in Kai’s hand rang with a notification.

She really does know how to use it.

Kai chuckled and checked the message she sent.

[Helik: Ta-da. I know how to use this. >_<]

"Wow."

Seeing that she could even use cute emoticons, he figured he had little to worry about. Still, Kai didn’t forget to give her a warning.

"You’re using it really well. But if you stare at it too long, it’ll be bad for your eyes, so don’t look at it too much, okay?"

"Mhmm. Got it."

Kai gently ruffled her hair and got ready to leave.

“Are you leaving again...?"

"Yeah. I’ll bring you a limited-edition cake next time. I heard a really famous patissier opened a new bakery in one of the Empire’s cities."

"Hmph." Looking sullen, Helik waved her phone. "I’m gonna send you messages."

"Hahaha. Send them whenever you want."

"Okay! Look forward to them!"

Helik and Kai waved their hands eagerly at each other in farewell.

***

When Tuesday came, Han Jung-Woo naturally met with Yoo Ha-Rin. At first, they only met at the Happy Orphanage, but over time, they began using other places as meeting spots more frequently. Of course, they hadn’t forgotten the purpose of their meetings.

The Happy Orphanage had already been supported well by Yoo Ha-Rin, so there wasn’t much left for him to help with. Because of that, he had a discussion with her, and it led to the rather odd conclusion that she would accompany him to volunteer at different orphanages every Tuesday.

“You came early, Ha-Rin.”

Han Han Jung-Woo approached Yoo Ha-Rin, who was waiting for him at the agreed location.

She was dressed in activewear that allowed for easy movement, and even that looked good on her.

Yoo Ha-Rin, who proved that fashion was completed not by clothes but by face and figure, shook her head. “No, I just got here myself.”

“Well, that’s good. Where are we headed today?”

“To Hanbit Orphanage in Seocho-dong. Apparently, the sponsors who were supporting them recently pulled out, so their finances have taken a sudden hit.”

“Sounds like we’ll be of real help. Let’s head over right away.”

Since neither of them had a car, they usually traveled by public transportation.

“I looked it up in advance. If we take the bus, it drops us off right in front of the orphanage.”

“Really? Then let’s take the bus.”

As they made their way to the bus stop, numerous gazes landed on the two.

“Whoa, hey, look over there.”

“Goddess alert... They say fortune favors the brave, should I go ask for her number?”

“Don’t be stupid. That’s probably her boyfriend next to her.”

“Come on, you really think he’s her boyfriend?”

Yoo Ha-Rin was stunningly beautiful, but Han Jung-Woo was not quite handsome enough to be called a pretty boy, so the two of them together made others tilt their heads.

“But seriously, I feel like I’ve seen that woman somewhere before. Where was it?”

“There you go again, making up nonsense. If you had seen someone like her, you would have remembered instantly.”

“True.”

At first, going places with someone like Yoo Ha-Rin, who attracted attention everywhere, had been quite a struggle, but humans were creatures of adaptation. By now, Han Jung-Woo accepted the gazes without much reaction.

It was a bit much at first, but now it’s whatever.

It was a feeling that made him understand managers of celebrities.

As the two sat in their bus seats, the topic of conversation naturally shifted to their common interest, the game.

“Oh, now that I think about it, your level hasn’t gone up recently. Did something happen?”

“No, I just felt like I’d been pushing too hard lately, so I’m taking a bit of a break.”

“Wow. I’m jealous. When will I ever be able to afford such luxury...” With eyes full of genuine envy, Yoo Ha-Rin rubbed the dark circles under her eyes. “If I take even a day off from hunting, that guy, Chris, overtakes me in the rankings, so I can’t rest.”

“I actually thought rankings wouldn’t matter much to you. Guess I was wrong.”

The more he got to know her, the more she strayed from her cool, nonchalant image.

“Of course I care. Doesn’t everyone? Do you know how hard I worked to get this far? And on top of that, I... Oh, you saw the broadcast, right?”

“If you’re talking about the Dungeon of the Absolute, of course I did.”

Kai could already guess what she wanted to say.

“Then you know I don’t have a job class.”

“I was actually curious about that. Why haven’t you picked a class yet?”

As the second-ranked player, she was still a novice without a job class. When that was revealed, people’s opinion of her rose even more.

If I hadn’t gotten a class like Solaris Cleric...

He probably wouldn’t have even been able to stand at the same level as this natural-born genius, which just made him more curious.

Once she picks a job class, she’ll get even stronger. That’s a given.

There were the stat bonuses from class advancement, class-exclusive skills, and even equipment usable only by specific classes. Plus, the side effects of class advancements were huge.

However, Yoo Ha-Rin had rejected all of that and continued walking the path of a novice. “Hmm... It’s kind of a long story.”

“It’s fine. We’ve still got... thirty-two minutes until we arrive at the orphanage,” Han Jung-Woo replied, checking his phone’s map app.

Then, Yoo Ha-Rin shyly lowered her head. “This kind of feels like a career counseling session in high school. It’s kinda embarrassing...”

Unable to continue right away, she eventually mumbled quietly, “I don’t know what I want to do.”

“... You’re talking about in-game job classes, right?”

“Yes.”

"From what I saw last time, you were really good at close combat. Then why not become a knight or martial artist?"

"Well, I was going to at first, but when I actually tried to change classes, I just didn’t feel drawn to it."

"You mean you want to switch positions?"

Yoo Ha-Rin shook her head. "The combat itself is fun as it is now. I’ve tried playing wizard and archer classes too, but they just weren’t as exciting. That moment when you face a monster at close range, reading each other’s minds while going for the kill—I really enjoy that."

She was clearly someone suited for close combat classes.

"But... I don’t know how to explain it. I’m just not interested in typical classes." Then, she looked at Kai with a hint of envy. "Maybe that’s why I’m so jealous of you."

"Me? Why?"

"You’re amazing. A paladin who fights in close combat and even gets called a saint because you help the weak. I want a job class like that where I can fight and still help others in a meaningful way."

Han Jung-Woo showed a very conflicted expression. He wondered how she would react if she found out he was actually a Cleric.

Though I doubt I’ll ever tell her...

He let out a soft sigh and quietly looked at Yoo Ha-Rin, who looked sullen.

A perfect personality, excellent combat instincts, and she’s beautiful with a high level too...

For some reason, a ring stored in Kai’s inventory came to mind.

The ring of Cal Rashya.

Lynel had entrusted it to him, saying to recommend someone who could help revive the church. The class that could be obtained through it was none other than Cal Rashya’s Inquisitor (Hero).

It’s a hidden class, and I’m sure it’s incredibly powerful.

Of course, it might not be as strong as the Solaric Cleric, but it would at least rival Minerva’s class, the Saintess.

After thinking it through for a moment, Han Jung-Woo said with a serious expression, "Ha-Rin, do you believe in any gods by any chance?"

"Huh?!"

From her perspective, it was an extremely random question.

***

After finishing a meaningful volunteer session at the orphanage and deciding to provide financial support, Han Jung-Woo returned home right away.

"Let’s take a look at it first."

To be honest, handing over that ring to Yoo Ha-Rin made him feel a bit guilty.

Cal Rashya’s Inquisitor will definitely be powerful, but it will come with a lot of burdens.

First, there was the revival of the church. She would have to rebuild the church of the forgotten God of Change, Cal Rashya, from the ground up. That road would undoubtedly be lonely, hard, and take up an enormous amount of time. And if someone like Yoo Ha-Rin, who ranked second, started handling that on top of everything else, it would definitely impact her hunting efficiency.

But that’s something for her to decide.

All he could do was explain what he knew in as much detail as possible.

Logging into the game, Kai headed straight to the hunting grounds where Yoo Ha-Rin was. She was at Nahilem Canyon, a place where only top-ranked players could hunt. There, the corpses of poor monsters who had already met their end were scattered.

"Ah! You came early."

"You started hunting the moment you logged in?"

"There’s nothing much else to do around here." Yoo Ha-Rin let out an awkward laugh and tried to change the topic of conversation. "So what was it that you really wanted to talk about? You even came all the way here to see me."

In real life, Han Han Jung-Woo looked as though he had made some kind of serious resolution, his face full of seriousness.

"Well, the truth is..."

Kai opened his inventory and took out a luxurious ring box. It contained the ring of Cal Rashya.

"I wanted to give you this rin—"

"W-wait! Wait a sec! Stop!"

At some point, Yoo Ha-Rin had taken five steps back, and she raised both hands in front of her as she shouted. Looking closely, even her ears were blushing red.

What’s going on? Is she sick or something?

Clueless as to why she was reacting that way, Kai tilted his head.