God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 210: Episode _Our Saintess (2)

3.

Polymorph was not a simple spell. Even Kardian had said she would rather use powerful magic in her human form than expend the mana required to shift from her true form to human and back again.

"Polymorph changes not only the outward appearance but also the internal aspects to match the characteristics of that species, so the burden is inevitably great."

And for a Gold Dragon, that burden meant gold.

"...This is ridiculously expensive."

Five thousand GP for a single polymorph. Having experienced casually blasting away 100,000 GP spells, 5,000 actually felt rather small, but it was still a burden. Above all, it was a one-time use spell. To transform and then return to its original form would cost another 5,000 GP. A round trip for 10,000 GP. Converted to cash, that was $1.5 million. It was a good thing Squeaker had 100,000 GP; otherwise, he would have spent ten days just debating whether to do it.

"Phew. It’s really hard to make a living."

What was the point of earning a lot of money when so much of it went out? If Han Simin hadn’t been so sharp when it came to money, he might have already blown his entire fortune and been begging somewhere. No, that could still happen at any time. He had to keep his wits about him.

He took a deep breath and looked at Kardian. "Is there any way to do this cheaper?"

"There is not."

"Damn it."

If it had to be done, he might as well close his eyes and do it. He had already spent 2 million GP to get it to level 100, so what was another 5,000 GP? ’I’ll just have to hope I don’t need to use Squeaker for anything else later.’ Changing his mind once would cost 10,000 GP. And if he needed it to play the role of the Saintess again, he would have to transform it again, costing an additional 5,000 GP. If he hadn’t left that GP, $1.5 million would have vanished from his bank account.

Taking solace in that, he used Squeaker’ GP.

"Squeak!"

Upon using the skill, Squeaker jumped from his shoulder and emitted a brilliant light—a golden light, and a burst of crimson-mixed mana.

"Please don’t be a man."

Praying that it wouldn’t be, he watched the fading light with anticipation.

*

"Ugh, where am I supposed to find a black magic mage!" Kang Yeseul grumbled.

The joy of embarking on a new journey that had filled her face just a few days ago had vanished. It couldn’t be helped. If their goal had been hunting, she could have at least killed some monsters for experience. But now, she was confused whether they were on a journey to hunt or to find black magic mages to get to their order.

"I can’t even find black magic mage poop, let alone a black magic mage!"

"Gross."

"They’re probably in a deep mountain or a cave," Seolah suggested.

"Waaah, I don’t want to do this anymore!"

If Hyeonsu and Seolah hadn’t been there, she would have quit on the spot and returned to the Rich Territory to enjoy a leisurely life. But her whining didn’t sway the two of them. This wasn’t the first or second time. Kang Yeseul wasn’t the type to enjoy sitting in one place and playing a game for long periods. It was Seolah who had brought her this far.

"Let’s just look a little longer."

"Hmph."

Seolah calmly searched for traces of black magic mages while coaxing and soothing her. Yeseul couldn’t help but be dumbfounded by how much more diligently Seolah was searching than she was.

"Come on, Seolah. black magic mages aren’t stupid. They wouldn’t hide in such an obvious place. Even if they were hiding in a cave, they’d run away if we got close..."

"Fire Storm."

BOOM—!

Yeseul fell silent.

And she was ruthless, too. If Yeseul were a black magic mage, Seolah’s actions would make her lose any thought of making contact, let alone meeting them. She clicked her tongue and shook her head. No matter how much of a genius Seolah was at games, this was not the way.

’I guess it’s time for the disciple to show what she’s learned from three years of observation.’

Her motivation ignited. She stopped grumbling and stepped forward. ’Alright, it’ll be tough, but I’ll show you.’ Dozens of ways to find black magic mages flashed through her mind. She was actually quite smart when she put her mind to it. After analyzing and selecting the most plausible method, she placed her hands on her hips and spoke confidently to Seolah.

"Seolah, you can’t be so crude. How will any man like you if you’re so stiff? I’ll show you, so watch carefully. black magic mages will react to black magic..."

Although men were more attracted to Seolah’s looks, Yeseul had plenty of her own know-how. It wasn’t relevant to the current situation, but she thought finding black magic mages worked on a similar principle. However, her confident words began to trail off.

"...What the."

It was because she saw black-robed figures appearing one by one from all directions.

"An adventurer?" one of them said.

"We have something to say," Seolah replied.

"We don’t listen to last words."

The conversation between the two sides paid no mind to Yeseul’s bewilderment. Then, without warning, magic flew at them. From behind Hyeonsu, who had raised his shield to block it, Seolah shouted without flinching.

"The Disciple of the Great Black Mage is present. Show your respect."

A momentary silence fell at her dignified, polite, yet beautiful voice. Fortunately, unlike in novels or movies, no black magic mage foolishly stepped forward to spout nonsense and get sent to the afterlife. Most black magic mages were smart. No, people who learned magic were fundamentally smart. They had to understand, use, and apply formulas. On top of that, black magic mages had learned to survive by reading the room.

Amidst the continent’s grim and tense state of affairs, the title "Disciple of the Great Black Mage" had been invoked. It was too strange to dismiss as a joke, especially since a directive had already been issued.

"Prove it!"

Their top priority was to find the Disciple of the Great Black Mage. The second was to find the Saintess. In a moment so critical it could decide the continent’s fate, they had to play along, even if it might all be a lie.

As the black magic mages took a step back, Seolah gave Yeseul a sharp look. Pouting, Yeseul raised her staff and cast a spell—a form of black magic exclusive to a Disciple of the Great Black Mage, a Special-grade job.

"We greet the Disciple of the Great Black Mage!"

"We greet the Disciple of the Great Black Mage!"

The Specialists had made contact with the black magic mages far more quickly than they had expected.

*

4.

Making contact with the black magic mages took two days, but the journey to their order’s headquarters took much longer.

"Ugh, why is it so far away?" Yeseul complained.

"The order is located in the southern region, the safest of the Four Forbidden Zones," one of the mages explained.

It couldn’t be helped. Since they had successfully completed their mission, Simin spent the long journey catching up with his guildmates through chat. He also shared what had happened at the Grand Temple.

"Huh? A Saintess?" Yeseul asked.

"Yes," Simin replied.

"Who among us is the Saintess...?"

"Is it me?" Yeseul asked hopefully.

"Nope. Not you," Simin shot her down before she could get her hopes up, and then he told them about Squeaker.

"What? Squeaker can turn into a person? Is that even possible?" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Apparently. It only cost $1.5 million."

"Wow! I wonder what the little cutie looks like now," Yeseul mused.

"I want to see," Seolah added.

The two women were buzzing with anticipation, imagining what Squeaker would look like. Whenever Simin wasn’t around, the little dragon would fly over to them and act cute.

"It’s got to be a boy, right?" Yeseul asked. "If he turns out to be some gruff old man, I’m seriously quitting this game."

"Not a chance," Simin said.

Even the usually quiet Seolah was excited enough to join in. Clearly, Squeaker’ human form was a matter of great importance to them.

"I hope he’s young... but not too young, that would feel weird. Maybe a handsome boy around high school age would be perfect," Seolah suggested.

"Tsk, tsk," Simin clicked his tongue.

They sounded like older sisters about to get a new baby brother. As they chattered excitedly, Simin carefully interjected.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but she’s a girl."

"...Huh?" they both replied in unison.

"A girl. That’s just how it turned out."

The two fell silent at his blunt tone. Well, what could they do? It was a little disappointing, but it didn’t really matter. She was still their adorable Squeaker. Yeseul, however, voiced a cautious suspicion.

"You didn’t, like, force her to turn into a girl just for this whole Saintess thing, did you?"

"Don’t be ridiculous. I mean, I would have if I could, but it turns out dragons have genders," Simin said.

"...Hmph."

In any case, the surprising news made the long journey to the order’s headquarters fly by. Yeseul was dying to see Squeaker right away, but she held her tongue.

"You want to see Squeaker?" Simin offered. "Just cover the 10,000 gold I just spent. I’ll send you a video right now and even let you play with her for a month."

"No, thanks. I’ll just see her later."

Simin was as shameless as ever.

*

The polymorph didn’t take long. There was a flash of light, and a figure simply appeared—one so tall that Simin, who stood over five feet eleven inches, only had to lower his gaze slightly to meet her eyes.

He fell silent.

His jaw dropped. Stunned, he scanned her from head to toe. It was so absurd he couldn’t look away. When his gaze traveled back up to her eyes, his brow furrowed instinctively.

"Squeaker?"

She looked as if she might let out a Squeak! at any moment, yet she felt like a complete stranger. ’This isn’t the Squeaker I know.’ Of course it wasn’t. He had never seen her in human form before. She had always been a bird, then a giant gargoyle, and now a dragon. That cute Squeaker now stood before him as this—as a human. How could she not seem unfamiliar? But this was so shocking that even Han Simin, one of the most shameless people on the planet, struggled to maintain his composure. He glanced at Kardian, who had appeared beside her.

"What is this?"

"What is what?"

"Why is Squeaker... why does our Squeaker look like... that?"

"Dragons have their own genders and inclinations. They simply polymorph according to their individual characteristics."

He was speechless.

’So this is Squeaker’ characteristic? I don’t think so.’ Simin had his own image of what Squeaker would look like after polymorphing. He didn’t care if she was male or female, but he had hoped for a cute, refreshing, daughter-like girl. She was his tamed dragon either way, but in a game, being showered with affection by a cute kid was far better than by some gruff old man. This, however, was far beyond his expectations.

"Not to your taste?" Kardian asked. "From what I can see, that body is more suited to human tastes than even my own."

He was at a loss for words.

She was as tall as Seolah, around five feet seven inches, with flowing blonde hair that cascaded past her shoulders. Her facial features were so perfect it was pointless to even describe them, and her fist-sized face seemed to be a racial trait of dragons. The crimson eyes, a result of her evolution adding the fire attribute, gave her a mystical aura that captivated anyone who looked at her. And that wasn’t all. If Saint had been there, he would have instantly thrown off his priestly robes and declared his lifelong devotion to her. She was that perfect.

"Isn’t it a bit much to show such desire for her when you never looked at me that way?" Kardian teased.

"Ahem."

Simin averted his gaze and nodded. He casually handed over a robe, and Squeaker put it on. Then, with a radiant smile, she ran towards him.

"Dad!"

He was too stunned to speak.

If his stream had been on, the scene unfolding in the lord’s chamber would have gotten his address leaked and his house raided.

*