Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

While the skill has limitations, it similarly has a lot of applications too. So to think that they forgot to even consider such a simple solution right away truly makes them feel ashamed to call themselves 'experts'.

"We can use the previous gear. If someone uses 『Repair』 on it, it should return to its peak state, and the runes should work properly too. Of course, we still have to inspect it just in case, but I'm pretty sure that's all we needed to do." Cedric stated calmly towards the rest, not minding their ashamed expressions.

"G-go and fetch the Core, Commander Wilson." Archbishop Thomas weakly ordered.

The old man feels pretty embarrassed right now but he still tries to maintain his dignity. Then, he asked the Master Smiths if anybody from their group had the Repair Skill. Fortunately, all of them have it. Everybody maxed it out too, meaning that their Repair Skill is at Lv.100. That's more than enough to deal with a little scratch, no?

As per Cedric's suggestions, they brought out the damaged gear and used Repair on it right away. Everyone watched as the gear turned glossy. All the signs of rust and damage on its surface promptly disappeared in mere seconds.

"Hold it up for me." Cedric requested.

After briefly inspecting the gear, making sure that he did not miss anything, Cedric nodded in satisfaction and said:

"Yep, that looks alright. But just to make sure, use Repair on all other parts of the Light Source."

The Master Smiths didn't need to be told twice. They immediately spammed their skills on the Light Source, making sure that they were very thorough about it.

Cedric asked the Archbishop to watch closely and inspect the parts one by one to make sure that any possible errors were eliminated. With their meticulousness, they combed through every detail. Thankfully, they failed to see any errors after that, so all that they were waiting for was the replacement of the core.

Commander Wilson returned swiftly with the core so they didn't need to wait long. Once they had it and verified that the core was functional, they once again started to assemble the Light Source.

They were very careful about the process, nevertheless, it didn't take long before they were done. After that, the only thing that's left is to turn it on and they shall know if Cedric's method worked or not.

Pshew!!

The Supervisors didn't bother warning them. They immediately turned it on and once again, the entire Lighthouse released a brilliant light that momentarily blinded everyone...except Cedric, of course.

Nobody spoke or reacted. They're all holding their breaths in anticipation. The last time this happened, the core exploded and rabbits appeared all over the place.

However, even after five minutes passed in silence, nothing happened still. It's safe to say that everything's working as it should be.

"Thank goodness..." Archbishop Thomas sighed in relief finally after seeing that the Light Source was successfully repaired.

The radiance it was releasing wasn't blinding anymore. The gears worked their magic and redirected it in a way that would illuminate the skies. Nothing seems to be out of place either. Hell, the entire thing wasn't even making any noise, which was a sign that everything was working in perfect order.

"Our task is done. Good work everybody!" The Archbishop smiled at the experts, making some of them somewhat uncomfortable.

These people didn't feel like they deserved this praise since they barely did anything. And considering how simple this mission should've been, they weren't supposed to be here in the first place.

"This was an eye-opening experience for all of us, so even though the majority of you didn't do much, I'm still upholding our agreement." The Archbishop said, "All of you will be receiving monetary compensation as well as 10,000 Merit Points for helping us solve this predicament."

Many eyes brightened upon that. This might appear opportunistic to some but none of them will refuse those rewards. They'd be stupid to do so.

"Ah, there are exceptions of course. That stupid bufoon earlier won't be receiving a drop of compensation from us. In fact, he should compensate us instead. Also, there's you..." the Archbishop narrowed his eyes at the trembling fat guy on the corner.

"While others here did their best to help, you just relied on someone to do all the work. You aren't even skilled enough to notice any mistake. Not to mention how unprofessional you have been all this time. How you earned the title of a Master Scribe completely eludes me. Leave at once, I don't want to see you anywhere near this place ever again!"

The fat guy didn't even have the courage to make an excuse. He was so completely cowed by the old man that he turned tail and disappeared from everybody's sight. All he got from this mission was the ire of the House of Light, which will definitely turn into a smear on his Profile.

"As for you, Young Friend. Please excuse my behavior earlier. It's just that...we place great importance on the Lighthouse. Without it, our city will be swallowed by darkness and corruption. We couldn't afford to let that happen so I acted that way." Archbishop Wilson regarded Cedric gently.

"I understand. Don't worry, I won't hold a grudge on any of you." Cedric replied while waving his hands.

That's also when he received his rewards from the task and it surprised him.

The House of Light gave him a million gold as well as 20,000 Tier 2 Demon Souls and Merit Points.

"Uh..." Cedric trailed off as he saw the amount he received. But before he could say anything, the Archbishop cut him off.

"It's what you deserve. Your help benefitted the entire city so you deserve that much." The old man whispered this to him.

The gold and demon souls were something he had an abundance of, what he received was merely a drop in a bucket compared to the total amount he had so that wasn't enough to make him feel anything.

What surprised him was the amount of Merit Points he received. It had to be known that Merit Points had no currency value. It could only be earned, not bought.

20,000 Merit Points was enough for someone with a Lv.1 System Authority to increase it to Lv.3! That's two whole levels that will certainly benefit Superhuman!

Of course, it doesn't do much for Cedric since he has a Lv.8 System Authority, but still, this was a lot.

In hindsight though, this much merit point was understandable. After all, he didn't just save the House of Light from a potential predicament. He practically saved the entire city by helping with the repairs. He didn't do much but still, this was a big deal.

"Thank you, Sir. I'll shamelessly accept this then." Cedric replied in a low voice.

The Archbishop and the Commander smiled at him. Now they're more friendly towards him because of what he did.

They told him that he should expect a positive review from them soon. With their reputation, this will undoubtedly look pristine on Cedric's public profile.

This will open up more opportunities for him in the future, and as long as he keeps doing a good job, he might climb the social ladder swiftly. Not that Cedric prioritizes it...

"...I am curious about one thing though." Archbishop Thomas suddenly inquired. "How did the rabbits come to be? Did you do that?"

"Oh no, no!" Cedric denied it immediately. "That was the Pompous Prick's fault, completely. He must've been thinking about rabbits to calm himself down while he was drawing the Symbols."

"...and that's enough to cause the array to malfunction?" The old man asked.

"Yeah. 'When drawing Symbols, the intent of the Scribe will always be taken into account.' This is the basics of being a Scribe. The more hyperfocused a Scribe is on a specific thing as he drew Symbols, the higher the chance that it will pass on to their creation, it's like the 『Smith's Blessing』 in that regard."

"I've got pretty good senses, that's why I knew what would happen. Unfortunately, the Pompous Prick has an inferiority complex and refused to accept my help." Cedric shook his head while wearing a wry smile.

"Huh..."

Speaking of that guy, Cedric wondered if he was still alive. The Commander was merciless when he threw him towards god knows where. If it turns out that he's still alive, then he must be hating Cedric now to his core.

That was bound to happen considering what transpired before his accident. Fortunately, Cedric wasn't too concerned about his retaliation. Cedric was practically untouchable in this city, even the City Lord had to give him some respect, so why should he be afraid of some random Master Scribe with a major inferiority complex?

His incompetence wasn't his fault, so why should he feel sorry?