The Pope’s warm welcome.
It felt like a scene countless paladins and priests might have dreamed of.
Of course, Jun who was far from devout felt no particular emotion about it.
“Before you enter the sacred grounds, there is a procedure you must go through. I hope you understand.”
At Elahim’s words, Jun gave a vague nod.
He had experienced a similar process within the game.
One had to purify themselves with holy water and stay in the temple for a day before being allowed to step into the sacred grounds.
After completing the necessary rituals in the temporary guest rooms they had each been assigned, they arrived at the center of the temple.
There, they saw a pure white door radiating a brilliant golden light.
Strange.
It resembled the layered altar of Blackout, yet there was a different kind of energy about it.
It was warm and gentle. The holy power of Ariklotus.
“Come in.”
Following the Pope’s lead, they stepped through the door.
In that brief moment, Jun felt an odd sense of déjà vu.
It’s similar to when I entered the Forest of Life and Death.
Only, whereas the Forest had felt like being dragged in by force, this felt more like walking along a well-paved path.
Before long, a green meadow came into view.
In the distance was a rugged, rocky area, and beyond that, golden mist filled the empty horizon.
Wasn’t this said to be the summit of Mount Neferden?
Jun murmured softly to himself and spoke.
“It’s been a while since I breathed air from the surface.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
In response to Jun’s muttering, Aiden who had been repeatedly exclaiming in awe asked him a question.
“Hoho. You figured it out at a glance.”
At Elahim’s words, Jun replied as if it were nothing.
“The moon’s farther away here.”
Even though it was broad daylight, if one looked closely at the sky, they could see the faintly faded moon.
One of the distinguishing features of the surface was that the moon appeared farther away compared to Blackout.
“Th-Then… does that mean we’re on the surface right now?”
In hindsight, it was only natural.
No matter how long Blackout’s history may have been, humanity had only started setting foot there a few hundred years ago at most.
In contrast, the Church had existed even before the first Emperor founded the Empire.
There was no way the sacred grounds of such a Church would be located within Blackout.
“How…?”
Even so, Aiden looked utterly bewildered.
And that was understandable.
By its nature, Blackout offered very limited ways of getting outside.
“We haven’t completely come outside. Our bodies are still tethered to Blackout.”
“In all my life, I’ve never seen a mage as composed as you.”
Elahim remarked from the side.
Unlike the people Jun had encountered so far, Elahim had likely had many opportunities to meet mages.
He must have already realized that Jun was different from ordinary ones.
“And the sacred grounds… this isn’t even the part worth being surprised about.”
Although that look had since vanished, Jun still remembered how Aiden had appeared back in the carriage.
Aiden had blamed himself for having done nothing but watch during the battle between Level 7 users.
“Don’t you want to experience it for yourself? A Level 7 warrior’s battle?”
“Huh?”
“In this place, it’s possible. You can fight a Level 7 warrior directly.”
As he said this, Jun turned his gaze to Bern, the paladin standing beside the Pope.
“Isn’t that right?”
“Well. It’s certainly possible… though I wouldn’t exactly recommend it.”
Although Bern tried to dissuade them, Aiden who had been listening nearby only looked more eager.
“Is there a way to become stronger?”
“Hmm…”
Bern let out a low hum.
At that, Jun chimed in.
“This guy’s got incredible mental strength. So do you, Maya.”
“What do you mean?”
Since arriving here, Maya’s expression had never lightened.
She had been constantly tormented by the uneasy voices of the ancestral spirits.
“For the next three months, we’re going to be reborn here.”
“……?”
The sacred ground, Nuada Neferden.
This was the stage Jun’s group needed in order to progress to Level 4….and beyond, to Level 5.
***
Now that he had time alone, Jun fell deep into thought.
My growth rate right now…
It was faster than expected.
No, he was certain. There hadn’t been a single entity in the game that had grown faster than he had.
It was better than he could have hoped for.
But was it perfect? Not quite.
Blackout is a team game.
In other words, his teammates needed to keep up with his growth.
Fortunately, they had the opportunity to come to this sacred ground.
In that case, Aiden’s growth shouldn’t be a problem.
Aiden wasn’t the type to grow through a special storyline. Rather, he was the kind who overcame countless trials with sheer talent.
If there’s a problem, it’s probably Maya.
The girl from the Ancestor-Worshipping Tribe.
To be honest, Maya’s growth potential was just as extraordinary as Aiden’s.
Of course, the area in which she would shine might be different.
The problem was that Maya’s growth had been stagnant for a long time.
Maya is the type who only becomes stronger through special events.
But now, they had no idea when that special event would even happen.
The game hadn’t even officially begun, and already too many things had changed because of Jun’s presence.
With so many variables, just waiting around for a special event to happen would be foolish.
And that wasn’t the only problem.
Even that special event, according to the game’s background, was supposed to happen several years later.
By then, Jun and Aiden’s growth would have reached a level that Maya could no longer catch up to.
Still, giving up isn’t an option.
As long as certain conditions were met, she was a prodigy with talent on par with Aiden.
Giving up on someone like that just because the timing wasn’t right would’ve been incredibly foolish.
If I gave up that easily, how many named NPCs would I ever be able to recruit?
Fortunately—
There was a way to replace the special event.
Maya was one of the very few characters whose detailed storyline Jun knew inside and out.
***
After spending some time on their own, the party regrouped once again.
“Where did Eleanor go?”
But unlike when they had left together, Aiden returned alone.
“Oh, Priestess Eleanor said there was something she needed to learn on her own.”
“Something she needs to learn, huh.”
She had once lamented not learning offensive holy magic because she didn’t want to harm others.
But after the recent incident, it seemed she had changed her mind.
“Um, by the way, senior… What are we going to do here?”
“We’ll be training here for three months. And Aiden, the one who’ll be overseeing your training is…”
“That would be me.”
Standing before Aiden was Bern, a level 7 Paladin.
“Paladin Berne?”
“I’ll be assisting with your training.”
“W-Wait, really?”
Aiden had never once been taught by anyone.
His swordsmanship was entirely self-taught, learned through observation, and for someone like Aiden, who had always thirsted for instruction, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“Of course. Come with me.”
With a dazed expression, as if in a trance, Aiden headed toward the back of the temple.
“What about me?”
“I’ll be your opponent.”
“Why?”
“Oh, come on. You don’t trust me just because I’m a mage? That’s a stereotype, you know.”
In fact, there were indeed some mages who had gained fame as explorers. The same was true in the mercenary world.
“Of course, it’s not like you and I are going to spar right this moment. That comes later. For now, think of this more like a consultation of sorts.”
“A consultation, sir?”
“Yeah, a talk about the direction of your future growth.”
“…I’ll take care of my own path.”
Maya refused firmly.
Jun simply shrugged, brushing it off.
“So, how many years have you been stuck in the level 4 fields?”
“……”
“From the looks of it, you seem to have some kind of goal, too.”
Of course, even as he said this, Jun already knew very well what Maya’s goal was.
Revenge.
“There’s a limit to how far you can grow on your own.”
“That’s…”
It wasn’t wrong.
But Maya couldn’t bring herself to trust anyone easily.
No…. to be exact, she barely even understood what it meant to trust someone.
She had lived that disconnected from the world.
“The Ancestor-Worshipping Tribe. A people you’d only find mentioned in ancient texts.”
“…….!”
Maya’s eyes widened.
It was only natural.
She had never once spoken about herself to anyone.
“Was it Bradden?”
“No. That guy didn’t say a single word about you. But during the process of subduing Bern, I saw the ability you used.”
Jun twisted his words with practiced ease.
Even this had to be said carefully.
Lies didn’t work in front of someone from the Ancestor-Worshipping Tribe.
More precisely, it was because the spirits of their ancestors could discern falsehoods.
Well, I did read those ancient texts in the game, and I did see the technique with my own eyes.
The bigger problem was turning Maya’s heart around.
“That technique you used back then. Why aren’t you using it now?”
“……”
“You don’t have to say it. I can more or less guess. Isn’t it because you don’t want to give up control of your body?”
“How did you…?”
“There are ways to know everything.”
Jun continued speaking, playing the part of a mysterious mage.
“The power of the Ancestor-Worshipping Tribe is the ability to command the spirits of their forebears, passed down through generations. But with that power comes risk.”
The living controlled the dead.
But no matter how noble the spirits of one’s ancestors might be, wasn’t it only natural for the dead to covet the flesh of the living?
Besides, Maya wasn’t even born of the tribe’s bloodline.
Since she had been a child adopted and raised by the chieftain, Maya trusted the ancestral spirits even less.
In truth, the spirits didn’t desire control over her body out of greed. They had long-held wishes they yearned to fulfill.
The problem was that those wishes had festered for far too long.
And since Maya hadn’t been born of the tribe’s bloodline, there was a danger that her mind could become corrupted by those lingering desires.
Though Maya probably doesn’t know all the details.
Still, she must have instinctively felt something was off.
But that wasn’t enough.
The foundation of Maya’s talent lies in the spirits of her ancestors.
If she kept avoiding that power instead of learning to wield it properly, she’d remain just another ordinary level-4 fighter.
And fixing that….that’s my job now.
If anything, it was fortunate.
Jun knew how to solve it.
Even if the method’s a little half-baked.
Still, it would be fine.
This place was the sacred grounds.
A few failures along the way were something he could easily endure.
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