A few days passed.
During that time, Jun had made some progress of his own.
At last, Maya had begun to sense magical power with her head and perceive it with her eyes without going on a rampage.
“Here.”
“There.”
“Hup.”
Following Jun who was manipulating the formless mana, Maya threw her daggers.
She was now able to track the flow of magical power with her own eyes.
Just like how Jun had read the spells of the old crone, Maya could now follow the current of mana with her movements.
“Good. At this stage, you should be able to prevent your mind from being corrupted by the spirits of your ancestors.”
“…Thank you.”
Maya’s face looked completely worn out as she answered.
Over the past few days, she had endured pain so excruciating that she thought she might die more than once.
If this place hadn’t been sacred ground, she might have already turned into a deranged killer.
“Then it’s time to move on to the next stage…”
“…Are we not going to do it?”
“Now’s not the time.”
To begin sensing souls would take far too long if they started now.
And more importantly, even if she managed to awaken that ability at this point, it wouldn’t result in any dramatic improvement.
“Why not?”
“Even if you sense them, your ancestors won’t approach you.”
“…You mean those noisy old ghosts?”
Maya tilted her head at Jun’s words.
To her, the ancestors had always seemed like restless spirits desperate to influence her life in any way they could.
“Those souls are actually the more moderate ones. They’re probably the ones who died more recently.”
In order for Maya to reach higher levels in the future, she would need the help of even older spirits.
“Ah…”
Maya seemed to be deep in thought, as if she were sensing something herself.
“The Second Gate.”
“…Second Gate?”
Jun knew exactly what Maya meant, but he didn’t show it and asked again.
“Thanks to you, Leader, I’m currently at the First Gate stage.”
“Hmm.”
“The stage you mentioned is the Second Gate.”
It was a ranking system passed down within the Ancestor-Worshipping Tribe.
“The chieftain was at the Second Gate. I heard he was the youngest to reach it.”
“Is that so.”
According to the game’s lore, Maya’s father, the chieftain of the Ancestor-Worshipping Tribe, had been active even within the level 7 field.
If Maya were to reach the Second Gate, it meant she could also become a force within the level 7 field.
Of course, Jun’s ultimate goal was for her to open the Third Gate.
Opening the Third Gate is still a distant goal, though.
For now, even the First Gate was more than enough.
Maya’s real growth was just beginning.
And then—
“You’re working hard.”
“Eleanor?”
The priestess with her eyes covered by black bandages appeared.
She had kept to herself for training and hadn’t shown her face in a while, but now she had returned to the sacred ground after a long absence.
“Something’s changed in just a week.”
Eleanor who was able to see souls immediately noticed the change in Maya’s state.
“Is this your doing?”
“You think I did it alone? She went through a lot too.”
“That’s right. It was tough.”
“In many ways, really…”
Eleanor looked at the mage before her with a curious gaze.
She had heard that he had directly requested permission from Pope Elahim to enter the sacred ground.
Was it simply the curiosity of a mage at work?
No way.
Eleanor didn’t claim to know everything about the mage before her, but he didn’t seem like the kind of person who would give up a great opportunity just for academic curiosity.
That means he already knew about the nature of the sacred ground.
Of course, given the history of the Church, rumors about the sacred ground’s properties had spread quite widely, but those rumors were all scattered and inconsistent.
And yet he came here with precise knowledge. That means he planned exactly what to gain from this place.
Eleanor couldn’t help but think that the mage in front of her had a dozen sly snakes coiled in his belly.
With that thought in mind, Eleanor quickly got to the point.
“Anyway, His Holiness is calling for you.”
It was strange how often the Pope was calling for people who weren’t even part of the Church.
Eleanor found it curious, but she also thought that, if it was this particular mage, it made perfect sense.
***
“It’s been a while, Roshin.”
“It has, Your Holiness. Why haven’t you summoned me sooner?”
“You can’t just go opening the treasury of the Church carelessly, can you?”
“It’s already been eight years. You could’ve called me more often.”
The Pope firmly shook his head at the words of Roshin, a man who was now entering the latter years of his life.
“No need. Nothing’s coming in, and only things are going out. How could I open it that often? Besides, you’ve aged quite a bit yourself.”
“Did you forget what I just said? Eight years. Eight. That’s more than enough time for gray hair to turn completely white.”
“Tsk tsk. You should’ve taken better care of yourself.”
“Hasn’t Your Holiness also gone completely white? Let’s skip this small talk. More importantly, show me the ones who made you summon me here.”
“I already sent for them. Just be patient. They’ll be here soon.”
The Pope’s words proved true.
Not long after, three people entered the room.
“It’s been a week, Jun.”
They had just been talking about how old they’d both gotten, yet the people who arrived this time were all young.
“Thank you for calling us.”
“A promise is a promise, after all.”
As the two exchanged words, Roshin watched the three newcomers with an intrigued expression.
He had heard bits and pieces. A mage of unknown origins from outside the tower, a forsaken member of the royal imperial, and a tribe member from a now-vanished people….wasn’t that how it went?
Not a single one of them had an ordinary background.
And I heard one more will be joining them soon.
Roshin smiled faintly, thinking of the one who would soon be added to that group.
She was the sore spot of his longtime friend Elahim.
He had recently heard that Elahim had finally resolved that long-standing anguish.
Is the wind of change finally blowing through the Church as well?
As if sensing his thoughts, Elahim spoke to Roshin.
“These three are the ones who made us call for you after eight years.”
“Well now. Should I say thank you, or should I say you’ve just given me more work?”
“Weren’t you just asking to see us more often?”
“Ah, you know how it is. Just saying.”
“Mhmm. In any case, let me introduce them. This is the White Whale Mercenary Group.”
“I’m Jun, the leader of the mercenary group.”
“I’m member Aiden.”
“Maya.”
Then Elahim introduced Roshin to the three.
“This is Roshin, the Keeper of the Treasury for the Church. He’s the one who will take you to the treasure vault.”
“You’re all promising young people. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Roshin, the Keeper of the Treasury of the Ariklotus Church.”
At the greeting from Roshin, whose white hair was beginning to show here and there, the mage’s eyes sparkled.
***
He was such a rare character to encounter in the game.
Roshin was someone you could only meet if you had raised your characters to at least level 6 or 7.
That’s how much contribution you had to make to the Church.
And even then, if you went too late, you couldn’t meet him at all.
In the game’s storyline, the influence of the Ariklotus Church had declined to an incomparable degree after Eleanor manifested on the surface as a level 10 raid monster.
That future no longer existed, though.
Anyway.
“Um, by ‘treasure vault’… do you mean it’s here in the sanctuary?”
“No, not at all. The Church’s vault contains all sorts of strange items, so it couldn’t be housed in the sanctuary.”
Did that mean they would have to leave this place?
That was what Aiden thought, but he was wrong.
“That’s why I came here.”
“Huh? Ah, do you perhaps have a subspace pouch…?”
“Haha, something like that.”
Roshin smiled kindly, like a grandfather hearing a child’s question, and pulled a bell from inside his robes.
Hmm.
Seeing the bell reminded Jun of a troublesome experience, and he frowned inwardly.
Fortunately, this bell was a completely different kind of item from the one the heretic cultists had used.
“Please, all three of you, place your hands on mine.”
At Roshin’s words, they each placed a hand atop the one he held out.
“No matter what happens, do not let go of this hand. Don’t be alarmed. Just trust your body to the process.”
“Uh… what?”
Before Aiden could ask anything, Roshin rang the bell.
“Have a safe journey.”
Whoosh—!
They heard Elahim’s voice nearby, but it quickly stretched and faded until it was no longer audible.
A golden corridor stretched endlessly before them, and each time Roshin rang the bell, the scenery within the corridor shifted rapidly.
By the time they opened their eyes again, the three of them were in a space that looked completely different from where they had been.
“Where are we…?”
“This is the Church’s vault.”
Aiden opened his eyes and let out a gasp of awe.
No matter how many times he experienced something extraordinary like this, it never seemed to get old.
Jun too felt a strange sensation as he took in the scenery he had only ever seen inside the game.
Unlike the pure white temple they had seen earlier, the surroundings here resembled the interior of an ordinary stone building.
“But this place feels less like a vault and more like…”
“A prison, right?”
At Aiden and Jun’s words, Roshin let out a hearty laugh.
“We call it a vault, but to be honest, it’s not exactly a pleasant place.”
“Why is that?”
Curious as ever, Aiden asked the question, and Roshin quickly explained.
“Because this place holds the path the Church has walked.”
As he spoke, Roshin rang the bell he was holding, and this time, a golden holy light flowed out from it.
“However, the path our Church has walked wasn’t always glorious. So, follow this light.”
In other words, many of the belongings of heretical cults or of evil individuals the Church had destroyed were kept here.
That just means taking anything out of here could cause serious trouble.
Because of that, setting foot in this vault signified that one was someone the Church deeply trusted.
“Alright. Please continue following me.”
Roshin began walking down a cold, brick corridor.
The group followed closely behind him.
With each step he took, the torches hanging on the walls lit up.
However, the light they gave off was a sacred golden glow.
“It feels like we’re entering a truly solemn place…”
“Well, this place boasts a history of thousands of years.”
“Thousands of years…”
There were several items they needed to retrieve from this place.
Someday, I’ll have to take that from here too.
In the first place, they wouldn’t have been allowed to take anything out, but even if they had, it would’ve been a problem. It was far too early to be carrying something like that around.
Since the Butcher Monk was already targeting them, taking it out could have meant drawing the full attention of the Heavenly Church.
“We’ve arrived. I’m sorry to say this, but this is as far as you’re permitted to go.”
After walking down the stairs leading underground, they arrived at a space.
The Church’s vault extended down to three basement levels, but Jun and his companions were only allowed access to the first floor.
“The second and third floors… contain items that are still beyond your ability to handle. I ask for your understanding.”
“No, thank you for bringing us this far.”
Just as Roshin had said, the second and third basement levels were filled with objects that Jun and his group were in no condition to deal with at the moment.
“Senior, is there a particular reason you brought us to a place like this? The items are a bit…”
Just like Aiden’s impression, even though it was only the first basement level, every item on display radiated a sense of ominous dread.
There was armor that bled endlessly.
An iron maiden packed with spikes inside a cylinder made of steel.
A kitchen knife stained with a purple liquid, and so on.
“They all seem to be monstrosities…”
“Most of them are.”
The more ordinary items had already been sold off at auctions, so all that remained were these disturbing ones.
Still, poison, when used properly, could sometimes serve as medicine.
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