Chapter 542 – The Cursed Throne
It is clear that Ban has become incredibly strong. At that sight, Seong-il thinks that the plan to subdue the red dragon, which seemed impossible, might be possible.
“Certainly. Subdue the red dragon and retrieve the pieces.』
“I will obey your order!”
『It’s wonderful. In addition… The red dragon arrogantly stole the holy relic of light and kept it. Retrieve that as well as possible.”
“I will risk my life to fulfill that too!!”
‘Oh… If I clear this mission, I’ll be promoted to Peninsula Master Paladin.’
Originally, the mission itself to subdue the red dragon in Filinore Goseong was a job event in which the main character was promoted to a high-ranking paladin, so Seong-il feels that if he solves this case, Ban will be promoted to master paladin.
‘However… In this case, I will not be able to use the holy sword.’
A holy sword obtained from Filinore Castle. Seong-il did not want to kill half of his alter ego because of it, even though 『Holy Sword, Light that Shines in the Darkness』 Is the strongest sword that can be obtained in this world.
‘…Even if you eat there, it’s a problem. As far as I know, the Holy Sword is a sword that can only be used by a ‘Paladin’ with the values of good order.’
‘Wasn’t the other job just a canned sword that couldn’t even manifest its power even if it was forced to use it? Maybe…’
Therefore, Seong-il quickly puts down his obsession with the holy sword and quietly concentrates on listening to the revelation of the god of justice.
‘Hmm…?
The gaze that I felt while I was lost in thought for a while. Seong-il, realizing that justice is watching him, raises his head and examines him.
“Do you have anything to say?”
“…Does not exist. Apostle of will.”
The god of justice who quickly turns a blind eye to Seongil’s question.
『Since the will of the universe told us to solve the difficulty with only six, unfortunately, large-scale support is not possible.』
“Hmm…”
Knowing how strong and cunning the red dragon is, Ban hardens his expression at the statement made by the God of Justice that there is no support.
『However, other gods besides me will support you, so don’t worry too much. In addition, we will do our best to provide support other than numbers.”
‘Yes… Where is that?’
It seems that even the god of justice, one of the powerful ministers of the order system, does not dare to go against the will of the kitty.
For this reason, Seong-il decided to think positively of the answer of the god of justice, who promised full support within the limit of not violating the order.
『Go. Listen to the rest of the story from Master Paladin.”
“Thank you for justice.”
Ban bowed down and recited sincere thanks for the answer that came down. In the meantime, the divine light fades from the stone statue.
“…Let’s go.”
When the sign of the god he worships has completely disappeared, Ban takes his party and goes outside.
“Is the interview over?”
“Yes, Master Paladin.”
“What did justice say?”
Ban explains the revelation made by Justice to the curious Master Paladin.
“…Filinore Castle. You said that you retrieved the remnants of the evil god and the holy sword from there?”
“Yes. By mobilizing up to six people.”
“Um…”
Master Paladin looks puzzled at Ban’s words.
“If it’s a red dragon… It’s not easy to subjugate even if you gather hundreds of strong men… Six. Should I go with the country…”
“No.”
The time when Master Paladin was wondering whether he should lead the old man and participate in the party himself. Ban cuts off his words with a determined expression.
‘Why not!?’
And Seong-il is a bit taken aback by that remark. Master Paladin is a strong person who can fit within ten fingers in Solanium, so he is puzzled by Ban’s answer.
“The 4 members of our party have already received a revelation. In addition, we were introduced to a colleague made of steel from ‘Will’.”
“…Steel?”
“Yes. In the meantime, I asked for additional support from the god called ‘Knowledge’, so I don’t think Master Paladin will have to step forward right away.
“Um…”
Ban’s remarks made Seongil and Master Paladin’s mouths shut at the same time.
‘Fuck… I tried to seduce you and take you to Master Paladin, but I can’t tackle you.’
While the speechless Seongil remains silent, Ban begins to discuss the support he can receive from the temple with Master Paladin.
As a result, Ban succeeds in obtaining support such as master class weapons for the party, various potions, holy water, and scrolls from the temple.
‘Oh… That alone is amazing.’
All kinds of precious items piled up in front of the party’s eyes. Seong-il took a powerful scroll of blessing worth more than 100 gold each and went outside. A familiar voice is heard by the group.
“Did you get the revelation?”
“Oh, Bruno.”
A Dwarf Priest sitting in the shade in front of the temple and looking at the party.
‘Oh… Bruno seems to have leveled up quite a bit too, right?’
Bruno wears plate mail that only high-ranking crusaders of the Temple of Hammer and Anvil can wear, and holds a warhammer with a subtle sense of mysterious thunderbolt in his hand.
‘Oh? That Warhammer, isn’t that 『The Fury of the Storm』?’
『Storm’s Fury』, A powerful relic and weapon handed over to the highest ranked crusader recognized by the hammer and anvil.
‘It’s a fraudulent weapon that raises the strength of the person holding it to that of a giant… Did the hammer and anvil give you that?’
Even that is not enough, Seong-il feels a strange thunderbolt and powerful divine power in Bruno’s body.
“…Haa, it seems that you too have received a powerful blessing from the god of justice.”
“Yes. Not only that, but also strong support such as arms…”
“Me too.”
At Van’s words, Bruno calmly opens the backpack and shows what’s inside. Then, scrolls and weapons overflowing with all kinds of divinity appeared.
“Hey… Dagger? Shortbow too? Black leather armor?”
“Yes. It was prepared for you. It is an item made by the high-ranking blacksmith of our hammer and anvil temple. Use it for you.”
“Wow!!”
Contrary to harsh words, Sena is delighted like a child at the warm will of her actions. She carefully lifts her dagger, bow, and leather armor.
“Wow. What is this? It’s so flexible? It’s amazing…”
“…Because it’s an armor made from the skin of a black dragon.”
Hehe!?”
Sena looks startled when she tells her that the armor she received is made of dragon skin.
“…This means that the hammer and anvil attaches great importance to this incident, so just accept it.”
“Yes. I will.”
‘…Doesn’t he say he’s running away?’
Seong-il listened to their conversation with arms crossed. Then, unlike the two men who received her divine revelation, Sena, who had no forced revelation, tries to participate in her adventure, and she looks puzzled.
“Are you okay?”
“What?”
“I, Van. And Bruno received a revelation from God, so I go to subdue the dragon like this. You’re not.”
“What are you talking about. Helping a colleague, but where’s that?”
“Oh…”
In response to Sena’s resolute will, Seong-il exclaims without realizing it.
“Instead, will you receive a large fee for this request?”
“Of course.”
“Okay. I’ll tell the temple, so the duduk will take care of it now, little girl.”
The two men simultaneously expressed their affirmation to Sena’s words. Seong-il, feeling strangely inspired by the strong relationship, pats Sena on the back and says,
“Instead, don’t fight too hard. You just support from behind, okay?”
“No wonder!”
Everyone in the party sighs and snorts at Sena’s moderately brazen answer.
“Let’s go. To the Temple of Knowledge.”
“…Do you know where it is?”
“Of course!! Space Space Nyanko left an indicator in my head!!”
Realizing that the words that they once thought were just nonsense from their crazy friend are true, instead of negative answers, they make strange faces and follow Seong-il.
***
“Eh…? There’s really a temple around here?”
The group quietly followed Seong-il for a long time. In front of their eyes, the slum that they left a while ago reappears.
“Yes!”
“…The only temples nestled in the slums are the Temples of Dawn and Mercy, right? Have you ever heard of other temples?”
Bruno begins to grumble with a slightly distrustful remark at Sungil’s confident remarks.
“There is! In the very center!!”
“Eh…? I heard that the center is famous for its poor security, so the priests only go there to help the poor, but they didn’t build temples?”
Even Senna, who is familiar with the slums because she joined the thieves’ guild, shows a negative attitude towards Seongil’s words.
“Ah!! Yes!! The space universe kitty told me!!”
“Hmm… Yes. Let’s go.”
Thus, the group begins to enter the deepest part of the slum with a confused expression.
‘It’s worse than I thought.’
A crumbling building of cheap wood and stone on a stinky street. Some of the poor are even seen living in tents made of cloth.
“Priest… Have mercy…”
Seeing only Bruno’s clothes, the poor, realizing that he is a priest like ghosts, come to the party and start begging.
“Conflict!!!!!!!!!!!”
“Hey!”
“We’re doing God-given duty!! If you keep interfering, I’ll split your head!! Aaaaa!!!”
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…!!”
Being bothered by them, Seong-il takes out his longsword in front of the approaching poor and roars like a beast.
When that wasn’t enough, let’s even exhale life energy from the body to the surroundings, and the poor people who died in the bloody spirit start to disperse quickly in fear.
“…Do you really need to go that far?”
“Hmm!”
“It’s not…!!”
Seong-il took the lead while letting Bruno’s nagging noise go in one ear. In the meantime, a familiar building enters his eyes.
‘Oh! Here you are!’
A building whose coordinates exactly match the Cursed Throne Slum map floated in augmented reality. Because of this, Seong-il feels that the place is a ‘Temple of Knowledge’, a place that is half as good as an Easter egg.
“Here. Let’s go in.”
“…This is a temple? Isn’t it an abandoned house?”
Seeing the collapsed two-story stone building, Sena muttered in a suspicious tone.
Even so, the building in front of me looked more like an abandoned house where a cursed witch lived rather than a temple.
“…In general, temples should feel divinity. I don’t feel anything here. Is it really a temple?”
“Ah~! That’s right! Van! Trust me and go in!”
“Ha…”
The party looked at each other with a sigh at Seongil’s stubbornness. Either way, Seong-il ignores the group and opens the temple door roughly.
“Who… Who are you?”
As soon as I opened the door, an old man pops out as if he had been waiting for it. Wearing a shabby robe, he observes his sacred day with a mixture of fear and strange anticipation in his eyes.
‘I already received a revelation.’
Otherwise, Seong-il couldn’t have waited in advance like this, so Seong-il is sure that the old man in front of him must have received some revelation from Kitty.
“By the command of the Great Will!! I have visited the Temple of Knowledge!!”
“Ah… Ah ah…”
The priest in front of him began to cry as if he was moved by the cry of the holy day.
“At last…At last…Is knowledge saved…”
The appearance of a priest who steals tears with intense emotion. Seeing that devout appearance, Seong-il stops bothering him for a moment and calmly waits for him to get his emotions under control.
“Ah… I’ve been rude. Please follow me…”
After shedding tears, the priest dressed in rags guides the party into the building with a gentle expression.
“…Underground? Tunnel?”
“It’s embarrassing… But right now, the priests who enshrine knowledge don’t have any power, and most of them are old people, so they’re not safe from outside invasion. So, in order to safely enshrine knowledge, they secretly dug the ground and built a sanctuary. It is.”
“Huh… Why didn’t you get help from another temple?”
Perhaps as a priest, he was sorry for their miserable appearance, but Bruno speaks to the priest in a pitiful tone.
“That is not to be said. Knowledge has received a revelation that in order to return to the world, it must overcome hardships on its own without anyone’s help.”
The priest of knowledge explains the current situation to Bruno in a calm voice. In the meantime, the party follows the underground crypt and reaches the direction of the underground waterway.
“…Is it underground water again?”
“Haha… Because the underground waterway is an ancient ruin, so it’s good to make a secret hiding place.”
The old priest answered Sena’s grumbling with a shy tone. Then he ducks into a dog hole in the sewer wall and starts crawling.
“…”
A group of people looking at it with a confused expression. However, even for a while, they shut their mouths and quietly try to enter the dog hole.
“Oh…!! The people behind you can’t believe it…?!”
A spacious place that appears when you enter the dog hole. And inside it, you can see the sanctuary that looks like a small library and the monks who are nestled in it.
While the party examines the inside, the priests of knowledge welcome the appearance of figures dressed as priests of other gods with delighted expressions on their faces.
“Hello? I heard there’s a way to help us through our trials here at the Temple of Knowledge?”
“Ah… Of course!! To help with this ordeal, the Apostle of Knowledge will personally participate in the ordeal. Please wait a moment.”
‘Apostle…?’
Even in the poor tone of the holy day, the priest answers with a groan as if he is embarrassed. In the meantime, Seong-il is amazed at the word ‘apostle’ he hears.
“Finally!! The return of great knowledge is imminent!!”
A sudden roar emanating from a small rat hole drilled in the floor of the sanctuary. At the appearance of that delicate and cute voice, Seong-il and even the party look at the mouse hole with puzzled expressions.
“…?”
The time when the party looked at the mouse hole. A hamster with fine brown fur comes out of the burrow.
