Ch.7878. Sacred Place

“Anyone hurt?”

Harald opened his mouth as he lowered his halberd.

“I’m fine.”

Chloe replied after stabbing her dagger into the heart of a fallen orc. The battle was over, but the cleanup was important. Only after killing all the creatures that still clung to life could they consider a room completely conquered.

The party was scattered about, finishing off the orcs. Connor kicked at a corpse with his toe and grumbled.

“We’ve been wasting our time for two days already. At this rate, who knows when we’ll ever find the trial.”

Though they didn’t explicitly show it, the others wore equally indifferent expressions. There was no sign of battle euphoria or joy at having easily conquered the 10th layer. That phase had long since passed.

“Let’s check the reward.”

It was a question asked merely as a formality; Harald didn’t actually think anyone was injured. He gathered the party and moved forward.

Apart from accumulating growth for Sacred Bearers, the greatest benefit one could obtain from a dungeon was material goods. The chest placed right next to the exit leading to the next corridor was an adventurer’s main source of income, and the value of its contents varied depending on the material from which the chest was made.

“Gold.”

What emerged from the gold chest was a necklace with a small emerald embedded in it. Once they left the dungeon, it would fetch a considerable sum. Harald put the necklace in his backpack and turned around.

“Let’s go.”

The party regrouped and set off for the next room. They didn’t need to rest. Not only had they not accumulated much fatigue, but they had already agreed to rest after finding the sanctuary. That would be mentally more comfortable than resting in a maze where others might appear at any time, or in rooms filled with monster corpses.

“Oh!”

Connor, who had just pushed open the door, exclaimed with wide eyes. Simultaneously, the faces of those who followed him inside brightened.

A sanctuary.

The dark scenery they had been seeing until now disappeared, revealing a space of pure white.

“Finally found it.”

Elin muttered in an indifferent tone. As a mage, she grew differently from ordinary Sacred Bearers. While trials might be useful to her, there was no immediate benefit she could gain from the sanctuary.

“That’s a relief. I thought it might take up to four days.”

Rex moved toward where the party was huddled together, with a bitter smile.

[ᚹᛖᚨᛚᛗᛋ ᛟᚠ ᛒᛟᚱᛖᚨᛋ]

Unrecognizable text was engraved on the stone monument that stood tall in the center.

“It means Boreas, the god of wind.”

Elin murmured beside him, noticing his expression. Rex nodded silently and examined the monument. The pattern of swirling storms was as intricate as if carved by a renowned artist. Normally, they would offer prayers to settle the accumulated deeds, but that wasn’t the purpose of this expedition.

Harald stroked his chin and furrowed his brow.

“Did they say we need to ask for the door to the temple to be opened?”

“Yes.”

“We need to succeed right away…”

The basic condition for receiving a trial was to find a sanctuary on the 10th layer. If one had the proper qualifications, the deity would respond to the Sacred Bearer’s call. These qualifications weren’t specifically defined, meaning one could come all the way to a sanctuary and leave without any gain.

However, Rex inwardly believed that Boreas wouldn’t reject their party. No, he was certain. If asked why, he had no answer. It was just a feeling.

The group knelt before the monument and closed their eyes. As he heard the soft voices of his companions, Rex slowly knelt down as well.

He didn’t call for Boreas.

‘Kaordix.’

The memory of his first visit to a sanctuary suddenly came to mind. At that time, not even knowing the concept of Sacred Bearers, he had offered worship to the wind god.

In truth, there was no law stating that a Sacred Bearer must believe in only one god. Berger had taught Rex not only swordsmanship and sacred laws but also theoretical knowledge. He had heard of Sacred Bearers who wandered through various cities, receiving blessings from different gods.

However, Rex’s relationship with the war god was not that of an ordinary Sacred Bearer and deity. Kaordix was a giant who was extremely possessive of his followers. Even now, Rex clearly remembered how he had said in a gruff tone that he would never tolerate seeing his own follower fawning over other gods.

‘It’s been almost half a year, and I still haven’t met him.’

Ordinary Sacred Bearers often went their entire lives without meeting a god even once.

Rex was different. Since being chosen by Kaordix the day before his coming-of-age ceremony, he had regularly met the god in his mental landscape—a snowy field. Typically, after experiencing a major crisis, Kaordix would bestow a new blessing upon him.

Their last meeting was half a year ago.

After killing the Minotaur and destroying the crystal orb, said to be a sacred artifact of the chaos god. Kaordix had been unusually pleased and granted him a new power. He still didn’t know what that ability was. He was only told it was a power higher than a blessing, and that he would naturally understand when the time came.

Since then, Kaordix had not appeared.

‘Isn’t it about time?’

Until now, he had assumed it was because he hadn’t accumulated enough deeds. As time passed, he wondered if using Gears might have been the cause. But even after dealing with the Underhand Clan and removing the grinding stone, Kaordix still didn’t appear.

‘Why?’

The mark on his heart hadn’t disappeared. He could still use blessings and divine power whenever he wanted. Yet, he couldn’t prevent anxiety from blooming in a corner of his mind. Rex stared at the monument with restless eyes before closing them.

“Kaordix.”

He had hoped that calling the name in the sanctuary might make a difference, but his voice didn’t reach the intended recipient. It merely echoed emptily before dissipating. Rex unconsciously bit his lip. If he at least knew the reason, it might be different, but not knowing anything made his mind a mess.

That’s when it happened.

[Insolent one.]

Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew, lightly caressing his cheek as it passed. Unlike the chill of the dungeon, it was warm—like spring sunshine, if one had to describe it. However, the voice mixed within it was full of displeasure.

[You dare mention another deity in my temple? Is that what your master taught you?]

Rex found himself widening his eyes involuntarily.

His companions who had been around him were nowhere to be seen. No, more than that, the place itself had changed. It had clearly been an enclosed space, but this was…

‘The sky?’

The moment he realized it, the fall began. —Whoosh! His hair whipped wildly in the rough gust. There was no time to worry about that. People—not just people, but any object with weight—fall when there’s nothing beneath them.

To where?

Obviously, until they hit the ground.

‘I’m going to die.’

In an instant, his hands became clammy with cold sweat. Naturally, his gaze turned downward. The ground wasn’t visible. Thick clouds covered the world. Rex could now bend steel with his bare hands. That was clearly beyond human limits. But surviving a fall from such a height with nothing but his body was impossible.

‘Is this the trial?’

Even a knight at the pinnacle of light would die in such a situation. As he continued his thoughts, he twisted his body. Flailing his limbs in the empty air looked as ridiculous as a non-swimmer thrashing about in water.

He was going to die.

Death was always on his mind. Rex wasn’t an optimistic person. The monsters of the trial were something even Berger had warned about. He had mentally prepared himself before entering the dungeon, knowing danger could strike at any time.

But he hadn’t anticipated this situation. Rex’s expression contorted. Really? Not dying in battle, but ending his life with a mere fall? Even a passing dog would laugh at that.

The clouds were getting closer. The clouds, layered in multiple folds, had a texture as hard as stone, causing Rex to tightly shut his eyes. The image of his body shattering like an egg hitting a rock flashed through his mind.

[Pfft.]

The terrible death didn’t come. Instead, a chuckling laughter tickled his ears. Rex blinked with a dumbfounded expression. His head was suspended in the air, at a precarious distance from the clouds. His tilted body straightened itself.

[Foolish one.]

A gentle wind swirled, forming the shape of a girl. The translucent, pale blue girl smiled mischievously and descended at a slow pace, eventually stopping in front of Rex.

[You look cute, cowering like a frightened rabbit just because I teased you a little.]

Though her mouth moved as she spoke, the voice resonated inside his head. It was a clear and bright voice, like dozens of small bells ringing simultaneously. Facing the smiling girl, Rex swallowed dryly and asked.

“…Are you Lord Boreas?”

[At least your eyes aren’t knotholes. Yes, I am Boreas, the master of all winds in this world.]

The girl, the wind god Boreas, replied in a mischievous tone.

He never dreamed that the dungeon’s master would suddenly appear when asked to open the door to the trial. And even less did he expect such a strange welcoming ceremony.

Though his heart was still pounding, Rex tried his best to remain calm.

“I am—”

[I don’t want to hear your introduction. I already know you’re a follower of that troublesome giant.]

Troublesome giant? Could she mean Kaordix? He forcibly suppressed the question that arose. There were more important matters at hand. Rex stammered.

“What is this?”

He couldn’t prevent his voice from trembling. As Rex barely finished speaking, Boreas asked with an intrigued expression.

[What?]

“I know trials don’t proceed like this. May I ask why you suddenly dropped me from the sky, which seems completely pointless?”

He also wanted to ask where his companions had gone and why he alone had been summoned here. But this question was the first to leave his lips.

Why do this?

Boreas scratched her chin with a finger, then blurted out.

[Well… because it’s fun?]

“What the—”

[What?]

Boreas’s brow narrowed.

“Nothing.”

Rex closed his mouth.

After glaring at Rex with narrowed eyes for a moment, she eventually smiled and said.

[I’m joking.]