Chapter 133
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: Pilgrimage's End
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What emerged from the Sato was a temple.
It wasn't in good shape.
Stone pillars that had lost their support.
A central staircase riddled with cracks.
And at its end, an archway entrance on the verge of collapse.
It might have been grand once, but now it was little more than a drowned corpse.
Pulled from the depths, yet already having crossed a river of no return.
How the hell did they even know this was here and drag it out?
Jin stared at the Iron Maiden in astonishment.
Rumble rumble rumble.
Seized by an irresistible force by its hair, the temple finally regained its former eye level.
"......Whoa."
As Jin marveled, the Iron Maiden slowly began pulling the cart forward.
The temple arrived at a leisurely pace.
The android released the handle and slowly knelt down.
At the same time, the Iron Maiden's door clicked open.
Chemji clasped her hands and began praying quietly, while the pilgrim meditated in her half-mat-sized tank.
It was clearly not the atmosphere to interrupt.
So Jin chewed on potatoes roasted over hellfire flames from a safe distance away.
Mmm. Tasty.
Would've been perfect with just some salt or sugar.
Or even hot chicken sauce...
Whoa. Hot chicken. Hot chicken stir-fried ramen.
As Jin's eyes grew wistful reminiscing about his homeland's spicy flavors,
Vagmar, who had been carefully scanning the surroundings with Chloe, spoke up.
"Those two. Do they believe in Nepetra?"
"What?"
"Nepetra. The goddess of mercy."
Jin frowned at Vagmar's following words.
Something irritating stirred in his memory.
Those punk kids from back in the day who gathered all the neighborhood beggars promising free food—they'd masqueraded with that name, probably.
So Jin replied,
"This is a goddess's temple?"
"Yeah. The style matches perfectly. Look at this—"
Vagmar picked up a fallen stone tablet from the ground and rattled off the history of the engraved emblem in detail, but Jin let most of it go in one ear and out the other with a bored expression.
Still, nodding mechanically out of respect for the speaker's effort.
All the while munching potatoes with his mouth.
Eyes fixed on Chemji and the pilgrim.
His mind swirling with carbonara hot chicken stir-fried ramen.
Multitasking that would put 09-season Lee Je-dong to shame.
Over ten massacred potatoes later, as the sun began its descent,
Chemji finally rose slowly.
It's over.
Reading her silent lip movements, Jin walked over.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"It's fine, but... is that really it?"
Chemji nodded.
"Yes. Are you curious about the temple interior, by any chance?"
"Nah, it's just... doesn't it feel a bit anticlimactic?"
They'd gone through all that trouble to reach this ruin.
As the finale of this pilgrimage, he'd figured there'd be something epic, but it ended with just quiet prayer.
What kind of Pyongyang cold noodle ending was this?
"Is there any reason the pilgrimage needs to be special? Worshipping before the sanctuary is enough."
"Fair point."
Jin nodded.
True, trudging here to pray was the pilgrimage itself.
No need for handstands or anything. Yeah.
That was when it happened.
"We'll wrap up the day here. Head back to the city at dawn—sound good?"
"Sure. Let's do that."
Jin nodded at Chemji's words.
And so, their campsite.
A crackling bonfire rose from the firewood Vagmar had gathered.
They took shelter from the wind inside the temple.
Faint murals on the walls glowed crimson in the firelight.
Yawn.
Jin let out a long yawn and warmed his palms by the flames.
Compared to the light-polluted city that chased away the stars, the Outlands' night fell oppressively early.
What had they even done to make it this dark already?
Still, the rare night sky was a welcome sight.
"Where you off to?"
"Just getting some air."
With that, Jin stepped out of the temple and sat on the stairs.
He heated his canteen with a sip of warm water.
Hellfire had seamlessly woven into his daily routine.
Not that Jin checked constantly.
Even now, the constellation shaped like flickering flames steadily gained proficiency.
+0.00N%.
Steadily, bit by bit.
Experience points were plentiful too.
Though insufficient for growing his Mana Circuit.
Higher stages demanded insane amounts.
Jin clicked his tongue.
How the hell do others even complete this?
He's rolled pretty hard as it is.
Any other ways to farm XP here?
Mindless murder? Nah, that's not it.
Of course, this was Jin's misunderstanding.
Project Neo made fully illuminating constellations in one playthrough brutally hard. Especially massive ones like [Mana].
Even on the highest XP multiplier Easy mode.
Noobs who dove in clueless always hit this wall first.
[Build feels ruined. Where do I reset?]
[Can you even beat this?]
[Should I keep going? Advice pls.]
And so on.
On days like that, every veteran in the community swarmed to rant.
[You picked Normal difficulty, right?]
[What's your starting class and trait?]
[One playthrough, dabble everywhere = trash char fast.]
Not for nothing did build-shaming geezers haunt the forums.
Plenty subtly pushed their tastes on clueless newbies too.
[You can adjust difficulty mid-game but not reset skills. Recommend restarting unless you're attached. Make a second char and try corpo/blueblood/psycho build? Unlocks dehumanized choices, pretty fresh.]
Anyway.
From the perspective of this absurdly complex game, Jin was doing damn well.
Especially stubbornly focusing investment on his Mana Circuit instead of scattering stars aimlessly without concept or guide.
In truth, it was only natural.
Multiple playthroughs, themed builds.
Those were gamer exclusives.
Unlike them viewing the world through a monitor,
Jin, living and breathing here, had to be cautious with choices.
That was when it happened.
=Thank you.=
Jin smirked at the voice in his head.
"Well, well. Long time no direct chat."
=Haven't we been talking all along?=
"Through Chemji?"
As the pilgrim fell silent,
Jin took another sip of warm water and said,
"How's it feel? Got what you wanted?"
=Yes. Thanks to you, I completed the pilgrimage safely. And that child wasn't hurt.=
"Chemji."
Jin said firmly.
"Call her Chemji too. She won't complain if you do now."
=Chemji. What does that mean?=
"Hmm. Epic tsundere?"
By modern standards, an irredeemable domestic abuser, but no need to mention that. Wasn't why he picked the name.
=Outwardly tough, inwardly soft. Like that child...=
"Chemji."
=Yes. Chemji is. Yes.=
Jin chuckled at the pilgrim's glitched response.
"Mind if I ask something?"
=Go ahead.=
"Why go on pilgrimage? Doesn't seem like you pin faith on one god."
Vagmar had tilted his head watching them pray toward the mercy temple, wondering maybe?, but Jin saw it differently.
Chemji hadn't even known what was here at the start.
And sure enough, the pilgrim said,
=You're right. We don't believe in specific gods. We just visit holy sites from records. Some are well-preserved, others unrecognizable. Plenty buried in Sato like today.=
Jin inwardly agreed with the tale.
Her gentle voice was soothing to hear.
If possible, record it for bedtime. Shame he couldn't.
But he hadn't missed the content amid the allure.
"So you stamp every holy site. Hmm. Kinda romantic."
=No, it's not.=
"Huh?"
=My pilgrimage isn't pure enough to call romantic.=
Jin snorted.
No retort, so he waited for the rest.
=We advance through forsaken lands, praying to those who forsook us. Please return. Anyone. Just come back.=
The deepened night sky.
Her white-noise voice blended perfectly, whispering into his mind.
=My prayers have purpose. So they're impure. And that won't change.=
"Hmm."
Jin pulled a small chocolate from his pocket.
Wrappers already half-gone, combat ration snacks he'd steadily hoarded.
He twisted off the pigtail packaging and popped it in.
Rolled it on his tongue for sweetness.
"Any reason they should come back?"
Gods went on strike and vanished or whatever.
World still spun in its mad way.
Besides,
Human ties grow cold after a few silent years. A millennium? Overkill.
If they ghosted that hard, why seek them?, Jin thought.
=They were this world's breakwater.=
"Hmm."
=Someday the waves will surge. Sweeping everything. I desperately hope it never comes, but some sights appear unbidden.=
"What. You see the future or something?"
=No.=
Jin scratched his head.
Would've asked for his future if yes.
"Well. Gone means uneasy, yeah."
Unlike his home star split on god existence, this world once had real ones.
Folks unable to forget that loss persisting today? Not so special.
Might look like maladjustment to some, but wasn't he the same?
Thus, Jin understood the pilgrim anew.
Convinced she'd wander endlessly.
"Hey. Still, look after Chemji. She creaks every move—not like an android's got frozen shoulder. What gives? When we get back, full gear swap first. Deal?"
=That child keeps refusing...=
"Chemji. And if she refuses? Nudge twice, thrice, break her stubbornness. Austerity has limits. What if she breaks down mid-Outlands? We nearly bought it this time—gonna risk it again?"
Hiss!
A flustered voice returned at the sharp reprimand.
=Yes. I'll, I'll tell her.=
"Tell who?"
=Che, Chemji. To Chemji.=
Glitched pilgrim as always.
Stammering like first time.
Fun to tease.
Thought she was just mysterious, but chatting felt like bantering with a little sister.
Might be why she avoided direct talk.
Jin smirked, popping another chocolate.
"If she won't listen, tell me. Smash a part if needed to force repairs."
=That would be bad.=
"Kidding."
Jin grinned mischievously at her firm reply.
Short silence crossed.
The pilgrim spoke again.
=Thank you once more.=
Softly adding,
=Call if you ever need my help. I'll come gladly.=
Jin's golden network strengthened another layer.
The return trip was the same.
Vagmar scouted far ahead, Chemji diligently pushed the cart, and Jin snacked till his gifted food ran out.
They chatted plenty too.
Like, why did the apostle send minions to scout old holy sites?
Multiple brains meant quick conclusions.
Black Mage (apostle) targeting relics suggested they hunted lingering 'holiness' in the land.
Whose idea was that?
Not Vagmar's.
He'd been hyped realizing Chemji wasn't human, obsessed with upgrading Chloe.
Anyway.
Another week passed.
Spare fuel down to one barrel.
The group finally entered city territory.
Scenery unchanged, but one clear difference.
Signal on the terminal!
Backlogged texts flooded in—oh crap.
The junk terminal, already limping on low battery, finally croaked.
Last seen caption: [Wanna die?]
Jin shivered recalling it,
when a massive shadow engulfed them.
Ahead, a transport descended kicking up wind.
"Here to escort you."
The soldier who emerged saluted Chemji sharply.
Chemji said she'd predicted a messenger upon entering city bounds—and spot on.
Post-pilgrimage?
She who refused all aid now obediently wheeled the cart toward the transport.
But soon halted, waving to Jin and Vagmar.
Who knew she could wave like that.
Jin waved back with fresh surprise.
A voice echoed in his head.
=Farewell then.=
After.
Jin stood shading his eyes, watching the VIP transport soar away.
Beyond the receding craft, (Complete!) vanished plainly, sans rewards.
"So, what now?"
Jin chuckled down at the dwarf poking his thigh, reclaiming the driver's seat at last.
"We're heading to Downtown!"
Shouting triumphantly, flooring it.
"There! I'll! Figure out what to do!"
Wind whistled past ears.
Vagmar asked just that.
Jin replied without hesitation.
"Got a few ideas! Wanna get a job?"
"Where?!"
Jin patted the Gravis at his waist.
"Luger & Dolman! Might know it!"