Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: New Ability
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I traveled for two more days in the direction Luna guided me.
Much as I wanted to head straight for Transen Mountain, there was no guarantee the three of them were still sitting around in the church there after Robert had torn through the place. Even if I arrived and used Eye that Pierces Truth to glimpse past visions, figuring out where they were now would still be a crapshoot.
Rather than risk crossing paths and complicating things further, I needed to bolster my forces with whoever could help first and foremost.
After fighting the Underground Vermin directly in that grand cathedral shrouded in darkness, I'd realized this solo act wasn't cutting it anymore.
I'd never seen Linian fight in the game, but the way she talked always dripped with hints of some insane hidden power. And in reality, Ravi and Elfin had sensed her mana and trembled in terror.
Someone like Linian would be a massive boost to my firepower.
Plus, as the fortune-teller who made a living knowing every dirty secret and scheme in this world, she had a high chance of knowing where Ravi, Elfin, and Lenis were too.
The only real issue was whether Luna was actually guiding me right.
"My lord, your gaze seems filled with scorn and doubt whenever you look at me."
"That obvious, huh?"
"......"
Luna narrowed her eyes and glared at me once before turning and marching ahead again.
"I have no reason to earn your suspicion. Even without my divinity, I lived as a god for countless ages. I can sense where my creation—one of my very first creations—is even with my eyes closed."
"Someone who lived that long as a god doesn't know how to eat or drink properly? Collapsing from starvation, then scarfing down a whole day's worth and keeling over from indigestion?"
"......Even a god makes mistakes with new experiences. Surely you've botched your first attempts at things too."
In other words, this ex-goddess was hitting me with the classic "What, you think you were perfect from the start?"
Her attitude was pathetic and hilarious at the same time, so I couldn't help but smirk.
This pampered former goddess, who didn't even have basic survival instincts programmed in, clearly had no clue that any normal person would've foraged some mushrooms and died before quietly starving to death sitting in one spot.
"So, where's Linian right now?"
"Looks like Campbell Lake."
Campbell Lake was one of the recovery spots in the game, reachable only by trekking some insanely rugged paths.
Its healing powers were so potent that even severe curses or status ailments would fade away after soaking in it.
It was a pain to get to, so most players skipped it... but of all places, that's where she was?
What the hell had she been up to since leaving Libertà to end up there?
"What's she doing there?"
"I'd have to see for myself to know for sure... but she's barely moving. Campbell Lake was made with a fragment of my own divinity, granting powerful healing to the world's creatures. For her to be soaking in it with so little movement..."
"Injured?"
"High likelihood."
"I thought Linian was ridiculously strong. What could she have been doing to get wounded bad enough to need a dip there?"
"I have my suspicions, but they're just guesses for now. Let's meet her first and hear it straight from the source."
With that, we headed for the mountain holding Campbell Lake, trudging another full two days until we reached its foothills, where sheer cliffs stretched out.
The problem? The mountain was so brutally steep it looked impossible to climb.
'Even Ravi or Elfin would wave this off.'
Ravi could hop around like a pro, and Elfin could summon plants to ride up, but these cliffs were carved so vertically and dizzyingly high, even they'd think twice.
In the game, without pro gear, just getting here was torture—you couldn't even dream of reaching the lake.
"?"
Luna blinked at me, eyes wide like what are you waiting for?
"What?"
"Aren't you going?"
"How the hell is anyone supposed to climb this barefoot?"
"Don't you still have the divinity I left behind?"
"...?"
"?"
Come to think of it, I'd been so busy babysitting this princess the last few days that I'd completely ignored my own status.
Luna stared at me like I was asking the obvious.
Getting that look from her of all people pissed me off.
Gritting my teeth inwardly, I checked my status.
Pretty damn useful skills.
Bifrost stood out the most.
It created a sort of moving walkway. If it worked as described, no cliff on Campbell Mountain could stop us.
In this world where transportation was a pathetic joke compared to modern times, this might be the most valuable ability of all.
"Looks like you've got a way to reach Campbell Lake now."
"You saw glimpses of our world from yours beforehand. Recall the lake's appearance, then imagine a shimmering Milky Way bridge connecting here to there."
I closed my eyes as Luna instructed, picturing our spot at the mountain's base and the lake high above, linked by rippling light.
"Open your eyes."
When I did, a golden bridge of light stretched before me for real.
No steps or seams—it looked more like spread silk than a bridge, but it was undeniably there.
Reaching out, I felt a soft, warm glow against my hand.
"Impressive."
"I used it for long-distance travel back when I was a goddess. Child's play for me, so teaching you was no trouble. Even if you treat me with such disdain."
...She'd been holding that grudge.
Stepping onto the golden bridge, it rippled and reshaped into a reclining seat.
Despite the near-vertical incline, I settled in comfortably. Luna followed effortlessly, sitting behind me. Made sense—this was originally hers.
Once we were seated, Bifrost glided like a conveyor, carrying us up the treacherous cliffs.
What would've taken days on foot flew by in comfort, the stunning vistas making me forget—for a moment—that I was separated from Ravi, Elfin, and Lenis. The crisp air was invigorating.
The bridge's far end anchored to the foggy outskirts of Campbell Lake.
As we stepped off, it vanished, revealing the lake's mystical expanse.
Too vast and misty for my eyes to pierce, but Luna's vision cut through. She stared somberly toward what I guessed was the center.
"Such grievous wounds... Poor child..."
"Wounds? On Linian?"
"I need to check her condition. She's wary of outsiders when weakened like this, so I'll go first."
Her white dress fluttered in the lakeside breeze as she walked to the water's edge and stepped out—
Splash!
—right into the lake. As if a powerless human could walk on water!
"Pwah! *Cough cough*!"
I sighed deeply, fished her dripping self out, then bridged Bifrost to the center and headed for Linian together.
A short walk later, we spotted her: a blue-haired woman submerged, encased in a bubble-like barrier amid the froth.
Her body was covered in horrific wounds—barely alive, it seemed. Luna touched the bubble with pity.
Linian's eyes snapped open. She tensed defensively.
"Who the—huh?!"
Not noticing me yet, she froze at the golden Bifrost and the pure-white woman right in front of her.
Then, in utter disbelief, she bellowed:
"M-Mom!?"