Chapter 76
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Holy Land (2)
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The Pope's warm welcome.
It was probably a situation that countless holy knights and priests dreamed of.
Of course, Jun was far from devout, so he felt nothing special.
"Before entering the holy land, there's a procedure we must go through. I hope you understand."
Jun nodded roughly at Elahim's words.
He had gone through a similar process in the game.
They had to ritually cleanse their bodies with holy water and spend a day in this temple before they could set foot inside the holy land.
After completing the necessary rites in their temporarily assigned guest rooms, they arrived at the center of the temple.
What they saw there was a pure white door radiating brilliant golden light.
It's peculiar.
It felt similar to the aura of Blackout's strata, but it was a different kind of energy.
A soft, warm divine power of Aricloto.
"Please, come in."
Following the Pope's guidance, they stepped through the door.
In that brief moment, Jun felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
It's like the sensation when entering the Forest of Annihilation.
However, while the Forest of Annihilation felt like being forcibly dragged in, this was like walking down a well-paved path.
Soon after, a lush green meadow appeared.
In the distance, there was a rugged rocky area, and beyond it, golden mist filled the empty horizon.
This is the summit of Mount Nepherden, right?
Jun muttered softly to himself.
"It's been a while since I've breathed the air of the surface."
"Pardon? What do you mean by that?"
Aiden, who had been exclaiming in awe beside him, asked about Jun's soliloquy.
"Hoho. You saw right through it at a glance."
Jun replied nonchalantly to Elahim's words.
"The moon looks farther away, doesn't it?"
Even in the bright daylight, a close look at the sky revealed the moon faintly faded in light.
The moon appearing smaller than in Blackout was one of the surface's characteristics.
"Th-then, does that mean we've come to the surface now?"
It was obvious when he thought about it.
No matter how long Blackout's history was, humanity had only set foot there a few hundred years ago.
In contrast, the Church had existed even before the founding emperor established the Empire.
So, the Church's holy land couldn't possibly be inside Blackout.
"How...?"
Still, Aiden looked dumbfounded.
And rightly so.
Fundamentally, ways to exit Blackout were extremely limited.
"We're not fully out. Our bodies are still bound to Blackout."
"I've never met a mage as calm as you in my life."
Elahim said that from the side.
Unlike the people Jun had met so far, Elahim must have encountered many mages.
He already knew Jun was different from ordinary mages.
"And the holy land... it's not something to get surprised over just that."
Though that vibe had faded now, Jun remembered how Aiden had looked in the carriage.
Aiden, who had blamed himself for being unable to do anything but watch as level 7 users fought.
"Don't you want to experience it firsthand? Fighting level 7 users."
"Pardon?"
"It's possible here. You can spar directly against level 7 users."
With that, Jun looked at the holy knight Bern standing beside the Pope.
"Isn't that right?"
"Well, it's possible, but I wouldn't recommend it."
Despite Bern's dissuasion, Aiden's eyes sparkled even more as he listened from the side.
"Is there a way to get stronger?"
"Hmm..."
Bern let out a low groan.
Then Jun chimed in as if to help.
"This guy's got incredible mental fortitude. You too, Maya."
"What do you mean?"
Since arriving here, Maya's expression hadn't relaxed at all.
She was constantly tormented by the uneasy voices of her ancestral spirits.
"The next three months. We're going to be reborn here."
"...?"
Now alone with his thoughts, Jun pondered quietly.
My current growth rate.
It's faster than expected.
No, he could confidently say no one in the game had grown faster than him.
It couldn't be better.
But was it perfect? No.
Blackout is a team game.
In other words, his companions needed to keep up with his growth.
Fortunately, they'd reached this holy land.
So, Aiden's growth shouldn't be much of an issue.
Aiden grew not through special stories but by overcoming various adversities with his tremendous talent.
The problem is Maya.
The girl of the Jokyung tribe.
Honestly, Maya's growth potential was on par with Aiden's—tremendously high.
Though the areas where she shone would differ slightly.
The issue was that her growth had stalled for a long time.
Maya is the type who grows through special events.
But now, he couldn't predict when those special events would occur.
The game hadn't even reached its start point yet, and Jun's presence had already changed too many things.
With all these variables, it's foolish to just wait for special events.
And not just that.
According to the game's lore, those special events wouldn't happen for several years.
By then, Jun and Aiden's growth would be at an unattainable level.
But I can't give up on her.
If certain conditions were met, she had talent on par with Aiden.
Abandoning such talent just because the timing was off would be utterly foolish.
If I give up like that, how many named NPCs could I even recruit?
Fortunately...
There is a way to substitute for those special events.
Maya was one of the few characters whose detailed story Jun knew thoroughly.
After everyone had their time alone, the group gathered again.
"Where's Eleanor?"
Unlike when the two had gone out together, Aiden returned alone.
"Ah, Priestess Eleanor said she had something separate to learn."
"Something to learn."
She had lamented not learning offensive divine magic because she hated harming others.
But after the recent incident, she seemed to have changed her mind.
"Um, Senior, what are you planning to do here?"
"We're going to train here for three months. And for you, Aiden, your trainer will be..."
"It'll be me."
The level 7 holy knight Bern stepped in front of Aiden.
"Holy Knight Bern?"
"I'll oversee your training."
"R-really?"
Aiden had never been formally taught by anyone.
His swordsmanship was all picked up by watching from the corner of his eye, so this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the always-thirsty-for-knowledge Aiden.
"Of course. Follow me."
With an entranced expression, Aiden headed toward the back of the temple.
"And me?"
"Your opponent is me."
"Why is that?"
"Hey now, don't underestimate me just because I'm a mage. That's a prejudice."
In fact, there were famous explorer mages, and the same in the mercenary world.
"Of course, we won't spar right away. That's for later. More like a consultation, I suppose?"
"A consultation?"
"Yeah, about the direction of your future growth."
"...I'll handle my own path."
Maya refused with a firm attitude.
Jun shrugged lightly and ignored it.
"So, you've been stuck at 4-level fields for years now?"
"..."
"Looks like you have some goal or purpose."
Of course, Jun knew exactly what Maya's goal was.
Revenge.
"Growing alone has its limits."
"That's..."
It wasn't wrong.
But Maya couldn't easily trust anyone.
Or more precisely, she didn't fully understand the act of trusting someone.
She had lived so isolated from the world.
"The Jokyung tribe. A clan you can only find in ancient tomes."
"...!"
Maya's eyes widened.
Naturally so.
She had never spoken about herself to anyone before.
"From Braden?"
"No. That guy never breathed a word about you. Instead, I saw the ability you used while suppressing Bern."
Jun skillfully twisted his words with cunning.
He had to choose them carefully.
Lies didn't work in front of the Jokyung tribe.
More accurately, their ancestral spirits could discern lies.
Well, I did read the ancient tomes in the game, and I did see the skill firsthand.
But the real challenge was turning Maya's heart.
"That skill you used back then. Why aren't you using it now?"
"..."
"You don't have to say. I can guess. You hate losing control of your body, right?"
"How did you..."
"I know these things."
Jun continued acting the mysterious mage.
"The Jokyung tribe's power is controlling the souls of ancestors inherited from their forebears. But it's dangerous too."
The living commanding the dead.
No matter that they were ancestral spirits, it was natural for the dead to covet the flesh of the living.
And originally, Maya isn't even of Jokyung blood.
Since the chieftain had found and raised her, Maya distrusted the ancestral spirits even more.
In truth, they sought not to seize her body but to fulfill their long-held wishes.
The problem was those wishes had festered for too long.
Maya, without Jokyung blood, risked her mind being corrupted by them.
Maya probably doesn't know the details.
Instead, she instinctively felt repulsed.
But that wouldn't do.
The foundation of Maya's talent is those ancestral spirits.
If she kept avoiding and not properly wielding that power, she'd remain just another 4-level user.
And resolving that is my job from now on.
Was it fortunate?
Jun knew the method.
Though it's half quackery, that's the issue.
Still, it should be fine.
This was the holy land, after all.
A few failures could be endured.