Someone I Wish to Introduce
"I called you because there is someone I wish to introduce."
Those were the words Sertiphs offered when Yujun set aside the gold of the Golden Flower Garden and went to him.
"An introduction? I'll have to decline any arranged marriage. The person I spend my life with is someone I'd rather find myself."
Sertiphs brushed the remark aside without a second thought.
"This is Atradeon."
"Atradeon, if you will."
Atradeon was an angel of advanced years, his hair and beard gone white.
"Shin Yujun. But why call me...?"
"Because he has been entrusted with an important role. Atradeon is a sage."
"Then this has nothing to do with me, does it?"
"On the contrary. From now on, you will be moving with Atradeon."
"And my opinion?"
"I believe I already compensated you in advance. That alone will not be enough to stir your motivation. So I am considering additional rewards, scaled to your performance."
"...Additional rewards."
Yujun had already received the High Griffin's Intelligent Brain, and he had no particular intention of throwing himself into the work.
"By additional rewards, do you mean those items you mentioned back when the golden goblin was right in front of us?"
"Correct."
"...The ones you said were far better than the High Griffin's brain? You're certain?"
"Yes. I would not go so far as 'far better,' but I can say with certainty that they are better items than the griffin's brain."
"Hmm..."
Yujun put on a show of thinking it over. In truth, he had already been prepared to do whatever it took to get his hands on the items Sertiphs had mentioned—and now Sertiphs had made the offer first. He would hand over those three items, provided Yujun traveled with the sage Atradeon, carried out the operation, and saw it through to success.
"Will you accept?"
"I'm not a particularly greedy man, but if you want it this badly, I suppose I have no choice. I'll lend you my strength."
"You, without greed? That is the funniest joke I have heard in recent memory. You have a gift for making people laugh."
"Let's start with a soul contract."
"A soul contract?"
"You might promise them and then never hand them over."
"Do I look like that sort of man?"
"I don't trust you, and I don't trust anyone else either. Except Harp here. Oh, and my summons, Paranet and Tapagol. Right—Manuela too."
"..."
"And my parents, of course. I'm not an unfilial son."
"I would prefer you never again claim that you trust no one."
"Either way, we need a soul contract. If we don't make one, I'm not doing this."
"I had no intention of breaking my word in the first place, so it makes no difference. Let us proceed."
"I'll make it quick."
Mana poured from Yujun's hand, and the terms of the contract passed to Sertiphs in full.
"Done."
"Remarkable skill. I have never seen a soul contract concluded in a matter of seconds."
"I doubt you've had many occasions to form one."
"That is true enough."
"So what am I supposed to do?"
"You may hear the details from Atradeon."
Claiming he was busy, Sertiphs took his leave.
"What does that man even do, that he's always in such a hurry?"
Only the two of them remained in the tent: Yujun and Atradeon. Atradeon was the first to speak.
"Shin Yujun. I have long known your name by reputation. Seeing you in person, you are quite tall and handsome."
"That sits better than being told I'm strong."
"I hear you have become the master of the Golden Temple?"
"The System went and announced it on its own. It wasn't something I asked for."
"Of course it was not. The Golden Temple. I have something to tell you regarding it."
"The Golden Temple... No. The Golden Flower Garden was a place born of a sudden event to begin with. Once the event ended, becoming master of the temple lost all meaning."
"You know perfectly well that is not true. Do not bother trying to deceive me. I already know everything."
"And what is it you know?"
Had Atradeon actually set foot inside the Golden Temple?
"You became master of the Golden Temple, and with that you can return to the Golden Flower Garden, can you not?"
"Did the System explain even that much? I had no idea."
"No."
Atradeon denied it with a smile.
"I simply knew of the Golden Temple beforehand."
"You mean the Golden Flower Garden and the temple existed even before the event appeared?"
"You know that yourself, do you not? Have you not spoken with the golden race?"
"I have. I also know they grow stronger when they obtain gold."
"Ho. They told you even that? Have you grown close with the golden race?"
"Something like that."
"And yet I heard you killed all four of them..."
"That's right."
"So you killed your close friends."
"We weren't actually close. I only kept them around for a while to achieve my goal."
"In any case, I have something to tell you."
"What is it?"
"You believe that becoming master of the Golden Temple is the end of it, do you not? It is not. Only by fulfilling a certain condition can you become the true master of the Golden Temple."
"..."
What is this old man talking about?
He was already the true master of the Golden Temple. That was how he had obtained a Transcendent title.
All stats of owned summons increase by 80%.
The effect of every gold-related ability increases by 100%.
It had greatly strengthened not only Paranet, but Tapagol as well—though Yujun had not summoned him of late—and it had doubled the effect of offering gold as a sacrifice. This Transcendent-grade title was proof that he had become the true master of the Golden Temple.
"And what's so good about becoming the true master of the Golden Temple?"
He asked even though he already knew the answer. He was curious how far Atradeon's knowledge reached.
"That, I do not know. But one thing is certain. You must not be satisfied merely with becoming master of the Golden Temple. You must fulfill a difficult condition in the Golden Flower Garden and become its true master."
"That's someone else's business, isn't it? Why tell me?"
"Because it would be a pity. This is the first time a master of the Golden Temple has ever appeared."
"Atradeon, why didn't you go yourself? You already knew about the Golden Temple, didn't you?"
"Precisely because I knew of the Golden Temple, I could not covet it."
Yujun scratched his head.
"What does that mean? I don't follow."
"It is both the strength and the weakness of my ability. In exchange for claiming information others do not possess, I am unable to interfere in the matter itself."
"But aren't you interfering right now?"
"This much is acceptable. You are already master of the Golden Temple, so it can hardly be called interference. You would have realized it someday and become the true master regardless, would you not? I merely gave you the information so as to hasten that moment."
"Thank you, but I've already done that."
"Hm? You mean you will not? Is the condition too difficult?"
"No. I mean I'm already the true master of the Golden Temple."
For the first time, Atradeon showed a face of genuine dismay.
"...When? You only became master of the Golden Temple very recently."
"Recently, just as you said."
"Ha. Have I been mistaken?"
"The condition was easy."
"That cannot be. The information came from my skill. It cannot be wrong. The condition is exceedingly strict, so even after one becomes master of the Golden Temple, the true master—"
"Anyway, when are you going to tell me? Weren't we supposed to take on an important role?"
"You wish to get to the point. Well... very well."
Atradeon produced a rolled sheet of parchment. When he undid the cord binding it, geography and place names lay written across the page.
"A map?"
"The front line where those Moderates have dug in lies just below Korta Hill, here. From this point onward, you may consider it all their camp."
"Does it matter that we see their positions on a map? If I wanted to find them by sense, I could do it easily enough. Their positions might have shifted, too."
"It may be possible for you, with senses as keen as yours. But if I, or anyone of ordinary caliber, approached closer than necessary, they would notice and attack."
"Ah."
Yujun realized he had been thinking entirely by his own standards. Sensing an enemy without being detected was only possible if one's senses far surpassed the opponent's.
"And this is no ordinary map. Do you see these red dots? They are designated targets—here, the angels of the Moderate faction. When they move, the positions of the red dots change in real time."
"Fascinating. Where did you get it?"
"From a small ruin. They say it is a map once used by ancient mages."
"And its item grade?"
"Curious about everything, aren't you. Mythic grade."
"Hoh..."
"I cannot give this to you."
"Who asked you to? I'm just looking because it's interesting."
"Your eyes are so full of greed that I thought it best to drive the nail in early."
"Not at all, so don't worry about it."
"I certainly hope so."
"But is this the whole operation? Once we know where the enemy is, what do we do next?"
"Do you know what those Moderates are doing out there?"
"I don't. Stop drawing it out and just tell me."
"They are building an altar in an attempt to summon a being from myth, all so they may win this war completely."
Huh?
The situation felt oddly familiar. A being from myth. Hadn't the Demon God Worshippers tried to summon the mythic creature Balrog? And they had actually succeeded. Yujun had captured it and sealed it inside the Absolute Sealing Orb, but if he had stood aside and left it alone, it might well have become a grave threat to the Continent.
"A being from myth, you say?"
"I do not know what that being is. But I do know it is powerful enough to change the course of the war."
"You said you don't know its identity."
"There are things one can know without knowing a name. No matter what happens, we must stop that summoning rite."
"Only the Moderates? The Hardline Faction isn't summoning anything of its own?"
"Summoning a being from another dimension goes against the ethics of Heaven."
"But it isn't outright illegal?"
"It is not. Even so, victory does not require us to do exactly as they do. If the Moderates merely fail in their summoning rite, we should be able to win with ease. We have you, after all."
"I think you're overestimating me."
"If you alone join the fight, our Hardline Faction can win. I guarantee it."
Listening to it, there was not much of an operation to speak of. A small elite force would go to where the summoning rite was underway and stop it. The crucial point was that someone had to be there to handle matters if they failed to stop the rite, or arrived too late. Even if the Moderates succeeded in summoning a being from myth, it could still be dealt with if little time had passed since it was called to this place. Right after being summoned, such a being could not bring its full power to bear—just as Balrog had been unable to. That was why, when Yujun later summoned Balrog himself, the demon had appeared in a stronger state.
"It is possible we are already too late."
"Then we'd be stuck with no choice but to fight the thing."
"Which is why we must go quickly."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner? There should have been time."
"We only recently obtained word that they were conducting a summoning rite. That is why we decided to call you in haste."
"Then we'd better move quickly. May I bring my companions?"
"Of course. But limit it to one or two. The more of you there are, the greater the chance those Moderates will notice."