The Holy Treasury
"...I had no idea you'd gone through all that. Honestly, even hearing it now, it's hard to believe."
The Saintess said this as she led Carpe somewhere. She was far more excited than when they'd first met—practically buzzing with energy.
"It's been nearly 100 years since a divine oracle came to an outsider... and you actually met Luhal in person! This is a historic event! If I'd known, I would've broken the church's rules and gone with you."
The Saintess kept stealing envious glances at Carpe, her eyes screaming for more details.
"...I didn't realize it was that rare. From talking to him, it seemed like he really wanted to visit the human realm."
Carpe had assumed he dropped by whenever he got bored, but apparently not.
"He's a god, after all. Directly interfering in the human realm comes with all sorts of restrictions, like causality and such. I don't know the details, but it seems he needs a proper justification to intervene."
And that perfect justification had been the death of that mad scientist, Frantic.
With a guy who could've plunged the continent into chaos now dead, it made sense for him to descend personally as a reward.
"What was the Holy Spirit like? Surely as compassionate and majestic as described in the scriptures?"
"Ah, yeah... pretty much."
Just a regular neighborhood bro...
But Carpe hid the truth and nodded along with her words. No need to shatter her illusions—or undermine the Holy Spirit's dignity.
Sometimes, a white lie is more beautiful than the truth.
"Ugh, I'm so jealous of you, brother. Oh, where are the others?"
"If you mean my retainers, they're resting after getting injured in battle. It was a brutal fight."
"Ah... you must have suffered. On behalf of the church, thank you again. May the Holy Spirit's grace be with you."
"Thanks. No need to worry too much—they're all fine, no major issues."
Before coming here, Carpe had stopped by his Room to check on everyone.
Despite his concerns, the retainers were in great shape. Tina had been down, muttering, "A knight who fails to protect her lord is worthless...," but otherwise, they were all perfectly healthy. Games were games, after all.
"So, where are we headed right now?"
Carpe was following the Saintess deeper underground into the temple. She let out an "Ah!" and answered with a slight fluster.
"Oh, I got so excited I forgot to mention. Per the Holy Spirit's oracle, I'm escorting you to the Holy Treasury."
"Holy Treasury?"
Carpe repeated the unfamiliar term, and the Saintess smiled faintly as she explained.
"Just as the name suggests, it's the Holy Spirit's storehouse. It holds items offered to him by our church, as well as things he's used or collected himself. It's one of our church's most sacred sites."
"...Oh."
Carpe felt his heartbeat quicken.
A god's warehouse.
It reeked of jackpot. A thick, intoxicating scent of massive loot!
"Looks like the Holy Treasury is down here. I'd figured a place that important would be near the capital."
"Ah, I wasn't clear. Strictly speaking, this is just an entrance to the Holy Treasury. There's another in the capital too."
"...Huh?"
Her kind explanation only made it more confusing.
If there was an entrance here, didn't that mean the Treasury was here? So what did she mean there was one in the capital too? Multiple Treasuries?
As Carpe puzzled over it, Cheonma nodded nostalgically beside him.
Yeah, that's the normal reaction. The Holy Treasury, huh. Been a while since I last went in.
'You've been there too, hyung?'
Once. In the 4th round, I got indirectly tangled with the Holy Spirit and went in then.
'...You really have no life left unexplored.'
RaSe has my life on the line. Gotta do everything possible. Anyway, you'll figure out what the Holy Treasury is soon enough.
Carpe and the Saintess kept descending.
Suddenly, a massive door loomed before them.
"This is the entrance to the Holy Treasury."
"It's huge. But no guards?"
Despite being the church's most vital holy site, there wasn't a soul in sight.
"Hehe. You can't just enter the Holy Treasury because you want to. Even a divine being can't open it without meeting the conditions."
"I see."
Carpe eyed the entrance again at her proud tone.
'Bet Unlock could open it.'
...You're so ridiculous, it pisses me off. Don't you dare spam Unlock here! Trying to aggro the whole area?
'Just a thought. Just imagining.'
The Saintess gently stroked the iron door and continued.
"It looks like a door, but it's actually a warp gate. Installed by the Holy Spirit himself. The Holy Treasury is like a separate realm."
"Ah, so that's..."
Her explanation cleared up his earlier confusion. It made sense for multiple entrances now.
"To enter, two conditions must be met."
First, naturally, the Holy Spirit's permission—usually via oracle.
Second, the Holy Emperor or Saintess had to open the entrance personally. Only those two in the entire church of Saint Ru Hal could do it.
"The Treasury opening to an outsider is one of the rarest events in Saint Ru Hal's history."
"Really?"
"Yes. Normally, only newly appointed Holy Emperors or Saintesses like me can enter."
Which meant the Saintess standing before him had been inside.
"Alright, I'll open it now. Please step back a bit."
She took a deep breath, placed her hand on the door.
Golden energy flows from the Saintess's hand into the door!
A grinding rumble echoed as the blue ornament in the door's center began spinning wildly.
The massive doors swing wide open!
"Phew. All set. This is the gateway to the Holy Treasury."
Beyond the doors stood a warp gate—far grander and more imposing than any in town.
"Now, finally, the rules of the Holy Treasury."
"Huh? Can't you just explain inside with me?"
"I can't enter. The Holy Spirit only permitted you."
She sounded regretful but shook her head firmly and continued.
"The Holy Treasury holds countless items. Some artifacts are so powerful, the world would erupt in chaos if they got out. You can choose just one."
"Hmm. Got it."
A bit disappointing, but he trusted the Holy Spirit's name value.
"Once chosen, exit via the central gate. I'll wait here. Time limit: three hours."
"Three hours."
No clue how many items were inside, so hard to gauge if that was generous or tight.
"And the final rule: No entry with appraisal scrolls."
"Huh?"
The rest made sense, but this was random.
"All items in the Treasury are unappraised. You must choose based purely on appearance."
"...Why the hell such a rule?"
"Beats me? I just know it exists... Probably the Holy Spirit's profound intent."
No way. Carpe was certain.
The Holy Spirit had added it purely for fun. Given what he'd seen of his personality.
"What if I have the appraisal skill, not a scroll?"
"That's your own ability, so it's fine. But it won't help much anyway."
She chuckled, as if seeing through any tricks.
"Appraising Legendary+ items properly requires the 9-star skill Divine Eye... which has a 1 hour 30 minute cooldown. Even if you have it, you can only appraise two items max."
Unless she didn't know about a "no cooldown, 100% appraisal skill," skills were pointless.
...Fucking trash game.
"Heh heh heh."
"I hope you find a fated treasure. I found mine here too."
"Oh? What'd you pick, Saintess?"
"Hehe. Wanna guess? Hint: I..."
"Iron mace."
"Wha—how?!"
Carpe answered before she finished, startling her for real. She'd never expected a correct guess.
"H-how'd you know? Did the Holy Spirit tell you?"
"...Nah. Just a hunch."
Carpe glanced at her eye—or rather, the golden eyepatch—and replied.
"You strike me as someone who'd smite demons personally, not just heal."
"Spot on! Before becoming Saintess, I was a battle priest. See? You hate demons too. Ahh, praise Luhal!"
She was deeply moved on her own and dropped to her knees in prayer.
Ahem. Uh... this why people hate religion?
"Ahem."
Carpe summoned superhuman restraint to hold back the mace drip.
Good thoughts! Good thoughts!
"Alright, heading in."
"Yes. May the Holy Spirit's grace guide you."
As Carpe touched the warp gate,
Would you like to enter?
He nodded, and was instantly transported to the Holy Treasury.
"Whoa..."
Still a sight to behold. Damn.
The name "Holy Spirit's Warehouse" was no exaggeration.
An endless expanse of items glittered in the vast space.
The first thing Carpe did upon arrival:
This area cannot be registered as a Dimension Gate coordinate.
"Aw, no dice."
...You conscienceless bastard. Your freeloading math is faster than anyone's.
He'd tried anyway, but no luck. Not surprised, so no big loss.
"Man, these look epic even unappraised."
Most unappraised items looked shabby, but these gleamed invitingly, begging to be picked up.
"Heh."
Carpe grinned at the mountain of treasures.
Choose by looks alone, no info?
As if! He placed his hand on the nearest sword and activated his skill.
"Unlock."
Item appraisal successful!
Fucking trash game. Stupid Luhal. You call this a restriction?!
"RaSe is the god game after... Whoa?!"
Carpe gulped at the revealed info.
◈ Restriction: Those approved by Luhal
"What the... An Epic on the first appraisal?!"
Which meant... maybe this place had those.
"This... Mythic items?!"
No, what the fuck is this bullshit at level under 100?!
Cheonma's furious voice echoed pitifully through the Holy Treasury.