The Temple of Nain Gard
The Temple of Nain Gard
'The old man who gave me the magic book.'
Sure, every time he showed up he acted like a sketchy snake-oil salesman, but in the end, he was the old man who'd helped me out immensely.
That very same old man looked exactly like the statue of Odin tucked away behind the temple.
I'd never seen a statue of Odin in person before, so it hit me like a freight train. The fact that it just so happened to look exactly like someone I knew nearly made my skin crawl.
Of course, there was one minor detail that was different.
The old man I'd met wasn't missing an eye — both of his were perfectly intact.
But the more I thought about it, the more that detail nagged at me.
One of the old man's pupils had an unnatural quality to it — like he was wearing a glass eye.
If that wasn't a real eye but a prosthetic, he'd be a dead ringer for Odin's statue.
'Just who the hell have I been meeting all this time?'
I glanced down at Rumi, still clasped in one hand.
That was the magic book the old man had handed over to me. Rumi might actually know something.
But with all these people around, it was hard to just start a conversation out of nowhere. Rumi, as usual, didn't speak to me since it wasn't a moment for teaching me magic.
'I'll have to ask Rumi later. Just what kind of relationship that old man had with Odin.'
While I was mulling that over, I struck up a conversation with Kate, who'd been listening to Bella talk.
Kate had plenty of moments where she didn't act much like a nun, but at the end of the day, she was still a nun.
As a nun who served the gods, she knew quite a lot about the continent's deities.
"Kate, I've got a question."
"What is it? About the Vice Guild Master's contract? If it's about bringing in an outside mage, I'm all for it!"
"No, not that. I want to know about the god Odin that Nain Gard worships."
It was a completely out-of-the-blue question, but after rolling it around in her head for a moment, Kate nodded.
"I'm well-versed in gods other than Lord Baldur. Especially so since Lord Odin is, you could say, the father of Lord Baldur. Ask me anything."
"Is there any precedent for gods directly manifesting on the continent? For instance, whether it's possible for a mortal to meet a god face to face."
If you went around Earth claiming you'd met God, you'd be labeled a mental case without a doubt. But this was the continent of Midgard, where gods demonstrably exerted influence through all sorts of miracles.
Since every god here possessed a personality, some gods moved mortals according to their own whims.
The prime example would be Baldur, the god of light. A miracle-working god who showered people with Divine Power and built the continent's largest religious faction.
It was entirely possible that Odin was doing the same — granting divine favor somewhere out there to people of his choosing.
'So the old man I met was a god from this otherworld?'
Feeling thoroughly bewildered, I waited for Kate's answer.
But what Kate told me was something I hadn't expected at all.
"Lord Baldur can manifest on the continent. From time to time, he reveals himself by channeling his spirit through us nuns. But aside from Lord Baldur, you can't meet the other gods. Because aside from Lord Baldur, they're pretty much all dead."
"D-dead?"
The gods are dead?
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
Seeing my confusion, Kate gave me a short rundown of the mythic story.
"Ragnarok! It's an episode of the gods recorded at the very end of the book of scripture in the Luminous Church. The word refers to the great war that broke out among the Aesir gods who once ruled the continent. At that time, Lord Odin was the chieftain of the Aesir, but his younger brother Loki rose up in rebellion."
"You're saying Loki started a war and killed all the gods?"
"You know your stuff! The sole survivor of that Ragnarok was Lord Baldur. That's the reason our church is the only one thriving on the continent. Because Baldur is the only god left who can bestow Divine Power."
I knew all about Ragnarok.
Back on Earth, it was the Norse myth war that games milked like a stock ingredient. But I'd had no idea that the war of the gods had unfolded exactly the same way in this otherworld.
"So Odin is dead."
"Yes, after slaying Loki who had become an evil god, Lord Odin passed as well. They even have his remains securely enshrined at the Papal Office."
Kate stated firmly that Odin was dead.
Hearing that from a nun well-versed in the lore of the gods, I really had no grounds to argue.
Playing the fool, I decided to broach the subject of the old man.
"No way, can't be. This Odin guy's not dead. He's literally alive and well. He even gave me a magic book."
"What kind of bullshit is that!"
"I'm serious! You don't believe me?"
Kate clicked her tongue like I was spouting sheer nonsense.
"If that were true, I'd call you 'oppa' for the rest of my life! Besides, claiming a person who is officially dead is still alive is blasphemy! The members of Nain Gard will not look upon you kindly, Mongma-nim."
"Ah."
At the word blasphemy, I glanced around.
Inside the temple, a few attendants were seeing to Lawrence's needs. Whether they'd overheard my voice or not, they were now glaring daggers at me.
Their glares were no joke.
Seems I'd really committed blasphemy.
'Tch. I'd better keep my mouth shut.'
I decided to stop prying into Odin any further and stay quiet.
I'd planned to ask Rumi about it in private later anyway.
*
About thirty minutes trickled by after that.
Lawrence meticulously combed through Bella's contract and ended up in a discussion with her that lasted a full thirty minutes. But listening closely to their exchange made one thing crystal clear.
That Bella's contract could never be established.
Temple Master Lawrence refused, to the very end, Bella's request to provide mages as support.
"I understand the Adventurer's Guild is suffering a severe shortage of mages. But I can hardly hand over our Rune Mages over so trifling a reason."
"What in the world does the reason matter? I told you I'd provide the Rune Mages with fair compensation!"
Compensation wasn't the issue.
Despite his Gandalf-like appearance, Lawrence was an utterly stubborn man. From the very start, this old man had no intention of seriously considering Bella's contract.
"Our Nain Gard is an organization that purely researches magic. We wish to forge no bonds of obligation with outsiders if we can help it. If our members took up adventurer work, they would inevitably stain themselves with the grime of worldly affairs. That would be a hindrance to magical research."
"So magical research means more to you than money?!"
"Indeed! What is the problem if a mage wishes to research magic?"
He said it so matter-of-factly that Bella's expression went blank with exhaustion.
He'd spun a lot of flowery language, but in the end, this was what Lawrence was trying to say: having members do adventurer work would disrupt magical research, so he couldn't allow it.
"The policy of our Nain Gard has been unwavering for 500 years. Shunning the secular world and dedicating oneself to magical study! Members are required by law to be on standby in the laboratory Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Friday, Friday. There is no time to send them out on adventuring work."
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Friday, Friday?!
Finally, a blunt word had come out of Lawrence's mouth!
Not only Bella, but me and my lovers who were listening in were all horrified.
"Th-that's brutal! Are you saying mages here don't even have days off?!"
"Of course. Saturday and Sunday do not exist in the Nain Gard dictionary. You will find no holidays on the calendar, either."
I turned my head to look at the calendar hanging on the temple wall.
'He's serious?! Saturday and Sunday aren't there!'
The days that were supposed to be holidays had all been marked as Friday!
The moment I saw that calendar, I realized this temple of Nain Gard was basically a mage's hell on earth.
Eat, shit, and stay holed up in the lab. A research grunt life.
No, not a research grunt — a magic grunt!
Temple Master Lawrence looked around at our horrified faces, his pure white beard flowing as he cackled.
"Keh-heh-heh."
So not Gandalf — Saruman, was he, this old geezer.
His will to reject the contract was so absolute that Bella eventually gave up trying to persuade him.
"I understand. Nain Gard's policy hasn't changed one bit. Just like the temple master himself."
"At least as long as I am alive, Nain Gard will remain unchanged."
"Arrgghh!"
Bella gritted her teeth, withdrew from Lawrence, and walked over to me.
Now that the contract had fallen through, the only mages Bella could count on were the ones affiliated with the guild.
Squeeze!
Bella seized my hand, her expression brimming with tenacity.
"I am absolutely not letting you go, Luke. If you ever think about transferring elsewhere, slap me across the face on your way out. Understand?"
"U-understood, Vice Guild Master!"
"Good. As I thought, the only mage in this world I can trust is Luke. You can't ever leave, Luke. If even you leave me, I'll jump out of my office window. I mean it. There are literally hundreds of civil complaints filed because the guild doesn't have enough mages. Haaaaaah!"
A chill raced down my spine—!
A beautiful black-haired woman was staring at me with eyes full of obsession. The fact that she said she'd jump out a window in a perfectly calm tone made it genuinely bone-chilling.
At the same time, watching Bella turn so gloomy made me realize something.
'So this is... Doom-Bella?'
The dark side of Vice Guild Master Bellatrix: 'Doom-Bella.'
I'd just personally witnessed the Doom-Bella that had only existed in rumors before. It was no wonder at all that adventurers trembled in fear.
"Haah..."
Bella released my hand and stepped back. Hearing me say I understood seemed to calm her down a bit, but she made no move to distance herself from my side.
Having her contract blown up in her face by Lawrence must have been a massive shock.
It looked like she'd worked her ass off trying to push that deal through.
"Thank you for answering me. I like that you're straightforward, Luke."
"L-like?! Me?!"
"I obviously mean I like you as an adventurer."
Shit, nearly gave me a heart attack.
The word 'like' nearly made my heart skip a beat!
She just meant as an adventurer, not as a man.
Better clear that misunderstanding up before I get ahead of myself.
"Now it's Luke's turn. Ask the temple master about the quarterstaff."
With Bella's contract business finished, it was finally my turn to tell Lawrence why I'd come to the temple.
The quarterstaff.
The absolutely essential magic staff for awakening as a Rune Mage.
Bella's escort quest was just a bonus; the real reason I'd visited Nain Gard was to receive a quarterstaff.
"Good day. I am Luke, who has come from Yoen-su to become a Rune Mage."
I approached Lawrence and first gave a polite bow.
Of course, I'd already greeted him earlier, but this old mage was the rigid type who seemed to value etiquette a great deal. When I bent at the waist a full ninety degrees and offered a respectful greeting, sure enough, Lawrence cackled in approval.
"A courteous young dream demon. I've already heard about you. Word is you're a mage fated to awaken as a Rune Mage. As expected, with a frame as stout as an ancient hero's, you'll surely have a talent for studying Ancient Magic. I'd like to accept you as a member right now and bring you into my laboratory."
"Th-that's quite alright. I prefer adventuring over research."
Lawrence was looking at me with an expression that said it wasn't a joke — he genuinely found the prospect enticing. If I recklessly joined Nain Gard, I'd be living the life of a magic grunt stuck doing research all day long.
Wiping cold sweat from my brow, I rejected Lawrence's recruitment pitch.
"I didn't come to join. I came to receive a quarterstaff. I've heard that anyone who passes the trial at Nain Gard can receive a quarterstaff. May I take the trial now?"
At the mention of the main topic, Lawrence nodded.
"As for the trial, I can grant it this very moment. Though first, there's one question I must ask. Luke, what element do you handle as your primary? Any mage worth his salt ought to be proficient in at least one elemental family. For the elements are the very origin of all magic."
So, which of the Four Elements was my primary.
Mages were expected to single out one element and intensively train the techniques to handle it. Better to thoroughly hone one than to dabble half-heartedly in multiple.
To become a mage, you had to settle on a primary element.
I revealed my primary element to Lawrence.
"Water. I am a water-attribute mage capable of manipulating water's creation, flow, temperature, pressure, and purity. But what does the element I handle have to do with the trial?"
"It is related. I must know your primary element before I can grant you a quarterstaff. The quarterstaffs themselves each have elements they hold affinity for. Furthermore, it is not a person who grants the trial, but the quarterstaffs. Unless a mage handles an element they are familiar with, the quarterstaffs will not grant a trial in the first place."
The quarterstaff is the one granting me the trial?
So a magic staff evaluates me as a test supervisor?
Sounded like some Russian reversal logic, but it wasn't anything to be surprised about.
In this otherworld, magic staffs were officially treated as living beings.
Still, I was pissed.
After hearing Lawrence's explanation, I clenched my fist tight, the strength rushing to my hand.
'A mere magic tool dares to evaluate a person?'
It was my personal creed that tools could never rule over people.
It was people who had to rule over the tools!
"I'm curious to see which quarterstaff thinks it can give me a trial!"
Lawrence answered my question.
He revealed the identity of the quarterstaff that would oversee my trial — and would become my magic staff.
"━━Its name is Nistrond. Among us Rune Mages, we also call it the staff that summons winter."