The Temple of Nain Gard
The Temple of Nain Gard
Nistrond, the staff that calls winter.
At first, I took it as a metaphor, the sort a poet might spin.
Like those metaphors they hammered into us nonstop back in school — "my heart is a lake," that whole routine.
But when I asked outright, the answer caught me off guard.
"The staff calls winter? You Rune Mages must be the sentimental type. Name a staff like that, you might as well write it a poem."
"It is not a name born of sentiment. Nistrond can genuinely summon winter to this land. Have you ever visited the beach in a port city? The kind where you can swim all year round because the temperature stays warm no matter the season."
I had visited a beach in a port city.
I was about to nod quietly when I realized something startling. I didn't know what summoning winter actually meant, but I might have already experienced something similar on that very beach.
'That beach had a full summer atmosphere. It's chilly now in October, but I wasn't cold there at all.'
Not only had I been to that beach, I'd gone swimming there with my lovers. It was as if the season had frozen in summer — not just the air temperature, even the seawater was regulated.
'Wait, did the quarterstaff actually change the season?'
Listening to Lawrence, I arrived at a staggering conclusion.
"I've been to that beach. Other regions were cold, but that place was bursting with summer. Are you telling me the quarterstaff regulates the beach's temperature?"
"You have reached the precise conclusion. Certain quarterstaffs possess such intense heat or cold that they can manipulate the local climate. The cold held within Nistrond is powerful enough to summon winter to an entire region — though how much of that cold you can draw out depends on your own ability. The more you grow as a mage, the more of Nistrond's power you will be able to wield."
"Th-That's incredible."
Just hearing about the staff's nature made my heart pound with excitement.
A staff that can summon winter anytime, anywhere?
On a sweltering summer day, it would be the greatest staff in existence. It's a bit of a shallow thought, but basically, it's a staff-shaped air conditioner.
And if I used that cold to freeze water, I could make ice. Selling ice for money aside, it meant I could share shaved ice with my lovers.
━Shaved ice?! Where on earth did you get this?
━I made it with magic.
━Mongma-nim, you're the best!! Let's live together forever!!
I imagined using my magic staff to make shaved ice and handing it out to my lovers. They were melting the ice in their mouths with beaming faces. Just imagining it left me feeling full.
"I like it. I really like it. I want to take the trial right now."
"I will guide you to where Nistrond awaits. Follow me."
...Whoosh.
Lawrence, who had been seated in meditation on the temple floor, rose to his feet. Contrary to his earlier claim that he was at death's door, he strode forward energetically.
"Can the rest of us come along? I've grown curious about what a staff that calls winter actually is."
"You may come. However, once Nistrond's trial begins, it would be wise to step back. You might get hurt otherwise."
The trial could get someone hurt?
As the one about to take it, my heart clenched at that. This wasn't a written exam you pass by solving problems like back on 21st-century Earth.
It had a more dangerous side to it.
"What kind of trial are you talking about, trying to scare me? Could I die?"
"......I will explain when we arrive. I would like you to experience the trial for yourself. There will always be opportunities to give up along the way, so do not be overly afraid."
If there are chances to give up, that's fine. I was exactly the sort of guy who could reliably spot an escape route.
Soon after, following Lawrence, we arrived at the place where Nistrond was kept.
The temple's third basement floor.
The entrance to the third floor was heavily guarded by mages wielding quarterstaffs. I examined the entrance and saw the floor's name displayed on the wall.
━Quarterstaff Storage.
The place where quarterstaffs that have yet to find a master were kept. Stepping inside, it looked like a lab from a movie — stark white corridors with countless doors lining the walls.
"This is Nistrond's storage chamber. Because its temperament is so wild, it is under stronger wards than the other staffs. I am opening the door now."
Lawrence issued orders to the mages managing the storage, and they opened the door. Inside was a room as starkly white as the corridor, and within it stood the quarterstaff that would administer my trial.
A long rod reaching 180 centimeters.
A wooden rod with a surface as white as snow.
'It was called Nistrond, right.'
Nistrond stood vertically, its tip driven into the floor like a legendary holy sword. The part embedded in the floor was visibly encased in thick ice. Though a staff has no feet, the ice seemed to hold it fixed in that standing posture.
It was a strange sight, but something else bothered me more.
The room's temperature rivaled a deep freezer.
Whoooosh-!
"C-Cold...."
"There's a draft, too? Where's the wind coming from?"
The room was cold.
A biting wind blew as if winter had truly arrived.
Bella had the weakest constitution in our group, and she trembled even in her coat. I suppose that's inevitable for a clerk without superhuman physical ability.
I quickly realized that Nistrond was the source — the thing dropping the room's temperature and generating the frigid wind. The closer I got to it, the sharper the cold that gnawed at my body became.
"So this is the quarterstaff that'll deliver my trial. Does this staff also explain what the trial entails?"
"I will tell you the content of the trial. How to pass it is very simple."
Lawrence extended a finger toward Nistrond.
"Draw Nistrond from the ice. Whether you use physical strength or magic matters not — if you can draw it and hold it in your hand, you have passed."
"I'll give it a try."
At first, I thought it was a simple trial.
But the moment I stepped closer and grabbed Nistrond with my hand, something strange began.
Whoooooosh-!
A ferocious blast of frigid wind blew straight at me. The cold seeped into my bones, as if I'd stood naked in a midwinter storm. I squeezed my eyes shut against the wind, and when I opened them, I couldn't help but be stunned.
"Th-The rod is covered in ice?"
Nistrond, gripped in my hand.
In the blink of an eye, ice had encased the entire long rod. The temperature was so low that my hand stuck fast to it. A numbing, icy energy burrowed into my palm and set my arm trembling.
"Nistrond is administering its trial. You must overcome the cold and claim the rod in your hand to be recognized as worthy of being its master. Lift the rod using only your own strength and magic — naturally, outside assistance or bringing external items into the trial is forbidden."
In other words, Nistrond had personally encased me in ice. If the thing had a proper ego, it was a cunning one, deliberately wrapping my body in ice the moment I stepped up and grabbed it.
With the clear intent to freeze my hand solid.
"I'm sensing malice here. Malice directed at me, aimed at messing with me during this trial."
"Nistrond has a prankster's temperament. It enjoys teasing mages. You will have your work cut out for you if you mean to tame it."
And with that, Lawrence's explanation was over.
Nistrond's trial had officially begun. I couldn't just pull the thing out with brute force. I used magic to quickly melt my hand free of the rod.
"Fire."
The basic spell, Fire!
In the past, it had only been enough to produce a flame on a single fingertip.
But now, with my spell proficiency improved, I could summon fire from every finger at once.
Whoosh!
Flames erupted simultaneously from all five fingers gripping the rod. After melting the ice with the dancing fire, I hastily pulled my hand away. But even with the Fire spell, touching Nistrond directly seemed too dangerous.
Crack-! The ice encasing the rod grew even thicker. It instantly restored even the parts I'd melted with fire. I couldn't bring myself to touch that thing with my bare hands.
"Liquid."
I summoned a Water Whip and lashed the frozen rod. Clang! It shattered the ice, and the whip wrapped around the rod. I mustered my strength and pulled on the rod embedded in the frozen floor.
"Hyaaaap-!"
It might sound absurd, but I was locked in a battle of strength against a rod trapped in ice. Sweat poured from my whole body as I hauled on the Water Whip with every ounce of power. But in the end, I realized just one thing.
Raw strength alone would never pull that rod free.
'What do I need to do to pull that bastard out?'
It seemed possible only if I poured out my maximum firepower through magic.
As I racked my brain for a solution, that was the moment.
"Then I will be on my way. I sincerely hope you pass the trial safely."
As Lawrence prepared to leave the room, I asked him something I was curious about.
"Isn't there a time limit? Like, if you can't pass by a certain date, you fail — that sort of restriction."
"There is none. If you wish, you may reside at the temple and take the trial for the rest of your life. Mages with the talent of a Rune Mage are precious. The storage staff will even provide you meals."
No time restriction — that sounded good.
But for some reason, the phrase "the rest of your life" sent a chill through me.
"How many days does it usually take to pass the trial? I'm curious how long it took other Rune Mages."
"On average, a month. Even a gifted mage would need about fifteen days."
"F-Fifteen days?!"
A minimum of fifteen days and up to a month!
If I were alone, it wouldn't matter, but right now I was an adventurer on an active escort quest. Staying away from my client, Bella, for that long meant the quest would obviously fail.
"Hey, Bella...?"
I subtly gauged Bella's reaction.
Bella, having heard Lawrence's words, was deep in thought with her hand on her chin.
"So I would need to stay here for fifteen days to pass the trial?"
"This is troublesome. I was planning to return to the port city around tomorrow to investigate the fishmen causing riots."
If Bella gave the order to withdraw, I would have to follow her command — heading back to Lake Yoen and then making the idiotic round trip back to the temple alone.
But fortunately, Bella considered my situation.
"We will return to the port city tomorrow evening. Luke, you stay here and handle the trial. Naturally, I should support a guild mage's growth."
She was letting me stay behind at the temple to complete the trial!
I shouted at Bella with a deeply moved expression.
"I'll bury my bones in Gjallarhorn! Thank you!"
"Don't just thank me with words. Grant me a request later, too."
"A request...?"
As I was wondering what kind of request, Bella approached me and whispered softly in my ear.
Along with the tickling voice echoing in my ear, the space between us shrank until our bodies were nearly touching.
"Let's share a meal together sometime."
A meal?
W-Wait, was this a date invitation?
As I stood there flustered —
"Wait, is this...?"
"Is this what?"
"N-No, nothing. Naturally, we'd go with my lovers, right?"
Bella smiled and spoke to me in that whispered voice.
The soft smile that bloomed across her usually expressionless face made my heart pound.
"Couldn't it be just the two of us?"
That one line sent my heart racing.