Temple of the Sea (2)
The lizardman was female. Up close, it was crystal clear. Its forked tongue flickered as it bared its yellow eyes.
“I’ve seen the blue pillars glowing with danger in the village. The ones that freeze you solid.”
“The ones that can freeze a newbie to death? I’ve seen them, of course. Back when I was a noob, I touched one by mistake and almost froze solid.”
The lizardman drew a line between itself and its newbie days, as if to separate the two. Pointless, since it was still just another weak player roaming the first floor.
“I found something out about those pillars. Could you help me for a bit? I’ll pay you generously.”
Coins overflowing. Even if we just took a tenth of what we had, these idiots would nod yes in auto-call mode.
“What kind of reward?”
“Coins. Ten thousand each.”
“...shlick- Ten thousand coins?”
Jealousy flickered in the lizardman’s eyes. Ten thousand was a huge amount that made them cautious. Forty thousand in total if we paid everyone. It was odd that they’d bite so quickly. But it was fine. We had more than enough cash to cover it, and since we were going to regress anyway, it didn’t matter if we split it all up.
Yu Dahui pulled out ten thousand-coin silver coins from her inventory. The silver coins were engraved with the number 100. The fairies’ eyes sparkled with pure greed.
“I’ll give you half first. If you complete the job perfectly, I’ll give you the rest.”
“I’ll think about it after hearing the details. Shlick.”
There was nothing to think about. As long as their lives weren’t in immediate danger, they had already accepted the quest.
The lizardman and the fairies’ heads were probably filled with thoughts of ten thousand coins. Once they calculated food, shelter, and gear, those coins would feel like rain in a drought. There was no reason to refuse.
“Just place your hand on the pillar at the exact time.”
“...It could be dangerous. I’ve seen how many freeze to death.”
“It’s not dangerous. Can I ask what your magic level is?”
The lizardman and the fairies exchanged glances. The academy had told them not to share detailed stats with anyone.
“I don’t need the exact numbers. Over ten?”
“Over ten.”
“Me too.”
All three fairies had magic levels over ten. It made sense for a fairy race.
I looked at the lizardman. It shook its head.
“I... no. Does that mean you won’t take the quest?”
“I’m not that kind of person. I’ll give you ten thousand coins if you guard one of the fairies. How’s that?”
The lizardman’s role suddenly became much lighter. It had been scared of freezing, but now it didn’t have to touch the pillar. Auto-call activated.
“How can I trust you?”
“I could die.”
The fairies looked worried. Of course they would be. Their lives were on the line.
But it was fine. It was just something to show.
“I’ll show you that nothing happens when you touch it. Follow me.”
I led the lizardman and the fairies toward the blue pillar near the Third City. In terms of danger, this one was the worst, so I decided to assign the lizardman to guard the fairy who would touch it.
We stood in front of the blue pillar. A chilling aura sharpened toward me.
“My magic level is eleven. That should be enough...”
I placed my hand on the blue pillar.
The freezing chill vanished without a trace.
“No damage at all.”
The fairies whispered among themselves. They were still terrified, but even though their instincts told them I was right, their reason had survived through fear.
“I’ll give five hundred thousand coins to the first fairy who shows courage.”
“Hiiiiiit!”
Five hundred thousand was too much. One fairy instinctively raised its hand. After hesitating a moment, it seemed to regret it and began to waver in front of the pillar.
Yu Dahui shook a silver coin engraved with 500.
The fairy’s eyes spun in circles. Even good races lusted for wealth; they just didn’t steal it from others.
“Huuuuh!”
The fairy placed its hand on the blue pillar.
“Nothing happened, right?”
“Yeah. Me too!”
“Then do you want fifty thousand coins from me...?”
“Take it.”
“Uhiheek! Fifty thousand coins!”
Yu Dahui handed fifty thousand coins to the fairy. The rewarded fairy immediately stuffed the coins into its inventory. The sound of them stacking echoed in its ears.
“If you just have magic levels over ten, you’re all set. Everyone said over ten, right? Just touch the pillar for ten minutes at the designated spot. Easy.”
There was no reason left to refuse. The power of five hundred thousand coins had been overwhelming.
“I’ll do it!”
“I’ll do it!”
Good choice.
“One fairy will stay here. Since this is the most dangerous spot, please stay and guard the lizardman too. The time limit is two hours from now. Ten minutes of touching. Understood?”
“Yes!”
The fairy’s loyalty felt pretty high.
“Here, take fifty thousand coins. I’ll give you another fifty thousand later. Okay?”
We handed out fifty thousand coins each. After dropping off one fairy and the lizardman, we moved on to the next blue pillar.
We dropped one between the Second City and the First City, then another near the First City. Now all we had to do was wait at the farthest pillar.
“Kim Jinwoo.”
“What?”
“...How did you know that just having a magic level over ten is enough for the blue pillars?”
“...Huh? Feeling?”
In the novel, Yu Dahui’s growth was painfully slow. She didn’t have the strange Blessing of Obsession or Elena as a training machine, so she died and regressed over and over. Every time her stats changed, she touched the pillars. When her magic level was nine, she froze. At ten, she didn’t. From that, Yu Dahui figured out that the cutoff was magic level ten.
‘I can’t explain everything. I just didn’t know the exact number. Almost all the clues were already there.’
She hadn’t clung onto it too hard.
“If you think about it like a game, ten seems more natural than nine or eleven, right?”
“...I had a rough guess too. Don’t act superior.”
“Ah, sorry.”
Looking at the shattered Yu Dahui, I almost laughed. Why had she been so upset? I couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard I thought. It just looked adorable.
‘Did I need to use my Insight skill...?’
That skill let me read another person’s thoughts. I didn’t have to agonize alone. But what good would it do?
“Want to take a short break?”
We reached the empty lot where the Temple of the Sea was supposed to appear. Yu Dahui, who had been running ahead, stopped.
I took a hamburger out of my inventory. It was still warm because I’d bought it in the First City.
Yu Dahui stared at me with a baffled expression. As if to say, “Is that something you can just swallow?”
I held the hamburger out to her.
“Here.”
“What are you—?”
The shattered Yu Dahui hesitated, then lowered her guard. For some reason, she had been hoping I would share food with her since earlier. In past loops she had even tried to eat it with me, even though I bought more.
‘She wanted that sharing feeling, huh?’
So I offered my hamburger.
Yu Dahui’s face turned bright red. As if to say, “Not that one.”
It was kinda funny that she got embarrassed over sharing just one side of a bean.
“Hmph. I wasn’t eating because I wanted it. I was just eating because you gave it to me. Got it?”
“My arm hurts.”
“Oh, okay.”
As I urged her, Yu Dahui took a huge bite. Chomp—! Judging by how much she snatched away, she was satisfied.
She seemed to have forgotten her earlier anger and naturally pulled out a cola from her inventory. It still had one straw.
‘What?’
I really didn’t get it at all.
“Not thirsty?”
Yu Dahui handed her the straw I had been sucking on without removing it.
If I had mentioned the straw, it would have caused another commotion, so I just let her share it.
‘We kissed, sucked each other’s chests, everything else... a straw is nothing.’
Yu Dahui drank the cola as naturally as she had shared the hamburger. Now that the tension was gone, the short break had done its job.
We finished our snacks and headed toward the blue pillars. Because our stats were high, we moved fast. Since we knew the way, we didn’t hesitate. We reached the next one in no time.
One more pillar, then we would be done.
But before we went, there was one thing I wanted to ask.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah.”
Right now, Yu Dahui seemed happy. Her cheerful tone made me think my question would be answered.
“Why were you upset earlier?”
“When?”
“When I asked about the blue pillar cutoff, you were upset.”
“What? I wasn’t upset at all.”
Yu Dahui’s face looked completely innocent. She even shone with the light of someone who truly hadn’t been upset.
‘Was it my imagination?’
One big mistake and my eyes saw things the way I wanted?
‘Is that the confirmation bias they talk about?’
‘I can’t wrap my head around it...’
It was driving me crazy.
“Let’s head out. Time’s almost up.”
“See you later.”
I dropped Yu Dahui off at the blue pillar.
And I ran toward the last remaining one at full speed. It was explosive movement. My near-twenty-level strength gave me an instinct that normal humans never felt.
“Safe.”
Before long, I reached the final blue pillar. The aura surged wildly, threatening me.
‘Almost there.’
Placing my hand on it at the exact time would lift the seal. The Temple of the Sea would appear, and inside, elite monsters would wait. I needed to steal its trident. Use a fake one to split the lake and find the crystal, awaken Moses’s power with the crystal, then carry it across the endless sea.
‘Then I can catch the boss on the second floor and clear it fast.’
I could rush straight to the third floor without wasting time on the second. The second floor was truly terrifying, so rushing through would be good for my sanity.
Beep beep beep!
The alarm went off. The time was up.
I slapped my hand on the blue pillar.
The aura disappeared, and my qualification was accepted.
Ku gu gu gung—!
The ground shook violently. Blue energy violently surged skyward.
Fwoosh—!
Sparks erupted violently from the pillar.
I almost let go by instinct.
Ku gu gu gu gung—!
The ground shook again. Something was wrong. I had to put my hand back on it.
‘Yeah, like that.’
The novel also showed the detailed scene of the seal breaking.
Fwoosh!
Sparks shot toward the empty lot where the Temple of the Sea was supposed to appear. Sparks from the five pillars gathered together.
A massive magic circle appeared on the ground, spewing brilliant light.
Everyone held on tight.
Ku gu gu gung—!
The shaking gradually stopped. Blue energy flowed over the magic circle.
The lines of the circle turned to powder and floated into the sky.
Fwoosh, fwoosh—!
The blue pillars, now ordinary stone, vanished along with the magic circle.
With their role fulfilled, there was no reason for them to remain.
Zzoorrorrorrorr—!
Water paths appeared. They flowed toward the empty lot like a river. The closer they got to the lot, the deeper and wider they became.
I headed toward Yu Dahui.
“Kim Jinwoo!”
Fortunately, Yu Dahui was already coming toward me.
“The seal broke. Let’s head to the empty lot.”
I led Yu Dahui toward the lot.
Just like water gathering from the sea, the water paths converged into a lake at the empty lot.
“Wow... it’s beautiful...”
Staring at the Temple of the Sea floating on the lake, Yu Dahui let out an exclamation of admiration. If not for the Tower of Struggle, it would have been a site worthy of a tourist attraction.
“Kheuk...”
Standing in front of the Temple of the Sea, I felt an overwhelming sense of pressure.
“Jinwoo. There’s something strange inside the temple.”
Inside the Temple of the Sea, the elite monster Dragon Stone Statue held a trident and glared at us.