Chapter 26
Chapter 26
The Pantheon hadn't changed much.
People were still swarming.
I skimmed through, wondering if the numbers had decreased, but it felt like the crowd was similar.
Perhaps as many explorers coming to pray had decreased, ordinary citizens had come instead.
But there was one change.
"Who are you here to see?"
"I've come to see the great Judgment."
"This way."
The temple keeper I saw last time.
But this time, he guided me immediately without taking a coin.
Why? Because I came to see Valtern?
Probably not that; maybe because there were fewer customers.
Well, explorers would pay quickly with a fast-paced mindset, but ordinary citizens never did that.
But even so, they must have gotten scolded for asking for money.
The wait in the waiting room was short.
Even though I hadn't paid, my turn came in just a few minutes.
This is kind of nice.
Though everything else is so-so...
The one who came to fetch me was Valtern's priest.
"Greetings, Rian-nim. It's been a while."
"Hello. Indeed, it has been a while."
The expression on his face as he looked at me was clearly 'Oh, our valued customer is here.'
Since it's true, I can't deny it.
The priest guided me to the prayer room with a bright smile.
He opened the door and pulled back the curtain, revealing a familiar sight.
A table covered in black high-quality velvet.
On it rested a sword with no ornaments.
The mineral-like interior greeted me.
Rightful vengeance.
Proper anger.
The god of judgment, war, and order.
It was Valtern's altar.
I stood before it and bowed my head, and felt something from 'above'.
Ignoring that presence, I took out the offering.
It was an 'iron ingot' I had bought for quite a lot of money.
When I placed the Ester mountain steel ingot, which had even received the dwarves' blessing, the sensed presence grew stronger.
Pretending not to notice, I drew the sword.
I kindly inserted the sword into the marked groove on the floor, then placed both hands on the hilt and prayed.
"O Judgment. Your servant Rian Werner desires. Grant me the power to save the weak trapped in the labyrinth."
Give me special skill points for divine skills.
Give me a random blessing or perk.
You've taken that much from me, so you can give something, right?
I kept pretending to be a devout follower while kneeling, and then something began to move from above.
That movement was different from what I expected.
One more came. No, what the?
Why is there another? It was baffling.
But what was even more baffling was that another came, and then another.
What are you guys doing??
In this ridiculous situation, I kept my composure and continued pretending to pray, and only after quite some time did I feel the earlier presences disappear.
Seriously, what was that about.
It can't be that they came to watch or something.
As I was pondering how to interpret this, the iron ingot I had offered on the table vanished.
The result didn't come back immediately.
Was it deliberating?
It hadn't given any stat points or skill points.
I kept praying for a while, and suddenly the presence from 'above' grew stronger.
And the altar began to tremble.
What is this? What is it doing?
No matter how I looked, it didn't seem like it was going to give something ordinary.
While I was wondering, the trembling stopped.
The presence from above also disappeared.
Only then did I stand up.
Before checking what it was, I first bowed my head.
It's the same elsewhere, but it's important to show courtesy first in front of a god's eyes.
After bowing for a few seconds to express my deep gratitude through gesture, I raised my head and checked the altar.
There was a single axe.
A francisca with a black handle and only slight ornamentation.
The blade was slightly larger than a typical throwing axe, so it seemed usable both for throwing and for close combat.
When I picked it up, I could feel something, but...
Still, it was an ordinary axe.
But this is a weapon given directly by a god.
There must be something special about it.
I bowed once more and came out, and the priest made a fuss.
"Valtern-nim came personally. You felt it, didn't you?"
"Yes. He gave me this."
"Gasp. Personally given... a holy relic...?"
The priest fussed and picked up the axe I showed.
His shocked expression regained composure.
"It's not that, but since it's an object Valtern-nim bestowed upon his favored child, it must certainly be extraordinary."
"I suppose so. Though I'm not sure about being a favored child..."
"Someone of Rian-nim's level is indeed receiving his favor."
I'm not sure about that.
But arguing would only sour the mood, and it's also in front of the god's domain, so I let it slide.
I hung the axe on my belt and came out, and it was already lunchtime.
When I went to the inn, Erion and Hera were waiting for me.
"How did it go?"
"He gave me this."
When I placed the axe on the table, Hera narrowed her eyes.
"This?"
"Yeah."
"Is it something special?"
"I don't know either. It seems like there's something, but..."
Hera casually picked up the axe.
Erion said, "Huh, isn't that a divine object?" but Hera seemed unconcerned.
"I do feel something hard to describe from the axe."
"Right? But since I don't know what it is..."
"It probably isn't bad. There's no way he'd take the money and give something bad."
"Hey. This isn't the labyrinth. Watch your mouth."
In a world where gods actually exist, you shouldn't say such things lightly.
As I said before, the labyrinth is where those guys' gazes can't reach, but outside is different.
It's a world where lightning really does strike from a clear sky.
"Anyway, no contact, right?"
"No."
"Alright, then let's prepare."
"Me too, me too... am I going?"
Erion's question.
Instead of answering, I glanced at Hera.
"I told him. He's in denial."
"Of course I have to go. If I don't, what, just stay behind?"
"That's right... ugh."
Was he remembering the hardship from a while ago?
Erion shuddered.
Well, it's common for new explorers.
After a few more trips in and out, they get over it.
If they don't, they die.
"Pack your luggage properly this time."
Erion nodded firmly.
His determination not to suffer from heavy luggage this time was evident.
"Are you kidding? This time it's too light!"
He really doesn't know moderation.
When Hera yelled and I checked Erion's bag, it was so light I wondered if it only had jerky inside.
"Go repack right now!"
"Yes!"
While Erion went back up to pack without any complaints.
I opened my bag and checked my luggage.
For now, the operation was planned for about 20 days... but since the main force was departing, they said they'd carry some of our supplies too.
Nevertheless, I'd need to pack enough to be thoroughly prepared for emergencies.
"Did you pack everything?"
"Of course."
Hera nodded.
After checking Erion's luggage again, she finally gave a passing sign.
But if that was the case, shouldn't he have packed properly from the start?
Anyway.
After lunch, we headed to the meeting place.
In the square, the Sebron soldiers and a few explorers had already gathered.
Even though the soldiers were resting, their discipline was not lax.
They were quite elite.
The handcarts and wheelbarrows they brought for transporting supplies also looked high quality.
They really brought them with determination.
Aside from that, there were clergy healers, scribes (maybe?), and others.
While I watched the non-combat personnel who all seemed capable of some fighting, Erion spoke up beside me.
"But seeing this operation, I have a question."
"You're wondering why they didn't just send the army into the labyrinth if that was feasible, right?"
Erion's eyes widened as if asking how I knew.
"Did you go to the Pantheon to learn mind-reading...?"
"Don't say strange things."
Most people with some brains who come to the Labyrinth City for the first time think that.
If there's no limit on numbers, why not just send the army instead of outsourcing to explorers? Like that.
But from what I've seen in history books of this world...
"They used to do that in the past."
"Huh? By the past, you mean..."
"Well, records say they did that a few hundred years ago. You can find it if you look at our city's history in the library."
It was said that armies used to enter the labyrinth.
But the reason it's like this now, though I'm only speaking from what I've read in books.
Ultimately, it was because it was inefficient.
To skip the boring explanation and summarize the key points, it's like this.
The soldiers who entered the labyrinth worked sloppily because they didn't want to die.
Since they worked sloppily, productivity was low, so incentives were introduced.
So those aiming for incentives worked hard, and those who didn't wouldn't work even if they died.
Naturally, they kicked out the ones who didn't work and kept only the ones who did.
When they gathered only the workers, they wanted to neglect military duties and just mine magic stones in the labyrinth.
So since there was no need for them to be an army, they made them independent.
After making them independent, managing them was bothersome, so they outsourced.
"That's how the Explorer Guild was born. The 『Valeon Explorer Union』 was the first explorer guild, and they still favor soldiers and only hire former military personnel."
"Ah, I see."
The small talk ended there.
I approached the Sebron soldiers.
They were wary, thinking I was just some random explorer loitering around.
I shrugged and said.
"I am Rian Werner, High-level Explorer. I wish to see Sir Arthur Chrome, the rescue squad leader."
A person who seemed to be a squad leader came out and handed over documents.
After flipping through a few pages, he said "This way," and began to guide me.
Thorough. As expected of elite soldiers.
Inside a nearby small house, a temporary meeting room had been set up.
I was guided inside, and a knight greeted me.
"Are you that High-level Explorer?"
"Yes, I am."
"Pleased to meet you. I am Arthur Chrome. First Squad Leader of the Iron Ash Knights under His Grace Duke Melitas, and I am in charge of this rescue operation."
The knight raised his fist to his chest in greeting.
I had only intended to shake hands.
When I reciprocated by placing my fist at my chest, the knight nodded.
"I've heard you're quite a veteran explorer."
"Hmm, I suppose so."
"We've made some preparations and investigations, but it's safe to say we know almost nothing about the labyrinth. I hope you can help us a lot."
He's straightforward.
It's good that there's no pointless power struggle.
When I agreed, the squad leader introduced the knights he brought.
Leon Harben, Gael Robek, Edric Doren, Milo...
I don't know them, but I'll just call them Knight 1 to 4.
The squad leader finished explaining and then fished out some papers from his pocket and spoke.
"I've drawn up a plan. Would you take a look and give advice?"
"Ah, yes."
If it goes like this, it's convenient.
The plan is probably mostly nonsense anyway.
It's better for both of us to fix it quickly and go rather than dragging it out.
"Our plan is, after arriving at the 11th floor..."
The explanation continued.
There were things that made sense and also some utterly absurd statements.
"First, let's revise the formation. You can't treat it like facing humans. It's also different from monsters. We need a formation that can handle unpredictable variables."
"What kind?"
"For example..."
Thanks to cooperation, the plan revision didn't take long.
After revising many parts, I nodded.
This was enough.
"With this, even in an emergency, we can avoid the worst."
"Hmm. I'll keep that in mind."
The squad leader nodded and put the documents in his pocket.
Looking at the sky, it seemed time to depart.
"Let's depart."
"Yes, squad leader-nim. All— prepare to depart!"
The squire's shout.
We stood right behind the squad leader and began to walk.
As over 150 people began to walk, I could feel everyone around staring.
With this many going in, well.
How many will come out?
Even counting the rescued, it might be similar to the current number, or possibly much fewer.
Fortunately, the labyrinth stones were provided by the city hall.
I was a bit doubtful whether the magic circle would recognize us all as one party, but fortunately it worked properly.
As each person walked out of the magic circle, I looked around.
A clear sky with some clouds.
The sun sending light from afar.
Nothing had changed; it was the same.
As always, the 3rd Realm is the Tree Realm.
I don't know if such a term is appropriate for a labyrinth, but it's a beautiful place with forests and fields.
"You're about to ask if this is really the labyrinth, right?"
"How did you know?"
"Because everyone asks that when they first come to the 3rd Realm."
At Hera's words, Erion sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
But it was true.
The 1st and 2nd Realms have the typical appearance of a labyrinth.
Same bricks everywhere. Same darkness everywhere.
They are suitable places to break a new explorer's spirit.
But when they escape the 2nd Realm and reach the 3rd, they witness.
A scene that only the word 'peacefulness' fits.
It's impossible not to say it looks like a good place to live.
Of course, it's not a good place to live at all.
The soldiers also seemed to have not expected this at all, turning their heads this way and that.
I went to the squad leader and said.
"Gather them immediately. Time is also an issue, and they mustn't be mesmerized."
"Ah... right. Even though you told me, the scenery is so fascinating. Neil! Tell everyone to gather quickly."
"Yes! Everyone, attention—!"
The squad leader spoke sheepishly.
While the squire shouted at the top of his lungs, I looked around.
I already saw soldiers who had been casually walking outward and then suddenly snapped out of it.
The 3rd Realm's nickname is Paradise.
Because it looks livable.
There are records of people actually living there.
But explorers who have suffered a bit call the 3rd Realm this.
Venus Flytrap.