203 – 58-3. Fate is a cruel law.
***
The train was running toward the end.
As for the scenery outside, I could see the open sky above the clouds.
The dazzling sun and thin clouds. As expected, the train ran through the air and succeeded in catching up with the floating island in the sky.
─Hey hey hey hey.
The train stopped while making a loud noise.
I woke Fine, who was dozing off, and got off with him.
‘Salt Desert.’
As soon as I stepped on the ground, I heard a rough sound of crystals scattering.
Wherever you look, the scenery is pure white. I could see the bottom like a cracked tortoise shell.
A floating salt desert. Because that was the identity of the place where the temple of Pantos was built.
“Professor Dennis, thanks for the accommodations.”
“What is this? If it’s Richt-kun’s request, of course you have to do it.”
A calm tone. Dennis spoke while looking at the vast desert.
Isn’t it surprising that a single academy student captured the demon lord?
“..Isn’t there another plan?”
He looked at me and raised the corner of his mouth. A sign of complete trust.
After solving the matter related to the Heavenly Demon, Dennis’s pupils returned to their original color blue.
He has completely stopped drinking. His hands don’t shake, and his gait is normal.
Above all, he is now the father of a child.
“It’s a plan…. I wish I had something like that.”
Sighing deeply and scratching the back of my helmet, I complained to Dennis.
Due to the demon king’s attack, the trip to the valley ended badly.
No matter how many times no one was hurt, it was because they were all affected by the Powers.
“There is no need to be humble. Without you, we would all have perished.”
In addition, other students formed groups and let them travel wherever they wanted.
Should we call it a double operation? Should I say it is to protect the memories of the recuperation and school trip?
With this level of skill, I’m sure you’ll be able to avoid the Cult of the Brave’s pursuit.
Their goal is neither the students of the academy nor me. Because it’s Fine Grancia.
“Pine, do you see the structure at the end?”
“Yes.. Licht. Heeep.”
A tower-like structure at the end of a rolling hill.
I directed her towards her destination, who was clad in glass armor that diffused reflections from her sunlight.
“That is the temple of Pantos.”
The tomb where the god of emotion rests.
Who thought of building a temple in the desert for fear that it might not be a spirit made of sand?
Before Emperor Locke unified the four countries, it is said that each country believed in a separate god.
The temple of Tardun we went to before was an example, and the same principle as the Library of Truth is in the deep sea.
All temples in the game had their own characteristics.
The Library of Truth was originally a place where you could learn skills that could be learned from other routes.
Tardun’s temple was the place where the elixir that strengthened swordsmanship was resting.
I thought there must be hints about Fine in the temple of Pantos.
“The white top.”
From his name, he is a warrior of affection. No matter what anyone says, this is more suitable than reason or will.
“Always take care of yourself. A warrior of conviction.”
“…Isn’t that putting too much pressure on you?”
Dennis tapped me on the shoulder and even cast a protective spell on me.
A magic circle made of water droplets spreads in the air and then disappears.
“It seems Her Highness trusts Richt-kun more than the SS.”
Dennis laughed mischievously. Did she notice the strange pink air current flowing between Fine and me?
Or maybe it’s an homage to me who defeated the demon lord.
Come to think of it, I can’t see her bodyguards that have been protecting her since her trip to the valley.
“Pine, come to think of it, what about the SS?”
“For fear of being caught…. I told you not to follow me.”
I was curious, so I implied a question to Fine.
Thinking about it again, her outfit in the valley was exceptional. She may have been stopped when she tried to do CPR.
Now we were stepping on the clouds.
I’m in a high place and I don’t get altitude sickness, but the salt desert above the sky was just hot.
Although the best course of action here was for Dennis to accompany me and protect Fine.
The pre-order was already full.
A blond-haired boy and a red-haired girl are seen in the distance.
“Licht. Why do you want to leave us alone? Disappointingly.”
“Right! Mr. Tugu. I’m going to act alone with Fine again!”
Kinel and Ariel ran out of breath.
It seems that as soon as Fine and I were away, they followed us together.
These two should be enough.
Kainel, who has awakened as a warrior of light, and Ariel, whose name is comparable to that of a wizard of mad flames.
I also defeated the mighty demon king. Rather, it was right for the safety of students.
Because if Dennis was away from the academy, something big could have happened.
“Okay, let’s go. Professor Dennis.”
I took Fine’s hand and stepped out into her sweltering salt desert.
***
After getting off the train, Fine’s reaction was strange.
I keep staring at her on my forehead, and when I see her, she turns her head away.
What happened while I was sleeping. It was Fine who was having the hiccups that had stopped.
When I was talking to Dennis a little while ago, he tried to stay away from me.
‘..We were holding hands like this now.’
I was greedy.
It’s a pity to fall now, and I feel a sense of security when I’m close to you.
Since when did my heart grow so big?
Because the body takes precedence over the mind.
I was holding her hand and walking towards her temple.
“Licht.. Hot..”
I walk and walk, but all I can see are white sand dunes.
The sweat that flowed like rain from the helmet felt brutal.
Who said the salt desert was beautiful? The dry desert with no rain was a less romantic place than I thought.
I should have brought some water. I didn’t know it was this hot.
It’s only in the game that debuffs are applied and stamina is reduced, but here it is no different from reality.
A consciousness gradually clouded by the heat. I had to find a way out.
At that time, we saw water right in front of our eyes. To be precise, a puddle that was so transparent that you could see the bottom.
An oasis with a subtle turquoise color.
“Don’t eat it. Blood.”
I immediately pulled Fine to stop her from trying to quench her throat.
She was so thirsty that she threw off her glass and even her helmet and ran at it.
That has a lot of salt in it, so if you drink it, your thirst will get worse.
No drinking. After all, it’s more dangerous than drinking poison.
“Miss Ariel, do you have the leaves of the World Tree?”
I gasped and barely spoke. Every word is painful.
Then Ariel handed me a shiny leaf.
“Here, Mr. Helm.”
Leaves that maintain the same color as the green leaves of plants. It is a material obtained from the world tree where the elves lived.
“Pine, is there any magic clinging to my body…. Could you please move it here?”
If you combine this with the twigs you received from Queru earlier, and Dennis’s special skill, water magic.
“..How?”
“Think of it as reconstructing magic, like weaving yarn on a loom.”
It will make a pretty good weapon.
The staff used by Ariel in the original Must have been made in this way.
“Okay.. Licht.. I’ll try.”
From Noble mtl dot com
When I ask Fine, her little hands dismantle her magic circle.
The glass magic she mainly uses is also twisted and used in this way.
The warrior in the prophecy.
In fact, the fact that Fine Grancia was not a genius, but a genius, did not come to my mind.
Now she carefully, her golden eyes twinkling,
She even frowned as if she was struggling again.
‘How can such a foolish person be the hero in the prophecy?’
Because in my eyes she looked like an ordinary girl. A person who has a lot of worries and distances himself from others.
It is still too early to ask the pure white Fine of the world the dark stains of the world.
“…Can I do it like this?”
Fine built her magic circle again and put the branches and leaves together as if knitting.
Then, a wand with a pattern resembling a whirlwind of wood was created, enough to be considered the standard RPG item.
“You can use this to purify the water. Miss Ariel.”
I handed Ariel the completed wand.
It contains the leaves of the world tree, so it’s more appropriate for Ariel, an elf, than Fine.
Because the world tree is not just a tall tree.
Even an oasis in a salt desert can be turned into drinkable clean water in an instant.
At that moment, I felt someone pulling my sleeve to the side.
“….”
Fine Grancia, with her white wolf ears and tail moving back and forth enchantingly, asks me for something.
It was a silent sign. You could ask me to praise you for doing a good job.
“Good job. Blood.”
“Whoops, it’s no big deal to me.”
I gently stroked Fine’s hair.
Be careful not to mess up the part with the rose ornaments.
Because people deserve to be rewarded for their efforts.
***
How long did you walk?
A large, long shadow fell in front of my eyes.
A salt tower so tall that it seems to reach the end of the sky. The temple of Pantos slowly began to appear.
“I have arrived.. I have.”
I arrived in the shade and caught my breath with my party. The murderous heat that makes your whole body melt.
I wonder if the frog felt like this when it went into the hot water.
“This is… the temple of Pantos.”
In front of the long tower, there were stairs that went all the way down.
At the time I thought I was lucky to be able to avoid the sunlight.
[Welcome to the Temple of Pantos.]
The status window popped up a message as if to say hello to me.
When I arrived at another temple, the status window, which had been quiet, suddenly became like this, leaving only an ominous feeling.
The moment I was about to move on before any more messages popped up.
[The entry limit is 2 people. Lee Soo-hyun.]
Two people.
There wasn’t anything like that before, right?