Chapter 104: In the Name of the Goddess 5
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/Week Wed-Sun
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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Even though I had closed my eyes in prayer, my vision remained remarkably clear.
The most vivid sight was that of a beautiful woman clad in pure white cloth.
She was the Goddess, whose image I had seen time and again in the Heroes Chronicle Forum.
Due to her airy attire that revealed her arms and collarbone, like what one might see in Greek and Roman mythology, it was impossible not to recognize her.
After all, every discussion forum had her picture attached, given how often it was posted.
The problem was what she was doing.
'What's happening here?'
In a spacious area resembling a temple, the Goddess, wearing a gentle smile, was bringing her hands together as if in prayer.
No matter how I looked at it, it seemed as though she was offering prayers to someone.
The religion in Heroes Chronicle was inspired by monotheistic religions like Christianity and Catholicism.
The Goddess was considered the creator of this world, even the monsters like orcs were claimed to be created by the omnipotent Goddess.
Yet here she was, praying to someone.
What could this possibly mean?
It's like claiming that in the Bible, God didn't say, 'Let there be light' at the beginning, but instead prayed to the universe for it.
" Roland? Excuse me, Roland?"
"Ah, what?!
With a worried tap on my shoulder, I came back to my senses, seeing the temple hall and the statue of the Goddess.
And Irene, who was looking at me with somewhat worried eyes.
With my eyes open I see the Goddess statue.
With my eyes closed I see the figure of the Goddess herself.
It was dizzying.
Are you feeling dizzy or tired? You've had your eyes closed for quite a while and you weren't responding..."
"No, I was just lost in thought."
Everyone knew that someone at the level of a senior adventurer wouldn't be affected by a mere two-day carriage journey.
The glances thrown my way were filled more with curiosity than worry.
But with my dizzy head, I couldn't think of a plausible excuse, so I just brushed it off.
I couldn't exactly tell them that I received a fragment of information as a reward for completing the quest, which used itself to show me the Goddess.
Either I would be considered a lunatic or revered as a paladin who received a divine revelation.
Considering how temples in this fantasy world were intertwined with politics, neither seemed particularly beneficial for my journey to the top of the tower.
[You have confirmed a fragment of information]
[Part of the mana in your body is replaced by divine energy]
What is this?
If there's nothing else, let's call it a day since it's getting late. Lets all meet at the guild tomorrow morning."
"That sounds good. So, Roland, are we heading to the 21st floor tomorrow?
Ah, yes thats right. Once we reach the 21st floor, lets train until we become familiar with the caves."
At the mention of 'caves', the others' faces tense a little as we part ways and head back to our lodgings.
Han Se-ah, who seemed disappointed that no additional events happened during our temple visit, disappeared with Grace, bringing along the camera with them.
Katie also stealthily made her exit.
Walking alone on the dimly lit evening streets without a camera or my party, I felt a tingling yet comforting sensation in the corner of my heart.
If my mana always felt like it turned my body into cold, hard steel, this faint divine energy felt like it was setting my body ablaze like fuel in an engine.
Of course, this was just a feeling, and I had no idea how to use it.
'After ten years of honing my magic, now I have divine energy...'
It's not like a military veteran returning home in the modern age would know how to control mana or practice energy management.
I used my mana to strengthen my body and weapons in much the same way as one would exercise to train muscles.
It was a feeling that I'd hammered into my body through practice, forming the foundation of my combat style.
Adding to this, there were obvious differences between jobs within this game world.
Just like how 4 Grace was slower to notice the crude traps that 1 Maid Mari could easily discern, I couldn't figure out how to use this new energy that I had just obtained, although it felt somewhat familiar to me.
So, there was only one way.
I would train and hammer the feeling into my body.
'It's been a while since I trained all night...'
I'd have liked to lie in bed and browse the internet, but I couldn't just ignore this newly acquired divine energy.
Of course, even if I wanted to practice it, I couldn't pick a fight with someone in the city in the middle of the night, and it was too weird to rush into the tower alone right now.
All I could do was try to get a feel for it.
Heading towards the Guild building, which was dark after Ellis had finished her shift, I stealthily climbed over the wall and entered the empty training grounds.
The Guild's grounds were clean, seemingly untouched by anyone today.
Taking a position in the center of the grounds, I lifted my shield and took a deep breath.
One relief was that the sensations of mana and divine energy were distinctly different, making it easy to distinguish.
And perhaps because they were given to me by a divine being, there were no incompatibilities with my body.
'If I gather all the quest rewards, will all my mana turn into divine energy? Or will it happen when I rank up to 7?'
Instead of mana, I moved divine energy to strengthen my body and enhance my shield.
Regardless of whether it was mana or divine energy, in the end, I was just using it to enhance my body and weapon, since I didn't know any holy arts.
Drawing out the divine energy to the best of my ability, my shield began to glow with pure white light, similar to writing with your left hand when you're right-handed.
Although I couldn't use it efficiently and I didn't understand the extent of its ability yet, there was a definite difference in color at least.
Surely, the difference between mana and divine energy isn't just color, right?
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Raei Translations
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[Han Se-ah's stream has begun!]
[The world's first exploration of the 21st floor! The start of cave exploration?]
After trying various things with my shield until the moon set, I managed to snatch a few hours of sleep before Han Se-ah's stream notification woke me up.
"The 21st floor is a cave, so it seems like it's finally time for a mage like me to shine."
-Next up, human torch
-Not good for anything other than lighting the way anyway
-The contribution of a mage (Light Shuttle) (Securing vision)
-You win the game by placing wards well
-Doesn't someone seem to be playing another game here?
After washing off the sweat from the night, I head to the guild, where my companions are already seated at the table.
It seemed like they woke up early in excitement, having heard the voice of the Goddess and going to enter the 21st floor for the first time.
Well, you would be closer to a psychopath not to get excited in a situation where you've received an actual revelation from the Goddess.
Even Katie, who is playing the role of a taciturn mercenary, cannot hide her flushed cheeks.
"Today, as I mentioned before, we're going to the 21st floor. It's a cave-type environment, completely different from the plains or the forest."
"If it's a cave, are the monsters completely different?"
"Not exactly. Instead of moss wolves and helmeted deer, we'll encounter cave spiders and vampire bats. However, goblins and kobolds still appear."
"They show up everywhere."
"They do outside, so it must be the same inside the tower."
Goblins and Kobolds are kind of like roaches.
They survive by adapting to any environment, fulfilling a role at the bottom of the food chain, cleaning up garbage.
It's kind of how there are forest roaches and house roaches.
But you should not let your guard down when you hear about goblins and kobolds.
Naturally, the ones appearing in the plains are weaker than the ones in the forest, and the ones in the caves are stronger than the ones in the forest.
It's only common sense that the monsters become stronger the higher you climb the tower.
On top of that, stalactites and stalagmites make for unsteady footing, a major problem.
They're far more bothersome than the tree roots in the forest, to the point that it's almost like there's no flat ground at all.
"Goblins and kobolds, as we've seen, roam in packs, so we don't need to worry as long as we're careful about the cave terrain. While they are stronger than the ones below, they're still manageable. The real problem is the cave spiders and vampire bats."
" If it's bats, they'll fly around, right?"
"That's correct. Cave spiders crawl on the walls and ceiling, moving in three dimensions, and vampire bats outright fly. They're fundamentally different from the ground-running beast-type monsters."
At Han Se-ah's murmuring, everyone nods and the atmosphere becomes slightly serious.
If hunting the Horned Wolves on the 10th floor is the boundary between beginners and intermediates,
Hunting monsters on the 21st floor could be said to be the boundary line for veterans.
Facing gigantic cave spiders crawling on the walls and vampire bats swooping in from the dark is a different game altogether.
From swinging a sword to maintaining formation, it's all entirely different from the lower floors.
"The fortunate part is that we have a mage in our party. That spares our vanguard the trouble of having to handle a torch."
"So, should I keep my Light magic active?"
"No, your mana isn't infinite. We'll bring a torch with us. Your role is to brighten our vision when we're in battle."
-So she's a real-life flashlight, LOL!
-Seems like she won't even need to learn other offensive spells besides Magic Missile.
-Just make sure Grace has a good view to shoot her arrows.
-Mage Hanna? Nah, more like Lighting Technician Hanna.
-How about dual-wield? A torch in the left hand, Light magic in the right. LOL
"If you guys keep messing around, I'll use the camera to only follow Roland's behind during battles. Is that what you want? To see nothing but Roland and the cave walls?"
Everything else, it's better to experience directly in the cave.
The damp and stuffy air that makes breathing feel different, the strain of constantly being alert while walking in the dark leading to quicker exhaustion - these minor yet important things.
Experiencing these things personally is the quickest way to learn.
Just like I did.
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