Chapter 115: The Apostle of Ecstasy
“This is ridiculous.”
Redin BR Oser was making his way through the tunnel with a sense of urgency. He had thought things would be okay until then. He had assumed that the priests of Overflowing God and the Kobolds had simply made a mistake. And additionally, Redin always took pride in being a Troll, so he thought there was nothing Kobolds could do that Trolls couldn’t.
“Those stupid Kobolds, how much do they like digging tunnels?”
However, after some time, Redin realized that walking and crawling through the tunnel wasn’t as easy as he had thought. He had bent down to walk, and when the tunnel got narrower, he got on his knees and crawled. He repeated these motions that weren’t familiar to him, using muscles that weren’t usually used. Even though a Troll was born strong, he was getting exhausted.
But above all, the torch Redin relied on was dying.
“I haven’t been able to check the whole tunnel yet though…”
Redin assumed that the Right-Hand Rule used for exploring ancient ruins would take too long, so he checked the tunnels by walking into each one and coming back out, but he was short on time.
Following the chills running down his spine came cold sweat. And his groin tensed up.
“...No, no. There’s no need to be afraid.”
Redin became conscious again of his identity, which he had forgotten while he was in the dark tunnel. He was no longer the twenty-first child who could not get any attention. He was now the proxy for the king at diplomatic events, thus making him the most well-known child of Delmardin BR Oser.
“Even if it’s not that, they would have to consider Asbestos.”
Redin thought that by now, the priests of Overflowing God would be rushing around looking for him. And as he pictured that, he became relaxed and even smiled.
“I’m not a newborn or something, so I shouldn’t be afraid of the dark.”
Despite the torch burning out and the belief that the priests of Overflowing God would most likely come looking for him, he wasn’t cut out for sitting still and waiting.
“...Come to think of it, don’t I just need to dig upwards and get to the surface?”
This was only an imitation of the religious ceremony, and like the priest said, he judged that he would only have to dig a little to get out. He thought he was foolish to only think of that now. Then he went to where he thought would be the closest to the surface and began digging up. The soil in between the wooden scaffolding had dried up slightly because of the tunnel, and it fell easily at the touch of the pickaxe.
“In this case, it would have been better to start moving earlier.”
Redin realized that this work was harder than he thought. Swinging a sword was different from swinging a pickaxe. In addition to the difference in the smaller muscles used, a battle could be won after swinging a sword about 15 times, while swinging a pickaxe hundreds of times might produce no result, let alone fifteen.
“Is there a long way to go?”
The torch completely burned out.
“...Still?”
He took many short breaks to cool down his body and wipe his sweat. And he even went below to the tunnel again to urinate. As his arms became too sore for him to lift them, Redin stopped swinging the pickaxe. Then when his eyelids began to feel heavy and his eyes closed, he furiously shook his head.
Now Redin really had to admit reality.
“This is strange.”
There was a chance that he had fallen asleep for a shorter time than he had thought. And the torch could have burned out quickly due to the lack of airflow.
However, Redin thought of himself as a warrior that continued the bloodline of an older warrior, and he also knew fairly well how to use his body.
It wasn’t possible to know how much time had passed because there was no light, but if he was this tired, he was sure it would have been at least half a day since he started to dig.
“It all feels like a big joke.”
In fact, Redin doubted whether he was actually digging properly toward the sky. It wasn’t possible to dig in a straight line. Sometimes there were large rocks that even Redin couldn't do anything about with his Troll strength, and he also had to avoid the softer soil that presented the risk of triggering a collapse. Regardless, he was still certain to some extent that he was going toward the sky.
“Because everything is falling downward.”
Redin crushed a handful of soil and allowed it to slip from his fingers, feeling it land on his feet. If he dug above his head now, he should be going upward. But Redin was still underground.
“...Was this a trap?”
If so, who set it up? It made little sense that it would be his father; Asbestos was too far from Mangul, and the plan was too sloppy. What if Redin hadn’t fallen asleep and kept digging with determination? Redin didn’t even have any intentions on getting dirt on him in the first place. And when the priest of Overflowing God insisted on their suggestion to the very end, half of him was thinking of quitting.
“...Then why?”
Redin dozed off and eventually fell asleep. When he woke up, he didn’t know if he had slept for a few hours or only a few minutes, but he was hungry. He felt something like grass in his pocket. It was the Forget-Me-Bloom.
“...Did they say eating this gives you strength?”
Redin hesitated, and then he ate the Forget-Me-Bloom. He was in a situation where he couldn’t be sure if someone was even coming to save him, so he had to dig his way out himself. And in order to do that, he had to eat something to keep going. He had too little energy to continue digging.
As he ate the Forget-Me-Bloom, a surprising amount of energy—more than he had expected—began to spread through his body. And in line with what he had heard about the Forget-Me-Bloom, he did feel a little dizzy, but it was more manageable than he thought.
Redin persistently dug the tunnel. And when his arms began to feel heavy again, he grabbed another handful of soil.
“I definitely think I’m going up. The Forget-Me-Bloom might only work on Kobolds and not on a Troll like me. But I should still check.”
Redin crushed the soil and dropped it. The grains of soil fell toward his face.
“...What?”
Gaping, Redin got some soil in his mouth.
As soon as he realized he was upside down, he rolled forward. He thought he had been standing upright until now, but he actually had his head on the ground and was leaning against the wall upside down. He hadn’t even realized and thought he’d only been leaning against the wall because he was tired.
“This is nonsense.”
It was a constant truth that everything fell toward the ground. And so the problem was most likely the sense of soil touching his body.
Redin then became certain that the Forget-Me-Blooms were even worse than the rumors would suggest. They weren’t herbs that only made someone lose their sense of direction. It also caused tactile hallucination.
“That’s the only guess I can make.”
Apart from the effects of the Forget-Me-Bloom, Redin realized he was now in the same situation as the trainee priests that went through the trial of the Empty Sky. No, his situation was worse. His only food was the Forget-Me-Blooms, and there was no senior priest to help him even if he collapsed out of exhaustion.
The fear that he could just die this way ran through his body.
“An unfortunate death that no one would know about. Nothing can be worse than this.”
However, even that thought was incorrect.
Redin kept digging without knowing which way he was heading. And whenever he felt hungry, he had to eat the Forget-Me-Bloom, which would further disorient him. He dug the ground in the hope that he might be able to survive, but as time passed by, the fear that wrapped around Redin grew more and more intense.
He could be going up, but he could also be going deeper into the ground. Even though he was trying his best, the fact that it could all be leading to his death instilled in him an existential fear.
At this moment, Redin’s free will was useless.
He spat out foul language, and as he kept digging with the pickaxe, he stopped to scream. He desperately called out the name of the god he only customarily believed in.
***
-Pilgrim.?
Redin, who had collapsed out of exhaustion, opened his eyes at the voice coming from inside him. He then closed his eyes again. In the darkness, opening his eyes made no difference.
-Pilgrim.?
Having experienced a few auditory hallucinations until now, he ignored the voice.
However, the voice inside Redin continuously called out to him. So Redin thought this auditory hallucination was different and replied.
-Pilgrim.
“I’m not a pilgrim.”
-No. You are going through the test of the Overflowing God, so you are a pilgrim.
“Let’s just say I am. Who are you?”
-I don’t have a name yet. My appearance was made by the Binding God, and my consciousness was given by the Overflowing God. I am a creation of both gods.?
“...Well, that’s nonsense.”
Redin thought he was going crazy. The creation between two gods. That would essentially make it the child of Binding God and Overflowing God.
“Why did such a thing happen?”
-The two gods are trying to confront Night Sky. However, even with the power of five gods, Night Sky is a powerful enemy. So lots of measures need to be put into play.?
That was reasonable.
“Why have you appeared before me?”
-I have come to help you.
“I’ve had many hallucinations making the same claim. And yet I’m still here.”
-Did they tell you that you were the one getting yourself into this test?
“What?”
The voice said.
-I am the one who made you fall into this trap. I inherited the power to connect people from the Binding God, and the power to reveal lies from the Overflowing God. So it was easy for me.
Strangely enough, Redin didn’t get mad. All this was strange, and he might have just been lost in the workings of the gods. What use was there to get mad at divine intervention?
All he was full of were questions.
“Why?”
-You will get to know the answer yourself. Dig in front of you with the pickaxe.?
“What?”
-Aren’t you going to get out?
“No, why are you telling me to dig in front of me and not above…”
-That is above.
Redin hesitated, but proceeded to do so. Only after he swung the pickaxe did he realize he had been lying on the ground.
-Now down.
Redin then realized that he was standing upside down this time.
-Behind you.
Redin’s instincts were shouting at him that this was all an illusion, and that he shouldn’t follow the absurd instructions coming from inside him. But Redin had no more power in him to resist. Listening to and following the voice became Redin’s will.
“Shit, until when…”
-Kneel down, and reach out toward the ground.
“Um.”
Redin hesitatingly extended his hands. He could no longer feel the hard soil that blocked him whenever he tried to go out.
And a ring of light shone down from between his wrists.
“No way.”
Redin threw aside the pickaxe and hurriedly dug the ground with both hands. What he thought was bottom soon became the top.
He raised his head to look up at the sky. It was empty. All around him was wilderness that Redin had never seen before.
It seemed to be a little later in the morning as the sun had been out for some time, and the wind of the morning was strong, cooling down the body he hadn’t even realized until now was drenched in sweat.
He looked around with the intention of thanking the voice that had helped him.
And then the voice said coldly.
-Do you get it now?
Redin reached a moment of epiphany.
The power of the voice was evident.
He could then see his entire life pass by from a third person perspective. Not only in the fearful experience he just went through, God’s touch had been in every moment of his life. All the acts to suppress his yearning to avenge his mother, the hatred he had for his father, and the fear of death—all those were made.
Redin realized he was looking from the perspective of the gods. His emotions and feelings were all useless.
Only one thing was certain—
“...God’s will is all there is.”
***
Wisdom murmured, “If it’s a game where it’s difficult to control an individual, you can just make it easier.”
Jang-Wan then responded, “I’m glad we play similarly.”
***
-Walk forward.
Redin saw that numerous priests of Overflowing God were bowing down at him all the way to the bottom of a low hill.
-They have also come to the same conclusion as you, so although they believe in a different god, you are all the same.
“Is that so.”
-Fusion will start now… Accept God.
***
Redin BR Oser, who became an apostle, got to his feet amid the dead Kobold priests.
The effect of the Forget-Me-Bloom had worn off.
Redin knew where to go now. He headed north, where his father was.
1. An established strategy for traversing maze along with the Left-Hand Rule, also known as wall follower. As long as one keeps a hand on the wall and follows it, they will eventually get to the exit.
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