76. What We Found in the Temple
Ko Byeong-gap climbed the high wall and looked around the vast plain. A few days ago, the plain was a wilderness without a single root of weeds. In fact, it wasn’t much different, but the landscape was quite different in the north.
‘The forest has widened in no time.’
A forest with an area of approximately 2,500 square meters. It wasn’t very tall, but the thick and hard trees were dense, and the knee-high green grass was fresh.
There were also small wild animals in there, but it was hard to see. The forest was still slowly expanding. It was amazing that a forest grew in the middle of a desolate field, but there was something else that was utterly ridiculous.
‘I never thought animals and plants could come from the corpses of the Grugles.’
It wasn’t something that came from planting anything, and such a phenomenon was hard to accept as common sense. Creatures were born from corpses, like something from a creation myth. No matter how many weird things were in the world those days, most of them weren’t considered special, but this was a scoop.
Of course, he had no intention of disclosing it to the public since they wouldn’t believe him anyway.
‘It’s strange, either way.’
It was definitely something strange. Didn’t they slaughter hundreds of Grugles even when they were in Somnium? However, he didn’t see this happening at that time.
‘How could it make sense of trees growing into a forest without us noticing it?’
Some small wild animals were living in that forest. They looked like the cousin of rabbits, but he hadn’t seen them even in their time in Somnium.
Ko Byeong-gap smoked a cigarette, pondered his thoughts, and then gave up since he felt like he took on a challenge or a riddle with no answer.
‘How do these creatures work, and what are they like? Ah well, they say good things are good.’
If the Grugles, which seemed to have no use, were actually something like an all-around fertilizer, then it was a cause for a toast. He was no scholar, so he didn’t need to reason about each phenomenon.
In fact, they had been worrying about where to get wood, and this incident resolved it. Ko Byeong-gap shoved the cigarette butt into a portable ashtray and shouted.
“Work done! Clean up and come to the castle!”
“Alright!”
The Goblins, who were in the middle of working outside the walls, gathered their tools and finished their work as their Lord commanded.
“It’ll be done by tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.”
They dug a deep pit around the walls of Valtadren, which acted as a moat. He still thought about whether to draw in the river or put in bamboo spears. Of course, it was for protection.
Fortunately, no other battle took place since the big battle five days ago. It was a good thing that the Grugles didn’t flock like some defense game.
Ko Byeong-gap descended from the ramparts and headed for the center of the Valtadren. There was a building that was quite magnificent from the perspective of modern people that seemed like a temple. He didn’t know what it was, but it was obviously a mysterious place, and the Goblins were urged not to enter.
Ko Byeong-gap pulled out the lantern from his belt and went inside. It was dark, dry, and cool. Walking in for some time revealed the statue standing on the podium. That statue recorded ancient Ashvilam in fragments, but now, it was covered with a large cloth so that nobody could see the contents.
‘It’s difficult if another one goes haywire.’
There would be no Goblin who would dare to go into the temple against the orders of Ko Byeong-gap, but he couldn’t be too sure.
Ko Byeong-gap moved his steps lightly and moved to the passage next to it. Walls and ceilings collapsed, leaving rubble blocking the way. Although he cleaned from time to time, it was still blocked.
“Let’s put it away.”
Ko Byeong-gap set up the lantern and began to clean up the rubble. A blurry picture remained in places of the debris. They were all portraits of female Goblins, but just looking at them made the back of his head feel cold since he felt like he was looking at a portrait of a young person.
“Oh, it’s a disaster.”
He straightened his back after clearing the debris for about 30 minutes. No matter what he did, it seemed to stay the same.
“Should I just call the kids and have them clean it? If it’s not Dorma, there’s no one else who can read anyway. So why the hell am I doing this alone?”
After complaining like that, he soon changed his mind. It wasn’t just the danger of the Goblins losing their minds that made him prohibit them from entering the temple.
The temple itself was very large, and the risk of collapse was great. In fact, cracks could be easily found on its walls and ceilings. On a day that they end up touching one wrong place, it would be a chore. If someone went crazy, things would get even more screwed up.
“Oh, that’s enough for today. Hmm?”
Crack! Crack! Crack!
“Oh my God!”
As he was about to shake his hand, heaps of electricity poured down. The walls and ceiling also vibrated and dropped dust. Was it collapsing? At that moment, a flash of memory ran through his head, and he had many thoughts.
‘I can’t die like this!’
It was a moment when he recalled a proverb that said, ‘What would happen if the sky collapsed?’
…
The tremors of the building stopped visibly. Ko Byeong-gap was immobile as if time had stopped, and only his eyes moved.
“… I’m freaking out. The situation of this building is already alarming.”
He felt embarrassed for making a fuss. It was a good thing the Goblins weren’t watching.
“Unlucky…” He murmured as he picked up the fallen lantern. He was about to leave the temple, but then…
“Hm?”
The direction the lantern had pointed at was somewhat different. The space that had been blocked by debris was clearly revealed. What he had been cleaning up for weeks had finally paid off. Ko Byeong-gap unconsciously headed toward it and then stopped.
“… It’s almost evening. Let’s do it tomorrow.”
The sun was slowly setting. It was a dark temple, and he didn’t want to wander around here at night since it was a bit creepy. The temple expedition was a promise for tomorrow.
***
The products sold in the ancient shop were generally fascinating. There was nothing that wasn’t surprising. Among them, the ‘textbooks’ were beyond common sense.
“Agh!”
The B-class Multifaceted Ear spat out screams from its four faces at the same time. Its left shoulder, which had been cut, bled like a waterfall.
The human-type monster, the Multifaceted Ear, was a monster known for its cleverness. Its intelligence was quite high, but he didn’t know if it was since it had four heads.
However, even such wickedness was useless in the face of an overwhelming power gap. Ko Byeong-gap swung his sword again. This time it was the monster’s right shoulder.
“Argh! Argh! Argh!”
“Oh, I don’t want to hear it.”
Suddenly, the Multifaceted Ear flew in. Its calves were thicker than most adult women’s waists. It posed with a front kick strong enough to leave a footprint on a steel plate, but when it was about to land, Ko Byeong-gap moved like the wind and avoided it leisurely, and then, he dug in quickly and drew his sword.
The Multifaceted Ear was split from its groin to the top of its head, spreading both sides. To shorten it into a few words, it was dead. He couldn’t believe he sent a B-class monster to the underworld in just four steps.
‘I’ve become incredibly strong.’
This was because the textbooks transcended common sense. When he learned the lower-level textbooks, he got out of the lower class. When he learned the intermediate textbooks, he reached the top. When he learned the advanced textbooks, he surpassed even the highest level. Class B monsters were no longer his match.
‘What level am I right now? I’m sure it’s over A-class.’
The power gap between A and B wasn’t that big. If it were this easy to defeat B-class monsters, he would be able to overwhelm an A-class. The question was whether it could make him reach S-class or not.
‘There’s no way to measure it unless I see it for myself…’
S-class monsters weren’t something he could easily find. To be honest, he didn’t even want to see them.
“You’re amazing, Lord!”
“You’re getting stronger day by day. Every time I see the majesty of the Lord, my heart becomes awed.”
The attack squad gently rolled their tongues.
‘These guys too, it seems like they’re getting more expressive day by day.’
Well, it wasn’t bad. It was nice to have subordinates who cheered him up even if he just lifted his finger. He opened the door to Ashvilam and called out the workers, and then they carried the meat skillfully. It was then…
“Oh! This is very interesting! I’ve seen it a few times.”
“What a surprise!”
Someone poked their head over the aisle. From Ko Byeong-gap’s angle, it looked like a human neck had emerged from the air. Anyway, it was Ea who raised her head. She looked around and found Ko Byeong-gap.
“Oh! You’re right here. I didn’t know that and looked around for you like a fool.”
“What’s going on?”
“Oh, I have something to tell you. The Goblins keep bringing meat, but the freezer is full, so I can’t put any more. If you don’t keep it in storage, the meat will rot, and if it rots, it will smell… Anyway, I don’t think it’ll be good.”
Ea rambled on and on. Ko Byeong-gap nodded, calming down her surprised heart.
“You mean it’s full? Okay. I’ll build you another one by the end of the day.”
“Oh, that’s nice. Please make about three or four. Alright then, have a good day.”
Ea pulled her head out and disappeared. She was a funny woman, after all. She basically said they had collected quite a lot, probably because they had been going to cracks twice a day.
Each crack provided 300 monsters. It wouldn’t be strange if the freezer became full.
“Lord.”
“Oh, Dorma. What’s the matter?”
“I have something to ask you about. Are you going to go to another crack? Can I just wait as usual?”
Ko Byeong-gap thought briefly as he stroked his chin.
“Well, no. Let’s stop here for today. I have some work to do.”
“Is that so? Yes, I will tell them that.”
“Okay.”
All the bodies of the monsters were removed, and all the Goblins returned. Ko Byeong-gap drove straight back to Seoul.
‘Let’s quickly build a storage room and enter the temple.’
After they returned home, he got ready and moved to Ashvilam. The first thing he saw was a bunch of Hob Goblins grooming monster corpses. They took the monsters apart with the skill of butchers and separated the meat from loot and magic stone.
Come to think of it, there was nothing to was transformed into weapons or household goods through alchemy. He said good things to the working Goblins and moved on.
“Oh, Lord, you’re here.”
“Oh, Gobung. We just met. Are you busy?”
“Uh… I was pumping water out of the river. Is there anything you’d like me to do?”
“Yes, leave it to the others and gather about 30 people. Let’s build another freezer.”
“Oh, yeah! I see.”
Ko Byeong-gap joined forces with the Goblins to create a freezer. It was about 4 pm when they finished work.
“Go to Ea and let her know the warehouse is complete.”
“Yes!”
“Also, I have a job at the temple, so don’t look for me at the temple.”
“Oh, I see.”
Ko Byeong-gap left those orders and headed straight to the temple. He carried only a high-power lantern and his sword. He thought he should pack more, but he decided it wasn’t necessary.
‘What’s the big deal? I’m inside Valtadren.’
He was inside the cool temple. Without another way in, he went into the passage he drilled yesterday. There was a long stretch of corridor, and Ko Byeong-gap walked silently with a lantern that lit up the way.
There was no other reason to explore the interior of the temple. Maybe he could get some information about the old Ashvilam? It was out of curiosity.
As he walked down the hall, sometimes a door would appear. However, whenever he opened them, only a cold empty room would show itself.
Squeak.
“Darn it. It’s all empty.”
Sometimes something would show up like a half-broken table or a saucer. In terms of information acquisition or practicality, it was of little value.
After exploring for about an hour, he looked around all the parts that he could immediately check. Some passages collapsed, so he couldn’t even proceed.
He came in filled with nervousness, but at that time, he felt despondent because he didn’t get anything.
“It’s shiny on the outside, but it doesn’t have any substance. Phew, I only ate a lot of dust.”
He turned away and complained. It was just then he found a strange seam in the stone wall.
“Hmm? What’s this?”
About 60 centimeters by 2 meters, the rectangular area was different from other areas since it was dented inward. It was a slight difference that could’ve been overlooked if it hadn’t been looked at carefully.
“Why are you stuck here… Huh?”
When he simply pushed it, the wall pushed in. Suddenly, it revealed a secret passage. It was an underground passage. Ko Byeong-gap looked at the wall and the secret passage alternately with absurd eyes.
“Oh, that’s awesome. A secret passage. Well, I wouldn’t be upset if I had one of these.”
His agony was brief. Without hesitation, he slipped into the aisle. He had a feeling that he was going to get something.
“The stairs are so deep.”
The stairs leading to the basement were very long. It felt like it would be two basement floors high. He arrived on the floor, as he carefully walked on the stairs in case he fell. A door made of iron welcomed him as if it had been waiting.
‘I hope nothing randomly pops out of there.’
He grew nervous when he came down the underground. Ko Byeong-gap pulled out his sword and held it in his hand while he bit the lantern in his mouth. He then slowly pushed the iron door open.
Pit! Geek!
The sound of iron scratching showed how rusty it was.
‘What? The wind’s cold all of a sudden?’
There was something more intrusive than the sound of steel. It was the tremendous cold that rushed out the cracks of the door; it was similar to the one that came from the freezer they just made. He shone his lantern through the half-open door.
He could see a lot of square ice.
“What? Is this a fridge? What kind of crazy guy made a refrigerator underground?”
Feeling ridiculous, he opened the iron door further. Hopefully, he would be able to taste ancient Ashvilam ice cream, but… Well, of course, it wasn’t ice cream that greeted him.
“Hey, this can’t be…”
In the center of the room full of ice, there was a coffin.
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