Chapter 109
Chapter 109. Temple
Ever since forming the Island’s Soul Contract, whenever he closed his eyes and focused his mind, his vision would somehow shift to the island.
The more people there were on the Island of Boundaries, the more it felt as though something was being tied together.
Under the blazing sunlight, he looked down upon the island from above.
Everyone seemed to have regained something here. The expressions they wore when they first arrived by ship were different from the ones they had now while living on the Island of Boundaries.
“Endaira! Over here!”
“Hmm!”
The children were playing together along the beach. Some had originally lived on this island, while others had arrived by ship not long ago.
“Let’s go look for shells over there in a bit.”
“Hmm!”
“Why does she only say ‘hmm’?”
“Because she’s the captain, rookie.”
“…Rookie?”
“Call her Captain Endaira, rookie.”
When he shifted his gaze, he saw the sea elves trying their best to adapt to life here.
“Our food supply has increased a bit. We even tried cultivating rice, though it’s our first time.”
“The yield isn’t very high. None of us has ever farmed before.”
“How many fishing nets have been made?”
“Several people are working on them together, but I’m not sure how long it’ll take.”
The older elves spoke among themselves before finally voicing the thoughts they had been holding inside.
“But what if more sea elves arrive?”
“There aren’t that many yet.”
“Aren’t we already calling other sea elves to come here? If more gather later, it’ll become difficult to handle.”
“Should we consult Lord Yul?”
It seemed Yul had become someone they relied on.
When Yul opened his eyes again, Kaiman was poking him from the side.
-I've decided what we need to build.
“Ah, you said you’d think about what to do yesterday.”
Before they parted ways the previous day, Yul had asked for Kaiman’s opinion, thinking their ideas might differ.
Kaiman had asked for a day to think, and that day was today.
-A temple is needed..
“A temple?”
-What the sea elves need most isn’t a dock or farmland. It’s a master.
“You’ve been saying ‘master’ since yesterday. You said that’s the existence of the Progenitor Organism.”
-From what I’ve heard, this world has a species classification called elves, and sea elves seem to be a subordinate branch of them.
“That’s right. Normally, they live in forests.”
Yul also knew about forest elves. Most of them were said to live in a place called the Forest of Eternity in the southern lands of the former Empire.
-I analyzed the species known as sea elves throughout the entire day yesterday. They are a species that cannot survive without a master. Those forest elves probably accumulate their own master within their souls as well.
“So?”
-If you want sea elves without a master to accumulate a new one, building a temple is the top priority. You possess divinity, and it seems these people already regard you as a god. Am I wrong?
“A temple… If becoming their god could help them overcome the Rejection Phenomenon…”
-Your divinity is extremely weak right now. It’s practically nonexistent. That’s why efficient collection is important. First, we’ll need materials.
“What materials?”
-I brought a portable matter recombiner. To use it, we need raw materials. Let me explain the pros and cons.
It was a small matter recombiner. It could decompose elements and reconstruct them, but it couldn’t create something from nothing. And during the reconstruction process, the loss rate was quite high.
-And using it requires karma. Most late-stage Turusain technologies work like this.
“So in summary, if I provide karma, you’ll accept the request and manufacture the materials?”
-Correct. The usage fee will be deducted from the one million karma debt I owe. What do you think?
“A wise method.”
With such an arrangement, Kaiman would know exactly how much karma was being deducted whenever he worked, and Yul could develop the island as much as he wanted.
-For reference, the cost of building this temple will be one thousand karma.
“Don’t you think that’s a bit excessive?”
-You’re not seriously thinking I’ll just place a few stones and a statue and call it a temple, are you?
“Isn’t that what it is?”
-You idiot!! You’re treating temple construction like it’s nothing! It’s a place where a being with divinity strengthens their power! Do you think something that crude would work!? The most important function of a temple is to generate faith and supply it to the master.
“Oh? So you’re making a statue or something?”
-Not just a statue. It’s a device that absorbs faith and transmits it to you.
“Oh?”
-I’ve already selected the site. Clear out the trees and anything else inside that area.
“Alright.”
Following Kaiman, Yul headed to a slightly elevated hill a short distance away from the coast.
-There are quite a lot of trees growing between the rocks. Can you clear them all?
“That’s not difficult.”
After using Polymorph, Yul pushed through the trees in his main body form, clearing them away in one sweep.
-Hmm. That should do. I told the elf named Aranmas to follow us. Is he here?
“He’s behind us.”
Returning to human form again, Yul pointed behind him.
Aranmas and several sea elves were standing there, watching with blank expressions.
“The forest that was here just yesterday…?”
“It vanished with a thunderous sound…”
Kaiman beckoned to them.
-You sea elves there, come help clean up the debris. We’re going to build a temple.
Removing the scattered fragments on the ground took an entire day.
By that point, Yul had grown curious about how Kaiman intended to proceed.
Kaiman put on a glove he had taken out from somewhere and wore it on his right hand. A membrane-like film stretched between the fingers, and the glove’s shape followed that structure.
‘Is that a racial trait?’
While they were clearing the wooden debris the day before, Yul had handed Kaiman a golden karma crystal.
It contained roughly two thousand karma.
This was purely the construction cost for the temple.
-Everyone, step back.
Kaiman extended his gloved hand forward and supported it with the other. The golden karma crystal was placed on top of the gloved hand.
A moment later—
The ground began to ripple. There was a reason Kaiman had chosen a rocky hill as the site.
The rocks seemed to be “synthesizing” in midair according to the blueprint Kaiman had envisioned.
Small stones and soil rose into the air, decomposed down to the atomic level, and were then reassembled.
‘This is insane… What kind of technology is this?’
Yul could only stare speechlessly as the temple assembled itself in midair.
It looked like a 3D printer producing something from an extremely precise blueprint. Except that the scale was enormous, and the material was solid stone.
“Pretty impressive, honestly.”
-Using karma makes it easy.
“I may have plenty of karma, but how did your people use it?”
-We used karma gathered at the species level. And if you spend enough time, there are also certain ‘workarounds’ that let someone use it alone.
When Yul turned around, everyone had their hands raised, surprised or bewildered by the temple that had suddenly appeared. Some had even clasped their hands together and were already praying to it.
-It would be best if we went in together first.
The sea elf did not follow them inside. As they looked at the temple, they seemed to feel a kind of exhilaration.
Yul and Kaiman entered and examined the inside of the temple.
At the center of the temple stood a gigantic statue. But its form was human.
“Why a human? Why not my true form?”
-This temple’s design wasn’t done by me. It was automatically designed according to the image in your mind.
“What is that supposed to mean? Like some AI autocomplete?”
-I don’t know what that means, but in any case, I didn’t participate in the design. The karma you used simply created it automatically. If I had to guess, regardless of what your original form is, this is the form your believers will see you in. That’s probably why that statue is there.
“That makes sense.”
Even if his true body eventually evolved into something higher than a Deep King Tribe, if Yul used Polymorph and appeared in human form, this was the appearance it would take.
-Go inside and finish the contract.
After walking a little further, Kaiman stopped and pointed toward the statue.
When Yul stood before it, a status window flickered into view.
[A temple befitting your divinity has been constructed. Now that your worshippers have reached a certain threshold, a new category called ‘Faith’ will be unlocked for you.]
【Faith】
[Your religion does not yet have a name. For now, you are temporarily called the God of Waves.]
[Divinity: Weak]
[Number of Believers: 137]
[Total Faith: 242]
[Faith Absorption Efficiency: 5%]
[Doctrine: None]
[Central Rite: Prayer]
[Symbol: None]
[Apostle: None]
Wow, that’s pretty detailed.
[Faith has now been unlocked. By using faith, you can replenish karma. You can also use faith to create Authorities. A minimum of 10,000 faith is required.]
Authorities…
At present, Yul had no Authority. The Stone of Authority, which could forcibly awaken an Authority, had been reclaimed by its original owner.
But if it were truly possible to create one…
Perhaps he could even regain what he had before.
[Additionally, you can designate an ‘Apostle’ using accumulated faith. Designating an Apostle consumes 10,000 faith.]
[Doctrine, Symbol, and Central Rite all consume faith.]
[To raise your divinity from Weak to ‘Lower Rank,’ at least 100,000 faith is required.]
-Do you understand how to manage the temple?
“Hmm. I understand it somewhat.”
-Then we can open the temple now. They should be able to come here and rest whenever they wish.
“I think it needs some systematization. Among the sea elves currently living on this island, I don’t think there’s anyone suitable for that role.”
-Someone who studied theology would be helpful. But would that even be possible in this Archipelago Ocean?
“I think it might be. I heard about an existence called the Sea Master. What was the religion? I think it was called the Sea Succession Church.”
It would be nice if there were a way to recruit a theologian from the Sea Succession Church.
-Right. After the temple, what are you planning to build next?
“For now, we need a harbor where ships can come and go. The one the sea elves are using right now is just a temporary structure, and it’s in poor condition.”
-Hmm. There’s a problem with that. Unless you use materials like steel.
“Ah, you said we needed materials, didn’t you?”
-Right. You could build it out of wood or stone, but then its durability would be weak.
“I’ll find a way to procure the materials separately.”
He would probably need to establish a proper trade route with the King of Victory. At the moment, there was no way to obtain iron.
Thinking about various things, Yul stepped outside the temple.
“You can go inside now.”
“Ah…”
While the sea elves hesitated for a moment, Endaira, who had been among the children, suddenly dashed forward.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Endaira! Don’t go in first!”
“Let’s go together!”
Yul shrugged his shoulders and stepped aside. The sea elves would make use of the building themselves from here on out.
Endaira, the girl who dreamed of becoming a captain, was the first to enter the temple.
And then she saw the enormous statue carved in the distance.
“Wooooow…!”
“Amazing.”
“W-we should probably set some rules for using this place. Though Lord Yul probably wouldn’t care much.”
“How about gathering here once every seven days?”
“Yes, to offer prayers.”
“A massive building that appeared overnight… I still can’t quite believe it.”
The sea elves would later use this temple whenever important meetings were held.
And so, this place came to be known as the Temple of Waves.