Chapter 26
Chapter 26
The Temple That Rose from the Sea (1)
In an era without X-rays, it was impossible to identify any abnormalities in the ring. The healer had confirmed there was nothing wrong with my body, and I had grown used to the tingling sensation. The problem was that the gauntlet wouldn’t come off.
When I tried to forcibly remove it and saw my skin peeling along with the gauntlet, Winter had stopped me in anger.
“What the hell is this…”
Winter let out a sigh as she spoke. She had worn that expression ever since we finished dealing with the gauntlet.
I snickered as I looked at Winter’s dispirited face. In the end, she had no choice but to wear the knuckle weapon.
“Want to use it, senior?”
“Hand it over.”
She obediently handed me the knuckle. I slipped it onto my fingers and infused it with divine power. A golden blade sprang out from the knuckle.
“Hmm.”
“……”
I had expected either an axe to come out or for nothing to happen at all. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. Winter’s face was filled with betrayal.
“Why is it an axe for me!”
A weapon that reacts differently for each person—there’s probably nothing quite like it. It seemed Winter simply didn’t like the axe as a weapon.
“Ugh!”
After receiving the knuckle from me, Winter immediately channeled divine power into it. Soon, a large and formidable axe blade emerged. No matter how many times I saw it, its size was stunning.
Winter looked frustrated at first, but then slumped in resignation. It wasn’t something she could easily throw away when she got it for free. Well, she’d figure it out.
I diligently engraved marks into a glass bead. A temple expedition was scheduled for a few days later.
I had wondered if the unexpected incident would cause a delay, but the schedule remained unchanged.
“You’re leaving in a few days?”
“Yeah.”
Winter looked worried. It was understandable, considering the ominous attack had occurred not long ago.
I shrugged my shoulders. The Imperial Knight Order would know what they were doing. There had to be a reason why the temple expedition wasn’t postponed.
All I had to do was tag along, open the door, and scoop up whatever fell my way.
“Should I come with you…?”
“No. It’s dangerous. Besides, you’ve got classes.”
“Oh.”
Winter cautiously voiced her opinion. Regrettably, I couldn’t readily agree to her joining me.
As I always said, she was top-tier personnel. The sea temple was a familiar location, but unexpected things could happen at any time.
Of course, having Winter with me would be great. I had experienced the true power of her extraordinary skill, Silent Bell. But I couldn’t guarantee her safety.
Either I had to become stronger, or she did.
“Hmm. I see.”
“It’s still too early. I can’t protect you yet… well. Anyway.”
Thankfully, Winter didn’t look the least bit disappointed. I trailed off as I spoke. Being told you need protection could sometimes come off the wrong way.
She didn’t seem too bothered and simply went back to what she was doing. From time to time, she took out Silent Bell and rang it for me.
Whether it was to heal my spirit buried under assignments, or to help my stamina recover—I had no way of knowing.
‘The sea temple, huh.’
I lay down on the sofa and recalled the information I had on the Sea Temple. It was a hidden dungeon that appeared midway through the story, involving the aid of a priest.
It was a dungeon filled with numerous moderately difficult puzzle elements that made it enjoyable.
Dungeons usually had lethal traps, but the Sea Temple had very few of those and wasn’t life-threatening.
Even the monsters that occasionally appeared were manageable for someone at the level of the Imperial Knight Order. The only real concern was the boss monster.
“Maybe I should go to the Ash Tree.”
Before heading out, I wanted to grind some skills. I wasn’t sure if they’d let me go again later. I regretted not making the most of it back then.
At the time, I thought I had done my best, but looking back, I felt like I could’ve done more.
“You probably can’t go there now.”
“Huh? Why?”
“It’s almost March.”
Winter casually mentioned the date. No wonder the weather felt warm—spring was already approaching.
Considering that the semester started in early February, it had been about three weeks since I was excommunicated. But what did that have to do with the Ash Tree?
“Senior, you don’t know, do you?”
“What now.”
“The Ash Tree. That spirit tree is a famous spot for couples, and for some unknown reason, it blooms on the first day of every month.”
In other words, there’d be a bunch of annoying lovebirds there, so it was pointless to go. I didn’t really care even if couples were around.
Jumping a fence was nothing compared to Davide’s infamous reputation anyway. Still, there was no need to go out of my way to see lovey-dovey nonsense and ruin my mood.
“Filthy couple bastards.”
That wasn’t me speaking. I glanced at Winter and quickly averted my eyes when I saw the deep scowl on her face.
As for me, even before I possessed this body, I’d lived without women, so I didn’t feel any particular resentment. Back then, I was either soaked in alcohol or doped up—there was no room in my head for that kind of stuff.
‘Well, I’ll meet someone eventually, I guess.’
***
“Davide!”
The day of the Sea Temple expedition. I arrived at a small dock on the east side of the Academy.
Amid the neatly lined-up members of the Imperial Knight Order, I heard the voice of the Vice-Commander. I gave a polite nod and walked over.
The looks they gave me weren’t exactly warm, but they weren’t openly hostile either.
“How’s your hand?”
“They said it’s fine. They think it might be an artifact of that sort.”
I raised my right hand and waved it. I could move it without any issues. Only then did she let out a relieved smile.
“Aide!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Lead the way.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
At the Vice-Commander’s call, a lean man approached. Despite his slim build, his sharp demeanor and brisk attitude suited him well.
The Aide led me along. We arrived at one of several barracks, whose construction date was unclear. A soldier guarding the barrack pounded his chest in salute.
“We’ve prepared supplies identical to ours.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s a personal pack equipped with a sleeping bag, emergency rations, canteen, detox kit, first aid kit, whetstone, and stimpack.”
“That sounds more than sufficient. I’ll handle it.”
He personally went around the barrack and gathered the supplies for me. For some reason, the gesture felt overly respectful and actually made me a bit flustered.
Feeling bad, I quickly reached out and took them myself. The Aide handed over the supplies with a manly smile.
“You’re wearing a tactical vest. Is that one issued by the Academy?”
“Yes. It’s from the Combat Department.”
“Would you like to switch to Imperial-issued gear? Ours offers better mobility and more storage space.”
“Gladly.”
I accepted the tactical vest without hesitation. It certainly offered more capacity, and the material was impressively tough.
Most of all, I liked the emblem of the Imperial 6th Knight Order emblazoned on it.
“We’re counting on you for this expedition.”
“Ah, no, I should be the one saying that.”
“If it weren’t for you, Davide, we couldn’t have even started.”
As he began to praise me to the heavens, I waved my hand dismissively. The way he spoke and acted made me wonder if they were trying to recruit me into the military.
I changed into the new tactical vest and strapped on the gear. It wasn’t light, but it wasn’t so heavy as to hinder movement. We headed over to where the knight order was assembled.
“That’s it. Take your positions. We depart in five minutes.”
No sooner had we arrived than the mission briefing ended. I felt slightly let down, but the Vice-Commander quickly approached and spoke.
“I’ll brief you as we go, Davide. There’s honestly not much to say.”
“That’s fine with me.”
She courteously asked for my understanding. I nodded and looked out at the sea. It had been a long time since I’d seen the ocean.
The salty breeze and the sound of crashing waves made me finally feel that I was truly here. We passed the time with idle chatter.
From the looks of it, this seemed to be the command position for the operation, and I wasn’t sure if things should be this relaxed.
“All right. Let’s move out.”
Five minutes passed, and the Vice-Commander, who had been quietly observing the assembled knights, suddenly turned and announced the departure.
I looked puzzled. From what I knew, the Sea Temple was submerged beneath the ocean. Not extremely deep, but still too far to reach by swimming.
I stared at the sea, wondering if I had missed something. There wasn’t a single boat in sight along the shore.
“Oh.”
Just then, Vice-Commander Sheila raised the sword in her left hand high into the air. I watched closely, wondering what she was about to do.
A ripple of magic shimmered briefly at the tip of her sword, and then she brought it down in one clean slash. A wave of frost followed the sword’s arc and instantly froze the sea.
I couldn’t help but let out a small exclamation at the sight of the ice path formed with a single swing. It was wide enough for five adults to walk side by side.
The knight order began to move, following behind the Vice-Commander. The Aide, who was at the rear, guided me forward.
“It doesn’t even wobble.”
“The Vice-Commander’s magic is incredible. The ice is probably frozen down to about three meters.”
Walking across the sea was a strange and refreshing experience. The cold sea breeze and the chill rising from beneath made it quite cold, but there was a certain romantic quality to it.
Even with heavy equipment moving over it at once, the ice path remained solid. The Aide answered with a hint of pride.
“Is the temple down below?”
“Yes. It's located roughly 50 meters underwater.”
“…It's not going to, like, burst or anything, right?”
Fifty meters deep was equivalent to the height of a sixteen-story building. Water pressure increased by one atmosphere every 10 meters, so adding surface pressure, that was six atmospheres.
And we’re just going down there without any professional diving equipment? And exploring a temple in that condition?
“Sure, moving underwater is inconvenient.”
It’s more than inconvenient—you’d suffer organ rupture at that depth. I made a face like I’d bitten into shit, though the Aide walking ahead of me didn’t see it.
There had to be a way. If they were setting out on the expedition, they must’ve had a method to reach the entrance. Worst case, I could always run away.
“Stop.”
The Vice-Commander, estimating their position while consulting the map, gave the halt order. She stowed the map and adjusted her grip on her staff.
“What you’re about to see is going to be quite the sight.”
Before the Aide even finished speaking, a tremendous surge of magical energy began to whirl through the air. It was the unmistakable sign of a large-scale magic spell about to be cast. I couldn’t hide my surprise.
A glowing blue orb began to form midair, steadily growing in size. I narrowed my eyes at the round, expanding shape.
“No way… an Orb?”
“Oh? You recognized it. That’s right. It’s a Quadra-class magic spell—Orb.”
Quadra-class magic was just below the Penta-class spells used by the Academy Director. Clearly, this was high-level magic. But Orb was undeniably a support spell.
It was a support spell that increased the activation speed, range, and power of elemental magic. But what reason was there to use that kind of spell in this situation?
Before I could finish that thought, a violent tremor ran through the ice.
“Whoa—?”
The sturdy ice path shook violently. The panic didn’t last long, as the Aide deployed a shield that wrapped around the knight order and me.
Waves crashed harshly against the translucent dome. It didn’t take long to figure out the cause of the tremors.
Thanks to the clear water, I could see it. A structure began to emerge from beneath the sea. It grew larger and larger.
“…You’ve gotta be kidding.”
I was speechless.
A massive tidal wave rolled toward us. The Aide’s shield protected us completely from the violent surge.
When the wave passed, what floated above the sea was an ancient temple. It was old and partially oxidized, and its size was roughly that of a mid-sized soccer field.
“We had a rough time swimming during the last expedition.”
“So you decided to pull the temple up?”
“Yes. The Vice-Commander said she thought she could do it—and it turns out she really did.”
They had to be insane. Just because they had a hard time with decompression sickness, they decided to pull up a temple the size of a soccer field from 50 meters underwater—using ice?
One of the knights helped the Vice-Commander, who looked like she was about to collapse. It was understandable. Considering the impossible feat she’d just pulled off, it was a small price to pay.
“With this, you probably didn’t even need to step in during the Forest Guardian incident.”
This didn’t make sense. If she could use magic of this scale, she should’ve been able to handle that Forest Guardian business solo.
“Ah, that’s not quite right.”
“Huh?”
“After that incident, the Vice-Commander absorbed the core of the Guardian.”
“Ah.”
“Your help and Bereninche’s were still needed and appreciated, Davide.”
If it was the Guardian’s core, then that made sense. I looked up at the temple now completely above the sea surface.
Coral and seaweed clung to it here and there, clear traces of time passed. I never expected to face the temple like this. I had nothing to say.
I was stunned at my own foolishness—not thinking to create or find a magic spell that could withstand the pressure. And I was genuinely impressed by the sheer insanity of the idea to lift the temple—and the fact that it had actually worked.