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# Serenia Castle, East Gate
Yuda trudged through the east gate, exhaustion weighing him down. Far off, clouds draped over the mountain ridge glowed with a stunning sunset hue. It was a beautiful sight, but sadly, it barely registered right now. Leveling up had eased some physical fatigue and restored all his spent mana, yet the mental drain lingered. He let out a sigh from the psychological weariness, and Tia, beside him, chuckled and patted his shoulder.
“Good work.”
“Yeah. Sure.”
He didn’t deny the praise. He had lost count of how many packs he had taken down. Once it surpassed forty, he stopped keeping track. It was easy enough to check the number of mana stones, but even bringing up the hologram to confirm felt like a hassle.
On his way back after hunting, he worried that he might be turned away at the castle gates covered in blood from head to toe, including his clothes. But Tia quickly sprayed something on him, and the problem was solved.
The blood which had hardened and stucked to his clothes, face, and hair, which wouldn’t come off even with the water sloughed off in clumps. Made by Ahrman’s alchemists, she said. Handy stuff. The blood was gone although his sweat-soaked body still felt grimy.
Heading straight home with Tia instead of stopping anywhere, he got to wash up first thanks to her kindness. Cold water rinsed away the sweat, and a wave of relief hit him. Cleaned up, Yuda wiped himself down with a thick towel, a satisfied glint in his eye.
[The effect of 〈Second Holy King – Yophiel〉’s goddess statue has expired.]
‘It’s been a week already?’
It was time to visit the temple again. He wasn’t sure if this was a glitch or just a blessing, but simply looking at Yophiel’s statue in the temple’s chapel granted a decent buff.
It lasted a week, boosting growth speed and aiding fatigue recovery. When it wore off, he could head back anytime for a refresh, so he made a point to hit the temple weekly.
Thanks to that, people unintentionally pegged him as a believer. Religion here wasn’t forced like in the modern world, it was their choice whether to believe it or not. But in this harsh world teeming with magical beasts, leaning on the Holy Kings and their apostles meant temple aid, so plenty visited who prayed for safety.
Yuda, however, knew perfectly well that no matter how deeply he believed in these so-called Holy Kings, they wouldn’t save him. So he didn’t put much faith in them.
To be blunt, he was just playing the role of a devout follower. He considered changing and heading straight to the temple, but realized it would be crowded at this hour. Wanting a moment to breathe, he lay down on the bed. It wasn’t soft, but he closed his eyes for a moment, accustomed to the sensation by now.
Perhaps he was more tired than he thought, as consciousness slipped away fast. A little later, he jolted awake, sat up, and gazed out the window. Glancing at the holographic clock in his peripheral vision, he saw that less than an hour had passed since he fell asleep, yet the sky had already turned to night.
He had almost slept the whole day away just trying to rest. Scratching his head hard, he took a deep breath, changed clothes, and headed downstairs.
“You going somewhere?”
Tia, fresh from the bathroom with steam rising off her, tilted her head and asked. Her eyes held a flicker of curiosity about where he’d go this late.
“Just popping by the temple.”
At “temple,” her curiosity vanished instantly.
“Oh—already a week? Such a diligent believer~ Go ahead. How about food? You must be hungry.”
“I’ll eat when I’m back. Won’t be long.”
She nodded, looking bored.
“Then grab some bread if the bakery’s still open. Stuff with lots of cream or chocolate.”
“Weren’t you into sandwiches?”
“Of course you’re getting those. The other bread’s extra.”
Tia took five silver coins from her wallet on the sofa and tossed them into the air. The coins fell erratically, and Yuda reached out with both hands to catch them. “Nice catch,” she muttered softly, and Yuda couldn’t help but laugh.
He closed the door and walked for a bit before reaching the main road. The night street was still bustling with people. Most of them were adventurers or mercenaries, returning late from exploring the western forest. Along the street, streetlights installed voluntarily by the Mage Tower illuminated the surroundings, and the shops hadn’t closed, continuing to do business.
Serenia Castle was special for adventurers. The Serenia forest spanned about 50% of the Byron Empire’s vast land. Long ago, a grand magical empire stood here, but it fell for some reason.
Some say it got wrecked as a battleground between the heavens and demon realm. Others claim the magical empire botched an experiment, and that’s what did it in.
But both were wrong.
Yuda knew the truth. When he had built this game and set up this region, the magical empire fell to none other than the Fourth Lord, 〈Fernlern〉. He descended to the Middle Realm to test his strength, as crossing into the Celestial Realm could only be done by passing through the Middle Realm.
Back then, the magical empire worshipped the Second Holy King, Yophiel, and fought desperately against the Lord’s arrival. But Fernlern’s twenty-four weapons crushed them. To punish their reckless attack, he declared, he opened thousands of small gates to the demon realm. Magical beasts poured out, slaughtering the powerless.
Even now, after Serenia Castle was built and two generations of lords, adventurers, and mercenaries took down countless beasts, their numbers never dropped thanks to those gates Fernlern left behind.
The steady stream of beasts kept this huge land untamed which was a problem. But it also let adventurers and mercenaries earn a living off magic stones. If luck struck and you found an ancient magical empire relic, you could cash in big depending on its worth.
Still, what kept mercenaries and adventurers coming here for over 150 years? Fernlern’s fragments. Trouble was, in the last hundred years, no one had found them. So people kept flocking, chasing the dream of striking it rich.
‘But you won’t find them.’
Yuda muttered, glancing at an adventurer passing by, reeking of blood like it was cologne. They couldn’t. Of the twenty-four fragments, the one here was 〈The 24th Fragment, Carpe Diem〉.
And it was already, well, probably with him.
When he first arrived in this world, Sian handed him a pouch. He couldn’t open it yet, but from the feel through the fabric and Sian’s words, he guessed the “gift” inside was 〈Carpe Diem〉.
Carpe Diem was a ring, like the 5th fragment, worn on the finger. Each of the twenty-four fragments held unique powers—this one’s were 〈Charm〉 and 〈Subjugation〉.
He couldn’t yet tell how the abilities he had set up as game mechanics would manifest or how they would be applied, but one thing was certain: they were bound to him, safely in his possession, with no risk of being taken by anyone else.
Every year on his coming-of-age birthday, Yuda obtains a Fragment. Those who know nothing wander this place like the dead, clinging to the delusional hope that they might one day find a Fragment and become its master.
“Oh.”
While he was lost in thought, he was already at the temple. As always, the stairs felt pointlessly steep. Not even built on a mountainside, yet it took a hundred steps to get inside. Without Yophiel’s statue, he’d have stopped coming ages ago.
“Hoo.”
Not that tiring, but he let out a light breath. Opening the door to step in, he met an old couple coming out, startled enough to pause. Yuda held the door open, stepping aside for them.
“Thank you.”
Perhaps lingering after their prayers, they nodded kindly as they passed, supporting each other as they slowly made their way down the stairs. He watched their backs for a moment, then stepped inside. Under the bright glow of magic lamps, priests were tidying up. When their eyes met, they smiled and offered a slight bow before quietly returning to their tasks.
‘Is Seron not here?’
Since he was here, he thought he might as well say hi—but he couldn’t see him. Not close enough to track him down just for a greeting, Yuda headed to the chapel instead. He didn’t know the other paths in this massive temple all that well, but the way to the chapel? That he knew. Still, something felt off. Like a feeling that maybe he shouldn’t go there.
‘?’
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***Author’s Note***
A triple-post forged from the writer’s blood, flesh, and chicken.
Enjoyed it enough? You better have. Say you did.
If you say it’s lacking, I can’t keep up these triple-posts.
Sitting at the computer all day is killing my back.
Would’ve been great for the 77 Festival, but I missed it again this year.
P.S. Unless you toss me like 2,000 coupons, this writer can’t do more triple-posts, so don’t nag me with “Work, Hotsan!” ㅠ. I want warm comments like “Good job, Hotsan.”
Then, good night –
