Chapter 171

Inside a massive altar that had existed since ancient times, resembling a pyramid.

The shaman of the great tribe Kalmak, “Marikula,” who had subdued hundreds of tribes by force and brought them under his control, looked up in astonishment.

A staircase so high that it would take several minutes to climb.

At the top stood Hazad, the god his tribe had worshipped for generations, the very being who had transformed Kalmak—once merely a small tribe—into the great tribe ruling all of Karamble.

Marikula could not clearly see Hazad’s figure.

All he could perceive was a dark form, presumed to belong to the great god.

That was not unusual.

No matter how great a shaman Marikula was, he was not permitted to gaze upon the god’s form.

Only those who had been engraved with Hazad’s mark—”the Engraved Ones”—were allowed to witness him.

Even so, Marikula could tell.

“He is in a good mood.”

He could hear the voice of the great god clearly.

And that voice was filled with undeniable anticipation and excitement.

“What on earth was written in that letter?”

Marikula grew curious about the contents of the letter Hazad had received.

He was merely a messenger, a servant of Hazad.

He knew he should not be curious about the letter’s contents.

Yet, ever since he had begun serving Hazad, he had never heard such an expectant and excited tone from him.

Marikula instinctively covered his mouth to keep his question from escaping.

Then, a moment later—

[Interesting. Very interesting.]

Hazad muttered repeatedly in his neutral voice.

Soon, he casually let go of the letter in his hand.

The letter began to fall down the stairs.

Though it had been dropped carelessly, it naturally glided down the steps, folding itself neatly as if untouched, and landed before Marikula.

[Messenger, deliver this to the one engraved with my mark. And tell them to bring me a reply as quickly as possible.]

“…May I ask if this takes precedence over your previous command?”

[Yes, this comes first.]

Marikula was taken aback.

Even if he had to send out an Engraved One, this order was to be prioritized over what he had planned.

He had asked just in case, but he never expected such an answer.

“Understood.”

Though momentarily shaken, he quickly obeyed and rose to his feet.

As he watched his servant depart, Hazad murmured with a smirk—

[If you are truly alive, this will be quite fun.]

Softly.

[-My one and only friend.]

***

The Next Day

As planned, Alon finished his preparations to depart for the location Rine had arranged.

However, Rine looked more troubled than usual.

“…Rine, did something happen?”

“Ah, no. It’s nothing, Godfather.”

“It doesn’t seem like nothing. You don’t look well.”

His voice was calm, but there was clear concern in it.

Rine gave a faint smile as if his words had lightened her mood.

“Don’t worry too much. It’s just because of a dream I had last night.”

“…A nightmare?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of dream was it?”

“Uh—”

Rine hesitated to answer.

Seeing that, Alon raised a hand slightly.

“If it’s difficult to talk about, you don’t have to.”

“…I’m sorry, Godfather. It just wasn’t a pleasant memory.”

“That’s understandable. But if you ever have something troubling you, talk to me. I’ll listen as much as I can.”

Truthfully, he wanted to ask her right away.

Unlike the others, Rine was usually not prone to emotional fluctuations.

It was the first time he had seen her like this.

However, since she was unwilling to speak, he could not force her.

Just as Alon was about to turn away—

“…Godfather.”

“What is it?”

Rine stopped him.

When he turned back to her, Rine seemed to contemplate something for a moment.

Then, with an awkward smile, she withdrew her hand.

“It’s nothing. I was going to ask something, but I realized I already had my answer.”

“Is that so?”

It was obvious she was avoiding the topic.

“Yes, let’s get going quickly.”

“Alright, let’s do that.”

Alon chose not to press further and turned away once more.

***

After traveling east from Lartania with Rine for about an hour, Alon arrived at a cave in a nearby canyon.

“This is the place I found. Does it look right?”

Alon surveyed the surroundings before nodding.

“Yes, it seems so. Let’s go inside.”

“Ugh.”

As he followed behind Alon, Evan scanned the surroundings of the cave and suddenly asked a question.

“Marquis.”

“What is it?”

“Do you know what’s inside this cave?”

“…Roughly?”

Evan’s expression became slightly strange at Alon’s answer.

“Given who you are, I thought you might have known the exact location as well…”

It seemed he was recalling Alon’s history of utilizing obscure information that others often overlooked.

But Alon’s knowledge always had small gaps.

‘The game never provided exact locations like this.’

Most of what he knew came from the game, and while he was aware of what was inside the cave, he didn’t know its precise location.

He only knew that it was somewhere within the canyon.

“Well, it’s like that.”

“Like what?”

“I didn’t know the exact location.”

“…That’s an odd answer.”

“Is it?”

[Meow.]

Even Blackie chimed in, adding to the ambiguous atmosphere for a brief moment.

“…It’s blocked?”

Evan, who had reached the cave’s end, looked puzzled.

Alon stepped forward, touching the obstructing wall while searching his memory.

‘A stone at the bottom right corner of the cave’s center.’

Looking down, he spotted an ordinary-looking stone.

Without hesitation, he lightly kicked it.

In that instant—

Rumble!

A deafening noise filled the cave as the blocked wall began to vibrate.

Lines appeared along the surface as though it were constructed of stacked bricks, and soon, a staircase leading underground was revealed.

“Wow. I never would have imagined this.”

Evan’s voice echoed through the cave walls.

Descending the stairs, Alon and his companions discovered a vast underground waterway.

There, tied to the side, was a boat—one that had clearly been abandoned for a long time, yet showed no signs of decay or wear.

“Let’s go.”

They boarded the small boat.

Using the softly glowing luminous stones as guide markers, they followed the long, straight waterway forward.

After quite some time had passed—

“…Marquis.”

“What is it?”

“I know you probably won’t answer me, but… how exactly do you find places like this?”

Instead of responding, Alon simply looked ahead.

At the end of the waterway, a massive passage came into view.

Not just any passage—one that bore the marks of time yet was still remarkably well-maintained, resembling a grand chamber.

The floor was covered in old but intact marble, and the pillars, though covered in dust, were also made of gray marble.

After surveying the scene, Alon spoke.

“Let’s go.”

He stepped off the boat, recalling the game’s details in his mind.

‘The Forgotten Era’s Royal Palace… was that it?’

Even in the game, not much was detailed about this place.

Among players, it was simply referred to as the “Ancient Palace.”

The only reason players ever came here was to use the “Footsteps of the Past” to encounter celestial beings and enhance their abilities.

‘In the game, it was simply: Use the Footsteps of the Past, meet a celestial, and receive a stat boost! But in reality, how does it actually work?’

As they continued walking, an altar gradually came into view.

Alon set aside his curiosity for now.

‘I’ll find out today.’

The group arrived near the altar.

“Wait here for a moment.”

“Understood, Godfather.”

Leaving Rine and Evan behind, Alon stepped alone toward the altar.

As expected, it was made of marble and covered in a thick layer of dust.

Ignoring the dust, Alon retrieved the “Footsteps of the Past” from his coat and placed it on the altar.

Wooong~!

The moment it was set down, a strange mechanical hum resonated, and candles ignited with flames of magical energy.

Confirming this, Alon reached into his coat once more and pulled out a piece of cloth.

It was a remnant from the robe that Kylrus had left behind after being dealt with.

Placing it on the altar as well, Alon recalled the instructions from the game.

He raised his left hand above the Footsteps of the Past.

Wooooooong~!

A peculiar resonating sound echoed in his ears.

Then, as a blinding light engulfed his vision—

—his sight was completely washed out in white.

And when his vision returned—

“…!”

What lay before him was—

A world in ruin.

There were no words to fully describe it.

Just—ruin.

That one word was enough to encapsulate the entire scene.

The earth was parched and cracked.

A lone, withered sapling stood on the dead land, its rotting branches swaying pitifully in the wind.

The sky was a chaotic blend of gray and black clouds, exuding an eerily apocalyptic atmosphere.

“…What is this place?”

Unconsciously, Alon let out a breath.

And at that moment—

“Unbelievable.”

Hearing a voice behind him, Alon instinctively turned around.

It was a voice he was all too familiar with—the voice of Kylrus, the opponent he had fought in the labyrinth.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

Alon’s eyes filled with confusion.

Standing there was not a goblin—but a human.

A man with long black hair tied in a high ponytail, dressed in Eastern-style robes.

His arms bore strange tattoos, and his expression remained utterly indifferent.

“Kylrus?”

The moment Alon muttered the name as if to confirm, the man, who had been frowning as if displeased with the situation, spoke.

“Mage, was it you who called me?”

His gaze met Alon’s, calm yet penetrating.

And at that very moment—

The instant Alon encountered Kylrus—

“Marquis!?”

Evan, alarmed by Alon’s sudden disappearance, rushed to the altar.

Meanwhile, Rine—

“Ah, come on. If I had known he was going to vanish like that, I would’ve shown up sooner.”

“…!?”

—spun around in horror at the voice she should never have heard.

“Hello, Rine.”

And then, she saw her.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

…The Apostle of Greed.