How to Go to the Temple (1), How to Go to the Temple (2)
Hyun suddenly realized one more fact.
‘The trembling of the body is also okay.’
The symptoms of shortness of breath were gone.
Has the emotional amplification caused by Radix Island alleviated? Or is it simply the illusion of being assimilated with Louise?
For verification, Hyun tried to cancel assimilation with Louise.
“No, where did you suddenly go?”
The shop owner, who was looking around, noticed Hyun and put on a worried expression.
“Your complexion doesn’t look good. Are you okay?”
“… .”
“So what did I say, it’s impossible to go north… .”
“no.”
Hyun checked his body condition.
My heart beats a little faster, but it’s not painful.
The tension is slightly higher than usual.
“I am fine.”
“Well, I’m fine… ?”
“yes. suddenly… .”
Hyun also looked at the condition of his colleagues around him.
Only Ain was making a slightly flushed expression, but the rest of the party looked the same as usual.
Hyun asked Salon, who happened to be next to him.
“Are you feeling better?”
Salon’s expression, which had been frowning until just now, had returned to its original state.
“Uh… I don’t know why, but it’s much better.”
“is it so?”
“Hyeon, seeing you say that, do you know something?”
Hyun answered Salon’s question with an ambiguous nod.
“Maybe… .”
“Really? Did you find a way to get rid of this damn status ailment?!”
“well… . I’ll have to think about that after I go back to the village.”
The surroundings were buzzing with the voices of the Corcesans congratulating Herpa.
The faces of the group going down the mountain after the coming-of-age ceremony were also more relaxed than when they went up.
***
after returning to the village.
Hyun retraced each and every thing that happened at the coming-of-age ceremony.
I have activated the power of empathy, but I have not yet fully grasped how it works.
‘I need to find out why the empathy was built up.’
Hyun decided to reconsider the definition of prayer.
It is a widely known fact that the transcendental person receives prayer and builds up the power of empathy.
However, most of the people who pray in the chapels of numerous temples do not have the ‘prayer’ skill.
Not only that, but there were a lot of people who didn’t know how to pray properly.
But how could the transcendentalists gain sympathy from them?
‘Skill is not important.’
What if the act of prayer is just a means to deliver empathy to the transcendent more efficiently?
‘There are other ways to get empathy besides prayer!’
Even if you don’t pray… It may just be that empathy is created just by serving and yearning for the transcendent.
Isn’t it proof that the power of empathy was activated without receiving anyone’s prayers!
<Stat boost rate: 23%>
Hyun looked at the status window again.
Although the numbers fell, the power of empathy was still maintained.
‘I’m sure they’re guild members, right?’
– While feeling emotions beyond human limits, you can get ’empathy’ from all beings in the world!
– The greater the emotion of the soul and the closer the distance to the soul, the greater the empathy.
A part of the description of the empathy skill stolen from Louise.
Hyun focused on the second phrase.
‘The ones closest to me are the guild members.’
And he guessed that it was the members of the Shade Guild who could sympathize.
The reason why the stat amplification rate was lowered from 35% to 23% was probably because he returned to the village after the coming-of-age ceremony.
It’s because the status ailments of emotional amplification are less in the lowlands than in the highlands of the island.
“Now, everyone, log out for a moment.”
Hyun, who finished his thoughts, terminated all guild members’ connections.
It was to find out the ’empathy share’ of the guild members.
If you check the stat amplification rate with only one person left, wouldn’t it be possible to know each person’s contribution?
How did the 23% stat increase rate come about?
After about 5 minutes of experimentation, Hyun was able to obtain the following results.
Ain : 12%
Salon: 2%
Tartar: 2%
Genie: 3%
All together, about 20 percent.
Subtracting it from the current stat boost rate of 23% leaves 4%.
It is said that Transcendentalists cannot convey empathy on their own, so Louise would not have a share.
Poppy or the users who recognize me all over the world must be in charge of the rest.
It is said that the effect of empathy becomes insignificant as the distance increases, but if billions of users gather, it will be able to exert sufficient influence.
‘hmm. That’s how it goes.’
Hyun decided to do a few more experiments.
While the guild members were doing their own maintenance, the two of them headed to the outskirts of the village alone with Ain.
In an empty place covered with twigs, he looked straight into Ain’s eyes and said.
“Ain, think of me from now on.”
“Uh… ?”
Ain was quite embarrassed, but he did not refuse Hyun’s request.
“Hey, is this… .”
“if?”
“It’s rehearsal… ? here… ?!”
“No, not like that… .”
<Stat boost rate: 28%>
After looking at the status window, Hyun was able to find out one more fact.
A 5% increase in the stat amplification rate means that Ain’s contribution has increased from 12% to 17%.
It has been proven that the more self-conscious one of the guild members becomes, the greater the power of empathy.
but.
It was the next moment when Hyun realized his mistake.
Ain breathed out lightly without saying anything and began to come slowly.
[‘Ain’ has left the party!]
[Takes 3 damage!]
Then, two lines of messages flowed into Hyun’s log window.
“Whoops, you can’t run away this time.”
“You, what… !”
“If you want to switch to a resting state, try it. As long as it doesn’t matter what Hyeon’s body does!”
Saying that, Ain continued to make light scars on Hyun’s skin with his fingernails.
To prevent the case of suddenly logging out and running away.
‘Fairytale!’
‘… ?!’
[‘Ain’ has canceled the contract!]
[To assimilate, you have to get the consent of the other person again!”
Hyun reflexively used assimilation, but the skill did not activate.
Today’s Ain seemed to have been properly switched on.
If you see that you block all the ways you can think of in advance.
He even grabbed his hand to prevent him from running away.
“Wait a minute, you promised earlier! I decided to hold on a little longer… !”
“But Hyun called me? Then you have to take responsibility!”
A cold sweat broke out on Hyun’s forehead.
The air from Radix Island made Hyun’s heart beat even more.
Looking into your pitch-black eyes, I feel like I’m going to be sucked in.
The moment you fall into a quandary.
It was Tartar who saved Hyun.
Hyeon shouted in surprise when he saw a face peeking at them through the branches of the twigs.
“Tartar… ?!”
“What?!”
Ain’s head turned around.
The three of them looked at each other in an awkward silence.
After a while, Tartar hesitated and muttered.
“sorry… I didn’t mean to peek… .”
“Since when have you been there?”
“uh… that is… Bar, just… . I just came… !”
“… … .”
Did he realize that it was a lie that would be discovered anyway if he asked for a recording or looked into fairy tales?
It didn’t take long for Tartar, who had been stuttering, to tell the truth.
“Actually, I was watching everything from the beginning! sorry!”
“You little bastard!”
Huhuhu, Hyun suddenly laughed at Ain’s cry.
It was because Ain, who looked at him as if he was going to eat him just now, seemed cute when he was flustered.
you’re a kid
Can’t Ain see that Tartar, who has gone through a period of growth, has grown taller than himself?
However, it was ironic that seeing Tartar contemplating in front of Ain made the word “kid” more appropriate.
***
The case was simply settled.
With the meaning of reflection, it was decided that Tartar would take care of the Shade Guild’s chores.
It was a chore, but it was difficult to leave it to the outside anyway, so there was no one else to entrust it to unless he was versatile.
On the one hand, it was the beginning of Tartar’s second slave contract.
And because Ain caused a considerable commotion, what Tartar had done became known to everyone in the guild.
When the two of them were alone, Salon offered advice as an older brother.
“Dude, no matter how hot-blooded you are, can you take a peek at that?”
“no! I haven’t actually peeped anything!”
“Kuh, it’s a shame that it was only an attempt, and it could become a crime if you don’t.”
Ginny and Poppy weren’t very interested in the case, only Louise, who was innocent for her age in this respect, kept talking nonchalantly.
“Something? let me know too! What are you talking about among yourself!”
“Hehe, you don’t have to know the kid.”
“You little boy! This body is probably over 20 years old! At the same age as Hyeon, it means an adult!”
“Oh, is that so? I forgot.”
Even in the midst of such big and small incidents, time continued to pass.
As the sun went dark, a festival was held in earnest in the village to celebrate Herpa becoming an adult.
A gentle magic lamp was lit on the huge tree trunks, and a scent that calmed the mind and body rose up.
The night in the midtown village was not as splendid as cities on the ground or in the sky, but it had its own taste.
The Corcassians did not reject outsiders.
“You guys will come too. On such an auspicious day, the more people, the better!”
“thank you.”
Hyun did not refuse their invitation.
Interacting with NPCs was essential, even in order to obtain information.
Of course, even if there was no such calculated purpose, he would not have been able to refuse seeing Louise’s eyes looking at the festival site.
Looking at the softly burning bonfire and the swaying wings, Hyun fell into his own thoughts.
I have fully figured out how to handle the power of empathy, but I haven’t figured out how it works.
‘Why did I feel fine?’
Yes, there was still one unexplained phenomenon.
What is the reason why empathy is dealt with and the amplification of emotion is alleviated?
Not only himself, but the guild members also became fine.
‘I think it’s usually the other way around.’
Hyun still remembered what happened in the land of darkness.
Louise’s empathy was released, and Louise was in great pain because she had to accept all sorts of emotions.
But now, when emotions are gone, the opposite is happening.
‘Is it because I’m a user?’
Hyun re-read the last part of the skill description of Empathy.
Every time the duration ended, he was making a chaos pact with Louise.
(※Caution: The size of the ego is too small to accumulate empathy! The gathering power is automatically used to boost stats!)
There is only one difference between himself and Louise.
Can you accumulate empathy? Is there no
You can tell just by looking at Caidrial.
Transcendentalists use the accumulated power for various purposes.
You will have to use the power you have accumulated to exercise power directly, to give oracles, to make subordinates, or to make money to buy a cake at the store.
But he is not a transcendent.
Unable to accumulate empathy, all that power was consumed only to automatically amplify stats.
It is the simplest way to use a power with countless possibilities.
‘Users can’t gather sympathy, so emotions may be resolved along with empathy.’
As the water tank fills up, the pressure increases.
However, if you use the water immediately after it is filled, the water tank will be full of water and will not burst.
Likewise, if the raw material of empathy is emotion.
And if you use those emotions right away, you won’t be filled with emotions in your soul.
Then, it is possible to explain why the guild members are fine.
Just as a hose delivers water to a water tank, so the strings of the soul continue to convey their emotions to themselves.
‘I get it roughly.’
After guessing how to use empathy and how it works, Hyun finally nodded.
‘I don’t think it was because of the stat amplification that Caidrial emphasized empathy.’
Radix Island is full of energy that stirs emotions.
Anyone, even if there are millions of users who have reached level 400, is useless if they cannot use that power.
And the fact that ordinary people can’t do anything in the ‘upper area’ of the island is clearly known from the previous experience.
‘I’m guessing you’re using empathy to remove this status ailment?’
The Temple of Light is at the top of the island. Since it was placed in a place where human emotions were amplified the most, it was like a natural fortress that could not be penetrated by any magic circle.
Those who cannot control their emotions will not be able to set foot in the temple located at the top of the island.
but vice versa.
If you have a means called ’empathy’ to relieve your emotions, you will be able to break through that fortress without difficulty.
Hyun, who finished thinking, was able to get a sense of what to do next.
***
“what? You’re going up by the northern route?!”
The village shop owner was shocked by Hyun’s words.
Hyun replied calmly.
“I think it will be fine. I figured out how not to be ruled by my emotions.”
“her… What nonsense.”
It was natural that he could not easily believe Hyun’s words.
According to my lifelong experience, it was impossible for humans to overcome the aura of Radix Island.
Hyun’s statement that he had figured out the method sounded like Hyun’s misunderstanding or nonsense.
“Are you sure you want to go up?”
“Yes, I will go to bed early today and leave right at dawn tomorrow.”
“Even in the dark of dawn?!”
“Because there is the light of Gluna. If you really need it, you can use magic to shine light.”
“ah… You were followers of the light. anyway… .”
The store owner twitched as if words didn’t come out easily.
He was worried that the young man whom he liked in his own way would return as a madman.
“after… Do you know your northern route?”
“Can’t we just go upstairs?”
“Heh heh heh… .”
He soon let out a devastated laugh.
“You really don’t know anything. How dangerous is the road to the north… I know nothing.”
The shop owner was speechless.
It was after a long silence that he opened his mouth as if he had made up his mind.
“If you are so determined, I will introduce you to one of my acquaintances.”
“Who are you?”
“He knows the northern route. He is also the one closest to the servant of light.”
The moment he heard the word ‘servant of light’, Hyun’s eyebrows twitched so much that he couldn’t see them.
“… I must meet you.”
“Yes, I warn you in advance, but don’t even dream of climbing the island alone. It’s all for you.”
***
The shop owner told us the place.
About 500 meters up from the village, Hyeon could see a faintly shining magic circle hanging on a large tree.
This is the house where ‘those close to the servants of light’ live.
He lived alone and didn’t participate in the village’s festivals, so he must have been a bit of an eccentric.
“A servant of light… Aren’t you going to find out my identity?”
Louise asked anxiously.
Hyun was moving alone with Louise.
The rest of the party is either disconnecting or sleeping in the village.
You don’t know what will happen next or how much longer it will take to get to the temple.
It was because it was much safer to take a short break in the village than to encamp the NPCs Louise and Poppy.
“They are close to the servants. It won’t be a real servant.”
“right… I’m still anxious… .”
“I’m just going to ask for directions anyway, so it’ll be over soon.”
Fain! Fain!
Hyun and Louise climbed a huge tree and landed on a flat branch.
About 100 meters from the ground.
The small cabin overlooking the village was the house where someone unknown lived.
“Are you there?”
Hyun pretended to be popular.
Although I could see a blonde woman through the window, it was because she was praying with her eyes closed.
Kik-.
Soon the door opened.
As if not realizing Louise’s true identity, she greeted the group with a neat smile without hesitation.
“human… Are you a guest?”
nod
“It won’t be easy for humans to come to the north of the island… It seems you have special circumstances.”
“yes… little.”
“Now, both of you, please come in.”
The cabin was not spacious.
Only the things necessary for living were neatly arranged, so the term shelter seemed more appropriate than a house.
“pray… You were busy.”
Hyun glanced at the wooden statue on the table.
The figure of an armored man with large wings.
It was clear that it was a sculpted statue of the ‘Angel of Light’.
“no. I was just about to start. If I had been truly praying, I would not have heard their voices.”
‘ah… .’
Hyun immediately understood the meaning of her words.
A prayer technique learned from Lutia.
It is said that if you sink your consciousness to the limit, you won’t even hear the voice right next to you.
At that level, this woman must have a good understanding of prayer.
“so… What did you come for?”
Hyeon took a breath and began to tell her the purpose of his visit.
***
The blonde girl’s name is Ceseri.
The moment he saw him praying, he thought Hyeon might be a stiff priest, but fortunately, Ceseri was more communicative than he.
When I mentioned that I was going to climb the northern route, she gave Hyun and Louise a worried look.
“North… It is a dangerous place.”
“I know.”
“It is more dangerous than you can imagine. If you accidentally take the wrong path, you may need to recuperate for weeks, months, or even years at the longest.”
“The road… ?”
“The energy of the north is not uniform. Even if they look the same to strangers, they feel different to me.”
Saying so, Ceseri added that he had been carving out the northern route to the top of the island all his life.
“Human beings have a more fragile emotional vessel than Corcassians. I, the strongest in the village, haven’t reached the top of the island yet, but it’s even more difficult for you, a human.”
“If it’s not an excuse, my age… .”
“Twenty.”
“Ah yes… .”
Although she was young compared to the atmosphere she had, it is said that she devoted her life to pioneering the northern route anyway.
Hyun suddenly became curious.
Other Corcassians were extremely reluctant to climb high places. Some even expressed fear.
This is because the pain of amplifying emotions intensifies as you go to the upper part of Radix Island.
But, why would this girl want to go to the top of the island?
“My brother is waiting for you.”
When I asked why, he answered surprisingly easily.
Ceseri began a story related to her being called ‘one close to an attendant’.
“It is a story that has been handed down in the village since a very long time ago that the Korkes who reached the top of the island are chosen as servants of the light.”
“valet… ?”
“that’s right. My older brother became a servant first, so I intend to follow that path as well.”
Ceseri seemed to have a kind of longing for her brother.
“My brother’s talent was amazing. Others struggle with their strength even if they go a little higher than the village, but my brother often climbed the island to the height where he could see the temple.”
“Is that great?”
“Awesome! As soon as he became an adult, he was the first of the Corkes tribe to become a servant of light. Because that was the year right before I became an adult… That was already six years ago.”
“Um… .”
Hyungwon nodded quietly.
To the Corkes people, ‘going high’ is recognized as a great thing in itself.
It must be because you have to endure the amplifying emotions as you approach the temple.
When the Corkes people who overcame the battle with themselves reached the top of the island, they were selected as ‘servants’, which seemed to be a very honorable thing to go down in the history of the Corkes people.
“My older brother has pioneered dozens of northern routes since he was young. He could have reached the top at any time, but he waited until he became an adult.”
“What will become of the attendants?”
Suddenly, Louise asked.
It seemed tempting to hear that there might be a way to increase the load.
Hyeon took notice of the question, which sounded a bit rude, but Ceseri answered Louise’s questions without saying anything.
“It’s usually a contract.”
“contract… ?”
“I don’t know the details either. However, I know that making servants and subordinates is a very difficult task even for transcendentalists.”
‘It will require a tremendous amount of empathy.’
The method could be roughly guessed even in the prefecture.
It would be a long way for Louise, who couldn’t even handle empathy, to create subordinates herself.
“But there are cases that are not common.”
“how… ?!”
“fate… Would it be strange to say that?”
“It’s fate… ?”
“There are those who were designated as attendants from birth. It is said that such special beings become servants of angels without a separate contract… It has nothing to do with us.”
To summarize Ceseri’s long story:
The reason she wants to reach the temple is to follow her brother and become a servant of light.
However, climbing the island is extremely difficult and dangerous, so even six years have passed and we have not yet secured a single climbing route.
She says that the only way to become a servant is to reach the top of the island, so she is slowly developing a climbing route.
“Anyway, you should have understood that the road north of the island is very dangerous.”
“huh.”
“I still intend to go.”
“that’s right.”
Seseri did not hold back Hyun’s decision like the shop owner.
Instead, one quest was thrown.
“Do you see that peak?”
she said, pointing out the window.
A place about 1 kilometer away from here.
It was a place about twice as far from the ‘Pond of Silence’, where the coming-of-age ceremony of a Corkes boy was held.
“It’s a spiky tree. Please visit me under that giant tree by tomorrow morning.”
“Looks pretty high, doesn’t it?”
“that’s right. In addition, the energy is heavier than the surroundings, so it is a place that even adult corkes are reluctant to go to. But to get to the temple along the northern road, you’ll have to endure that level of emotional trembling casually.”
T-ring!
<Quest: Eligibility to Accompany>
-Wait for Seseri at the pointed tree north of town by 7:00 AM tomorrow.
(Reward: Seseri’s guidance)
Hyun, who read the contents of the quest, tilted his head.
Didn’t she say that she hadn’t reached the top yet and was still exploring a climbing route?
So, can’t we guide you to the temple?
The answer to that question could be found in Ceseri’s words immediately following.
“I can only take you where you can see the temple. The section after that must be climbed on your own. If the container of emotions is large, there will be no problem, but… If not, you will struggle like me.”
“hmm… . good.”
[You accepted the quest!]
Hyun accepted the quest without worrying too much.
It was because it was not that difficult to take everyone in the party to the quest location using empathy.
“then. See you tomorrow.”
The long conversation with Ceseri ended like that.
Was it boring? Louise was dropping her head in a daze.
Hyun thought it was fortunate that this place was not real.
If the strength stat was low, she would not have been able to jump down the giant tree while holding Louise, who had grown in size.
‘Should I go to bed soon too?’
A little tired from going through a lot of things.
When the festival was over and everyone was asleep, Hyun terminated Asrian’s connection.
In order not to be late for the quest, he vowed to wake Ain well tomorrow morning.
