122nd time
Samaritan of Black Rock Mountain
122 – Samaritan of Black Rock Mountain #3
Black Rock Mountain? Pandemona.
The true identity of the name Black Rock was the basalt rocks formed by volcanic activity.
As soon as I reached the foot of the mountain, I could already feel the geothermal heat boiling over me, and sweat was running down my face. Is the volcano still active?
Oh my, I’ve been to so many volcanoes in my life. The only volcano I’ve been to was Mt. Halla, which I went to with a school group when I was in high school. But is Mt. Halla a dormant volcano or an extinct volcano?
Anyway, this volcano Pandemona that I was stepping on right now was clearly an active volcano with magma boiling deep beneath it even now.
We decide to step onto the barren mountain where not a single tree or blade of grass can be found, perhaps because the activity is so strong.
I was confident because I had been climbing mountains since I was little, but climbing a mountain full of hot geothermal energy was quite difficult.
Hot, hot.
I frowned at the pungent smell of sulfur and asked.
“Is there really a spring in a place like this?”
No one answered my question.
This volcano was originally considered a forbidden or sanctuary, so no one had ever been there.
When I was climbing up the rocky mountain like that.
All around the area, I could see what I could call broken stone statues or fragments of buildings.
I was panting and frowning, wondering what on earth that was.
“I never thought I would come to Pluto’s sanctuary.”
Paranoia opens his mouth as if he knows something.
“what?”
“Here, the Black Mountain Pandemona was originally Pluto’s territory. However, I heard that the Venus believers invaded and destroyed and stole all the sacred objects, including the temple… .”
Malco, who was climbing the mountain while mumbling at Paranoy’s words, also pretends to know and joins in.
Malko is the type who likes to show off what he knows, so I think he can’t help but feel his mouth watering when he reveals something he knows.
“I have heard that story myself. The temple of Venus is now the most powerful, but it is said that it was once a battleground where believers fought and shed blood.”
It seems that in this world, there was something like a war where believers fought among themselves.
“… It’s really terribly destroyed. Although I am now a follower of Vesta, I still feel like this sight is a bit too much for someone who owes grace to Pluto.”
What good is it that different believers are fighting over the mountain? I wonder if the sulfur and other things near the volcano are considered quite valuable.
“Joe, let’s take a break and go-.”
Luna gasped heavily and sat down on a nearby rock, apparently exhausted from carrying the heavy jar.
Since I had been climbing the mountain for about an hour without stopping, I thought it would be a good idea to take a break.
“Then let’s take a break here. I’ll rest for about twenty minutes, so you keep an eye on the time.”
“Okay, brother. Five songs should be enough.”
Diriring.
I feel like this little guy, Malko, has an internal clock, and he’s incredibly good at telling the time.
He’s got a knack for timing things accurately. That’s a pretty awesome ability, but he’s also pretty useless.
Why did you bring this kid here?
However, it seems that when drawing the black spring water, a bard must accompany them. That must be why the Saintess of Venus also asked Malco and me.
Why on earth is that?
Did the minstrels form a union among themselves and come up with a quota system for casting calls? Something like the color quota system in Hollywood movies.
Anyway, we put down our luggage and weapons and relaxed our tired bodies with Malco’s singing in the background.
Sval, I’m already carrying heavy loads, and the scorching heat is killing me.
Indeed, I guess this is what veteran adventurers mostly do. Still, it was fortunate that there were no monsters or robbers popping out.
Could it be because the land was so barren that no monsters or living creatures could survive?
Looking at the scattered bone fragments and broken stone slabs, it seems easy to understand why this place was designated as a sanctuary for Pluto, the god of death.
A land where life cannot exist.
A mountain that is hot, humid, and even smells strange.
It reminds me of my hometown because it seems to contain all the elements of the health food I used to hate so much.
There must still be all sorts of things bubbling there. Even the smell of the medicinal bath that sticks to your body like a wet sauna will remain the same.
While I was slightly lost in my memories.
Luna sat up and rustled the rocks on the floor with her palms.
“Luna, what are you doing?”
“Huh? Oh, since we’ve finally come to Rocky Mountain, I’m going to see if there are any useful elixir ingredients. If not, maybe some horned lizards would be nice! Or ants!”
“What are you going to use the ants for?”
“That, that’s a secret.”
Pass, pass.
Luna searched among the rocks and stones for a long time. However, there was no way that the materials Luna was looking for could be found in this mountain where everything was just twisted and dried by the scorching heat.
Black sand.
Black stone.
There is only black rock.
However, as Luna continued to dig up the dirt here and there, seemingly unable to give up, Paranoy, who had been watching from the side, opened his mouth.
“… I, Luna, there is nothing here.”
“okay?”
“In this dead land there is nothing but the possessions of death….”
The possession of death. It was somewhat eerie when Paranoy, who had once been active as a cultist, said it.
* * *
It was true that there was a temple on this black mountain, as there were stone steps that looked like stairs starting from the middle of the mountain.
The entrance to the mountain was quite tiring because of the steep slope and rolling rocks, but once I climbed the stairs, climbing to the top was not a big problem.
The mountaintop we arrived at was a wide lake that looked like a volcanic crater. What is this called? A caldera lake?
The only difference from the caldera lakes I knew was that what filled it was not blue waves, but a strange, bubbling black liquid.
“Wow, Hassan, the water is really black.”
“It’s a sight that brings to mind a strange evil image.”
A lake full of black water.
Its appearance is truly that of a sea of death.
It was truly like a sea of death. If you fell deep into a place like that, you would never find your body and just sink deep into the ground.
Sval, that’s fucking scary.
As I turned my eyes to the eerie sight, I saw traces of a building that looked similar to the Guild of Mars or the Temple of Venus next to the lake.
The broken roof, the broken and fallen pillars here and there, and the like are reminiscent of the ruined Mars Guild after it was attacked by cultists.
The only difference is that the traces and fragments of this building were all made of black rocks.
“Hey, this is Pluto’s temple… .”
The old cultist Paranoy trembled as if he was deeply moved by having come to the ruined temple of the old god.
“P, Pluto’s temple…!”
Shit, isn’t this guy a little bit converted? Maybe a few slaps to the head would make him feel better?
While I was seriously contemplating whether or not to hit him.
Malko took out the other musical instrument he had been carrying on his back and headed towards the ruins of the broken temple.
“Why don’t you go inside? It seems that a purification ceremony is required to draw water from the spring. It means that you must greet the owner of this land.”
At those words, our group all followed Malko into the ruins of the temple. Just like what we had seen from the outside, the interior was also terribly damaged and broken, with nothing left intact.
But broken things have their own sense of oppression.
“Wow, what is this?”
I opened my mouth wide at the giant stone statue located in the center of the temple. In front of me, a black stone statue as tall as a two-story building sat powerfully.
The statue depicts a muscular man with a sturdy build.
But it has no head.
It is very grotesque and creepy because only the head part is cleanly cut off and smashed.
On the other hand, it seems to fit well with the atmosphere of this black, broken temple because it has no head.
The head must have been deliberately cut off or smashed by someone, since this area is known for frequent fights between believers of different gods.
“Hassan, this is Pluto, the god of treasure and wealth.”
Luna came next to me and whispered something. Then she put her hands together and muttered something as if reciting a spell.
“Pluto, the god of treasure, please make me rich quickly. Also-.”
Pluto is said to be the god of death and also the god of wealth. All the treasures and minerals that fill the underground are Pluto’s, so he is said to be the richest among the gods.
Although Pluto has a negative image because it is an object of worship for cults that serve death, it seems to be an object of worship for those who wish for financial luck.
However, having fought several life-or-death duels with the cultists, I did not like the idea of having to pray in front of this headless statue.
“…I, Hassan.”
The nymph Paranoy spoke to me cautiously, perhaps because she was concerned about my appearance.
“Hey, Hassan, don’t you pray?”
“I don’t have any hobbies like that.”
“… Well, how about trying to pray just once? Since we have come to Pluto’s temple, maybe we will receive an unexpected answer.”
It’s not just the devil’s temptation that he’s groping and whispering to me as if he’s about to do something terribly bad. Is he an imp or a nymph?
“That, that… Isn’t Hassan-nim familiar enough with the magic of hell to handle that separate Kalan without any problems? Pluto-nim may well listen to Hassan-nim’s prayers.”
“…really?”
“… It’s true.”
“What the heck is real? This kid still hasn’t lost his social skills.”
I hit Paranoy’s head with my fist. Paranoy grabbed his head with a thud.
“Huh-!”
I thought I was going to hit him gently, but maybe because his strength level had increased, Paranoy was unusually distressed. I felt a little embarrassed and sorry at the sight.
If I continue to engage in this kind of social behavior, I will be met with spears from angry people instead of my honey chest, so this was the violence necessary to rehabilitate and educate Paranoy.
“How dare you whisper such shallow sorcery in my ear.”
“Seriously, just this once… .”
“Don’t do it, kid.”
It was at that moment when I was responding to Paranoy, who was clutching his head and groaning in pain, with a firm growl. Luna, who had been kneeling and praying for a long time, stood up from her seat and spoke to me.
“Hassan, last time I prayed to the God of Light, all the fog cleared away. If I pray to Pluto, will it rain gold from the sky?”
“Is that so?”
Luna’s words sounded quite plausible. When I prayed to the God of Light, 200 task points were consumed, and the fog covering Kallan evaporated.
The land, which used to be a swamp so muddy that crocodiles would haunt it, is now covered with colorful flowers.
As it happens, I also have 282 tasks saved.
If we pray at Pluto’s temple like this, won’t it rain gold coins from the sky like Luna said?
“Ahem, huh ahem, well then let’s give it a try.”
“Didn’t you hit your head when I was talking to you…?”
“Be quiet.”
I ignored the grumbling Paranoy, cleared my throat a few times, and took my place in front of the giant stone statue.
“Gido-.”
The method of prayer is to line up the food items that were stored in the backpack as before and bow twice in front of them.
The so-called Samaritan version of a makeshift sacrificial table.
“Hehehe, brother, it’s a strange prayer method whenever I see it. I wonder what will happen-.”
“Shh, be quiet, Kojang.”
Luna gave a warning to Malco who was talking to me.
“Huh.”
Malco kept his mouth shut and just watched my strange ritual. Paranoy, standing next to him, also just stared at me with his eyes wide open.
With everyone’s attention focused on me, I finished both bows and shouted loudly into the air.
“P, long live Pluto!”
and.
silence.
… .
stillness.
I rolled my eyes around for several minutes, unable to even swallow my saliva in anticipation of what on earth was going to happen.
There is no sign that anything is about to happen.
“Hey, Sval. Nothing’s happening.”
I stood up, shaking my knees, feeling extremely embarrassed and ashamed. My face felt hot as if I had turned into a clown.
Luna must have noticed that I was being overly shy, so she soon patted my back with her palm.
“I guess Pluto is busy, Hassan. He must be busy dealing with the souls that flock to the basement every day. He must not have heard.”
However, the paranoia next to him only repeated, “That’s strange,” like a broken parrot, as if something was wrong.
Then, soon, Paranoy grabs my sleeve.
“Ha, can’t you try it one more time?”
“Hey, I’m surprised. Why are you grabbing onto something so carelessly? Your clothes are stretching.”
“Oh, I think the prayer was wrong. How about praying with more sincerity…!? If the prayer is difficult, I will teach you. Father in the deep earth, please give us our daily bread today… .”
I sensed the fanaticism typical of cults from the current Paranoy. It must have been a mistake to bring him to a place like this when the water of conversion had not yet subsided.
Should I hit the chestnut more?
“Hurry up, hurry up and try! Father who is in the deep land-.”
“Sval, why is this headless statue my father? Get out of the way-.”
That was the moment when I shook off the paranoia.
“Huh, huh-!?”
The force of the blow was stronger than expected, and the paranoia bounced back like someone who had fallen over a rock.
The guy hits his face hard enough to make a loud thud against the strange stone statue in front of us and falls down.
“Kueeek-!”
In a situation that looked extremely painful, Malko, Luna, and I each frowned and let out a “Ugh-.”
“Ugh, this is really going to hurt. Hassan, you’d better apologize to Paranoy.”
“No, I told you not to hold on to me.”
“Ah, it hurts, euhaaah-. Blood, blood! Blood!?”
“Hey, are you okay? I didn’t do it on purpose. I’m sorry.”
I walked towards the guy, supporting the bleeding Paranoy.
Honest, honest, honest.
At that very moment, the huge stone statue in front of us suddenly cracked. A small crack appeared and it shattered.
WHACK! WHACK!
And from the cracked gap, a fair amount of coins began to fall.
“Oh, shh.”
“… Shh, Hassan, that’s a gold coin…! There’s a gold coin inside the statue…!”
[Work Review]
Oh my gosh, so many people have thrown me so many 100 won coins…!!!
This is my first time receiving this many coupons, so I’m really confused..!!
Michuri is barking…!!
Karrkrrrr, woof, woof woof, woof!!! Arrr arrrrr!!
