The five sacred relics were scattered across the north, south, east, and west, centered around the capital.
Fortunately, two of these relics were located in the northern region.
When Edelmar called for Yan, he appeared and unfolded a large map on the table.
It was a detailed map that showed mountains, fields, and roads.
“Fend Territory,”
Edelmar said, confirming the Fend Territory as he looked westward.
“We’ll have to use the gate.”
Ian nodded and pointed to the gate near the capital with his finger.
“From here, we’ll take the gate…”
His finger moved to Quarch Territory, located a short distance from Fend Territory.
“…and move there.”
“Are we riding horses this time?”
“No, a secretary has arranged a carriage to wait for us at Quarch Territory.”
Before departing, Ian had already used a communication stone to instruct Fred to make preparations and leave immediately to avoid any delays. The carriage must have arrived by now.
“Hmm.”
Edelmar looked down at the map, deep in thought.
After staring at the map for a while, Edelmar suddenly stood up.
“Understood. I’ll see you later.”
Ending the conversation abruptly, Edelmar left. Ian tilted his head in confusion, watching Edelmar’s back.
‘What is this unsettling feeling?’
***
In the early dawn, while the miners snored away in their sleep, Ian woke up from bed, changed his clothes, and picked up Rose.
Rose whimpered softly at the sudden movement, but Ian soothed her as he pulled out a thin blanket and wrapped it around both himself and Rose for safety.
Holding Rose securely, Ian knocked on the door of the next room.
The door opened quickly, and Edelmar, who didn’t seem groggy at all, stepped out.
“Are you not bringing the wolf?”
“No, it’s too much trouble.”
Even managing Rose was enough for Ian. He didn’t see the need to take care of the wolf cub, which was constantly eyeing his treasure.
“Then let’s go.”
Nodding, Ian opened his mouth while visualizing something in his mind.
“Ermenia. Wings.”
A pair of white wings appeared behind Ian’s back.
The wings, neatly folded, were as tall as Ian himself.
Edelmar, witnessing this for the first time, reached out his hand.
He felt a silk-like softness under his touch.
“Can you feel me touching it?”
Ian shook his head.
“So the sensation isn’t connected.”
“It’s an illusion.”
Even when materialized, it remained an illusion.
Edelmar brushed his hand over the wings several times before finally letting go.
Then, he opened a window in the hallway and jumped out.
Without hesitation, Ian followed suit, jumping through the window.
As a result, his wings began to move slowly.
The fluttering wings stably lifted Ian and the Rose cradled in his arms into the air.
When Ian imagined the wings moving, he could adjust not only their direction but also their speed as he wished.
“Duke, you’re not planning to leave me behind, are you?”
Hearing the shout from below, Ian slowly descended.
He extended his hand.
“Grab on.”
Ian’s face showed clear reluctance, a stark contrast to when he held Rose’s hand.
Edelmar, finding him amusing, took hold of Ian’s hand.
“Let’s go up.”
As Edelmar gripped Ian’s hand tightly, the wings grew larger, lifting the two of them into the air.
“Hmm, it’s more comfortable than I expected.”
‘That’s because I’m the one moving,’
Ignoring Edelmar’s delighted expression, which resembled someone enjoying an amusing ride, Ian increased the speed.
Still, he worried about Rose catching a cold in his arms.
‘Perhaps I could create a protective barrier, like glass, in front.’
Though it was just a passing thought, Ermenia didn’t miss it.
The fierce wind blowing against them stopped abruptly.
“What did you do?”
“I blocked the wind,”
When Edelmar reached out, he felt a transparent barrier.
“Intriguing.”
“It’s nothing to be surprised about,”
Ian responded curtly as he further increased their speed.
It took only a moment to reach the summit.
As Ian slowly descended and his feet touched the ground, the wings vanished along with the glow surrounding them.
“Let’s try flying down next time. It’s quite entertaining.”
“No. We’ll walk down,”
At the moment, Ian couldn’t supply mana to Ermenia.
Previously, Ermenia had consumed much of his mana, allowing him to use illusions without providing mana. Otherwise, he would have had to climb purely on foot.
Even while using the materialized wings to ascend, Ian felt uneasy.
He worried that the wings might disappear if the mana supply was cut off.
If that were to happen, he’d use magic even if it meant coughing up blood, but Rose might wake up from the sudden sensation of falling.
Since Rose would need to rely on materialized wings in the future, experiencing a fall could make it difficult for her to use them.
Materialized wings were incredibly useful, so Ian hoped Rose would be able to utilize them.
“So, how do we proceed from here?”
“I’ll take the lead,”
“Alright,”
True to the name ‘Stone Mountain,’ the peak was covered entirely in rocks, with no sign of weeds.
After walking for a long time along the ridge, Ian suddenly began descending the mountain.
Edelmar followed Ian without questioning the abrupt descent.
After passing a massive boulder and walking through winding paths for several minutes, Ian stopped in front of a large rock.
He reached out his hand.
Expecting to feel solid stone, his hand instead passed through it.
Edelmar observed him and said,
“An illusion.”
“Yes.”
He stepped toward the boulder.
Just before impact, the rock disappeared, revealing the dark entrance to a cave.
Contrary to expectations, the inside of the cave wasn’t very dark.
Moonlight streamed in through cracks in the ceiling.
Ian and Edelmar moved forward, brushing past droplets of water falling from stalactites.
“The sacred relic is hidden here, right?”
“That’s right.”
Ian kept scanning the cave as they advanced.
‘This feels just like searching for the Elixir of Life.’
He recalled a wuxia romance fantasy novel his niece enjoyed besides <Garden Flower>.
In those stories, the protagonist would always find a miraculous elixir at the end of a cave where they hid from their enemies. The elixir would grant them immense power to defeat their foes, becoming a key episode.
‘Now that I think about it, it’s quite similar.’
Although he wasn’t escaping from an enemy, Ian couldn’t help but notice the resemblance between the wuxia elixirs and this world’s ‘sacred relics.’
‘Did the gods read wuxia novels too?’
He thought, smiling at the absurd idea.
At that moment, the cold, dripping stalactites disappeared, and a well-crafted marble corridor appeared.
“What’s this?”
Edelmar muttered, surprised by the sudden change.
Torches hanging on both sides of the corridor lit up one after another.
The blazing flames illuminated the previously dark corridor brightly.
“Looks like they’re welcoming us,”
Contrary to Edelmar’s statement, Ian felt a sense of foreboding.
‘In situations like this, it’s usually a trap,’
Just moments ago, he felt like a protagonist discovering power by chance. Now, he felt more like a thief intruding on an abandoned temple.
“We should proceed with caution,”
Edelmar glanced at him and nodded.
The two moved forward slowly, their senses heightened.
However, contrary to their expectations, the pristine marble corridor remained eerily silent, making their wariness seem unnecessary.
At the end of the corridor, Ian stood before a massive marble door adorned with intricate carvings.
The carvings depicted a god descending with flowing hair, accompanied by three apostles.
While the apostles wore stern expressions, the god had closed eyes with streams resembling tears running down his cheeks.
Below the god and apostles were people writhing in agony.
“It’s a door engraved with the reason for the god’s tears. The sacred relic must be inside,”
“Yes,”
Ian replied briefly, when Ian pushed the door, it opened silently and smoothly, contrary to the expected creak of dust and age.
Despite the door being tall enough to reach the ceiling, the space inside was surprisingly small.
“Is that it?”
Edelmar asked, pointing at the center of the room.
In the small chamber, there was a short pedestal made of old wood.
Sitting atop the pedestal was a chalice, exactly as Ian had envisioned.
Ian extended his hand and picked up the chalice.
The liquid inside trembled violently, almost spilling over but never actually did.
“Go ahead and drink it,”
“Should I leave some for you?”
“Hmm? Can you leave some?”
“Yes. A single sip is enough.”
The apostle of the great temple had imprinted the location and usage of the sacred relics into Ian’s mind.
Each of the five sacred relics had a different method of use.
For the chalice, only a single sip of the liquid—referred to as the god’s tears—was required.
Despite the dust filling the chamber, the chalice was impeccably clean.
Ian took a sip of the god’s tears from the chalice.
“How does it feel?”
Edelmar asked as Ian lowered the chalice from his lips.
“It feels… nothing out of the ordinary.”
It was true.
There was no distinct taste, nor did he feel a surge of power like in wuxia novels.
It just felt like drinking water.
However, this lack of sensation didn’t last long. Ian began to feel his body becoming lighter.
Moreover, a refreshing energy seemed to move within him.
“Why don’t you try it?”
“Can I?”
“If it’s not allowed, they’ll definetly intervene.”
Since it contained divine power, it wouldn’t likely have a negative effect.
Without hesitation, Ian handed the chalice to Edelmar.
Edelmar, who had been unable to take his eyes off the chalice, reached out to grab it.
However, as with the boulder earlier, Edelmar’s hand passed through the chalice, unable to hold it.
No matter how many times he tried, the result was the same.
“Looks like I can’t.”
Edelmar’s voice was filled with disappointment.
Ian placed the chalice back on the pedestal.
The moment he did, the chalice glowed brightly before disappearing in an instant.
“Wow.”
If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, Edelmar wouldn’t have believed such a miraculous sight.
“So, you really did meet an apostle?”
“Did you doubt me?”
“Only about halfway.”
Ian stared at Edelmar with a dumbfounded expression.
“Then why did you follow me?”
“If meeting an apostle was just an excuse, I was curious about what you’d do next.”
Ian shook his head in exasperation and turned away.
At that moment, the door behind them closed on its own.
