195 - - the depths of the fog

"Why,...... even me?"

In the small boat attached to the belly of the flying dragon, Garudo mutters something that I have heard before.

Thor places a hand on his shoulder quietly, without saying a word.

Moo, who was sitting on Thor's lap, imitated him and touched Garudo's side.

The bearded shieldman, whose eyes narrowed for a moment, exhaled deeply and shook his head, as if the soft touch of a child's hand reminded him of his beloved daughter.

"Well, it can't be helped. I'll go along with you if you come this far."

"Okay, I'll fly!"

Chita's relaxed voice rang out from directly above us, and her large wings began to flap up and down.

Immediately, Sora and Yuril, who were holding onto the edge of the boat, hurriedly stretched out their necks and looked directly down.

The women let out a bouncy sound as they watched the ground move away from them with the wind.

Moo saw this and struggled, but when Thor hugged her tightly, she gave up and relaxed.

Actually, he had been very insistent about getting into the pilot's seat of the flying dragon before we left.

However, Chita had insisted that it would be better for him to stay with Thor this time, so he had given up.

The child with a slightly pouty face loosened the mouth of the leather bag around his neck and bit into the pine nuts he had put in it.

Garudo, with a gentle smile on his face, strokes the child's head and turns to Thor.

"So, what was all that about?　Can you explain it to me one more time?"

"I can't say that I understand it properly either. Mr. Yuril, can you help me?

Yes, I'll take care of it.

Yuril returned in a good mood, his long ears swaying happily.

As usual, he seems to love the flying dragon boat.

Perhaps noticing the expressions on the faces of Thor and the others, the former teacher cleared her throat and then opened her mouth.

"First of all, as a prerequisite, you need to know a certain fact. Basically, this is a matter that is only revealed to adventurers who have been given a high rank by the temple.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

Well, between you and me. And even if it's in the sky, it's probably the same as being in a swamp with a C rank.

That's why they forced you on me.

Yes, let's get back to class. Do you know what it takes to be recognized as a hero?

Garudo gives an exaggerated shrug to a question that could easily be answered by a child in Boundary Street.

"Unless it's a trick or something, you have to defeat the master of the fixed dungeon deep in the miasma area."

Yes, that is correct. Yes, that is correct. But actually, there is something more to do after that. If it's a normal type of dungeon, the maze will be closed once the labyrinth master is defeated.

"That's right. ............ Is it possible that the maelstrom is still there?"

Yes, it's still there.

At Yuril's casual reply, Garudo stops moving with his mouth slightly open.

So Sola, who had been standing next to Thor listening to the conversation, asked a question as if to take over the conversation.

"Well, what have you been doing so far?"

Yes, we need something to plug the hole. That is a vessel called a relic.

They are the traces left on earth by the gods who rule the spirits, fragments of their power.

They are called relics.

"Adventurers who may approach the maelstrom are secretly handed these relics and taught how to use them."

"That's completely new to me. Why don't you make it public?"

"Unlike ordinary vessels, relics grow by feeding on people's emotions and memories. So ......"

"You said that the God of Fire sucks out our desires."

"I see, you don't want to say too much about that."

"There's another big reason, too."

The relics used to seal off the great miasma lose most of their power.

Therefore, they must be placed in temples on a yearly basis to regain their divine power.

Naturally, the relics from other temples that are not used are carried over to the next one.

In other words, the state of the relics changes from temple to temple.

"Since this is related to the sealing of the maelstrom, all the temples want to keep the relics as secret as possible."

In fact, depending on the scale of the miasma and the condition of the relics, it may not be possible to seal the hole with just one relic.

It is not always advantageous to use the relic first, so there is a game of tactics and exploration.

"It's a complicated story, isn't it? Hmmm, it's like hiding a piece you've taken. So, the liberation temple was used the other day at the ant's nest in Bossalia, and the king's piece is now empty around it. So now they're arguing over which piece to use to make the king's move.

"Hey, that's even more confusing than it already is."

"That's true, but perhaps they are trying to buy time. New relics are sometimes brought from the great temples in the home country.

"Wow, do you have them in your home country?"

Yes, the temples in the border towns possess only a share of the principal image owned by the Great Temple.

"I see. I learned a lot, Dr. Euril.

Sola is impressed by Yuril's erudition, which is a far cry from last night.

The ash-eared beauty, perhaps noticing Thor's gaze, looked puzzled and explained the reason.

"Perhaps, Mr. Chiru showed an interest in me because he wanted to confirm my possession of the relic.

"Oh, was that so?"

"Hmmm, I wouldn't normally ask such an old man to marry me."

"............I hear it's hard to tell how old ash-eared people are, but I guess it's true."

Garudo muttered in disgust, but then gave a glance to Thor as if a thought had just occurred to him.

"Oh, I remember the God of Time and the God of the Air. I've never heard of a temple for the Central God. Then, relics as well?

"Yeah, I don't have any."

No wonder they're so desperate for you, then.

Two people who had nothing to do with the relic, a temple magician with little influence, and a child of tender years.

It is no wonder that they are considered perfect additions to our forces.

Scratching under his chin, Thor thought back to the one place where the shrine of the sky god was located.

Finally, he notices a vibration in his thigh.

"What's wrong?　Moo."

The next thing I knew, the child on my lap was shivering as she buried her face in Thor's chest.

Thora also noticed the suspicious behavior and hurriedly called out to the child.

"Moo-chan, are you all right?　Are you sick?"

Shaking his head, the child lifted his finger and pointed forward in a fearful manner.

"I'm getting a very bad ......, very bad ......, feeling over there, Tor-chan."

"I see it!"

Just in time, Chita's voice comes down from overhead.

At these words, Thor looked over the side of the boat to check the view below.

Over the blackness of the swamp, a blue blob appears as if it has been blown out of the swamp.

It is the encampment of the Thunderclap.

From there, a narrow path, winding like a blood vessel, leads to a new encampment.

From the campsite of the "Bearers of the Burning Flame" whose banner is fluttering, to the campsite of the Storm Peak Alliance.　　

And at the end of the road, a strange structure.

A pyramidal stone structure emerging from the mud.

That must be the entrance to the abandoned underground prison.

"What is ........................?"

Thor, who had looked further out, let out an involuntary yelp.

Around the underground prison, giants of mud and poison stood scattered about.

Behind them, he spotted a shadow of unusual size.

It must be at least three times as tall as the giant in the foreground.

It is not only the size that is eye-catching.

Its head was covered with numerous long, protruding hairs of mud that looked like hair.

Some of its hair reaches the ground because of the way it is bent over at the waist.

In addition, his oddly thin hands clutched an unusually long buried wooden club.

She looked like an old woman dragging her disheveled hair and wielding a cane.

Suddenly, her head moved up and down, and what seemed like white breath escaped from her mouth.

Thor immediately understood the identity of the familiar white breath.

--That monster is creating the noxious mist.

Stunned and speechless, Thor feels a warm, wet sensation spreading across his knees.