Chapter 369 - Unexpected Solace

"Who the hell are you?" Macheo was the first to speak up in the face of the enigmatic visitor. 

"Oh, forgive me," The mysterious man said," I'm the shopkeeper!"

Though his explanation didn't cease any of his oddities, still sticking out through the miniature door. 

"It'd be faster to show you rather than to tell! Come, come!"

The odd man ushered them inside as he disappeared back through the tiny door. Sitting there in silence for a few moments, they looked between one another--questioning the risk of following such a strange figure. 

"...He probably sells shrunken heads," Ren muttered.

"Don't joke like that," Iris nudged him with her elbow.

"You think I'm joking?!" He replied. 

After the group was indecisive on following through, of all people, the quiet, verdant-haired scholar took the initiative as he squeezed between the others, crawling through the small entrance of the mystical shop. 

"Should you really be going in so recklessly…?" Ren reached out to Mencius, but the man already entered the shop. 

From what could be seen from the small, claustrophobic entrance, the enigmatic establishment lying behind the door was well lit with a sparkly clean, smooth flooring of wood with an almost nostalgic fragrance of pine to it. 

"...I suppose it's worth a gander," Fedrin said as he suddenly pushed through, crawling through the door. 

With two already taking the dive, Aiko and Macheo followed through as well--leaving the remaining outside eyes on Ren as he finally caved in with a sigh. 

"Fine, fine, I'll go!" Not wanting to be any more late, Ren followed through as well. 

He got on his hands and knees, crawling through the small entrance--adjusting the sword at his hip as it briefly got caught on the narrow threshold of the miniature door. 

Being helped onto his feet by Fedrin's assistance, he rose--lifting his head to a scenery both unexpected and magical. 

"What the…" 

It was all he could utter as he looked up at the vast, immaculate space belonging to the shopkeeper; by no means did the peculiar, small entrance represent what existed inside. 

Existing past the doorway as a different domain in itself; squeaky clean, wooden floors that wrapped circularly around an unorthodox tower in the middle of the domain. 

Sometimes this place really throws me for a loop...sometimes good, sometimes bad, he thought. 

Connecting to the wooden walls, high-set bookshelves and corridors leading to unseen rooms sat high above the ground floor, all supported by velvet bridges. Above it all was a ceiling of stained glass that bore the complexion of the azure sky. 

By the fragrant aroma emitting from the open windows visibly, and by the homey structure of the wooden tower, it didn't hold any ill intent. Around the colossal tower that stretched high into the ceiling of an unknown height, small shops were set up, run by beings just as peculiar as the self-proclaimed shopkeeper. 

Shuffling through the last few members of the Weltwanders entered the odd establishment, with the crimson-furred panda having to be assisted in by the pull of Jae-Seong and Valerie. 

"Just what is this place exactly? This doesn't strike me as just a simple shop," Mencius asked, stepping forward. 

"A fair question!" The shopkeeper replied, spreading his arms as if presenting the area, "This is Purgatory's finest and final bazaar, a last reprieve for challengers before continuing to the last floor--"The Warrior's Resting Ground"! I am Gerund, I call myself the shopkeeper, but it's more accurate to say it's my job to keep things in check around this bazaar." 

"A name like that doesn't sound very uplifting…" Ren muttered, peering over the gilded railings. 

Below the base floor, a dozen shops waited, lifting a stomach-waking mixture of aroma that drew Ren down the stairs, with Hongse following without hesitation. 

"Oh, great, he's discovered the food," Valerie sighed.

"He's going to spend all of his crimson coins," Aiko added worryingly. 

Though such notions were tossed aside as Gerund waved his hand with a cheerful smile, "Oh, don't worry about such things for even a moment! Such commodities are prepared specifically to reward your valor thus far in Purgatory! Eat your fill!" 

"...You're going to regret saying that," Aiko chuckled wrly. 

"Oh?" Gerund peered back. 

By some fashion of unseen speed, the crimson panda was already gobbling up dumplings at a rapid speed like a fearsome animal ravaging the first food market he encountered. Taking his time, leisurely and without a care in the world, Ren blissfully consumed a pair of onigiri, holding three as he switched between each with every bite. 

"Just like home, but with the spices from this world...so this is what Purgatory is all about, huh? Maybe it's not so bad after all," Ren spoke with a mouthful, though his words were aimed at the quiet, perplexed merchant. 

"Heaven!...It's Heaven!" Hongse proclaimed with words thickened by the grub stuffed in his cheeks. 

"What do you have there? Let me try!" Ren squeezed by the large panda, fighting him for the last remaining, steaming dumpling. 

The others watched with a slight sense of shame, though Iris, Fedrin, and Aiko chuckled at the sight. 

At last he is able to relax...You've worked so hard, Ren, Iris thought. 

"They're already in their own world," Macheo muttered, though his stomach growled in response to his words. 

"Can't say I blame them. The game we've had to hunt isn't particularly...lavish," Jae-Seong smiled. 

A droplet of sweat trickled down Gerund's cheek as he chuckled, "Well, that's fine…Anyway, it'd be my pleasure to guide you all through the tower." 

"If you would, please," Fedrin bowed slightly with gratitude. 

As the group began to follow the short-in-stature keeper of the odd domain, Valerie grabbed both Hongse and Ren, retrieving them from their gluttonous indulgences. 

"Woah."

Ren stopped in front of the group, looking up at the door that served as the welcoming entrance of the tower. 

In complete contrast to the tiny entrance before, this door stood firm and tall, taking a more circular shape with amber wood, reinforced by well-kempt metal. 

"Right this way!"

Gerund stepped up the triple-set of stairs before grabbing onto the handle of the large door, opening it with a wide smile. 

With the parting of the singular gate, a fragrance greeted the entirety of the Weltwanderers. In the midst of Purgatory, a land that held in a mixture of wretched smells of death and disease, what met their noses could only be described as "heavenly". 

The moment he stepped inside the tower, he was engulfed by the busy, evermoving nature of it--having to dodge a quickly passing, peculiar-complexion man dressed in white garments similar to a chef. 

"Welcome to the Tower of Balam! This is the first floor: the lounge hall! It is the paradigm of relaxation!"