322 - The Fall of the Empire 2

TL/Editor: raei

Schedule: 5/week

Illustrations: Posted in discord

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In a corner of the temple, away from the chaotic situation outside, Grace climbed up a column like a monkey and smiled.

Watching her, I thought I might be able to push off and jump up too. I tapped the column with my gauntlet-covered hand and realized it wasn’t just a simple pillar but a symbol with a religious purpose and a perch for noble harpies.

“This... the walls are densely engraved with something.”

“The stone dwarves' craftsmanship seems a bit odd....”

The harpies wouldn’t look down at the column walls from up there, so what was the point? Or maybe it was a craftsman’s subtle rebellion, putting their best work on the parts harpies wouldn’t see.

These idle thoughts passed, but the important thing was what Grace had discovered. It was something hard to see from below, visible only from the top of the column.

Katie, agile as she was, could climb up on her own. I was deciding whether to carry Irene and Han Se-ah on my shoulders or lift them one by one when I heard a rumbling sound. Turning my head, I saw Han Se-ah waving her staff.

“Alright, let’s go up... huh, what?”

-Does the mage have no awareness? She’s acting all proud while everyone else is climbing.

-Lol, she’s definitely doing it for content. Don’t fall for it, it’s all a money grab.

-Forbes’ #1 for not understanding romantic opportunities.

-You said you’d support her!

“You see? I made stairs... what, why?”

Han Se-ah, collecting stones from the empty floor, quickly created a spiral staircase up the column. Proud of her magic control, she puffed out her chest and beamed, but was quickly overwhelmed by the barrage of comments from the viewers.

As she turned, Han Se-ah found herself face to face with Irene, who had naturally come to my side to lean on me. Irene, who had planned to be carried like Grace before, was now blushing awkwardly because of the sudden appearance of stairs.

“Let’s go up.”

“Ah, right, eek!”

Seeing her hesitation, I found it cute and crouched down, offering my arm as a seat and supporting her gently. Lifting her easily, I formed a steady perch for her, with my arm as a sturdy seat.

Startled, she let out a small scream but soon clung to my shoulder, balancing herself against my chest. As I stepped onto the spiral staircase Han Se-ah made and jumped up, I saw Katie, who had already climbed up out of curiosity.

There were elite versions of the subterranean bugs that crawled out of the ground. The harpies, who had turned from monsters to NPCs, had elite versions known as red harpies. If the mid-boss on the 45th floor was an immature entity, there might be an ancient tentacle worm related to the founding myth of the Harpy Empire deeper underground.

As an adventurer, it was a bit hasty to make such assumptions with only two clues, but as a gamer looking at a quest log, it was a reasonable deduction.

[Secret Place Found Deep in the Cave]

[Inside was a poorly crafted altar]

[Who made the crudely drawn mural of harpies?]

[The beautifully constructed harpy city exploited stone dwarves]

[The harpy empress’s temple had beautiful murals]

[Could the creature in the painting be related to the monster we encountered underground last time?]

The quest log, activated at the altar in the hidden cave, progressed to the next content as we climbed up to the top of the temple columns.

-If the same thing appears twice in a game, it's usually emphasizing something.

-But isn't there only one temple in the city?

-Temples aren’t like local churches fighting for believers. There's only one.

-This place isn't like Korea, where crosses are everywhere.

-I visited Korea once, and the sheer number of red neon crosses was overwhelming

While we each had different thoughts and admired the stone dwarves' masterpiece, we heard the sound of wings. Along with the fierce wind, a large harpy appeared.

"Who are you!"

A large red harpy of commander rank, appeared while we were quietly appreciating the artwork. Her sharp voice immediately treated us as enemies, and her tense, uncovered thighs seemed ready to throw a spear at any moment.

There had been no particular obstruction until we reached the temple. Why suddenly appear here and cause a ruckus? The mercenaries outside were still creating chaos.

I was ready to jump into action, having left my large shield at the base of the column, but the commander-level harpy pulled out handcuffs instead of a spear.

“That’s a seat for the high-ranking ones! You wingless things!”

There was only one reason for the commotion.

The hierarchy system.