A Transmigrator’s Privilege-Chapter 212
The gods remained silent.
As the silence stretched on, a growing heat surged within me.
It felt as if something was constantly rising up my throat, through my eyelids. Just as I barely managed to hold it back, it happened.
['The Seeker of Heavenly Secrets' sighs deeply with resignation.]
['The Seeker of Heavenly Secrets' says the protagonist is not dead yet.]
...What?
Tesilid is alive?
It made the nonsense I had been spouting seem all the more pointless, but I couldn't care less.
"Really?!"
Without thinking, I jumped up and shouted.
['The Seeker of Heavenly Secrets' confirms that the protagonist in this run does not die so easily.]
A positive confirmation. Yet, it was strangely loaded with meaning.
There was no time to ask more questions.
['The Seeker of Heavenly Secrets' disappears to reflect.]
I never expected such a favor from the Seeker of Heavenly Secrets. I was deeply grateful, then fell into thought.
First, I decided to look for proof that Tesilid was alive. Fortunately, he and I shared an inventory space.
I counted the potions. The healing potions, which had been stacked high, had been significantly reduced.
It meant Tesilid had been in intense battles while I slept.
'It’s not reduced now.'
According to the hint the Seeker of Heavenly Secrets gave, which went against ethical boundaries, his survival was guaranteed.
In other words, the battle had ended with his victory.
It was amazing that Tesilid had defeated an SS-class boss by himself.
Since the difficulty had been increased to kill me, could it be that when I exited due to Dungeon Sync, the difficulty reverted to normal?
If this hypothesis is correct, it would be best for me not to approach Tesilid.
According to the words of the 'Beast Cook', who had foretold a separation ending, Tesilid and I would be under threat of death for the next month.
The world would strangle us both in some other unpredictable way, so I needed to avoid a scenario where the threat level matched mine.
Thus, there were two ways to survive.
One was to wait here for one month in real time until Tesilid could survive on his own.
The other was...
"Seeker of Heavenly Secrets, I have a question. Does the genre change pass apply retroactively?"
['The Word of World-Building' passes the question to the Business Manager.]
['The Creation Economy Manager' says it is possible to do so.]
The answer came.
'Now I need to figure out how to gather the money I’m short on...'
But the space I was in wasn’t going to let me be still.
[ Preparation time is over. In 5 seconds, the ‘safe zone’ will disappear, and you will automatically participate in the religious ritual.]
...What’s this?
A dungeon that forces me to participate in a religious ritual?
Before I could process it, five seconds had passed.
Whoosh!
The cozy cave that surrounded me faded away.
A new environment unfolded in front of me. I found myself standing alone on a vast wasteland path.
"Where is this...?"
[ Event Dungeon ‘Pilgrim's Path’ has been activated.]
Just by hearing the name, I had a good idea of what it was going to require.
The system assigned me the task I had expected.
[ ‘Pilgrimage for Enlightenment (40-day course)’]
You must walk the ‘Pilgrim's Path’ and pass through 12 gates. At the end of the pilgrimage, enlightenment will await you.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
Success reward: Permission to exit the dungeon.
Failure penalty: Cannot exit the dungeon.]
The situation was sudden, but my mind remained relatively calm. I gathered my thoughts.
Until I completed the pilgrimage, I couldn’t leave the dungeon.
The quest was a 40-day course, and since the time ratio between the dungeon and the real world was 2.5 to 1, I would be stuck for 16 days according to the outside world's time.
'For 16 days, I’ll be safe here, but what about Tesilid out there...'
But it seemed like worrying about others wasn’t the issue right now.
['The Word of World-Building' clears its throat.]
Seeker?
['The Word of World-Building' confesses that the dungeon's difficulty has been raised to ‘Hell Mode’ to fill in the lack of coherence.]
...What did you say?
It was then.
Click, clink. Clang.
"...!"
I felt cold metal tightening around my wrists and ankles.
The handcuffs and shackles were connected by long chains, leading to something massive.
The object wasn’t a ball of iron, but a marble statue the size of a person.
I briefly admired it. The angel suspended on the cross was an impressive piece of artwork.
I tugged at it. It was quite heavy.
So, I activated an ultimate skill that would be perfect for such a situation.
[ Warning. ‘Queen’s Strength’ does not affect this target.]
The religious ritual had many restrictions.
It was asking me to carry this burden and go on a pilgrimage by myself.
But the increase in difficulty wasn’t only due to the weight of the shackles.
Whoooo!
Suddenly, a blizzard howled, and the world was completely covered in white.
It seemed like I was going to lose my vision in the storm. My eyelashes instantly froze.
At this point, the thought that the dungeon was safer than the outside world began to fade.
‘Can I last here for 40 days?’
['The Balance Adjusting Poison Tongue' expresses satisfaction, saying it’s a fine balance.]
"Haa..."
Simply hesitating and pacing around wouldn’t change the dungeon’s rules.
Once inside the dungeon, there was no choice but to follow its rules.
With my decision made, I pulled out winter gear from my inventory.
A fur cloak, gloves, scarf, ear warmers, and Ugg boots, all to armor myself against the cold.
Then, I grabbed the chains with the marble statue hanging from them, holding them tightly with both hands, and started walking.
“Hah, hah...”
['The Word of World-Building' expresses regret over the misguided design of this dungeon, which was never intended to cause you such suffering.]
Every step felt heavy and difficult.
I wondered if this was how Tesilid felt, walking the path of suffering while bearing the weight of the world.
'16 days. Stay safe, Terry.'
I walked, thinking of Tesilid’s face and the price of the genre change pass.
Eventually, I arrived at the first gate faster than I expected.
The snowstorm lessened, and my view cleared enough to reveal a giant archway.
It became clear how to pass through this kind of gate.
Defeat the gatekeeper.
As expected, a well-built old man in armor stepped forward.
The energy he exuded felt off. There was something oddly inhuman about him, and my instincts were right.
<Welcome, Heretic Saint.>
The voice carried the resonance typical of a spirit. From the way he spoke, he seemed to be a saint of the Order of Order.
I squinted at him. Despite meeting him for the first time, his face felt oddly familiar.
Screeeek.
At that moment, the sword the old man drew caught my attention.
It was the «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» exact same shape as Tesilid's holy sword, Libra.
"Could it be you...?"
Seeing my surprise, the old man proudly introduced himself.
<It seems you've recognized me. Yes, I am Valkus Odrek, the previous master of the holy sword, and one of the 11 saints who were listed in the ‘Order of Strict Order and Good’...>
“The Swordmaster’s host! Grandfather Eleonne!”
The disgrace of the Odrek family, who had massacred hundreds with the demonic sword. It was the moment his name was mentioned.
The old, wrinkled hero’s face twitched, and then—
KWA-AAAANG!
Two streams of aura shot out narrowly on either side of me.
<Prepare to die, Heretic Saint.>
