Naneow's eyes widened in surprise at my words. "You... think you know?"

Her expression said she hadn't expected that at all. Yet, even in that moment, the Venomous Eye I had absorbed from Eland, the Tower Master of Innocence, activated itself.

[Skill: Magical Alchemy Lv. 3 activated.]

[Skill: Venomous Eye Lv. 3 activated.]

Perhaps it was limited by my level. The machine had separated the components, but I could only identify half of them at best. Still, I could clearly see the one element Naneow couldn't recognize.

Naneow quietly stepped aside, deciding to trust me.

I drew closer to the analyzer and checked the system messages flashing before my eyes once more. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

[Solenoid #A7D012 (Fermion, Juplin, Sarkhil): Signature material of Eland, Tower Master of Innocence. Bound in a synthetic antiferromagnetic state by torque variables. Withstood analyzer pressure without decomposition. Imprint: Eland.]

Eland. I recalled the white powder flying in the wind, and the laughter that accompanied alchemical experiments that slaughtered entire villages. The master of this place could only be Eland, the Tower Master of Innocence.

He was the very man who had crossed the capital's walls in flight right after the imperial army was annihilated. If he had lingered here beneath the abyss and then slipped away leisurely, then it all fit together. In addition, the fact that I alone could discern what Naneow could not meant the essence I absorbed carried functions beyond mere skills.

It was heritage. When I had used the swordsmanship absorbed from Marquis Leandro, the man himself had been stunned. Even Rayleigh had acknowledged it as Leandro's technique.

Skills and levels might exist as separate entities, but within them was a deeper truth, the unique essence of the one absorbed, unseen by the system's messages. I explained the recipe displayed below.

Naneow's gaze faltered. "How on earth do you know this?"

She was a comrade who had accompanied me all the way here. There was nothing to hide. I confessed the truth about Essence Absorption and that I had absorbed her essence as well. Instead of unease, she only showed keen fascination.

"Remarkable..." Naneow commented.

Thinking of how I had kept silent before Rena while Naneow was present now felt almost laughable.

Her voice carried a light, genuine cheer. "Good! Let's save time. Aside from the signature, what else can you identify?"

"Nettle, jord, moon's joy, dawn parsley, volcanic dindle, thistle..."

Thanks to my Lv. 2 Plant Material Harvesting skill, many of the components I recognized were plants.

"Bring me those. I'll gather the rest. Let's finish the mix quickly and move on."

Naneow was already in motion.

***

[Participated in the creation of the signature reagent.]

[Experience in related skills has increased greatly.]

[Skill: Magical Alchemy Lv. 3...]

[Skill: Venomous Eye Lv. 3...]

[Skill level increased.]

[Magical Alchemy Lv. 3 → Lv. 4]

[Venomous Eye Lv. 3 → Lv. 4]

We produced a full liter of the solution, and my skills rose with it.

"Perfect, let's go!"

Naneow poured the reagent into a vessel five times larger than the one on the desk and flung it toward the ring.

Fwoosh!

The flames burst apart. Beyond the ring, a massive violet tunnel stretched nearly twice its diameter.

"Wasn't that a bit much?" I asked.

"No need to worry. The path just widened, not the destination. With reactive portals like this, the amount of reagent doesn't shift the coordinates."

That was another new piece of knowledge.

"Let's go!" Naneow exclaimed.

No one could say how far the portal truly reached, but with one step, we collapsed that distance. Magic trampled over the systems painstakingly built by countless humans through discipline and order.

I recalled the words from Kevin Ashton's book: A mage most fears being among the crowd.

Due to the excess reagent, the passage was stable, even comfortable. The fiery ring stretched and passed us in an instant. Where we arrived was nothing like the violet tunnel we had seen. Instead, a green meadow spread before us.

"Another illusion?" I asked.

The meadow lay in perfect calm. It reminded me of the first place I had entered, though smaller, and far more pleasant. If that had been an ecosystem, this would have been a paradise garden.

Birds chirped in peace. Flowers from every season bloomed at once in their prime. A white stag passed by, stepping on blossoms that slowly lifted their heads again after being crushed. Clear water flowed through the stream, its banks heavy with ripe fruit ready for picking: the soil, the trees, the wind, all radiated warmth. A faint golden radiance shone everywhere.

It was unlike any surface land, any meadow within a barrier, any volcanic cavern, or endless tunnel. Fish swam in the brook, deer wandered the forests, swans glided on the lake, flowers bloomed, fruit trees spread, and sheep grazed in the pasture. Yet, there were fish turned belly-up on the shore as though offering themselves for human hands, and sheep willingly pressed against the shearing knife tethered in the pasture.

"This looks familiar somehow..." I mumbled.

However, those were only props. The true essence lay in the golden light, like a soft mist that filled the air.

Humans, wrapped in a faint golden glow, drifted about in little more than white garments. Their eyes were vacant, hollow of thought, as they wandered barefoot through the grass, plucked fruit from the trees, lay breathing softly in flowerbeds, or stroked the flanks of deer.

Their gaze held none of the burdens of human anguish. Even those coupled together in the act of lovemaking wore the same empty look. There was no fiery passion of desire or glint of obsession, no fierce gaze protesting unfairness, no icy glare reserved for enemies, and no eyes heavy with pity or sorrow. If life in the mortal world was sharp and restless from want, then life here was blurred by abundance.

It felt like an illusion given form. They enjoyed this place wholly, without a single stray thought to cloud their faces. Yet when I focused on them one by one, their vital responses were undeniably human.

"This place is..." Naneow closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again. "Heaven...?"

Heaven was meant to be the dwelling of the saved through faith. Of course, this could not be that. This was buried four levels beneath the imperial underground, bound by distorted wards and layered with locks. No goddess's doctrine permitted mortals to enter heaven in the flesh.

Perhaps she knew it as well, for her expression soon tightened. "They sealed the upper levels tight, only to live here in luxury. There's mind-distorting magic layered on top of it all."

"Mind-distorting magic?" I echoed.

"There's a wide-area debuff over this whole place. Listen carefully."

We could hear the murmur of water, the whisper of the wind, and the calls of birds. Beneath the sound of blooming flowers, music drifted faintly from a great temple beyond.

The soft notes spread evenly in all directions, so subtle they seemed woven into the air itself. The melody merged with the golden glow of the landscape, shaking at the edges of my perception. It felt leisurely. Peaceful. I felt as though the notes were filling the empty spaces in my mind. I could stop here and be happy here.

"Do you hear it?" Naneow asked.

"Brainwashing?"

"It's not severe, but it's strong enough to ensnare you if you let your guard down. As long as anyone anchors their mind, they can resist."

As if to prove it, Miyu padded along Leandro's trail, its eyes perfectly steady and unclouded. "Neigh!"

Behind the temple stood a massive granite stele. A complex sigil carved into its center glowed faintly, while the two symbols flanking it remained dark.

Faith will allow thou to live.

"A stone of sacrament," Naneow murmured. "Larger than the ones housed in the capital's main temple. These symbols can't be carved by hand. They occur naturally."

"The lit one... that's Ilien's sigil, isn't it?"

Even the most basic doctrinal study was enough to recognize it. Leandro had passed through this area.

"You're right. Normally it would require faith, but perhaps he used a relic to activate it. I can't imagine him having any true belief."

The trail led straight to the temple.

All who are weary, come to me.

That was the inscription written over the gate of the great outer sanctuary.

"It says, 'Come to me.' Think we'll be allowed through without incident this time?"

I pointed ahead. "There. There's a human."

Across the lone staircase leading to the inner sanctuary, three figures awaited. Like the others, they wore nothing but white robes. Unlike the vacant-eyed masses, however, these three noticed our approach.

The woman in the center raised a hand in greeting. "Welcome. Are you following the one who passed by earlier?"

The woman had long black hair and a gentle, smiling face. The two men at her sides lounged lazily, their expressions languid. All three looked utterly carefree. Even when their eyes fell on me, their faces barely shifted.

I stepped forward. "You won't stop us?"

The clerics shook their heads.

"We are but servants tasked with stabilization. Whatever happens inside is not our concern. Since you've come this far, we have no reason to bar your way."

"Kinokhapden, Procyon, and Inonesoven," Naneow said slowly. "I did not expect to see the most promising candidates of the temples in a place like this."

"We seek mercy."

"We are nothing more than humble servants."

"Promising? We are the dullest flock, unable to understand until told."

At her words, the three clerics merely gave languid smiles. They didn't even ask who we were.

"Famous people?" I asked.

"Extremely. Which makes their presence here all the more suspicious."

"Even so, we can't waste time lingering."

I felt uneasy. We had lost too much time brewing the reagent, and Leandro might have pulled too far ahead.

Naneow nodded. We strode straight toward the great door in the inner sanctuary.

The clerics did not hinder us, but when we were five steps from the threshold, we heard an explosion.

BOOM!