Temple of Time
When my vision returned to normal.
Kang Hanbyeol and I, having entered the gate, were standing in an arched passageway.
We calmly kept watch over our surroundings.
“…Looks like there aren’t any enemies nearby.”
“Yeah, just like the Chairwoman said.”
The inside of the passage was not very dark.
It was thanks to the lanterns lining the walls.
So we could look around without much difficulty, without having to use magic to illuminate the darkness.
‘The way we need to go… must be over there.’
Behind us lurked a darkness beyond which nothing could be seen.
It was a world that did not belong to the gate.
In contrast, ahead of us, a path of lanterns stretched far into the distance.
“Let’s move.”
“Yeah, let’s.”
We advanced along the path of lanterns.
It was then that messages appeared in my vision.
[Once, there was a king who ruled the world.]
[The king was kinder and wiser than anyone, strong, and above all, great.]
[However, no matter how much of a king he was, before the flow of time, he was nothing more than a mere mortal.]
[Even a king who could possess and enjoy everything he desired could not defy death alone.]
[Thus, the king feared that the death which would one day come for him might cause him to lose everything he had accomplished in vain, to the point of being tormented by madness.]
[As time passed, that fear gradually robbed the king of his brilliance.]
A message clearly different from the ones I had seen in gates until now, which had merely conveyed the clear conditions.
From green gates onward, the scenario behind the creation of the world was often mentioned like this.
[An undying, eternal life.]
[The king, entering his final years, yearned for it all the more.]
[It was around then that he came across the legend of the stake that stopped time.]
[“If it is the Stake of Time, it will surely be able to stop my death as well. Therefore, find the Stake of Time and bring it to me. If you do, I shall grant you anything you desire. Half the world, or even all of it—I will give it to you.”]
[The king gave his command.]
[And so, only on the verge of death, the king finally obtained the Stake of Time and made a wish.]
[“Stop time forever so that my soul does not perish. The same goes for those in the temple. Let them not die, and let them serve me for all eternity.”]
I had read it once in the game, and it was also written in the guidebook So Hyeyul had given me.
I quickly skimmed through the messages.
[The Stake of Time answered his wish.]
[However, contrary to the king’s expectations, the wish was fulfilled in a distorted manner.]
[For the target whose time was stopped was limited solely to the soul.]
[It did not reach the flesh.]
[As a result, the king and his retainers were transformed into beings alive in dead bodies.]
[This is the temple where they were sealed.]
No more messages appeared.
Meanwhile, it was something I had felt even when playing the game, but.
What exactly had the retainers who served that foolish king done wrong?
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
“What kind of king is that?”
“That’s why he’s the foolish king, I guess.”
Kang Hanbyeol seemed to feel the same way.
I nodded to show I agreed with him.
Soon, after passing through the long passage, we emerged into a vast space.
“…”
A space made of dark blue rock.
Ahead of us, a temple of pure white marble was buried, with only its entrance standing out.
And in front of the entrance….
It was then that a message appeared.
[The monsters guarding the Temple of Time, the “Gatekeepers of the Foolish King,” have detected intruders.]
[Clear conditions will be conveyed.]
[Subjugate the monsters.]
[Gatekeeper of the Foolish King (Rank. 02) x 2]
Skeleton soldiers that had been standing like ornaments beside the pillars at the entrance of the Temple of Time.
The creatures, red light flashing in their eye sockets, creaked as they began to move.
In that state, they approached us and drew their swords.
This… is… the king’s… temple….
No… one… may… in…vade….
“Every time this happens, it feels so strange. Did the gate accommodate us or something? How do they know Korean?”
“This might sound out of nowhere, but yeah. Or maybe it’s not the gate, and these guys are just language ability users?”
The skeleton soldiers transmitted their thoughts while clattering their jawbones.
Facing them, we snickered, then soon took our battle stances.
“Hanbyeol, I’ll take the left.”
“Got it. Then I’ll take the right.”
The instant those words ended.
Kicking off the ground, Kang Hanbyeol and I scattered left and right.
‘Rank 2 monsters can’t be a match for us as we are now.’
Whether the skeleton soldiers, reacting sluggishly like rusted machines, swung their swords or not.
I charged in without the slightest hesitation and closed the distance between us.
‘The problem is that they’re undead-type….’
All monsters, without exception, possessed a mana stone that served as the core of their existence.
Generally, it was inside their bodies.
However, undead-type monsters tended to contain their mana stones not inside their bodies, but within a virtual space.
That was why, in order to subjugate them, you had to knock them down again and again until they reached a state where they could no longer maintain that virtual space.
Or you could oppose them with attacks that carried a conflicting, demon-breaking effect.
If not that….
‘Use a special artifact.’
As it happened, there was an artifact So Hyeyul had prepared so we could clear the gate smoothly.
I took out the left hand I had been clutching inside my pocket and scattered ash over the creatures.
A consumable artifact that could eliminate undead-type monsters of Rank 5 or lower in one go, extremely difficult to obtain on the market.
Its effect was indeed certain.
Wh…at are… you doing…?
“Why ask when you know?”
A skeleton soldier wearing light armor.
On the left side of the creature’s chest, in the empty space within its ribs where the ash had struck, a blue gem suddenly revealed itself.
Saved the trouble of wasting strength on this thing from the entrance onward, I raised the corners of my mouth.
“Goodbye.”
I… see…. Thank….
A skeleton soldier that could not revive after dying was nothing more than a mere skeleton.
I brought the Navy Sword down with all my might and smashed it apart.
The heap of bones, its mana stone fallen to the floor, turned into particles of mana and vanished.
‘Looks like Hanbyeol did well too.’
By then, Kang Hanbyeol had finished his battle as well.
Soon, we picked up the mana stones and stepped into the entrance of the Temple of Time.
A long corridor stretched out before us.
“You know there are traps from here on, right? I’ll take the lead, so make sure you follow me from behind.”
“We have the Chairwoman’s guidebook, but all right! I’ll trust you, Gyeonu!”
From now on, I would rely on Evasion Instinct.
I ran down the corridor first, leading Kang Hanbyeol.
[The “Foolish King” feels displeasure at the presence of intruders.]
[Traps prepared for intruders are activating in certain areas of the Temple of Time.]
[The next clear conditions will be conveyed.]
[Pass through the entrance corridor and move to the small assembly hall.]
* * *
There were many, many doors in the Temple of Time.
Naturally, there was no way to know what lay beyond a door until it was opened.
If one was lucky, treasure might come out, or it might simply be an empty room; if one was unlucky, dangerous elements such as monsters or traps might be waiting.
That was why opening doors required special caution, but….
‘That doesn’t apply to us.’
As someone who had been a veteran of the game in my previous life, I had a rough grasp of what lay beyond each door.
On top of that, there was the guidebook So Hyeyul had provided in advance.
Thanks to that, we were able to proceed with the clear efficiently, taking what needed to be taken without any particular difficulty.
And at last.
“Is it here?”
“It should be. The guidebook says it’s here.”
We arrived before the door where the Stake of Time was stored.
The door, made of gold as though specially distinguished from all the others, was embossed with delicate patterns.
And several layers of magic whose formulas could not be deciphered were overlaid upon it.
‘If only we could take the door off and sell it, it’d go for whatever price we named….’
“If it’s pure gold of this size, it must be insanely expensive, right? Tch, what a shame we can’t take it outside.”
It seemed Kang Hanbyeol had been thinking something similar to me.
Unfortunately, however, even if we took the door off and somehow got it out of the gate, it would only be wasted effort.
Any substance not permitted by the gate would turn into particles of mana and disappear the moment it left the gate’s world.
Knowing that fact all too well, we could only smack our lips in regret.
Meanwhile, I placed my hand on the door.
[Though his flesh rotted away, until in the end only bones remained.]
[The Foolish King, having obtained even just eternal life for his soul, was able to be satisfied with that.]
[At the same time, however, he was afraid.]
[“Without the stake, I will die. I must guard it so it is not stolen by others. Attend me—make a room no one would dare approach. I shall store the stake there.”]
[Worry is endless by nature.]
[The Foolish King commanded once more.]
[And so, this room was created.]
[The door to this room will never open by any means except the key.]
[Continue the clear.]
[Among countless doors, find the door that leads to the audience chamber of the Foolish King.]
Judging by the messages appearing, this door seemed certain.
I brushed the messages away with my hand and said to Kang Hanbyeol,
“Hanbyeol, let’s use the key.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Kang Hanbyeol took out the metal plaque.
When he infused the mana within his body into it, the golden metal plaque regained its true form.
Before I knew it, he was holding a large golden key.
When he inserted it into the keyhole.
Click!
[Using the Key of the Chosen One.]
[The door to the Foolish King’s Secret Garden opens.]
The magic dwelling in the door disappeared, and the sound of the lock turning could be heard from within.
A message also appeared.
We immediately pushed the door open.
Rumble!
The heavy door opened smoothly without catching on anything.
Meeting each other’s eyes, we smiled.
Then we looked around the space unfolding beyond the door.
“Wow….”
“…”
It was enough for Kang Hanbyeol to let out an exclamation.
While the Temple of Time we had passed through gave off a desolate atmosphere, as if many long years had gone by.
Here, around the pure white marble floor that crossed the center, greenery grew and water flowed.
It was reminiscent of a flower garden.
It was then that a message appeared.
[You have discovered the hidden world, “Foolish King’s Secret Garden,” for the first time.]
[For 24 hours from this point on, the drop rate and combat experience gained in this gate will greatly increase.]
Gates often had hidden worlds not known to the outside.
When one discovered them for the first time, messages like this could be found.
‘That’s why, in my previous life, I spent a period rummaging through all kinds of gates to find hidden gates.’
It had been one of the charms of the game.
Meanwhile, the next message that appeared was visible only to me.
[You have achieved the feat of discovering a hidden world within a gate.]
[You have obtained the title “Explorer of the Unknown.”]
The title one always obtained when first discovering a hidden world: Explorer of the Unknown.
Explorer of the Unknown had the effect of increasing drop rates and combat experience according to the number of hidden worlds discovered.
It was fairly suitable for farming spoils in gates or raising physical stats.
[The clear conditions are changing.]
[Please wait a moment.]
‘Now, let’s find the stake.’
Clearing my vision, I lifted my head.
Stairs lay at the far end of the pure white path.
The Stake of Time was floating in the air above those stairs.
Platinum-colored particles also drifted around it.
“This… is the stake, right?”
“Yeah. It’s what the Chairwoman requested.”
We climbed the stairs and took in the Stake of Time up close.
A mystical aura seemed to emanate from the golden stake.
‘It should be about time….’
Kang Hanbyeol asked for my opinion, saying, “What do we do now?”
I stopped him from carelessly touching the Stake of Time and kept my eyes fixed on my vision.
At last.
[This is the Foolish King’s Secret Garden, where the Stake of Time is stored.]
[The Foolish King, in preparation for the unlikely event that a being other than himself invaded this place, entrusted the protection of the Stake of Time to a familiar bound to him by a soul contract.]
[After that, a long, long time passed.]
[The familiar was reborn as a new being by the Stake of Time.]
The moment the message I had been waiting for appeared.
I said to Kang Hanbyeol,
“Hanbyeol, get ready to fight.”
“…So there’s something here. Got it.”
Right then.
At the foot of the stairs, above the pure white path, the air seemed to ripple.
Thud!
Something suddenly fell from midair and landed on the floor with a sound that shook the earth.
It was the creature.
“…”
A shape standing on two legs, glimpsed through the cloud of dust.
Soon, as the dust cleared, we were able to recognize it.
Kirrrk.
“Gyeonu, that’s….”
A monster covered in a scorpion’s distinctive shell, with an elongated head and tail.
The aura it emitted was anything but ordinary.
To shake off the pressure, we immediately manifested the mana within our bodies.
[The Foolish King’s familiar, “Loyal Scorpio,” will not forgive the intruders.]
[New clear conditions will be conveyed.]
[Subjugate the monster.]
[Loyal Scorpio (Rank. 04, Hidden Boss) x 1]
[You have been exposed to Pressure.]
[All stats decrease by 15%.]
[Skill “Courage Lv 7” activates.]
[Stats reduced by Pressure are compensated by up to 17%.]
[The decreased stats are restored.]
[Due to the skill “Courage Lv 7,” concentration and evasion rate increase by 15%.]
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss