Chapter 85

★ A Long, Long Corridor ★

There was not a single light in any direction, and even when he tried to produce light with magic, it was mysteriously only the area around him that was faintly illuminated, but the surroundings remained unlit.

By spreading his arms, he could touch the walls on either side, confirming that he was undoubtedly moving down a straight path.

However, as he walked down this path, minutes passed, 30 minutes passed, an hour passed, and eventually, he lost track of how much time had passed. He couldn’t tell if he was going down, going up, turning, or moving in a straight line, and he began to feel as if his body was floating in a vacuum of darkness.

At first, he called out to his companions who were supposed to be nearby, but gradually, he began to feel as if he was the only one in the world.

“Haa, haa, haa….”

His breath was heavy, sweat dripped down, his legs felt heavy, and his physical strength was reaching its limit.

“Haa, haa, haa….”

His exhalations and heartbeat were the only proof that he was still alive.

“Haa, haa, haa….”

Eventually, his body seemed to dissolve into the darkness, and he felt as if only his lungs and heart were moving forward.

His consciousness became clear, and deep rest and insight were born.

“The elements that form the covenant are the ‘Heavenly Gifted Pearl,’ the ‘Covenanters,’ and the ‘Mediator.’”

These three are inviolable.

That’s why the Mediator couldn’t destroy the ‘One Heaven Altar’ that produces Heavenly Gifted Pearls, nor could they come to this corridor beneath the altar.

In the Holy Kingdom of Kurvaan, the Covenanter, the Holy King, fought the Mediator, but before the dome was destroyed, the Mediator couldn’t inflict damage. The Mediator defeated the Grand Knight of the Holy King but didn’t attack the Holy King. They knew it was meaningless because the Holy King was inviolable.

“You must not take too many Heavenly Gifted Pearls.”

The covenant contains such a warning, but it doesn’t specify what happens if you take too many.

—The Heavenly Gifted Pearls are ‘given by the gods’… but I also believe they are ‘cyclical.’ Yes, I am the only one who says this in the Holy Palace. The Heavenly Gifted Pearls that disappear in this world go to the ‘Other World,’ and the Heavenly Gifted Pearls that disappear in the ‘Other World’ come to this world.

El said this. If this hypothesis is correct, it aligns with the warning not to take too many.

The mountain of Heavenly Gifted Pearls that the ‘One Heaven Altar’ in the ‘Other World’ spewed out. There should be more with four or more stars, but—of course, the higher the number of stars, the lower the production rate, and the more stars, the more light they emit, making them easier to find.

As far as I can remember, there are no Heavenly Gifted Pearls with four or more stars in the vast undergrowth.

(‘In the ‘Surface World,’ Heavenly Gifted Pearls with many stars were valuable and traded for very high prices. Using [Orb Removal], they were also removed when the user was seriously ill.)

—One star is worth one silver coin, enough to buy three meals at a city restaurant. Two stars are worth 100 silver coins.

—100 coins!? By the way, what about six stars?

—They have no value.

I suddenly remembered the conversation with the old man Hinga at the ‘Six Heaven Mine.’

Heavenly Gifted Pearls that are so valuable they have no price are treated with great care. In fact, even in a large country like the Holy Kingdom of Kurvaan, which has the ‘One Heaven Altar’ that produces Heavenly Gifted Pearls, there are only seven with five or more stars, and these have been stored by noble families for generations.

(Stopping the circulation of rare Heavenly Gifted Pearls in the ‘Surface World’ meant they no longer circulated in the ‘Other World.’ Therefore, in the ‘Other World,’ people lacked the means to fight against fierce monsters and their numbers steadily decreased.)

Of course, the presence of giant species in the ‘Other World’ makes it a harsher world.

If I told El about the covenant and the ‘Other World,’ she would probably be delighted. El believed that the breaking of the covenant would cause monsters to surge from the ‘Other World.’ She might have already known that the balance of Heavenly Gifted Pearls between the two worlds was disrupted, leading to the proliferation of monsters in the ‘Other World.’

—Actually, this is not my idea. It was proposed by Dr. Hinga, who was the leading expert in the interpretation of ancient documents related to the ‘Covenant’ and the ‘Other World,’ as well as the study of ‘Heavenly Gifted Pearls.’ It was a paper from over 20 years ago…

El learned many things from the old man Hinga’s research.

—My existence is to receive punishment. I committed a sin that cannot be atoned for by death. However, I have been blessed with the fortune of seeing the light of day at the end. Almighty God, who governs heaven and earth, I pray that you grant this cursed child your blessing…

The old man Hinga said this at the end.

The old man Hinga was researching Heavenly Gifted Pearls, but was that a ‘sin’? A sin so grave that it cannot be atoned for by death?

(What did the old man Hinga do…?)

Does his granddaughter, Lulsha, still have the old man Hinga’s papers? Reading them might provide some clues.

I hope the monsters that fell from the red crack in the sky didn’t destroy them…

Right, when I return to the ‘Surface World,’ I need to go to the Red Magic Empire.

What happened to the red crack?

And—Lark.

Is Lark still safe?

Knowing Lark, he’s probably taking unnecessary risks, saying things like, “This is nothing, nothing at all.”

I need to stop him.

My little brother, I need to.

★ Red Magic Empire, Red Gate Frontline ★

Aba was busy every day. With the armies of various countries arriving one after another, coordinating among the high-ranking officials was all his responsibility.

If there was a mistake in his work, it could affect hundreds or thousands of soldiers, and if he made a mistake, they might not even receive food and suffer from hunger—especially since they were fighting for their homeland, the Red Magic Empire. Aba couldn’t afford to let his guard down for a moment.

He would return to his tent to take a short nap, but would immediately wake up and rush outside.

“……?”

That day, he suddenly noticed a magical device in the corner of his tent.

It was a silver metal plate, about 25 centimeters in diameter, mounted on a stand.

It was a magical device to confirm the survival of Rai, who had traveled to the ‘Other World.’ Normally, it would emit a low hum when he put his ear close, but since the adventurers, the ‘Silver Scales,’ had left with Lulsha to investigate the ‘Labyrinth of Nine Emotions,’ Aba hadn’t checked it much.

He thought about listening to it today—when a subordinate’s voice startled him, “Sir Aba! The meeting is starting!”

“Understood. I’ll be right there.”

He grabbed the documents under his arm and rushed out of the tent.

The magical device was humming—Uuuu—but the vibration was getting stronger. The silver metal plate, like a dish, began to shake on the stand, and then—

—Crack.

It split in two.

Aba, who was so busy he couldn’t even return to his tent to sleep, didn’t notice this for several days.

This concludes Chapter 4.

The next chapter, Chapter 5, “Dragon and Demon, Sacrifice and Sin,” will begin without an epilogue.

Also, a new volume of “The Undetectable Strongest Job” has been released!

It’s available at bookstores nationwide. Please check it out!