The pitch black statues all looked surprised. And furious. The young men, the elders, the girls. Or even the gods of other species. They all had that look of despair and denial.
“Ahh, Lord Gardekie. How pathetic you look… And when you had boasted so much about how your eventual end would be proud and glorious…”
He was crawling on all fours, desperate to escape the petrification.
“But do not worry. The person who did this to you is already…”
She turned to the side to face the boney plague rat. He was holding his head and screaming at his own wretchedness.
Evacus’s status was set up high. And behind it was a giant throne.
There were over a hundred statues around her. And they were all positioned to face the rat.
“‘Feast of Frenzy and Usurpation’… I trust you all enjoyed it thoroughly.”
While gazing at each god, Yesta walked through the hall.
An ominous display of statues of the defeated. Every time the games were held, this special exhibition took place without the other gods knowing. Yesta nodded with satisfaction, and then stepped towards an undecorated spot.
“Eventually, this spot will also be filled.”
She sighed with impatience.
“At least one of the two pillars…”
The scene around her blurred like a mist, and then abruptly coalesced into focus.
In a wooden office furnished with old fittings, a young man was facing a mechanical tablet.
‘Yes, there won’t be a problem. The leveling up is going smoothly.’
“Yasuharu Hanuma. The Seer’s Hero.”
She walked through the room and peered into his tablet. Her long black hair touched his face, but he did not appear to notice.
Of course, he did not. The goddess of time could visit anyone. But no human would be able to see her.
‘There are not many dungeons in Limris, and there is hardly any organized resistance. The problem is the northern Kaitar fortress and the Temeria forest lands. With siege defense and guerrilla combat tactics, it is difficult for either side to gain significant advantages.’
‘I expected desperate resistance, but perhaps the information from Saliashe got through. They’re likely trying to prevent our unit’s leveling-up by refusing to engage.’
It was also not difficult for her to listen to the words being spoken to the Hero. Though, she would not do anything in response.
‘After this expedition is completed, you will head to Kaitar as well. And you must let the other cities know. That you are headed to the Kaitar capital of Gai Straum.’
‘Understood.’
The young man answered calmly.
‘And how is the growth of the Giant Slayer going?’
‘Currently, members were selected from the Adventurers, and they were sent to the Limris dungeon. Their average level has exceeded twenty.’
The images of the unrefined men and women moved across the screen. Her eyes landed on the man who had been chosen as the leader, and then the scene around Yesta changed.
This time, she was in a world of darkness, surrounded by damp stone.
There was a giant glowing rock, and men and women were talking excitedly while looking at it.
‘…Now we’ve beaten the fourth dungeon.’
“Poro. The man who joined the Hero’s army after having his village burned down.”
He was not wearing the standard armor, burn thick, iron-plated armor. Next to him, there was a woman who wore light armor.
‘You. What happened to your level?’
‘Twenty-three now. I want to get some new skills, but I don’t have enough points.’
His face was confident, and he held his sword with familiarity. There was no sign of him being shaken over being so deep within a monster dungeon.
‘Captain Poro. We finished dealing with the magic stone. We’re ready to return to the surface now.’
‘Still, I’ve gotten used to fighting with this team.’
A giant with a warhammer and a middle-aged sorcerer joined them a moment later. The captain looked a little embarrassed for a moment, and then became serious.
‘Alright, let’s go back. We can leave the rest to the next unit.’
‘Ahh, I’m tired. I’m going to have a drink as soon as we get back.’
‘That won’t do. Our captain is obsessed with leveling up. He’ll want to head to the next dungeon immediately.’
‘Don’t worry. I’ll take it easy on you today. And in exchange, we are going to take on one dungeon per day, starting tomorrow!’
The others chuckled or screamed at Poro’s declaration. But he enjoyed testing his strength and was smiling.
In his eyes shone a hope for the future. There was no sign of the man who had been crushed by the guilt of letting his wife and child die.