Chapter 1370 Golden Road Challenge Part 1

After we go through the gate to the temple, we find ourselves passing through a rather long corridor. And after we keep on walking for about several meters, I start to rethink my opinion on this place. Yes, that is most definitely a temple. There is no way that an extraordinary place like that was actually a mansion or even a fortified castle. The mental images inside of my mind were simply not clicking with the definitions known to us.

「For some reason, there are a lot of mural paintings here. And why do I get the feeling that the scenes depicted on them convey some really strong and important messages?」

「Don’t you think that the information about those things would sell for a whole lot to the “Library”? Just asking out of curiosity, mind you.」

「They are all extremely abstract, that’s for sure…… No, well, I mean, that’s what you would expect from something like this, but still……」

Those murals look somewhat similar to the ones that you would find in ancient Egypt, now that I think about it…… No, that’s can’t be the case here, that’s impossible. This seems like a mixture of various different styles, but if there is one thing that all of those murals have in common, I would say that it would be the feeling that they are all conveying some sort of a “story”.

There was one depicting a group of people who were running from some sort of beasts in a hurry.

There was one depicting a giant monster, or perhaps some sort of a mighty enemy that the inhabitants of this world had to confront in the past.

There was one depicting a group of warrior fighting against the great beast, even though they knew that most probably they did not stand a chance against it.

There was one depicting several human who apparently bent their knee before the beast, surrounded by piles of corpses, regardless the bodies belonging to humans or monsters alike.

There was one depicting cracks forming in the earth and some sort of strange light that seemed to have originate deep inside the bowels of the earth.

There was one depicting a sword, a spear, a bow, a wand and a mallet appearing from inside of the earth, revealing themselves in front of those few humans who were still alive and intended to fight the beast until the very end.

There was one depicting five people who went against the beast and ultimately manager to defeat it in battle…… Yes, judging by all of those murals, this must be some sort of a legend pertaining to the “Five Heroes”.

「So, in other words, we can safely assume that those murals actually depict the birth process of the weapons that are known as “Heroic Weapons”. I guess that we can all agree on that one?」

「That’s right. It would definitely ring true, especially when combined with the fragmentary knowledge that we already had from before. From those Giants, for example.」

…… Muh.

For some strange reason, I felt inclined to look to the side right now, and what I saw there was the figure of a very small man just standing there and watching us closely. He was most probably a Miner Dwarf as well, but while all the other Dwarven men and women had huge and long beards, and bushy eyebrows accompanying their wildly growing hair, this man was clearly different from all the rest. He had a nice and clean shave, his eyebrows were thin and well-maintained, and shortly cut, well-kept hair. As in, his hair were almost completely non-existent on his head. If you were looking for something to compare this man to, I guess that the best and closest example would be a bald Halfling. Yes, let’s go with that, for the lack of better comparison at the current moment.

However, the crown that he was wearing on top of his head, the one that looked like a bunch of golden vines interwoven together, as well as his arm made out of pure gold, were more than enough of an answer as to who that mysterious fellow was. As well as to why his character model was so different from all the rest.

「Are you the Leader of the Miner Dwarves, perhaps……?」

「Yes, that’s right. Anyways, I am the “Midas” of the current generation. No, I guess it should be more accurate to call myself Midas the Twenty Eighth? …… I’m sorry, you are the first emissaries from other races to pay a visit to this land ever since this generation took the helm. So I guess this is going to be as difficult for you as it is for me.」

「Midas, huh……? Well, that sounds about right, I would say.」

「Huh? What do you mean by that?」

「Umm, it’s actually a long story. If we are going to have time later on, I might tell you all about it, if you are interested, that is.」

I can already sense that behind our backs, Natsu-san and Imron are feverishly talking about something. But that being said, Midas? As in, the king from the ancient Greece who had the power to turn basically everything he would touch into gold? I have already forgotten all the other details about that myth, but that one part is something that stuck with me the most, being the most impressionable and all that. But does that mean that this guy basically possesses the same kind of power as the one in the myth?

「And as for those two over there…… This brilliance, this radiance…… Ahh, I see. It is the Holy Hammer Mjolnir and the Holy Wand Asclepius. It’s been a ages since they were last seen here.」

「Umm, yeah.」

「Yes, that’s right.」

After that short exchange, for a while there was nothing but silence surrounding us inside of the long corridor. The bald-headed king, who had his lips sealed tightly for now, looked as though he was trying his best to endure something. But then he finally opened his mouth with a gentle voice, perhaps after finally being able to think of something appropriate to say. I just hope that this was not because he was desperately trying to swallow some emotions that were boiling inside of him, and which he did not wanted us to hear.

「On my title as the Guardian, and as the one who hides our most precious of boons away from the greedy claws of the Red Dragon, I swear to you that we shall deliver the golden boon to the Heroes. That I can promise you on my name of Midas the Twenty Eighth. Our guardian, hidden from the red dragon, will surely deliver gold to the hero in the name Oh great Heroes who can hope to become the Saviors of the Stars, please challenge the trials up ahead and take what is to be rightfully yours!」

「Uwah.」

「Waah.」

「W-What’s wrong? D-Did something happen?」

「Yup, just as we thought. It’s a Unique Scenario alright.」