Chapter 122

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on April 8, 2025

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122nd Episode

Samaritan of the Black Rock Mountain

122 – Samaritan of the Black Rock Mountain #3

Black Rock Mountain? Pandemonium.

The true identity of the name ‘Black Rock’ was the basalt formed due to volcanic activity.

As we reached the foot of the mountain, the sensation of boiling geothermal heat hit us, causing streams of sweat to trickle down our faces. Is volcanic activity still actively happening here?

Goodness, I never thought I’d be coming to a volcano in my lifetime. The only volcano I’ve been to was Hallasan during a school trip when I was in high school. But was Hallasan an extinct or dormant volcano?

Anyway, this volcanic mountain Pandemonium that I’m stepping on now is definitely a living volcano with magma bubbling deep beneath.

Since its activity is so strong, we couldn’t find a single tree or blade of grass anywhere, making this barren mountain difficult to climb.

Since I grew up climbing mountains to the point of exhaustion, I was fairly confident in my abilities. However, climbing this geothermal heat-filled mountain was much harder than I anticipated.

Phew, Phew.

I wrinkled my brow intensely against the pungent sulfuric smell and asked,

“Is there really a spring in a place like this?”

No one answered my question.

Originally, this volcano was considered a forbidden sacred ground, so no one had ever been here before.

Just when we were grunting and struggling to climb the rocky mountain,

things appeared here and there that I wasn’t sure whether to call broken statues or fragments of architectural ruins.

I wondered what those were when I grimaced under my breath, panting.

“I didn’t expect to come to Pluto’s sacred grounds.”

Paranoi started speaking as if she knew something.

“What?”

“Here, this Black Mountain Pandemonium was originally Pluto’s domain. However, I heard that the Venus devotees invaded and destroyed and stole all the shrines and sacred relics,” said Paranoi.

Paranoi’s words were interrupted by Malco, who also seemed to know something while trudging up the mountain.

Malco, the kind of guy who loves showing off what he knows when the topic comes up, must have been itching to speak.

“I’ve also heard of that story. Nowadays, the Venus shrine has risen to prominence, but this place used to be a battleground where devotees would shed bl**d fighting against each other.”

So there seems to have been something like a war between devotees of different gods in this world.

“…How utterly destroyed it is. Although I’m now a devotee of Vesta, I still feel indebted to Pluto, and I think this scene is a bit excessive,” said Paranoi.

The followers of different gods fought among themselves to control the mountain, one might wonder if there was something valuable here. Perhaps sulfur near the volcano was considered quite precious?

“Hey, let’s rest a bit.”

Luna, burdened by the heavy jars, collapsed onto a nearby rock after wheezing heavily.

Since we have been climbing without rest for about an hour, I thought it was a good time to take a break.

“Alright, let’s rest here. We’ll take a twenty-minute break, so Malco, keep an eye on the time.”

“I got it, my fellow. Five songs should suffice.”

Dilirin.

I realized that this guy Malco had some kind of clock in his system. His timing was impeccable.

The talent to keep time accurately is quite impressive. However, beyond that skill, he didn’t seem to offer much help.

Why did we bring this guy along anyway?

It seems that when collecting dark spring water, having one bard along was mandatory. Thus, the Holy Maiden of Venus entrusted this mission to both me and Malco.

Why exactly?

Did the bards create some kind of union to impose a quota system? Similar to the ethnic quotas in Hollywood movies.

Anyway, while listening to Malco’s songs, we set down our luggage and weapons to relax our weary bodies.

Sabel. Carrying this hefty load combined with the scorching heat from the ground made me feel like I might d*e.

This is truly why veteran adventurers mostly did this kind of work. Still, not encountering any monsters or bandits was a significant blessing.

Is it due to the barren nature of the land where they cannot survive?

Looking at scattered bone fragments and broken stone slabs around, it felt like I was beginning to understand why this place was regarded as Pluto, God of d*ath’s sacred ground.

Land where life cannot survive.

Hot, humid, and a curious smell permeating the mountain — it feels like it includes every element I used to despise in the health center back home. I miss my hometown. That place must still be bubbling with all sorts of things, and the medicinal smell in the steamy bath must still be unchanged.

Just as I got slightly lost in nostalgic thoughts,

Luna got up from her seat and rummaged through fallen rocks with her palms.

“Luna, what are you doing?”

“Hm? Well, we don’t often come to a rocky mountain. I’m just checking if there are any useful potion ingredients. Even horned lizards would do! Ants too!”

“What would you do with ants?”

“W-well, that’s a secret.”

Pa-suk, pa-suk.

Luna rummaged around the rocks for a while, but with the everything here dried up due to scorching heat, it was unlikely to find what she wanted in this mountain.

Black sand.

Black stones.

Only black rocks remained.

However, Luna, refusing to give up, was trying hard by digging into the dirt, and right beside her, Paranoi, who had been watching quietly, spoke.

“…Ma, Luna-sama, there’s nothing here in this place.”

“Is that so?”

“The only things that exist on this dead land are the possessions of d*ath…”

‘The possessions of d*ath.’ Hearing this from Paranoi, a former cultist, sent a chilling sensation down my spine.

*

It turned out to be true that there was a shrine on this black mountain. From the middle slope upwards, something resembling stone steps was laid out.

The beginning of the mountain, which was steep and filled with rolling rocks, took a lot of effort, but once you climbed up the steps, there wasn’t much difficulty in making it to the summit.

When we arrived at the peak, there was an expansive lake spread out like the caldera of a volcano. What do you call that? A caldera lake?

The difference between that lake and the caldera lakes I know is that instead of blue ripples, it was filled with a strange, black, bubbling liquid.

“Wow, Hassan, it’s really black water.”

“What an eerie spectacle.”

The lake filled with black water looked truly like the sea of d*ath.

If someone were to drown deep in such a place, their body might never be found, sinking deep beneath the ground before disappearing forever.

Sabel, quite terrifying.

When I turned my eyes away due to the unsettling chill, I found traces of a structure similar to Mars Guild or the Shrine of Venus by the side of the lake.

Broken roofs and fallen shattered columns spread everywhere, reminding me of the shattered ruins of Mars Guild after being attacked by cultists.

The only difference here is that the ruins and fragments of this building were all made from black rocks.

“Ah, this is the shrine of Lord Pluto…”

The former cultist Paranoi trembled as though moved by the sight of the destroyed shrine of her old deity.

“Ph Pluto-sama’s shrine…!”

What is up with this chick? She hasn’t completely converted, has she? Should hitting her on the head a few times improve her condition?

As I seriously contemplated giving her a whack,

Malco pulled out what resembled a guitar from his back and headed towards the remains of the shrine.

“Should we go inside and look around? For gathering the spring water, a ritual of purification is necessary. It means we should pay our respects to the owner of this land,” he said.

Following his words, our group all walked into the remnants of the broken shrine, following Malco. Just like what we saw from the outside, the interior was severely damaged and in shambles.

Yet, there’s an undeniable air of intimidation in ruins.

“Wow, what’s this?”

As I exclaimed, I stared at the enormous statue located right at the center of the shrine. In front of me stood a colossal black statue roughly two stories tall.

The statue depicted a burly, muscular man. However, his head was missing.

It was as if someone had neatly severed the head part, leaving behind a bizarrely grotesque and eerie impression.

On the other hand, the headless statue seemed to eerily fit within the ominous ambiance of this shattered shrine.

The head was clearly chopped or broken by someone intentionally. Frequent battles among devotees of different deities seem common in regions like this.

“Hotan, this is Lord Pluto, the god of treasures and wealth,” Luna explained beside me and then placed her palms together, murmuring something like a spell.

“Lord Pluto, the god of treasure, please make me filthy rich quickly. Also…”

Pluto, the god of d*ath, is also known as the god of wealth. It’s said Pluto owns all the treasures and minerals buried underground, making him the richest among the gods.

Although Pluto is worshipped by the cultists devoted to d*ath, which has tarnished Pluto’s image somewhat, he still remains a popular deity for those seeking good fortune in wealth.

However, after dueling with the cultists so many times, I didn’t feel quite right praying in front of this headless statue.

“Ma, Master Hotan.”

Maybe my reaction bothered her, and Paranoi cautiously approached and asked,

“Ma, isn’t Master Hotan praying?”

“I don’t have such a hobby.”

“Bu, but wouldn’t it be worth trying out a prayer? We don’t often visit the shrine of Lord Pluto. You might receive an unexpected response.”

Whispering as though committing some grievous sin, Paranoi continued,

“Ma, isn’t Master Hotan familiar enough with the Hell’s magic from the Star of Kalar to try praying? Lord Pluto might kindly listen to Master Hotan’s prayers.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“What reality? Kid, you still haven’t gotten rid of the Cultist influence.”

I delivered a solid punch to Paranoi’s head with my fist. With a “Kung!” sound, Paranoi clutched her head.

“Hiik-!”

I didn’t realize it would hurt so much despite my intention to hit softly, possibly because my physical strength has increased. However, I felt somewhat perplexed and apologetic.

If she keeps doing these cultist-like acts, people won’t just hit her with my fist but would end up spearing her. So, this violence was necessary for reforming and rehabilitating Paranoi.

“How dare you whisper shallow sorcery into my ears.”

“Ju, just once…”

“No, kid.”

Just as I firmly rejected the pleading and groaning Paranoi who clutched her head, Luna, who was kneeling to pray, stood up and approached me.

“Hottan, when I prayed to the God of Light last time, all the fog dissipated, right? What if praying to Lord Pluto could make golden coins rain from the sky?”

“Really?”

Luna’s words seemed quite plausible. Last time when I prayed to the God of Light, I consumed 200 worth of mission points, and all the fog covering Kalar evaporated.

The swampy land, where crocodiles used to appear, is now filled with colorful flowers.

I have 282 mission points left right now. Could it be that gold coins would rain from the sky if I pray at Pluto’s shrine, as Luna suggested?

“Hmm, well, let’s just try it once.”

“Wa, didn’t you hit my head when I mentioned it earlier…?”

“Quiet.”

Ignoring the murmuring Paranoi, I cleared my throat a few times and sat down in front of the massive statue.

“Prayer…”

The method of prayer was similar to what I’ve done before: lining up the food supplies from my backpack and bowing twice in front of them.

This is basically the Samaritan version of a compact altar.

“Ho ho, brother, your strange praying method always fascinates me. I can’t wait to see what will happen—.”

“Shh, quiet, you pointy-nosed guy.”

Luna warned Malco, who approached and was about to talk to me.

“Ho.”

Malco then closed his mouth and just watched my peculiar sacrificial ritual. Paranoi standing next to him also stared at me with wide-open eyes.

Thus, under everyone’s close attention, after finishing both bows, I shouted towards the sky.

“P, Pluto Forever!”

Then,

Silence…

…

Silence.

Anticipating some event with bated breath, I rolled my eyes around for a few minutes—but no signs of anything happening.

“Ah, phew. Nothing is happening.”

Feeling extremely embarrassed and awkward, I brushed the dirt off my knees and stood up. I felt like an utter clown, my face burning.

As if realizing how exceedingly flustered I was, Luna eventually patted my back.

“Lord Pluto must be busy, Hotan. Always dealing with souls flooding underground, so He couldn’t listen to our prayer.”

Meanwhile, Paranoi next to her kept repeating “Something’s strange…” like a broken parrot.

Then, suddenly grabbing my sleeve,

“Can we try again just once!?”

“Hey, you scared the cr*p out of me. Don’t grab me randomly. You’ll stretch out my clothes.”

“G, the prayer might have been wrong. Don’t you think trying with more sincerity might be good? If you find the prayer hard, I can teach it to you. ‘O Father in the deep earth, give us today our daily bread…’.”, suggested Paranoi.

In the state she’s in right now, her zeal as a cultist is palpable. Perhaps I shouldn’t have brought her here as she hasn’t completely renounced her old faith yet.

Should I hit her with another punch?

“Hurry up, try it once! ‘O Father in the deep earth-.”

“Svel, why is this headless statue my father? And step aside-.”

Just as I shrugged off Paranoi,

“Uh, uh-!?”,

stronger than expected, Paranoi stumbled backward like someone who tripped over a rock and landed with a “Kung!” sound by face-planting onto the eerie statue right in front of us.

“Keek-!”

It was clearly a painful scene, so Malco, Luna, and I all furrowed our brows and let out an “Uh!” sound.

“U, that must truly hurt. Hottan, you should apologize to Paranoi.”

“Nu-uh, I told her not to grab me.”

“Ah, Ita, Uhhaa-. B, bl**d! bl**d!?,” cried Paranoi with bl**d streaming down her nose.

“Hey, are you alright? I didn’t do it intentionally, I’m sorry.”

I approached to support Paranoi who was bleeding from the nose.

Boing, Bozing.

Just at that moment, the giant statue in front of us suddenly cracked.

Crash!

And from the cracks, a significant number of coins began to fall.

“Wow, shhh.”