TL: Knight Errant
Dio, who closely examined the mural, was greatly surprised, but he made sure not to show it outwardly.
It was definitely a composition he had never seen before.
Yet, for some reason, it didn’t feel like something completely new, evoking a sense of déjà vu.
That’s why Dio started to wrack his brain, and after a while, he realized something.
‘Wait a minute.’
The mural was…
It almost perfectly matched the one shown in the trailer video released with the recent major update.
‘This… It’s the same composition as the trailer video, isn’t it?’
The paladin and the messenger that opened the trailer video.
Their strikingly portrayed figures were definitely engraved right here on the mural.
“Sigh.”
Dio took a deep breath, and his heart began to beat faster.
‘This major update. There’s a high chance it’s directly or indirectly related to me being sucked into this game.’
Finding a clue related to it was a matter that Dio could not take lightly.
‘Stay calm. Nothing is certain yet.’
After organizing his thoughts, Dio approached Clara next.
Her identity was essentially the main character of this mural, a priestess of the Church of Luna.
He thought she might know something more.
“Priestess, what is this mural and the inscription about?”
At Dio’s question, Clara, who happened to be examining the mural, answered with a bright expression.
“Ah! This is a prophecy! It’s not just the mural, our Church of Luna has the mission to dispatch across the continent in search of traces of the ancient times.”
Clara, excited to have found such a precious thing in a corridor instead of a temple, continued explaining without even looking at Dio.
“And this inscription is written in the language of the now-vanished Ancient Holy Kingdom. Just a moment. Let me translate it. Uh… Arrived at the end of the world…?”
Without Dio needing to ask, Clara began to record about the mural using the parchment and magic pen she had brought.
But Dio’s eyes sparkled, having found the necessary part in her words.
At least one thing was now certain.
– Arrived at the end of the world.
The first verse of the song lyrics that start the trailer.
Having confirmed that as well, there was no longer any room for doubt.
Dio left the noisy group around the mural behind and immersed himself in thought.
‘The mural I remembered has changed.’
The mural serves as a ‘prophecy’ showing what will happen in the future.
This point should be the same as Dio remembers.
However, the fact that the changed mural contained content from the Season 2 update trailer.
It meant that the prophecy of the mural Dio previously knew also changed.
In other words, it wouldn’t be strange if there was some unknown variable inside the temple, Dio’s destination.
‘The song in the trailer, and the knight and messenger are definitely connected to the Forgotten Temple. After all, the Forgotten Temple is the background of the mural.’
Dio began to adjust his plans for any unforeseen situations that might arise from this.
‘Then, it wouldn’t be strange if a related quest occurs in the temple… But is it right to keep moving forward?’
Dio bit his lower lip slightly.
Although a fear of the unknown crept up on him, he couldn’t think of turning back now.
He had no reason to suggest returning to the mercenaries and Clara, and even if he did, there was no viable solution.
Moreover, if he fails to successfully change his class, surviving in this world of OTF in the long run would be impossible.
‘Yeah. Damn it… It’s not like I’ve only ever done quests without variables.’
It’s not about risking his life against changes.
It’s about challenging changes to survive.
Step- Step-
As he organized his thoughts, his mind felt lighter.
‘I guessed the path to class change wouldn’t be smooth…’
Nevertheless, Dio trusted his own abilities and judged that he could certainly overcome it.
Just now, at this mural, he had almost overlooked a very important piece of information.
“Shall we move on now?”
The noisy group quieted down as Clara finished recording the mural.
Dio, snapping out of his thoughts, steeled his mind and led everyone forward.
* * *
How much time had passed?
After following the glowing light for a while, the group finally discovered the light leading to the surface.
Raymond, following behind Dio and Clara, blinked in the sunlight and spoke.
“Does this lead directly to the ruins?”
The mercenaries following Raymond were equally amazed, looking at the building fragments bearing the marks of time.
“The temple should be in the center. We’re almost there.”
“Yeah, let’s go!”
Dio spoke to Clara, who was dusting off the dirt, and she responded energetically.
The group, having exited the passage, immediately followed Dio towards their destination.
The Forgotten Temple, classified as ruins.
As they passed through the collapsed debris, presumably the garden of the ancient temple, they saw a unique, moss-covered statue.
“Wow! Such a beautiful statue!”
At Clara’s exclamation, Dio’s gaze naturally turned in that direction.
Then, the next moment.
‘Wait a minute.’
Dio, having noticed something, quickly approached the statue.
‘This is also… a statue I’ve never seen before.’
Dio recalled the mural he had seen when passing through the hidden passage.
Like the mural, the statue was also different from Dio’s memory.
‘More than anything, the design of this armor is exactly like the one I saw in the trailer.’
He wasn’t talking about the armor style followed by the Church of Luna’s paladins.
The elaborate armor worn by the protagonist in the latter part of the mural and the trailer video.
The armor on the statue certainly matched that armor, which meant there was a very high chance that this statue was also the protagonist from the trailer video.
But while thinking this, Dio suddenly realized another fact.
‘Wait a minute. This place…’
Dio looked around, and his eyes slightly widened.
‘This is where the Guardian statue used to be, isn’t it?’
Most temples in OTF have a ‘Guardian’ that protects the temple.
So, there was a Guardian in the Forgotten Temple as well, and the spot where this moss-covered statue now stood was originally the Guardian’s place.
The original Guardian statue disappeared, and a completely unknown new statue was erected?
In the case of the Forgotten Temple, there was no god present.
This meant that a Guardian, having lost its power source, had never awakened before…
‘Dangerous!’
A warning bell began to ring in Dio’s mind.
Tat-!
As Dio quickly stepped back from the statue, Clara asked with a puzzled expression.
“What’s the matter, Mr. Monte?”
“This statue… It might be a Guardian.”
At Dio’s response, Clara looked quite surprised.
“Mr. Monte… You know about the temple Guardians?”
“If we face them with our current strength, we’d be wiped out in the blink of an eye.”
At Dio’s words, Clara smiled and continued.
“Yes, you’re right, Mr. Monte. Guardians protecting the temples… even our Luna Church’s paladins would struggle against them. But it’s okay here. This place has already been deemed safe by our church, that’s why I was dispatched here additionally.”
However, despite Clara’s words, Dio couldn’t fully relax.
‘Still, there’s definitely a possibility it could awaken. The difference from when they explored here is the presence of a ‘player’. The situation is clearly different.’
If Dio had been missing from the temple mission’s team members.
Perhaps the variable Dio worried about might not have occurred.
But now, does the system see Dio as a player?
Or as a person of this world?
Nothing could be known for sure.
Dio had to always consider the worst-case scenario, assuming he was a player.
Therefore, Dio hurried past the statue and moved towards the altar.
‘Right. First, let’s complete the class change. Once I succeed in changing classes… I’ll need to come back here after leveling up sufficiently.’
“There’s the altar!”
Dio lifted his head at the mercenary’s voice, snapping him out of his thoughts.
There stood a towering obelisk, pointed out by the mercenary.
This place, being an ancient temple, had a simple structure.
Although the temple looked exactly as Dio remembered, he didn’t let his guard down.
One step.
Two steps.
With each step towards the altar, his anxiety and anticipation for the class change surged.
If Dio’s speculation was correct.
And if he really succeeded in changing to a hidden class.
[You have entered the first area of the Lost Ancient Legacy.]
It would undoubtedly be a complete turnaround.
A hidden class and an ordinary class were, after all, on entirely different levels from the start.
Ding-!
[The first condition of the quest has been met.]
[The mercenary group has safely arrived at the destination.]
“Everyone, you’ve worked hard. Thanks to you, we’ve arrived safely.”
Clara’s goal was to record the ancient traces hidden throughout these ruins.
In other words, until Clara finishes her records, Dio would have some free time.
“Then, I’ll also go take care of something briefly.”
At Dio’s words, Clara responded.
“Ah, Mr. Monte, you said you had something to do at the temple, right?”
“It probably won’t take long.”
Dio, responding swiftly and concisely, began to walk briskly towards the altar again.
But a moment later.
As Dio lifted his foot onto the first step of the altar’s stairs.
Whoosh-
[You have fulfilled the hidden condition of the ancient legacy.]
Along with an unexpected system message, a golden current began to swirl around Dio’s entire body.
“…!”
And the next moment.
Whoom-!
The Class Change Scroll, which was definitely put in his inventory, was now floating in front of Dio.
* * *
Clara intently watched Monte’s back as he walked towards the altar.
‘Monte… He’s certainly no ordinary mercenary. Even for an A-grade mercenary, knowing about the existence of a Guardian…’
Although she didn’t show it, she had been closely observing Monte.
Not out of suspicion.
She was just curious about what purpose an A-grade mercenary might have in this Forgotten Temple, deemed important by the church.
‘Does he know some special information that the church is unaware of?’
Thus, she cautiously followed behind Monte.
After all, her goal was to record the ancient languages on the altar, so following him wasn’t suspicious.
However, moments later.
Thump- Thump-thump-!
Clara found herself frozen in place, as if turned to stone.
“What, what’s happening…!”
The temple’s obelisk suddenly began to shake violently.
Simultaneously, the golden current bursting forth from the altar.
Crack- Crackle-
It was pouring down towards the statue she had passed by.
Thump- Thump-!
The statue, which had somehow awakened, was now walking towards the altar.