Down on knees by the second step,

With a total of 5000 steps to reach the top of the mountain, I was really having second thoughts about my decision for rejecting the previous offer.

Does this bitch really want all of us to climb the stair all the way to the top?

Just as I was about to complain, One of the older dudes from our group suddenly pushed everyone aside while moving to the front.

and started climbing a few steps then he turned back and said,

"See you at the top, bitches"

After saying that he gave us a provoking look, he then turned towards the priestess and showed her a confident smile.

And after doing so he once gave us a provoking look he then turned around and started quickly climbing the stairs.

WTF is this old bastard trying to do?

And did he just try to flirt with a woman who should be half the age of his daughter?

What do you take us for you, simping senile old fart?

Do you think any of us would be dumb enough to fall for such childish provocation?

But it seems like I was the only one who didn't fall that childish taunt. All most all of the idiots around me started breathing heavily like provoked bulls from cartoons.

Then following the old man's example, the rest of the group also started climbing the stairs eagerly and excitedly.

Looking at the scene before me I could only helplessly facepalm myself.

The rest of the group was dumb enough to fall for that, and even the 'Overweening' Owen seem to be enjoying all of this.

And here I was assuming that people from fantasia would be stupid. While forgetting how much stupid can the people from Earth be.

Only a few people actually seemed to have not lost their rationality and hesitated a little.

But not wanting to be excluded as the odd ones, they too started following others' examples and started climbing the stairs.

Not wanting to be left behind, I quickly followed the group and started climbing the stairs.

Normally it would have taken me 4 to 5 hrs to climb this much of stairs but for some reason, it took me only 3 to 4 hrs to reach the top, and I wasn't even completely exhausted.

Seems like my assumption about the food was right because no one seems to be actually exhausted from climbing the stairs.

Well even with all the nutrients and improvement my body has gotten, I was still one of the last few people to reach the top.

As soon as we reached the top, I was expecting to see a church or temple, but what greeted us was a gigantic gate of a golden fortress.

The artistic and cultural heritage of our worlds seems to be a little different from each other. Even the fortress design was mostly based on defense and compatibility rather than majesty.

Before we could reach the top both the priestess and her guards have already entered the Fort only leaving the otherworlders who reached before us outside.

And others who came before us seem to be displeased by our late arrival because it looks like they have been made to wait.

Only when the last person reached the top, the gigantic fortress door was opened, and we were allowed to enter the fort.

A group of guards came to escort us inside the fortress, they made us form a line and instructed us to follow them in the same till we reach the ceremony hall.

Just as we pass by the doors I extended my hands and tried to touch the doors and feel them.

Even though the fortress gate looked like it was made out of gold but in reality, it wasn't the case.

The fortress seems to be made out of an alloy which is something much stronger and more durable than gold.

It appears the world's mana even affects the properties of the metals of this world.

Curiously looking at the various new things that this world has shown me, I can't wait to awaken and start acquiring all the new knowledge this world has to offer me.

Just thinking about makes me excited.

While I was immersed in my thoughts, the group passed through a luxurious hall and reached a hall with an altar in the middle.

The hall only had a golden altar with a myriad of inscriptions on it and the altar was surrounded by statues of various gods.

It seems to be the so-called ceremony hall where we will have our awakening. Looking around the hall I noticed that there was something unique about those statues of gods here

Even though the statues appear to be made of various types of precious metals and gems that weren't the things that attracted my attention.

The statues seem to have some kind of aura and otherworldliness that would capture the attention of anyone who has ever laid eyes on them.

And as continued to appraise their face I couldn't do it's as though their eyes seem to be giving off a pressure that made me not directly look at them.

But before I could continue investigating more about the sensations, the priestess entered the room while escorting a group of old priestesses who seems to wear golden robes with an embroidery of a platinum rising sun embedded in them.

The old priestess group then slowly climbed the altar, bowed down, summoned a huge crystal ball out of thin air, and place it at the altar.

The sudden appearance of the crystal ball created a great commotion among our group of otherworlders.

Seeing the sudden appearance of the Crystal ball I immediately started clapping my hands and made it look like a circus trick.

Though it looked the same as a circus trick from the earth, I know that wasn't the case, because magic is an actual possibility in this world.

Well, what can you say, this is my first time seeing real magic with my own eyes. And I wanted to use this chance to even the previous scores.

Following my example, all the others started clapping only to make the priestess receive enraged stares from the group of old priestesses.

Not even noticing the looks from the old priestess group, the people from earth were busy discussing among themselves.

The entire group was surprised to see that, except for the weebs who seem to be not affected by the magical manifestation of the crystal ball.

The weebs soon start explaining to us about the various possibility for the sudden manifestation of crystal ball like a spacial ring or a spacial storage device or an inventory skill and so on.

Suddenly the White robed priestess used her magic to send a telepathy message to us to maintain silence.

After sending that message she gave me a nasty stare only to receive my smirk as a reply.

Leaving the enraged priestess aside.

"Seems like we aren't even aware of the basics of what this world can offer to us," I mumbled in a silent voice.

After setting up everything on the altar the old priestesses then circled the altar and raised both their hands high up in the air and started praying and praising the gods in the language of fantasia.

Suddenly, a golden light entered the room and immediately lit up the crystal ball at the center of the altar.

Just the presence of the light started spreading great pressure on us before we knew it everyone seems to be already on our knees.

Soon the pressure started to diminish and we were able to get back on foot, but unfortunately, all of us are yet to recover and most of us are still trembling to even stand on our own.

'Damn my journey towards the peak hasn't even officially started yet and I'm already on my knees.'