Ancient Murals

"You sure he is a good lead?" Aster nudged Cecil.

He wasn't really happy about her suddenly attacking him the day before. 'But it's not like she seriously hurt me. It was just a single kick.'

'It allowed me to join this expedition as well, so it's fine. I won't let her do as she pleases next time, though.' Aster decided.

He didn't know, but his slight crush lessened considerably.

"Didn't you hear about his Providence?" Cecil asked him.

"I did, but... Actually, never mind. He'd be dead if he was useless." Aster decided to think more properly next time before asking questions.

"You get it." Cecil agreed.

They walked slowly through the temple.

Once one left the corridor door, they were met with three paths.

One path to the left led to the unknown. Aster wasn't sure what was there, but he knew that the day he decided to explore, he was warned not to even think of going left.

"We aren't going to the right?" Boar asked Nyle.

"We aren't," Nyle answered. "Right is mostly explored, and there aren't many real dangers. Basically, we are too weak for some paths there. The ones we aren't too weak for are usually just dead ends."

'Actually, how is Nyle so strong? He has really strong mana, leadership, and skills.' Aster thought while half-listening to Nyle.

'Is it his Providence?' He guessed.

The group went forward.

'I usually go to the right, so this is a new experience for me as well.' Aster observed the walls with his candle.

For this exploration, each explorer was tasked to bring at least five candles along with some things they considered essential.

'Those walls tell a story?' Aster looked at the murals with a curious expression.

"What's this?" He asked.

"It's the story before the Cursed Epoch," Nyle answered. He didn't look at the walls.

'He probably studied them all already.' Aster noted. "Blessed Epoch?"

"Indeed," Nyle said. "There are currently three Epochs that we know of. Anything before that is a complete mystery."

"Cursed, Blessed, and..." Aster waited for someone to answer him.

"Fated," Asher added. 

"It's the Epoch where gods walked down the Earth, living like humans."

"If what I heard is true, people Fated to talk to gods would be able to join their divine kingdom before it was built."

"That's why it's called Fated." Asher patiently explained.

"This..." Aster looked blankly at Asher's back. "It's not what I expected."

"I know, right? I bet those old books are just random propaganda." Asher chuckled.

"It's not propaganda." Boar narrowed his eyes at Ash.

Aster could feel sparks going.

At that moment, something caught a corner of his eye.

Then, ignoring the two, he closed in on a wall before stabbing with his dagger at an empty space.

Or what appeared to be empty space because Aster actually killed another chameleon.

'Five more EP, and I'll be able to do another gacha.'

His random action made the whole group stop and watch him speechlessly.

"Oh, you guys need something?" He asked them. "Ah, you want the meat? Don't worry, I won't eat it."

"Let's put it on Boar's bag since he is the largest. It'll be more helpful to split it up later as well." Aster grinned. He felt good. 'Just a few more, and I'll be much stronger. Damn, learning magic was the best thing I could have ever done.'

'Although, I cannot cast any spells yet.'

Since last night, Aster had only done the bare basics, that is, being able to imagine and sense mana.

Right now, he couldn't even be considered an apprentice, not to mention the full Mage.

"That chameleon counts as your contribution." Nyle chuckled before walking again, leading the way.

Boar stopped glaring at Asher, following quietly behind.

'What if the curse of his Providence is to easily get angered?" Aster guessed Boar's Fate Providence based on his behavior. 'That would be annoying.'

He glanced at Cecil and noticed her eyes narrowing slightly. 'She has the same guess.'

'I'll just focus on myself for now. Others will keep an eye out for the traitor. No, actually...' He turned to Cecil.

"What's the point of betraying us, and to whom?" He had heard some rumors among the survivors, but he hoped they were false.

Unfortunately, Cecil's reply crushed all his hopes. "Make people sacrifice themselves to the temple, and the temple will let you go."

"And if the traitor wants to make normal survivors sacrifice themselves, he has to get rid of explorers, right?" Aster felt like he understood the situation.

"Right." Cecil nodded. "The point of the expedition, except for finishing the boss, is to make the traitor come out."

"I see." Aster understood what was happening.

'The traitor probably has a quota, and he can't fulfill his quota with us around. So by killing us, he'd be the king of survivors, able to manipulate them to their deaths.'

'Despicable.' He gritted his teeth. 'I am not a goody two shoes, but to sacrifice so many innocent lives to the evil temple is just unbelievable. Especially since we are actually progressing towards leaving the temple.'

In the meantime, the group had already passed by several monsters. Nyle had easily dealt with all of them, showing off his incredible prowess.

'His stats must be at least in the 5s.' Aster imagined the possibility of Nyle being the traitor, and he shivered.

'Maybe he can beat all four of us alone.' The difference in pure physical strength was really big.

"That's not a bad Providence." Ash laughed, watching Nyle completely overwhelm a big tarantula.

"You don't know what you are talking about." Nyle's eyes darkened for a moment when Asher mentioned his Providence. He quickly brushed it off.

'There's some backstory there.' Aster didn't even need to guess. 'Well, not my problem.'

Aster had already killed another chameleon, bringing his total EP to 14.

After a few more minutes of walking, Nyle sat down on the floor. "Let's rest for some time. The boss is just up ahead, so we should make a tactic as well."

"We don't need tactics. Just rush in and kill." Boar said.

"Well, that's one way of doing it." Nyle chuckled. "What do others think?"

"I agree." Ash raised his hand. "Let's just deal with things as they come. It's more fun that way."

"I don't care." Cecil replied as well.

"Well, seems like the majority is set on going in without a plan. Let's do just that, then." Nyle started speaking before narrowing his eyes. "But before that, let's clear something up."

"There's a traitor among us, and I know who it is."