At the Temple of Katrex[I]

Even I didn't remember all the items and their properties from the novel, so the new item in front of me gave me a special sense of interest.

It would be nice to get something combat oriented.

Luck can work again, right?

With hope, I activated the status on the item. 

[Ring of Limenna]

[Type: Support] [Rarity: Epic]

Upon seeing the type of item my gaze faded. But when my eyes reached its rarity, I felt a wave of joy in my heart.

In this world, items were divided into ranks based on their rarity. There were 6 of them in total: common, uncommon, rare, epic, legendary, and mythical. The latter was almost impossible to find anywhere in this world, so officially, it was the legendary rank that remained at the top.

And now I've gotten an item that's only one rank behind Legendary?

Such items were usually given out for great merit on the battlefield or for saving a large number of lives. So, I get it for killing a 2 star monster near the bottom of the food chain of this world?

Apparently catching the thoughts that were plaguing me, the system explained.

[The reward depends not only on the level of the creature killed, but also on the power gap between you and your opponent. As the girl knight pointed out, killing a creature a rank above yours in your current state is a great achievement, so the reward is high. Being at 2 star, even if you killed a hundred such monsters, you wouldn't get such items.] 

After the words of the system, I understood the concept of rewards.

Then defeating a superior force is a priority.

Sounds like the typical actions of a protagonist. If it weren't for my identity in this world, I might have mistaken myself for the Main Character.

Ha, not with my luck.

Swinging from these crazy thoughts, I shifted my gaze to the description of the item.

[Allows the wearer to read the minds of humanoid creatures once per day for one minute. For successful triggering, the target's intelligence must not exceed your intelligence by more than 5 times.]

Although the item was not of the combat type, being able to look into a person's head could provide a bunch of advantages both during battle and in everyday life.

I didn't have an inventory yet, so I decided to just put the ring on my finger.

I noticed another reward, namely 5 free characteristic points. After some deliberation, I've decided.

[Agility: 17 → 20]

[Stamina: 15 → 17]

Since agility played a big role in the last battle, I decided to bring it up to 20. Because of my current state, I invested the remaining two points in stamina, as it was responsible for the physique and recovery speed.

As I distributed the points, I instantly felt myself getting lighter and my body getting stronger. As I savored the sweet feeling of my newfound strength, I noticed Kelly's waiting gaze on me. She'd already gone over all the monster corpses, collecting their cores in her bag.

"Let's keep going."

I said, getting up from my seat.

With a slight nod, she turned around and walked towards our target. Staring at her back, I subconsciously activated the status. 

[Affection score: 82]

Seeing her increased affection, I raised my eyebrows in surprise. I expected to be able to get it up soon, I even had a few plans on how to do it, but didn't think it would happen so soon. After thinking about it for a bit, I realized there was nothing surprising about it.

Kelly was a knight who spent most of her time fighting battles, so she valued a person's personal power. She also knew firsthand how difficult it was to defeat a higher-ranked opponent. Even more so for me, who had been living a binge lifestyle and neglecting training until yesterday.

When I accomplished the feat of killing a strong monster in front of her, I definitely touched her heart, thus breaking the barrier of affection. 

So what if I'm lucky?

Luck is also part of the power.

Although with my 0 luck points, I wondered if I had used up all my luck for the rest of my life...

For the remainder of the journey I decided to focus on recovery so that when we arrived at our destination I would be in as good a shape as possible. All the monsters we encountered had been mercilessly destroyed by Kelly.

By the time we got there, some of the wounds from the previous fight had already healed, allowing me to move more freely. And with my increased stats, I felt even better. 

We got a rather contradictory view. In front of us was a space without any trees or plants, where ruins of destroyed buildings were everywhere. In the center, as if towering above everything else, stood a majestic structure resembling a temple. Unlike the other buildings, it was not damaged at all, being in perfect condition. It stood out so much that it seemed like it didn't even belong in the surroundings.

Determined not to delay, we quickly entered the ruin area. As soon as we did, all sounds fell silent, plunging us into a stifling silence. Whereas before we could hear the occasional sounds of monsters and beasts hunting throughout the forest, now even the noise of trees swaying in the wind no longer disturbed us.

"Eden?"

Noticing this change, Kelly hesitantly turned to me.

"Are you sure this is the right place for us?"

She asked, as if to imply that we should leave.

She wasn't a coward, but her practiced sense of danger over the years told her not to venture here. The unknown lurking in this place made her uneasy.

Unlike Kelly I wasn't worried as I understood what was going on. In the novel, it has been said that when the moon is at its brightest, this temple and the entire surrounding area undergoes a tremendous change. They literally separates from the current reality, forming an independent space.

This is the main reason why you can only enter it at night when there is a full moon.

Not knowing how to explain it to her, I decided to just leave her alone.

Noticing my unchanged and still confident face, Kelly calmed down a bit. 

We moved slowly, scrutinizing our surroundings, looking for any signs of danger. After a while, not noticing nothing dangerous, I finally calmed down.

"I think we should go a little further."

I said, heading towards the center building.

After walking a couple steps, I had to stop as there was no response.

With slight concern, I turned around. 

There was no one there.

Placing my hand on the hilt of my sword I looked around. 

I noticed scattered rocks, collapsed walls of houses, collapsed roofs, but not a single hint of the presence of a living person.

Kelly's missing.

Waves of anxiety began to rise in my heart.

I realized that despite her playful nature, she would never joke around in a dangerous situation and put others at risk. Which means it happened against her will.

Clutching the hilt of my sword even tighter, I moved forward, hoping to find some clues. Walking past the ruined backyards, my brain worked feverishly trying to find the reason for what was happening.

Missing people are never mentioned in the novel. Then have I made a mistake somewhere?

No, I haven't done anything wrong since I came in.

Suddenly, I felt something. 

I turned around in the direction from which the sensation was coming. My gaze fell on the back of the temple, standing majestically in the center.

This time it was not its contradictory appearance that attracted me, but something more mystical. I felt as if something inside the temple was calling out to me, asking me to approach.

After hesitating for a moment, I headed straight for it. As I approached the temple, the unknown feeling calling me there intensified. When I reached the door of the temple, my heart pounded with an unbearable desire to open it and enter. 

Reaching out, I pushed open the door. 

***

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