Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

One had to be really close to the Goddess Temple to see how grand it really was.

The temple was just at the top of the mountain slope. It was designed so that one would see the ten pillars as soon as they stepped in. Each was 30 meters tall, especially frightening the elves standing at the front. However, they weren’t regular pillars. Actually, Each was engraved with depictions of female elven warriors in their most beautiful forms. There were also be very small, intricate circle runes that indicated that these pillars weren’t just meant for decoration.

Druid Lucia introduced them to Abel, “These are the ten statues of the ten elven warriors that followed the Goddess.”

Abel wasn’t interested in that, though. He was more curious about the divine power these circle runes contained. He wasn’t sure how long this temple had been around, but it should’ve been about several thousand years. With this much time and all the offerings the elves had been making, he could sense the worship power that was overflowing in every corner. These pillars, especially. He believed that the statues were not as peaceful as they were on the surface. If any invaders came, he assumed that they would be the very first layer of defense.

Slowly and cautiously, he used the world stone fragment and suppressed his crystal angelic statue. He didn’t want to be detected to have possessed something belonging to another divine spirit. Maybe he didn’t need to do this, though. The pillars didn’t react to him when he was walking towards them. Rather, they scanned his followers. It probably had to do with the fact that he had marks from the Moon Goddess. His transformation necklace was supposed to be something that the Moon Goddess made herself (although she never gave it to him as a gift). His body was bound to the tree of life by a contract the Moon Goddess did for him. He received enough acknowledgment from the Moon Goddess that he didn’t go through a scan, and instead, he was just recognized as a member of the temple.

After walking towards the door, Abel sensed a strong natural essence that was flowing towards him. He walked in, and almost instantaneously, he could feel his nerves tensing up. All the walls, floor, and all decorations contained solidified worship power. Under environments like this, even a legendary figure would be suppressed if he was to reveal any form of antagonism.

Abel felt like he couldn’t breathe correctly. The worship power was making him extremely nervous. His followers, however, seemed to enjoy the natural force that was flowing around. Only he could sense the terrifying worship power that was behind the natural power. He thought back to the legendary sacred knight he saw the other day. Although the Goddess Temple was not that far from his golden castle, that sacred knight never seemed to bother getting close to the temple. Maybe this was why. Maybe he knew that going inside a temple with a living spirit was not the wisest choice.

Abel’s strength was in his sensitivity to worship power. It was a great advantage of his. Usually, one would have to be at least at the peak of the legendary rank to have a sense as keen as his. Now, however, he could feel that this strength of his was doing him a great disfavor. He was like a spark of flame that was thrown into an ocean. The ocean contained too much power that the slightest misintention could extinguish his very being.

This was when Abel really understood the difference between him and a real spirit. He never stood when Lorraine did her first divine bestowment because she wasn’t an adult yet when she tried it. Also, divine bestowment was different in terms of its capacity when cast by an elf than a goddess.

Back to the present, Abel could not believe the amount of worship power he was witnessing as he was looking towards the temple in front of him. He never actually had it figured himself out. He had been stealing divine powers from the Nation of God for less than a year, and the most improvement he got was after he received the preacher guide. There was no way he could match himself with the Moon Goddess, a divine being that was backed by the entire elven race.

Druid Lucia realized that he looked distraught, “What happened, Master Bennett?”

Abel tried to keep it together and smiled, “Oh, nothing.”

He tried to stay in the identity that he had now. He was an elf that the Moon Goddess acknowledged. He also had the world stone fragment to prevent the Moon Goddess from detecting any shady things he did. So he might as well use the world stone fragment here now, actually.

Abel tried to activate the world stone fragment to separate him and the surrounding worship power. The world stone fragment did not disappoint him. After he used the power that was inside, he could feel the pressure around him disappearing. It was like he was inside a regular building. He was finally starting to have a chance to inspect the interior of a temple.

The inside of the temple was quite spacious. The room rectangular. The floor was made of deep-cloured tiles that reflected one’s shadow. The entire temple was supported by tens of large round pillars, while the ceiling was oval with different layers of colored paintings. At the very center, there was an image of the sun. It was sparkling in gold to illuminate the entire temple.

On the temple walls, different sculptures depicted the different mythical stories featuring the Moon Goddess. In the back, there was an altar with a 10-meter tall goddess statue on it. The statue itself could emit light that was so bright that it was difficult to stare into it.

Druid Lucia sent a reminder, “I’ll bring you to the side temple first, Master Bennett. Please wait there until the holy birthday event begins.”

Abel started to realize that apart from them, no other elves were inside the main hall. They must’ve all been waiting in the side temple.

Abel bowed and gave his thanks, “Thank you so much for your service, Druid Lucia.”

After walking to the side temple, he saw a big resting room with many elves inside.

All the elves stood up and bowed to Abel, “Master Bennet!”

Abel smiled and bowed to the elves. Apart from the big druids, he didn’t seem to know most of them.

Druid Lucia left after she’s done leading his work, “I’ll be off, Master Bennett.”

Abel then brought his three followers to sit at a corner. Due to the difference between their status, while the elves wanted to come and talk to him, they didn’t seem to have much of a common language to speak with him. Apart from doing their greetings, no one really bothered interrupting him.

Abel said to his three followers, “Sit down, you.”

Like bodyguards, the three followers stood behind him.

Druid Joseph bowed, “We are your followers, Master Bennett. On most days, you’ve been busy taking care of us, but in situations like these, we are your followers. We will do your bidding as best as we can.”

Some elves wanted to see if they could talk to Abel, but after seeing the two big druids and one advanced druid standing behind him, they lost the motivation to try immediately. It was the same for the big druids. They didn’t know what to do if they were to approach Master Bennett. Master Bennett’s big druids stood behind him, and it didn’t seem like the most appropriate idea if they were sat down to have a conversation with him. Druid Joseph was a level 23 druid, and there was not a single elf here that was ranked higher than that.

After hearing what Druid Joseph had to say, Abel decided not to continue. Instead, he took a seat, and as soon as he did, he saw a female elf handing him a crystal cup.

The female elf placed the cup on the table and bowed, “Master Bennett, Lady Sainte sent this here. Please, take it slowly.”

Abel laughed and spoke, “Thank the sainte for me.”

Once the female elf left, he looked at his front and saw the elves inside the side temple. It was just him sitting in front of the ornaments and had a cup of juice with him. Usually, the temple would not serve anything on the holy holiday. However, the elves here were only here for religious purposes, and what Abel got here was basically special treatment. Everyone knew about his relationship with Lorraine. So it was only natural that he was being treated with special attention.

Abel didn’t seem to feel too off with this. The drink was here, so he might as well take it. Nothing was embarrassing about it. He had been helpful to all the druids that were sitting here. As for the noblemen, he didn’t have to care too much about them, to begin with.

Once again, Abel tried to take a good look at this side temple. At the same time, the ground and the wall were filled with worship power. This was probably the strongest weapon the Moon Goddess had. However, the weapon’s location seemed to be fixed. It was only enough to protect the elves that were serving here. In other words, this temple was the safest place in this world, but they couldn’t move much further from here.

With that in mind, however, it was just not possible for Abel to live here. There hadn’t been any male elf that had ever lived here. Also, even if the goddess temple agreed to let him here, he was not going to be at a place where he couldn’t hide about his dark world, his crystal angelic statue, and his ancient totem.

Once Abel withdrew his gaze to stop observing the side temple, he realized that he came here too early. Because of his presence, the elves that were here weren’t talking loudly.

Anyways, some elves came in from the side door. It was Queen Lousia, Druid Lendo, and some members of the royal palace. Queen Lousia found Abel as soon as she arrived. After greeting the other elves, she went to stand in front of Abel.

Queen Luisa bowed gracefully, “Honourable Master Bennett. It’s been a great pleasure to see you here.”

Abel stood up and bowed, “We meet again, your great Majesty.”

Queen Luisa was emotional to see Abel. But, she was also cautious, remembering that she had to take a different attitude every time she talked to this young elf in front of her. Now, even as the queen of her race, she’s had to look up when she was trying to speak with him.

Queen Luisa was very straightforward in her request, “I’ve heard, Master Bennett, that your golden castle contains a dish meant for high-ranking classholders with their promotion. Would you be up to opening these to the elven race?”

The golden castle was open to the public, yes, but as a matter of fact, Abel had only been doing business with some influential groups that he had traded with before. So, apart from a few big druids, the restaurant was not open to anyone else for the elves. However, Queen Luisa wanted all big druids to have an equal chance to promote themselves by heading to the golden castle.

Queen Luisa had brought this request to Master Bennett before. However, Master Bennett had been busy with his shutdown training. While his three followers were big druids, they couldn’t invite too many people other than those they knew personally. It was frustrating for the elves, especially when it was already confirmed that simply eating food over at the golden castle was enough for a promotion. This meant that these dishes were more precious than any potions out there.

Queen Lousia had to request this of Master Bennett. She was waiting for a proper chance, and this was it.

Abel smiled, “For that, your Majesty, I don’t take personal care of this. It’s always been handled by my butler and followers.”

Abel continued before he disappointed Queen Lousia, “However, if your Majesty wishes so, I’ll do my part. Everything should be done accordingly, if you wish.”

Queen Luisa smiled and bowed, “Of course! Give the elves a chance.”

Abel turned around and spoke to Druid Joseph, “You take charge of this, Joseph. From here on, all big druids with permission will have the qualification to enter the golden castle.”

Druid Joseph bowed, “Yes, Master Bennett!”

Queen Luisa thanked again, “I thank you on behalf of our entire kind, Master Bennett.”

Actually, Queen Luisa had wanted to head over to the golden castle herself. It wasn’t just for her own rank but also for getting a better picture of what this miraculous place for training was.