The Tower King

Sora stared silently at the statue, letting his gaze wander over the details of the robe and the hood that hid its face. The atmosphere in the temple felt heavy, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath.

"Nymeus, huh?" he murmured. "Well, we still don't know who that is."

Nerris shrugged. "The temple is named after him. He must be someone important. Even though I don't know anything about him either."

She scanned the room. The smaller secondary statues created a sort of corridor leading to the large effigy. The symbols engraved on the walls depicted unknown scenes, perhaps fragments of a story lost in time.

"In any case, this place is almost intact," Sora noted. "It's almost surprising that you've never heard of it."

While continuing to examine the huge statue, Nerris thought for a moment. "Given that the temple is located in the Brumenoire Forest, I'm not really surprised that it's not very well known. But even as a hostess for the Order of Mercenaries, it was Jarek who told me about it."

"It must really be in the middle of the forest for no one to find it. I think we should stay here for a while," he suggested. "We need rest to heal our wounds, and this place seems safe."

Nerris nodded. "Good idea. We can explore a little and see if we find anything useful. And then, there are surely some interesting hiding places. "

They set out to find a place to put their things. A recess in the wall, sheltered from the drafts, would make a good temporary camp.

Sora settled down against the wall, placing his bag beside him before examining his arm. The wound left by the Skarnoks was starting to bleed less, but was still open enough to be debilitating. Nerris, meanwhile, sat down opposite him, gently rolling up her sleeve to look at the bite mark left by the Night Stalker. The mark was still deep, and dried blood stretched down to her wrist.

"He didn't miss you... You must be in a lot of pain," she added as she examined the wound on his arm.

"Yeah, but I think I'm doing pretty well," Sora replied as he continued to examine his arm.

"You should use one of the green vials Jarek gave you. They're healing potions. They won't completely close your wound, but at least they should stop the bleeding," said Nerris, tearing off a piece of her T-shirt to use as a bandage for her own wound.

As a precaution, in case something happened to him, Sora had stored the vials, dry bread, knife, and dried fruit that Jarek had given him in the Systèm0 inventory. However, he never imagined that he would have to use them in front of Nerris.

If she saw him pull a vial out of thin air, she would ask the same questions Jarek had asked him a few days earlier. And right now, Sora preferred to keep his system a secret, at least for as long as possible.

He thought for a moment before coming up with a fairly obvious solution.

He put his right hand in his pants pocket. "System0, give me a green vial from my inventory," he thought.

[ Affirmative. ]

A few moments later, the vial appeared in his hand, and he was able to drink it without Nerris suspecting what he had just done.

"By the way, given the little dip we took, I guess you don't have anything left of what Jarek gave you," said Nerris, who had just finished bandaging his arm.

Sora shrugged slightly, pretending to examine the empty vial in his hand. "I was lucky not to lose everything in the fall, but yeah, I don't have anything else left. The knife, the food, even the other two vials, everything ended up at the bottom of the river."

Nerris sighed and leaned against the wall, her hand absentmindedly brushing the makeshift bandage she had just applied. "Well, anyway, it's not like he really gave you anything useful. I just hope we can find some food around here. At least we don't have to worry about running out of water."

Examining her arm, which had already stopped bleeding, Sora smiled slightly in relief. "Since we were able to eat last night, I can hold out until tomorrow without eating. So we can take advantage of that to rest today." "

Nerris sat up, stretching her injured arm with a grimace. "That's what I was thinking too. We should just search the temple for now, maybe we'll find something interesting. "

She then headed toward the temple entrance and took the opportunity to push open the doors, without closing them completely. "If you find any suspicious mechanisms, coins, or objects, let me know immediately and, above all, don't touch them," she continued, examining the walls in front of her.

Even though she couldn't see him, Sora nodded and walked behind the large central statue. He examined the base carefully, running his fingers over the cold stone, slightly worn by time. There were no visible inscriptions, no apparent mechanisms. He sighed quietly before taking a step back to get a better view.

Nerris, meanwhile, was examining the intricately carved walls. She ran her fingers over the engraved symbols, hoping to feel an irregularity that would betray the existence of a hidden compartment or secret mechanism. But there was nothing. Just smooth, cold stone.

"Anything on your end?" Sora asked, running a hand through his hair, slightly frustrated.

Nerris shrugged. "Nothing in particular. Symbols, engraved scenes... but I don't recognize any of these patterns."

Sora took one last look at the pedestal before heading toward the wall behind him. "By the way, why do you want us to inspect this temple?" "

Continuing to run his fingers over the wall decorations, Nerris paused for a moment. "If Jarek told us to come here, it probably means that this temple isn't just a temple. It must be hiding something important that we need to find so you can become stronger."

Trying to hide his disappointment at finding nothing, Sora sat down on the floor. "Or maybe it's just a normal temple and Jarek told us to come here just so we'd have a roof over our heads."

Nerris nodded slightly, seeming to agree with what Sora had just said. "Yes, maybe you're right, but I'd still rather check just in case."

The two of them continued to search the temple from top to bottom for several minutes before finally returning to their belongings, having found nothing of particular interest in the temple.

Sitting on the floor with her back against the cold walls of the temple, Nerris turned to Sora. "I'm going to rest for a few moments. Even though I don't think we'll be disturbed during that time, could you still keep an eye out for any monsters that might sneak in here?"

Nodding in agreement, Sora walked over to the main statue and sat down with his back against it, facing the huge half-open door.

...

A week had passed since their arrival at the temple of Nymeus.

Sora and Nerris had finally settled into a routine in this silent, motionless place. During the day, they searched every nook and cranny of the sanctuary, hoping to discover a hidden mechanism, a forgotten inscription, or even a simple clue as to why they were there, or they left the temple to look for food. At night, they took turns guarding the entrance, although nothing and no one had come to disturb their peace.

The temple was huge, but also incredibly empty. There were no hidden provisions, no concealed traps, nothing to suggest that it was an important place.

Luckily, they didn't encounter a single monster during that week's break. Even when they went outside to look for food, they didn't encounter any, although they were always very careful to be as discreet as possible. They both found it strange that no monsters had attacked them.

As a result, Sora took advantage of this forced break to recover physically. His injury, though still visible, no longer hindered him as much as before. He also spent time training, repeating the moves Emma had taught him, sharpening his speed and precision with the sword.

Nerris, for her part, had focused on analyzing the temple's engravings and reliefs. She had noticed that certain symbols appeared more often than others, but without any way to decipher them, this led to nothing concrete.

"Pff... Still nothing. I'm tired of hanging around here," Sora grumbled as he finished examining the temple for the umpteenth time.

Nerris, leaning against a wall not far from him, crossed her arms. "Yeah, even I'm starting to despair of finding anything." "

Sora shrugged casually as he returned to their makeshift camp. "How about we go outside and fight some monsters? My arm doesn't hurt anymore, and if Jarek sent us here, it's so I can get stronger. "

"Actually, I think it's time for you to go train. And this time, I'll just watch you, so don't take any unnecessary risks." Nerris replied, as he began to prepare himself.

Sora straightened up slightly, a faint smile on his lips. Finally, he would be able to get back into action.

Since arriving at this temple, they had spent too much time searching without finding anything. His body had rested, his wounds had healed, but he knew that staying here would not make him stronger.

He adjusted his sword at his belt and glanced at Nerris. "Shall we go?"

She simply nodded before heading toward the temple entrance. Sora followed her without a word, feeling a mixture of excitement and apprehension.

As soon as they stepped through the large doors, the cool air of the Brumenoire Forest enveloped them. A light mist floated above the ground, partially obscuring the dense vegetation that stretched out before them. The twisted trees and surrounding ruins rose like menacing shadows, and only the rustling of leaves and the distant cry of a night bird disturbed the silence.

Nerris walked confidently ahead, leading the way. "Follow me. I know a place where we can surely find some weak monsters." "

Sora did not reply, merely nodding slightly.

They walked on for a few minutes, venturing deeper into the forest. The place was strangely quiet. Too quiet.

Finally, Nerris stopped and pointed to a small grove slightly lit by the sunlight piercing through the thick foliage. "We often find Flayed Stalkers here. Primitive goblins. They're weak individually, but they rarely attack alone, so stay on your guard."

Sora narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the area. His gaze fell on three figures moving around an animal carcass, tearing at the flesh with their claws and teeth. "So these are the Flayed Stalkers," he thought, feeling his heart beat a little faster.

It was time.

He took one last look at Nerris, who was leaning quietly against a tree nearby, arms crossed.

"I won't help you, so be careful not to do anything stupid," she said in a neutral tone.

Sora smiled slightly and drew his sword. He moved forward cautiously, his footsteps muffled by moss and dead leaves.

One of the goblins suddenly raised its head, sniffing the air suspiciously. Its piercing yellow gaze fell on him. It let out a hoarse growl, alerting the other two, who immediately stopped eating and turned their attention to Sora.

A tense silence fell.

Then, suddenly, the first goblin rushed toward him, brandishing a piece of bone sharpened like a weapon.

Sora didn't move. He waited.

At the last moment, he pivoted to the side and swung his sword diagonally. His blade sliced through the creature's shoulder, eliciting a shrill cry.

The second goblin reacted immediately, leaping at him with a rusty dagger in hand. Sora took a sudden step back, narrowly avoiding the filthy blade that whizzed past his chest. Before he had time to reposition himself, the third goblin charged at him as well.

Sora instinctively ducked and thrust his sword forward.

The monster impaled itself on it mid-jump, crashing down on him with a muffled gurgle. He pushed the body away roughly, feeling the adrenaline pulsing through his veins.

The first goblin, despite its wound, lunged forward again. Sora dodged with a fluid step and immediately counterattacked. His blade sliced through the monster's chest, and it collapsed, suffocating.

There was only one opponent left.

Seeing his dead comrades, he took a trembling step back before turning on his heel and fleeing.

Sora narrowed his eyes. "No way," he shouted before pushing off the ground and charging straight at him.

In a flash, the goblin's head rolled across the damp grass and silence fell over the clearing. Sora took a deep breath, releasing the tension that had built up in his muscles. Then a discreet smile appeared on his face.

He felt good.

Behind him, Nerris approached slowly. "Not bad," she commented, looking at the corpses. "You still lack a little precision, but it was clean." "

Sora shrugged slightly as he wiped the blood from his blade.

"Shall we continue?"

An amused smile stretched across Nerris's lips. "Only if you're still standing after the next wave."

Sora tightened his grip on his sword as he sensed the presence of other creatures around him, ready to attack.