I really hated whoever designed these stairs.
I really did.
But despite that, after climbing for nearly 10 minutes, we finally passed the clouds and stood at the top of the staircase.
There was a large open marble temple. Sun Vampires were scattered all around, most of them carrying jewelry from one area to another.
As for the main reason we ca here, there was a diamond pedestal in the very center of the temple.
It’s where all the donations, or... well, tributes, are placed.
And that’s exactly where Obel led us, giving way once we arrived.
"You may place your tribute here, and I shall give you a gift as thanks."
At Obel’s words, I rolled my eyes.
"Can I ask for any kind of gift?"
He smiled.
"Anything within reason is attainable so long as the right price is paid."
Well.
He wasn’t wrong.
But for starters...
"Before we give our kind donation, could you get us so of your special umbrellas?"
I pointed at Clentine, whose face was red and whose clothes were all sweaty.
"Can’t have a lady walking around like this, can we?"
"I understand..."
With those words, Obel vanished from my sight. A second later, he reappeared and passed two white umbrellas to us.
Clentine grabbed one, and after unfolding it, a cool gust of wind blew from within the umbrella.
Honestly, all props to the blacksmiths, or whoever made this. The top of the umbrella absorbs the heat and then sohow converts it into cold wind.
In short, while I didn’t feel the heat much because of Atomic Stabilization, Clentine was very thankful.
...But also a little pissed off that I didn’t say anything earlier.
Anyhow...
"Obel, what would it take for you to take us downstairs?"
"...?"
He tilted his head slightly, as if not understanding my question.
So I decided to make it a little clearer.
"We want to go through the forbidden ritual."
And the mont I said those words, Obel’s whole deanor shifted, and all the energy he had been showing off until now seed like a joke in comparison to what he had been hiding.
Cold sweat ran down my forehead, and despite the crushing pain in my chest, I didn’t avoid his gaze.
Just then, he closed his eyes, and all the pressure he had been giving off vanished.
"No amount of valuables can make grant you such a request."
Pointing back at the staircase, he added,
"I take it you already knew that. You also knew that only Sun Vampires can go through such a ritual. So if this was your only goal, I’m afraid you best leave."
I smiled slightly.
"Not even if we placed a bet on it?"
He paused for a mont.
"What bet?"
"Let do the forbidden ritual, and if I can’t hold on for at least 10 minutes, you can turn into a Sun Vampire."
Although I had already told Clentine about my plan, she still flinched.
She probably thought there was a possibility that I would actually get turned into a Sun Vampire.
And even after I assured her that the possibility of that happening was pretty much zero, she was still uneasy.
But thankfully, she believed in .
"I’ll be doing 10 minutes as well," Clentine chid in.
Seeing both of our determination, Obel crossed his arms.
"Do you think the ritual is child’s play? Even the children can do 10 minutes."
Well yeah.
"The children aren’t human, but Sun Vampires."
"And? Do you think I care?"
Obel scoffed and brushed his golden hair back.
"If you want a fair ritual, then I’ll give you fair. The adults are expected to last 45 minutes in the ritual. You, however, would need to last 60 minutes. If you give up at any mont before the 60 minutes are up, I will personally turn you into Sun Vampires."
Wow...
I exchanged a subtle glance with Clentine, surprised by how this went even smoother than I thought.
60 minutes?
What a joke.
I was going to be in here for at least a day.
And by that, I ant I was going to enhance my body as much as I could before finally leaving this place.
So in short, we got what we were looking for.
"I agree."
" too."
Obel let out a sigh before nodding.
"Then finish with your tribute, and I’ll take you down into the mountain."
Hearing that, faint smiles appeared on our faces as Clentine and I began dumping all the trash we had gathered from the nobles, excluding the gold.
Once the pedestal was overflowing with gemstones, we finally backed off.
Yet when he glanced around, we spotted hundreds of Sun Vampires crowding around us without saying a word. Their eyes were wide as they stared at all the valuables.
And when Obel raised, then quickly lowered his hand, each and every one of the Sun Vampires present ran toward the pedestal, fighting one another to get a piece of jewelry.
It was barbaric how they trampled each other, but the ones who were more nimble managed to run away with a few extra pieces of jewelry.
Though whatever happened to that jewelry or the Sun Vampires didn’t concern much as I gently grabbed Clentine’s hand and approached Obel.
"We’re ready."
"I can see that... You two are really rich."
I smirked.
"You could say that. On another note, could you tell us about the ritual?"
Obel froze.
"...Did you co here not knowing how the ritual works?"
Of course I knew how it worked.
It’s just that I didn’t know the whole story behind it.
After all, the main character Kevin never actually did this. One of his future companions ntioned the Sun Vampire ritual to him and said that all she needed to do was endure pain for a bit.
And both Clentine and I are pretty tough when it cos to any kind of pain.
Noticing our innocent expressions, Obel facepald and, after rubbing his temples in annoyance, began explaining.
"The forbidden ritual goes by the na of the Sun Purification Ritual."
"It doesn’t matter how strong you are or how tough your mind is. The Sun Purification Ritual adjusts its strength based on how resistant you are. That’s what makes this ritual forbidden to anyone who’s not a Sun Vampire, since we’re the only race that has a resistance to the ritual."
He then pointed at the two of us.
"It’s not too late to back out."
We both shook our heads in unison.
And it seed like that was a good enough response for Obel, as a massive grin appeared on his face.
"In that case, follow ..."
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