Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 243

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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243. Oh

“I need time. It won’t be long.”

“Then it would be cold and dangerous to stay here, so let’s go down to the mountain lodge.”

“There’s no need for that. One hour will be sufficient.”

The Effort Priest was confident. He was so confident that he even set a time limit of one hour himself.

‘If he shows this much confidence, should I follow along for now?’

If an ordinary person showed such confidence, I’d worry about their mental health, but the opponent is a servant of a deity.

‘Moreover, a 5-star one.’

Though I’m suspicious of what the deity of effort is thinking, surely they wouldn’t give secret orders to kill all the other deities’ priests.

“One hour it is.”

When Serena made her decision, High Priest Hazel followed the Princess’s will.

“Hey, Serena! Are you crazy?”

The Prince did object. Serena ignored her noisily chattering sibling and consulted with Hazel, the real leader of the priest party.

“One hour is too cold to stay here continuously, and an awkward time to go down to the mountain lodge. Do you have any measures to avoid the cold?”

“I’ll ask the earth to create a cave. We should be able to avoid the snow and wind.”

‘If I go into a cave and use temperature control magic fields… No, that won’t work. I need to conserve magic power since I don’t know what might happen.’

“Low. Go with Count Alpha and find firewood.”

The Imperial Knight seemed reluctant to leave the side of the royalty he was guarding. Noticing this, Muffin stood in front of Serena.

“Don’t worry, Count Alpha. I’ll protect Lady Serena and Lord Seraph.”

Count Alpha seemed even more troubled by the words of the noble lady with lovely pink hair. Serena whispered the truth to the worried Imperial Knight.

“Miss Muffin is as strong as High Priest Hazel.”

It’s just that ice is blocking the stairs, so Muffin doesn’t need to step forward. The Priest of Corruption is a living biological disaster. Corruption punch, corruption kick, and corruption touch were more dangerous than High Priest Hazel’s fists.

However, what Count Alpha was worried about didn’t seem to be Muffin’s strength. The Imperial Knight’s jewel-like eyes touched the magic shield and Muffin’s pink hair.

‘He’s worried about what would happen if she betrays us like Pink Fungus.’

Serena gestured that it was fine. The dutiful knight quickly composed his emotions, bowed silently, and left with the hunter.

Muffin watched the departing Imperial Knight’s back and admired him.

“He’s really handsome. You think so too, don’t you, Lady Serena?”

“Hmph. Handsome? Isn’t your taste a bit too low?”

“Low taste? I wish my standards were lower. Ugh, Countess Randy and Lord Seraph have raised the average too much. When I go to the Royal Palace and then look in the mirror at home, I get startled. My friends like my brother and say he’s handsome, but to me he looks like bread dough molded into a human face. Ugh, I’m not sure about this guy. He’s not wandering around looking for Lord Seraph, is he?”

Muffin complained about the aftermath of seeing Heuji Jeolmi at the same time. Unfortunately, she mentioned Shullen at the end, so Serena had to work hard to manage her expression.

‘It’s not time to tell her yet.’

We’re facing a battle with a strong enemy. It wasn’t time to give shocking information to the party’s strongest dealer and biggest pushover before battle.

“We brought firewood.”

“Oh earth!”

High Priest Hazel manipulated the terrain to create an earthen cave that could fit all 12 people. Low stacked the logs and lit a campfire.

The warmest spot was occupied by the royal siblings, the noble lady, and the priest of light, but the noble lady yielded her place to the Empire’s alchemist. Count Randy accepted the offer while feeling embarrassed.

“Then let’s begin.”

“If you try anything strange, you’ll be punished immediately.”

When Huji’s Princess and Prince declared their surveillance with sharp eyes, the bald High Priest spoke to the Fire Knight.

“Silent practice. You’ve started truly good practice. By swallowing inward the words meant to go outward, you can awaken the self, the non-self, and even the unknown self that was within you – it’s good practice.”

‘Is this guy also talkative?’

What exactly is he trying to do? Serena decided to watch for now.

Her impatient sibling already had wrinkles between his brows.

“The gentle Fire Knight seems to find practice difficult. Bindo will help with the practice. It’s very easy. Just put in effort.”

There’s nothing in the world that can’t be done with effort, and effort solves everything!

The naturally bald priest smiled brightly. Even his shabby face looked decent when he smiled brightly. It’s just that what he was saying was suspicious.

“Is effort difficult? It’s not. It’s difficult and hard because you’re trying to work hard vaguely without proper plans or goals. To make an effort, you must first specifically set goals you want to achieve through effort. Look at our current situation. An ice snake is blocking the path to the stairs, trapping us on this snowy mountain. Shouldn’t we make an effort to remove that snake?”

“I was watching to see what you were trying to do. You’re just saying obvious things.”

Seraph got another wrinkle between his brows. Both Count Alpha and Seraph – people confident in their faces never worried about getting wrinkles.

Serena felt relative deprivation and pressed her own brow firmly.

“Don’t you want to make an effort? Don’t you want to escape this snowy mountain? Don’t you want to convey the sacred warmth of fire to the snake that’s blocking the path to the stairs?”

“Kuk.”

Knight Marin had a lot to say but couldn’t, so he gritted his teeth. Serena could see the tension in his jaw.

“Don’t you want to help everyone get from this cold place to a warm place? Don’t you want to show the will of fire that gave you strength? You actually know it. The fact that your effort was insufficient.”

“Kruk.”

“Your words are harsh. Knight Marin endured for 5 days. If only I hadn’t dozed off…”

Priest Rihua’s eyes reddened. Knight Marin waved his hands frantically, saying it was fine.

The Effort Priest picked up on Rihua’s words.

“That’s right. Knight Marin can make an effort if he sets his mind to it. But he must be heartbroken that the results of his hard work vanished futilely. The thought of enduring and persevering again must make his mind feel distant.”

“I was watching to see what you were trying to do, but I have no idea. That’s enough,”

“Shh.”

“Why?”

Serena stopped her sibling who was about to punish the Effort Priest.

At first, Serena also couldn’t understand what kind of scheme this was. She had been enduring just by looking at the 5 stars shining above the naturally bald head, but now she thought she understood.

“Look at Knight Marin’s necklace.”

“The sealing device? Why?”

“The time is changing rapidly.”

Seraph listened to his sister and observed the sealing device hanging around the knight’s neck. It was as Serena said. The seconds displayed on the necklace passed faster than the seconds he counted in his mind.

“Is such suffering worth enduring and persevering through? Such doubts will arise. But that’s because you’ve never truly, sincerely made an effort and tasted that achievement. True effort requires putting everything on the line. Have you ever really made such an effort?”

Beyond seconds, minutes began to change rapidly.

“Have you ever made a sincere effort that you could proudly present to the sacred fire? It’s fine if you haven’t. You can start from now. Bindo will help.”

Beyond seconds and minutes, the numbers indicating hours changed rapidly. The necklace soon displayed that a day had passed.

“A-are you manipulating time?”

Count Randy looked outside the cave in surprise. Nothing had changed at all, but only the time displayed on Knight Marin’s necklace flowed rapidly.

“Wow, it’s already been 2 days! Is it going to go up to a week like this?”

“The deity of effort bestows such miracles upon their servants. Amazing.”

The Priest of Corruption and the priest of light were amazed, watching the miracle unfolding right before them with respectful postures. Duri didn’t seem to understand the situation and just yawned lazily.

“Did you know about this, High Priest?”

High Priest Hazel shook his head at Rihua’s question.

“This is my first time meeting the Effort Priest as well. I knew that heavenly effort occasionally gives strength to earthly humans. So the deity of effort bestows such miracles upon their servants.”

“What does it mean that the deity of effort gives strength to earthly humans?”

At Serena’s question, the High Priest of Earth smiled warmly and explained.

“It means exactly what it says. Sometimes people who make steady, sincere efforts show amazing achievements. That’s mostly because heavenly effort has given them strength.”

Count Alpha, who heard the High Priest’s words, joined in.

“Often among colleagues who train hard, there are those who display tremendous strength even though they’ve built similar muscles. Is that the grace of effort?”

“Yes, that’s right. Other heavenly beings might have given strength, but it’s usually the grace of effort.”

Oh. People united in praising heavenly effort. The more sincere and hardworking a person usually was, the greater reverence they held for great effort.

“I’ve never heard such a story. Why doesn’t the Order of Effort widely publicize this fact? Is there some reason it shouldn’t be revealed?”

Seraph, who usually didn’t make much effort, felt suspicion instead of reverence. Hazel didn’t get angry at the Prince for doubting the deity and their servant, and smiled warmly.

“I don’t know either. How about asking the Effort Priest after this matter is over?”

The answer came from an unexpected place.

“Sense of deprivation.”

The archer who had been crouching in the corner of the cave spoke up. Everyone’s attention focused on the faithful servant of darkness.

“An Effort Priest I met before said so. That people might resent effort or stop making efforts because of a sense of deprivation.”

How wonderful it would be if effort worked as fairly as death. But the most fair and equal deity in heaven is death, and even this death isn’t perfectly fair.

Effort gives strength to those who make efforts, but not to everyone.

Even if you think you’ve made equally fierce efforts, the results can be different. If the fact that the real deity of effort gives strength becomes widely known on top of this, many would give up on effort altogether.

“Hehe, it seems you’ve met Bindo’s senior.”

The High Priest of Effort, who had been sticking close to Knight Marin spouting strange sermons, spoke to Ying.

“Is it over?”

“Shh. I am savoring the results of my efforts. Do not disturb me.”

The Fire Knight sat with eyes closed in a cross-legged meditation pose. The time displayed on the meditating knight’s necklace had exceeded a week and reached 30 days. The star above his head had also become 5 stars.

“For those who find it difficult to make effort, it is good to let them experience in advance the results of sincere effort. Use this experience as a foundation to gain the strength to work even harder.”

The Bald Priest smiled broadly. Though his face was still shabby, the party’s gaze toward the High Priest of Effort was different from before.

‘He was a buffer!’

The rank above one’s head does not lie. The High Priest of Effort was a buffer who gave strength to those who worked hard and brought forth results even without effort.

‘Listen to a one-hour sermon and get the results of a month’s training?’

Whether everyone was surprised or not, the High Priest of Effort additionally answered the question that Ying had answered on his behalf.

“I apologize for answering Your Highness’s question late. Effort regards all earthly beings who strive on their own as believers. One servant, Bindo, is sufficient to follow Effort’s commands.”

The Bald Priest indirectly revealed that he was the sole priest of Effort on earth.

‘So that’s why he was certain the priest Ying met was his senior.’

The Bald Priest was undoubtedly middle-aged. Just how old was Ying, who had met the senior of such a middle-aged priest?

Serena stared at the archer whose facial features were as elegant as an ancient sculpture. The archer maintained his usual expressionless face while maintaining his bow, then stood up.

“Let’s go.”

It wasn’t Ying who spoke. It was the Fire Knight who spoke.

“Knight Marin! What if you speak? Huh?”

Muffin was startled and started scolding the knight, then closed her mouth. This was because the number on the sealing device hanging around the knight’s neck was maintaining 30 days.

Heat could be felt in Knight Marin’s eyes as he finished his meditation and opened them, and his blue hair flickered like blue flames.

Blue hair and blue eyes. Despite always thinking of water-related deities when hearing the term Fire Knight, contrary to Serena’s impression, the current Marin was the very embodiment of a blazing Fire Knight.

Knight Marin looked at his companions with confidence.

“I’m ready. Let’s go.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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