The Pastor

Chaos Era, Year 1814.

"Ah! Moke, let go! Let go now! You broke the skin—I’m bleeding!" Liyana shrieked, flailing her arm as Moke clenched his teeth around her hand.

"If you dare pat my head again, I swear I’ll bite your fingers off!" Moke finally released her, growling the threat.

"Eh? I just couldn’t help it… You’re seriously cute for a man. What a waste…" Liyana muttered, casting a minor healing spell on herself.

"Bastard…"

"Enough, both of you. Stop bickering," Xia Lun commanded coolly. "Stay alert. Something’s coming."

The two fell silent. Liyana slung her longbow off her back, and Moke tensed, his hand hovering over the dagger at his waist.

Moke had ventured into the labyrinth with Xia Lun’s team multiple times now, and Xia Lun acknowledged his skills and experience as a rogue.

And his knack for attracting monsters.

Just as Moke had warned, ever since he joined, mindless creatures had been drawn to them like moths to a flame.

"ROAR—"

A thunderous bellow shook the earth, tremors rippling like an earthquake as a monstrous land dragon charged toward them.

It was a four-legged beast, mountainous in size, with a triangular head, pillar-like limbs, and a humped back resembling a small hill.

"Shall I handle this?" Aina asked Xia Lun.

"Please."

Aina smirked, pride flickering in her eyes. She knew Xia Lun struggled against such colossal foes—his sword would be little more than a toothpick to this beast.

With a light tap of her staff, a vast crimson magic circle erupted beneath the land dragon, engulfing it entirely.

The surge of elemental energy alerted the creature, and it roared in fury.

Then came the devastation. The magic array erupted with apocalyptic flames, blinding the group as if the sun had risen at their feet.

Liyana glanced at her bow, coughed awkwardly, and strapped it back. Moke slowly withdrew his hand from his dagger.

Well, they’d considered helping.

As the inferno faded, the air remained thick with fire mana. The ground ahead had melted into glowing magma, and at its center stood a charred monolith, the scent of roasted meat wafting from it.

"Can we… eat that?" Liyana gulped.

"Technically, yes. But you’d regret it," Moke said. "That thing’s meat could crack your teeth."

"Good work," Xia Lun told Aina.

"Hmph. It was nothing." She flipped her hair, stowing her staff.

A flawless one-hit kill.

The rivalry between her and Xia Lun continued.

"Just… what are they?" Moke whispered to Liyana.

"Xia Lun’s a hero blessed by the goddess. His strength makes sense… But Aina? No clue. She’s always been a mysterious noble mage," Liyana admitted.

"That can’t be all," Moke pressed. "I’ve met other blessed ones. They’re strong, sure, but nothing like this."

Liyana pondered. "Maybe the goddess gave Xia Lun extra power because he’s handsome?"

Moke: "…"

"What’re you two gossiping about? Get over here. A land dragon this size has to have a core," Xia Lun called, already slicing into the carcass with his sword.

Magic cores—crystalline mana reservoirs from monsters—were prized for crafting staves or powering arrays.

Liyana sighed and climbed onto the corpse. She hated this grisly work; the stench clung for days.

Aina, the MVP, lounged nearby, snacking while the others toiled.

Hours later—

"What’s this?"

A gaping slit in the dragon’s belly spilled out a slippery, bulbous sac.

"Uh… Liyana, don’t touch that. It’s the stomach—" Xia Lun warned.

Too late. Her dagger slit the organ open, unleashing a wave of putrid stench.

Yellow-green sludge oozed out, littered with half-dissolved swords and armor.

"Ew—disgusting!" Liyana leapt back, narrowly avoiding the mess.

"What happened?" Moke rushed over, gagged, but held his lunch.

"Wait… what’s that?" Xia Lun spotted an angular mass lodged in the stomach’s tear—untouched by acid.

Squelch.

A pale-yellow crystal, coffin-sized, slid to Xia Lun’s feet.

No core. Cores weren’t this big, nor found in stomachs.

And cores didn’t contain people.

Through the translucent crystal, a figure loomed—a bald, near-naked giant clad only in shorts. His bronzed muscles gleamed, radiating menace.

Crack—

The crystal shuddered, fissures spiderwebbing its surface.

BOOM.

"HYAH!"

With a battle cry, the man burst free, arms flexing as he vaulted onto the ground before them.

Liyana and Moke gaped.

"Did you slay the dragon? You saved me!" The man boomed, voice like a war drum. "Thank you!"

"Uh… you’re welcome," Xia Lun managed.

"I’m Musen. My party took a contract to kill it, but… we were no match." Musen eyed the corroded gear. "My comrades… I alone survived, sealing myself in magic crystal."

"My condolences," Xia Lun said, offering spare clothes.

Musen’s face darkened. "I’d hoped to escape its bowels and avenge them… But I’m weak. Just a cleric who can’t fight."