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“Wow…”

Gid, who had come to the capital from a small southern village in search of work, exclaimed as he gazed at the vibrant scene inside the majestic city of Pohelrn.

“The outside was amazing… but the inside is really something else.”

He had been overwhelmed by the high walls, which would take ten of him stacked on top of each other to reach the top, and the gate made of beautiful blue bricks of unknown construction, but Pohelrn inside the gate was even more tremendous.

Everywhere he turned his eyes, it felt like half the land was people.

“Just the people gathered in front of the gate seem to be ten times more than the people in our village.”

A country bumpkin like him didn’t know much, but he had heard that Prigos, chosen as the earthly representative of the sky, had absorbed or subjugated several towns and cities about ten years ago, and three years ago, Ara had declared a kingdom named Pohelrnia.

His village was also said to belong to the kingdom, but only the village chief knew what that meant, and he had a hard time understanding it properly.

But regardless of understanding, he felt a sense of pride that he and his village were under this great city called the capital of the kingdom.

“Oh!”

Gid hurried away as people continued to pour in through the gate.

He wandered around the city, marveling at everything, and saw young men like him looking around the city with dazed expressions.

They must be people who had come to the capital in search of work, like him.

Gid managed his expression, worried that he might look just as foolish, and started walking.

Among the paths, there were not only well-maintained dirt roads, but also roads covered with black stone fragments, which did not break even when wagons passed over them.

And in the distance, the presence of a single building towering high in the center of the city.

‘Could that be the temple?’

The Great Temple in the center, where the messenger of God, a High Elf, who conveys the will of the greatest sky god and earth god to humans, resides.

It was a faith that began to be believed in various parts of Pohelrnia after King Prigos began to make a name for himself throughout the region.

The religion that believes in the earth mother, World Tree El-Prigion, and the sky god, Ul-Kanadiel.

The massive Great Temple, built higher than the walls to honor the majesty of those gods, soared high as if trying to reach the sky.

It was still under construction, but the foundation was so grand that it made one wonder if humans could even build it.

Rumor had it that two giants, whom the High Elf used as minions, moved the stones to build it.

Honestly, he thought it was just a far-fetched story to tease the country bumpkins until he saw it with his own eyes, but now that he actually saw it, he thought it might really be true.

Moreover, Prigos was the human chosen by God through the High Elf, who created the current capital, Pohelrn, and founded the Kingdom of Pohelrnia.

The High Elf can bestow Mystic Power upon the chosen human, and Prigos and the soldiers he leads are all said to be several times stronger than other humans, even though they are the same size.

King Prigos said that everyone except the two unique sky gods and earth gods were false gods, and attacked villages guarded by local gods, killing and subjugating the local gods.

Gid’s village was not under a local god, but he had seen a giant toad called a local god, and its overwhelming presence made Gid think that no amount of human power could ever overcome it.

If a human could really subdue such local gods, then Prigos might really be a messenger of God.

Gid felt a tickling sensation in his chest as he thought that if he continued to live in this city, he might have a chance to see those great people.

“The city really has everything. Heh.”

Gid, who had spent more time than he thought sightseeing, asked the people around him for directions and came to a building.

“Stone…workers’…guild? Free…ma…sons…”

He read the letters under the sign with the hammer and chisel, spacing them out.

Even though anyone can talk, knowing how to read is rare, so Gid felt a little proud.

“Yeah. This must be the place.”

The place where the village chief’s second son belonged.

He confidently pushed open the well-maintained wooden door and entered, and there were many people running around noisily.

“Huh? Who’s here?”

“Was someone supposed to come today?”

“I don’t know! Dude! Don’t talk to me, I’m busy!”

A man who seemed to be relatively free scratched his head and approached Gid.

He was tall, about two heads taller than Gid, and had prominent muscles that proved he had a body trained by labor.

“What brings you here?”

“Ah… I’m here to see Adler, the second son of Amantes, the village chief of Foxbell Village…”

Gid, intimidated by the man’s force, spoke in a voice that seemed to fade away at the end.

“Ah, a guest for Adler! Hey! Adler!”

The man’s voice echoed loudly even in the noisy space.

Gid covered his ears, worried that blood might come out of his ears, when a man came, not as big as the man in front of him, but with a solid body trained by labor.

He was a neat young man, not at all like the village chief’s son who was always getting angry.

“I’m Adler. What brings you here?”

“Ah… well, the village chief…”

“You must have come through my father’s introduction.”

Adler looked at the first man and asked.

“Ubaid, is there a trainee position open right now?”

“Maybe? But everyone’s busy preparing for the Martial Arts Festival in two weeks, so I don’t know if we can pay attention to that right now.”

“We’re short on workers anyway, right? We’ll use him as a handyman until the Martial Arts Festival, and then we’ll see.”

“Well, if that’s the case, it’s your job, so you’re in charge of it?”

Then Ubaid left to do his own work.

“What are you doing? Follow me.”

Adler started walking without even looking back at Gid, who was standing there dumbfounded.

Adler led him to the dormitory where the stonemason guild’s trainees stayed.

A stone slab with ’13’ carved on it was attached above the door, and inside, there were four bunk beds.

The messy room, full of signs of life, seemed to smell of the damp sweat of men.

While Gid was horrified by the state of the room, Adler came with a pile of clothes.

“Wear something that fits roughly. If you work in those clothes, they’ll be ruined in less than a week.”

He changed into cleaner clothes with less wear and tear among the tops with exposed forearms and leather pants, like the stonemason guild members.

Adler nudged Gid, who was still dazed, on the shoulder and pointed outside with his thumb.

“Okay, let’s go to work.”

◈ ◈ ◈

“How has it been working for a few days?”

“…I feel like I’m going to die.”

“Hahaha, but Gid, you’ve adapted well. When the king had a lot of slaves due to the conquest wars, it was the hardest work you could get in this city, so it was only given to slaves. Oh, but don’t think badly of it. It’s a long-standing job that has existed in Pohelrn for a long time, even before slaves were supplied. It’s just that it’s true that slaves took away the jobs at that time.”

“Ugh…”

“But you had muscles on your body, what did you do before you came?”

“What else would someone from a rural village like Foxbell do? I lived by digging in the ground.”

Gid listened to Adler’s words and chewed on the barley bread that was distributed for lunch like the other workers.

“But the food is good because it’s hard work, right?”

Certainly, back in his hometown, he was considered to be eating well if he ate two meals of thin porridge with a few small vegetables.

The work was hard, a little harder than farming, but he always looked forward to mealtime because he got two meals of barley bread of this quality every day, with a few dried dates.

He didn’t get paid, but the amount he earned as a worker until the Martial Arts Festival in a few days would be used in place of the membership fee and tuition to become a trainee in the stonemason guild.

Besides the stonemason guild, you generally need money to join a guild in the first place.

“My father probably didn’t even tell you.”

That’s really true.

Gid wanted to agree right away, but he wasn’t so clueless as to insult the parents of the person who would be his boss in the future.

“But you were lucky to come at a time when there was a lot of need for labor because the Martial Arts Festival was approaching.”

Adler savored the taste of the dried dates and smiled happily.

“If you eat well, learn well, and work hard, you can eat three meals a day and eventually save up enough money to marry a decent girl.”

When Gid also felt a little better from the sweetness of chewing on the chewy dried dates, which relieved the fatigue from the hard labor, he asked Adler something he had been wondering about for a few days.

“But what is the Martial Arts Festival that’s causing such a fuss? Not only the stonemason guild, but the whole city seems to be… a little excited.”

“Ah? Hahaha…! I guess it’s your first time in the capital, Gid. I’m also from Foxbell Village, but it’s been so long that I didn’t realize you might not know.”

But he himself hadn’t been in Pohelrn for many years.

He naturally swallowed that thought and began to listen to Adler’s explanation.

“There are two big events you need to remember in Pohelrn.”

“The first is the triumphal return ceremony. You saw that a few days ago, right?”

Gid nodded with a blank expression.

The triumphal return ceremony of King Prigos in golden armor and the soldiers in bronze armor.

It was the king’s triumphal return ceremony after going on an expedition to subdue the local gods, now called Roa, and subjugate the villages and cities that the Roa guarded.

The well-baked breads that were thrown and the various rare items carried in the carts were also wonderful, but what surprised Gid the most was the huge corpses carried in the large carts behind them.

From house-sized boars to huge squirrels and beetles like rhinoceros beetles.

The corpses he saw among the cheering people must have been beings that were once called gods.

‘He really hunted gods!’

No, since the only true gods are the two Great Gods worshiped in Pohelrnia, they should actually be seen as beings that were once gods.

Unlike the small horses he had seen in his hometown, Gid’s heart beat fast at the sight of the soldiers waving their hands and throwing bread on the huge horses, and the dignified King Prigos.

His figure really looked like a divine warrior sent by the sky.

Thump-

Adler poked Gid’s forehead, who was reminiscing blankly.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“Well, I understand. If you’re a man, you can’t help but fall for that sight.”

Adler shook the last remaining date and continued the story.

“The triumphal return ceremony is held whenever the king finishes his conquests and returns, so it’s irregular, but the Martial Arts Festival is an annual festival and ritual.”

Adler raised his head and looked at the greatest building currently built on this land.

It was a building that was not yet completed, but it still had something overwhelming about it.

“The Martial Arts Festival is a festival dedicated to the two main gods who protect us.”

“In the arena that we build and repair in front of this Great Temple, people from various classes fight to the death.”

“And the messenger of God, the High Elf, watches that scene.”

A huge pillar was erected in the huge arena.

On top of the pillar, which was built in a slightly off-center location in the center of the arena, a chair carved out of stone could be seen between the faint views when looking up from below.

It was not easily visible unless you were far away from the arena or in the stands surrounding the arena.

Besides, there were no stairs to climb, and even if you used a ladder, it would be too high and narrow, making it precarious. What was the point of that pillar?

“In this Martial Arts Festival, the winners of each category will be granted the power of God by the High Elf, the messenger of God! And they will be taken as disciples to learn how to use that power correctly!”

“This competition is open not only to the people of Pohhellernia but also to foreigners… and even slaves.”

“If you are a talented human, regardless of your status, this is a golden opportunity to be chosen by God and rise in status!”

“The Martial Arts Festival itself is enjoyable, but it’s also a joy to witness the birth of a new servant of God. The more humans who are granted the power of God, the safer we will be.”

“Anything is good, it’s entertaining, and it’s all good!”

Gid was drawn into Adler’s story, who was speaking excitedly, and he began to get excited as well.

“Is… is becoming a servant of God such a big deal?”

“What are you even saying!”

Adler added an exclamation, pleased that Gid was reacting to his words exactly as he had hoped.

“There are four classes in this city: the King, nobles, commoners, and slaves. But there is one exception to this rule!”

“The servants of God. The High Elf, the messenger of God, is also the Grand Preceptor of this country and is beyond the laws of humans. And the servants of God under him are also beings who are beyond the laws created by humans!”

“Above the servants of God are only the messenger of God and the Gods themselves, so neither the nobles nor King Prigos can treat them carelessly.”

Gid felt the strength drain from his jaw.

“…Even the King?”

“Well, in reality, there has never been a crazy person who disrespects the King and becomes a servant of God.”

Adler, feeling that he had been too careless in bringing up the King, calmed down a bit as he spoke.

Gid recalled the dignified kings and their soldiers at the triumphal parade.

…Even so, to become someone that even the King can’t treat carelessly?

He couldn’t imagine it.

After that, lunchtime ended, and the story was not continued.

Gid, while working on the arena, looked at the towering pillar and imagined the Martial Arts Festival that would take place in a few days. He then snapped back to reality at the foreman’s shout and began to concentrate on his work again.