System's POV

Chapter 587: The Temple Of Courage [Part 1]

The Sanctuary was a very large city, extending up to three miles.

Since there were only around three thousand Absolutes residing in the area, there was more than enough space to spare for Thirteen and his comrades.

The people living inside the city only looked at them from a distance, very curious of the first visitors that graced their city after hundreds of years.

The accommodation Aries mentioned was the buildings near the Temple of Courage, granting the Wanderers convenience when challenging it. After all, they must repeatedly go into the temple until they conquer it, given that they would be able to return alive after entering its doors.

As the leader of the Wanderers, Thirteen was assigned to the closest mansion to the Temple, which he readily accepted.

Naturally, Erica and Sherry decided to stay in his accommodation, having established the habit of sleeping by his side.

Since the Mansion had several rooms, Thirteen also invited the Hero Party to stay with him as well.

As for Siri and Stella, they both stayed in the opposite Mansion. Although they still had more room, everyone was afraid of Siri, so no one dared to join the two girls inside the mansion, simply settling for the other nearby houses to rest for the time being.

Since it was already late at night, they wanted to challenge it in the morning after a nice long rest.

"This bed is not as soft as the one inside Rocky's Mobile Fortress," Erica said as she patted the bed with her hands.

Since the Mobile Fortress was one of Thirteen's secrets, they had no choice but to sleep on the wagon during the night so that no one would get suspicious of them if they suddenly disappeared.

"Just be happy that you get to sleep on a bed," Thirteen said. "Also, why are you in my room? There are many rooms here in the villa. You no longer need to sleep beside me."

"Um?" Erica, who had completely forgotten about this matter, frowned.

On one hand, she had already gotten used to using Zion as her hug pillow during the night.

On the other, she had missed having a room of her own to sleep.

Sherry was also having the same dilemma as the Sorceress.

Now that they could get their own rooms, there was no need for them to stay by his side at night.

"A-Are you sure that you can sleep alone at night?" Erica asked. "Sometimes, you cry in your sleep and hug me tightly as if you don't plan to let me go. Are you sure you can survive alone?"

"That's right." Sherry nodded. "It is worrying because you look so sad in your sleep. Who knows what might happen when no one is watching you?"

Just like Erica had stated, there were nights when Thirteen would mumble and cry in his sleep.

Sometimes, he would hug Erica.

Sometimes, he would hug Sherry.

The two girls didn't know what kind of dreams the teenage boy was having during those times, but seeing him sad triggered their maternal instincts despite being teenagers themselves.

Thirteen blinked once then twice before shaking his head.

"You don't have to worry about me," Thirteen replied. "I'm going to be fine."

"But… I'm still worried," Erica insisted. "We've already slept together multiple times on our way here. Keeping it up until the end wouldn't be a big deal, right?"

"It won't," Thirteen replied. "But for tonight, I want to be alone. Tomorrow, we can sleep together again if you want."

"Really?" Erica inquired.

Thirteen nodded. "Just for tonight, I want to sleep alone."

Erica glanced at Sherry, and the latter nodded her head.

Since the teenage boy was determined to sleep alone, they decided to respect his opinion and went to the rooms beside Thirteen's room.

When he was finally alone, a sigh escaped Thirteen's lips as he walked toward the window.

"… Everything will end soon," Thirteen muttered while looking at the tower that stood tall, overlooking the Sanctuary like a lighthouse.

There was a reason why he wanted Erica and Sherry to sleep in other rooms aside from his own.

At least for tonight.

Because if they were there, there was a chance that his plan would have some complications.

It was already past midnight, so the Wanderers had all gone to bed, taking a proper rest.

Even Erica and Sherry immediately fell asleep the moment their heads laid on their pillows.

Thirteen, on the other hand, sat cross-legged on top of his bed as he meditated to calm his mind and body.

Several minutes later, Tiona poked her head from the ground and crawled up the bed until she arrived at Thirteen's shoulder.

She then whispered something in his ear, making the young man open his eyes.

"Thank you, Tiona," Thirteen said before standing up from the bed.

He then walked toward the window of his room, and after glancing outside for nearly half a minute, Thirteen jumped down and moved stealthily toward the doors of the Temple of Courage.

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The main reason he didn't want Erica and Sherry to stay inside his room was because he planned to enter the Temple as soon as possible.

Of course, he made sure to leave a letter behind so that they wouldn't be too worried about his sudden disappearance.

What the Wanderers didn't know was that the Temple of Courage was actually a Dungeon with thirteen floors.

Each floor had a Wandering Boss Monster that they may or may not encounter during their exploration.

The main reason why Thirteen went up ahead was to make sure that the Wanderers wouldn't have to deal with the stronger monsters on the upper floors. He intended to deal with all of them beforehand and, in turn, reduce the casualties they could've had due to the difference in strength.

There were two ways on how to get to the next floor.

The first one was to defeat the Wandering Boss Monster and proceed to the next floor as a reward.

The other was to find the portal that led to the next floor without encountering the monster.

Every time the Boss Monster was killed, the portal would appear on the place where they had died, and these monsters wouldn't respawn soon, unlike the other monsters inside the dungeon.

The reason for this was that each of these bosses were Real Monsters that were forcefully taken from the outside world by the power of the Temple of Courage.

The moment they die, the Temple would randomly select a Jinn Monster of appropriate level from the outside world and teleport it inside its interior.

This process would take two weeks. Thirteen's plan was to eliminate all of them in the shortest time possible, granting the Wanderers safe passage for half a month.

When Thirteen entered the first floor, he read the wooden board that was planted beside its entrance.

"First Floor Challenge - Horn Rabbit Maze."

Just like the name implied, the First Floor was a maze, and it was being patrolled by Horned Rabbits.

These Rabbits were one of the weakest Rank 1 Monsters in the world, but they were also among the most annoying to fight, especially if you hadn't received formal combat training before being Spirited Away for the first time.

Thirteen casually slashed the Horned Rabbit when it lunged in his direction, cleanly cutting off its head.

"I have no time for this," Thirteen muttered before summoning his Parade of a Hundred Demons.

After summoning his minions, the teenage boy gave them their orders.

"Find the exit or find the boss," Thirteen ordered. "If you encounter the boss, feel free to defeat it and call me once it's done. Now, go!"

The monsters under Thirteen's command scattered in the different paths of the maze, exploring its every nook and cranny.

A few minutes later, the Ratman, Kesari, made a report that he had already killed the Horned Rabbit Boss, and the portal had appeared in his location.

"Good job," Thirteen replied as he ran to the location of the Portal.

Although he wasn't certain if he could conquer all thirteen floors within a day, he would climb as high as he could before the Wanderers, who were still sleeping peacefully in their beds, wake up and start challenging the temple, as well as the horrors that were waiting for them inside of it.