Staring at the two fingers before him, Duanmu Huai frowned.
He could sense a faint trace of something familiar from them—a divine aura, similar to the Nine Holy Statues he had seen back in Skyrim. Mistrina had mentioned before that, long ago, gods communicated through these two fingers with the "Finger Maidens," who would read and interpret the gods' messages and pass them to others.
Of course, many people doubted whether those messages truly came from the gods at all. Some suspected that the Finger Maidens were only pretending to interpret divine will, speaking nonsense—or even deliberately misleading others.
As for why the Forest Princess called this relic the "Mother of Earth," Duanmu Huai could understand that too. Most of the hand was buried in the ground, leaving only two fingers visible. Calling it the Mother of Earth wasn't entirely unreasonable.
Still...
Duanmu Huai walked to the edge of the tower and looked down. The entire structure was several dozen meters tall, and with that gigantic hand embedded into it, the sight was more disturbing than divine. Imagining a colossal arm buried beneath the tower, with a hand reaching out from the top... it was far from godly—closer to grotesque.
Or maybe the whole body's buried inside, with only this hand sticking out?
He stepped closer, placing his hand on one of the fingers. As Mistrina had said, what remained here were only remnants—barely any divine essence was left. There was no way to use it like before, when he'd used a statue of a demon god to open a rift. Here, there was nothing but ruins.
But just then, something completely unexpected happened.
The moment he was about to withdraw his hand, the entire tower began to shake violently. A voice echoed in his ears.
"You are not worthy... not worthy..."
Light flashed before his eyes. When his vision cleared, Duanmu Huai found himself once again standing before the main gate of Stoneveil City.
"What... what just happened?"
He looked around—and froze. Everyone else was gone. Olgis, Bambi, Lorena, Odelle, even Mistrina and Milfi—all had vanished without a trace!
He quickly closed his eyes and initiated [Mental Communication].
"Olgis, Bambi, Lorena, Odelle! Can you hear me?"
Moments later, the girls' voices began to reply one after another.
"Yes, Master."
"Wh–what's going on, Sir Knight?"
"Master, where are you? Bambi can't see you...!"
"Master, I'm fine, but what in the world happened?"
Amid their chatter, Duanmu Huai quickly pieced together what was going on. It seemed they'd all been transported to different locations.
Olgis reported being sent to a dark, underground city—apparently deeper beneath the earth than where they had been before.
Bambi, nearly in tears, said she was trapped in a temple. Inside was a terrifying monster, and outside stood a massive bird-headed guardian. She was currently hiding in the shadows, too afraid to move.
Lorena said she'd been transported to a ruin in a snowy wasteland, surrounded by desolation, with no visible way to return.
Odelle's situation was slightly better. She said she had arrived in a volcanic castle, where a noble lady had received her kindly and offered her temporary shelter...
If that was the case, Mistrina and Milfi must have been sent elsewhere as well.
"Master, what's going on?"
"Probably some kind of punishment mechanism."
"Punishment... mechanism?"
The girls sounded confused. Duanmu Huai shrugged, not sure how best to explain.
He'd mentioned before that each [World Fragment] operated with unique rules and "clear conditions." The Dollhouse and Haunted Mansion, for instance, both had their own. In the game, there were plenty of dungeons with special conditions.
Like worlds that forbade men from entering.
Or those that forbade women.
Or those that banned anyone who wasn't strictly male or female.
Or those that disallowed people who thought they were women but actually weren't.
Or even those that denied entry to people who identified as neither male nor female.
Or to those who were born male, became female, but still believed themselves men.
In other words—you can't play an FPS inside a puzzle game.
And you can't play an RTS inside an RPG.
In the game, that kind of setup was just part of the mechanics.
But in reality...
Considering the voice he'd heard—"You are not worthy... not worthy..."—the meaning was probably clear.
"Maybe reaching that tower requires a specific condition. We went up there directly, violating the rule. So as punishment, we were scattered."
That was his best guess. Unfortunately, he couldn't contact Mistrina or Milfi. Since this world wasn't yet bound to his [Soul Cards], he couldn't summon them back either. Every attempt to pull the others to his location had failed.
Clearly, some restriction was at work in this world.
That meant there was only one path forward.
Through [Mental Communication], he gave his orders: the girls were not to wander off. They were to stay hidden, assess their surroundings, and he would find them. As for Mistrina and Milfi—he could only hope for the best.
Duanmu Huai wasn't too worried about most of them. Olgis and Lorena were both veterans, seasoned and composed. Odelle might be timid, but if she was safe with a friendly hostess, she'd be fine for now.
Bambi, though, was another matter. She had no idea where she was—just that there was a monster inside the temple and a winged bird-headed creature guarding the outside. For now, she'd have to stay hidden.
Alright. Time to move.
After confirming their situations, Duanmu Huai took a deep breath and turned his attention back to the massive iron gate before him. He walked toward it—only to hear a voice.
"Hey! You there! Could you come over here?"
"Hm?"
He turned and saw a small side door beside the gate. A filthy man in rags stood there, shackles on his wrists, thinning hair on his head. The man waved at him.
"Who are you?"
Duanmu Huai approached, glaring down at him. The man chuckled nervously and rubbed his hands.
"Me? Just a gatekeeper. You... you want to get inside the city, right? Well, I'd advise against using the main gate. Lots of skilled soldiers guard that way. But I can show you another route—through that hole in the wall."
He pointed and grinned, revealing a small opening in the nearby wall. Frankly, the man looked utterly sleazy.
He doesn't happen to have the surname Qin, does he...
"The soldiers don't know about that passage. You should be able to sneak into the city unnoticed."
"...Fine."
Duanmu Huai frowned but nodded. He had seen the soldiers stationed around the gate—yet their ballistae and arrows couldn't even scratch his armor. Normally, he would've just charged straight through.
But after what had just happened...
If he heard "You are not worthy" again, he might actually lose his temper.
So, without another word, he turned and stepped into the hole in the wall.
The path wasn't some secret tunnel—it was clearly the result of battle damage. The wall had been broken, creating an unintended side passage into the city.
Except...
"How the hell am I supposed to get through this?"
He ground his teeth, eyeing the staircase ahead.
At first it wasn't bad, but as he rounded the cliffside, he came upon a set of stairs leading up to the tower gate—made entirely of wood.
"Seriously?"
He hesitated, then cautiously stepped onto it.
Crack!
With a sharp snap, the entire staircase gave way. Duanmu Huai instantly pulled back, just as the wooden structure collapsed and fell into the abyss below—taking two unlucky guards with it.
"..."
He stared silently at the shattered wreckage for a moment, then turned and walked back to the guard hut.
The sleazy gatekeeper paled when he saw Duanmu Huai return. The giant's footsteps thundered closer until he loomed over the man.
"D–do you need... anything else, sir?"
"Open the gate."
Duanmu Huai fixed his gaze on him as he spoke.
Once again, he was reminded—he was absolutely not cut out for stealth.
(End of Chapter)