Underground ruins, temples buried deep beneath the earth—these elements are often associated with exploration.
Lara, the Drake brothers, Dr. Jones—these Seniors, whose main profession was demolition and whose side job was exploration, have wreaked havoc on many ancient ruins.
Exploration, fighting the Trinity Church, acquiring Treasure Trove, and then completely blowing up important historical and cultural landscapes, along with the natural wonders of the great outdoors, in a thrilling temple escape—this is the theme of temple exploration stories.
It seems this has nothing to do with the Old Hunter of Yharnam; Treasure Trove hunters and beast hunters are both hunters, but their job descriptions are not the same.
However, in the Yharnam region, such ancient ruins do exist, and Goki, in a sense, can also be considered a Treasure Trove hunter.
The Pthumerian ruins, or rather, the Chalice Dungeons, the origin of all tragedies in Yharnam, the place where the Great Ones first made contact with the real world, have always been hidden beneath Yharnam.
From the underground Pthumerian ruins, the scholars of Byrgenwerth learned about the ancient Pthumerians' attempt to master the power of the gods, only to be destroyed in the process—they failed to usurp the flame and were instead consumed, even the Pthumerian Queen became a vessel for Oedon.
The downfall of the Pthumerian Civilization did not instill fear in them; on the contrary, these rational yet greedy scholars believed that the destruction of the Pthumerian Civilization was merely due to their failure to grasp the correct method of usurping the flame.
As long as the correct method of Ascension was found, then everyone could cultivate, and all Mortals could achieve Immortal Ascension!
They not only discussed various Ascension postures—Ascension through the Inner Eye, Ascension through the blood of the Great Ones, ritual summoning of Great Ones—but also brought the great isz chalice from underground, pulling the Daughter of the Cosmos, a Great One who was merely watching the show, into the real world.
Afterwards... these unlucky Great Ones were one by one completely shattered by Goki, this despicable outsider.
However, in this process, Goki never stopped exploring the underground dungeons of Yharnam; he had been to different dungeons, from Depth 1 to Depth 5.
Although, like in the game, it was just an instance with countless monsters, for Goki, it was a good place to farm a large amount of blood echoes and various gems.
It was so comfortable, just like home, making one not want to leave once inside.
And now, Goki, walking down the deep passage into the underground, thought again of his days in the labyrinth.
"I wonder if there will be monsters or anything in this dungeon."
As the guide for the research team, Goki and his group first entered the temple.
Although the damaged ruin on the surface of the Rainforest was only two stories high, and large areas had already collapsed, in reality, this was only the spire of the temple; a large portion of the temple was buried beneath the soil, with its structure intact.
The group was now climbing down from the top floor of the temple.
In the passage, the air temperature was somewhat scorching, much higher than the temperature in the Rainforest; though not scalding, it still felt warm when breathed into the lungs.
"What are you thinking? I've explored this place with Boa since I was a child, squeezing through the cracks; there wasn't even a single bug."
Gavial walked at the front of the team, holding a flashlight, moving down the deep, narrow, and approximately forty-five-degree sloping staircase.
As guides, the four walked at the very front of the expedition team, followed by more than ten mercenaries hired by Rhine Lab.
At the very end of the team, Rhine Lab researchers carried their instruments, walking alongside Elwin and the Blacksteel International security personnel—he insisted on coming down.
Chatting idly with Goki, Gavial's golden eyes gleamed slightly, and her green tail occasionally swept the path beneath her feet, stirring up years of settled dust.
"Later, when Tomimi grew up, I thought about bringing her to explore, but she's quite afraid of the dark, so she never dared to come, and it just fell through."
Just as she was speaking, a small figure beside Gavial tightly hugged her arm.
"I, I've grown up, I'm not afraid of the dark anymore, really, it's just, it's a bit narrow here..."
Clinging close to Gavial, Tomimi couldn't help but swallow, her large tail behind her wagging repeatedly as she cautiously stared at the unknown passage ahead.
"Alright, alright, stop pulling on me. If you're afraid of the dark, go hug Goki. I'm the vanguard; if there's any accident, I need to maintain my combat effectiveness."
Taking her staff in hand and gently pushing Tomimi back, this older sister, who always emphasized that she was a doctor, now volunteered to take on the role of a vanguard Operator.
"Hey, the child likes you, just let her hug you, right? ...Huh?"
Goki initially thought Tomimi was just making up an excuse about being afraid of the dark because she simply wanted to cling to Gavial, but after being pushed towards Goki, the Little Scorpion immediately hugged his arm pitifully.
"Mmm, I'm not afraid of the dark..."
Feeling Tomimi's plump body trembling slightly, Goki sighed.
It seemed Tomimi was indeed afraid of the dark.
No wonder she still had to light an oil lamp when she really came to raid him last night.
Let her hug him; it was worth it.
Raising a torch ignited with activated flame in his other hand, Goki used it to illuminate the narrow passage.
This could both detect a decrease in oxygen levels in time and timely perceive Hidetaka Miyazaki's conspiracy hidden at the top of the passage, intending to ambush people—what if there was a monster?
The passage was made of spiraling stairs, continuously winding downwards clockwise. Goki speculated that the place he entered should be a thousand-year-old tall tower.
On the surrounding walls, some murals and texts carved into the stone bricks were faintly visible, but under the erosion of time, they had all oxidized and lost their color.
Some withered yellow plant roots emerged from the walls, exposed to the air, but they were also covered in dust, seemingly long dead for many years, perhaps once belonging to some giant tree.
Combining this with the giant, barren area seen outside the temple, Goki felt that this temple was initially surrounded by much vegetation.
However, perhaps decades, or even centuries ago, this place had indeed been swallowed by the Rainforest, forgotten in the long river of time.
But in recent years, as the temperature around the temple gradually increased, it was no longer suitable for vegetation growth.
As for who caused the surge in temperature around the temple, Goki felt the answer was self-evident.
As the legends said, the power of the God of Burning Wind was hidden here.
Originally, if Goki had not come to this world, perhaps Rhine Lab's exploration team would have been led in the wrong direction by the guides arranged by the High Priest, ultimately returning empty-handed.
But this time, it was clear that Gavial skillfully led the group to the correct place.
"Goki—it's getting hotter and hotter."
Beside him, Skadi, who had been pulling Goki's clothes with one hand and holding the greatsword on her back with the other since the beginning, was vigilantly observing her surroundings while whispering softly in his ear.
"You, you feel it too? Our blood is... like last time."
The further they descended, the stronger the feeling of fear and greed in Skadi's blood became.
The instinct of an Abyssal Hunter told her that this was prey worth hunting, but also prey that could kill the hunter.
"Yes... I feel it too. There's definitely something big waiting for us down here."
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Although he was certain he wouldn't directly face any gods, Goki knew that in his current state, facing the Kin would be challenging enough—the blood of that Archerfish sister couldn't be used again.
Fortunately, this time, he was well-prepared to handle any potential emergencies.
New weapons, new equipment, he had prepared them in advance.
"Don't be afraid, Mr. Guide, just lead the way—you must believe in our strength! No matter what demons or monsters are hidden inside the temple, we will blow them to smithereens!"
Suddenly, a somewhat rough voice came from behind. Goki turned his head and saw a Bovine mercenary, slightly shorter than himself but exceptionally stout, with two curved horns on his head.
"I heard that ancient Sargon cast temples in gold all over its land. The gentlemen of Rhine Lab don't care about Treasure Trove, but we might have a chance to make a fortune—of course, I'll also protect these lovely ladies! But Mr. Goki, you're not within our protection scope; that job has to be left to those big sisters!"
"Hahahahahaha—"
Soon, a group of burly mercenaries burst into laughter at the joke, causing a few female mercenaries to roll their eyes repeatedly.
Even Gavial sighed; apart from the simpletons from the Rainforest, most ordinary mercenaries were like this, which was a significant reason she planned to quit.
In the eyes of these mercenaries, the guides indeed had little combat power.
"Yes, then I'll entrust my protection to you, ladies?"
But Goki didn't mind this somewhat dismissive joke; instead, he continued the conversation.
"Mmm, mmm..."
In the air, a faint, extremely small response was heard.
Goki's gaze swept towards the purple figure in the mercenary team, completely ignored by others, meeting her amethyst-like eyes.
After several failed attempts to avoid Goki's gaze, Manticore finally mustered the courage to step out.
Manticore was absolutely certain that the strange man could see her directly, not through any other means.
This feeling was really... so embarrassing!
It was like—the shame of wearing a bunny girl uniform to the library because no one in the world could see her, only to be recognized at a glance by a junior passing by!
The courage lasted only a moment, and Manticore shrank back into the mercenary team. Her movements were not noticed by anyone other than Goki, so no one said anything.
"Goki, what are you looking at?"
"Nothing—just a Little Scorpion on the ground, a cute Little Scorpion."
Facing Skadi's question, Goki decided not to tell her for now the story of how he had yet another new wife—and that she, like Skadi, had climbed into his bed.
It seemed Tomimi had also climbed in—but that one would lead to a firing squad.
Following Gavial through twists and turns, the group finally stopped descending, arriving at a flat area, stopping before a sealed wall.
"Alright, the route I know ends here; all other places are dead ends."
On the wall, a mural seemed faintly visible. By the light of the torch and lamps, Goki saw a symbol.
It was a... golden eye made of several lines. Even after being placed in the temple for a thousand years, this golden symbol had not faded; it seemed... to be sparkling.
"Hoo—"
Goki and Skadi both took a deep breath simultaneously.
They felt two voices intertwining in the air, one full of warning, the other a roar of anger.
"You found the right place. This is the mark of the ancient Sargon people, who worshipped the God of Yellow Sand, just like what we saw in other temples."
Maintaining his composure, Parvis stepped forward, compared the data collected from other temples in his mobile terminal, and nodded.
"Blow it open."
Indeed, like characters in Treasure Trove hunting movies, Parvis always blew things up.
Gavial suddenly thought of something, raised her hand, but ultimately said nothing, allowing a group of impatient mercenaries to rush forward and place bombs on it.
"It's okay, Boa is also in her tribe—memories can be created again, you know."
Suddenly, Goki's voice came to her ears, precisely pointing out what she was thinking.
"Get lost! I'm not that sentimental; it's just a place I played in when I was little."
Turning her head, Gavial made a grimace at Goki, baring her teeth, but finally burst into happy laughter.
"Skadi, you must guard Goki well. Guys who can see through women's hearts at a glance, every single one of them is a Young Master—they must have had many ex-girlfriends."
"Eh? Young Master—of course, I will protect Goki well!"
Skadi paused, completely not understanding what a Young Master was, much less what an ex-girlfriend was, but still leaned heavily against Goki.
She even covered her ears, somewhat scared, after hearing the words "explosives," like a child waiting for firecrackers.
Boom————
With a loud bang, the explosives broke through the already crumbling wall.
And with the explosion, the eye symbol, which had been faintly glowing, gradually disappeared into the air.
And Goki's heart skipped a beat.
He seemed to feel something fragile but important shattering in an instant.
Then, an ancient and angry power began to awaken in the air.
A vast space appeared before everyone.
Everyone felt a wave of heat washing over them, and... they saw a graveyard.
Goki had arrived at the Domain of the gods.
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