Getting closer to Temple Guard City, the group of five became increasingly solemn as the ruins of the once majestic temple could now be clearly seen on top the small mountain that the Temple Guard City was located at the base of.
But the thing that caused the group to become more solemn and somewhat stoic was the memorial located around the middle section of the small mountain dedicated to those who had fallen back when the dungeon at the top of the mountain had been forcibly broken open in the middle of the temple. Not only had temple guards and a cardinal ended up perishing during that manmade disaster, but countless normal believers coming to offer prayers alongside ordinary people living in the city that had existed to support the temple and those who lived there, had perished in the manmade dungeon break.
Because of this, the memorial itself was considered one of the largest to have ever been constructed in the world. Stretching around the entire mountain to form a dedicated memorial ground that had been decorated in accordance with the architecture of the Holy Light Church with a central resting place dedicated to the cardinal who had ended up falling back then.
In total, the disaster back then had been one of the main reasons for the Holy Light Church’s growing hatred towards the Holy Flower Sect, as the total number of deaths back then had numbered over a hundred thousand, a number of deaths rarely seen outside of major natural disasters or the emergence of new forbidden ground.
In a way, the number of deaths had been similar to what would happen during the creation of a new forbidden ground, but the fast reaction of the Holy See of the past had ended up foiling the original plans of the Holy Flower Sect and forcibly put a stop to the formation of this potential new forbidden ground.
For this reason, when the Adventurer Guild ended up taking over the dungeon and building a new city in such an important location, they didn’t dare to let down the Holy Light Church when it came to the memorial and had ended up going all out. Creating a wonder that not only helped satisfy the Holy Light Church and improved their relationship with this dominant religion but also helped create a city that attracted a large quantity of pilgrims and tourists alike to the city.
The unique location of the city itself allowing it to grow far beyond a normal free city established by the Adventurers Guild, as the city soon grew to become one of the most important branches under the Adventurers Guild, something that had ultimately ended up with a dream gate being placed within the city.
For the five who happened to need a way to enter the dreamscape, this was perfect, as the city itself also did have a lot of people belonging to the Holy Light Church within. Meaning that it would be simple enough for them to draw on some extra resources in case they found themselves in need of any more than they already had on them... And considering that they weren’t exactly prepared for potentially spending weeks wandering through the dreamscape, this was perfect.
Although... Given the enthusiasm of the adventurers within the dreamscape, the five had a feeling that it would be simple enough for them to get what they needed if they said they were going to explore an unknown section of the dreamscape.
After all, to the adventurers, even if their goal wasn’t to explore the dreamscape, they would still be able to bring back valuable experience and information if they managed to return, something that was more than enough for the Adventurers Guild to invest a bit of resources in without expecting any payment. Especially so considering the five of them were comparable to S Rank Adventurers and had a good chance of returning alive.
It was with these thoughts in mind and with worries about the dreamscape at the top that the group of five finally reached the entrance of Temple Guard City. Finding themselves at the end of a long queue that they could have skipped over with their status but decided against.
Not because they didn’t want to make use of their status or anything along that line, but instead because they happened to run into a group of pilgrims making their way to the memorial site that circled the mountain and felt it was their duty to help enlighten these laymen as seniors.
Of course, with their ornate clothes and armor, this did end up drawing some attention, but most decided not to think too much about it after realizing that they were from the Holy Light Church. Knowing that this kind of situation where more senior members taught their juniors was rather common.
As for the juniors in question... They were in fact not junior members of the church but were in fact part of a rather high-ranking group of pilgrims that were travelling the world to visit holy sites around the world alongside a group of talented youths who would become future pillars of the Holy Light Church.
Of course, high-ranking as this group might be, they were still far below the group of five who could already be considered to have become pillars that helped hold up the Holy Light Church, thus resulting in them happily listening to this group of seniors, while the youths present all looked up to the five of them. Hoping that they themselves had the chance to reach the same height as these five seniors in the future.
In the process, they also ended up learning about the goal of these five, something that made them admire the group even more than they already had, as entering the mythical dreamscape to find a divine beast was nothing short of a fairy tale to these youths who had experienced little of life.
No... Maybe not just them, but the senior members escorting them were also taken aback by the mission these five were in the process of, as different from the youths, they understood just how deadly the dreamscape was even for senior members of the church who were comparable to S Rank Adventurers.
If they completed a mission of such difficulty, it wouldn’t be surprising for the five to reach an even higher status within the church and even posses a real chance of becoming a cardinal in the future, something that made even the older seniors present look towards the five filled with awe.
Faced with this kind of pure awe from their peers, the group of five who had originally been nervous about entering the dreamscape managed to build up their confidence and no longer felt the same level of fear as they had earlier when learning that they would have to journey into the dreamscape.
Instead, the group of five now began looking forward to entering the dreamscape. Knowing that this was a chance to prove themselves to the cardinal and stand a real chance of becoming a cardinal themselves at some point in the future. Something they hadn’t even dared to think about in the past given just how difficult it was to become a cardinal within the Holy Light Church.
After all, a cardinal of the Holy Light Church represented the true core of the church itself, with every single cardinal possessing strength beyond that of an S Rank Adventurer.
But maybe more importantly than that, a cardinal had the power to mobilize the Holy Light Church to some extent without requiring direct approval from the Holy See.
Wielding that kind of power was what many aspiring members of the Holy Light Church aspired towards, but reaching the point of wielding that level of power and influence within the church was difficult beyond belief.
For now, most of the cardinals had served the church for over a hundred years before they got to their position. Making it essentially impossible for anyone who didn’t reach the S Rank in terms of power to obtain the position, as living beyond a hundred years without reaching the S Rank was close to impossible for most.
The only exception to this being some lucky individuals who managed to get their hands on some mystical treasure like after product created by a giant ant queen reaching the S Rank... And even then, the number of cardinals within the Holy Light Church who hadn’t at least reached the S Rank in terms of strength could be counted in a single hand and most of those were located at the core of the church’s power in charge of the more clerical duties that needed to be fulfilled by the church. Not wielding anywhere near the same level of power and influence as a cardinal outside the core of power.
After all, those more clerical cardinals hardly ever left the core and remained within its protection where cardinals were no longer at the top like outside...