The old man, floating with a murderous aura, drew closer. And I couldn't move.
'It's not good to peek, especially at someone strong,' I thought.
The old man circled around me as if inspecting me... again.
"Forgive you? I'm not angry or anything. But you peeked at me without permission. Isn't that impolite? I'm very angry. Wait, I'm not angry. Besides, I'm sure you can't see my information," the old man said in a relaxed voice.
I didn't reply or anything. I just glanced at the old man as he flew around me.
'If you're not angry, then release your restraint, damn it,' I thought.
Then he came close to my face and inspected it.
"There is indeed an uncertain prophecy. Someone will come here to take that ring," the old man said with a threatening tone.
"Prophecy?" I asked, fighting against the old man's murderous aura.
'Is this the prophecy about player Zephyr? And the uncertain prophecy likely refers to this side quest, which isn't mandatory. Or is the prophecy about me?' I thought.
"Oh? You can answer me?" the old man said.
I often encountered a killing aura like this in my previous world when working as a mercenary. But no matter how strong it was, I wouldn't waver.
After a while, the murderous aura restraint finally disappeared, and the old man with the long beard landed from his flight.
I could finally move. This made me slightly breathless because I was already exhausted.
"Hmm hmm. You've made me... ahem... you've piqued the interest of the temple's will, kid," the old man said, patting my upper right arm.
My left eyebrow raised.
'Just say that the temple's will is you,' I thought.
Then I glanced at the old man's patting hand and said, "Please, can you explain first? Why am I here and not in a place like an ancient dungeon?"
"Hmm hmm. This isn't the right place," the old man said.
Then he firmly grasped my upper right arm.
"Let's move first."
As the old man's voice dropped, my vision blurred again, and a dizzy feeling enveloped my head.
'Teleportation again?' I thought.
The view in my sight changed. If previously it was just a vast grassy field, now there was a simple yet quite large house in front of me. There was also a small field and a pond beside the house. It looked like a farmhouse in the countryside.
The house looked nice to me. But my head was spinning. I didn't have time to observe it closely.
"Why so sudden?" I asked while holding my head.
The old man walking in front of me stopped and answered without looking back, "Didn't I say I was going to change the location?"
'But you didn't say it would be teleportation, damn it!' I thought.
I wouldn't mind if you did teleportation when I wasn't tired. Although Edward's body, which wasn't used to teleportation, would have an effect, at least I wouldn't be dizzy if I exerted Arkium. But my Arkium was at a low point now.
"Are you coming in or not?" the old man said.
Without saying a word, I walked after the old man into the house.
As I entered, I was greeted with a simple and cozy interior. The old man's house interior was similar to the village chief Olwen's house interior. Only this house was larger, more decorated, and slightly more luxurious.
"If you know about places like dungeons, I guess now you're wondering where you are, aren't you?" The old man sat in a rocking chair near a fairly large fireplace while gesturing to a long sofa.
I glanced between the old man and the sofa. Then I walked casually toward the long sofa. While sitting, I answered, "Exactly."
"Hmm hmm. Normally you'd be teleported there and take the ring. But yeah, I... hmm... the temple's will is a bit interested in your strange energy and soul," the old man answered in a relaxed tone while snapping his fingers twice.
After the old man answered, there were some creatures similar to Sentinel Striders but in smaller sizes. Like monsters in an animated series about capturing monsters using hand-sized balls and dueling them.
I looked at them. They brought trays with two empty glasses, a glass pitcher filled with a drink, and a tray with plates containing apple pie.
"Wait, old man. Before we go deeper... are these... they... Sentinel Striders? Why do they look tamer and... cute? And they have fur?" I pointed at the cute Sentinel Striders while staring at the old man in wonder.
"Hmm? Of course, they are Sentinel Striders. What do you think they are if not Sentinel Striders?" the old man answered with a puzzled tone.
With the old man's confirmation, I was even more puzzled. The Sentinel Striders I was familiar with were terrifying deadly monsters.
"How can this be?" I asked again while watching the mini Sentinel Striders preparing drinks and food.
The old man looked at me as if I was a fool. Then he said, "Huh? I created the Sentinel Striders, and it's up to me how I want to make them."
'Created? What is this? Who is this old man? A god? Isn't this too early for me?' I thought.
Should I ask? Just ask.
"Created? You created this species? Are you a god or something?" I asked with a blank stare.
At that moment, the old man's gaze became wild. Sweat dripped from his forehead.
"Hmm hmmm. Created? Who said I created them? You all... I didn't create you, right?" the old man answered in a strange tone, then turned to look at the mini Sentinel Striders while slightly raising his eyebrows.
Then the mini Sentinel Striders looked confused, then pushed each other. Then one of them looked at me with big, cute eyes. It glanced at its friends first, then nodded a few times followed by its friends.
I could only sigh seeing this scene. I could say, this old man did not age well.
"Honestly, old man. And you all, don't just follow your creator like that. That's because you're not good at lying," I said, glancing from the old man to the mini Sentinel Striders.
The old man then sighed. Then signaled the mini Sentinel Striders to leave.
"Thank you. You may go," the old man said.
He then took the drink prepared by the mini Sentinel Striders.
"Yes, I am a god. A former one. And my name is not old man. I am Sention. The God of Shields, Defense, and Protection. I mean former," the old man, I mean, Sention explained lazily.
I massaged my head again.
'Damn. This smells like trouble. I haven't finished all my problems and Yolina's. And now... a god? I mean, a former god?' I thought.
"If you think you're involved in troublesome matters, I can assure you. You're not. I told you I'm just interested in you. For what? Well, just to meet," Sention explained.
It must not be just interest. He must want something. But he is a god, ahem, a former god. What does he want from me?
"Are you sure you're not an avatar or something?" I asked.
If Sention in front of me was an avatar, it might make sense. Because an avatar of a god surely wouldn't be as powerful as a god. Moreover, Sention's strength, even though he is strong, I'm sure a god can do something stronger.
"No. I was indeed a god before. But I was an unknown, weak god, and now a fallen god," Sention answered, putting down his glass on the table and rocking his chair.
Then he continued while watching me digest his words.
"My divinity is gone, and I only rely on an ancient mana core to maintain my form. I was weak before but now even weaker. But even though I'm weak, I have followers. Well, not followers but maybe something like that?" Sention continued.
"Sentinel Striders?" I asked.
Sention nodded.
"Hmm hmm. Besides that, there were some humans who worshipped me during ancient times. Back then..."
From here, Sention told stories like old people usually do when they want to tell tales to youngsters. The story was quite long.
But what I gathered was, Sention used to be an unknown and weak god. And the reason why he descended to the lower world was to flee from the war of the gods in the divine realm. This event occurred around 45,000 years ago. There were some other weak gods who also descended, but he said he didn't know who exactly.
Well, these descended gods also caused a lot of chaos in the lower world. Therefore, many wars occurred at that time. Wars that lasted for thousands of years. Sention was also involved. Even though thanks to the blessing of the God of Protection, his followers' defense was high, still many of his followers died. And he sacrificed much of his divinity to create Sentinel Striders to protect his remaining followers. However, not many Sentinel Striders were strong. Most were like the mini Sentinel Striders.
The war dragged on, and Sention and his followers could only endure. Then with his remaining divinity, he created a dungeon. And the dungeon he created was this grassy field. He created this dungeon to escape the war, bringing his few followers. But his followers, especially the humans, were a bit stubborn. They insisted on protecting their last settlement, protecting the temple and their god. So they insisted on staying outside the dungeon.
Sention ended up taking the weak Striders into the dungeon. Meanwhile, the strong Sentinel Striders remained outside to fight alongside the humans. But Sention didn't just leave his followers like that. He created protective artifacts by sacrificing his divinity, one of which was the Aegis Sentinel ring.
After the war began to subside, Sention came out but found his followers were already annihilated. The settlement had collapsed, leaving only the temple standing strong. And with his divinity gone, he couldn't gather new followers. He also didn't want to because he feared the same thing would happen again due to his weakness. Since he had become a fallen god, he decided to remain that way.
Until now, he lived in the dungeon peacefully, sometimes acting like an ordinary person. He became an ordinary old man in his dungeon, gardening and taking care of the descendants of the weak Sentinel Striders.
After hearing that story, I was somewhat moved. I could conclude that this former god was traumatized. Traumatized by the responsibility of protecting others.
The atmosphere was rather heavy.
"So, the Sentinel Striders outside are the descendants of the strong Sentinel Striders?" I asked.
"Correct. But they are very different from before. They recognize me as their master, but I don't recognize them. A lot of time has passed, and they must have evolved in ways I don't know. I also can't really control and command them. They only respect me instinctively," Sention replied.
"Are those outside always that fierce?" I asked.
Sention shook his head, drank his drink, and sighed.
"They are fierce, but not as fierce as now. What's the same is they rarely attack humans unless provoked first. At least in this forest, it's like that. I'm sure the Strider species has spread. And for those that have spread, I can't control them. They've become an independent species. And for the two you fought, well, they probably consider this temple area as their home and instinctively want to protect it," Sention explained, shrugging.
Well, in essence, the Sentinel Striders outside the dungeon had become monsters no longer controlled by their creator.
"Forget about the past. You're looking for this, right?" Sention said, tossing something.
I caught it. What Sention threw must be the Aegis Sentinel ring. But upon opening it, there was an Aegis Sentinel ring in a form I didn't quite recognize and a bracelet.
"This... looks like the Aegis Sentinel ring and... what's this bracelet?" I asked, a bit confused while staring at Sention.
"Yes, that ring is the Aegis Sentinel ring, but of a higher grade than the ring sealed in the another dungeon," Sention replied.
Then he continued, "And that bracelet. That bracelet is the Symbol of Sention. A sign identifying Sention's successor."
'Successor? I become... a god? No. That's not it. He's a former god,' I thought.
But I thought of something else. Something troublesome.
"Sorry in advance. But, you're not choosing me as a successor to find... new followers, right?" I asked with a blank stare.
Sention looked at me with a blank stare too.