The Banner of Temitus

The lava erupting from the crater stopped.

The red-hot liquid instantly cooled and solidified into black rock.

Even the volcanic ash.

Even the heat.

All the natural activities that had covered Lagmor Mountain came to an abrupt halt.

“W-what is this…?”

“The volcanic activity has stopped!”

The adventurers were aghast.

For an active volcano to halt is to defy the order of nature.

And such a thing happened in an instant.

As a result, everyone’s eyes turned to Dmihtan, who was heading for the entrance.

Since everyone gathered here was a skilled adventurer, they could all tell that the banner wasn’t an ordinary item.

The strange thing was that the flame-like pattern, which had been flickering just moments ago, had solidified black together with the volcanic activity.

“That banner… what on earth is that?”

“Is it a gift from a god?”

Alona spoke with a trembling voice.

“The emblem of Temitus.”

She had read and seen it once in the Adventurer’s Guild archives.

The god of time and nature, temitus.

It was said that he was a god born from humanity’s fear of natural disasters in the distant past.

Natural disasters were still an irresistible terror even now, but in the past, people had felt that terror more deeply.

Back then, there were no facilities like underground aqueducts, and people didn’t cluster together in large communities.

That was why, it was said, the god called ‘Temitus’ was born.

From the hope that ‘natural disasters’ would pass by just a little bit faster.

“If it’s Temitus…”

“Was he really a god that existed?”

The adventurers showed disbelief in their eyes.

It was understandable, since the god called ‘Temitus’ may have had many followers in the distant past, but now he had virtually disappeared.

But the sight before their eyes proved everything.

The lava had stopped.

Volcanic activity was ceased.

Just like in the prayers of those in the past who had wished for ‘natural disasters’ to end quickly.

“How did those guys pull that off?”

“They called themselves Dungeon God, right? Did they have someone like that in Iushil?”

The murmurs grew louder.

At the center of it all, Dmihtan was staring at the banner.

“That barbarian guy.”

Rommel, a member of the ‘Golden Wind,’ was also watching the scene.

He was glaring at Dmihtan with a dissatisfied expression.

“He’s taking all the attention for himself.”

“I don’t mind, but doesn’t Leonhart go crazy when he sees stuff like this?”

With that, rommel and Karin shifted their gazes in the direction where Leonhart was.

For someone who lived to be the center of attention—what’s commonly called an ‘attention seeker’—having the spotlight stolen was an unbearable blow.

Thanks to that, the two of them looked over at Leonhart.

“Hmm.”

But contrary to their expectations, leonhart looked serene.

“As expected of Brother Dmihtan.”

If anything, he seemed moved by the action, clenching his fist and nodding enthusiastically.

“This bastard, he’s definitely up to something, isn’t he?”

“Just let him die.”

The other two cursed quietly at Leonhart.

* * *

‘So this was what it was like.’

I admired the cooling volcano before me.

The major event ‘Lagmor Mountain Eruption’ that took place in 《Dungeon God》was something I had missed because I started the game late.

That’s why, when people reminisced about the Lagmor Mountain event, it hadn’t really meant much to me.

But seeing it now, I could understand why it made such an impression.

The volcanic activity stopping in an instant, followed by the opening of the dungeon path—this was more than enough to signal the start of an event.

I turned my attention to the banner.

The Temitus banner that looked as if it held a flame.

A banner with a symbol of a fire that looked like it would burn forever started cooling the moment I struck it into the surface of the mountain.

“Damn it.”

A curse slipped out of my mouth.

Of course.

Even if it was all for the sake of an event, I had gone through so much trouble to obtain this banner.

I wasn’t bothered by the fact that the pantheon of Temitus, God of time and nature, was located near Iushil.

But obtaining the gods’ ‘gift’ couldn’t be solved by ordinary effort alone. You had to raise your faith—that notoriously difficult stat.

Of course, there was an easy way to settle it.

You know what that is.

Cold hard cash.

If you make a ‘donation’ at the pantheon, the god will recognize your effort and bestow a gift.

The sum I spent that way was 399 gold coins.

That’s right.

That was 99 percent of the money I’d made by stockpiling and selling Petrification Antidote Potions.

“And for that outrageous sum!”

Wouldn’t you also be infuriated to see a one-time-use banner with fading effectiveness?

“And then it disappears and there’s not even any compensation for it!”

Other than the fact that it signaled the start of the ‘Lagmor Mountain Eruption’ event, there’s absolutely nothing left.

If this were a game, I would have gotten the unique ‘achievement’ that only one player in the whole world could obtain, but what’s the point of that here?

Then why did I even invest the money to get the banner?

‘If it’s not me, then who’ll do it?’

A dungeon covered in lava.

Only I knew that the ‘Authority of Temitus’ could prevent that.

Of course, most ‘Players’ would know too, but I had no way to tell if there were any others in this time frame.

So it had to be me.

If the dungeon entrance was buried under lava, nobody would be able to get inside.

But even so, making it single-use was too much. Gods are just lawless.

*〈Temitus shows interest in you.〉*

While mentally cursing at Temitus, a line of text appeared before me.

Normally, even as a ‘Player’, there was no way to communicate with a god in whom you hadn’t invested faith.

But thanks to the effect brought by the ‘Rune of the Abyss’, communication like this was possible.

Still, so what if he shows an interest? He has so few followers you could count them on one finger.

Other than this event, he’s a minor god who’s not known for anything.

*〈Temitus is depressed by your words.〉*

*〈Thrag mocks Temitus.〉*

Depressed? He’s supposed to be a god.

And you—aren’t you a little too quick to laugh for a god?

“If volcanic activity has stopped like that, can’t we attack the dungeon safely?”

“That’s right!”

As I spent a moment conversing with the gods, I heard voices whispering behind me.

The adventurers were chatting.

Aren’t these guys a little too relaxed?

With Temitus’ authority, volcanic activity can’t be stopped forever.

If it had been possible to stop it forever, then in-game the river in Belhaim wouldn’t have been covered up.

In other words, there’s a ‘time limit’ on attacking the dungeon that lies before us. And yet these people are so carefree.

Ah, damn.

I can’t say anything.

If I do, I’ll only make them shrink back and refuse to go.

“Brother Dmihtan, that was incredible!”

At that moment, a loud voice called out.

Leonhart.

He approached me, his shining golden hair fluttering in the wind.

“As expected, brother! To think you’d be recognized by Temitus!”

What?

“Thanks to you blocking the lava, we can all safely enter the dungeon!”

Leonhart clenched his fist energetically, then turned and shouted toward the adventurers behind him.

“This is the leader of the adventurer party, Dungeon God—Dmihtan Elvar!”

Leonhart’s voice was overflowing with passion.

“Now what must we do? We must enter the dungeon, defeat the monsters, and save Belhaim!”

The adventurers looked at each other.

“Let’s go! The adventurer party, Dungeon God, will lead the way, along with Golden Wind!”

Brandishing his drawn sword, leonhart pointed toward the fissure that had opened in Lagmor Mountain.

He was a pathetic sight, reduced to rags after having all his equipment stolen, but the fighting spirit radiating from his body was not that of an ordinary man.

“Let’s go!”

Uwaaaaaa!

With a wild shout, leonhart charged forward. Whether affected by his enthusiasm, other adventurers raised their voices and followed.

“Let’s go too!”

“To save Belhaim!”

“Let’s protect our families!”

Adventurers began to rise and dash forward, one after another.

The initial fear remained, but determination burned in their eyes.

“Kahahahahaha! Glory will be ours!”

“Barkal, calm down.”

Among them was Barkal. I reached out and held Barkal back from charging ahead.

“Brother! If we’re late, our share will decrease!”

I don’t care about that, fool.

We’re here to find Darsan, remember?

Stopping the volcanic activity of Lagmor Mountain was just an extension of that goal.

“Brother Dmihtan, no matter how much I search, I can’t find a barbarian with a skull helmet like Brother Barkal!”

But according to Serena, there was no sign of Darsan around Lagmor Mountain.

Still, nothing is certain yet. Because this is a mountain, it’s not too hard to look around.

If we look around a bit more, maybe we’ll spot Darsan? If not, then it must have been that bastard Edmund who gave the wrong information.

“Brother.”

While I was glancing around, Barkal’s voice called to me.

“I’m sure of it. My destiny lies there.”

Barkal was looking toward the fissure—the dungeon of Lagmor Mountain—where the adventurers had all run to.

It was as if he was saying that Darsan was in there. Honestly, I wanted to avoid relying on mere ‘intuition,’ but…

“If you say so, I’ll accept it.”

If that’s what Barkal thinks, I’ll just go along for now.

A barbarian’s instinct is not to be taken lightly.

But anyway—should we really go into the dungeon now? When Temitus’ authority wears off, the entrance will surely be buried in lava again.

Well.

In that case, we just need to get out in time.

No matter how much he’s a disappearing god, a god is a god. His authority won’t vanish in an instant.

*〈Temitus sheds tears.〉*

At my words, temitus began to cry. Not that I could actually see it.

*〈If you become a follower of Temitus, he will forgive you.〉*

No need to forgive me.

*〈Temitus weeps even louder.〉*

*〈Thrag curses Temitus.〉*

Ah, shut up, you bastards.

***

**List of New Names, locations, skills, and Techniques**

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