Book Restoration System: Savior Of The Forsaken Legends [BL]

"Oh, the temple?" Auri hummed in thought, then shrugged. "Actually, it already collapsed, so there's not much I can tell you about it."

"Collapsed?"

Auri nodded. "I almost got buried in it, too. Thankfully, I managed to escape before the entire building fell apart completely."

The man's expression darkened, his lips pressing into a scowl. He turned away and gazed into the faraway mountain peak above them.

For a moment, he didn't say anything, as if the news about the ruined temple just shattered whatever expectations he may have had. Not that Auri could blame him. The man must have a reason why he's trying to go to the temple.

"I don't know what your purpose is, but whatever you're trying to find in that temple, you won't find it easily. If it's still there, you will have to dig it out. I don't think it's possible if it's just you, though."

"If the temple is now in ruins, as you said, then you may be right."

"Right?" Auri stepped closer and clasped both his hands together. "So how about we go to the nearest town first? And if you really want to find whatever you're looking for, you can just hire people and form an excavation team to dig into the temple."

"That's a logical plan."

"Yes, it is." Auri smiled.

"But only if what you said is the truth."

Auri's smile fell. "What? You think I'm lying?"

The man looked at him. "I'm saying I have to see it with my own eyes."

"That's the same as saying you don't trust me!"

"And why should I trust the words of a stranger I didn't even know the name of?"

Auri gave a dry laugh. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Where are my manners, right? I forgot to introduce myself to the man who almost cut my neck, but fine. My name is Aurelius Salvatore, but you can call me Auri. I'm twenty-three years old, and I'm a graduate of Game Design and Development. There. So, do you trust me now?"

Amusement painted the man's lips with the faintest smile, but instead of responding with his own introduction, he shook his head and continued walking.

"Look at this guy... so rude!" Auri shook his fist in the air in frustration, but he followed anyway.

The man traversed the path that Auri had already passed through; however, going up the mountain was more challenging than going down. When they reached the tree where Auri had rested earlier, his knees were almost ready to collapse.

"Wait!" Auri leaned his weight against his wooden staff, gasping. "You're going too fast. Are you in a rush?"

"I didn't ask you to follow," the man said, not showing any signs of stopping. "You should just stay put and wait."

"I don't want to! What if you just run off and leave me here? I don't want to spend a night sleeping in the woods alone, you know."

"You shouldn't have climbed the mountain then, if that's your concern. Climbing Mount Saha is meant to be a pilgrimage where you must endure hardship before you reach the peak and offer your prayers at the temple. If you can't even do that, then why come here in the first place?"

"I didn't know you're the religious type." Auri gasped, his knees now screaming at him to stop. "You're probably the type to preach about devotion and salvation, but ignore the people who need actual help."

The man stopped walking to glare at him. "What did you say?"

"You're so obsessed with that temple. I already told you its now in ruins but you don't want to believe me. You'd much rather see it with your own eyes and ignore the person who's already struggling to keep up."

"Again, I didn't ask you to—"

"You didn't ask me to follow. Yeah, yeah, I get it." Auri sighed and let his lower body collapse on the grass. "Who am I to complain when I'm the one asking for help? I should just be thankful that you're kind enough to let me tag along. But I can't really keep up anymore, so I'll just stay here."

"That's what you should have done from the start."

"I know, so go on your way. I'll just stay here and hope you'll come back. But if you don't, then that's fine. I won't take it against you. You're not obligated to help me." Auri's stomach grumbled. "Damn it. I should have just stayed at the lake."

"You don't have food with you?" the man asked.

Auri glanced sidewards while rubbing his stomach. "Why does it matter to you? Go on in that pilgrimage of yours and don't mind me. I'll just figure it out by myself until then."

The man's jaw tensed, but he didn't leave.

After a moment of silence, the man let out a loud sigh and marched towards him, handing out a something solid wrapped in a thin cloth. "Here. It's food. Take it."

"You're giving your food to me? Why?"

"Just take it." The man shoved it on Auri's lap before walking away.

Auri stared at the object. It was a rectangular box made of wood. He glanced back to its owner, who had sat down beneath the tree with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Aren't you going to the temple?" Auri asked.

"The sun will set soon," the man answered simply. "Eat the food and rest. We will head out tomorrow morning."

"We?"

The man scowled at the emphasis of 'we' and clicked his tongue as if to reprimand himself for his choice of words. "I'll go to the temple by myself early at dawn. After I confirmed it's now in ruins, I'll go back here to guide you out of the mountain. Is that enough?"

Auri clutched the food container and smiled. "Yes, that's enough. Thanks, ah...."

The man peeked an eye open. "What?"

"You haven't told me your name."

There was a moment of hesitation before the man sighed. "Darius. Just call me Darius."