Progenitor-san arrived. Or rather, I should say he returned.
Apparently, he had been quite busy with work. I thought it was strange since it was the middle of winter, but it seems religious affairs are hectic even during the cold season.
Progenitor-san insisted on starting right away, but he looked so exhausted that I managed to persuade him to wait two days before taking action. I encouraged him to take a bath, have a meal, and get some rest. After all, we were relying heavily on his teleportation magic.
As for our companions... since we were building a temple, I organized a team centered around the high elves, with others assigned to cooking and guard duty.
Ten high elves. Five lizardmen. Five mountain elves. Two high ogre maids. Fifty of Kuro’s offspring.
Since we would be returning to the village every night via Progenitor-san’s magic, we didn’t need to pack much luggage.
We arrived at the site. Traces remained of the camp where the hot spring investigation team had stayed on their way back. A short walk from there lay a hole about four meters in diameter. At the bottom of this shaft was the massive black rock I had carved into the statue of the Creator God.
"First, let’s establish a base of operations," a high elf suggested.
Following their advice, we reused the previous campsite. We set up dining tables and chairs, stretching rain-shielding cloths overhead. The kitchen area was still there, but we decided to rebuild it anyway. That seemed sufficient for now. Next, we prepared a storage area for materials near the hole, also covered by a rain-shielding cloth.
While we worked, Kuro’s offspring split into several groups to patrol the perimeter. Even though it was winter, there seemed to be quite a few monsters and magic beasts roaming around. I set about draining the blood from the magic beasts they brought back. I briefly wondered if it was appropriate to stain the area with blood before building a temple, but what was done was done. They were a precious food source, after all. I’d just make sure to wash my hands thoroughly before starting the holy work.
Since the immediate area was scorched, I walked a short distance to an intact part of the forest to procure lumber. The Universal Farming Tool was a massive help. As for stone... since we were heading underground, I figured I could just source it there.
Progenitor-san dove into the hole alone to perform a safety check. I assumed it was fine, but there was always the chance that monsters or magic beasts were hibernating inside. He took a while to return, but it seemed the interior was clear.
"For now, the plan is to decorate the area around the statue of the Creator God... but what should we do about the surface entrance?"
The surface entrance—he was referring to the hole. I had intended to seal it, but the question was how. The hole hadn't formed naturally; it was a shaft bored by the earth rats. It was about four meters wide, which was large enough, but its depth was staggering compared to its width. I didn't know the exact measurements, but it looked to be about two hundred meters deep. Given that the earth rat tunnels were beneath the dungeon, I suppose that kind of depth wasn't entirely unexpected.
Then again, maybe it was actually shallow. Based on the screw-like grooves along the sides of the shaft, I could tell the earth rats hadn't dug straight up. Instead, they had spiraled their way toward the surface. If they had dug straight up, they would have just fallen back down. Surprisingly clever. Was it wild instinct? No, wait—they were being controlled.
Still, why did this hole even exist? Let's assume the target was that massive black rock. They dug in from the side and discovered it. Then, they dug straight up from the rock to the surface...
"Progenitor-san. Now that I think about it, there was another black rock at the bottom of a hole, right?"
"Indeed."
"Does that one have a hole above it too?"
Apparently, it did. Hmm. It wasn't as if thinking about it would give me the answer. What mattered now was what to do with the hole. If we were going to fill it, how? That was the priority. Whether or not the second black rock should also be turned into a statue of the Creator God wasn't the issue at hand, Progenitor-san.
I put the decision on filling the hole on hold for now. To prevent anyone from falling in, I made a makeshift wooden lid and placed it over the opening.
...It looked pathetic. In fact, it looked even more dangerous than the open hole. I probably needed to surround the edge with stones to keep the lid from shifting.
Well, I'd deal with that later. The main work was underground, around the statue of the Creator God. I considered using ropes woven from Zabuton’s thread to lower the lumber, but the ropes weren't long enough. Should I trust the wood's durability and just drop it down? Hmm. I didn't like that idea. Plus, the statue was directly at the bottom. I decided against it. Should I have Progenitor-san carry it? That seemed like a lot of trouble for him.
In that case... very well. It was time for the Universal Farming Tool to shine. I would dig a new hole a short distance away. If an earth rat could do it, there was no reason I couldn't. I began digging a diagonal spiral path downward, circling the earth rat’s vertical shaft.
Since I had Progenitor-san cast magic for protection against toxic air on me before I started, I didn't have to worry about suffocation. He also mentioned the underground area would be fine because the wind spirits were there. I dug without restraint.
I dug and dug and dug. Then, water came gushing out. Whoa, I’m going to drown!
...Right. I hadn't factored in the water table. Wait a minute. The statue of the Creator God was even deeper than this. There must be a way to keep the water from flooding the place.
...I couldn't think of anything. Am I really less competent than an earth rat? No, the earth rats were being controlled. Their puppet master was the Lich King. Not bad, Lich King.
Ah, I’m not picturing him in Urza’s form, but rather as some kind of... scary, imposing figure. Yeah, that's the one. Not bad at all, Lich King.
Anyway, time to consult with the others about the spring water.
"We can handle that with magic," they told me.
Magic really is too versatile...
Wait, what? They were lowering the lumber with magic too? They said it was perfectly safe because they could control the speed of the fall... I see, I see.
...I kept digging my hole anyway. We needed it for moving back and forth, after all. It’s definitely not because I was being stubborn. Progenitor-san’s soil dolls carried the excavated dirt back to the surface for me.
After several days of work, my tunnel finally reached the chamber where the statue of the Creator God stood. The first things to meet my eyes were the massive piles of lumber already brought down and the high elves and mountain elves who had already begun their survey.
...The soil dolls and I pretended we hadn't seen them and shared a high-five to celebrate our arrival.
The chamber was illuminated by magic light. It turned out the shaft above was too narrow and long to provide any meaningful light. In other words, that hole served some other purpose... it was even strange for simple transportation.
Could the hole be a requirement for some kind of magic?
"It is a necessary condition to keep the wind spirits stationed here," one suggested.
"Perhaps it was simply to monitor the surface," another said.
"They were being controlled, weren't they? Maybe they were just given a simple order to dig upward once they reached this spot."
The consensus was that we had no idea. Figures. I’ll just leave it be and stop overthinking it.
We began work on the temple. My original plan was to build a structure inside the cavern, but Progenitor-san and the high elves shot that down. They insisted the best course was to carve and process the cavern itself, transforming the space into the temple's interior.
So, what was all the lumber for? It was mostly for scaffolding so we could work on the walls. And the measurements? They were just calculating the best placement for lights and ritual tools.
Understood. In other words... it was time for the Universal Farming Tool.
The high elves and mountain elves pointed out where they wanted the lights and ritual tools placed, and I carved the features directly into the stone. As for the design, they left it entirely to me, so I went with a Western-inspired aesthetic. I didn't smooth out every single surface; instead, I left patches of natural rock here and there to create a sense of contrast.
Since the scaffolding was always set up ahead of me as I worked, I was completely stress-free. And since I was using the Universal Farming Tool, I didn't even get tired.
...Every now and then, I went back to the surface for a change of pace. The lizardmen had built a proper fence around the hole for me. I appreciated that. I also spent some time playing with Kuro’s offspring.
"Hahaha! Wait up, you guys!"
Hmm? I spotted a deer-like magic beast nearby. Those antlers... could it be... a Panic Caribou?
The memory of its flavor rushed back to me.
"Wait right there!"
I took it down. When I brought it back to the village, I was treated like a hero. Naturally, we held a banquet.
It was just as delicious as I remembered. Urza, Galf from the beastman race, and Gatto's family were eating it for the first time and were visibly moved by the taste. Progenitor-san and Beezel had clearly eaten it before; they tried to maintain their composure, but they were very firm about asking for second helpings.
The temple construction is proceeding smoothly.