Chapter 60: The Conqueror Quest
King's Landing, the ruins of the Dragonpit
Jon looked at the treasure in his hand, which the System had identified as a Sealing Stone, feeling a bit strange. He always felt the System was setting him up, because he knew very well that Jaqen H'ghar represented all the Faceless Men of the House of Black and White.
Although the function of generating 1,000 points of Soul Energy per month was very attractive, Jon understood that this thing was likely competing with the so-called Many-Faced God for Soul Energy.
Doing something akin to cutting off someone's incense offerings would definitely trigger a backlash. Although the only truly powerful gods in this world were the Lord of Light and the cold powers whispered of beyond the Wall, it didn't mean those minor gods had no power.
After the appearance of the Red Comet, the entire Seven Kingdoms fell into chaos, and factions with beliefs were all fighting for their own interests.
Although Jon wasn't particularly afraid of the Many-Faced God, if the other party specifically targeted him, his plans for expanding his influence could be affected.
(I hope you're not setting me up; I've always trusted you. If the Faceless Men come to assassinate me every day, I'm quitting.)
"The Holy Stone descends. As one of the most influential divine powers in this world, the authority of the Seven-Who-Are-One is being sealed here. Explore..."
(Wait, does this mean this thing can communicate with me now!)
Jon was suddenly startled after seeing the new quest appear before him.
"System, do you have the capacity for thought? I have many questions to ask you..."
Jon asked these questions directly after noticing the System's reaction, but the System remained unresponsive, as if it were deliberately teasing him.
So Jon could only give up and focus on his new quest. Braavos's influence couldn't yet penetrate the Stepstones. Although the Faceless Men were mysterious, Jon's power was not weaker than theirs.
Furthermore, Jon had already provoked the old gods of Thunder Isle, so he wasn't afraid of the Many-Faced God. Since the System wanted him to deal with the Many-Faced God, it must have its reasons.
So far, the System had helped Jon a lot, so he could only continue. Moreover, Jon had a faint feeling that this thing seemed to be intentionally or unintentionally opposing the gods of this world.
According to Garona, Jon was a being who had inherited the power of some god. This meant the System was likely a god itself, or some of its abilities were perceived as divine by Garona.
(Damn it, fortune favors the bold—either I strike it rich or I'm dead. I don't want to think about this mess anymore. As long as it benefits me, I'll keep going! Whatever comes my way, I'll just crush it!)
After clearing his mind, Jon finally calmed down and began walking through the ruins of the Dragonpit.
Recalling that Jaqen H'ghar had also appeared here, Jon couldn't help but suspect that the man was also here looking for something.
(No wonder the System wanted to eliminate that guy; it turns out the entity behind him is trying to compete with the System for something!)
The ruins of the Dragonpit were truly massive. Jon didn't know how long he had been walking inside when, under the System's guidance, he arrived at a passage entrance blocked by stones.
Ambient light shone through the cracks in the Dragonpit's walls and quickly penetrated the gaps between the stones, allowing Jon to see the passage walls inside.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."
Sensing the massive size of the stones, Jon summoned his two remaining Giant Poison Spiders and had the two big fellows help him clear the stones.
"Boom... crack... crack..."
Upon receiving Jon's command, the Giant Poison Spiders began frantically attacking the massive stones. Under their terrifying strength, fragments of rock flew in all directions.
Jon took this opportunity to look at the murals around the passage. The history here seemed very ancient, even older than the Dragonpit itself.
Some of the murals depicted deeds of the Faith of the Seven, although the true core of the Faith of the Seven on the continent of Westeros was in Oldtown.
Historically, however, the Sept of Remembrance here had seen many septons who influenced the continent's affairs, especially after Aegon I Targaryen, the Conqueror, established King's Landing.
With the shift of the capital, the Faith also sent most of their people here, hoping to build a good relationship with House Targaryen. Unfortunately, some rules of House Targaryen, as an outside force, didn't quite fit in Westeros.
Several conflicts broke out between the two major powers before the rift between the Crown and the Faith was truly resolved by Jaehaerys I Targaryen, the Conciliator.
While watching that poorly ended story of Westeros in his past life, Jon always had a question: why did the Seven, gods who never performed miracles, have such a massive influence on a continent?
It wasn't until Jon accepted the System's quest today that he realized the Seven-Who-Are-One might be unable to exercise their power due to some unknown reason.
"Hiss, hiss..."
While Jon was still pondering this, the Giant Poison Spiders let out happy hisses.
When Jon looked over, he was surprised to find that the passage had already been cleared by them.
"Crackle..."
Under the light of the torch, the two Giant Poison Spiders guarded Jon from the front and back as they walked deep into the passage. The passage sloped downward at a 45-degree angle.
This passage seemed to have been specifically excavated. As Jon walked, he could see marks of chiseling on the walls. The strange, black, pitch-like material around him reminded him of certain ancient ruins.
The Hightower, the Great Maze of Lorath, the Valyrian roads, and the Seastone Chair of the Iron Islands—the building materials of these places were mostly black, oily-looking structures.
Many maesters from Oldtown had once boldly speculated that these buildings likely belonged to some unknown ancient civilization.
And now, similar structures had appeared beneath the Dragonpit. It seemed that some things here were related to those ancient places.
Perhaps his ancestor Aegon I Targaryen had also seen something here, which was why he abandoned prosperous Oldtown and chose this place to build his capital.
"Whoosh... whoosh..."
As Jon went deeper, gusts of breeze with a strange scent blew gently against his face. Smelling the fishy, damp breeze, Jon couldn't help but wonder if there was an underground river below.
"Click..."
Seeing that the torch was dying, Jon took a whale-oil lamp from the pack on his back, which he had prepared in advance.
Considering he might be exploring ruins, Jon had requested many exploration devices from the Red Keep in the name of Eddard Stark, Hand of the King.
This Myrish whale-oil lamp was not only wind-resistant but also several times brighter than an average oil lamp due to its special optical design.
As Jon went deeper, the ruins of black stone buildings became more frequent. After walking for a few minutes with the whale-oil lamp, Jon even saw several fallen stone pillars.
What Jon found strange, however, was that there were no carvings or patterns on these ruins.
Using humans as an example, after establishing a powerful civilization, they would leave behind writings and buildings to record their clan's achievements and show off their strength and military might to other clans.
After walking for another ten minutes, a strange sensation suddenly appeared in Jon's mind. It was a terrifying pressure, the kind that could only be released by a powerful existence capable of making his very soul tremble.
(It looks like the main event is here today. I just don't know if I can handle it, or if the System came here specifically to deal with it!)
Despite his many thoughts, Jon walked inside with firm steps. Back on Blue Star in his previous life, Jon had missed many opportunities because he lacked drive and daring.
After living a second life, Jon's mindset was completely different, especially after being stimulated by the frustrating life of the original Jon Snow. Jon had become somewhat more adventurous.
If it were Jon's old personality, upon encountering a mysterious existence like the System, he would have thought about it dozens or hundreds of times, wondering if it wanted something from him.
But now, Jon, in desperate need of power, didn't care about those issues at all. Even if a demon king were sealed ahead, Jon intended to go up and take a look.
This was a massive black stone ruin, or rather, a black stone cavern, because the pillars here were similar to the limestone caves in his hometown on Blue Star.
However, the stones there were mostly white or gray, while the stones here were mostly black—the strange kind of black stone with oily stains.
The first thing that caught Jon's eye was a massive, mesh-like pillar, which looked like a cage, completely partitioning off the area in front of him.
Strands of red, green, and blue light surged within it like living things.
Surrounding this "cage" pillar were seven crystal statues of various forms. They shimmered with rainbow light under the glow from behind the mesh pillar.
"O stray believer of a foreign god... leave..."
"I am the triune..."
"Slaughter..."
As Jon approached, countless whispers, like sleep-talk, flooded into Jon's mind bit by bit...
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