If Lee Eunwoo had to rank the most exhausting type of temple visitor, there was a clear winner.
Not scholars.
Not merchants.
Not even overly dramatic priests.
No.
The worst category by far was emotionally unstable knights.
And unfortunately, one of them had just walked through the door.
The temple chamber was quiet that afternoon. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, casting long golden lines across the stone floor.
Eunwoo floated lazily inside the mirror realm, half-asleep while browsing his ability list.
[Mirror System Status]
Owner: Lee Eunwoo
Stored Abilities: 162
Newly Acquired:
• Advanced Magical Theory
• Mana Circuit Awareness
• Tactical Map Reading
Eunwoo nodded approvingly.
"Thank you, suspicious scholar man."
That guy had basically dropped an entire university education into Eunwoo's brain.
It was easily one of the most useful upgrades so far.
Of course, Eunwoo had immediately used it to confirm one important fact.
He was ridiculously overpowered.
Not that he would ever admit that out loud.
"I still don't even have a body," he muttered.
"I'm just an overqualified household decoration."
The temple doors creaked open.
Footsteps echoed across the chamber.
Heavy footsteps.
Metal armor.
Eunwoo sighed.
"Knight."
Sure enough, a man in battered armor stumbled toward the mirror.
He looked like someone who hadn't slept in three days.
His hair was messy.
His eyes were red.
His posture screamed emotional breakdown pending.
The knight stopped in front of the mirror.
He stared at his reflection.
And then—
He started crying.
Loudly.
Like, aggressively crying.
The kind of crying that involved dramatic shoulder shaking and questionable breathing patterns.
Eunwoo stared.
"…Oh no."
The knight grabbed the sides of the altar.
"WHY AM I SO USELESS?!"
Eunwoo slowly backed away inside the mirror realm.
"I did not sign up to be a therapist."
The knight continued his meltdown.
"I trained for ten years!"
He slammed his fist against the altar.
"Ten years!"
Eunwoo glanced at the system panel.
"No ability detected yet."
The knight sniffed loudly.
"Everyone else in the order got promoted…"
His voice cracked.
"And I'm still a second-class knight!"
Eunwoo sighed.
"Buddy, maybe stop screaming at furniture."
The knight leaned closer to the mirror.
"You're supposed to be a divine artifact, right?!"
Eunwoo waved.
"Yes hello."
The knight clenched his fists.
"Then tell me… what am I missing?!"
Eunwoo squinted at him.
Then the system chimed.
DING.
Ability Detected: Advanced Sword Mastery
Copy?
Eunwoo blinked.
"…Wait."
"Advanced?"
He immediately hit Copy.
A massive wave of sword knowledge flooded his mind.
Thousands of movements.
Combat instincts.
Battlefield awareness.
Sword techniques refined through years of training.
Eunwoo whistled.
"This guy is actually really good."
Meanwhile, the knight suddenly froze.
His eyes widened.
"…Wait."
He slowly picked up his sword.
He swung it once.
Then again.
His posture changed.
His movements became sharper.
More precise.
The knight gasped.
"My stance…"
He swung again.
"I finally understand the problem!"
Eunwoo nodded approvingly.
"You were leaning too far into your right shoulder."
Of course the knight couldn't hear him.
But the man looked like he had just experienced a religious awakening.
Tears filled his eyes again.
But this time they were happy tears.
"The mirror…"
He dropped to his knees.
"Thank you!"
Eunwoo sighed.
"You're welcome, I guess."
The knight stood up dramatically.
"I will return stronger!"
Then he ran out of the temple like an anime protagonist.
Eunwoo watched him leave.
"…That was exhausting."
Silence returned to the chamber.
Eunwoo floated lazily again.
His gaze drifted around the room.
Stone pillars.
Wooden shelves.
The altar.
Sir Frogbert sat proudly on his shelf.
Still extremely ugly.
Eunwoo nodded.
"You saw that, right?"
The frog statue continued being profoundly unhelpful.
From the corner of the room came a quiet voice.
"He sounded happier when he left."
Eunwoo looked over.
Constance sat on her usual bench, gently tracing the rim of a cup with her fingers.
He hadn't even noticed when she arrived.
Her head tilted slightly toward the door where the knight had exited.
"He cried a lot."
Eunwoo snorted.
"That's one way to describe it."
She smiled faintly.
"I think people feel comfortable crying in temples."
Eunwoo considered that.
"…Fair."
Constance leaned back against the wall.
"The echoes carry differently when people are sad."
Eunwoo glanced at her.
"That hearing again."
It really was impressive.
She could apparently identify emotional states purely from sound.
After a moment she spoke again.
"I think the mirror helped him."
Eunwoo blinked.
"…Technically yes."
But she obviously didn't hear the reply.
She simply nodded to herself.
"That's good."
Then she fell quiet again.
The chamber remained peaceful for a while.
Until Eunwoo noticed something strange.
He looked toward the shelf.
Sir Frogbert had moved.
Just slightly.
The statue now faced a different direction.
Eunwoo squinted.
"…I'm pretty sure that wasn't like that before."
He stared at it.
The frog stared back with its permanently ugly expression.
A long silence followed.
Finally Eunwoo sighed.
"Okay, Frogbert."
"If you're secretly alive, now would be a great time to say something."
The statue did not respond.
From the corner Constance suddenly spoke.
"The frog statue moved again."
Eunwoo froze.
Slowly… he turned toward her.
"…Excuse me?"
She tilted her head.
"It scraped the wood."
Her fingers lightly tapped the bench.
"A small sound."
Eunwoo stared at Sir Frogbert again.
Then back at Constance.
Then back at the frog.
"…That's unsettling."