A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 8

[JB Comprehensive Account – Savings]

[83,150 won]

Shit.

What should I do about this?

Fortunately, I’ve got enough food at home to last about three days.

If I cut down on how much I eat even more, I might be able to stretch it to a week.

But what then?

Can I survive on 80,000 won?

Of course not. That’s absolutely impossible.

I’m not optimistic enough to turn a blind eye to that fact.

So I started looking for part-time jobs I could do immediately, and thankfully, a few stores contacted me wanting to schedule interviews.

But of course, I was rejected by all of them.

“…Well. I probably wouldn’t have picked me either.”

When I prepped for the interviews and showed up, everyone was shocked by my appearance.

Honestly, I think I’m quite a beauty, but for others—especially the store owners—it would be a bit awkward to hire me as a part-time worker.

Definitely, older folks would probably see me as a delinquent.

But the good news is they didn’t just dismiss me right away, right?

However, it seemed like they wanted to let me know they had no intention of hiring me beforehand since most of them didn’t even make eye contact with me during the interview.

Add to that my catastrophic communication skills, and a bizarre phenomenon occurred where we ended up talking without making eye contact.

Hmm. Honestly, getting hired would have felt strange at this point…

But still, I feel wronged.

This silvery-white hair. These crimson eyes.

I didn’t choose to be born this way…

Grrr—

“Ugh…”

My stomach is sending signals that it’s hungry.

I’m already the type to eat little, and cutting my food intake by another third feels like it’s protesting my breakfast.

But I must endure.

Somehow until I can find a part-time job…

★

500… 501… 502… 503… 504… And now…

“…What number am I on?”

I’m on the second day of my part-time job sticking eyes onto teddy bears.

“Phew…”

This was the first opportunity I found that I could start from home.

Typing jobs, handmade crafts, all sorts of options.

I found quite a few things I could do from home, but this is the only one I could start right away.

Of course, it’s physically taxing.

But the issue is, it’s driving me insane.

I can easily understand why people say to avoid this—it’s mentally exhausting.

“Ugh…”

But I have no choice if I need to earn even a bit of money.

At least until I can find another part-time position; this is all I can do.

Right. Don’t give up.

You know what’s important, right? A relentless spirit…

If I keep my wits about me, I can survive.

Especially with this body, there’s no way I can die from mere work like this…

★

“Done…”

How many eyes have I stuck now?

I gave up counting halfway through, and I don’t want to think about it.

Anyway, thanks to sticking teddy bear eyes nonstop for four days, I’ve made 80,000 won.

They said they’d likely reach out again in a couple of days.

Which means I have two days of free time.

I can finally enjoy New Dimension…!

Of course, before I can enjoy New Dimension, I have some worries to confront.

I can’t possibly rely on this teddy bear eye-sticking side gig for life.

The income is far too insufficient for survival.

Earning just 80,000 won after working day and night means I’d barely scrape together 600,000 won in a month.

Should I really look for a factory job…?

Hmm. I don’t know, so let’s just enjoy New Dimension for now.

I want to take a break.

★

However, it didn’t take long for me to realize that I couldn’t relax leisurely after being back in New Dimension for so long.

There was all this ridiculous controversy about ‘nukes’ and whatnot.

Of course, I haven’t had time to keep up with the community lately, but it’s pretty clear things are still on fire.

…Why did my last remaining haven end up like this?

I feel a bit sad.

[Head-Broken Priest]

…That aside, it’s that person again.

When on earth will that person repent?

“Ah, crap.”

Looks like they noticed me and spat out some harsh curses.

They still don’t appreciate my generosity, huh?

Well… all I can do is what I must.

Until it works, as long as I keep a strong spirit.

That was one of my beliefs in that other world.

After two days, I felt the weight of my friend, Warhammer, as I moved forward.

★

In New Dimension, jobs can be seen as a ‘system for receiving additional effects from skills.’

When promoting the game, they advertise ‘endless freedom,’ so it had to be that picking a specific job didn’t change the training method.

Consequently, priests could use swords or spears, and spear masters could also use magic.

When a priest uses healing skills, they just increase their healing power, and when a spear master uses a spear, their range increases. For swordsmen, their power becomes stronger.

In New Dimension, that’s pretty much what a job is.

So it wouldn’t be strange at all if a priest learned sword-related skills.

“Tsk.”

Before the priest stood a warrior in full body armor using a gigantic warhammer.

No, to be precise, he wasn’t technically a ‘warrior.’

He was merely equipped with weapons typically used by warriors; his class was distinctly ‘traveler.’

But that didn’t really matter to the priest.

No matter what his weapon was, it remained the same that he was the enemy the priest needed to defeat.

The priest immediately stowed their staff away in their inventory and drew a dagger.

The opponent seemed sluggish with that warhammer and full body armor.

To exploit that gap, it was crucial to move as lightly as possible, which is why they hadn’t changed their armor.

After all, without having the same full body armor as his, one strike from that warhammer would mean nothing.

“Phew…”

Clank, clank.

A heavy sound echoed of metal crashing against metal.

To the priest, it was akin to a Great Bell Tower announcing death.

But in that moment of retreat…

If they do, they would be left with no choice but to keep fleeing from him in the future.

That wouldn’t do.

They refused to do that.

He too was a proper gamer.

While he could accept defeat, he could never just acknowledge it.

“Haah!”

The priest raised their voice and stepped forward.

In response, he lowered his center of gravity and got into stance.

Of course, under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to pierce full body armor with just a dagger.

But this is just a game.

While there might be affinities between weapons and armor, nothing is absolute.

As long as they attack continuously to bring the opponent’s HP to zero, victory is theirs.

“Ugh!”

With a shout, the priest plunged the dagger forward, and naturally, he blocked with that warhammer.

Clang!

It was a heavy sensation and sound that was nothing to brush off as a simple game.

Feeling it at their fingertips, bubbling up inside was sheer ecstasy.

Boom!

But it was obvious that a dagger couldn’t win against a warhammer head-on.

As soon as they sensed the power was shifting against them, the priest withdrew. At that moment, a huge sound echoed and sand dust soared.

And immediately cutting through the sand dust was a heavy attack akin to a giant meteor.

If they allow this, the game will end.

《Acceleration》

Having faced that scenario countless times, the priest knew it better than anyone.

Using the skill ‘Acceleration’ to surge forward, the priest charged in.

If they had backed away, they wouldn’t have taken any damage at all, but then they wouldn’t be able to win.

Just narrowly avoiding the trajectory of the warhammer, the priest swung their right hand with full force.

Clang!

As the dagger met the full body armor, sparks flew, and above the opponent’s nickname, ‘Inquisition Officer,’ a HP bar appeared as a sign of a successful hit.

But the red line barely dropped about 5%.

That was a disappointing figure if one were to claim a significant hit had been delivered.

However, the priest didn’t mind.

In fact, that was more than enough.

If they could deliver such an attack 20 times, it meant victory was within reach.

“Ugh!”

It goes without saying, but he in full body armor wielding a warhammer was much slower than the priest.

So, taking advantage of this initial flow was crucial for maintaining momentum.

Clank!

Feeling that unpleasant sensation of scraping metal, the priest struck again, but he also folded his left arm to mitigate damage.

‘This is the opportunity.’

As he closed in, it was obvious the knife had a wider range of attack than the warhammer.

In that situation, if the warrior wanted to retaliate with his warhammer, he needed to either retreat or somehow force back the enemy.

But by hunching down like that, it meant he couldn’t do either.

Knowing that very well, the priest continued to pummel him.

His HP gradually decreased.

No matter how resistant full body armor was against daggers, it couldn’t completely ignore damage, it was only natural.

‘If I’ve come this far, winning shouldn’t be too difficult….’

And the moment the priest thought so, it was as though time for a counterattack had arrived, as he led with his left shoulder and pressed forward.

But that was well within the priest’s expected range.

Easily twisting their body, they dodged his charge and immediately followed up with an attack.

However.

Boom!

In a manner that seemed to predict that judgment, his body became enveloped in blue light, and once again, an intense ground-shaking sound brought forth another cloud of sand dust.

The skill, Jin-gak.

If successfully activated, it would simply push back enemies in the vicinity.

‘He still had that up his sleeve?’

With that single skill, the priest’s strategy was completely distorted.

No matter how hard they worked to maintain the distance for his own attacks, in an instant, that advantage gained was rendered null.

Had they maintained perfect proximity to ensure the other couldn’t push away?

Remaining HP decisively showed 100% vs 50%.

At a glance, it was clearly in favor of the priest.

But he didn’t let his guard down.

No, he couldn’t afford to.

‘This much in front of that warhammer means absolutely nothing.’

Though taken aback by the unfamiliar situation, the priest quickly calmed their head and sorted through the circumstances, proving they were also a top-tier player.

As the sand dust began to settle.

Determined not to repeat the same mistake, he remained completely still.

‘To push in here? No, he’s definitely aiming for a counter. I can’t be reckless or I’ll lose.’

He knew he couldn’t afford to show any openings.

After all, if the opponent was indeed a priest, he would relentlessly strive to finish this fight.

Boom!

In other words, even if he remained passive, it indicated it would be him to move first.

With a tearing sound cutting through the air, the warhammer swung horizontally.

That was both a way to push the enemy back and to completely divine balance henceforth, to claim the situation as his own.

But the priest was not one to miss that.

Instead, they charged headlong to meet the warhammer, channeling all their kinetic energy to leap high into the air before the warhammer could connect.

The warhammer sliced through the air, and the priest was no fool to miss that moment.

With all their strength, the dagger fell.

No matter how thick the helm was, that strike would never be light.

It guaranteed at least a stunning impact.

…If only the attack had succeeded.

Swoosh!

“Huh?”

In that moment, the priest’s vision blurred, and simultaneously a fierce vibration surged through their jaw.

“Ugh?!”

As their sight returned, they saw the extended palm of his right hand reaching for them.

The priest quickly recognized that the vibration hitting their jaw was indeed his long-range strike.

The priest’s body was sent flying backward, and he immediately grasped the warhammer and surged forward.

Struck in a vital area, the priest was utterly knocked out.

There were no means to fend off his follow-up strike.

“…Huh.”

Suddenly realizing the attack had missed, judging to just drop their weapon completely to react, no matter how bad the perspective of the opponent, it was impossible to call that an elementary mistake.

That was clearly an action only possible due to a high understanding of PK.

Watching the warhammer descend toward his head, the priest exhaled a breath of admiration.

Damn this game is frustrating.

“Shit.”

Sending the highest praise a gamer can give to an opponent, the priest’s vision blurred once more.

Crash!

With a thunderous roar, the battle was decided.