A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 130

[Rene]

[It’s Time for Judgment]

[New Dimension | 6,783 viewers | 00:29:41]

Suddenly, there were less than 5 minutes left until the start of the war.

“By the way, how does this war even start…?”
─Molu
─Maybe it’s some sort of summoning to the battlefield?

“That’s probably it…?”
Where I am right now is just an ordinary village, completely lacking anything special.
It feels so weird to think that a war could suddenly start in a place like this.

Speaking of which, it seems like it’s about time for me to get some contact…
Well, they’re not kids, so they should figure it out themselves.
If something really urgent comes up, they’ll contact me again.

While I was thinking this, a system message window popped up in front of me.

〔The Beginning of the First Crusade〕

〔The crusade between the Elun Cult and the Scadi Cult begins.〕

〔The crusade will last for 2 hours, and results will be announced afterward.〕

〔The Elun Cult has more troops than the Scadi Cult, so the goddess Scadi, feeling pitiful, grants additional blessings to the cult side.〕

〔Mercenaries participating as a third faction will not receive additional support.〕

〔Players can still join within 10 minutes after the start of the crusade, but those who log in later cannot participate in this crusade.〕

〔There are important NPCs on the cult side, and if this NPC is defeated, the respective cult will suffer significant damage.〕

〔Dead players will be expelled from the crusade.〕

〔If affiliated with the Elun Cult, they will be marked in white; if affiliated with the Scadi Cult, in blue; and those in the third faction will be marked in any color excluding these two.〕

〔If you accept this quest, you will be transported to the Plains of Antipathos.〕

〔Yes / No〕

“…It’s here.”
─Let’s gooooooo!!
─Can we really win without any system corrections?
─It might be possible if we adjust the points based on the ratio of players.
─Shudder in fear, heretics! You’re all doomed!
─Fact: I’m just here for the broadcast, munching on popcorn…
─Are you really going in????

Of course, my answer was predetermined from the start, so I pressed the Yes button without hesitation.

In an instant, my vision went dark.
Although, I could still see the chat window in the corner of my vision, so it was clear this was just part of the game.

Anyway, the Plains of Antipathos…
The name feels a bit complicated, doesn’t it?
As I was having such unimportant thoughts, my vision slowly began to brighten again, revealing an endlessly wide plain in front of me.

The blue sky adorned with fluffy white clouds and the fields below were so clear and refreshing that I couldn’t imagine this place soon becoming a battlefield.

And surrounding me were other players beginning to appear.
Above their heads floated light golden arrows.
Since the third faction is marked in a color excluding white and blue, I figured that must be it.

Should I consider this a coincidence?
The color of our cult’s emblem was exactly this light gold.
It made me feel oddly pleased.

“Everyone. Let’s do our best today…”
─Fighting!
─I’m gonna get the MVP of the crusade today! You’re all dead!
─Is there even a strategy in place?

“Yeah… I think we’ll just fight well on our own and survive…”
It’s not impossible to face a greater number with fewer troops.
After all, the eternal hero of Korea, General Lee Soon-shin, proved that, didn’t he?
But right now, there are too many ambiguous aspects to use a strategy like that.

To elaborate, the first reason is that our enemies aren’t just one but two.
We have to fight two factions and must win.
It isn’t as simple as “hey, their troops are more!”

Secondly, there’s no one to lead the troops.
No matter how much I convey strategies through my broadcast, would they really follow through perfectly?
The people gathered here aren’t in a superior-subordinate relationship.
They’re all players on equal footing.
Everyone has their own way of playing, and no one has the right to stop another person.

Finally, the third reason.
The most fundamental one.
I don’t even know those strategies!
I’ve never learned about strategies for fighting in that other world.

Of course, it probably exists to some extent.
There have been plenty of times when the Iya Cult had fewer troops as well.
But no one ever took the time to explain strategies to me.

The best I got was the Pope Grandpa saying that they would handle strategies themselves, and just told me to fight and come back.
Sure.
So creating strategies for battle wasn’t really an option.

“Because if those are all Rebongis, everyone will be new players anyway, so I trust they’ll handle it well on their own…”
─What’s New Dimension? (I really don’t know, haha)
─Just go in and level up a job that says Priest ㅇㅇ
─For real, if I choose that job, I could meet Rene, right? LOL
─I’m going to make a Priest right now, LOL

“Everyone, no bad-mouthing please…”
“Rene-nim, we’ve arrived.”
─?
─If you’re Rebongi, just get out of here.
─Who are you?
─Are you an oblivious Rebongi?

Just as I was about to scold the Rebongis for the suddenly weird chat topic, I heard a voice calling my name from behind.
Considering there hasn’t been a single direct response from New Dimension so far, the person behind me must be someone who really needs to talk to me.
And if there are people who need to talk to me right now…
“No, wait. Do I have to fight or participate in this crusade?”
“Ah, hello…”
“Let’s do well today.”
Of course, it was the members of Sirius.
─?
─????????????????????
─What?!
─Are you really the Sirius Team?
─Wow, LOL
─There’s no way this can be stopped, ㅇㅇ
─You’re all dead, heretics, LOL
─Is this not cheating?? LOL
─“I’m not confident in winning” (For real, I’m not)
─If I see Ga-eun’s name while fighting heretics, I’m running away ASAP, LOL
─So cool!!!
─Bringing such broken connections is just cowardly!!!

These were my ace cards that I had prepared in advance.

★

Having 2,000 troops was the minimum requirement for a proper war.
But even if we gathered 2,000, I wondered if we could win so easily.
Not a chance.
While I may not be proficient in strategies, I’m definitely not clueless about how crucial troop numbers are in warfare.
2,000 troops is just the necessary condition for participating in the war, not a guarantee of victory.

So, what else do we need here?
It would be nice if we could inflate our numbers to match those of the heretics, but… obviously, that’s impossible.
In other words, since we can’t bulk up on quantity, we must focus on quality instead.
We need a vanguard who can fight boldly at the front and boost the morale of others, ringing victory bells.
And I know just the right people for that role in New Dimension.
[Inquisition Officer: Hello, Ga-eun. Can we talk for a moment?]
[Ga-eun: Oh, hello, Rene. Is this about the next play coaching?]
[Inquisition Officer: That’s not it. I’m here because there’s news about the heretics’ war starting in New Dimension.]
[Inquisition Officer: Do you know about it?]
[Ga-eun: Oh, that’s why you’re here. Give me a moment. Since everyone’s together, I think a call would be better. Is that okay?]
[Inquisition Officer: Yes.]

[Receiving a call from Ga-eun]

[📞 | ❌]

Fortunately, I easily established contact with Ga-eun… or rather, the Sirius Team.
The only issue is that they’re currently in tournament season…
The silver lining is that NAK schedules and this war’s schedule don’t overlap much.
So they should be able to help, right?
I mean, just how much have I helped them…!
… Of course, I got paid too.

“Um, it would be great if you could join my faction and act as the vanguard…”
[Hmm… Honestly, it might not be easy for us to help you. We can’t always make time just because we want to…]
In response to my request, Ga-eun replied rather coldly.
As a professional gamer, that’s to be expected.
No matter how much I’ve supported them, their main job is still professional gaming.

“Is it impossible…?”
[Huu…]
[No, if Ga-eun says to help, we must…!]
[Wait, hold on, shut up, Eun-ho. Our schedule isn’t that flexible, you know.]
[… That’s true.]
Though Owen, like a fellow jungler, tried to back me up in the middle, it didn’t help as Ga-eun swiftly cut him off.

“Please help us.”
Now I have no choice but to pull a little on the strings.
[Um, well… We want to help, but it looks like our schedule is a bit tricky…]
“Feel free to skip days that don’t work for you; just please help us.”
[… Alright. I’ll check the schedule and get back to you.]
“Okay…”

Either way, I managed to get a slight commitment from the Sirius Team through a bit of insistence.
Which means we have our vanguard ready.
Now, all that remains is to win.

★

【New Dimension Gallery】
【Title: Breaking news) All 5 members of Sirius have entered Iya Cult, LOL】
【Author: ㅇㅇ】
(Rene broadcast screenshot.webp)
Heretics’ heads are all about to be smashed in 2 minutes, LOL
【Recommendations: 57 / Disapprovals: 1】
ㅇㅇ: Cowardly motherf*ers.
└Authored by ㅇㅇ: Rene’s opinion) Given their numbers, this much is fair.
└ㅇㅇ: Can’t argue with that, I agree.

Progressor: Why the hell are they here when they should be preparing for the tournament?
└Authored by ㅇㅇ: From an observer’s standpoint, this is just pure fun, LOL

Head-Broken Priest: Damn.
└Authored by ㅇㅇ: (Rene thumbs up emoji)
ㅇㅇ: But no matter how many of them we bring, the troop difference is too significant to win, LOL
└Authored by ㅇㅇ: That’s somewhat true, I agree.
└Authored by ㅇㅇ: For the Iya Cult, this is like having to fight against 30,000.