A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 4

After logging out of New Dimension, I immediately threw myself onto the bed.

“I’m so tired….”

Who knew that just clearing basic quests could leave me so exhausted?

Let’s put off investigating today’s questions until I wake up. Right now, even searching for something on the computer feels like too much.

Now that I think about it, those demands were pretty outrageous. I had to go to the brewery and talk to the owner after harvesting barley? What a scary game….

With those thoughts in mind, I quietly closed my eyes….

…Wait. Now that I think about it, it’s ridiculous.

I consider myself quite an open-minded person. If I had to provide evidence, I have so much that it’s hard to mention it all.

But no matter how much I think about it, I just can’t understand the current situation.

Even with my expansive mind, some things are unforgivable.

Did I retain memories from my previous life when I was reincarnated?

That’s fine.

God is omnipotent, yet has a surprisingly human side, so mistakes can happen. I can understand why I was reincarnated without erasing my former memories.

And making me be born a woman?

That’s okay too.

I’ve learned countless times in my past life that life doesn’t unfold the way you want it to.

Even if I’m a woman now, my memory of being a man doesn’t disappear; it doesn’t really matter.

No. I was able to understand everything.

It’s fine that I, with modern Earth values, had to become an Inquisition Officer smashing people’s heads.

It’s also fine that I was suddenly sent back to Earth for some reason.

I have no complaints.

But at the very least, if you’re going to send me back to Earth, shouldn’t you at least provide some basic A/S?

I’m not even asking to be turned back into a man.

But at least on Earth, I must fix this personality to live normally.

Is it absurd that this personality—created because of you—makes it impossible for me to enjoy the game….?

I feel wronged. But there’s no way to resolve this injustice.

If I get the chance, I will definitely smash that Iya’s head one day.

That nasty girl.

★

This won’t do.

After waking up and contemplating deeply, I’ve come to that conclusion.

Then again, it’s a game that I invested half a year’s worth of living expenses into.

To quit such a game over not being able to talk to people would be a laughable reason if someone else heard it.

No, to be precise, it’s not even about talking to people.

To quit a game just because I can’t converse with NPCs?

What kind of nonsense is that?

If Iya had seen this, she would have been rolling on the floor laughing at how ridiculous it sounds.

In short, I needed to find a solution.

So what I needed to do right now was browse the internet.

If there’s a place where all the knowledge of this world sleeps, there must be an answer somewhere.

【I Can’t Talk to People | Search🔍】

As soon as I searched, dozens of posts flooded in.

I clicked on the very first post among them.

【Characteristics of People Who Can’t Talk】

Right from the title, it gives off a professional vibe.

The author must be someone who has majored in psychology or something similar.

【A characteristic of people who can’t talk is that they don’t listen well to others.】

They cut off others and rush to talk about themselves… blah blah blah.

… So what?

That sounds like a lack of communication skills rather than not being able to talk.

I must be an idiot for reading all the way to the end just in case.

Of course, it would be helpful for those who struggle with these issues, but it had nothing to do with me.

Taking a deep breath and reading another post, they all seemed to share similar ideas.

Listen to others, they say.

Don’t interrupt when someone else is talking.

Think about whether your story fits the current topic of conversation….

But I’m actually most confident about listening right now.

Since I can’t talk, my only option is to listen.

“What should I do…?”

Should I request a refund now? I have entertained that thought.

But refunding is complicated for the Reverse Capsule since my body information has already been registered, and I might not get the full amount back.

…Of course, considering that, if it’s a game I can’t enjoy at all, it would be better to at least get half back by refunding.

However, I’ve already become completely absorbed in the spectacle I saw in the PV.

So, I wanted to find a way if possible.

“What should I do…?”

Calmly. Let’s think it through from the beginning again.

I can’t talk to people.

In that other world, because of my peculiar silver-white hair color, everyone kept their distance, and in my situation with no one to converse with, I remained an Inquisition Officer, which made seeing people’s faces uncomfortable.

The fact that I had to smash someone’s head if they looked at me was overwhelming at first.

Even though priests heal the heretics after the inquiries, it was still incredibly hard for me, with modern values at that time.

Of course, I eventually got used to it, but by then my communication skills were obliterated.

Just having someone’s gaze turn towards me caused my body to stiffen, and when our eyes met…

Ah, why am I thinking about this?

In any case, the conclusion is that I can’t talk to people.

“…Ah.”

Wait a minute.

That was the problem.

Realizing the perfect solution, I immediately accessed New Dimension again.

No one could stop me now.

★

Upon logging into New Dimension, I headed to a blacksmith in the corner of Barley Town.

There, the shop owner, a dwarf, was slumped lazily, showing no signs of getting up even after noticing my entrance.

… Shouldn’t a shop NPC at least offer some simple service when a customer comes in?

While that thought crossed my mind, the fact that he was indifferent to me actually felt comforting.

In any case, shifting my gaze away from the lazy owner, weapons neatly lined the walls, as expected of a blacksmith.

From ordinary swords to shields, spears, daggers, and protectors.

Among those, I found exactly what I was looking for.

“Um, excuse me….”

[5 Gold.]

“Oh, yes….”

After paying 5 gold, half of the 10 gold I received from solving a quest yesterday, I immediately checked the item’s information.

《Gort’s Helmet》

《A helmet made carelessly by Gort, the dwarf smith of Barley Town, who was tired.》

《It’s an inferior defensive item, but it performs surprisingly well.》

《Defense + 5》

《Normal grade》

《Durability 100/100》

《Level limit 1》

… A hastily made helmet raises some anxiety, but that’s not what matters right now.

After wearing the helmet, I looked at Gort, the dwarf shop owner.

[What.]

Gort replied gruffly as I stared at him.

I met his gaze directly, yet I felt no sense of discomfort.

“…As expected.”

It was all about the gaze.

The discomfort came from making eye contact and feeling the gaze of others.

But wearing the helmet eliminated both the sensation of eye contact and being stared at.

Sure, my vision was a bit obstructed, but that’s something I can adapt to.

In other words, I had just overcome my weakness.

I could now call myself the complete Inquisition Officer Selene.

… Since I’m at it, wearing full-body armor that matches the helmet wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

Thus, my goals in New Dimension were set.

★

“No way, that’s just pure evil….”

Tuni ultimately ran away.

I mean, she had no choice but to.

After having her head smashed over thirty times in Barley Town, her pride had completely vanished.

Just hearing the sound of the bell made her drool like Pavlov’s dog, and the sound of heavy full-body armor meant her body would seize up instantly.

Anyway, having escaped, Tuni began to search various communities for information about the “Inquisition Officer,” believed to be a villain.

Conclusion.

The nickname “Inquisition Officer” was that of a monster consumed by the concept.

She didn’t just smash priests’ heads.

She smashed the heads of heretics, paladins, and even those who had only held a brief conversation due to quests…

If the person in front of her was linked to the Elun God, she’d definitely smash their head first.

Moreover, in New Dimension, if players kill someone within the village, it progressively becomes harder to roam around due to PK status, but she didn’t seem to care at all.

“Yup. It was wise to run away.”

Had Tuni stuck around out of misplaced pride, her head would have undoubtedly been smashed over a hundred times.

Even veteran priest players who had been in the game longer than Tuni had written posts advising to run in the presence of her.

And deducing from this, the Activity History of this [Inquisition Officer] was at least over a year.

To continuously engage in this level of concept-play for over a year—what kind of person could that be?

Tuni decided to bury those questions quietly in her heart.

‘When you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss also gazes back at you.’

Tuni wasn’t foolish enough to dismiss Nietzsche’s words.

★

I haven’t seen that newbie heretic lately.

Could it be that she deleted her heretic character due to me and completely repented? Or did she just leave for another town?

I don’t know.

I hope it’s the former, but since I’m not friends with her, I can’t know for sure.

But at the very least, she must have appreciated my sincerity, right?

If someone helped you that much, wouldn’t it be normal to question whether there’s something terribly wrong with your profession?

Once a question nestles in your heart, it begins to grow.

When a heretic plays around and runs into trouble, memories of my past attempts to help resurface, forcing me to acknowledge that I was once a heretic too.

I’d been evaluated as an effective remedy for heretics even in that world, so I’m confident in that.

“Hmm.”

While lost in such thoughts, I swung my warhammer, and with a sharp slicing sound, a Spartoi fell.

And the dropped item was a ‘Spartoi Bone’.

In other words, this was the last one.

With this material, my long-time companion, the warhammer, could grow stronger.

If this thing has its head smashed, even the most hardened heretic would likely repent.

Self-proclaimed priests, self-proclaimed Inquisition Officers, and self-proclaimed paladins.

Ah, the world of New Dimension is full of heretics…

“Die!”

Swishing!

I dodged the spear aimed at me with the sound of slicing wind.

At the same time, I turned my gaze back to see three users standing there.

What in the world is happening, attacking a benign player all of a sudden?

If this was in the village and I hadn’t reacted, I would have surely received a PK status.

…Should I at least ask what they want?

“You should experience it once. How annoying it is to die without even knowing why.”

Fortunately, I didn’t even have to ask, as the spear-master user in the middle clearly explained why they were here.

Looks like I smashed their head before as a heretic.

It seems they’re not here to repent and offer thanks…

Well, in that case, they wouldn’t mention how they died without knowing the reason.

Then they are indeed heretics?

Even though I haven’t enhanced my trusty weapon yet… well, if a heretic is standing in front of me, it was time to get back to work.

★

Kkang!

〔ckdtnftk123 has died.〕

Kkang!

〔anxnrk562 has died.〕

“Seriously, what kind of game is this….”

Kkang!

〔I’mTheOneWhoKilledHim has died.〕

★

【New Dimension Free Board】

【Title: Reporting the Cheater “Inquisition Officer”】

【Writer: Saint】

(The 1vs3 Combat Scene.mp4)

From the reaction during the ambush to the moment they lower their heads and the timing of parrying with the warhammer—unbelievable.

100% a cheater.

【Recommendations: 1021 / Disrecommendations: 687】

SmashThemAll: Their reactions were indeed ridiculous.

DragonKnight: I don’t think they’re a cheater, though.

Head-Broken Priest: After watching this several times, isn’t it the ambushers who messed up?

IAmHere: Cheater, please stop already.