A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 43

Swinging the Warhammer, swinging, and swinging again.

Balancing on the back of the flying beast, I strike it.

I hear someone’s panicked voice calling out to me, but I don’t pay it any mind.

The experiences I’ve faced in that other world stop me from slipping up easily.

[Arrogant pests!!!]

Ignoring Albion’s roar.

I dodge the occasional beams coming from behind.

I just have to keep doing what I need to do.

As long as the main force is holding strong, my tasks are set.

How much time has passed?

Maybe it was due to my extreme focus, but it was hard to find an answer.

And then, in the moment that I struck down with the Warhammer once more—

“…Huh?”

A snowstorm blew in, and I slipped off its back.

Thud! The impact shook my body.

It didn’t hurt, but an unpleasant sensation rushed down my back.

But without a moment to think about that, I downed my last potion and stood up.

Though half the party, including the support team, had already fallen, the remaining members pulled the aggro of the gems under my orders.

There was no time to lie down in such a situation.

I evade a flash.

I approach the beast.

I accelerate my movements and thoughts.

Recalling my experiences from that other world, I thrust my attacks into its body as much as I could.

One second felt like ten. Ten seconds felt like one.

Even while experiencing such a bizarre sense of time, my movements didn’t halt.

Then suddenly, as I came back to my senses, almost all the Rebongi had already collapsed.

[Insignificant pests dare!!!]

Aberrantly, Albion unfolded its wings again and took to the skies with barely 1 percent of its HP left.

The gems that had tormented us shattered, their fragments starting to be absorbed by Albion, causing its chest to swell massively.

It was an unmistakable sign for anyone who thinks of a dragon.

The precursor to the breath.

Looking at the remaining HP, I realized it was probably a desperate last-ditch effort.

Could I dodge that?

I didn’t think so.

It was obvious that it would get stronger in proportion to the number of gems left when it cast.

You could tell just by the performance.

1 percent.

With scarcely even 1 percent HP left, I still couldn’t break through due to the final pattern.

“Sigh…”

As I exhaled, a wave of desolation washed over me.

I didn’t want to say it, but it felt like a waste of time.

How can I think of this as a good memory?

Could I really say I fought well even after losing?

“Phew…”

As my second sigh escaped, a silver breath erupted from Albion’s mouth, and my vision turned white.

★

The ruler of Nibrload, Albion, quietly descended onto the frozen mountain where everything was frozen.

The insignificant pests were nowhere to be seen.

It was to be expected.

No matter how much the Goddess’s blessing was bestowed upon them, they were still pests.

They were blessings from a Goddess that had even been defeated.

So he thought with a smirk that there would be no chance to lose to the true ruler of Nibrload.

At that moment, as Albion tried to close his eyes, something burst forth from the white snow with a crunch.

Clad in a helmet completely obscuring his face and full-body armor, he wielded a massive Warhammer with both hands.

Breaking through that fleeting moment, he had already leapt up to Albion’s head.

A speed that one could never consider “insignificant pests.”

[What?!]

It was right after he poured out all his power.

Albion’s response was so slow that he couldn’t even use a basic protective spell.

On the contrary, his mind was entirely intact.

The countless experiences amassed in another world kept his concentration intact even after ten hours in extreme conditions.

“…This is the end, lizard.”

A blue glow, entirely incongruous with his black armor, enveloped him.

The blue light traced a trajectory and turned into a comet.

That comet fell vertically, piercing through Albion’s head.

Boom!

Albion’s head slammed into the ground with a tremendous noise.

Albion, already at his limit, had no strength left to endure that one strike.

Thus, Albion—

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Even in the moments right after his fall, he felt the impact drive his head into the ground repeatedly as he lost consciousness.

“Aah, what a relief.”

The last thing he heard in his ears was the joyful voice of the insignificant pest.

★

〔Inquisition Officer’s party has defeated the ferocious ancient white dragon Albion for the first time!〕

〔Their achievements will be forever celebrated as the new legend of the continent!〕

〔System: The access restriction to Nibrload is now lifted.〕

〔System: The raid ‘Albion Hunt’ is activated.〕

★

〔System: First achievement accomplished! The title ‘Conqueror of Nibrload’ is now activated.〕

“…I did it.”

The moment those words left my mouth, my legs gave way, and I collapsed.

It was such a pleasant feeling of relief after a long time, as all the strength drained from my body.

“Thank you for your hard work, Rene.”

As I sat there quietly looking up at the sky, a man’s voice came from behind me.

I turned my gaze slightly, and there stood Rebongi, the real MVP of this raid—the alchemist.

“…Thank you. I truly appreciate it. Thanks to you, we were able to win, my true alchemist.”

“Everyone else who held on until the end did well too. I was just a last-minute addition.”

“Even so, it was thanks to you that we could win.”

Normally, that has to be Albion’s final desperate move.

I should have died to the breath, and the raid should have ended in failure.

But right before it fired its breath, the only surviving alchemist had used a skill on me.

The Light of Eternity.

A skill that fixes the target’s HP to its current state for 5 seconds.

On paper, it sounds utterly broken, but it has significant penalties in various aspects, making it a pretty tricky skill to use in practice.

If I hadn’t reached the HP threshold where the breath pattern would emerge, no matter how much that skill existed, I would have undoubtedly been incinerated by the beams raining down from all around.

If that had happened, Rebongi might have faced blame for not giving more support to the party when he should have.

But he believed in us and prepared the Light of Eternity.

To prepare for an uncertain future, he had steeled himself to face potential criticism from strangers.

And thanks to that determination, we were able to defeat Albion.

Even upon reevaluation, today’s raid MVP was undeniably the alchemist.

“Truly, you all worked so hard!”

Other Rebongi members started to gather around me, shouting words of recognition for our efforts.

Various emotions were visible on their faces, but given that the raid had been an all-nighter, fatigue was unmistakable in their voices.

Of course, I was tired too.

I was so exhausted I wanted to just collapse onto my bed right away.

“…Everyone. Let’s do the item distribution tomorrow; for now, how about we all get some rest…?”

Fortunately, everyone agreed with my suggestion, and we decided to meet at the place I designated after waking up.

It was time to let our weary minds rest.

After logging out of New Dimension and exiting the Reverse Capsule, I immediately flopped onto my bed.

‘This is too much, too much, too much! Depending on a fake Goddess like that!’

“That, that’s not a Goddess; it’s the World Tree of the elves, or something…”

‘…’

“I’m so sorry…”

I dreamt of being scolded thoroughly by Iya.

★

【Rene Galleryⓜ】

【Title: Rene cleared the raid, didn’t she?】

【Author: ㅇㅇ】

I’m freezing alone; hurry up and turn on the broadcast, you piece of trash…

I’ve been waiting all this time because you told me to…

【Likes: 15 / Dislikes: 0】

Nore Rene No Life🔹: I went to sleep after telling the Gallery Master

└Author ㅇㅇ: ?

└Nore Rene No Life🔹: I told everyone to distribute the items tomorrow since everyone’s tired and then went to sleep

└Author ㅇㅇ: No, seriously…

└Nore Rene No Life🔹: It looks like you didn’t even think about streaming while talking

└Nore Rene No Life🔹: To be honest, I’m freaking tired too…

└Nore Rene No Life🔹: Honestly, I just realized I was streaming, haha

└Author ㅇㅇ: If that’s the case, I guess I’ll use this as a chance to post some memes

└Nore Rene No Life🔹: Please save me, teacher.

★

When I woke up, it was already 5 PM.

Ugh. I could almost hear the sound of my life pattern collapsing in real-time.

The only blessing was that it was a holiday today, so Bora was at home hanging out with her family, huh?

Just in case, I had already sent her a message saying I probably wouldn’t meet up today.

“Ughhhh….”

Though I still felt a bit dazed, I stretched and got out of bed.

The time that I had agreed upon to meet the party members was clearly… 6:30 PM.

We had said we would meet after I turned on the stream.

And the broadcast was supposed to start at 6, so I still had about an hour left.

Realizing I had an hour of free time, I instinctively sat down at my computer and logged into Remagal.

I assumed the Rebongi would be toasting to our victory.

And what I found was—

【Rene Galleryⓜ】

【Title: Don’t click on the post below you, piece of trash】(3)

【Title: Do you not have a sash? Get ready for disgusting pics, lol】(1)

【Title: Is the Gallery Master really a girl, you jerks?】

【Title: Is the host really gay? Voice Changer is real?】(12)

【Title: Seeing her voice, it’s possible ㅇㅇ supported the theory, lol】(31)

【Title: Rebongi (real) is going to quit the gallery, you bastards】(12)

【Title: Please just get lost…】(22)

【Title: Top of the Great Gallery 1】(5)

【Title: I think the Gallery Master is a real girl; I have proof she’s a female ㅇㅇ】(11)

【Title: Albion was freaking hard; how did you beat it, you trash?】(31)

【Title: So what loot do you get for beating Albion?】(19)

【Title: I thought you were a girl, but you’re a guy using a voice changer?】(24)

【Title: If there are real Rebongi out there, please upvote this, lol】(25)

【Title: If you don’t stream right now, I’m declaring war ㅇㅇ】(18)

【Title: I’ve really heard the Gallery Master’s voice; I almost turned female…】(41)

【Title: Is the Gallery Master a girl?】(1)

【Title: You bastards, share the patterns instead of keeping it to yourselves!】(12)

【Title: What are you doing, you idiots, instead of managing the gallery?】(12)

【Title: From now on, it’s going to be just disgusting pics, 3 sec cut ㅇㅇ】(9)

【Title: Just yesterday it was such a tiny gallery, and now it’s grown, haha】(31)

【Title: I’ll keep circulating the gallery, Rene… I’m struggling…】(21)

“…Huh?”

It was like a hellscape at the end of the world.

Come to think of it… I turned the stream off during the broadcast yesterday.

I had completely forgotten about that.

“…I’m doomed?”