A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 69

Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!

Explosions erupted everywhere around the running Rene.

The dragons unleashed a barrage of spells, determined not to let Rene approach.

But with mere numerical attacks, it was impossible to capture Rene, who surged forth like a silvery-white comet.

It was unimaginable that someone could run with a warhammer of such size and weight at that speed.

“What the… this is absurd…!”

The red-haired man gasped in shock.

No matter how they thought about it, it was an inconceivable occurrence.

How dare a mere creature like a human challenge the apex of their kind, the dragons?

“Ugh…!”

Yet, as if mocking their denial of reality, Rene slowly and surely closed the distance between them.

“Don’t make me laugh…!”

The red-haired man, unable to accept that fact.

The red dragon, Paphnil, summoned his magical power.

With a crack, the ground split open.

“Wh… what?!”

The fissure reached Rene, and at that moment, the ground literally crumbled away.

Kwang!

From the collapsing ground surged a wave of flames that swallowed everything in sight.

“Die, you insolent creature!”

With Paphnil’s roar, the wave of fire engulfed Rene.

“Even with the goddess’s blessing, there’s no way a creature like you can withstand this…”

“Dodge!”

“What?!”

Kwang!

The one who threw themselves to save Paphnil was the pure white man.

The white dragon, Luthia.

“Ah, um, don’t… uh, that’s dangerous!”

Rene’s warhammer had already pierced the exact spot where Paphnil had been standing.

Had Luthia not saved him, Paphnil would have fallen to that single blow.

Only then did Paphnil and the two other dragons realize.

What stood before them was not just a fragile creature.

They must eliminate this enemy with everything they had.

“You’re getting cocky…!”

The magical power that had been compressed into the small body of the human began to explosively expand.

A flash, bright enough to blind an ordinary human, burst forth, and as the light faded, enormous wings covered the sky.

[You will regret this. Your arrogance with the goddess will lead to your demise here.]

A voice echoed in her head, completely different from before.

Hearing that voice, Rene tilted her head.

“Aren’t you the arrogant ones? You dare to challenge Iya with your lizard-like massive forms….”

[Insolent!]

The gold dragon, Nidhogg, swung its tail at Rene.

With overwhelming power that could crush even a mighty fortress, it struck down faster than a viper.

“Honestly, dealing with heretics is hardest when they look like humans….”

But unconcerned, Rene leaped onto Nidhogg’s thrashing tail.

[W-What?!]

At her unexpected move, the three dragons briefly froze in shock.

“I should really head back and take a rest….”

Rene had no intention of letting them remain immobile.

Acceleration.

Once again, Rene surged forth as a silvery-white comet along Nidhogg’s tail.

Of course, her opponents were dragons, revered as the pinnacle of their race.

Even if they were momentarily surprised and stiffened, they wouldn’t let her escape unchallenged.

[Get off!]

Nidhogg immediately took to the air and violently shook its body, while the other two dragons waited for Rene to fall off.

But the silvery-white comet showed no signs of stopping, advancing gaily despite the wildly shaking footing.

Seeing that, the other two dragons continued casting spells that wouldn’t harm Nidhogg, but they couldn’t affect Rene at all.

Dodge, absorb, pierce through—as Rene pressed on, the three dragons could not stop her.

Eventually, reaching Nidhogg’s head, Rene whispered in a calm voice.

“Do you have any thoughts of repentance now…?”

[How utterly absurd…!]

“Ugh….”

Kwang!

A sound erupted that felt like something explosive beyond her cute shout.

[Krraaaak!]

Nidhogg writhed in pain.

Yet the solid dragon’s skin and its innate strength kept it from falling.

“Seriously tough, aren’t you…?”

Then, Rene swung her warhammer at his head again and again.

Until he collapsed and lay in the snow.

“Repent….”

Kuwung!

The massive body crashed down, shaking the snowy mountains.

Both dragons hoped that the impact would hurt Rene.

“Only one… for now….”

Rene emerged from the snow as if nothing had happened.

[The goddess has sent a monster.]

“Excuse me… but calling me a little girl, considering I’m much younger than you all….”

With a pout at Paphnil’s words, Rene looked entirely out of place for the current situation, appearing just like her words suggested, a little girl.

However, Paphnil and Luthia sensed it.

This was something beyond common sense.

[We should retreat for now….]

“Do… do you think you can escape…?”

Rene’s crimson gaze locked onto the remaining two dragons.

And with that single gaze, the two dragons felt as if they had been pierced by a spear.

This wasn’t a lie. Even if they retreated, she would pursue them to the ends.

Thus, they had to kill her here.

[…Kraaaah! Then I won’t hold back either!]

[Right. Let’s finish this with one blow.]

Paphnil and Luthia spread their enormous wings and soared into the sky.

And their mouths began to gather magic powerful enough to warp the surrounding space.

Breath.

The ultimate attack that dragons could unleash.

That single blow, infused with all their power, was said to obliterate everything in existence.

And there was no way for Rene to stop them from unleashing their breaths.

“If you attack here, your comrades will be caught up in it as well. Ignoring that for your own lives… truly heretical….”

[Be silent!]

With that roar, two streaks of light completely engulfed Rene’s vision.

Kwang!!!

An ear-piercing roar echoed through the air.

And their breaths… were perfectly blocked by a thin pure white barrier.

[…W-What?]

Blessing.

A gift granted to a formally ordained priest belonging to a cult, a literal blessing from the gods.

The numbers are too countless to quantify, and their power varies greatly depending on one’s faith.

The barrier Rene had formed now was just like that.

Which meant, Rene’s faith exceeded the combined magical power of the two dragons’ efforts.

In the end, as the two dragons depleted their power, their wingbeats gradually slowed.

“Ugh….”

And just as they slowly began to descend towards the snowy mountains, Rene dashed forward with a word.

“Repent…!”

★

Kwang!

A tremendous sound echoed as Albion’s body crashed into the ground.

“It’s over…!”

And from atop Albion’s head, the traveler clad in jet-black full body armor, Rene, leaped down.

[Inquisition Officer: You’ve all done well.]

[Inquisition Officer: Let’s start the auction right away.]

Just as Rene had mentioned in her previous broadcast, she had properly gathered a party of 35 members and cleared the Albion hunt without using ‘Scadi’s Tear.’

It took 10 attempts and a lengthy 5 hours to clear, but the important fact remained that a party had cleared the Albion hunt without using ‘Scadi’s Tear.’

Even at the same raid, the two showed entirely different mechanics.

“Thank you for your hard work, Rene!”

[Inquisition Officer: Yes.]

And in those two clears, Rene had been at the center of it all.

No matter whether she was a priest user or not, whether the community was followed or not, or if she cared about streamers or not.

Rene’s name undeniably spread among New Dimension players.

“By the way, why didn’t you turn on the stream?”

[Inquisition Officer: Ah.]

[Inquisition Officer: I forgot.]

Though Rene herself was utterly oblivious.

★

It was a spacious room.

At the round table in the center sat more than ten people.

“If we go in now, there’s a 100% chance we’ll be discussed.”

Everyone nodded at the woman’s words.

“That may be true, but… from the start, we agreed to enter only after the Albion hunt was discovered, didn’t we?”

Yet the following man’s argument also held weight, making it difficult for them to reach a decision.

“Team leader. What should we do?”

Eventually, they had no choice but to consult the one sitting inside the room, arms crossed, eyes closed—the person responsible for this situation.

“Hmmm….”

But he couldn’t give a definite answer either.

Both the reasons for now needing to add what they had prepared and the reasons for being difficult to add now were opinions that they could understand.

“Let’s go with adding it.”

Finally, the team leader chose to support the man’s statement.

“Hyun, you’re right. But if that’s not true, there’s no need for us to fuss over it. We simply did what we had to.”

“That’s true but….”

“Enough. If any problems arise, I’ll take responsibility.”

Though they nodded to the team leader’s words, they couldn’t shake off their worried expressions.

“Why is everyone so glum? Do you think someone is secretly talking with that person?”

“Not that, but….”

“If not, get up already! We haven’t even eaten yet. Let’s get ready to grab lunch.”

It was only after the team leader said that that they tidied their belongings and stood up.

“Hah….”

Once left alone in the meeting room, the team leader let out a quiet sigh.

Starting from the nuclear controversy to the first Albion hunt, and recently, the PVP with pro-gamer Ga-eun.

The player known as ‘Inquisition Officer’ was always at the center of the recent chaos in New Dimension.

Of course, she herself wouldn’t bear any guilt in this, but from the game company’s perspective, it was naturally a concerning matter.

“Should we call it coincidence, or should we see it as skill…?”

Yet, even as he thought so, the team leader quietly smiled.

From the very beginning of the planning of New Dimension, the theme of the game called ‘freedom’ had never changed.

And her actions were freer than any other player.

Exploring regions that nobody ventured to.

Challenging raids with methods that nobody had dared to attempt.

If such gameplay resulted in a situation like this, he as the original planner of New Dimension could only endorse her current path.

“…Well, I should probably touch on the PK a bit.”

Thus concluded, the team leader stood up.

Today’s lunch was stir-fried pork, his favorite.