Chapter 34
“Thank you for your help! We are Paladins of the Church carrying out a sacred mission under the radiance of Paelli, Goddess of Dawn. And you are?”
The Knights greeted me, showing their goodwill.
All three were middle-aged men.
Paladins, huh. It seems they really are allies.
“I'm just a traveler passing by, and I saw you fighting the Undead, so I helped.”
I introduced myself as well. I couldn't afford to look suspicious, so I acted as naturally as possible.
The Paladin who had greeted me as their Representative nodded with a stiff face and said.
“I see, a traveler. You must have been quite surprised.”
“Pardon?”
“For such a Temple to suddenly appear in the middle of the Natmon Plains. I presume this is a Temple of the ancient Rune Magic Empire.”
Dumping lore right from the Start?
I needed to understand the situation better, so I just played along and nodded.
“Yes, I was surprised when it suddenly appeared. But you're saying this is a Temple of the Rune Magic Empire?”
Since I just repeated what he said, the Paladin continued his explanation.
“Indeed. It seems the barrier that had been maintained since ancient times was lifted, revealing its form...”
“The barrier was lifted?”
“Indeed. Unless it was something like barrier magic, there's no way such a structure would suddenly spring up on empty land. We also came here to investigate the Undead problem and discovered this Temple.”
“You came to investigate the Undead problem?”
The Knight stopped talking and stared at me.
Oops, I overdid it.
Tilting his head, the Knight introduced them once again.
“Come to think of it, we haven't exchanged names. I am Dellent.”
“I am Slavan.”
“I am Philip.”
“Ah, I am Kim Seohyeon.”
The Knight who introduced himself as Philip asked.
“Did you perhaps come from the Eastern Lands? I have heard tales that the people of the east have black hair and black eyes.”
“Ah... Yes! That's right. I came from the distant Eastern Lands.”
Since the Knights were all Westerners, my appearance must have seemed foreign to them.
The Eastern Lands probably didn't mean Asia on Earth, but I decided to just agree and move on.
After exchanging names, the Knights said they would take a rest and lit a fire right there.
“Would you like a cup as well, Sir?”
“Thank you.”
They were even brewing tea, so I joined in and somewhat unexpectedly shared a cup with them.
It felt like Hongcha, but it didn't taste very good.
“...Thus, we came here to investigate the Undead problem, but we never dreamed a situation like this would unfold.”
“I see.”
“Do you know the legend of the Rune Magic Empire, Sir? The story about the Fall of Rune and the Last Emperor.”
“No, I don't know it well.”
While drinking tea, we continued the conversation from earlier.
Just like with the 2nd Floor hidden route, I had to understand the flow to deduce the Clear Condition, so I listened carefully.
“The Last Emperor of the Rune Magic Empire, Katerun, fell into a Cult in his later years. Noktun, those Heretics who still stubbornly maintain their lineage like cockroaches.
Katerun became infatuated with their tainted beliefs and sought to Summon an Archdemon. To that end, he committed the atrocity of building a Temple and sacrificing countless people, and it seems this is the very Temple passed down in legend.”
“I see. Then does this place have something to do with the Undead?”
Dellent nodded.
“According to legend, the entity Katerun tried to Summon was an Archdemon named Ballock, and it is said that this demon wields the power to command the dead.
We are guessing that perhaps the barrier of this Temple was lifted, and the Archdemon's power remaining in the Temple leaked out, attracting the Undead... But we will only know for sure once we investigate the Temple from now on.”
Dellent's face was serious.
“The method Katerun used to Summon the demon was to corrupt holy relics and use their power. That is why the Paelli Order also suffered terrible persecution during the reign of the Last Emperor of the Magic Empire.
The Emperor tried to seize the holy relics of the Paelli Order to use them to Summon the demon, so there might be holy relics that the Church lost in the past within this Temple as well.
Especially the “Holy Grail of Dawn”, which was no different from the heart of the Church, might be somewhere in here. We must investigate the Undead problem, but finding the holy relics that might remain in this Temple is our important mission.”
Having roughly heard the explanation, I organized the information in my head.
So, let's see.
What these Paladins are trying to do is find the holy relics in the Temple. Especially this Holy Grail of Dawn.
And the enemies presumed to appear are the Archdemon Ballock and... the Cult called Noktun? That was about it.
I couldn't deduce what the Clear Condition was just from this yet.
For now, shouldn't what I have to do be helping these Paladins find the holy relics?
“By the way, um, Sir Kim Seonun...”
“It's Kim Seohyeon.”
“Excuse me. I am not used to Eastern pronunciation. I was surprised that you are so highly skilled despite your youth, Sir Kim Seohyeon. I thank you once again.”
“Oh, it's nothing.”
Dellent looked at me with an expectant gaze.
“So, could you perhaps help us investigate the Temple together? In the name of the Paelli Order, we will certainly reward you.”
So it's flowing like this, as expected?
I nodded.
“I will help you. Since it's ruins of the Magic Empire, I'm interested as well.”
“Oh! Thank you.”
After finishing the tea, I moved with the Paladins to find the Entrance of the Pyramid-shaped building.
\[But what is that?\]
I raised my head and looked at the top part of the Pyramid.
The Pyramid looked as if only its tip had been cut off, and the Summit was flat.
I noticed a massive structure located there.
A cannon? It looked somewhat like a cannon...
“Undead!”
Dellent shouted after spotting another Undead.
It was a huge one, just like before.
As the three of them began their Combat Preparation, I immediately launched a Flame Strike.
BOOM!
Unable to withstand the explosive force, the Undead burst apart along with the flames.
The three of them dropped their jaws, seemingly surprised by the sight.
“Sir Kim Seohyeon... May I ask what class Mage you are?”
“Class?”
What's that. I don't know anything about that.
“Ah, I see. They must not use such a system in the Eastern Lands. I was just surprised that you use powerful magic when your martial arts are also so formidable.”
“It's also my first time seeing magic cast at such a fast speed. The magic of the Eastern Lands must be somewhat different!”
They chattered among themselves and convinced themselves.
We wandered around for a while, easily dispatching the Undead that occasionally roamed inside the Temple.
“This seems to be the Entrance.”
We soon found the Entrance and went inside the Pyramid.
The inside of the Pyramid was dark, without a single speck of light.
Slavan took out an object like a lamp from his chest and lit it up.
It probably didn't run on electricity, so was it some kind of magic tool?
Philip occasionally sprinkled something like glowing powder on the floor, so I asked.
“Are you marking the path so we don't get lost?”
“That's right. We shouldn't wander off when we head back out.”
I tensed up and kept an eye on my surroundings.
We were currently passing through a narrow Corridor section. From the Entrance, only maze-like paths continued.
\[It's about time something popped up, isn't it?\]
I didn't think the Hidden Strategy would end so simply with just finding the holy relics and being done with it!
Even if that was the end of it, wouldn't the process be extremely arduous? Like traps swarming all over the Temple.
Dellent voiced what I was thinking.
“I heard that Magitech was extremely developed during the Magic Empire era, as it was called the golden age of magic. We don't know what traps might be lurking, so please be careful, Knights. You too, Sir Kim Seohyeon.”
Seeing him say something like this, it seemed there really would be traps.
I spoke to Dellent, who was walking in the lead.
“Sir Dellent, then I will take the lead. I have a pretty good eye for spotting hidden traps.”
The reason I insisted on taking the lead was out of fear that the Paladins might get caught in a trap and die.
Because they might be characters who shouldn't die, like Hailyn on the 2nd Floor.
If it were me, I was confident I could adequately respond with my Sixth Sense.
“Oh, I see! Since you are a Mage, can you also recognize magical traps?”
“Yes, well, something like that.”
“Then I will leave it to you.”
Like that, I took the lead and we started moving again.
While moving straight ahead, I flinched in surprise and pulled back the step I was about to take.
“Sir? What is the matter?”
“...Wait a moment. Step back.”
I got a feeling.
I stepped back a bit, stared intently at the Corridor ahead, and fired a Mana Bullet at the floor.
Bang! Fwoosh!
As soon as the Mana Bullet hit, fierce flames spewed out from the walls on both sides.
The three of them stared at the sight in surprise.
“There was a trap.”
“How did you figure it out? Did you perhaps feel the faint magic power of the trap?”
“Um... Yes, that's it. I felt the magic power, you could say.”
“Oh! As expected!”
It was all thanks to my Sixth Sense, though.
We avoided the trap and took a different path.
“Another trap.”
Next, a Room appeared.
When I fired a Mana Bullet into mid-air, the Ceiling opened up and things resembling Gatling guns popped out.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
The Gatling guns spun fiercely, spewing out bullets made of light. The floor was instantly devastated.
Of course, we hadn't entered and were standing at the Entrance of the Room, so we didn't get hit.
\[Wow, but what the...\]
I was a bit dumbfounded watching it. Why are Gatling guns popping out?
“Let's take another path.”
Even after that, several traps continued to pop out.
The Sixth Sense Skill never failed to filter out these types of traps.
Seriously, what would I have done if I hadn't gotten the Sixth Sense Skill? It was a very reliable, bread-and-butter Skill.
As we continued moving forward, dodging traps this way and that.
We finally escaped the maze-like path and came out into a wide space.
A splendid Room with walls and floors decorated with Gold and jewels everywhere.
“Sir Dellent! Look over there!”
However, the three of them didn't even glance at those things and only looked in one direction.
A circlet was placed on the head of a stone statue—like a gargoyle?—located in the middle of the Room.
“This Divine Aura... It is definitely a holy relic!”
The three of them tried to approach hurriedly, so I stopped them.
“Wait a moment! There might be a trap.”
“Ah, right. I was too hasty.”
I stepped forward first and snooped around the stone statue.
Even when I got close, I didn't feel anything particularly dangerous.
“It seems fine.”
I personally took the circlet off the stone statue and handed it to Dellent.
Dellent examined the circlet with a deeply moved expression before speaking as if he realized something.
“This is...!”
“What is it?”
“It seems to be the Circlet of Saint Randahil!”
“Oh, you mean this is the very Circlet of Saint Randahil?!”
“The Circlet of Saint Randahil! Is that true!”
What is that, you nerds... No, Paladins.
Dellent, who had been in charge of explanations since earlier, explained it as expected.
“The Circlet of Saint Randahil is a holy relic said to have been lost by the Paelli Order in the distant past. To think it was actually here.”
“Congratulations. That's great.”
“Haha! It is all thanks to you, Sir Kim Seohyeon. The ability of this circlet is to emit a red light if there is an evil presence nearby. Look, you can use it by infusing divine power like this...”
Vwoom.
The circlet Dellent was holding suddenly emitted a red light.
Dellent stopped mid-sentence. The other two also stiffened their expressions.
“...It turned red?”
Huh? Wait?
The three of them slowly raised their heads and stared at me.
I was also dumbfounded, looking at the circlet before shaking my head.
“No, it's not me. You're misunderstanding something.”
Why is that suddenly turning red?
Naturally, I felt wronged, but the three of them were already exuding hostility toward me.
“You bastard, what is your true identity.”
“No, I'm telling you it's not me. Why would I be an evil presence? I'm a perfectly normal Human.”
“Then are you saying the holy relic is lying right now?”
“...Maybe it's a bit broken because it's old?”
“How dare you!”
The three of them drew their swords and lunged at me.
I urgently stepped back.
Ah, a déjà vu from the 2nd Floor.
“I'm telling you it's really not me!”
I had worked hard to help them get this far, only for their eyes to completely change as they attacked me.
The three of them weren't that strong, so I decided to try subduing them for now.
But the moment I dodged Dellent's sword and kicked him.
\[You have failed the Nightmare Difficulty 3rd Floor Hidden Strategy. (2/3)\]
\[You will be exited from the Tower.\]
Along with the message, I was instantly returned to my Room.
I blinked blankly before lying down on the floor of my Room.
“Hah\~ It's doing this again.”
I knew it was going a bit too smoothly.
I didn't even kill him, so why? Is it a failure just for attacking this time?
...Let's think about this for a second.
Attacking the Paladins results in Conquest Failure.
And the holy relic that supposedly filters out evil presences emitted a red light for some reason.
Am I treated as some kind of evil presence in that World?
Or, if that's not it, could it be...
\[Would you like to enter the Nightmare Difficulty 3rd Floor?\]
Immediate retry.
I organized my thoughts and entered the 3rd Floor again.
I activated the Sun Emblem in the Underground, killed the boss, and quickly moved to the Temple.
“I will help you!”
I found the three of them fighting the Undead, helped them again, and progressed the story.
“...So, could you perhaps help us investigate the Temple together, Sir Kim Seohyeon?”
“Understood. I will help you.”
As we entered the Pyramid, I stared at the backs of the three men.
The holy relic that detects evil presences.
What if that wasn't pointing at me?
\[Then it must be someone else.\]
There is a traitor among us.
That was my conclusion.