“We owe you our thanks! We are holy knights of the Order, carrying out a sacred mission under the radiance of Paeli, Goddess of Dawn. And you are?”
The knights greeted warmly, their tone friendly.
All three were middle-aged n.
So, holy knights. They really were allies after all.
“I’m just a traveler passing through the area. I saw you fighting the Undead, so I lent a hand.”
I introduced myself as well. Couldn’t afford to look suspicious, so I kept it as natural as possible.
The holy knight who’d spoken on their behalf nodded, his expression grave.
“I see, a traveler. You must have been quite startled.”
“Sorry?”
“A temple like this appearing out of nowhere in the middle of the Natmon Plains. If I had to guess, this is an ancient temple of the Rune Mage Empire.”
Lore dump right from the start?
I needed to understand the situation better, so I just played along and nodded.
“Yeah, it really caught off guard when it appeared. But you’re saying this is a Rune Mage Empire temple?”
All I did was repeat what he’d just said, and the holy knight continued his explanation.
“Indeed. A barrier that had been maintained since ancient tis must have finally broken, revealing it…”
“The barrier broke?”
“That’s right. Nothing short of barrier magic could explain a structure like this suddenly rising from empty ground. We ca here to investigate the Undead problem and discovered this temple.”
“You ca to investigate the Undead problem?”
The knight stopped mid-sentence and stared at .
Oops. Overdid it.
The knight tilted his head, then introduced himself and his companions properly.
“Co to think of it, we haven’t even exchanged nas. I am Delrunt.”
“Slavan.”
“Philip.”
“Oh, I’m Kim Seo-hyeon.”
The knight who’d introduced himself as Philip asked,
“Might you hail from the eastern lands? I’ve heard that people from the east have black hair and dark eyes.”
“Ah… yes! That’s right. I ca from the far eastern lands.”
Since the knights were all Western in appearance, my looks must have seed foreign to them.
I doubted “eastern lands” referred to Asia on Earth, but sure, I’d go with it.
After exchanging nas, the knights said they’d take a rest and built a fire right where they stood.
“Would you care for a cup as well, sir?”
“Thank you.”
They even brewed tea, so I joined in and shared a rather unexpected cup with them.
It tasted sothing like black tea, though not particularly good.
“…And so we ca here to investigate the Undead problem, but we never dread we’d find a situation like this.”
“I see.”
“Are you familiar with the legends of the Rune Mage Empire, sir? The tale of Rune’s downfall and its last emperor?”
“No, I’m not.”
We continued the conversation we’d started while sipping tea.
Just like during the 2F Hidden route, understanding the story was key to deducing the clear conditions, so I listened carefully.
“The last emperor of the Rune Mage Empire, Katerun, fell into heresy in his final years. The Noktun, those stubborn heretics who persist like cockroaches to this very day.
Katerun beca obsessed with their corrupted faith and sought to summon an Archdemon. To that end, he built a temple and committed the atrocity of offering countless people as sacrifices. The temple spoken of in those legends appears to be this very place.”
“I see. Then is this place sohow connected to the Undead?”
Delrunt nodded.
“According to legend, the entity Katerun attempted to summon was an Archdemon called Valuk, who is said to command power over the dead.
My theory is that the temple’s barrier broke, and the Archdemon’s residual power seeped out, drawing the Undead here… but we won’t know for certain until we investigate the temple.”
Delrunt’s expression was grave.
“The thod Katerun used to summon the demon involved corrupting Holy Relics and harnessing their power. Because of this, the Paeli Order suffered terrible persecution during the last emperor’s reign.
The emperor seized the Order’s Holy Relics to use them in summoning the demon, so there may well be relics the Order lost long ago sowhere inside this temple.
In particular, the Holy Grail of Dawn, which was nothing less than the heart of the Order, may be hidden here sowhere. Investigating the Undead problem is important, but finding the Holy Relics that may remain in this temple is our true mission.”
Having heard the full explanation, I organized the information in my head.
So let see.
What these holy knights were trying to do was find the Holy Relics inside the temple. Especially sothing called the Holy Grail of Dawn.
And the enemies likely to appear were the Archdemon Valuk and… a heretical cult called the Noktun? That was about it.
This alone wasn’t enough to deduce what the clear conditions were.
For now, shouldn’t I just help these holy knights find the Holy Relics?
“By the way, um, sir Kim Suh-nun…”
“It’s Kim Seo-hyeon.”
“My apologies. Eastern pronunciation doesn’t co easily to . Sir Kim Seo-hyeon, I was impressed by your considerable skill despite your youth. Allow to thank you once again.”
“Oh, it was nothing.”
Delrunt looked at with expectant eyes.
“Which brings to this: would you be willing to help us investigate the temple? I give you my word, in the na of the Paeli Order, that you will be properly compensated.”
So this was how it was going to go.
I nodded.
“I’ll help. If it’s a ruin of the Mage Empire, I’m curious myself.”
“Oh! You have our gratitude.”
After we finished our tea, I set off with the holy knights to find the entrance to the pyramid-shaped structure.
‘What is that, though?’
I looked up toward the top of the pyramid.
The pyramid’s peak was flat, as if the tip had been cleanly sliced off.
And there, sitting atop it, was a single massive structure.
A cannon? It looked like so kind of cannon…
“Undead!”
Delrunt shouted, spotting more Undead.
A big one, just like before.
As the three of them readied for battle, I imdiately fired off Fla Strike.
BOOM!
Unable to withstand the blast, the Undead erupted in a burst of fire.
All three of them stared at the spectacle with their mouths hanging open.
“Sir Kim Seo-hyeon… may I ask what rank of mage you are?”
“Rank?”
What even is that? I have no idea.
“Ah, I see. They must not use that system in the east. I was rely surprised that you wield powerful magic on top of your impressive martial skill.”
“I’ve never seen anyone cast magic that quickly, either. Eastern magic must be sothing else entirely!”
They chattered among themselves and sohow arrived at their own conclusion.
We spent a while wandering through the temple, easily dispatching the Undead that road here and there.
“This seems to be the entrance.”
Before long we found the entrance and went inside the pyramid.
The interior was pitch dark, not a shred of light to be found.
Slavan pulled a lamp-like object from inside his cloak and lit the way.
It couldn’t be electric, so was it so kind of magical device?
Philip occasionally sprinkled so sort of glowing powder on the ground, so I asked.
“Are you marking the path so we don’t get lost?”
“That’s right. We can’t afford to lose our way when we need to head back.”
I stayed on alert, scanning our surroundings.
We were making our way through a narrow corridor. From the entrance on, it had been nothing but maze-like passages.
‘Sothing ought to show up soon, right?’
I doubted this Hidden route would end as simply as just finding the Holy Relics.
Even if that were all there was to it, the process was bound to be rough. Traps littered throughout the temple, that sort of thing.
Delrunt said exactly what I’d been thinking.
“The era of the Mage Empire was called the golden age of magic, and I’ve heard their Magical Engineering was extraordinarily advanced. There’s no telling what traps lie in wait, so stay alert, Sirs. You as well, Sir Kim Seo-hyeon.”
Hearing him say sothing like that made pretty sure there really would be traps.
I spoke up to Delrunt, who was taking the lead.
“Sir Delrunt, let take point. I have a bit of a knack for spotting hidden traps.”
The only reason I volunteered was the worry that the holy knights might die if they triggered a trap.
They could be characters who weren’t supposed to die, like Heilin on the 2nd Floor.
I was confident I could handle it with Sixth Sense.
“Oh, is that so! Being a mage, you can detect magical traps as well?”
“Yeah, sothing like that.”
“Then we’ll leave it in your hands.”
With that, I took point and we resud moving.
As we pressed forward, I flinched mid-step and hurriedly pulled my foot back.
“Sir ? What is it?”
“…Hold on. Step back.”
Sothing felt wrong.
I retreated a few paces and glared down the corridor ahead, then fired a Light Bullet at the floor.
Bang! FWOOOOSH!
The mont the Light Bullet struck, jets of fla erupted violently from both walls.
The three of them stared at the sight in shock.
“There was a trap.”
“How did you detect it? Did you actually sense the trap’s faint magical signature?”
“Um… yeah, that’s it. I could feel the mana.”
“Ooh! Remarkable!”
It was all thanks to Sixth Sense, of course.
We avoided the trap and took a different path.
“Another trap.”
Next we ca to a room.
When I fired a Light Bullet into the open space, the ceiling split apart and gatling-gun-like devices dropped down.
BRRRRRRT!
They spun furiously, spraying bullets made of light. The floor was shredded in seconds.
Of course, we hadn’t entered the room and were standing at the doorway, so none of us were hit.
‘Man, what the…’
I could only stare in disbelief. Gatling guns, seriously?
“Let’s go around.”
More traps kept appearing after that.
Sixth Sense never once failed to catch trap-type hazards.
What would I have done if I hadn’t gotten Sixth Sense? It was the most reliable skill I had, solid as a rock.
Dodging traps left and right, we kept pressing on.
Eventually, we made it out of the maze-like passages and erged into a wide-open space.
An ornate chamber with walls and floors decorated in gold and gemstones.
“Sir Delrunt! Look there!”
But the three of them didn’t spare any of that a glance. Their eyes were fixed on one spot.
In the center of the room, a circlet sat perched on the head of a stone statue, a gargoyle? Sothing like that.
“This sacred aura… it must be a Holy Relic!”
The three of them rushed toward it, but I stopped them.
“Wait! There could be a trap.”
“Ah, right. I let my eagerness get the better of .”
I went ahead and scouted around the statue.
Even up close, nothing felt dangerous.
“Seems safe.”
I personally removed the circlet from the statue and handed it to Delrunt.
Delrunt examined it with an expression of deep emotion, then spoke as if sothing had clicked.
“This is…!”
“What is it?”
“I believe this is Saint Landahil’s Circlet!”
“You an that’s really Saint Landahil’s Circlet?!”
“Saint Landahil’s Circlet! Are you certain?!”
What even is that, you ner… ahem, esteed holy knights?
Delrunt, who’d been handling exposition duties from the start, explained as expected.
“Saint Landahil’s Circlet is a Holy Relic that the Paeli Order is said to have lost long ago. I can’t believe it was truly here.”
“Congratulations. That’s wonderful.”
“Ha ha! It’s all thanks to you, Sir Kim Seo-hyeon. This circlet’s power causes it to glow red when a wicked entity is nearby. See, like this, when you channel Divine Power into it…”
Hummm.
The circlet in Delrunt’s hands suddenly began to glow red.
Delrunt stopped mid-sentence. The other two’s expressions hardened.
“…It turned red?”
Huh? Wait, what?
Three pairs of eyes slowly rose to look at .
I stared blankly at the circlet, then shook my head.
“No, that’s not . You’re misunderstanding.”
Why was it suddenly glowing red?
I was obviously innocent, but all three were already radiating hostility toward .
“You wretch, what are you really?”
“No, I’m telling you, it’s not . How am I a wicked entity? I’m a perfectly normal human.”
“Then are you saying the Holy Relic is lying?”
“…Maybe it’s old and broken?”
“How dare you!”
All three drew their swords and lunged at .
I scrambled backward.
Oh, this déjà vu from the 2nd Floor.
“I’m telling you, it’s really not !”
After all the effort I’d put into helping them get here, their eyes had flipped completely and they were attacking .
The three of them weren’t particularly strong, so I decided to try subduing them.
But the mont I dodged Delrunt’s sword and kicked him away,
[You have failed the Nightmare difficulty 3F Hidden route. (2/3)]
[You will be ejected from the Tower.]
The ssages appeared and I was instantly back in my room.
I blinked blankly for a mont, then flopped down onto the floor.
“Hah… this again.”
I knew sothing had felt too easy.
I didn’t even kill him, so why? This ti, just attacking is enough to fail?
…Let think about this.
Attacking the holy knights ant failing the route.
And the Holy Relic that supposedly detected wicked entities had, for whatever reason, glowed red.
Was I being treated as a wicked entity in that world?
Or, if that wasn’t it, then maybe…
[Would you like to enter Nightmare difficulty 3F?]
Ti for an imdiate retry.
I gathered my thoughts and entered the 3rd Floor again.
Activated the sun emblem in the underground, killed the boss, and moved to the temple as fast as possible.
“Let help!”
I found the three of them fighting Undead again, helped them out, and progressed the story.
“…So, Sir Kim Seo-hyeon, would you be willing to help us investigate the temple?”
“Understood. I’ll help.”
As we entered the pyramid, I watched the backs of the three knights walking ahead of .
A Holy Relic that detects wicked entities.
What if it hadn’t been pointing at ?
‘Then it was soone else.’
There was a traitor among us.
That was my conclusion.
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