Chapter 34: 3F Hidden (2)

“We owe you our thanks! We are holy knights of the Order, carrying out a sacred mission beneath the radiance of Paeli, Goddess of Dawn. And you are?”

The knights greeted me warmly, their voices friendly.

All three were middle-aged men.

So they were 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 decided to lend a hand.”

I introduced myself in turn. I couldn’t afford to look suspicious, so I tried to sound as natural as possible.

The holy knight who had spoken for the group 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, I would say this is an ancient temple from the Rune Mage Empire.”

An exposition dump right from the start?

I needed a better grasp of the situation, so I simply played along and nodded.

“Yeah, it definitely caught me off guard when it appeared. But you’re saying this is a temple from the Rune Mage Empire?”

All I had done was repeat his own words back to him, yet the holy knight continued his explanation without hesitation.

“Indeed. A barrier that had endured since ancient times must finally have collapsed, revealing it...”

“The barrier collapsed?”

“That’s right. Nothing short of barrier magic could explain how a structure like this suddenly appeared on empty ground. We came here to investigate the Undead problem and discovered the temple.”

“You came to investigate the Undead problem?”

The knight stopped speaking and stared at me.

Oops. I’d pushed too hard.

He tilted his head, then seemed to realize something and formally introduced himself and his companions.

“Come to think of it, we haven’t even exchanged names. I am Delrunt.”

“Slavan.”

“Philip.”

“Oh. I’m Kim Seo-hyeon.”

The knight who had introduced himself as Philip asked,

“Might you hail from the eastern lands? I have heard that people from the east possess black hair and dark eyes.”

“Ah... yes! That’s right. I came from the far eastern lands.”

Since all three knights had distinctly Western features, my appearance must have seemed foreign to them.

I doubted the “eastern lands” had anything to do with Asia back on Earth, but sure. I could go along with that.

After we exchanged names, the knights announced that they needed a short rest and built a fire where they stood.

“Would you care for a cup as well, sir?”

“Thank you.”

They even brewed tea, so I joined them for an unexpectedly peaceful drink.

It tasted somewhat like black tea, though not particularly good black tea.

“...And so we came here to investigate the Undead problem, but never imagined we would encounter anything like this.”

“I see.”

“Are you familiar with the legends of the Rune Mage Empire, sir? The tale of Rune’s downfall and its final emperor?”

“No, I’m not.”

We continued the conversation we had begun while sipping our tea.

Just like during the 2F Hidden route, understanding the story would be essential to figuring out the clear conditions, so I listened carefully.

“The last emperor of the Rune Mage Empire, Katerun, fell into heresy during his final years. He turned to the Noktun, those obstinate heretics who persist like cockroaches even to this day.

“Katerun became consumed by their corrupt faith and sought to summon an Archdemon. To achieve that goal, he built a temple and committed the atrocity of sacrificing countless people. The temple described in those legends appears to be this very place.”

“I see. Then is this place somehow connected to the Undead?”

Delrunt nodded.

“According to legend, the entity Katerun attempted to summon was an Archdemon called Valuk, who is said to wield dominion over the dead.

“My theory is that the temple’s barrier collapsed and the Archdemon’s lingering power seeped out, drawing the Undead here... but we will not know for certain until we investigate the temple itself.”

Delrunt’s expression remained grave.

“The method Katerun used to summon the demon involved corrupting Holy Relics and exploiting their power. Because of that, the Paeli Order suffered terrible persecution during the final emperor’s reign.

“The emperor seized the Order’s Holy Relics to use in the summoning ritual, so relics lost by the Order long ago may still lie somewhere within this temple.

“In particular, the Holy Grail of Dawn, which was nothing less than the heart of the Order, may be hidden here. Investigating the Undead problem is important, but recovering any Holy Relics that remain inside this temple is our true mission.”

After hearing the full explanation, I sorted through the information in my head.

So, let me get this straight.

The holy knights’ objective was to recover the Holy Relics hidden inside the temple, especially something called the Holy Grail of Dawn.

And the enemies likely to appear were the Archdemon Valuk and... a heretical cult called the Noktun?

That seemed to be the gist of it.

But this still wasn’t enough to determine the clear conditions.

For now, wouldn’t the obvious choice be to help the holy knights recover the Holy Relics?

“By the way, um, Sir Kim Suh-nun...”

“It’s Kim Seo-hyeon.”

“My apologies. Eastern pronunciation does not come easily to me. Sir Kim Seo-hyeon, I was deeply impressed by your remarkable skill despite your youth. Allow me to thank you once again.”

“Oh, it was nothing.”

Delrunt looked at me expectantly.

“Which brings me to this. Would you be willing to help us investigate the temple? I give you my word, in the name of the Paeli Order, that you will be properly compensated.”

So that was how the story was going to progress.

I nodded.

“I’ll help. If it’s a ruin from the Mage Empire, I’m curious about it myself.”

“Oh! You have our gratitude.”

Once we finished our tea, I set out with the holy knights in search of the entrance to the pyramid-shaped structure.

‘What is that, though?’

I looked up toward the top of [N O V E L I G H T] the pyramid.

Its peak was flat, as though the tip had been sliced cleanly away.

And sitting atop it was a single enormous structure.

A cannon?

It looked like some kind of cannon...

“Undead!”

Delrunt shouted as he spotted another Undead.

A large one, just like before.

As the three knights prepared for battle, I immediately cast Flame Strike.

BOOM!

Unable to withstand the blast, the Undead erupted in a violent burst of flame.

All three knights stared at the spectacle, their mouths hanging open.

“Sir Kim Seo-hyeon... may I ask what rank of mage you are?”

“Rank?”

What was that supposed to mean?

I had no idea.

“Ah, I see. They must not use that system in the eastern lands. I was merely surprised that you wield such powerful magic in addition to your impressive martial skill.”

“I have never seen anyone cast magic so quickly, either. Eastern magic must be extraordinary!”

They began talking among themselves and somehow reached their own convenient conclusion.

We wandered around the temple grounds for some time, easily dispatching the Undead roaming here and there.

“This appears to be the entrance.”

Before long, we found the entrance and stepped inside the pyramid.

The interior was pitch-black, without even the faintest trace of light.

Slavan drew a lamp-like object from beneath his cloak and used it to illuminate the way.

It obviously wasn’t electric, so was it some kind of magical device?

Philip occasionally scattered a faintly glowing powder across the ground, so I asked,

“Are you marking the path so we don’t get lost?”

“That’s right. We cannot afford to lose our way when the time comes to return.”

I remained alert, carefully scanning our surroundings.

We were moving through a narrow corridor. From the moment we entered, there had been nothing but twisting, maze-like passageways.

‘Something should show up soon, right?’

I doubted this Hidden route would end as simply as finding the Holy Relics.

Even if that really was all there was to it, the journey itself was bound to be dangerous.

Traps scattered throughout the temple, for example.

Delrunt said exactly what I had been thinking.

“The era of the Mage Empire was known as the golden age of magic, and I have heard that their Magical Engineering was extraordinarily advanced. There is no telling what traps may lie in wait, so remain vigilant, Sirs. You as well, Sir Kim Seo-hyeon.”

Hearing him say that made me almost certain there really would be traps.

I called out to Delrunt, who was leading the way.

“Sir Delrunt, let me take point. I have a bit of a talent for detecting hidden traps.”

The only reason I volunteered was that I was worried the holy knights might die if they triggered one.

They could be characters who weren’t allowed to die, like Heilin on the 2nd Floor.

And with Sixth Sense, I was confident I could handle it.

“Oh, is that so? Since you are a mage, can you detect magical traps as well?”

“Yeah. Something like that.”

“Then we shall leave it in your hands.”

With that, I took the lead, and we resumed our advance.

As we moved deeper into the corridor, I suddenly froze mid-step and quickly pulled my foot back.

“Sir? What is it?”

“...Wait. Step back.”

Something felt wrong.

I retreated several paces and stared down the corridor ahead, then fired a Light Bullet at the floor.

Bang!

FWOOOOSH!

The instant the Light Bullet struck, violent jets of flame burst from both walls.

The three knights stared in shock.

“There was a trap.”

“How did you detect it? Did you truly sense the faint magical signature of the mechanism?”

“Um... yeah. That’s it. I could feel the mana.”

“Ooh! Remarkable!”

Of course, it had all been thanks to Sixth Sense.

We avoided the trap and took a different route.

“Another trap.”

The next place we reached was a chamber.

When I fired a Light Bullet into the open space, the ceiling split apart and devices resembling Gatling guns descended from above.

BRRRRRRT!

They spun furiously, unleashing a storm of bullets made from light.

Within seconds, the floor had been torn to pieces.

Fortunately, we had not entered the chamber and were still standing safely in the doorway, so none of us were hit.

‘What the hell...?’

I could only stare in disbelief.

Gatling guns?

Seriously?

“Let’s find another way around.”

More traps appeared after that.

Sixth Sense never failed to detect a single trap-type hazard.

What would I have done if I hadn’t obtained it?

It was the most dependable skill I possessed, reliable to the point of absurdity.

Avoiding one trap after another, we continued onward.

Eventually, we escaped the maze of narrow corridors and emerged into a vast open chamber.

The walls and floor were lavishly decorated with gold and gemstones.

“Sir Delrunt! Look over there!”

But the three knights paid no attention to the surrounding riches.

Their eyes were fixed on a single spot.

At the center of the chamber stood a stone statue—something resembling a gargoyle—with a circlet resting upon its head.

“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, of course. I allowed my eagerness to cloud my judgment.”

I moved ahead and carefully examined the area around the statue.

Even at close range, I sensed no danger.

“It seems safe.”

I removed the circlet from the statue myself and handed it to Delrunt.

He examined it with a deeply moved expression, then suddenly reacted as though he had realized something.

“This is...!”

“What is it?”

“I believe this is Saint Landahil’s Circlet!”

“You mean that truly is Saint Landahil’s Circlet?!”

“Saint Landahil’s Circlet! Are you certain?!”

What even was that, you ner—

Ahem.

Esteemed holy knights.

As expected, Delrunt, who had been responsible for all the exposition from the beginning, immediately explained.

“Saint Landahil’s Circlet is a Holy Relic said to have been lost by the Paeli Order long ago. I cannot believe it was truly hidden here.”

“Congratulations. That’s wonderful.”

“Ha ha! It is all thanks to you, Sir Kim Seo-hyeon. The circlet possesses the power to glow red whenever a wicked entity is nearby. Observe. If one channels Divine Power into it like this...”

Hummm.

The circlet in Delrunt’s hands suddenly began to glow red.

Delrunt stopped mid-sentence.

The expressions of the other two knights hardened.

“...It turned red?”

Huh?

Wait.

What?

Three pairs of eyes slowly lifted toward me.

I stared blankly at the circlet, then shook my head.

“No. That’s not because of me. You’re misunderstanding.”

Why had it suddenly started glowing red?

I was obviously innocent, but all three knights were already radiating hostility toward me.

“You wretch. What are you really?”

“No, I’m telling you, it isn’t me. How could I be a wicked entity? I’m a perfectly normal human.”

“Are you claiming that the Holy Relic is lying?”

“...Maybe it’s old and broken?”

“How dare you!”

All three drew their swords and lunged at me.

I scrambled backward.

Oh, great.

This was giving me déjà vu from the 2nd Floor.

“I’m telling you, it really isn’t me!”

After all the effort I had put into helping them reach this place, their attitudes had completely reversed, and now they were attacking me.

The three of them were not particularly strong, so I decided to subdue them without killing them.

But the moment 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 messages appeared, and in the next instant, I was back in my room.

I blinked in stunned silence for a moment, then collapsed onto the floor.

“Hah... this again.”

I knew things had been going too smoothly.

I hadn’t even killed him, so why had I failed?

This time, was simply attacking them enough?

...Let me think.

Attacking the holy knights caused the route to fail.

And the Holy Relic, which supposedly detected wicked entities, had glowed red for some reason.

Was I being recognized as a wicked entity in that world?

Or, if that wasn’t the case, then perhaps...

[Would you like to enter Nightmare difficulty 3F?]

Time for an immediate retry.

I gathered my thoughts and entered the 3rd Floor once again.

I activated the sun emblem underground, killed the boss, and hurried to the temple as quickly as possible.

“Let me help!”

I found the three holy knights fighting the Undead again, assisted them, and proceeded through the story.

“...And 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 me.

A Holy Relic that detected wicked entities.

What if it hadn’t been reacting to me?

‘Then it was reacting to someone else.’

There was a traitor among us.

That was the conclusion I reached.