Magicless Extra: The Villain’s Survival Method – Chapter 53

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓𝟑: 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 (3)

In the wake of the recent incident with the Saintess, a force that had long lain dormant within the Vatican was stirring. It was none other than. . .

“The Heresy Inquisition Bureau.”

“Long time no see, Chief Oleg.”

“What brings the Heresy Inquisition Bureau to this place?”

“We are investigating the recent incident with the Saintess. We suspect that there may be heretics within the Church who have betrayed their faith.”

“Why come to our Order of the Holy Knights?”

“Surely, the Order of the Holy Knights would be the first to harbor traitors?”

“That is an offensive statement.”

In an instant, a powerful aura of holy power and magic erupted from Oleg’s body. The Heresy Inquisition Bureau chief responded in kind, releasing a surge of holy power and magic that matched Oleg’s.

“Therefore, we wish to question Sir Oswald Winchester. Please summon him.”

“He is currently on a mission, having returned to active duty with the opening of the Academy.”

“We have heard that he has acquired the Plague Grimoire and the Blood Daemon. We must question him about how a man of God could wield such foul weapons.”

“By what authority?”

“The authority of the Heresy Inquisition Bureau.”

“If he has strayed from the path, then the holy power within him would have vanished. . . Yet, he still possesses holy power, and it has only grown stronger. God himself does not condemn him, so how dare the Heresy Inquisition Bureau, God’s messengers, question him? That is heresy in itself.”

“. . .”

Oleg, accusing the Heresy Inquisition Bureau of heresy. The Heresy Inquisition Bureau chief could not refute Oleg’s words so easily.

As Oleg had said, God had not forsaken him, so how could they question him, defying God’s will? However. . .

“We must still conduct a preliminary investigation. Are there not already precedents among the Order of the Holy Knights?”

It was possible to possess both holy power and demonic power. This was because Diablo was the illegitimate son of Chronos. Of course, if demonic power surpassed holy power, corruption would occur. . . However, it was possible to break free from corruption by utilizing holy power.

The only problem was. . . the intense power granted by demonic power was highly addictive, leading to complete corruption. . .

“In other words, you wish to confirm whether or not he possesses demonic power?”

“Even so, we cannot summon a Paladin who is on a mission.”

Oleg intended to excommunicate Oswald if possible. If he were excommunicated from the Church, he would no longer be under the protection of the Church and could be taken into custody by the Empire. No matter how extreme the Heresy Inquisition Bureau was, they would not dare to act recklessly against the Empire.

“Are you challenging the authority of the Heresy Inquisition Bureau?”

“You are the one who is mistaken. We, the Order of the Holy Knights, are a direct subordinate organization of His Holiness the Pope. We do not possess authority that transcends the laws of the Church. If you insist on questioning and investigating us, you must obtain the official approval of His Holiness the Pope and bring a written order. Otherwise. . . could it be that you are challenging the authority of His Holiness the Pope?”

As he spoke, Oleg subtly touched his sword, causing the Heresy Inquisition Bureau chief’s brow to twitch. Even though the Heresy Inquisition Bureau chief was a seasoned Paladin who had experienced countless battles. . . he was weaker than Oleg in terms of raw strength. If Oleg were to attack him here under the pretense of challenging the Pope’s authority, he could be killed.

“Hmph. . . Very well. We shall withdraw for now. However, do not be so arrogant as to believe that the Order of the Holy Knights will be protected forever.”

With that, the Heresy Inquisition Bureau chief departed, leaving Oleg with a furrowed brow. He quickly retrieved a piece of paper and began to write. He then called for a priest and ordered him to deliver the letter to Oswald immediately.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Natasha! Buff!”

At Oswald’s cry, Natasha chanted a spell, casting the buff from Strangis on Dominika, who was at the forefront. In an instant, Dominika’s strength increased, and she swung her massive double-bladed battleaxe with one hand, knocking back the charging Minotaur. She then raised her shield and charged forward.

Clang!

The Minotaur’s stance collapsed under the charge, and Oswald seized the opportunity to fire a shot at its eyes.

Bang! Clank. Bang! Clank.

Blood spurted from its eyes in an instant, and the Minotaur let out a roar. Royman, who had somehow circled behind the Minotaur, swung his dagger and swiftly severed the back of both of the Minotaur’s legs.

With its tendons severed, the Minotaur collapsed, and the final blow came from a diamond-shaped ice shard that fell from the sky. Alicia was a fire wizard, but it seemed that she had recently started to learn other elemental magic as well.

“Alright, let’s take a break here.”

They were currently raiding a training dungeon. The dungeon they were raiding was called the ‘Pan’s Labyrinth,’ a place filled with hoofed creatures that served the Chaos God Pan. This was where the Minotaur, Centaur, and Satyr, representative monsters of the hoofed creatures, appeared.

Originally, they were called the Spiritfolk and were a race that lived in the forest, second only to the Elves in their protection of the forest. However, starting with the Minotaur, they gradually fell into corruption by Pan. . . and now they had become monsters.

Because of this, the Spiritfolk who had not yet fallen into corruption changed their names to differentiate themselves from them. The Minotaurs who had not fallen into corruption were called Tauren, and the Centaurs took the name of their heroic leader, Chiron. Finally, the Satyrs took the name of their first king, Xavius.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴.’

One difference between Minotaurs and Tauren was their size. Minotaurs were typically 4 meters tall, with a maximum height of 6 meters. . . while Tauren were between 2 and 3 meters tall.

Centaurs also stood at 3 meters tall and had demonic horns on their foreheads, while Chirons had no horns at all. Finally, Satyrs and Chirons had the same appearance, but they were distinguished by the color of their eyes and their standards of beauty.

Satyrs had reddish eyes and uniformly distorted features, while Chirons had white sclera and blue irises. Furthermore, their appearance was comparable to that of Elves, so it was easy to tell Satyrs and Chirons apart at a glance.

After taking a short break. . . they moved forward again. The only thing they needed to navigate this massive maze was Oswald’s intuition.

Originally, this was a dungeon designed to make raiders wander around and fall into various traps, giving up halfway through. . . However, the ‘Oswald Team’ was enduring much longer than other teams. They had even discovered bonus boxes along the way, obtaining food and various supplies.

“Is this finally the boss room?”

After wandering for nearly two days, they reached a large gate. The intricate patterns carved into it were visible even at a glance. . . Anyone could tell that this was the boss room.

“I’ll open the door.”

Dominika, the strongest member of the party, stepped forward. Of course, Oswald was stronger in terms of pure physical strength, but since it was not yet known to the others, Dominika, who had the highest strength excluding Oswald, took the lead.

As she opened the door and a small gap appeared, she stopped.

“. . .How about we just give up here?”

“Why?”

“What on earth did you see?”

Natasha questioned, and Alicia retorted.

Royman then peered through the small gap. . . and. . .

“. . .I second Dominika’s opinion.”

“Why is that?”

Alicia, unable to understand, pushed them aside and looked through the door gap.

“. . .”

A moment later, Alicia stepped back with a dumbfounded expression.

“What the hell? What is that?”

Finally, Oswald peered through the door gap, and what he saw was. . .

“No, this place wasn’t meant to be cleared in the first place, was it?”

That’s right. The Pan’s Labyrinth was an impossible dungeon designed to give those who had been on a winning streak the valuable experience of defeat.

Although they were said to be Golems created by magic and infused with transformation magic, it was no exaggeration to say that their specs were nearly 80% close to actual monsters. If that formula held true, then the creatures in the boss room now must be incredibly powerful.

‘𝘌𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳. . . 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦.’

Just then, Natasha also looked inside and said with a dumbfounded expression.

“Goreman and Devil Goreman. . . Isn’t this telling us not to clear it?”

Goreman were Satyrs who had fallen into corruption by the demonic power of Chaos. Devil Goreman were Satyrs who had fallen even further into corruption, becoming demonized creatures with black demonic wings on their backs. . . and when Devil Goreman became noble-class, they became Balrogs.

In short, Devil Goreman were chaos demons, and Goreman were their minions.

“Don’t you think we’re strong enough to challenge them now?”

Thanks to Alicia’s hard work during the break, she had reached the level of Gold Rank, and Natasha had also come close to Gold Rank through her own efforts. Royman had also begun to show his true strength, so he could be considered Gold Rank as well, and Dominika was already Gold Rank.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘮.’

It was a level sufficient to defeat the weakened chaos demons Devil Goreman and Goreman.

Of course, the Goreman were numerous. . . but Oswald believed that they could overcome that much.

“Are we going to give up without even trying?”

At those words, everyone. . . showed signs of hesitation.

“We’ll have to face those monsters sooner or later anyway. . . and are you saying we’ll run away like this then?”

“. . .”

“. . .”

“. . .”

“. . .”

“Fine, if that’s what you want. . .”

Oswald said as if he was about to give up. . . but before anyone knew it, he had reached the gate and kicked it open with a bang.

Kuaaaaa! Kuaaa!!

“Oswald!!”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

The battle was fierce and intense. However, no one fell behind, and in the end, they succeeded in defeating the chaos demon Devil Goreman.

“. . .”

Professor Rosen looked at the ‘Oswald Team’ that had cleared the ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ with a dumbfounded expression. It was a dungeon created to give the students the experience of defeat, not to be cleared. And yet, they had cleared that dungeon with ease. . .

Thanks to this, Alicia, Royman, and the others had all risen to Gold Rank.

After that, Gilgamesh’s ‘Omega Team’ also cleared the ‘Pan’s Labyrinth,’ and the ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ was no longer an impossible training dungeon.

“Hmm. . . Should I increase the difficulty a bit?”

After receiving Professor Rosen’s report, the Headmaster wondered if he should add Balrogs. The dungeon was created to give the students the opportunity to experience the pain of defeat and rise above it, but if they started clearing it so easily, they would all try even harder to clear it.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

‘𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘢 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦.’

Natasha’s limit was Gold. Her talent lay not in her physical strength but in her financial power, so he had not paid much attention to it. . . but seeing her trying not to be a hindrance to her teammates, Oswald wondered if he could bring about a change in her as well, just like he had reached his current position without a single ounce of magic power.

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳?’

She couldn’t handle magic. . . An artifact that contained a spirit might be a good option.

‘𝘈 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘴. . . 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵.’

After much thought, Oswald came up with two suitable artifacts. Of those two, the artifact that was located closest to the capital, Central. . .

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘢𝘪𝘢𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘕𝘢𝘪𝘢𝘥, 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵.’

Water spirits also possessed the power of purification and healing. It would be an excellent artifact for Natasha, who currently served as a supporter.

𝘍𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘢𝘪𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴: ‘𝘞𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯’ 𝘢𝘯𝘥 ‘𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘑𝘦𝘵.’

Wave of Purification was a spirit spell that summoned three giant waves, each 10 meters high, to sweep away enemies, while Water Jet was a spirit spell that fired a high-pressure jet of water, capable of piercing even steel.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵.’

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