Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Ruby
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: If I Gave Up Now, I Wouldn’t Get Another Chance
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Albert rubbed his neck, which Rohan had just seized.
‘What kind of grip strength was that…?’
Had Diaz not intervened, his neck might well have been snapped.
Was that really possible with human arm strength?
Albert shook his head inwardly.
Judging from the state of his broken sword, it was absolutely beyond an ordinary person.
After all, hadn’t the man blocked and snapped his blade with a bare forearm?
‘So my neck nearly suffered the same fate.’
Looking at the sword, now split in half, he felt a chill run down his spine.
‘They say the upper ranks of the Seven Knights could take on an entire small nation in open war… I thought it was nonsense, but…’
When he first heard it, Albert had scoffed.
But after experiencing one of the Seven Knights firsthand, it no longer seemed like empty boasting.
He himself was no novice—he was captain of the Paladin Order’s Reconnaissance Squad in the Siforeo Archdiocese.
That meant his skills were far from insignificant—enough to have confidence in.
Yet when he had faced one of the Seven Knights at full strength, it had been on an entirely different level.
Even though he had reacted immediately when the knight suddenly appeared above, he had still been overwhelmed.
Surely his men, the knights under his command, had felt the same.
It was like facing a colossal wall—an insurmountable barrier.
Albert gazed at Rohan’s back.
Just then, Diaz approached him and asked:
“Are you all right?”
“No. I nearly died.”
“To joke like that, you must be all right.”
“Haha…”
“But tell me—why are you in this underground place? You hardly seem to be out for a stroll.”
Diaz glanced back.
The paladins following Albert—each and every one was highly skilled.
She even recognized some of them.
This was the sort of unit one could call an elite force of the Siforeo Archdiocese.
“Recently, there have been a series of disappearances.”
“Disappearances? What happened?”
“We’re still investigating, so we don’t know much. That’s why the reconnaissance squad was dispatched.”
“So serious that your squad was sent out…”
“Haha, as sharp-eyed as ever, Diaz. Yes—it was serious enough for us to move. It seems connected to demons.”
“…Demons, you say?”
Albert’s expression grew grim.
“Yes. About those disappearances I mentioned. The royal family conducted an investigation as well, and concluded it could not have been human work. Our own inquiry reached the same result.”
“Demons, here in the heart of Siforeo? That is no trivial matter.”
“Exactly. That’s why we’ve kept it quiet, to avoid panic. If we declared demons had appeared and told people to abandon their homes, what chaos would that cause?”
He shrugged.
“That’s why we’ve been dispatched—to confirm whether true traces of demons exist, or if some other monster is to blame. To uncover the cause for certain.”
Officially, it was just reconnaissance. But with the Archdiocese’s Reconnaissance Squad sent out, it was by no means a safe mission.
Even if not demons, whatever caused so many disappearances could not be ordinary.
The squad had set out knowing they might well have to risk their lives.
The one stroke of fortune was this—
the mighty knight named Rohan stood at their vanguard.
‘The gods must be with us.’
That was the only way Albert could describe his relief.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I felt somewhat troubled.
I had come quietly, only to retrieve the Ring of Black Thunder…
‘This got complicated fast.’
I never imagined so many people would follow me.
I had intended to move unnoticed, but now it had become a full expedition.
After a while, Diaz came beside me again, relaying what she had heard.
“So—that was the mission they were on.”
“I see.”
I nodded, deep in thought.
‘A string of disappearances? I don’t remember that.’
No matter how I searched my memory, nothing like that in Siforeo came to mind.
So I concluded:
‘This must be unrelated to the Ring of Black Thunder. Nothing to do with me. Since they handled it themselves, it never came up.’
I did recall hardships caused by the war against the demon army.
But nothing about disappearances tied to an underground temple.
Surely it was something they resolved without me.
And in any case, countless incidents were happening across the land even now.
I could not step in every time.
Nor did I yet have the power to do so.
Better to mind my own business and leave quickly.
I reached that decision.
And so I pressed on toward my destination.
A short while later—
‘Found it!’
At last, I reached the heart of the Forgotten Temple.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“There was a place like this beneath Siforeo…”
Albert muttered in awe behind me, half dazed.
I entered the temple building.
Cobwebs hung everywhere, proof that no human feet had tread here for ages.
I pushed through them with a torch.
And at the end—
I finally beheld the Ring of Black Thunder.
‘Long time no see, old friend!’
On a waist-high pedestal, standing strangely alone, sat the rare item.
Seeing with my own eyes what I had once only glimpsed in-game stirred a strange feeling.
Rare rank, yes—but often disappointing.
Not this one.
Bound, unsellable, and with a unique property: usable only by paladins.
That had given the Ring of Black Thunder power beyond its rarity.
That was why I had sought it out.
‘Other classes couldn’t even enter this temple, so they never got to try it on…’
That had always been my doubt.
But now, in this reality, I had reached the Forgotten Temple despite not being a paladin.
‘Then surely I can wear it too!’
After all, in reality there were no arbitrary game restrictions.
As I stood before the pedestal, those following me gathered in a circle around it.
Suddenly—
Albert stretched his hand toward the Ring.
I shouted, startled.
“Stand back!”
My voice boomed through the temple. Albert recoiled instantly, retreating.
Glancing at me nervously, he stammered:
“N-no! I wasn’t trying to steal it! Of course the item is yours. Would I covet it?”
I frowned, glaring at him.
“Of course it’s mine. But do you think that’s why I shouted?”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
Snatching his torch, I hurled it toward the ring.
Bzzzt!
In an instant, invisible black lightning reduced the torch to ashes.
For surrounding the Ring of Black Thunder was a barrier of unseen storm.
Albert’s eyes went wide.
I shook my head.
“Had I not stopped you, you’d be cinders like that torch.”
“…!”
Only then did Albert realize I had just saved his life.
“T-thank you. I owe you my life.”
He continued sheepishly:
“But this means we cannot take it out. Even a stick would burn before it could push it free.”
I knew that.
This ring was not meant to be obtained at this time.
That barrier was tied to a much later event quest.
A random quest, at that—one that sometimes never even appeared.
‘This run might not have had it at all.’
That was why the ring was so coveted—rare, powerful, and uncertain.
But I had dismissed it before.
The quest only triggered after the great demon invasion began.
And I could not wait until then—I needed strength now.
So I had ignored the Ring of Black Thunder.
But now, since I happened to pass by… and fate placed it before me—
I looked at my left arm.
Perhaps… No, I was certain.
With the colossus’s left arm, I could break through the barrier and seize the ring.
Why was I so confident?
Because there had been one notorious part of playing as a paladin.
The fight against Jobaton, King of the Underworld.
Jobaton, who had the colossus’s left arm.
Even the Black Thunder could not touch him.
Not at all.
And that very power was now mine.
Slowly, I stretched my arm toward the barrier.
Albert, alarmed, tried to stop me.
“Sir Rohan! What are you—”
But Diaz held his shoulder, restraining him.
Though her face was tense, she pressed her lips shut.
Thanks to her, I could focus as I reached for the ring.
Crackle!
Sparks leapt from the barrier, black lightning lashing against my hand.
All held their breath.
I clenched my teeth and pushed.
In the game, Jobaton had taken no damage—yet my hand tingled painfully.
‘Ughhh!’
Still, my left arm was not charred.
As expected, the colossus’s arm resisted the lightning.
‘Just a little more…!’
My arm sank deeper, nearly to the elbow.
The black thunder grew fiercer, making my hand tremble.
‘If I give up now, I won’t get another chance.’
One try, one chance to pull it free!
With that resolve, I made a final thrust.
“Hrrghhh!”
Crackle! Crackle!
And at last—
Clack!
‘I’ve got it!’
I seized the Ring of Black Thunder.
But at the moment I drew it free—
Rumble…
The entire temple shook.
And then—
“Kyaaaaaaaaahhh!”
A blood-curdling scream of a wraith reverberated through the underground.