Stella couldn't believe what had just happened.
At first, I thought I could win easily. I had heard of the Knights of the Silver Dawn and knew of their strength, but since they were new knights, I didn't think they would be that strong.
He thought that the reason he had asked to train with him was because he was a new recruit who had just joined the Knights, and he was unable to control his overly confident self-confidence and was overconfident in his own abilities.
So after the match, I was planning to give some light advice to the newbies who were feeling bewildered after suffering an overwhelming defeat, telling them not to be too arrogant or conceited and to try harder.
But now, it was Stella herself who was at a loss.
None of Stella's attacks landed. No matter where she attacked, how she swung, or how hard she struck, the man took the blows without a care, as if he had known Stella would do it.
Later, he even wrapped himself in divine power and swung his hammer with all his might, but even those attacks were all bounced off by an ordinary sword that seemed to be nothing special.
Unlike Stella, the man didn't even seem to be using his full strength. He didn't seem to be out of breath or anything. He just frowned slightly every time he blocked an attack.
One hit. Just one hit was enough to break the moon protection surrounding her body and end the duel. It was possible with just one sweeping attack, without even needing to strike her head on.
But until the moment when the Moon's Protection ran out of time, Stella had not managed to land a single successful attack.
It was the first time. I was defeated like this, being toyed with. I felt the vast gap between me and a man that I could never catch up to.
This whole situation.
'Was the shock too great?'
I sat down on the floor with my mouth open and looked at Stella with a blank expression, and stroked her wrist.
My right arm still felt numb. It wasn't that it didn't hurt, it was that I could withstand the impact. Every time I hit the hammer, my wrist would vibrate as if it was receiving some kind of low-frequency sound.
If I had provoked her by saying that it was nothing special, it would have been the perfect revenge, but I didn't want to make a fuss by picking on her. I knew how Stella would react.
But the words themselves were half-true. In vanilla, it might be different, but in the Dark Mode, the bosses with huge weapons classified as special weapons were relatively easy.
In any case, whether you get grazed by a dagger swinging lightly or get hit directly by a greatsword swinging with full force, it's all one hit. In that case, a boss with many small attacks is bound to be more difficult.
Bosses with a restraining mechanism or bosses with a relentless, continuous attack pattern were the top priorities. The former would get you hit if you were not careful, and the latter would kill you if you missed just one of them.
The best example was Lize.
"So, Your Excellency the Inquisitor."
"...."
The eyes that had been blankly looking up at me turned slightly to the side. It seemed like he was listening to what I was saying, even though he didn't answer.
"Is there anything you want to tell me? Is there something you want to tell me, or is there something you want to give me permission to enter?"
"...?"
A little light returned to those eyes. But the emotion floating in his eyes was questionable. It was a sign that he had no idea what I was talking about.
Now it was my turn to panic.
If you win the duel, the Inquisitor will laugh heartily and praise your skills, and tell you the location of a Rune Dungeon. He says that with your skills, you might be able to break through it.
It was in that dungeon that I was able to obtain the runes absolutely necessary for the final boss fight of the DLC.
"I don't know… I don't know."
Stella stuttered. I frowned slightly. This is going to be a little difficult. I know the general location of the Rune Dungeon, but I need permission from the Inquisitor to enter.
Since it was a dungeon where runes existed, it was a place directly managed by the Holy Nation, so even if you knew the location, you couldn't just go in.
'Why don't you just say it out loud?'
I had a thought that I should just throw a straight line and ask if I could enter the Rune Dungeon. Since the story was already so twisted, I thought it wouldn't matter if I got an answer like that.
It seemed that the change in reaction after the duel had a big impact. In the game, he would praise the player's skills and laugh out loud, but now he looked completely dazed.
"Is there anything you need?"
As I was wondering how I could get permission from Stella to enter the Rune Dungeon, Selene came up to me.
Although his face was as blunt and cold as usual, I could see a hint of surprise towards me in it.
Because I need it. Of course I have it. I need to quickly get the rune to enter the boss room in the Rune Dungeon and move on to the next story. But I wondered if I could tell Selene about it.
"If there's something you can't say in such an open space, then I understand."
Selene nodded as she glanced at the battle nuns surrounding us, wondering what they thought of my silence. It wasn't that I couldn't speak because of those nuns.
"Follow me."
"ah!"
Selene grabbed my wrist and pulled me in. Stella saw that and let out an "Ah!" and stretched out her arms as if to grab us, but then let them hang limply.
Selene, who had grabbed my wrist, strode off somewhere. I followed her obediently. I thought that there was nothing to lose by following her.
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"This is it."
Selene let go of her wrist only after entering an empty cathedral far from the training ground. The cathedral was made of gray marble and silver, giving it an overall very dark feel.
I had a rough idea of where this place was. Grayish-white light was streaming in through the stained glass, and there was a painting on the ceiling that looked like it was depicting the moon, so I couldn't help but notice it.
It was clear that there was a chapel dedicated to the Pope of the Moon.
"It seems like you had something to say to the Inquisitor. What did you want to ask? If it's not related to the sun, then I can do anything that the Inquisitor can do."
The purple eyes stared at me intently. It was an action born of a misunderstanding, but here, it was actually a matter of losing. It would be good if I could tell Selene, and even if I failed, I had nothing to lose.
After finishing the calculations, I opened my mouth.
"Can you give me permission to enter the Rune Dungeon nearby?"
"If you're talking about the rune dungeon nearby… are you talking about the 'Abyss'?"
"Yes, that's right."
"...I believe you know what it means to ask for permission to enter the Rune Dungeon."
He nodded. Saying that he would enter the Rune Dungeon meant that he would absorb the runes inside and make them his own.
Although it was only nominal since most of the people who discovered it would eat it up, once discovered, the rune dungeon was treated as the property of the country in question.
Because you never know what useful effect that rune might have. For example, if it were a simple and effective rune like increasing magical power, all the wizards would rush to get it.
But I am not a citizen of the Holy Land, I am an empire. In short, it meant that the nation's assets would be eaten up by people from other countries.
"I know. But I don't think it will be a problem. After all, the Holy Land was abandoned after the conquest failed."
Selene flinched as if hit right in the face.
Even though it was a dungeon discovered a long time ago, why were the runes still intact inside? It was because the Holy Kingdom had failed to conquer the dungeon several times.
The reason the Inquisitor readily gave permission to enter was because he thought that if you had the skills to defeat him, why don't you try challenging yourself there? Of course, he warned you that it was a dangerous place.
So when players clear the Rune Dungeon and come back, they are in for a huge surprise.
"...."
Selene lowered her head and fell into thought. I could hear her mumbling something. She seemed to be really deep in thought, not even aware that her thoughts were leaking out of her mouth.
Of course, most of it was incomprehensible. The few words I could barely understand were words that were impossible to interpret on their own.
"Very well, your majesty."
After a long time, permission was finally granted. Selene said that it was okay to go to the Rune Dungeon, but she seemed to be anxious and kept emphasizing it several times.
"This is something that should never have been allowed, but I will believe in your ability to completely overwhelm the heretic judge in the duel."
There is power in those purple eyes.
"But keep in mind. It is a place no different from an abyss of unknown depth. Once you descend into a place where no light from the outside reaches, you never know what will happen. Also, down there, even the Holy Land cannot protect you completely. Even if it were me. Do you understand?"
"Of course. So, you can stop worrying."
"You should be worried. This is a dungeon that we have been going down for twelve hours without reaching the end. How can you not do that?"
I looked at Selene, who had a very serious expression on her face, and laughed to myself. It took 12 hours and you still haven't reached the end? Of course, if you follow the path step by step, that's how it would be.
It wouldn't even take 20 minutes any other way.