Chapter 6: 1. No money 2. Turn on NewD

The job of an Inquisitor is surprisingly… no, it’s far more leisurely than one might imagine. And for good reason—if there are no heretics, there’s nothing to do. Other priests have plenty on their plates, from hearing confessions to writing prayers and assisting the slums, but the job of an Inquisitor is solely to interrogate heretics.

Well, to be honest, I am still a priest, so I once tried to help other priests with their duties, but they turned me down, saying there was no need. Now that I think about it, other Inquisitors seemed to help out just fine. Did they not like me? Probably. Yeah…

Anyway, when someone reports that a demon has appeared in an area, I go there, crack the demon’s skull, and bring it back. When someone reports that a heretical religion has emerged in a region, I go there, crack the heads of everyone involved, and bring them in. And then I continue cracking their heads until they repent.

So, while I can be busier than any other priest when things are active, when it’s quiet, I’m the most idle person in the entire church. However, in this world of NewD, heresy is everywhere, and the heretics show no signs of repenting. There’s no time to relax.

I’ve never once doubted my abilities… but since coming back to Earth, has my faith waned or something? There isn’t even a church in this world, for goodness’ sake…

[There it is!]

“Haaam…”

I yawned as I listened to the loud voices of the NPCs, hiding myself in the bushes. If you asked me what the most annoying thing in NewD is, it would be moments like this.

(Inquisitor)

The nickname hovering above my head was glowing bright red. It meant I had committed PK (player-killing) three or more times in a village within a certain period.

When this mark appears, you can’t buy items in town, and you even get issued a bounty. If that wasn’t enough, there’s a penalty where you lose all your equipment if you die. It’s like they threw every annoying element into the mix.

I was just acting in good faith, hoping the heretics would repent. Why do I have to go through such a terrible experience? The game’s system must be broken.

Already, there were a lot of people chasing me due to some strange controversy, and if they find out I have a PK bounty on me, it would be a real problem.

There are two ways to remove this mark: either refrain from committing PKs in town for a week, or go to the heretical church for confession and make a donation. Of course, I have nothing to give to the heretics, so my choice is the first option.

The silver lining is that thanks to the helmet I’m wearing, I only have to refrain from PK for three days instead of a week. Plus, the helmet has a perception-reducing effect on NPCs, so once I completely escape their notice, the penalty drops to almost nothing.

In other words, what I need to do now is avoid the gaze of both players and NPCs and hide out for three days. If I manage that, I can go back to fulfilling my mission, and by then, this ridiculous controversy will blow over. So, just a bit more patience. Endurance is my specialty, so there’s no problem… or so I thought.

But by the time that thought crossed my mind, more than a week had already passed.

However, the hottest topic in the NewD (New Dimension) community was still about me.

Every time the fire seemed to die down, someone would throw in another log, and when that fire seemed to fade again, someone else would throw in more logs.

It was literally an endless end. Like a bottomless pit.

“What exactly do they want me to explain?”

Even when I watch the video where I’m called a cheater, it only shows movements that make perfect sense. Honestly, I’m starting to wonder if the three people attacking me are beginner AIs.

What, do they want me to apologize by saying something like, ‘Sorry for being too good at the game’?

I’m not stupid.

I’m not even that good at games in the first place.

“This is giving me a headache… seriously….”

Even though the PK stigma had disappeared, the only thing I could do in NewD was interrogate heretics.

Sure, my job is a Heretic Inquisitor, but… I still wanted to enjoy the game at least a little.

There were modes like AOS, PVP, and travel mode, but the reason I found NewD most appealing was still the open-world RPG aspect.

I couldn’t easily give up the beautiful scenery you could bask in after defeating a tough enemy.

“Sigh….”

Ding!

As I let out a sigh, trying to suppress the anger bubbling inside, a notification from my phone greeted me.

And the content of that notification?

“Oh, come on….”

It only made me even angrier.

I had spent half of my remaining year’s living expenses just to play NewD.

And now, it’s been 1 year and 3 months since NewD launched.

In other words… I was running out of money.

[Notification]

[JB National Card – Selene]

[Card Payment Due on 11/10]

[₩345,720 (as of 10/27)]

After seeing the card payment notification, I immediately opened my account management app, Toss (Tos).

After fingerprint authentication, my remaining balance showed up.

[JB Comprehensive Account – Savings Deposit]

[₩443,170]

Anyone could see it was scraping the bottom of the barrel.

I need to make money.

Just that realization alone could instantly drain the energy from a person.

At times like this, I miss that other world.

Back there, I could guarantee three meals a day and a place to sleep just by cracking open the heads of heretics…

But for now, I had to push aside those past memories and focus on making money.

However, the biggest problem remained.

How do I make money?

What kind of work could I possibly do, as someone who became a shut-in against their will, never having wanted it?

For 15 months, I had cut back, cut back, and cut back again on spending.

Buying that Reverse Capsule had eaten up half of my remaining year’s living expenses.

That’s why the money, which should have run out long ago, lasted until this month.

But now, even that was over.

Next month. When November 10th comes, I’ll only have ₩97,450 left in my account.

There was no other way to describe it but disaster.

At least the only silver lining is that I won’t be kicked out of my house immediately.

Getting kicked out? There’s no such thing since the house is in my name in the first place.

When I first found that out, I was ecstatic… In South Korea, owning a house meant you had made it, that you’d reached the point where you could live off your assets without having to work a day for the rest of your life.

But it wasn’t true.

Having a house was just the bare minimum qualification for becoming a rich slacker; it wasn’t a guarantee of it.

Thanks to that, I’m about to become someone who has a house but no money—just a plain old slacker.

It’s not like I can sell the house either…

I feel stuck, seriously.

“Sigh.”

…Well, since there’s nothing I can do right now, I might as well get on NewD.

If I help out the followers, maybe as a reward for my good deeds, Iah will bless me with a miracle, right?

It was my idea, but it was genuinely a good one.

Variety game streamer, Tuni.

Her recent broadcast chat was bustling, to the point where calling it ‘small-time’ was no longer appropriate.

No.

More accurately, it wasn’t just bustling—it was on fire.

“Have you ever spoken with the Heretic Inquisitor after that?”

Isn’t that person a hacker?

The ‘Heretic Inquisitor’ mentioned in the chat wasn’t referring to the Heretic Inquisitor profession from NewD.

They were talking about a malicious gamer with the username ‘Heretic Inquisitor.’

‘What do these people even want from me…?’

It was good that her viewer count was going up.

For a streamer like Tuni, the number of viewers directly translated to income, and as a small-time streamer, that income was desperately needed.

But if most of that new traffic was coming from troublemakers?

Sure, her immediate income might increase, but the long-term revenue? That was bound to decrease, no question.

It’s common in online streaming for regular viewers to leave if the stream’s vibe gets ruined by troublemakers.

If sacrificing that meant she could at least become one of the so-called ‘big streamers,’ it might be worth it…

But the problem with malicious viewers was that once the drama dies down and there’s nothing left to troll about, they’d leave without hesitation for another stream.

In short, that path doesn’t lead to becoming a ‘big streamer’ but to going bankrupt.

And as someone already struggling, that was a scenario Tuni had to avoid at all costs.

‘Why are they targeting me…?’

It was all because ‘Heretic Inquisitor’ appeared on one of her recent streams that coordinates to her channel were shared on a community.

Some might think it’s ridiculous that people would flock to a stream just for that, but sadly, the vast online world is full of those kinds of lunatics.

“Why isn’t Tuni addressing this?”

“Tuni, let’s make this public.”

‘What exactly am I supposed to address?’

Tuni was somehow holding on, but honestly, her mental state was at its limit.

Even so, there was one thing she was beginning to realize.

‘Honestly, I don’t think he’s a hacker…’

It was a kind of belief in ‘Heretic Inquisitor.’

As a streamer, Tuni was pretty sensitive to the reactions of online communities, so naturally, she was vaguely aware of the ‘Heretic Inquisitor incident.’

A fight that started with an ambush, one against three.

Anyone watching would say the lone fighter was at a disadvantage.

But the lone fighter dodged the ambush with ease and counterattacked, while the trio failed to land a single proper hit, even with their surprise attack, and were ultimately defeated.

Could such a thing really happen without hacks?

That was the crux of the current debate.

The community’s opinion was 9:1.

90% said it was hacks, while 10% claimed it was pure skill. Tuni was part of the 10%.

Despite getting their head bashed nearly thirty times, having played countless games, Tuni hadn’t noticed anything particularly strange about the movements of the “Inquisitor.”

‘There are probably people among those calling it a hack who just find that explanation more entertaining…’

─Isn’t that the Inquisitor?

—It really is!

“Huh?”

The moment Tuni noticed the chat, someone clad in full plate armor, wielding a warhammer, was walking towards them.

Clank, clank.

A familiar sound, all too familiar.

A sound that triggered PTSD in Tuni.

The owner of that sound was, of course, the most famous player in the current NewD community.

[Inquisitor]

It was the Inquisitor.

“…Am I going to die again?”

—You’re already dead.

─That’s just obvious, lol

—Tuni confirmed to be the target, lol

─Why haven’t you explained yourself yet?

─Sister, should we just abandon our priest?

Tuni no longer had the will to resist.

All that remained was the calm acceptance of the familiar death awaiting them.

Clank, clank.

And the moment the Inquisitor came face to face with them.

—Let’s go! Hack user interview time! Hack user interview time!

Seeing a toxic viewer spam the chat, Tuni’s consciousness snapped awake.

“Excuse me, Inquisitor, wait a moment, pleeeeease?!”

Tuni’s instincts were screaming.

The instincts of a streamer were screaming loudly.

‘This will definitely work…!’