## Chapter 1474 – 1474. Paladin: The Journey Of Eradication
Clang, clang.
With each step, my armor clanked, producing metallic sounds. I descended the rickety wooden stairs, which looked like they could collapse at any moment, to the first floor.
The first floor was a dining hall and bar, but there were no customers. It was the middle of the day, so that was to be expected. People would be busy working.
“Sir Knight, you’re awake? I’ll prepare your breakfast right away.”
The one who greeted me was the landlady of this establishment.
She was a cheerful woman. Pretty face, great figure. I knew she had a husband, so she probably received quite a bit of jealousy from the men in this village. Or maybe she still does.
I walked towards the kitchen where she was.
“Sir Paladin?”
She looked at me, puzzled, as she was preparing bread and soup.
“Oh my? Your armor has changed? It’s much cooler than the one you had yesterday. I’ll get your breakfast ready quickly.”
I didn’t stop approaching her. She seemed to realize something and gave me a suggestive smile.
“…Did you change your mind today? I’m always ready.”
She gave me a flirtatious wink.
This woman had tried to seduce me like this last night as well.
This wasn’t a brothel, but it was common to see landladies seducing men and selling their bodies. That’s how harsh this world was.
Kiiiiing.
I activated Holy Sight.
Her body and face distorted, revealing her true nature. A mantis-like head and arms made of blades.
“Wow. You have amazing eyes. Seeing the symbol of the Order… is that a special holy technique only Paladins have?”
“Shut up.”
“Huh?”
My left hand moved. It grabbed the landlady’s head firmly. My steel-clad fingers pierced her skin. My fingers were stopped by her skull, but blood trickled down.
“Aaaaaaah!”
“Die, defiler. That’s the most atonement you can achieve.”
I plunged the greatsword in my right hand into the woman’s chest. Her body twitched. Her flesh wriggled, shedding its human skin and revealing its true form. Without hesitation, I slashed the sword downwards. The woman collapsed on the floor, spilling her entrails.
I didn’t let my guard down and struck the fallen woman’s head with my sword.
Demons and defilers weren’t human. Those with good regenerative abilities could regenerate even after spilling their guts. The most reliable way to kill them was to sever their heads like this. The more reliable way was to kill them using divine power.
[Level has increased.]
[Name: Eugene
Origin: Paladin
Level: 2
Strength: 7 Agility: 5 Stamina: 5 Divine Power: 2
Available Points: 1
Skills: Holy Sight (Lv. Master), Holy Aura (Lv.1)]
I immediately used the point to increase my Divine Power.
The most efficient stat was Strength, but the most important stat was Divine Power.
Before leaving the shop, I glanced at the dead landlady’s corpse. I felt nothing but disgust.
‘In the game, if you fell for this woman’s seduction… you’d get eaten and die right away.’
This world was dangerous. Traps were everywhere. The reason I chose Holy Sight was to avoid these traps. There would definitely be traps I didn’t know about in the future.
I stepped outside the shop and slowly surveyed the village. There was no sign of life in the small village with a population of less than 50 people.
I carefully examined the ground. I could see a dark aura. This was also one of Holy Sight’s abilities. The ability to find traces of demons.
‘I already know where it is.’
I moved my feet. My destination was the forest behind the village.
***
Kyak!
A monster jumped out of a tree. I calmly swung my greatsword, dealing with the monster that was rushing at me.
The monster resembled a squirrel.
A corrupted beast.
Corruption wasn’t limited to humans. When animals were corrupted, they were called corrupted beasts.
Black smoke rose from the corrupted beast’s corpse and rushed towards me. The souls of demons or defilers would cling to me and curse me.
‘Simply put, it’s experience.’
[Level has increased.]
[Name: Eugene
Origin: Paladin
Level: 3
Strength: 7 Agility: 5 Stamina: 5 Divine Power: 3
Available Points: 1
Skills: Holy Sight (Lv. Master), Holy Aura (Lv.1)]
I increased my Divine Power again this time.
I had no choice.
If my Divine Power was low, I would quickly become corrupted by the influence of demonic and corrupted souls.
‘Just because I’m a Paladin doesn’t mean I can’t be corrupted.’
Even with Full Recovery and Heavenly Mind, I had to prepare for corruption.
I continued forward. The frequency of corrupted beasts appearing increased.
“……”
I stopped walking and looked down at my body.
A dark aura was enveloping me. After killing more than 20 corrupted beasts, the corruption was progressing to a rather serious level.
‘It’s about time I used it.’
I took out a bottle of holy water from my bag. I sprinkled the holy water on my body. The aura of corruption began to fade. The aura of corruption didn’t disappear completely.
‘There’s a limit, as expected.’
To completely eliminate the aura of corruption, I had to go to a cathedral or church. Holy water was more effective in holy places.
‘I’ve arrived.’
A broken stone wall appeared. In a corner of the stone wall, which was over 5 meters tall, was a giant spider. The spider, which was over 3 meters tall, had a carp’s head. The mismatched combination caused an instinctive sense of disgust.
‘…Araks. The gatekeeper of the tutorial. The newbie’s nemesis.’
They said that half of the newbies who played Paladin for the first time quit the game because they couldn’t get past this monster.
‘Let’s do it.’
I gripped my greatsword with both hands and took a fighting stance.
The first pattern of Araks came to mind. It would leap. It would fly at me in an instant and try to grab me. I would dodge and then hit its rear end hard.
But my plan fell apart from the start. Araks didn’t leap. It was circling around me as if it was exploring.
‘…Right. This isn’t a game, it’s reality.’
Araks’s carp head was gaping. It spat out oil from its mouth. I dodged the oil and rushed at it.
‘Holy Aura.’
Divine Power moved. A golden aura faintly surrounded the greatsword. The greatsword slashed Araks’s front leg. Smoke rose from the severed leg.
“Kieeeeeeeeeeek!!”
Araks screamed and rolled around on the ground. It was an opportunity. I climbed onto its body. I put strength into my legs, using the weight of my armor to press down on Araks, and swung my sword.
“Die!”
It was the moment I was about to strike down with my greatsword. The monster, which had been screaming, maintained its composure and wrapped its spider legs around my body. Stormbreaker held up, so the legs didn’t pierce my body. However, the pressure was getting stronger. Even the armor wouldn’t last long.
“Kikikikik!”
“Did you trick me with smoke! You vile thing…!”
Since it had come to this, it was all or nothing.
I let go of my sword. The sword was too big to swing in this close of a situation. Instead, I hit Araks’s head with both hands and grabbed and pulled at parts of its body.
‘Lightning!’
Crackle!
The lightning manifested by Divine Power glowed golden. The lightning flowed through Araks’s body. Araks let out a terrible scream. At the same time, its legs began to tighten even more.
My armor tore. Araks’s sharp legs dug into my body. The feeling of its legs rummaging through my insides was the worst.
‘…Death is certain.’
I gritted my teeth. I grabbed Araks’s head with both hands and crushed it. The carp head shattered. But its legs were still full of strength.
[Death Resistance has been activated. You will not die for the next 15 seconds.]
Araks, having confirmed my death, finally released its legs. It staggered, trying to regain its balance. Its shattered head slowly began to regenerate.
Araks was careless. I didn’t miss the opportunity and used Full Recovery. I grabbed the Paladin’s sword that had fallen on the ground and immediately stood up. Startled, Araks shot out a spider web from its rear.
[Heavenly Mind is activated. Lasts for 1 minute.]
The spider web slid off to the side as soon as it touched my body.
[Acceleration is activated. Lasts for 10 minutes. Remaining stacks: 6]
[Flash is activated. Remaining stacks: 5]
I closed the distance in an instant and madly swung the Paladin’s sword, imbued with Holy Aura, at Araks.
Bang, bang, bang!
I slashed its legs and tore through its body. No, it was closer to hitting it.
“You disgusting spider! Die already!”
Araks died.
Its soul clung to my body, trying to corrupt me. Because it was a demon, the aura of corruption was incomparable to that of a corrupted beast.
[Level has increased.]
I hurriedly increased my Divine Power with the points I gained from leveling up. The aura of corruption weakened. I didn’t stop there and took out holy water from my bag. The steel bottle containing the holy water was sturdy and didn’t break even during battle.
I sprinkled holy water on my body. The aura of corruption weakened.
‘I’ll go back to the village, kill all the defilers, and gain experience. And then, I’ll go to the Valentier Cathedral.’
After making a plan for the future, I pulled out the heart from Araks’s corpse. A demon’s heart was a good material for items.
‘I have to take everything I can.’
***
I returned to the village.
There was still a lot of time before sunset, but for some reason, all the villagers were gathered. They quietly watched me. Their eyes were filled with fear as they looked at me.
‘Did they find the corpse in the inn?’
I looked at each villager one by one. More than 10% of them were defilers.
A man jumped out in front of me. I remembered his face. He was the landlady’s husband.
“Sir Paladin! Why, why did you kill my wife?!”
“Your wife was a disgusting defiler.”
“No! My wife was human! She was human! Why did you kill my wife?!”
“……”
I ignored his cries and passed by him. He wasn’t a defiler, so there was no need to kill him. If he attacked me, I would kill him then.
A boy jumped out in front of me. The boy, who looked about 10 years old, handed me a flower.
“Sir Paladin! I heard you came to save the village. Thank you! Please accept this flower!”
“…Disgusting.”
“Huh?”
My right foot moved. I stomped on the boy’s chest. The boy’s face, which had been bewildered, contorted with fear. The boy desperately tried to shake off my foot and leg, which were covered in thick steel. I put more strength into my foot. The boy vomited blood.
“A-ah, it hurts, Sir Paladin! P-please, save me!”
I ignored him and raised my greatsword.
The boy’s eyes widened. The boy’s face and body distorted. Human skin peeled off, revealing the skin of a hideous monster.
“Don’t be corrupted.”
I held the sword in reverse. The tip of the sword was aimed directly at the defiler’s neck. The monster’s tentacles shot up and clung to my leg.
“Be silent.”
Thwack!
I pierced the boy’s neck.
Immediately after, the defilers who had been hiding everywhere revealed their true nature and rushed at me.
