Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 30

Quest In (7)

With a dull thud, Gahar tilted precariously.

Then, with a loud burst of dust, he collapsed forward.

The giant’s body, still flickering with white flames, was now completely still.

[You have eliminated an Heretic!]

[Light Order Contribution +30]

[Faith stat +1]

[Madness stat +1]

[Goddess’s Favor +0.13% (Currently 52.51%)]

[A stronger blessing of the Goddess resides within you!]

[Combat-related stats slightly increased.]

[Level Up!]

[Acquired the title ‘One Who Overcame Limits’!]

“Hoo-ah!”

As the system messages popped up one after another, Aile collapsed onto the spot.

His forehead was soaked, and beads of sweat trickled down.

The unexpected physical resistance had drastically increased the time it took to defeat the boss, and maintaining focus while teetering on the brink of life and death for that long was no easy feat.

Any slight misstep would have meant the quest’s failure and a massive death penalty, forcing him to stay on high alert.

But the difficulty made the achievement all the more rewarding.

He had found a solution and dramatically turned the tables even under such adverse conditions, feeling a sense of accomplishment and intense exhilaration.

‘So, this is why everyone gets hooked on War Lord.’

Just as he was thinking this, he felt a chilling sensation on his right cheek that snapped him back to reality.

“You worked hard.”

Turning his head, he saw Alisa smiling brightly as she handed him a water bottle.

She, too, had sweat beading on her forehead, which was understandable, given her role as a healer in the back lines.

Whenever Aile, at the front, struggled, she stepped forward to draw Gahar’s attention, absorbing the aggro [in-game term for drawing enemy attention] and helping him regain his footing.

Moreover, when the corpse monsters summoned by the second pattern appeared repeatedly, she didn’t just seek protection; she actively reduced their numbers.

Her performance far exceeded the expectations for a typical healer.

Aile expressed his gratitude and took the cool water.

As he quenched his parched throat, his heated body calmed down, and he calmly turned his gaze to the side.

“Alisa.”

At Aile’s call, Alisa, who was sitting next to him, turned her head.

Her eyes were wide as she drank from the bottle, her lips still touching it, which was quite a sight.

“Honestly, weren’t we amazing just now?”

“Huh? Ahaha!”

Alisa reacted a beat late and then burst out laughing.

She laughed so hard that Aile, who had made the joke, felt a bit awkward.

“You’re right. It was truly incredible.”

Alisa, with tears welling up, wiped her eyes as she spoke.

It wasn’t just empty praise; it was the truth.

Even top-ranked players would have found it difficult to handle the situation so perfectly and stylishly.

As the raid concluded better than expected, a warm atmosphere filled the air.

After sharing a few words and finishing her drink, Alisa shifted her gaze and spoke.

“By the way… it seems like this was a bust, right?”

“Yeah, it looks like it. I knew the rewards were too good to be true.”

Aile clicked his tongue and looked at Gahar, who was lying in front of them.

He was definitely dead, and the faint glow indicated that item looting was possible.

However, one crucial element was missing to complete the quest they had received.

The boss they had fought was Gahar, not Casano, who was the target of their request.

Casano, the one they were supposed to capture, never appeared.

No matter how much they searched, there were no paths or entrances leading further from this place.

Considering that the area outside the room had already been fully explored, this was clearly the end of the dungeon.

Severa had confidently claimed that the information was accurate when she handed over the request, but it seemed she was wrong.

Running into dead ends like this wasn’t a frequent occurrence while questing, but it wasn’t exactly rare either.

In fact, it was a pattern that players encountered quite often while playing War Lord, something they were bound to experience at least once or twice.

Quests in War Lord weren’t systematically designed in advance; instead, they arose from artificial intelligence and various interactions, as well as small and large events. Therefore, it was natural for mistakes to occur.

And in such cases, they usually ended with smaller rewards than promised or served as a stepping stone to the next linked quest.

“Maybe there’s a follow-up quest?”

“Yeah, maybe. Considering the situation, that seems more likely.”

Given the client’s tendencies and the scale of the quest, it didn’t seem likely to end so inconclusively here.

Of course, they weren’t at the stage of certainty yet, and they would have to return to Queen’s Blonde to find out.

Standing up, the two looted Gahar’s items and began to review the list before dividing them.

Equipment, a considerable amount of miscellaneous items, and gold.

“Unfortunately, no skill book dropped.”

Aile said with a click of his tongue.

After hunting a boss monster, the most significant potential gain from the rewards was obtaining a high-grade skill from a dropped skill book.

The importance of skill settings in War Lord’s progression was paramount, making it a natural expectation.

But just as he was about to feel a slight disappointment, Alisa pointed to the items.

“Wait a minute… this…”

“Hmm?”

At her reaction, Aile examined the dropped items closely and stood there dumbfounded.

It was inevitable.

All three equipment items had the same modifier.

[Black Crystal Ring (Rare)]

[Black Crystal Earring (Rare)]

[Black Crystal Necklace (Rare)]

“Set items…?”

Aile muttered, looking down at the accessories, each embedded with a black crystal.

Set items, which granted special abilities or effects when a certain number of items from the same set were equipped.

Naturally, equipping these was often much more efficient than equipping multiple ordinary items, and their value was higher.

‘And it’s a rare-grade set?’

Aile’s jaw dropped as he checked the detailed stats of the items.

The three items that had appeared were all rare-grade items, and befitting their high grade, they had options that significantly increased strength stats.

Of course, the most important thing was something else.

The special effect that only set items could have.

[3-Set Effect: Creates a shield that negates one attack of any type.]

“This is probably…”

“It’s better to give it all to one person rather than dividing it.”

Alisa nodded in agreement.

The set effect was undeniably good, and splitting it between the two of them would essentially halve the benefits they could receive.

The immediate problem was deciding who would get it…

Three rare-grade items encountered at a level of barely 20.

It was impossible for anyone not to be tempted.

Even in a party with great chemistry, it wouldn’t be surprising if they turned on each other.

“…”

Aile cautiously observed Alisa, wondering if she was planning to betray him.

Even though she was a healer, she had demonstrated her skills while in the party, and it was crucial not to let his guard down in any situation.

However, Alisa’s reaction was completely different.

“Aile should take them.”

“Excuse me…?”

Stunned by her words, Aile asked again, and Alisa replied as if it were obvious.

“Usually, the person who needs them takes them, right? All three have strength stats, so it would be a waste if I took them.”

“But if you put items like these up for auction, you could get a considerable amount of money…”

“I’m not really interested in that… Ah, I’ll take the other items instead. Is that okay? Especially since this monster seems like it would yield something useful for alchemy if dissected.”

Aile was momentarily speechless.

He felt embarrassed for suspecting her, given her detached demeanor.

But considering the equipment she had obtained from PKs [Player Kills] before and her willingness to concede in the distribution this time, he couldn’t help but wonder why.

Of course, it was a good thing for him, but it was hard to understand why she would make such consecutive concessions without any conditions, unless there was some hidden reason.

‘Maybe she’s a Buddhist…’

While Aile hesitated, Alisa had already placed the three accessories in his hand.

And all the other looted equipment, miscellaneous items, and gold became hers.

Due to the high difficulty of the boss and the fact that they had raided with only two people, the remaining items were still quite valuable.

But the best of them all were the accessories in Aile’s hands.

Although there was a significant cooldown, the ability to block one attack, whether physical or magical, was among the best effects a rare-grade set could offer.

Unable to resist the temptation, Aile quickly equipped the accessories and soon saw the effect activate.

It seemed that the shield wouldn’t deploy immediately, but rather could be activated during combat when desired.

Kagaak!

And she began to dissect Gahar’s body.

The monster was made of hard armor and bones, and its body was so large that Aile and Alisa had to work together to complete the task.

As she had predicted, bone powder and armor fragments that seemed suitable for extracting metal for alchemy poured out, and Alisa seemed quite pleased as she stored them in her inventory.

The distribution, which had seemed like it would be a challenge, was completed smoothly, and the two got up.

But there was one thing they needed to check before leaving the dungeon.

“We should check it out, right?”

“Yes, let’s investigate.”

The two’s gazes simultaneously turned to one place.

The black stone in the center of the room.

Considering that the corpses had risen when the black energy leaked out, and that Gahar had been guarding it in the center of the dungeon, it was clearly an ominous object.

Aile cautiously approached and lightly touched it, and the black stone cracked loudly.

And several fragments popped out from within.

– Acquired an item!

[Fragment of the Necrostone (Quest) ×4]

“This is…”

Aile handed half of the fragments from the Necrostone to Alisa.

And when he examined the item, no detailed explanation appeared.

“What is this?”

“Maybe… it’s something that will be used in the next linked quest?”

The fragment, which looked like nothing more than a piece of stone, had no explanation, so it was difficult to grasp what kind of item it was.

Just as they were staring intently at it to find any clues.

Kwaddeudeuk!