Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 66

66. Luck and Skill (6)

The eastern plaza of the city was a hive of activity.

Beneath the expansive sky, a multitude of players congregated, a dense crowd gathered around the central fountain.

These were close-knit friends, their bonds extending beyond the virtual realm of Warlord. They stood in a circle, anticipation hanging in the air as they awaited someone’s arrival.

“When is your sister supposed to get here?”

“Ah, she said she’d be here any minute. Just a little longer,” the man at the forefront replied, waving his hand dismissively.

Despite his words, the group struggled to contain their excitement.

“I couldn’t even sleep last night, you know?”

“Being associated with one of the Big Six guilds is just… wow.”

“There! There she is!”

“Wow, she’s actually here!”

All eyes turned to a single point.

Amidst the throng of mid to low-level players, a woman adorned in striking gear made her way towards them. Her long, brown hair flowed behind her, accentuating the stylish armor she wore and the black spear she carried.

“Wow…!”

“Ah, hello!”

The group greeted her, their voices trembling with a mixture of awe and excitement.

The woman responded with a radiant smile. “Hello! It’s so great to see you all.”

Tasha’s cheerful voice elicited giggles from the girls, while the boys’ eyes shone with admiration, as if they were gazing upon a long-revered idol.

A player who stood confidently among the top echelons of Warlord.

More importantly, she was a member of Nightmare, one of the Big Six guilds – a dream for most players. Their excitement was understandable.

Her younger brother, however, was a notable exception to this enthusiastic reception.

“This whole ‘concept’ thing is making me cringe. I want to punch her.”

*Paak!*

In an instant, a light kick landed on the younger brother’s shin, causing his health bar to plummet.

He teetered on the brink of death, a single kick having brought him to a near-fatal state.

“Huuuk, heal… heal! Heal me, quick!”

“That’s what happens when a noob mouths off. Got it?” Tasha whispered, her lips curled into a savage smile as she addressed her desperately pleading younger brother.

Barely clinging to life thanks to a comrade’s healing spell, the younger brother staggered to his feet, groaning.

“That monster…”

“See? You should have listened the first time,” Tasha said, shrugging before reverting to her usual tone.

She decided to drop the act, at least for now.

While the culture of keeping Warlord and real life separate was well-established, and she usually had no qualms about maintaining her persona, having her younger brother in front of her made it feel a bit awkward.

*Swish.*

Tasha reached for her waist, pulling back the cloak that had partially concealed something, revealing the emblem hidden beneath.

The black snake emblem, clearly etched onto her equipment, the unmistakable symbol of Nightmare.

“Wow… Waa…”

“This is amazing. I never imagined someone I knew would be a member of the Big Six guilds…”

The group, once again awestruck, erupted into excited chatter.

Moreover, the Nightmare Guild reigned supreme over the entire Esmeier region where they were active, adding to the sense of mystique.

Of course, from her younger brother’s perspective, who saw his disheveled older sister at home every day, their reactions seemed overly dramatic.

“She’s just a grunt, though, right? Probably just guarding the front of some warehouse.”

The younger brother’s indifferent tone was met with indignation from his friend standing beside him, who stepped forward.

“Hey, you idiot! Does that even make sense? That’s what the subordinate guilds are for!”

“…What? Really?”

“Haa, do you think they’d have super-skilled people who earn hundreds of millions in basic salary just to guard a base?”

It was true that Tasha was a relatively new recruit to Nightmare.

While NPCs usually handled security, players were often integrated into the guard rotations for important bases or locations to provide a more flexible response.

Even so, anyone skilled enough to join one of the Big Six guilds was a valuable asset, a quasi-ranker level force in their own right.

To assign such high-level personnel to security duties that offered no profit or opportunities to improve their stats would be a significant loss for the guild.

The remaining miscellaneous tasks, excluding major battles, raids, and quests, were primarily handled by the numerous subordinate guilds that pledged allegiance to them.

“Looks like your friends are more knowledgeable than you. Right?”

“Ugh…”

The younger brother, silenced by the truth, obediently shut his mouth.

Tasha, despite her own busy schedule of work and stat-grinding, was temporarily on leave due to a special quest the guild needed to complete.

With about a day remaining until the quest’s commencement, she would typically be engaged in other tasks.

However, this particular quest was deemed highly important by the guild, so she had been instructed to wait at the designated location in advance to prevent any unforeseen circumstances. This allowed her to briefly assist her younger brother’s college classmates with their party.

“By the way, you know you won’t get any experience even if you party with me, right? Because of the level difference.”

“Do you think we’re that clueless? We’re just trying to get a skill book, so it’s fine.”

While experience sharing was impossible, the chance to obtain skill books and items dropped by the boss remained.

Of course, Warlord implemented a drop rate adjustment to prevent excessive power-leveling or carries when there was a significant level disparity.

However, the penalty wasn’t so severe as to make partying with a high-level player detrimental; it was still advantageous for low-level players to receive assistance if possible.

“Everyone, just keep a safe distance behind me. As long as you don’t get one-shotted, you’ll be fine, no matter what happens.”

“Yes, sis!”

“We’ll keep that in mind!”

As Tasha spoke with a gentle smile, her classmates’ eyes sparkled with excitement, resembling kindergarteners looking up to their teacher.

She chuckled softly at their enthusiastic response.

As the group prepared to head towards the hunting grounds, Tasha quietly approached her younger brother and asked, “There are fewer people than I was told?”

“One person went ahead to scout the spawn point. It’s not a crowded area, and the boss spawns quickly, so we can try it out right away.”

“Okay. I’m only doing it six times, got it? And you promised to buy me chicken later, right?”

“No, you make so much money, why…”

“Should I cut off your allowance then?”

“Ah, okay. Okay!”

The younger brother grumbled, defeated, while Tasha burst into laughter and took a step back.

But at that moment, a man rushing through the crowd from behind bumped into her shoulder and hurried past.

Tasha’s gaze instinctively followed him, and she recognized Aile, who appeared to be fleeing from someone.

As he frantically weaved through the plaza, he drew the attention of those around him, and the pursuers chasing him also began to attract notice.

“Wow, isn’t that the Amaranth Guild?”

“He doesn’t look like a high level, but I feel bad for him. Look at him running for his life.”

Those who recognized the Amaranth emblem on the pursuers whispered amongst themselves.

The guild’s reputation preceded them, and as a result, no one dared to intervene and help Aile, knowing the potential consequences of interfering.

Most eyes were focused on Amaranth and their pursuit.

But Tasha’s gaze was different.

‘That is…’

Tasha, who had paused in her tracks, remained focused solely on Aile.

The fact that most people seemed to be missing.

Even while being chased by three Amaranth guild members, the one being pursued was managing to evade capture.

Despite the brief encounter, she had quickly assessed his level, concluding that he was a low-level player, likely not exceeding level 40 even with a generous estimate.

Yet, despite the level difference, he was steadily increasing the distance between himself and his pursuers. She instinctively sensed that he was no ordinary player.

“Sorry, something urgent came up.”

“What? Wait, sis!”

“Go ahead first! I’ll catch up in a bit!”

*Paat!*

Tasha took off in pursuit of Aile.

Aile and his pursuers had already vanished into the crowd, but she could discern their direction from the murmurs in the distance.

Tasha, moving with incredible speed, quickly caught up to Amaranth and Aile. Instead of following the same path, she used a skill to leap onto a nearby building.

From the rooftop, she had a clear view of the scene below.

Aile was navigating the crowd with remarkable agility, slipping through the throng as if gliding on ice.

Whenever the Amaranth members attempted to intercept him, he narrowly evaded them by utilizing objects or side paths.

His movements were restricted due to the presence of city guards, preventing him from freely using attack skills, but even considering those limitations, his performance was impressive.

He was surprisingly overcoming the speed disadvantage through his innate resourcefulness.

‘This is interesting…’

Tasha’s eyes gleamed with intrigue.

She had encountered countless high-level players in the top ranks, but it was said that true rookies were becoming extinct.

It had been a long time since she had encountered such an intriguing, unpolished gem.

*Hwaak!*

Suddenly, Aile’s arm was seized and yanked to the side.

It was Tasha, who had finished observing and descended from the building.

Startled by the sudden intervention, Aile frantically tried to break free, but her grip was unyielding.

This was no ordinary strength.

“I finally caught you, you bastard…!”

In the meantime, Lucas, who had managed to catch up, swung his dagger high.

Aile, firmly restrained, was unable to react.

But the unavoidable attack never reached its target.

*Jjeong!*

Tasha effortlessly deflected Lucas’s dagger and even pushed him back with the force of the impact.

Lucas, staggering backward, clutched his aching arm in surprise. The other Amaranth members, who had arrived shortly after, hesitated to attack.

“It doesn’t seem like you guys are on friendly terms… This person has some business to discuss with me privately, so could you please be on your way?”

Tasha, stepping forward, addressed them with a polite smile.

Her sudden appearance caused the Amaranth members to focus on her guild emblem.

And they were shocked.

‘What is going on…’

The emblem of the black snake.

No one in their right mind would impersonate a member of the Big Six guilds, and judging by the quality of her equipment, she appeared to be a genuine member of Nightmare.

Tulon, visibly embarrassed, froze in place.

If Aile was connected to the Nightmare Guild from the start, it would be a major problem, and the situation could quickly escalate.

But Lucas, undeterred, stepped forward and spoke, “So, you’re telling us to back off and not interfere?”

“Yes, please.”

“We’re here on official guild business. What kind of relationship do you have with him?”

“I told you to back off. Unless you want to see blood.”

“…What?”

Lucas flared up and advanced towards her.

“Hey, stop…!”

“Even if you’re a member of Nightmare, there’s still a code of conduct. Interfering in other people’s business for no reason is…”

*Paat!*

In an instant, Tasha vanished from sight.

With the sound of a spear whirling, Lucas’s vision blurred.

Even as he fell from the force of a powerful kick to the leg, two spear strikes landed in the blink of an eye, cutting off his breath.

Each strike was a critical hit, aimed at a vital point.

It was the explosive mobility and damage output characteristic of a spear user who had specialized in assassination techniques.

*Kwaak!*

The black spear pierced through Lucas’s corpse and embedded itself in the floor.

Before anyone could react to Lucas’s sudden demise, the member who had attempted to intervene was suppressed into a near-death state, his head slammed into the ground.

Only the leader, Tulon, who had sensed her movements and refrained from acting, remained unscathed.

‘A, as expected…’

Aile, belatedly realizing the significance of the word “Nightmare,” opened her partially revealed information window and examined the details displayed.

The owner of a staggering level 184.

She was the first ‘quasi-ranker’ level player Aile had ever encountered.

“Since when has Amaranth become so difficult to reason with…”

A cold gaze, betraying no hint of the cheerful demeanor she had displayed moments earlier, settled upon Tulon.