Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 84

84. Madness to Madness (7)

[Remaining Time ‘00:00:00’]

[The magic circle has been successfully destroyed!]

[Acquired partial compensation!]

Tsutsutsutsu!

The large black magic circle drawn on the floor disappeared.

The floating black orb slowly descended, and Aile reached out to catch it.

“Is it over…”

Aile checked the rewards in the message that appeared before him.

The quest he received from the Inquisition wasn’t cleared, but destroying the magic circle alone provided a separate reward.

Experience and Order contribution points had increased, and various bonuses obtained from defeating users branded with the mark of heresy were a bonus.

Swish!

Aile took out another scroll from his chest.

This time, it wasn’t something he purchased using contribution points.

It was a communication magic scroll that Eileen, the Order’s executor, had given him before departing.

She wanted him to report immediately if he discovered the identity of the magic circle for quick action. Although unintended, he had succeeded in identifying it, so he quickly scribbled a message and sent it.

Whirr, the scroll disappeared in a burst of flames, and Aile stood up.

Now, he could complete the quest if he just escaped from this place.

But there was something he had to do first.

The hall, where all the monsters had been cleared and lay scattered, was filled with bloodstains, and the neck of the tanker, who had stubbornly held out until the end, snapped with a crack.

Thud!

Loden, having finished him off by twisting his neck, threw his corpse into a corner.

‘He’s quite skilled.’

He could tell because he had fought alongside him in that difficult situation.

Even a novice with little understanding of the game could see that the player who had just barged in was undoubtedly a formidable expert.

A monster at least at the ranker level.

Of course, Aile had never actually seen the Warlord rankers, so he couldn’t accurately gauge their level, but based on the data he had seen, he couldn’t help but think so.

And putting aside why such a person was in a place like this, Aile frowned at the face that seemed familiar.

Meanwhile, Loden approached with light steps and spoke first.

“Well, it’s all over. Good work.”

“Thank you. You saved me.”

Aile expressed his gratitude.

His intervention had made things much easier in a somewhat dangerous situation, so it was only natural.

However, perfunctory and trite remarks didn’t suit Loden’s personality, and he cut straight to the chase.

“You’re that Inquisitor everyone’s been talking about, right?”

Aile’s face instantly hardened at Loden’s words.

Realizing that the other party had noticed his identity, his mind began to race.

Did he approach knowing who he was from the beginning, or did they meet by chance? What was he aiming for by approaching him first?

He didn’t let his guard down, even though he had helped him.

Then, Loden chuckled and continued, “I saw you from above, and you fight really well. When I saw you in the video, I thought it was partly thanks to editing, but you’re better than I expected.”

“How did you find out?”

“Haha, being an Inquisitor isn’t a common job, and I have to have that much discernment.”

“Well, I won’t deny it.”

The other party wasn’t just probing but speaking with conviction, and there was no point in denying it.

“Then…”

“But revealing your identity first would be a priority.”

Aile interrupted him sharply.

He had been wondering since earlier why his face seemed so familiar, even as they faced each other.

His memory wasn’t usually this bad, and he felt frustrated.

Then, Loden smiled and willingly revealed his name, and Aile’s eyes widened in surprise.

* * *

3rd generation virtual reality game, Warlord.

The term ‘generation’ wasn’t an official classification, but it was a common expression used by most industry insiders and players.

The emergence of Warlord completely eclipsed previous games and ushered in the current era, but there were games that enjoyed brilliant heydays before that.

1st generation: Eastorn.

1.5th generation: New World.

2nd generation: Armenia.

These three games, also known as the three major virtual reality games, were actively operating until the advent of Warlord, and many rankers were active.

In particular, when Eastorn, the first virtual reality game, began to decline due to a certain incident, New World and Armenia, which followed, became representative games, dividing 60 percent of the total market share.

Naturally, the most attention and focus were on these two games, and many celebrities emerged as they were always in the public eye.

Of course, their existence is now precarious due to the emergence of Warlord, but many of the rankers and named players who occupy the top ranks of Warlord are also gamers from those two games.

Even among the top six guilds, four of them were prestigious guilds that had continued their lineage from there, so there was no need to say more.

In the case of virtual reality games of the same genre, even if they move on to the next generation, skilled players still have competitiveness.

‘His face seemed familiar… I didn’t know he was a high-ranker from Armenia.’

Loden.

He was the name of a named player who had caused a sensation in Armenia, which dominated the 2nd generation.

His fame wasn’t just because he occupied the top ranks.

He was an amazing player who started a full two years later than other users and still managed to reach the position of a high-ranker at the end.

He was famous enough that any gamer who played Armenia would know him, and even those who only played other virtual reality games had heard his name.

However, Loden suddenly disappeared without any notice and didn’t show up for a year and a half.

Many people wondered why he had disappeared and why he didn’t appear in Warlord, where most of the rankers had moved on. He appeared here, in a level 30 hunting ground.

Aile, of course, knew him, but he didn’t recognize him at once because his impression seemed a little different from before.

“You’re doing a quest, right? I think the goal is to destroy the magic circle…”

“Similar.”

Aile replied briefly.

He doesn’t give out detailed information.

He didn’t let his guard down because they might try to steal the quest in the middle or attack to steal the rewards.

Of course, since it was a quest from the Inquisition, not a normal NPC [Non-Player Character], quest theft was virtually impossible, but he didn’t know what the other party, who didn’t know that, might be up to.

If he was Loden from Armenia, whom he had heard of, he was by no means the type to stab someone in the back, but he couldn’t know based on his past reputation alone.

Moreover, since he hadn’t been seen for over a year, he couldn’t trust him yet.

And Loden didn’t care about Aile’s reaction.

It was natural to be wary of a user you met for the first time while performing an important quest.

“It doesn’t seem like you’ve been in the dungeon for long… Do you know how many magic circles are in here?”

“How many…”

“Hmm? Did you think that was the end?”

Loden asked with a slightly dumbfounded expression.

Aile tilted his head, wondering if that meant there was more than one magic circle.

But for a moment, he recalled that the goal of the quest he was assigned was ‘investigation,’ not the destruction of the magic circle.

It didn’t matter how many magic circles of the same type there were.

“There are a total of four magic circles located in the dungeon… no, now there are three since one was destroyed. The remaining three magic circles have not been activated yet. I know all the locations.”

“So, are you saying we should destroy those magic circles together?”

“Similar.”

“But there’s no reason to do that. I can find the location of the magic circles if I invest some time, and more than anything, you wouldn’t gain anything from finding the magic circles together? I can only think you have some other motive…”

“No, not at all! How could you see me as such a person!”

Loden jumped at Aile’s words, then shrugged his shoulders after a moment and continued.

“Well, destroying the magic circles is secondary to me. The key is… right here.”

Whirr!

Loden unfolded a large map.

It was an internal map that he had roughly created by exploring the dungeon himself.

Unlike the map that is basically given to all users, the map he took out was a separate item that filled in the places he had been to, so there was no possibility of filling it in haphazardly.

Aile stared intently at the suddenly appearing map, and as he had guessed, the underground dungeon had a large circular structure.

But there was one thing he hadn’t anticipated: there was a large empty space in the center of the dungeon.

“This is…”

“You have a good eye.”

Loden admired Aile’s appearance as he stared intently at the empty space.

As Aile had stored the structures of most dungeons in his head, he was more familiar with the approximate patterns of various Warlord dungeons than veteran rankers, and he was able to spot suspicious parts at once.

“It’s not a worn-out place, but a new dungeon that appeared this time, and there was nothing while searching the whole place. There are no traces of anyone looting it, and other than finding the magic circle, it’s all small items. I searched every suspicious place for hidden passages, but there weren’t any. But here. Doesn’t it look like there’s something?”

Loden pointed to the suspicious part with his finger.

“It seems that unlocking the four magic circles is a prerequisite, and judging from the black orb I saw earlier, it seems to be a place that can only be entered with a related quest. From my point of view, who doesn’t have a quest, I have to join forces with you to see the end of the dungeon.”

‘The end of the dungeon…….’

Aile was lost in thought for a moment.

The content of the request he received from Eileen ended with the investigation of the magic circle, so the quest was already as good as completed.

But seeing the end of a new dungeon was not an offer that could be easily rejected.

A dungeon of this size would likely come with a large reward, and it was a good opportunity for Aile, who had to catch up with the users who had gone ahead as soon as possible.

Moreover, if he removed all the magic circles in advance, he might be able to receive additional rewards for the quest.

It was also an opportunity to make an impression on the client of this quest, the Order’s influential executor.

“Certainly……”

“You’re tempted, right?”

The corner of Loden’s mouth slowly rose.