Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 87

Level Up Judge – Episode 87 (10/227)

87. Madness to Madness (10)

Clang!

Loden’s fierce spear strikes raged.

The fluid, continuous attacks relentlessly pressured Aile. Even when he tried to seize an opportunity to counterattack, the spinning spear easily blocked him.

Just enduring wasn’t enough to find an opening.

It was on a different level from when he had faced him with a sword.

The combat style changed instantly by 180 degrees, with much sharper and more unexpected attacks following, and Aile was helplessly pushed back.

He considered swapping to a dagger, thinking he could use the spear’s reach against him and penetrate inside, but against a former top ranker, such a simple tactic wasn’t a solution.

Loden’s close-quarters combat was also flawless, and Aile was often kicked away.

‘I just need to succeed once……!’

Aile gritted his teeth and stood his ground.

Loden’s health was low; a single attack could completely subdue him.

However, Aile’s options were more limited than usual.

He couldn’t use the Flash skill twice due to his limited mana.

There was no time to drink a potion, and magic scrolls weren’t appropriate. No matter how burning his desire to win, using scrolls would not only waste contribution points but also make the video reaction meaningless.

Due to the opponent’s ridiculous combat sense, if the fight continued like this, he would slowly wither away. It was time for a gamble.

Flash!

As the distance closed, Aile activated the skill again and circled behind Loden.

But at the same time, Loden grabbed the spear, twisted his body to avoid the attack, and kicked Aile in the jaw.

The movement, where evasion and attack were connected as one, wasn’t a footwork skill but an inherent reaction.

Shaken by the impact, Aile momentarily lost his balance and staggered.

And in that moment, Loden’s spear aimed at Aile.

Stab!

“Kugh……!”

Aile’s health drained as his shoulder was pierced.

Aile tried to stay focused, but that alone wasn’t enough to recover his collapsed posture.

“You were too naive!”

Loden swung his spear greatly to finish him off.

The reverse-attack skill that Aile used so openly was already a move he had shown once, and it backfired.

He used the skill without any tricks, even though it had been blocked the first time when he didn’t know what skills he had, so it couldn’t possibly work.

It might be different in a normal PVP [Player versus Player] situation, but in a world of their level, there could be no more naive judgment than this.

But what if that was also a calculated move?

The story changes.

Clang!

“……!”

Bewilderment appeared on Loden’s face.

Without any warning, a black shield appeared around Aile, perfectly blocking his spear.

The set effect of the black crystal accessory: attack nullification.

It was a pattern he had used very effectively when he first faced Neshua, who was no less a formidable opponent.

The attack was nullified in an unexpected situation, and Aile seized the opportunity.

Aile’s long sword, which had been lowered, aimed at the opponent who had consumed movement for the attack.

No matter how skilled you are, there is no way out in this situation.

But contrary to Aile’s expectation that this would be the end, a thrilling smile appeared on Loden’s lips.

The real skill in PVP wasn’t just reaction speed.

To stand as a ranker in this game where players from all over the world gather, you need a sense close to foresight or a genius-like reading ability.

When Aile, who had been fighting well, suddenly exposed his weakness with a naive choice, Loden had left one possibility open.

Whoosh!

The long sword containing the flames cut through the air as Loden twisted his body in an instant.

Aile’s carefully prepared blow passed by the end of his face.

‘This…….’

A move that I clearly thought was a checkmate.

But Loden even avoided that, and Aile was quite shocked.

If this attempt also failed, the result would be obvious.

Aile, gritting his teeth at the thought of having to do something, let go of the long sword with the momentum it was moving forward.

The long sword spun and flew towards the wall.

Aile took another step forward and stretched out his opposite arm with all his might.

Whack!

“Kuhuk…….”

The powerful punch struck Loden’s face.

It was impossible to inflict great damage without a weapon, but Loden, who already had little health left, fell backward.

He never expected that he would throw away his weapon and stretch out his bare fist in that posture.

Loden fell into a near-death state with a thud, and the blue spear he was holding rolled to the floor.

Aile, breathing heavily, stood in front of Loden, who was lying motionless, and looked down at him.

After a while, Aile, relieved of tension, also collapsed to the floor.

“Hoo… my pride is hurt.”

The gap has not yet been narrowed.

* * *

The potion bottle that rolled across the floor stopped at Loden’s head.

Loden, struggling to turn his head, looked up at Aile with a bewildered expression.

“This is…….”

“Drink it quickly and get up. I don’t want to waste any more time here.”

“Aren’t you going to finish me off?”

Loden’s actions were clearly a surprise attack.

Even though he said he didn’t intend to see the end himself, the act of attacking without prior agreement remained unchanged, and the attacked party could kill him without saying a word.

Loden, who knew Aile as the crazy inquisitor, naturally thought he would make that choice.

But Aile did not take his life.

Rather, he used the Heretic Designation skill once again to erase the mark of heresy that had appeared above his head.

The mark that naturally arose from evil deeds could not be removed unless the person atoned and accumulated good deeds, but the caster could erase the mark created by the skill on the opponent who did not have the mark.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t tempted by the experience points, items, and bonus stats he could get by ending his life.

But the opponent was a named player who was active as a top ranker in Armenia. [An earlier server in the game’s lore]

It could cause trouble later, and it was better to help him conquer this dungeon, which had unknown difficulties.

If he did well, he could put him in debt.

“That’s enough. Help me with the rest of the strategy.”

“Are you really okay with that? What about the burning at the stake?”

“You said you weren’t going to finish it anyway, so why bother?”

At Aile’s words, Loden was momentarily stunned with a surprised expression.

Thanks to that, Aile was able to realize how people who watched the video saw him.

But Loden quickly regained his senses and quickly drank the healing potion and got up.

As he picked up the spear again, Aile opened his mouth.

“Then let’s go.”

“Um……! Can I call you brother?”

“No.”

“Then, Aile-nim!”

Loden hurriedly followed Aile, who was moving forward.

The long passage leading inside was quite deep, and after walking a little further, stairs leading down appeared.

Loden, glancing around as he descended the stairs, spoke first.

“Aile-nim, you’re really good. You’re the first person I’ve seen with this much skill since coming to War Lord. I never thought I’d meet someone who could defeat me in their 30s.”

“Don’t tease me. You would have won if the specs were the same.”

Aile replied a little curtly.

As you saw, the result was Aile’s victory after a fierce battle, but if he hadn’t had the advantage in specs [character stats and equipment], he wouldn’t have been able to overcome it.

But Loden shook his head.

“Haha, did someone else raise my character for me? Raising is also a skill. Unless you’re a loser who came to the low-level zone to bully, blaming equipment and skills is for idiots. Aile-nim did better than me. You have to spar with me again next time?”

Loden said, pushing himself forward.

Honestly, I learned a lot through this battle, and it’s true that it helped a lot.

Loden was a very special case even in Armenia, but even so, Aile was able to clearly recognize the gap between himself and the rankers.

‘If I had a spear from the beginning… I would have lost for sure.’

Aile recalled the battle just now.

If Loden had taken the spear from the beginning and sincerely came forward, there would have been no need to compare the difference in specs.

With his current skills, he was undoubtedly superior to him.

In fact, it was not at all a new thing for a third party to see.

No matter how brilliant a talent you have, it is impossible for a player who has just started to surpass the top-ranked monsters who have accumulated years of experience.

But the feeling was different when he became the person involved and directly experienced the wall.

“What was the problem?”

Aile asked.

After the fierce battle, he did his own review, but he was curious about how it would look from the perspective of a former ranker.

“You’re asking me to find the problem even after knocking me out like this… I’m going to be angry.”

“Not that kind of answer.”

“Okay, good. First of all, Aile-nim, what game are you from?”

“War Lord is my first time.”

Aile’s simple words.

But at those words, Loden’s facial expression changed, and he stopped as if he was frozen in place.

Aile, who had experienced this before, quickly continued.

“I’m not kidding, it’s true.”

“No, I’ve never seen your face before, but… weren’t you hiding your face and working? This skill is a newbie who just started, is that a lie? Were you a famous PK [Player Killer] player in the past or something?”

“No, not at all.”

Aile firmly denied Loden, who was making strange guesses.

Then, Loden, who was momentarily embarrassed, pondered for a while and soon nodded.

“Well, I’ve never seen this kind of play style before… I wouldn’t have known even if I was hiding my face.”

Loden, who quickly understood, shrugged his shoulders and continued.

“Then the story is simple.”

“Simple?”

“Yes, in the end, time… no, to be a little more precise, it’s a problem that ‘experience’ will solve.”

“Experience…….”

The experience that rankers who have gone through War Lord and previous games have accumulated over the years was not something to be taken lightly.

It wasn’t something that could be caught up overnight.

“As a person who first set foot in this world, if I dare to evaluate Aile-nim, you have enough talent. Especially, I have no idea how you did that weapon swap earlier. There’s no need to blame yourself. I can count on my hands the number of people who have beaten me, no matter what the specs or weapons were. Of course, I’ve been resting for a long time, so my senses are a little dead…….”

“Haha… thank you.”

Aile smiled bitterly at his sincere advice.

It was amazing that it was the sense that had died after resting for more than a year and a half.

Since it was a huge board where all the players from all over the world gathered, it was natural that these monsters were positioned above, but it was speechless when I experienced it directly.

I wondered what the leaders of the six major guilds, who I had only vaguely thought were great, would be like, and I was tired just imagining it.

“Come to think of it, Loden-nim, why did you suddenly disappear two years ago? It seems like you just started War Lord, and you’re not starting as a latecomer on purpose while challenging again, are you?”

“Puhahaha, no way. What kind of dog suffering did I have in Armenia, why would I be crazy and do that? Originally, I was going to move on to War Lord right away. It’s the most important stage, and the later the start time, the more loss it is.”

“Then why……?”

“Ah, that’s…….”

Loden scratched his head as if recalling a difficult memory.

After taking a sigh for a while, he reluctantly opened his mouth.

“I got a draft notice…….”