Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 119

119. Between Belief and Madness (4)

“To mess with the Assembly… that’s quite something.”

The man watching the video chuckled in admiration.

It had been several days since the incident in the video, but the reaction hadn’t cooled down.

The community had been turned upside down when Aile appeared in the capital and burned a noble of the Assembly rank.

Most users, as well as the top 6 guilds, would find it difficult to touch such a big shot without prior planning.

‘Thanks to one less seat in the Assembly, the princess’s side has become a bit more advantageous. Is he strongly connected to the princess in this succession issue? He’s not even in the triple digits level-wise, yet he’s already playing big.’

The man watched Aile on the screen with an intrigued look.

Not only was he involved in the World Quest, but Aile was also constantly active, hunting heretics everywhere.

It wasn’t just questing or hunting in parallel; simple PK [Player Killing] alone wouldn’t allow for rapid growth. But after the incident in the capital, Aile was hunting down and eliminating heretics relentlessly.

Whether it was to continue gaining popularity or if he had received a separate quest to perform.

It was impossible to know for sure, but the characteristic was that his growth was happening at a very rapid pace.

Moreover, regardless of his goals, people were gathering around Aile’s bold actions, and at this rate, it would soon be difficult to call the Order of Light a minor faction among the seven orders.

“What are you watching so intently?”

A woman with a long sword approached the man from behind.

Wearing the unique-grade ‘Armor of Annihilation’ set, a whopping level 230 equipment, she bore the same guild mark as the man.

The Swordmaster Silas, ranked 8th among the Warlords.

One of the top players in the world, counted within the top ten.

She stared at the man and opened her mouth.

“Did the dungeon raid go well? You suddenly said you were going to solo an ancient dungeon… I didn’t expect you to finish and come out so soon.”

“I got lucky. Breathing the outside air after a while clears my head.”

The man said with a hearty laugh.

Clearing a huge dungeon solo was by no means an easy task, and even he had struggled quite a bit.

But only for a moment, as the man soon fixed his gaze back on the screen, and Silas shot him an unpleasant look.

“I wondered what you were looking at… it’s him again? There’s no need to be so interested in just a rookie. Especially for the guild leader of Apollyon.”

Apollyon Guild.

Among the six major guilds vying for dominance in Warlord, they were the leading giant, with the title of ‘strongest’ often associated with them.

However, the man looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“That’s unexpected. I thought someone like you would have noticed.”

“What are you talking about?”

She asked, not understanding his words.

But the man got up without a word.

‘Well, it seems she hasn’t realized it herself yet. If I’m seeing it right…….’

The man’s lips twisted as he stared at Aile on the screen.

He had no interest in the stories of latecomers who started late, but this case was different.

A lot different.

* * *

Name: Aile

Title: Heretic Tracker

Faction: Order of Light

Level: 75

Class: Heretic Inquisitor

Main Stats

Strength: 160(+100) Agility: 135(+75) Stamina: 135(+65) Magic Power: 20(+25) Faith: 261.0(+25) Madness: 256.8(+25)

Passives

[Fanatical Martyr (Basic)], [Blade of Hatred (Basic)], [Armor Break (Unique)], [Swordsmanship Mastery Ⅶ (Unique)], [Defense Mastery Ⅶ (Unique)]

Actives

[Consecration (Basic)], [Sentence of Punishment (Apostle)], [Heretic Designation (Apostle)], [Mimicry (Rare)], [Flash (Heroic)], [Baptism of Fire (Heroic)]

‘Good.’

Aile nodded, seemingly satisfied with the status window.

Aile had been relentlessly clearing the heretic hunting regular quests given by the Goddess.

Since the next quest appeared and was updated as soon as he cleared a quest after capturing and executing Dellen, there was no need to worry about it being interrupted.

The quests from Ru, targeting other individuals, didn’t give as many rewards as Dellen, but combined with Aile’s skill in easily tracking down and eliminating heretics, he was able to grow much faster than with typical leveling methods.

And as a result, Aile surpassed level 75 in just a few days, gaining contribution points, stats, and even a title with enhanced effects.

‘It’s a shame that I’m not the only one receiving quests… but this is enough.’

Aile wasn’t the only one for whom the Goddess’s regular quests had begun to appear.

News began to circulate among other users within the Order of Light that the Goddess’s quests had been given.

Seeing that it was given not only to Aile, an Apostle, but to all believers, it seemed that the Goddess was about to start her activities in earnest.

Of course, other users didn’t receive quests as frequently as Aile, but as Ru’s influence was secured, the quests given would increase even more.

‘It must be to grow the Order as much as possible and widen the gap before other deities awaken.’

It seemed that Ru had spurred into action, and she would move even more actively once the Twilight Council was wiped out.

‘Come to think of it, why are the deities trying to compete with each other?’

Aile paused, lost in thought as a question suddenly arose.

Clearly, the deities knew that Warlord was a game world.

Yet they moved to take the highest god position in Warlord, and strong competition was seen among the believers who followed them.

Whether it was a simple battle of pride, programmed for the smooth progress of the game, or perhaps they were trying to be faithful to their own worlds in their own way.

It felt like it would be a rude question to ask directly, so he refrained, and Aile arrived in front of the warehouse at his destination.

Clang!

Aile took out the gold he had received from the auction house from his inventory and handed it over to the warehouse manager for storage.

Combined with the money he had originally deposited in the warehouse and the money he had obtained quite handsomely from raiding Dellen’s mansion, the amount in storage had easily exceeded 10,000 gold.

In addition, the market price of thorium ingots, which he possessed in considerable quantities, was also rising at a moderate rate.

He had spent a considerable amount of money to purchase sub-weapons with useful options, but the impact was almost non-existent.

There was no need to worry about financial matters for the time being.

‘Then shall I go catch the next target?’

Aile moved from his spot after finishing his business.

The target of this heretic hunt was a notorious slave trader in the black market, and this time, there was even a specific condition attached to execute him by hanging.

Since he had already grasped the specific location, there would be no trouble.

The black market where he was active was not far from the city.

Aile entered an alleyway to leave the city.

Although it was a city of considerable size, the city planning and management were poor, resulting in generally complex pathways.

‘I heard this is a neighborhood with poor security… I haven’t even met a pickpocket yet.’

Back when he had just started the game, he would have been in an uproar over a single pickpocketing incident, but now they were recognized as stat bundles.

Unlike before, there was no need to worry about being deceived by their sleight of hand, and there was no chance of being careless thanks to the heretic mark that was visible from the start.

But what appeared before him wasn’t a pickpocket.

Thwack!

Suddenly, one side of an old roof collapsed, and debris fell wildly.

Aile, startled, stepped back to avoid it, and soon he could see a woman falling through the gap.

Thud!

“Ugh…….”

The woman, hitting the ground, writhed while bleeding.

She didn’t seem to be able to get up at all, probably due to the great impact from the fall.

But she wasn’t an ordinary human.

A High Elf with fair skin and long ears.

“What suddenly……?”

Aile, flustered, hurriedly approached her.

He couldn’t imagine why a High Elf, who should be in the White Forest of Esmaire, was in a place like this.

It should be impossible for them to come outside the territory due to the treaty with the royal family, but she was even in a human city located in the Solsticed region, so it wasn’t a normal situation.

And then, another person appeared through the collapsed gap.

The man who had suddenly appeared and jumped down swung a dagger at the fallen woman.

Clang!

Aile, who had blocked the attack, deflected the man along with the dagger.

Aile frowned at the heavier-than-expected impact, and immediately stared at the face of the man who had landed.

‘This time it’s a Dark Elf.’

Skin that was beyond white, almost sickly pale, and drooping black hair, with long ears visible between them.

He was definitely a Dark Elf from the Dark Forest.

Moreover, a clear heretic mark was stamped on the guy’s head.

‘Level 95?’

Aile checked the opponent’s level through the information window.

There were many cases where information could not be confirmed for NPCs [Non-Player Characters], but in his case, it was properly visible.

“Don’t interfere, human.”

“That’s troublesome…….”

Aile turned his head and glanced at the fallen High Elf.

High Elves were a faction with whom he had previously established a good relationship, and conversely, Dark Elves were the guys who had been entrusting users with shady requests in this World Quest.

It was obvious which side he should take.

But there was a difference of 20 levels between Aile and the Dark Elf.

Elves were basically more powerful in combat than humans, and even from a rough look, he didn’t seem like an easy opponent.

With this much difference, he had to take quite a big risk.

‘There’s no need to do that.’

Aile quickly grabbed the fallen High Elf.

It was to run away with her towards the city’s guard.

But as Aile tried to lift her up, she grabbed Aile’s sleeve as if to dissuade him.

She shook her head.

‘Could it be because of the treaty with the royal family?’

If he asked the guards for help, it was obvious that not only the Dark Elf but also her identity would be exposed.

It seemed that she didn’t want the problem to get bigger than her own life.