Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 157

157. The Master of the North

After the first relic was discovered in Bahanan Fortress.

Following the traces of the relic, Aile crossed the kingdom’s border and entered the northern snowfield.

Without transportation like carriages or airships, and without even proper roads, he had no choice but to walk aimlessly.

Moreover, as it was located in a remote area outside the kingdom where even other races shuddered, stronger monsters continued to block his path.

It was an excellent place to raise his stats, as there were many high-level monsters to brand with the stigma of heresy.

However, the remote area was just as dangerous.

The overall level was high, and their stats and attack patterns were tricky, so his life was at risk if he let his guard down even a little.

Above all, the hardships he faced in the northern snowfield weren’t just battles.

“Ugh, it’s cold!”

Aile shouted, shrinking his body as much as possible.

In the snowfield outside the kingdom, survival was a bigger problem than monsters.

Aile’s face was pale from the biting cold that penetrated to the bone.

Before leaving, he had acquired an expensive, high-end cold-weather cloak, but it wasn’t enough to block out all of the harsh northern cold.

As a Warlord who would surely die if he failed to control his hunger, thirst, or body temperature, the blizzard was more threatening than any monster.

‘I’ve always heard that outside the border is like hell… but experiencing it myself is no joke.’

Aile sighed deeply and took a step.

The environment was not suitable for finding resting places or food.

His stamina was also being drained due to the snowfield where his feet sank deeply.

Ordinary strongholds, like villages or fortresses that were plentiful within the kingdom, were ridiculously scarce here.

As a result, Aile was dismantling monster corpses to survive, finding places to rest, and generally being self-sufficient.

It wasn’t a place he could just wander around for a day or two, and a considerable amount of time had already been spent since entering the north, so the supplies he had prepared in advance were insufficient.

‘Still, it’s a relief that I’m not wandering around aimlessly.’

Aile activated the map and checked his location.

After searching through all the data in the secret archive, he was able to guess a few suspicious points.

In particular, considering that this relic was found within a sanctuary that had been hidden for a long time, it was unlikely to be dormant in a place with no connection whatsoever.

Therefore, he prioritized searching each ruin or sanctuary.

‘But ordinary map information still has its limits.’

Aile looked at his map.

Most of the terrain was unrevealed and colored black.

It was a map showing only the northern region of the continent outside the border, but the information marked on it was very limited.

Since the geography of the north was hardly known, unknown places were marked in black.

In fact, people didn’t even guess where the ends of the remote areas, including the northern snowfield, were.

Aile, who had a foot in various information sites, had more information.

“Is this finally the destination…….”

Aile, who had reached his destination, looked down.

An old city located between shallowly divided canyons.

There was no trace of people in the blizzard, so it couldn’t be considered a stronghold.

But it was the place he was looking for.

Whoosh!

Aile immediately went down the slope and stood in front of the ruins.

It was common for monsters to be lurking in such abandoned places.

With his long sword drawn, he entered the ruins.

It was an old and unique style building, and surprisingly, very few of them had collapsed over time.

“This is indeed…….”

Above all, the existence of walls densely covered with ancient Elven script.

As he expected, it was a ruin where the ancestors of the High Elves, who now resided in the White Forest of the Esmair region, once lived.

It had become a place where no one lived now, but it was once where the elves of the north had established their base.

‘This is already the sixth time; I hope there’s at least a trace this time.’

Confirming that it was the candidate location he was looking for, Aile searched inside and went deeper.

After searching for the relics, this was already the sixth ruin he had visited.

So far, he had only found monsters or corpses, and had not found even a clue, so he hoped this time would be different.

‘But it doesn’t seem like there’s a sanctuary.’

Aile sighed softly as he searched inside.

Just like the sanctuary of Bahanan Fortress was hidden from everyone, he had invested quite a long time searching the ruins thoroughly, but nothing special had been found yet.

[‘The Overlord of the Volcano’ yawns as if bored.]

[‘The Mother of Life’ urges your decision.]

As the situation dragged on somewhat, Freya, who had been watching him, urged him without fail.

As the relics that had been hiding had appeared in various parts of the continent, and the movements of the cults had intensified, she wanted Aile to make a quick decision.

But Aile couldn’t answer now.

‘If I say it here, it’ll be turned upside down… I’m busy finding relics; I can’t add another incident.’

Except for Bahamut, who had been thoroughly defeated by him, other deities, including Razaghal, also coveted Aile, the first apostle [a chosen individual with a direct connection to a deity].

However, it was only at the level of coveting, and since he was already contracted with Ru and had many competitors, he didn’t think the possibility was very high.

He was simply observing him, placing more meaning on fun or checking him.

The problem was that Freya was convinced that he would come to her as a matter of course.

Because she was the goddess with the most powerful force, she thought that even Ru was ahead of her.

Tsutsutsutsu!

At that time, a suspicious sound and green light flowed out from inside a building located in the corner of the ruins.

The building he was trying to check last.

There was no such light until a little while ago, but it seemed to have reacted as his distance got closer.

Aile, who found it, was feeling troubled and ran straight there.

[You have discovered ‘Waystone’ !]

[The special power engraved on the ancient stone is activated!]

“This is…….”

A mysterious stone embedded in the middle of the building.

The green light flowing from the stone wrapped around Aile’s body, and the coordinates of a specific location automatically entered his head.

Then Aile could instinctively realize.

That the coordinates that had just appeared were pointing to the location where the relic might be sleeping.

Kugugugu!

At that time, the ground beneath his feet, which had been rapidly shaking, shook violently.

“What suddenly……?”

[‘The Overlord of the Volcano’ shouts with joy!]

[‘The Secret Explorer’ shows interest in the new situation.]

[‘The Mother of Life’ shines her eyes!]

Unlike the bewildered Aile, the deities welcomed the newly erupted incident.

Even Freya, who wanted an answer, forgot about him and shone her eyes.

Koo Woong!

A huge monster appeared through the ground with a roar.

A level 270 field boss [a powerful monster that appears in a specific area] that swallowed the entire building with its wide open mouth.

It was a ‘Frost Worm’.

“Cr, crazy……!”

A ferocious monster that only lived in the northern snowfield.

Aile’s level had risen while searching in the north, but he was still only level 184.

Even ordinary monsters were difficult with this level difference, but a field boss had appeared, so it was an enemy he couldn’t possibly face.

Kieeeeeek!

The Frost Worm, which had appeared through the ground, rampaged wildly.

It stirred up the ancient city with its heavy bulk and tremendous power, destroying it completely.

The screaming echoed loudly and the collapsed debris fell everywhere, turning the quiet ruins into a mess.

‘What the hell is this…….’

Aile, who was crouching and running away, looked up at it.

He was bewildered by the monster’s sudden appearance, but its rampaging movements themselves didn’t seem to be targeting him.

It just looked like it was very angry for some reason.

‘What is it?’

Aile frowned as he looked closely at the Frost Worm’s status window.

Strangely, its health was only 10 percent left.

Looking more closely, he could visually confirm that it had large wounds all over its body.

It was a very unusual thing.

Even in the northern snowfield, which was like hell to humans, there were almost no guys who could inflict such great wounds on such a huge monster of level 270.

Kwagwagwag!

At that time, an explosion suddenly echoed.

A magical bombardment fell on the rampaging Frost Worm, and huge explosions engulfed it.

The Frost Worm’s health dropped to less than 5 percent in an instant.

Considering its enormous health, it was truly an amazing power.

‘If it’s this level of magic, could it be…….’

Aile’s gaze turned to the side where the magic had flown from.

Several users appeared above the canyon.

All of them were wearing white cloaks and armor with red decorations.

There were less than ten people, so it was hard to call them an attack party, but they were the ones hunting the Frost Worm.

It seemed that the Frost Worm had shown a fleeing pattern of digging into the ground during the raid as it was being pushed into a corner.

‘If there are users hunting such monsters in the north, it’s only that place. I can’t believe I’d run into them so soon.’

The Iron Cross Guild.

It was a famous prestigious guild that had been around since Armenia, the second-generation game.

It was the only one of the six major guilds that attempted to pioneer remote areas outside the border and was a powerful force called the ruler of the north.

He couldn’t even see the cross guild mark because of the blizzard, but judging from their unique attire, it was definitely them.

Kieeeeeek!

The Frost Worm, venting its anger, rushed towards the top of the canyon.

Its size was so large that it could easily target the Iron Cross guild members standing above.

But what the guy with his mouth wide open faced was a woman who jumped out from above the canyon.

The woman who jumped head-on into the monster raised her sword and activated a skill.

Whoosh!

Black blood clots fell with a flash of light.

The woman who jumped in head-on instantly cut the Frost Worm’s long body in half.

The monster’s corpse, which was divided in half, destroyed the ruins once again and rolled around, and the woman who had jumped up landed lightly on the floor.

Click!

The woman who landed in front of Aile gently sheathed her sword.

“You are…….”

A beautiful woman with long gray hair, a face he couldn’t possibly not know.

Her identity was Sieur.

The 2nd ranked player in the world and the guild leader of the 6th largest guild, the Iron Cross.

“Are you a player? What are you doing in the north?”