Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 210

210. The Turbulent Chapter (8)

Kugugugu!

Amidst the writhing, pulsating vines.

Eile and Neshua walked side by side, escaping the path of roots.

“This orb, the light is getting weaker.”

“I brought spares, so there’s nothing to worry about. And we’re almost there. It should be around here somewhere…”

Eile checked the map and surveyed the surroundings.

On the surface, it seemed like the same passage continued endlessly.

But the information he had was accurate, and there was definitely an exit around here.

Swish, swish, swish!

The vines flickered and writhed before their eyes.

If they didn’t have the Arboreal Orb item, they would have been attacked indiscriminately.

The pursuers who were chasing them were also tied up dealing with those vines, struggling to survive rather than giving chase.

Tuk, tuk.

Neshua tapped Eile’s shoulder and pointed to a spot.

“Ah, there it is.”

In the direction he pointed, there was a large, gaping crack.

Eile, delighted, immediately ran towards it.

Judging by its appearance and location, it was definitely an exit to the outside, and they entered the crack.

“It’s blocked.”

Neshua shook his head.

It was an exit, but as they went deeper into the crack, there was a wall blocking their way.

It wasn’t completely open.

He tapped it just in case, but it definitely wasn’t strong enough to be broken by force.

Since the monster had awakened, the walls and floors of the passage had become much stronger than before.

Once the seal was broken and its activity began, they couldn’t get out unless they defeated the boss monster or someone opened it from the outside.

But while Neshua was scribbling on the parchment, wondering what was going on,

the blocked exit opened on its own with a creaking sound.

“Eile!”

“You managed to survive! I’m glad you’re safe!”

Loden and Lia, who had opened the exit at just the right time, greeted him happily.

They had been fighting alongside the underground races, but they had received Eile’s message in advance and were waiting at the entrance.

The northeastern region, currently the largest battlefield, was being commanded by the Celestial Church’s executioners, so there was no need to worry about the absence of Eile or the two of them.

“You must be Neshua. I heard about you on the way here.”

“…”

“Haha, I’ve only heard about the Shadow Church, it’s fascinating to see it in person.”

Loden and Neshua, who had met, shook hands lightly.

Just as Loden, who had heard the story, knew about Neshua, Neshua had also heard about Loden, who was a famous ranker in Armenia [presumably a region or server within the game].

However, even while exchanging their first greetings, Neshua still couldn’t speak.

“Thank you for coming. The timing is perfect.”

“We had to come since you asked, Eile. But have you seen the rankings? Everyone’s going crazy right now.”

“That’s right! Half of the high rankers are suddenly listed as belonging to Apollyon, and Alisa’s name is even in the top 30…”

As expected, the large-scale ranking changes were even more shocking to those on the outside who knew nothing about it.

And as the story came up, he was once again worried about what had happened to Alisa.

Her name, which he hadn’t been able to reach since they separated, could be seen in the ranking list, at a high rank of 30th.

He was very embarrassed when he first saw it, but if she had been hiding her strength like the other Alkione executives, it wouldn’t be incomprehensible.

‘But even so, it would have been impossible for her to handle Lukan, who is ranked 3rd.’

Since they collided to buy time, the possibility of her getting out safely was not very optimistic.

However, all he could do now was send the coordinates of the escape point to get out of the boss’s body via messenger [in-game communication system].

He could only hope she was safe.

“And Eile, your name is on the ranking too?”

Lia looked up at Eile with admiring eyes.

Eile, who had achieved a ranking of 100th even in this situation, was now a top-tier user classified as a ‘high ranker’ rather than just a ranker.

It was hard to believe how they could jump so high in the rankings at once, including Alisa.

Of course, they weren’t the only ones who entered the rankings.

Loden, who was hunting enemy users with the residents of Eltris in the northeastern battlefield, had also entered the 500th rank before he knew it.

“500th is faster than I thought?”

“Ha… are you making fun of me right now? I never imagined I’d be the last of our party to get ranked, I’m so upset!”

Loden said, holding his head.

Thanks to his previous experience, he was confident in his rapid growth, but he never imagined that these two monsters would be in the same party.

It was something he couldn’t have predicted.

“Come to think of it, I’m the only one in the party who hasn’t made it into the rankings…”

Lia said with a seemingly gloomy expression.

Unlike her other three companions, she had not yet entered the rankings on her own and had not been able to put her name on the list.

“You don’t need to worry about that. It’s inevitable since you’re a magician [magic-user class].”

Eile said to her as if to comfort her.

Originally, magicians, who are generally specialized in mob hunting or large-scale battles, were at a disadvantage in entering the rankings.

It was no coincidence that close-range class users were strong in the official rankings.

Lewin of Griffin, the only magician class among the six guild leaders, was strictly a battle mage, so he was a different exception from ordinary magicians.

If her skills were judged as a magician, she would likely surpass most rankers with ease.

“But Alisa is a healer, isn’t she?”

“That’s honestly…”

Kugugugung!

At that moment, the ground they were standing on shook violently.

Then those standing at the entrance flinched and stepped back from the entrance.

“It seems the monster is hungry?”

“We got out just in time.”

The eerie feeling from under the ground, which was still shaking slightly, could be felt.

It was obvious what the situation inside would be like.

“Let’s go quickly.”

“Okay.”

Although they had shaken off the pursuit and overcome the danger, the situation was not completely over yet.

They had to quickly heal the princess and bring her back to consciousness, and they set off for the nearest city without delay.

“But what about the Iron Cross or the other rankers? They’re still inside.”

Loden asked as he moved his feet.

The belly of the boss monster below contained not only the pursuers who were chasing them.

There would be a considerable number of allied rankers trapped inside without orbs.

“I’ve already informed the others, so it’ll be okay.”

After breaking the boss’s seal, Eile immediately sent the coordinates of the exits to each guild to rescue the allied rankers who would be trapped inside.

Perhaps other guild members were already there, ready to open the exits, and if they could move there, they would be able to escape safely.

On the other hand, the situation of the Apollyon guild members who did not know the location of the exit was slightly different.

Due to the nature of dungeon-type monsters that cannot be escaped unless the boss is defeated, they might fail to attack this boss and die trapped inside.

If that were the case, things would be much easier.

‘Of course, considering the names of the rankers inside, things won’t be that easy…’

But that wasn’t entirely impossible.

To attack the boss of the Root Path, it was necessary to actively utilize the five orbs that hid their presence.

But Eile and Neshua had taken all five of those orbs with them as they escaped.

From the perspective of those who had to attack, it was no different from switching the already difficult attack to hell mode.

It meant that it was virtually impossible to attack with ordinary forces.

Of course, this was just a basic inference, and even Eile could not know the more detailed attack method because the seal had never been broken and awakened before.

‘Well, it doesn’t really matter now.’

Whether those guys came out safely or were wiped out inside.

In any case, since they had secured the princess, who was the key to this incident, they were halfway to winning.

‘Now that we’ve come this far, will he finally show himself?’

Kruger, the guild leader of Apollyon.

Eile smiled faintly as he thought of him.

Kruger’s existence, who had been watching the situation with his arms crossed without stepping forward in the midst of the fierce war, had always bothered Eile.

The reason he hadn’t appeared until now was because he was confident that things could be sorted out without him having to step in.

But if this blow was as successful as he thought it would be, their leader would soon show himself.

* * *

Kwaddeudeuk!

Dagos, an executive of Apollyon, swung his massive axe and cut through the approaching vines.

But no matter how many vines he cut down, they did not affect the stamina of this massive dungeon-type boss.

Moreover, it wasn’t just the vines they had to deal with.

The roots that had gathered together to create high-level monsters filled the passage and held them back.

The entire Root Path was a moving monster.

It wasn’t the first time they had faced a dungeon-type boss, but they never imagined that this vast passage could be the monster’s body.

“How’s the situation below?”

“There’s no good news.”

Lukan and Dagos, who had cleared the monsters in the passage, exchanged words.

A large-scale boss raid that they had suddenly encountered during the pursuit.

Even they, the best forces in Warlord, could not easily deal with it, and it was difficult to respond properly without prior preparation.

“In the end, we lost the princess too. There are a few too many variables.”

“You’re making a fuss over nothing with just this much. It’s not a single-player game, it’s no fun if it’s too easy?”

Lukan chuckled at his words.

But Dagos’s thoughts were a little different.

They had suffered a loss of power in an unexpected place, and had lost quite a few lower-ranked players.

Of course, compared to the cards they had, it wasn’t a very dangerous situation even if they had temporarily lost the princess.

But he couldn’t help but be annoyed because the originally perfect plan had been twisted twice.

Ddiring!

“Hey.”

“Yeah, you seem to have found a way to attack.”

They reacted to the sound of the messenger that came at the same time.

It was a message from Silas, who had broken through the passages alone and found a way to attack.

The attack method conveyed there was simple.

This boss was not a method of reducing stamina, but of destroying the heart located in the body.

But the problem was that the boss was of enormous size, and the heart was spread out in as many as five places.

“Five places?”

“This… we’re going to have to lose half of the people here.”

Not only Dagos, but even Lukan’s relaxed expression frowned slightly.

Now that they knew how to attack, there was no problem with clearing it if they put in their full strength.

But the loss of power that would occur during that time was a number that could not be ignored.

Moreover, considering the time it would take for the main force to be held back until the boss was dealt with, considerable damage was inevitable.

But at that very moment.

Kwaaaang!

Kruger appeared on the scene, breaking through the boss’s thick inner wall.

“Everyone, get your act together. We’re going to finish this attack in 2 hours.”