Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 106

106. Hunting Snakes (1)

[You have judged a Heretic!]

[You have successfully executed the designated punishment according to ‘Sentence of Punishment.’ Stat bonuses are doubled due to the skill’s effect.]

[Favor of the Goddess +1.14% (Current 65.98%)]

[Light Church Contribution +290]

[Faith stat +8]

[Madness stat +8]

[You have leveled up!]

“Phew, that’s done.”

Eil dusted off his blood-stained hands.

Even with mental stabilization, anyone with a normal mindset would have frowned at the horrific scene before them, but that wasn’t the case for him.

He had sentenced all four users designated as heretics to various punishments and executed them without hesitation.

His Faith stat had exceeded 100, and his Madness stat was nearing 100 as well.

At the same time, he reached level 38.

Furthermore, as an additional effect of executing the punishments, he was able to increase various stats such as attack power, speed, defense, and health.

The effect of a 10 percent increase for 60 minutes; no human doping potion could match that performance.

“A refreshing start.”

Entering the dungeon with a significant buff.

For now, it was a pleasant beginning.

Of course, whether monsters would block the path ahead or only the Spirit Stone would be lying there remained to be seen.

Eil, having collected all the loot from the users, headed inside.

He had made sure to close the entrance while rushing down, so there was no need to worry about someone else coming down from behind.

And before long, he came across the wall that Sledge had destroyed during his assault.

Eil rummaged through Sledge’s corpse, which was still left unattended, but the items had already been taken.

He hadn’t been able to loot them in the urgent situation, and it seemed the White Fang Guild members had intercepted them.

‘Well, that was expected…’

The problem was the two paths that appeared before him.

The original connected corridor and the hidden passage that appeared through the collapsed wall.

He pondered for a moment which way to go.

One might be a dead end or have no difference, but conversely, there could be a significant difference.

‘It wouldn’t be hidden for no reason.’

Eil entered through the wall that Sledge had broken.

It seemed right to head towards the path where the Executioner had directly revealed himself, and even if it was an unremarkable structure, he could always turn back.

Thus, Eil entered the narrow passage and soon discovered something peculiar.

At regular intervals on the floor of the passage, there were holes with iron bars embedded in them, allowing a clear view below.

From what he could roughly see through the gaps, it looked like a crypt where corpses were stored, and undead monsters were wandering around, perhaps due to the black energy spreading across the floor.

It seemed the dungeon was influenced by the Executioners and the Spirit Stone.

According to the information window, they were all monsters around level 40.

‘Was the previous corridor heading there? Then what is this place?’

Just as questions were forming in Eil’s mind, his steps reached the end of the passage, and he soon found the answer.

Swoosh!

“……!”

As he heard the rough breathing of a monster, Eil quickly concealed his presence and cautiously peeked out of the passage.

A room filled with a gloomy atmosphere. At its center, a black Spirit Stone floated in place.

On either side of the Spirit Stone were two enormous snakes, and the heavy iron chains that seemed to have bound them were shattered and scattered on the floor.

‘That party wasn’t the first…’

Eil thought as he discovered the corpses of users inside the room.

The party that seemed to have entered first had been defeated by those two, their bodies grotesquely melted by poison.

[You have encountered an enemy of the Church, a Blasphemer!]

[You have encountered a Blasphemer, a sinful being who desecrates the teachings. Make them pay for their sins!]

[A surprise quest has been assigned, and additional rewards will be given upon success!]

[A significant penalty will be imposed if the mission fails!]

A system message suddenly appeared.

He hadn’t expected it at all, but the snakes guarding this place were Blasphemers, surpassing even heretics, and a surprise quest from the Goddess had been added.

At that, Eil quickly examined their information windows.

The two creatures, with their white and black colors and different appearances, were level 42 boss monsters, Variant Basilisks.

They were not monsters that had been discovered before.

However, there were two powerful boss monsters with the title of Blasphemer, and it was no wonder that any party that entered would be annihilated.

But Eil couldn’t back down.

It wasn’t just because of the severe penalty that would be imposed on his Favor [Goddess’s favor], but that wasn’t the only reason.

‘If there are two Blasphemers, that’s 40 stats each… I can’t miss out on such a big catch.’

Defeating one Blasphemer would grant a whopping 10 points of Faith and Madness stats.

But there were two of them, and if he could execute punishments, the stat bonus would be doubled once again.

There was no room for hesitation.

[Attack power has temporarily increased!]

[Defense has temporarily increased!]

[Speed has temporarily increased!]

[Maximum health has temporarily increased!]

[Poison resistance has temporarily increased!]

Doping potions were used without reservation.

The effects of the potions could be applied separately from the effects of Eil grinding heretics.

Since he was facing opponents who used poison, he had preemptively taken a poison resistance potion and prepared an antidote to be taken out as quickly as possible.

And he started recording the video.

It was clear that they would be difficult opponents, but that was precisely why, if he could successfully complete this raid, it would make for an excellent video.

‘…Even so, going in like this will definitely lead to death.’

Eil paused to think, facing the two hissing monsters.

He had made thorough preparations in his own way, and he wanted to boldly challenge them and step forward.

But he could clearly see what would happen if he did.

Boss monsters worthy of being designated as Blasphemers were not pushovers, and it was somewhat unreasonable to face two of them alone without a party.

Most of all, the most bothersome thing was the terrain.

Judging from the traces of the users who had been defeated, they were expected to exhibit a poison-spitting pattern, but in reality, there were almost no obstacles here except for the large Spirit Stone.

To face such huge boss monsters, not just one but two, in a place like this… he’d rather take the penalty; it was out of the question.

‘Right… I can change the location.’

The moment a good idea flashed through his mind, Eil smiled.

Once a clue was given, Eil quickly began designing a strategy in his mind.

And once he was somewhat confident in that method, Eil moved without hesitation.

Thwack!

First, Eil’s throwing dagger flew and struck the black Basilisk on the right.

It didn’t deal much damage, but the slowing effect was applied as intended.

Kieeeeeek!

The two Basilisks, reacting instantly to the appearance of the intruder, let out fierce roars.

Eil quickly turned back and ran, and the huge bodies of the snakes began to fill the passage as they chased after him, not wanting to miss him.

The white Basilisk, not affected by the slowing effect, quickly caught up to Eil from behind.

He still had a long way to go before completely exiting the passage.

But even this much was enough.

Clang!

Eil, who had stopped, slammed his greatsword down, shattering the iron bars on the floor of the passage.

As the shattered iron bars fell away, the hole that had been there was exposed, and Eil naturally fell into it.

Then, the two Basilisks chasing after Eil reflexively turned towards the hole.

Thud!

Eil and the Basilisks poured down to the lower floor.

Fortunately, Eil had immediately thrown himself away after falling down, so he wasn’t crushed to death by them.

However, the sudden appearance of them turned the gaze of the undead monsters wandering around the dungeon below, and as soon as they saw Eil, they showed hostility and tried to rush at him.

Rather, because he had changed the location, he had to face the undead and the boss monsters at once.

But there was no way Eil would have caused this without calculating even this.

[Apostle Perk, ‘Contribution Shop’ is open!]

[You are not restricted by region as an Apostle!]

[Search function is activated!]

[Contribution Points Held: 6,380]

The Contribution Points he had diligently saved up.

It was time to invest boldly for a better return.

[Intermediate Area Frenzy Scroll – 38Lv]

[Contribution Points, 1,000 points consumed.]

Whoosh!

A scroll was held in Eil’s hand.

It was a high-cost scroll worth 1,000 points, but it was well worth the price.

Frenzy magic.

As the name suggested, it was a status ailment magic that made enemies fall into a frenzy, unable to distinguish friend from foe and attacking anyone.

Of course, for the sake of balance, when used by a user, it had no effect on boss monsters or other users.

However, in the case of normal monsters, unless they had separate resistance traits, it worked without exception.

Whooosh!

A shimmering red light spread out from the activated scroll, brushing past all the surrounding monsters.

As befitting the modifier “area,” the magic was applied to a wide range.

It had no effect on the two Basilisks, but it did on the undead monsters.

Kuaaaaak!

The undead monsters began to rush at anyone around them indiscriminately.

And naturally, their gazes were mainly directed towards the two largest boss monsters.

The undead climbed onto the backs of the giant snakes, biting and wielding their weapons.

Crash!

Kieeeeek!