Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 107

107. Hunting the Snake (2)

Kiiiik!

The black basilisk, which had been slaughtering the rushing undead, turned its head.

It had been fighting mindlessly but belatedly began to search for the intruder who had caused the situation to escalate.

As expected, Aile, who had instigated their fight, subtly retreated, spreading out two strange scrolls on the ground.

Then, the basilisk’s sharp eyes flashed brightly.

[Due to the cursed gaze, you are afflicted with the ‘Weakness’ debuff!]

[Due to the cursed gaze, you are afflicted with the ‘Fear’ debuff!]

The variant basilisk’s tricky pattern, an unavoidable debuff, was triggered.

Two effects that lowered overall stats and slowed movement.

However, it was useless against Aile, a fanatic of Luth.

[The skill ‘Fanatical Martyr’ nullifies status effects!]

[The ‘Weakness’ debuff has been removed!]

[The ‘Fear’ debuff has been removed!]

A passive skill that removes all psychological status ailments, Fanatical Martyr, could not affect Aile, who possessed it.

Faaaat!

In the meantime, the designated scroll was activated and applied to each of the two basilisks.

The magic in the scroll Aile used was ‘Status Ailment Vulnerability’.

It was a magic that, as the name suggested, made the opponent vulnerable to various status ailments.

On the surface, it seemed to have ended without any effect, but looking at the faint purple aura surrounding the basilisks’ bodies, the effect was definitely applied.

‘Preparation is complete.’

Kwaak!

Aile swung his large battle-axe, sending the head of one of the undead flying spectacularly.

The weapon he wielded was a hero-grade item he had obtained recently, the Executioner’s Axe.

It had a unique effect that inflicted fear on all nearby enemies when a finishing blow was struck.

Therefore, Aile continued to chop off the limbs of the rushing undead, gradually accumulating the fear effect.

Of course, the undead had no concept of fear and could not be affected in any way.

However, the two basilisks in front of him were far from being undead.

[The skill ‘Fanatical Martyr’ doubles the fear effect!]

[The status ailment ‘Fear’ has been triggered!]

[The status ailment ‘Severe Fear’ has been triggered!]

Kiiiik!

After defeating more than a dozen undead, the basilisks twitched and reacted.

They hadn’t noticed it until just now, but it was the effect of Aile having secretly fed them a lot of fear.

As large boss monsters, they had some resistance to status ailments, but Aile’s vulnerability scroll had been used, and the fear was applied doubly due to the additional effect of the Fanatical Martyr passive.

It would be absurd from their perspective to have someone who is completely immune to fear inflict twice as much fear on them.

But from Aile’s perspective, there was no reason not to take advantage of this.

Thanks to that, the movements of those very agile creatures seemed somewhat stiffened.

In addition, they flinched unconsciously whenever Aile moved, and it was amusing that it worked so well on boss monsters of that size.

Typical fear only stiffens the body and slows down speed, but if fear accumulates beyond a certain level, overall stats even decrease.

The conditions for accumulating that much fear were demanding, but if it worked well, there was no status ailment like it.

‘Now it’s going to be manageable……!’

Aile rushed towards the rampaging basilisk.

Of the two, the primary target was the black basilisk. He planned to deal with the one afflicted with slowing down by first hitting it with a throwing dagger.

Kuoong!

Aile dodged the basilisk’s flying tail.

As expected, due to the strong fear effect, there was a delay in their movements and judgment.

Aile sprinkled holy water on the tail and then scattered embers of sacred fire, setting it ablaze.

White flames spread, eating away at its health, and in the meantime, Aile plunged his longsword deep into its torso.

It was covered in hard scales and had high defense, but Aile had a 40 percent armor penetration, so its health was significantly reduced.

Kiiiik!

The black basilisk’s patience ran out as the undead rushed in from one side, a sword wound on its torso, and intense flames attached to its tail.

It opened its mouth wide and began to spew venom.

The undead that touched the poison melted without being able to resist, and even those who were not directly touched by the venom had their health reduced just by being nearby.

‘This……!’

The basilisk’s head turned in the direction of Aile, and the venomous breath it was spewing flew towards him.

Aile desperately threw himself away, hiding behind a wall to avoid the attack.

However, it was such an intense attack that even the wall could not withstand it for long, and Aile quickly turned to the other side.

Thanks to the complex structure of the dungeon, which was full of structures including walls and pillars, he was able to stay out of its sight.

Kirik!

Aile, who appeared from behind it, raised his greatsword.

The greatsword, imbued with white flames, was slammed down on the basilisk, and the activated Flash cut through it.

Kwaaa!

The Gluttony Greatsword’s 1.5x damage effect on the first strike and the hero-grade skill Flash struck.

Even a large boss monster could not help but be greatly shocked, and the black basilisk’s body, which had been melting the wall, shook violently.

As a result, the path of the acidic poison it was spewing also shook, and the innocent white basilisk, which was fighting the undead next to it, was caught in the crossfire.

Chiiiiik!

Kieeeek!

Even though it was their own venom, it was so powerful that half of the white basilisk’s face melted.

It goes without saying that its health was tattered, and it took on such a hideous appearance that it was difficult to see properly.

“It’s not over yet.”

Aile, who had already drunk a mana potion, revealed himself.

The greatsword he had just used was in his inventory.

And on the other side, a horde of other undead monsters from the dungeon, who had heard the commotion, had come.

It was the time when the number of undead who had been driven mad had decreased significantly, and Aile used the Frenzy Scroll once again.

Faaaat!

The monsters who had been driven mad once again shone with flickering eyes, and Aile smiled and switched his weapon to the Executioner’s Axe.

Whether the opponent was a monster or a user, the more fear, the better.

* * *

[You have executed the enemy of the Order, the blasphemer!]

[You have successfully executed the designated punishment according to ‘Sentence of Punishment.’ The stat bonus is doubled due to the skill’s effect.]

[Favor of the Goddess +2.98% (currently 68.96%)]

[Light Order Contribution +1200]

[Faith stat +40]

[Madness stat +40]

[Sudden quest has been completed!]

[Eliminate all blasphemers in the dungeon (2/2)]

[Favor of the Goddess +1.90% (currently 70.86%)]

[Light Order Contribution +2,000]

[Faith stat +10]

[Madness stat +10]

[Quest completed!]

[You have completed the mission within the time limit, so you will receive four times the additional experience!]

[Return to the Tuli Village investigation team to receive your reward.]

[Level up!]

These were the numerous messages that appeared in front of Aile, who had retrieved the spirit stone from the upper room of the dungeon.

His level had risen by 3 due to the goddess’s sudden quest and the kingdom’s investigation team quest overlapping, and his stats and contribution had increased tremendously thanks to suppressing the two blasphemers and executing the punishment.

Aile, with a satisfied expression, lowered the messages he had raised to reconfirm the rewards.

Thud.

The two huge snake heads that were lying alone at Aile’s feet caught his attention.

It was the head that Aile had cut off from the basilisk and brought up himself.

Their bodies were still burning fiercely underground, and he planned to use the heads as evidence for this quest and hang them in the center of Tuli Village.

“Hmm… I doubt they’ll like this.”

Something black wriggling from the severed surface of the basilisk’s head looked quite gruesome.

Their identities were not ordinary creatures but monsters created by gathering people’s souls.

It was no wonder they were designated as blasphemers.

[Ring of Evil Souls (Heroic)]

[Earrings of Evil Souls (Heroic)]

[Necklace of Evil Souls (Heroic)]

Aile checked the items he had looted.

The biggest harvest among the spoils he obtained this time was a set of level 40 accessories dropped by the variant basilisks.

If you have all three sets, it had a set effect that increased defense by 10 percent, and above all, the additional stat options attached to each piece of equipment were very excellent.

The Black Crystal accessory set that he had been using so far had been used for a long time because of its special effects, but now it was time to replace it because the specs themselves were so far behind due to the equipment level.

It was a shame, but even Aile couldn’t possibly swap out armor or accessories during battle.

Changing just one weapon was enough to have a sufficient effect, but changing other equipment required changing several pieces at once, which was much more difficult and time-consuming, but the effect was less.

In addition, the fact that weapons are held in relatively free hands, while armor is worn on the body, was a big difference.

‘But I’ll be able to get enough value for it…….’

After replacing the equipment, Aile turned his gaze away without regret and turned on the status window to check his level.

[Level: 41]

His level was already 41, which was undoubtedly a very fast pace.

Leveling up a Warlord was originally not an easy task, so among ordinary people, even exceeding level 100 would earn you the reputation of being a master who would not be ignored anywhere.

Even the ‘rankers’ [top-ranked players] with the best skills in the world had barely exceeded level 200 over the past year, but Aile, who had started playing less than a month ago, was already over level 40.

Considering that leveling up is relatively easy in the early stages of learning basic skills, it was a fast pace, and the hope that he could really catch up with them swelled up if he continued like this.

But that was only for a moment.

Aile shook his head.

‘No, increase the speed even more.’

It was not enough to be satisfied at this level.

Just because he diligently leveled up in his own way did not mean that those who were ahead would stop and wait for him.

To catch up with them before it was too late, faster growth was needed.

Furthermore, now that the name Aile was known everywhere, he had to grow as quickly as possible in order not to become an easy target that could be poked at like last time.

Aile, who was determined to accelerate his leveling up even more, took out the skill book for his fourth skill.