Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 109

109. The Essence of Hunting (2)

KWA-AAA!

Fierce white flames filled the passage and poured out, incinerating the monsters swept up in them in an instant.

The raging fire that had swallowed them licked the walls and died down.

Aiel, standing before the neatly cleared passage, lowered his sword.

And then, the last one lunged at Aiel from behind, aiming for him.

PAH!

The creature’s head flew off in an instant.

[You have leveled up!]

‘Yes!’

Aiel exclaimed with joy at the message that appeared before his eyes.

He had been holed up in this gloomy dungeon filled with undead, hunting for a week already.

Aiel had been hunting almost to the maximum, except for sleeping, eating, and exercising.

Virtual reality games, especially War Lord, were bound to consume a lot of mental energy, and most people wouldn’t have been able to endure even a day of such a grueling schedule.

However, Aiel overcame it with a grind-oriented instinct honed since his online gaming days, coupled with a transcendent obsession.

And the result.

‘Level 49, huh…’

Eight levels in seven days.

He had achieved this speed with simple hunting alone, without even doing quests in parallel.

Of course, it wasn’t a result achieved solely by Aiel’s ability.

The monsters here gave very good experience, the respawn rate was fast, and the area had the best compatibility for his skills.

Moreover, there were elite monsters that occasionally appeared, giving stat points.

Thanks to this, Aiel diligently raised his stats whenever he encountered them, and scoured the dungeon with even more vigor, wiping out the monsters.

Aiel holed himself up in the underground dungeon almost like a hermit, with food and supplies he had stocked up in his inventory.

But the result of this effort was sweeter than anything.

Name: Aiel

Title: Agent of the Goddess

Faction: Order of Light

Level: 49

Class: Inquisitor

Major Stats

Strength: 105(+60) Agility: 97(+41) Stamina: 98(+33) Mana: 20(+20) Faith: 162.4(+20) Madness: 156.9(+20)

Passive

[Fanatical Martyr (Basic)], [Blade of Hatred (Basic)], [Armor Break (Unique)]

Active

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

Faith: Goddess of Justice and Light, Ru

Position: Apostle of Ru

Goddess’s Favor: 73.96%

Contribution: 8,230 (Cumulative 16,180)

“Haha…”

Aiel smiled as he looked at the status window that appeared.

It was the product of a week of hellish hunting, and he couldn’t help but feel proud.

He had been so enthusiastic that even Ru, who was initially happy that he was growing so quickly, later sent messages of concern from time to time.

Of course, she also expressed her joy when he finished hunting after the last level up.

[‘Light Judge, Ru’ is sincerely impressed with your tenacity.]

[Goddess’s Favor +1.00% (Current 74.96%)]

[Order of Light Contribution +300]

He started hunting at level 41, and now he was at level 49.

The efficiency of hunting was starting to decrease, which meant it was time to change hunting grounds.

It was time to go out and breathe the fresh air again.

“Ugh…?”

Aiel, who was about to leave the dungeon after retrieving his sword, staggered for a moment.

Perhaps he had overdone it with the final spurt; his legs were starting to tremble.

[‘Light Judge, Ru’ rebukes your pathetic appearance.]

[The Apostle of the Goddess must not show such foolishness.]

[A support item has been provided.]

[Blessing-Infused Fatigue Recovery Potion (Rare)]

“Hmm?”

A potion in a bottle was placed in Aiel’s hand along with a pure white light.

‘I’ve never seen an item like this before…’

The types of consumable items were so diverse, it was hard for Aiel to know them all.

Aiel bowed his head gratefully and drank the potion, and soon felt some strength returning to his body.

Most potions for fatigue recovery often didn’t feel very effective in reality, but this one was a rare grade item, so the effect appeared immediately.

Thanks to this, Aiel was able to leave the dungeon with a much lighter step.

‘The reaction to the videos… is good, as expected.’

Aiel nodded in satisfaction as he checked his personal screen.

The videos that Aiel had only uploaded after receiving the finished version while he was focused on hunting had also received a very good response.

The editing quality was beyond anything to worry about since it was handled by Bloodyjig Studio, and Aiel’s WarTube channel was still growing rapidly.

Moreover, Aiel’s method had also changed.

Instead of setting up recording separately and going in, he would now set it to always record and pick out useful videos.

Aiel was thinking of selecting and picking out the best scenes from all the gameplay.

Since there was no knowing when an amazing scene might suddenly appear that was worth using in a video, this method seemed a little more efficient.

‘I’ve also found the perfect information.’

Aiel hadn’t just been holed up in the dungeon hunting all this time.

Even while undergoing the forced march, he had been constantly checking various information sites, and he had found some useful information a little while ago.

The fact that traces of forbidden magic had been discovered in Dragon Tail Forest, the territory of the Lizardmen.

There was a clear connection with the Lizardmen’s forces, which had recently begun to gather on a large scale, and users in the vicinity who had received related quests were gathering and fighting.

In fact, the Lizardmen had never been particularly associated with magic, except for using ancient shamanism.

But suddenly, unidentified magic appeared.

The Lizardmen shamans, who were one of the existing monsters, abandoned their shamanism and began to use magic presumed to be forbidden.

Because of this, they had a bounty placed on them by the royal family, and numerous users near level 50 were flocking to hunt the shamans.

But there was no way they would have suddenly awakened to forbidden magic, and Aiel was guessing that it was the work of the Covenant [a secret society known for using forbidden magic].

‘Why are those guys, who have been living in hiding, suddenly acting up like this…’

Recently, the Covenant had been showing themselves more actively than before.

Because of this, stories about the Covenant were starting to circulate a little among the top-ranked users on the information sites.

Forbidden magic was powerful, but it was strictly suppressed, and as a secret society, they didn’t have enough numbers or a strong enough base of power.

Because of this, it wouldn’t be good to attract too much attention, so he wondered why they were starting to show themselves.

‘Do they have something to rely on… well, I need to hurry anyway.’

If he was too late, he might miss another clue, and Aiel quickened his pace as he left the passage.

* * *

“Can I do this alone…”

Aiel, who was climbing on a huge tree, muttered as he looked down.

The place he was in was Dragon Tail Forest, the territory of the Lizardmen.

As befitting their territory, countless Lizardmen soldiers were swarming around the dense forest.

Dragon Tail Forest, which was already classified as a high-difficulty hunting ground among level 50 hunting grounds, now had an even greater number of individuals due to the related event.

The monsters patrolling the area were also more vigilant, exuding a fierce aura.

Of course, with the royal family’s bounty quest, many users had come to the hunting grounds as much as they had increased.

It gave experience and loot commensurate with the difficulty, so quite a few users gathered and fought with the Lizardmen while hunting.

But Aiel had to go deeper.

Most users aimed to eliminate the elite monster, the Lizardman Shaman, and use it to collect the bounty.

However, Aiel had no interest in such a purpose.

Finding the Covenant member who gave them the forbidden magic or a clue about it – that was Aiel’s real goal.

‘To do that, I have to dig all the way into the center of the forest…’

There were many parties who had entered Dragon Tail Forest for hunting and were fighting, but even they were only entering the relatively less dense outer areas.

Most parties were not easily venturing into the inner areas, which were filled with even more Lizardmen.

‘But I have no choice but to try.’

It was a clue he had found after searching information sites for a week, and he couldn’t possibly turn back after coming this far.

Aiel, who came down from the tree, parted the bushes and began to move forward into the forest, concealing his presence.

There were so many Lizardmen that there was a possibility of danger if he was caught even once, as they would swarm from all directions.

Above all, they were not monsters that could receive attribute or damage bonuses, and he didn’t want to be tied down and fight them if possible.

And of course, that was the story when he wasn’t caught.

Kiek?

A Lizardman who happened to make eye contact with Aiel while passing through the bushes.

It was a brief eye contact made in an awkward atmosphere.

KWAAK!

The long sword was instantly stuck in the guy’s neck, and Aiel stomped on the head of the guy who was flipping over and struggling.

The Lizardman, who lost his life in an instant, dangled and sprawled on the floor.

No matter how well he hid, he couldn’t avoid being caught even once, so he had to quickly eliminate them like this before they could gather other comrades and move forward.

But Aiel didn’t leave the corpse of the guy right away.

“After all… it would be a little strange to just leave, right?”

Aiel was now feeling more awkward if he just left the corpse neatly.

* * *

“Are… are these guys crazy?”

“Keugh…! Why are they suddenly like this?”

Users who were hunting in the forest couldn’t hide their embarrassment.

It was because the Lizardmen suddenly started rushing in like crazy when the battle started.

They weren’t exactly easy guys to begin with, but now they were rushing in with intense anger as if they had been hit by a frenzy spell.

There was no sign of anything, and the situation was too sudden.

But it wasn’t just these parties that were facing this phenomenon.

Kieeeek!

Shieek!

The cries of the enraged Lizardmen spread throughout the forest.

The reason was simple.

The execution of the Lizardmen that took place in various places in the forest.

A member of their race was caught by an unidentified human who had invaded the territory and died after being horribly humiliated.

Almost all the Lizardmen witnessed the gruesome sight decorated like an exhibition, including burning at the stake and beheading, and felt intense anger towards the humans.

And that anger was ultimately directed only at other innocent users.