Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 112

The Essence of Hunting (5)

“Whew, we’re here,” Aeil muttered, looking around the street.

He had left the Esmair area, where he had been active, via airship and arrived at Solstice, the southernmost region of the Warlord. Solstice was an area of intense confrontation between the two Six Great Guilds that had been in conflict since the New World era. However, the city Aeil was heading to was located deep within the Dawn Guild’s territory, so he didn’t have to worry about getting caught up in unnecessary fights.

Aeil’s current concern stemmed from the interrogation report he’d received a few hours prior.

‘All the Inquisitorial Office managed to extract was the location of their next operation… I’m grateful for even this much.’

Daetcheo, the Cult member Aeil had subdued, was handed over to the Inquisitorial Office for interrogation. He eventually broke and revealed the location of their next meeting place.

Before his capture, Daetcheo had been quite confident, but the interrogation proved too much for him.

However, contrary to Aeil’s expectations, that was all they could get out of him. He couldn’t reveal anything about the Cult’s purpose or background, even when pushed to the brink, as if bound by some powerful restriction.

Even with Daetcheo’s desperate pleas to be killed, it seemed the Cult didn’t rely solely on their members’ willpower or mental fortitude to maintain silence. It was likely they used magical devices to ensure compliance.

The Inquisitorial Office, recognizing this, was now searching for a way to disable the magic while continuing the interrogation. Aeil felt he had no choice but to move to the designated area and begin his own investigation.

[A new mail has arrived!]

‘What is it? I wasn’t expecting any mail.’ Aeil tilted his head as the notification appeared.

He happened to be near a mailbox, so he retrieved the message and checked it.

‘This is…?’

It was a direct message from Nightmare, one of the Six Great Guilds. The negotiation had ended less than a week ago, and Aeil felt a knot of anxiety, wondering what the content could be. He hoped nothing had gone awry, as the consequences could be severe.

‘Ah, items?’

The mail contained something Aeil couldn’t have predicted: a full set of five pieces of armor.

The letter simply stated, “Additional payment,” a concise explanation.

‘Did something go better than expected…? It’s absurd to give me this without any further explanation.’

Apparently, the ancient dungeon, “Tomb of the King,” which he had provided information about, contained something of significant value.

Moreover, the armor set they sent was a hero-grade obsidian set, far exceeding expectations. Obsidian, a rare refining material, was primarily produced in the northeastern part of Esmair and virtually monopolized by the Nightmare Guild.

It was difficult for non-guild members to obtain it through normal channels, and Nightmare often used obsidian to craft equipment for its members. In Warlord, where material quality significantly impacted performance, equipment crafted from rare materials like obsidian offered superior stats, even with the same skill proficiency and appearance.

Upon inspecting the armor’s detailed information, Aeil found excellent stat bonuses and a five-piece set effect that increased speed. It seemed tailored to his level 50, but its performance surpassed that of typical mid- to high-level armor for characters in their 70s and 80s.

They asked for nothing in return, and Aeil gratefully accepted such high-end items.

He retrieved the equipment from his inventory and immediately equipped it.

‘It’s quite fancy, isn’t it?’ Aeil looked down at his new armor with satisfaction.

The light armor set had a dark, blackish hue. As expected, the design was sophisticated, befitting a handmade item crafted by a blacksmith from one of the Six Great Guilds.

He felt lighter thanks to the set effect, a noticeable power boost.

“Then… shall we go?”

* * *

“Hmm, I should have prepared a winter cloak…” Aeil muttered, sniffing as he squatted in front of the fire.

He had entered the mountain range for a quest and was met with severe cold. Everywhere he looked was a snow-covered mountain.

In Warlord, players had to manage not only hunger and thirst but also body temperature in such environments.

Fortunately, he possessed several fire-related skills; otherwise, he would have been constantly battling the debilitating “frostbite” status effect.

‘I heard it wasn’t this cold. Did the temperature drop even more recently?’

The mountain range Aeil was in was a popular hunting ground for level 50 players. Thanks to its vast terrain, competition wasn’t fierce, and the location and rewards were good.

However, the area had recently experienced abnormal weather, transforming the usually warm mountain range into a snow-covered zone.

Perhaps it was related to the Cult’s activities.

‘The problem is finding them.’

Without any prior clues, he was forced to search aimlessly.

As a result, Aeil explored the mountain range, hunting monsters and occasionally encountering heretics.

Perhaps due to his rising level, the frequency of heretic users appearing even in ordinary hunting grounds had increased.

The fire Aeil was warming himself by was fueled by a large cross burning heretics.

The captured user had already died and slumped over, but he was still faithfully serving as warm firewood.

Thump!

Aeil tossed another monster’s corpse into the crackling fire, then stared blankly at the burning cross.

Recently, Aeil had discovered a new fact as his Madness stat exceeded 100: his Apostle-only skill, “Execution of Punishment,” had evolved.

Previously, the execution devices he summoned were rather simple. While the skill was convenient due to its lack of location or consumable restrictions, he couldn’t significantly alter the summoned device itself.

But now, things were different. He could freely transform the appearance of the execution device by visualizing it in his mind.

Of course, the skill’s performance remained unchanged, so it wasn’t a major upgrade, but he could at least put more effort into the presentation.

‘There’s another group over there.’

Aeil spotted a party moving in the distance. The distance was considerable, and the heavy snowfall obscured the view, but he clearly saw the heretic mark stamped on their heads.

No matter how competitive the game was, kindness still mattered, and many would face the goddess’s judgment.

For now, his body temperature, which had dropped during hunting, had sufficiently recovered.

Aeil rose and pursued the party. He needed to accumulate stats whenever possible.

The party consisted of four users climbing the snow mountain, their levels appearing to be between 40 and 50 based on their equipment. They didn’t seem very perceptive, as they hadn’t noticed Aeil following them.

This was partly due to the harsh weather, but also because Aeil was using trees and rocks for cover to avoid detection.

However, as the distance closed, Aeil noticed something strange.

‘Wait, only one person doesn’t have a mark…?’

Despite being in the same party, only one user wasn’t marked as a heretic. It was a woman who appeared to be a magician, wearing a robe and holding a staff.

‘If that’s the case, should I only subdue the other three? Or is it okay to just kill them all?’

Aeil hesitated before attacking. This was the first time he’d encountered such a situation, despite having faced numerous heretics.

In ambiguous situations, designating someone as a heretic and burning them, even without a mark, was usually sufficient. However, attacking a completely innocent user first could potentially affect the goddess’s favor.

No matter how much Luga [the goddess of justice] was associated with madness, she was still the goddess of justice.

“I still wonder if it was right to come all the way up here with this trouble. With this much thorium ingot [a rare and valuable metal], wouldn’t it be better to just close our eyes and run away?”

“Stop talking nonsense. Who are the guys who gave us the quest…? If we did that, we wouldn’t even be able to collect our bones.”

“Yeah, where else would we get such a reward for just transporting some goods?”

‘Thorium ingot…?’

Aeil reacted to the party’s conversation. Thorium ingot was a rare mineral he had found in the loot box in the basement of the abandoned temple.

That was also where he first met the Cult member Mute. Now, this party was receiving a quest to transport a large amount of thorium ingots.

Naturally, he couldn’t help but connect it to the Cult.

Of course, it could be a coincidence, but the probability seemed low. Sensing something significant, Aeil immediately changed his plan.

Burning the heretics was postponed, and he carefully followed them, suppressing his presence.

The party, avoiding monsters as they climbed, soon stopped beneath a large rock.

“This must be the place, right?”

“That’s right.”

They looked around and began digging away the snow piled on the ground. Soon, the entrance to a cave leading under the rock was revealed.

The four party members hurried inside, and Aeil followed closely behind.

However, contrary to his expectation that they would venture deeper, the party stopped near the cave entrance and began placing items on the floor one by one.

“They said we can just leave it here, right?”

“Yeah, they said we just need to keep our mouths shut…”

Kwack!

The man standing at the back fell forward without finishing his sentence.

A sudden surprise attack at an unexpected moment.

“Cough… !”

The long sword, appearing in an instant, severed the neck of the woman carrying the bow, and she also fell to the floor silently.

Meanwhile, the tanker, hurriedly raising his shield, tried to charge at Aeil, but the result was the same.

Kwang!

The shield was mercilessly crushed as he was struck head-on by the instantly activated Ilseom skill [likely a powerful attack skill].

The tanker, engulfed in flames and rolling on the floor, couldn’t get up again. Now, only the woman without the heretic mark remained.

“Hic… !”