Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 123

Level Up Heretic Inquisitor – Episode 123 (123/227)

123. Arena

The largest city in the Esmair region: Media.

A huge crowd was gathered in the central area, and Aile weaved through them, crossing the street.

The first place he headed after arriving in the city was the arena.

[You have entered the ‘Media’ Arena.]

– The matching system has been activated.

– User PVP that is not an official duel is prohibited.

– The use of many items is restricted.

Stepping inside the large arena building, he could see even more people gathered than on the central streets of the city.

‘It’s my first time coming here since playing Warlord….’

Aile looked at the message that appeared before him with amusement.

The arena was a key facility in every major city, designed for duels between players.

Players fought with all their might, but visiting the arena was completely different from encountering each other in the field and engaging in Player Killing (PK).

Here, even if you reduced your opponent’s health to 0, they could recover without any death penalty once the duel ended.

It was the most sportsmanlike way to enjoy fair and clean PVP without holding grudges.

However, even if the arena content was the most wholesome, it was impossible to attract everyone’s attention.

The biggest motivation for PK was the plunder of items from the opponent or disputes between factions, and such things were impossible here.

But that didn’t mean there were no rewards.

Each victory in a duel earned you arena points, and you could collect those points to purchase items from the exclusive shop that only existed in the arena.

That was also the reason Aile came here.

Among the numerous items handled in the special shop, the ‘Seal of Shattering,’ the objective of this quest, was also available.

‘I just need to quickly collect points and buy it.’

Collect points through duels and purchase items.

From Aile’s perspective, there was no more certain way to obtain the Seal of Shattering right now.

However, there was one problem.

The points required to purchase the Seal of Shattering were very high.

Due to the high points required, you had to achieve a considerable number of victories to accumulate enough reward points.

It wasn’t an item that could be easily obtained, even in the arena.

‘But… if I keep winning consecutively, I can shorten the time considerably.’

A major feature of the Warlord Arena.

If you win duels in a row, you get a significant amount of consecutive win bonuses.

Moreover, the more consecutive wins you achieve without interruption, the greater the added rewards become.

‘Assuming I don’t lose even once, I need to win 30 times. It’ll be difficult, but not impossible.’

[Honor Score: Unplaced (1,200 points)]

[Arena Record: 0 wins 0 losses (Win Rate 0%)]

[Arena Points: 0]

Aile brought up a window to check his information.

Since he had never even been to the Warlord Arena, it was natural that he had no record or points.

‘1,200 points, huh….’

Aile’s eyes went to the ‘Honor Score’ item at the top.

It was a score that could only be obtained through the arena, but it was very different from the points that could be used to purchase various items as rewards.

Honor Score was an indicator of the level of the player participating in the arena content, and the higher the score, the more skilled the player was.

Honor Score rose and fell depending on the outcome of the duel, and the matching of opponents was also based on this score.

In fact, Honor Score was like a badge of honor among players who had set foot in PVP.

Some guilds and parties even used this Honor Score as a criterion for accepting people, so it was a highly trusted indicator for assessing skill.

‘30 consecutive wins would be roughly… around 1,700 points.’

The starting point in the Warlord Arena’s scoring system was 1,200 points.

Just like what was shown in Aile’s information window now.

If you raised your score further and entered the 1,300-point range, it meant you had quite decent skills.

If you surpassed that and achieved 1,500 points, you were a top-tier player who would be recognized anywhere.

And then there was 1,700 points.

It was the standard for being in the top 1 percent and a symbol of the top-tier arena user in name and reality.

If Aile could achieve 30 consecutive wins without losing even once, he could aim to enter this 1,700-point range thanks to the huge consecutive win bonus.

Of course, there was a score range beyond that, also called the heavenly realm, where monsters, including ranked players, were positioned.

It was a section that was too much for Aile to aim for in many ways right now.

‘If I achieve 1,700 points at once, I’ll get good video content out of it, wouldn’t I?’

Aile happened to need new content to use for video production.

If he achieved 1,700 points, the symbol of the top tier, at once, he would be able to elicit a good response.

However, it was never easy to continue winning multiple times without losing even once.

Furthermore, Aile’s level was 80.

It was obvious that he would be far behind the users he would face as the score range increased.

‘I’ve raised my level as much as possible, but I can’t help but still be lacking.’

In the arena, which is intended to test skill, level differences are basically compensated for.

If you could overwhelm with just level like in the outside world, the score would be meaningless, so it was to help you stand on an equal footing.

However, that didn’t mean you were completely on the same footing.

Due to the difference in the number of skills each player possessed, level still had a significant impact in the arena.

Aile, who was level 80, had 8 acquired skills, whereas if he met a level 120 user, the opponent would be fighting with 12 additional acquired skills.

‘Still, I came after reaching level 80, so it should be okay.’

Aile had learned two additional skills using the skill books he had obtained last time.

The grade of the equipment items that would soon receive level compensation was very good overall, and there was no need to worry about equipment.

Now, the rest were parts that had to be made up for with skill.

“Please go to arena number 43. Good luck!”

Aile, who had gone to the guide, was assigned an empty arena.

Aile, walking towards the assigned arena, was lost in thought for a moment.

‘Anyway, it reminds me of the old days……. I used to live in the arena when I played other games before.’

In the past, when he enjoyed online games, he had been deeply immersed in the arena content.

Whether it was an arena or a martial arts competition, the names varied from game to game, but once he set foot in it, he had put his name on the 1st place ranking at least once.

Thanks to that, he also uploaded videos a few times as a hobby and gained quite a bit of fame.

Of course, Aile was constrained by time as a student and was also immersed in content other than the arena, so it was impossible to maintain the ranking for a long time.

[Welcome to the duel!]

[The matching system has been successfully connected. An opponent suitable for your rating will be summoned! (0 wins 0 losses, 1,200 points)]

[Please select a match format before proceeding with the match.]

A message appeared in front of Aile, who had arrived at the arena.

1 vs 1 duel, 2 vs 2 tag match, 4 vs 4 team deathmatch, free-for-all, etc.

There were many duel methods, and Aile chose a one-on-one duel without hesitation.

The more users participated, such as in team deathmatches, the more points were awarded.

However, as many people participated, it took much longer, and there were many unpredictable variables due to teammates or other factors besides his own skills.

Naturally, it was not a wise choice for Aile, who was trying to continue his winning streak.

[Matching complete!]

Flash!

The first opponent entered the opposite seat.

The two players who drew their weapons stared at each other.

Before the duel began, it was possible to view each other’s records and levels, as well as general information.

‘Level 61……? It’s quite high, but it’s nothing.’

A smile appeared on the face of the man holding the sword.

The man, who was level 61, was lower in level than Aile, but he could clearly see the record written next to him.

0 wins 0 losses, 1,200 points.

The opponent was a newbie who had participated in the arena for the first time.

There were many who were only familiar with hunting monsters and were clumsy in PVP despite their high levels, and in this arena, those people were easier opponents.

Above all, he had no idea who Aile was.

Tick! Tick! Tick!

The duel start countdown began with a system message.

[The duel has begun!]

Cheee!

At the same time as the duel began, a mark appeared on the man’s head due to the Heretic Designation skill used by Aile.

But the man, unaware of that fact, confidently stepped forward.

“Here I come!”

Clang!

The two swords collided.

The confident man tried to push forward with the swords colliding.

If he had a bit of discernment, he would have avoided a head-on match after seeing Aile’s equipment status, which looked unusual at first glance.

A unique-grade weapon.

And a set of hero-grade armor and accessories.

Even if the arena’s level adjustment effect was applied, the superiority of the grade itself did not change.

Furthermore, Aile had the bonus of Madness and Favor stats.

Clang!

“Wh… What?”

The man’s sword, which was overwhelmingly pushed back in the power struggle, flew backward.

But before he could panic, Aile’s sword stretched out and slashed him several times, and the man’s health bottomed out with attacks poured out exactly enough to subdue him.

Thud!

“Cough… No way…….”

The man collapsed to the floor in a near-death state.

The fight ended in an instant with overwhelming dominance.

But that wasn’t the end.

Aile, who had summoned a pyre in the middle of the arena, grabbed him.

“Wa, wait! Wh, what are you… Ugh!”

The man tied to the pyre was engulfed in soaring flames.

He was dumbfounded just by losing the duel in the blink of an eye, but suddenly, with the flames flickering right in front of his eyes, he struggled desperately and died.

[‘Light’s Judge, Ru’ watches the flames with pleasure.]

[Light Church Contribution +100]

The man’s body was completely burned black.

But even though the man died and collapsed completely, Aile’s stats did not rise and remained the same.

‘Well, it’s obvious, but.’

Aile had tried burning him without hesitation, but he didn’t expect it in the first place.

If stats rose by burning opponents in the arena where infinite duels were possible, it would be nothing short of a cheat beyond a bug.

He wondered if he could get an attack power buff from the pyre, but it wasn’t given either.

[You have won the duel!]

[Current record: 1 win 0 losses, 1,205 points]

Aile lightly took the victory and put away his weapon.

“Next!”