Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 124

Arena (2)

Clang!

In the middle of the sand-swept arena, a fierce battle was unfolding between two users.

A warrior wielding a double-handed axe unleashed a furious barrage of attacks, forcing Aile to leap back to evade them.

But just as he tried to create some distance.

The warrior used a powerful active skill, ‘Furious Charge,’ closing the gap to Aile in an instant.

Whoosh!

The axe only cut through the air.

Immediately using ‘Reverse,’ Aile circled behind his opponent and struck the warrior’s armor.

Clang!

The man, thrown off balance, skidded back, barely managing to regain his footing.

After a fierce exchange, his remaining health was only about 10 percent.

“Damn it! To an 80-level noob…”

The warrior gnashed his teeth, unable to contain his frustration.

At first, he had looked down on the level 80 user.

In contrast, the warrior was level 140, and under normal circumstances, he should have overwhelmed him.

But the warrior was struggling.

“Hoo…”

Aile, having overcome the crisis, took a moment to catch his breath.

His remaining health was 30 percent.

It wasn’t a generous amount, but the situation itself wasn’t bad.

The warrior had used a buff skill that temporarily greatly increased his stats and then attacked fiercely to win.

It was a situation where he could have been defeated in an instant if he had made a mistake.

But Aile calmly stalled for time, successfully outlasting the skill’s duration.

Considering that it was a card the warrior had been saving, it meant he hadn’t achieved a significant result.

Now it was Aile’s turn again.

‘Flash is off cooldown.’

Aile checked the cooldowns of the skills that were returning, then subtly shifted his gaze.

Unlike when he first entered, it was quite lively.

The spectator seats of the arena were already packed with other users.

It was a crowd that had gathered to watch Aile’s play, who had now become a celebrity in Esmair.

Because Aile had taken a spot in one arena and started matching, it was possible to watch from the same spot continuously.

‘Still, recording is prohibited… so I don’t have to worry about exposing my power.’

Tap!

Aile, holding his sword, rushed towards the warrior.

The warrior, reacting quickly, raised his axe along the trajectory of Aile’s raised longsword.

Trying to anticipate the path and block the attack.

But in an instant, Aile switched weapons, and in his hand was a small dagger.

Stab!

Flash, used with the dagger, grazed his neck, and the ensuing flames engulfed him.

The damage was less than when using the longsword, but that made it just the right amount of damage.

Thud!

The warrior collapsed to his knees.

He had fallen into a near-death state due to the attack, and Aile, standing coldly in front of the warrior, stomped his foot to summon the pyre.

Whirr!

“Uwaaaagh!”

The fallen warrior was inevitably dragged away by Aile and burned.

“Crazy…”

“Isn’t his purpose to burn people, not to duel?”

Users who had just entered the spectator seats and witnessed the pyre for the first time whispered in astonishment.

It was common to see users taunting and provoking with all sorts of insults in the arena.

However, no one had ever seen a user performing a pyre and praying in front of it.

Of course, that only applied to those who had just entered and hadn’t adapted.

Since this was already the 29th pyre since Aile had entered the arena, most users were more interested in the outcome of the match.

[You have won the duel!]

[Current record: 29 wins, 0 losses, 1,654 points]

[Additional points and rewards are given due to the winning streak bonus!]

[User ‘Aile’ has achieved a 29-win streak!]

“He’s really a monster, isn’t he?”

“How can he do that with level 80…”

A sight that was hard to believe even while watching.

Aile, rising like a whirlwind, had already achieved a 29-win streak.

He was showing a performance that crushed enemies in succession with a level that was far lower than other users in the point range.

Even those who had stepped in thinking it was a bubble created by videos had their doubts disappear.

Even Aile, who had finished praying and stood up, still had an indifferent face.

As if a 29-win streak was nothing.

‘Phew, that wasn’t easy either…’

Of course, unlike his outward appearance, his inner thoughts were a little different.

The opponent he had just faced was a high-level warrior of level 140.

Unlike the duelists he had matched with in the beginning, the difference in the number of skills on both sides was becoming more and more significant.

Fortunately, Aile was able to cover it to some extent with the high rank of his skills, most of which ranged from Heroic to Unique, even though he had fewer skills.

But the problem was that the opponents were no longer of low rank either.

Being in the 1,600-point range meant that he was very familiar with arena duels and that his skills were in the top tier.

‘There were moments in between where the winning streak almost ended…’

Unlike what the spectators felt while watching, the process of winning streaks so far was not as smooth as he thought.

In particular, the level 160 Dark Knight user he met in the 27th win was so skilled and had such good stats that it was really dangerous.

As expected, the higher the score, the more difficult the opponent became.

Now it was at a level where it wouldn’t be strange if he suddenly lost.

“Now there’s only one left… oh.”

Aile frowned slightly as he checked the points he had earned.

His score after achieving a 29-win streak was 1,654 points.

It was a very high score, so much so that it was hard to believe that he had entered the arena for the first time today.

But apart from that, it revealed that Aile’s plan had gone slightly awry.

‘At this score, even if I win the 30th game, it seems like it will be a little short?’

If he achieved a 30-win streak, he would be able to earn much more honor points than when he won his first game.

But even considering that, it was impossible to receive 50 points at once.

He thought he had one last duel left, but even if he won the 30th game, he didn’t seem to be able to reach 1,700 points.

The points given varied slightly depending on the rating of the matched opponent, so this kind of thing happened.

In a situation where he had to win twice more right before the increasingly difficult 1,700-point range.

But Aile slightly changed direction from his original plan.

“Hmm… I’ll just go to the team match to go up at once.”

[The duel method has been changed!]

[Searching for the next matching opponent!]

When Aile manipulated the screen, the set matching conditions changed.

The duel method he had just selected was a 4-on-4 team match.

It was a method of forming teams of four on each side, and then having one person come out and duel to determine the winner.

As the process was a little longer and the number of people increased, more honor points were awarded than in a 1-on-1 duel.

In fact, there wasn’t a big difference that would affect the choice of method among users.

However, it was different in Aile’s situation, where a large bonus would be given if he only achieved a 30-win streak.

If he won with a team match, he could aim for up to 50 points at once.

[Matching complete!]

Flash!

Because the option was changed, Aile was moved to another arena this time.

As Aile, who had been moved to the waiting room, looked around, he could see three users standing on either side of him.

They were the teammates who would be with him in this team match.

“Nice to meet you!”

“Let’s win for sure!”

The teammates exchanged greetings during the short waiting time.

From the warrior-type ‘Fighter’, the rogue-type ‘Rogue’, to the fighter-type ‘Martial Artist’.

As expected of a high score range, they were all jobs with expertise in PVP [Player versus Player combat].

“Wait, that person’s level is…”

“Huh…? It’s true.”

The teammates who felt something strange looked at Aile.

All of the teammates were naturally at three-digit levels, but Aile was only level 80.

Even his job was the unpopular Inquisitor.

Even though he had been getting attention recently, it was awkward to receive him as a teammate in a situation where several important wins and losses were at stake.

But even before the teammates who felt suspicious could open Aile’s record window to check.

[The order of appearance for each team has been decided!]

[User ‘Aile’ is the 4th player to appear.]

The order of appearance is randomly determined by the system.

In Aile’s case, he became the last, fourth player to appear.

“Everyone, quickly check your equipment and get ready! We have to go out now.”

“Still, you’re fourth. Let’s hope the people in front of us do their best.”

Matching of players below a certain level sometimes happens.

The teammates could have resented this situation, but they tried not to show their disappointment.

The teammates hurriedly started to leave the waiting room, and Aile scratched his head and followed him.

As Aile entered the arena, he could see four users from the opposing team entering on the other side.

“Then I’ll go first.”

“Good luck!”

In the midst of the tense atmosphere, the first players walked out from both sides.

The first to step out from Aile’s team was a man who was a level 130 Fighter.

On the other hand, the woman standing on the opposite side appeared to be a rogue-type job, judging by the two daggers she wore on her waist.

[The first duel has begun!]

With the message, the duel began immediately.

Clang!

The Fighter was the first to rush in.

He used an approach skill to close the distance in an instant and faced the rogue, who was vulnerable in head-on fights, with his sword.

Moreover, he didn’t just stop there.

“Here I go!”

After knocking one dagger aside, he raised his sword high, and a yellow light flashed from the descending sword.

It was the Fighter’s exclusive skill, ‘Armor Break’.

It was a powerful skill that instantly neutralized the opponent even if they took a defensive stance and inflicted additional damage.

An attack that landed at a timing that was difficult to avoid accurately.

But the rogue’s lips twisted when she faced the attack.

“Parry!”

Clang!

The rogue’s dagger deflected the attack with the skill to the side.

The Fighter’s sword went astray without dealing any damage.

In the meantime, the rogue left a fatal blow on his side.

Stab!

“Ugh…”

‘A counterattack at that timing…?’

It wasn’t even an ordinary counterattack.

The dagger that was stabbed into his side at the same time as deflecting the attack not only dealt additional damage but also applied bleeding, which ate away at his health.

Generally, the standard play was to stall for time if bleeding damage was dealt.

But the opponent didn’t let go of the gap that had been created once.

Stab!

The dagger stabbed the Fighter’s side, who was retreating, once more.

The man frowned and swung his sword to get her away, but the result was the same.

Rather, he was given the ‘Counter Stab’ skill, adding additional bleeding stacks to the sword-wielding man.

‘Damn it, I can’t keep up…!’

The Fighter, who was being pushed back helplessly, bit his lip.

He couldn’t even properly block the attacks, let alone properly see where the ever-changing dagger’s blade was pointing.

It was because of the passive she had, ‘Wavering Blade’.

Stab! Stab! Stab!

The one-sided damage exchange continued.

The teammates who were watching the scene were shocked.

“She keeps stabbing the same spot…”

“She’s completely toying with him.”

The rogue was tenaciously targeting only one side of his flank, which she had stabbed first.

It wasn’t an action with a strategic reason.

It was clearly to show off her skills to everyone here.

Stab!

“Ugh…”

The Fighter collapsed powerlessly to the floor, and as the match was decided, he was teleported to the location where his teammates were standing.

“Why is it so boring?”

The rogue’s lips were filled with ridicule.

But none of the teammates on the opposite side could open their mouths.

She had tremendous skills that matched her confident attitude, and the dumbfounded teammates finally checked the opponent’s record window.

[Level 171, Rogue]

[29 wins, 0 losses (100% win rate), 1,660 points]

“Why don’t you hurry up and send the next guy up?”