Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 170

170. Intervention

The news of Eile’s activities in the southern swamps was widely known, even among ordinary users.

The sight of corpses of all sorts of users and monsters hanging throughout the swamps was enough to attract everyone’s attention.

His actions—carving the Light Church’s insignia everywhere and creating a macabre execution ground—made it clear that only Eile could be behind it.

Even among some enthusiastic followers of Eile, it was called a pilgrimage, and they would engrave the traces of various executions in their minds.

Then one day, a video was released on WarTube [a fictional video-sharing platform] in real-time.

The video captured Eile subduing a user who had attacked him, becoming a hot topic among users.

– That’s Grom! A level 250 named necromancer!

– Why did he suddenly attack?

– Looks like someone put a bounty on him?

– He really came prepared.

– Honestly, there’s no way to overturn this.

Reactions were pouring in every minute.

Since the initial release was in real-time, viewers couldn’t know the outcome yet.

That was the element that heightened the tension.

Moreover, even though it was an edited video, Bloody Jik Studio’s touch made the scenes even more vivid than the original.

And as the video progressed, people’s reactions, which initially seemed hopeless, completely reversed.

– What? He actually won? With a 40-level difference??

– Wasn’t Grom supposed to be really good? Explosion necros aren’t even that susceptible to matchups. And he lost even after setting up traps?

– I’ve been saying it since he caught Rhoden. He’s the real deal.

– Hail the Goddess!

– All those guys who said he was overhyped are gone, right?

– I’m going on a pilgrimage there too.

A rookie who started as a latecomer had defeated a user with a level difference of 40.

The upper echelons, where quasi-rankers lurked, were full of skilled players who couldn’t be taken lightly, and this kind of upset was not something to be easily dismissed.

It wasn’t something that could happen simply due to carelessness or matchups.

Eile had done it beautifully.

Even in the current situation where four of the six major guilds were at war, the communities were exploding with reactions.

This was also due to the fact that the opponent was a named player with fame among the quasi-rankers.

Grom, famous for his explosion necro build, was already a proven user to the public, and defeating him was a monumental event.

Officials from each guild, who had simply seen him as a skilled rookie, also completely changed their perspective.

Even if his level itself was still lacking, they now had to consider him a top-tier user who was practically aiming for the ranker position.

Kkuaaaak!

Kwaddeudeuk!

And the ending of the video did not disappoint either.

Perhaps because it was a special ingredient, even those who regularly watched Eile’s videos were surprised by the execution that took place.

Karin, the guild leader of Nightmare, who was watching the video, even slightly frowned.

Thud.

As the video ended, Karin stopped the screen and turned to the side.

“How is it? If you take out the crazy stuff.”

“Hmm, I have to admit it. He’s not just a rookie.”

Lambic nodded.

She couldn’t understand her opinion of Eile in the past, but now she had no choice but to acknowledge it.

“Honestly, I thought it would take more time, but he’s already come this far. Not bad.”

Karin looked at Eile in the screen with interest.

At the corner of her mouth, there was a faint smile that even Lambic next to her couldn’t notice.

“And there’s something interesting at the end. Lambic, you saw that much, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

She still didn’t understand what she meant by ‘something’ in the video last time.

But in this video, Lambic didn’t miss it either.

When finishing off Grom with the swamp giant, Eile used attack-type divine magic, not a normal skill.

With high-level editing skills, they managed to hide the identity of the finishing blow well without abruptly cutting off the video, but even Bloody Jik Studio’s skills couldn’t completely hide it from the eyes of high rankers.

‘That was quite a large-scale magic too.’

Due to the editing, it was impossible to know exactly what skill it was.

Moreover, she couldn’t easily guess why an Inquisitor could use such high-firepower divine magic.

Warlord was full of a huge number of skills, items, and other variables, and there was nothing she could be sure of with just this.

“Could it be a legendary skill?”

“Even so, that’s a bit…”

“I’m just saying.”

Legendary skills were only a handful even among all users, and no one thought that an individual user would have obtained one.

Karin, the leader of the six major guilds, only had one legendary skill.

“Anyway, I’ve definitely confirmed his level.”

Karin said simply.

Eile was already at a level where he could be active as an actual force, not just a rookie.

And as time went on, he would catch up with the gap at an even faster rate and show even more power.

“Then… shall we slowly bring him into our game?”

* * *

[You have recovered the second fragment of the ancient relic!]

[You have collected one of the four core fragments that make up the relic.]

[The divinity, ‘Luminary of Light,’ has acquired a vast amount of influence.]

[Favor of the Goddess +7.39% (Currently 151.41%)]

[Light Church Contribution +50,000]

[You have gained a large amount of experience!]

[Level Up!]

Splendid messages appeared in front of Eile.

Having safely returned to the church, he had completed the mission to recover the relic.

With this, he had succeeded in recovering two core fragments of the relic on his own.

He was truly an executor who had achieved a tremendous feat.

[‘Luminary of Light, Lume,’ expresses infinite trust in her apostle!]

[‘Mother of Life’ grits her teeth and glares at her.]

‘6 out of 15…’

Leaving behind the now familiar struggles of the divinities, Eile checked the church’s relic recovery status.

Including the other relic fragments found inside the continent, the Light Church had recovered a total of six fragments.

It was by far the most advanced among the six churches of Warlord.

Of course, he couldn’t be satisfied with just this.

‘It’s not over yet. There are two core fragments left.’

What remained were the Eastern Wilderness and the Western Desert.

To find the next relic without delay, it was best to move as quickly as possible.

In fact, by now, someone might have already taken one of them.

The users aiming for the southern relic were suffering, not even dreaming that Eile had already taken it.

‘By the way, what the hell is going on with the six major guilds?’

In the meantime, as he completed his mission and returned, the situation on the Warlord continent became even more chaotic than before.

In particular, the news of the ancient spirit that suddenly appeared in the northeastern region was shocking.

It was supposed to be a world quest that would end safely, but as the prince’s plot unfolded, one ancient spirit began to run wild.

As a result, one side of the Griffin’s territory was completely devastated.

If only the ancient spirit had appeared, it would have been one thing, but it happened during the already overwhelming all-out war with Apollyon, so it was truly a total disaster.

The tide of the war had completely turned.

If things continued like this, one pillar of the six major guilds would inevitably collapse.

‘But the real problem is that the other side is unmoved even in this situation…’

The Dawn and Nightmare guilds, which were already at war, naturally couldn’t move.

But the other two guilds.

The Iron Cross and Cerberus were not intervening in this situation without any action.

In Eile’s opinion, these were things he couldn’t understand at all.

Just then, a call came from the Iron Cross, whom he had contacted in advance.

– I’m a bit busy right now, is there anything you need?

“Sir?”

Sir’s voice came just as he was wondering.

As if he was in battle, shouts and clanging sounds could be faintly heard.

“Perfect timing. What’s going on? One side of the guild is collapsing, why isn’t the Iron Cross moving? If Apollyon swallows the entire northeast, it will be unmanageable.”

– It’s not that we’re not moving. We can’t move. We’re completely tied up.

“Tied up means…”

– Yes, Cerberus has declared war.

“No way.”

Eile’s expression hardened at the shocking news.

Cerberus had declared war on the Iron Cross instead.

‘No… even though we were rivals in the previous game, it shouldn’t be to this extent?’

Cerberus and the Iron Cross, two prestigious guilds in Armenia Online [presumably the previous game the characters played].

As much as they fought for the top spot in one game, the two were naturally not on good terms.

But they weren’t so hostile that they would wage war on each other at this point.

‘What the hell are they up to…?’

It was an incomprehensible situation.

Even if he assumed that there were backroom deals, condoning this level of expansion would be fatal to Cerberus in the end.

Furthermore, even though Cerberus’s guild leader, Yuron, was known to be a hothead, he was by no means incapable of thinking.

But Sir, who had been declared war on, said as if he didn’t care.

– Actually, I was expecting it to some extent. That’s why I traded with the Light Church, even handing over the relic first.

“Could it be that you expected this when you made the deal last time…”

– Yes, I’ll have to move soon.

Crack!

A chilling sound came from beyond the messenger.

Fortunately, it wasn’t the sound of Sir being attacked.

– By the way, did you recover the southern relic?

“I just finished recovering it. Why?”

– We happen to have some useful information on our side. The other two core relics, the Eastern and Western ones, are in the hands of the six major guilds. The Nightmare and Apollyon guilds have recovered them.

“…It’s complicated.”

– Yes, the situation is complicated.

The church had to obtain the core fragments of the relic.

But to think that the remaining two core fragments would end up in the hands of the six major guilds.

Whether it was through trade or force, the time had come to step directly into the giant battlefield where giants were fighting.

“Sigh, I didn’t plan on stepping out this early.”