Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 209

209. The Tumultuous Field (7)

The floor and walls were a chaotic mess of destruction.

It was the aftermath of a fierce battle between two users.

However, there was no fallen corpse at the end of that battle.

The fight ended with Apollyon’s fighter, Rucan, retreating first.

“Haa…”

Alisa sighed in relief as Rucan completely disappeared.

She managed to save her life by maintaining her composure and bluffing.

By the time Rucan left, the duration of the Origin skill Alisa had been using had already ended.

If she had to face Rucan with only normal buffs and without the effects of Origin, it would have been too much for her.

If they had fought to the end, she would have undoubtedly lost.

‘Besides, he was holding back one skill…’

Alisa was almost certain.

What Rucan showed was definitely not his full power.

Aside from the already known Kruger, founding members like Silas or Rucan would each have at least one legendary skill.

Whether it was due to the cooldown or to avoid exposing his full power, it was likely a skill he couldn’t afford to use on her.

Fwoosh!

Alisa brought up the screen to check the rankings.

As if proving it, Alisa’s ranking, which had soared due to this battle, remained outside the top 30.

She had to capitalize on her strengths as a healer with excellent sustainability, but the fatal flaw was that the duration of her core skill, ‘Origin,’ would end if the fight dragged on.

It was only natural since she was trying to perform other roles beyond supporting in battle.

Unless the opponent was clearly two levels below her, there were clear limits to her abilities in her current state, no matter how skilled she was.

Swish.

As she scrolled down the screen, the names of other high-rankers appeared in a row.

The ranking window was, as expected, filled with guild members from Apollyon.

The newly entered high-rankers were all familiar faces, and all of them were key players who had been active in Alcyone.

The fact that Apollyon’s guild members occupied more than half of the high-rankers, not even including the rankers from Cerberus, who were essentially on the same side, revealed a significant difference in power.

A difference that could feel bleak.

However, the moment Alisa’s gaze reached the end of that list of high-rankers, her expression completely changed.

“This is…”

Eile’s name was shining brightly in the last spot of the top ranks within the top 100.

The fact that Eile’s ranking, which had risen sharply in the meantime, had entered the top 100.

The meaning of that was simple, and a faint smile appeared on Alisa’s lips.

* * *

Kugugugung!

The already shattered ruins collapsed once more, emitting a tremendous noise.

An area engulfed in flames and reduced to scorched earth.

A single user stood before it.

“What…”

Eile couldn’t hide his surprise at the power of the skill he had unleashed.

The effect of the legendary skill he had newly acquired was enormous.

Increased stats, reduced skill cooldowns, and the removal of casting time for divine magic.

In particular, the removal of casting time had even greater significance.

Thanks to the synergy with another legendary skill, ‘Zeal of the Seeker,’ it possessed power far beyond its original effect.

Originally, Inquisitors, who focused on strength and agility, could only use divine magic for healing or support.

However, Eile was now able to use all the high-powered divine magic he was learning with maximum power and without casting time.

‘Yes, it was definitely amazing. But…’

However, the final move that decisively ended this battle was not that.

Rather, before he could even properly utilize that advantage, another variable ended the fight.

After using the ‘Goddess’s Grace’ skill.

The ‘Goddess’s Authority’ skill, which he had used thinking it was just a simple active skill, was a little different from what he had imagined.

After feeling a brief moment of bewilderment after activating the skill, he used it almost unconsciously.

The power and range were beyond expectations.

As much as Eile himself hadn’t expected it, it was a move that Slek, who was on the receiving end, hadn’t anticipated either.

As a result, Slek couldn’t even react, and the building in front of the ruins was completely swept away, ending the fight.

Whirrrl!

The flames above the scorched earth still hadn’t died down.

Slek’s corpse lay buried in the collapsed ruins.

[You have acquired an item!]

Eile approached and picked up the money and items he had dropped, then immediately stood up.

‘Anyway… I’ve come this far, but it’s not over yet.’

With Seia back on his back, he began to move through the underground ruins.

He was excited by the absurd effects of the new skill, but now was not the time to indulge in such emotions.

Until he completely finalized his next move, his life was in danger, as if he could die at any moment.

“You, you are!”

“Oh no…!”

As expected, as soon as he turned the corner, he unfortunately ran into two men who came running.

They were two high-rankers from Apollyon who had come down here.

Eile felt a sense of despair at their appearance as they drew their weapons and rushed towards him.

‘Damn it, if I only had the Grace skill, I could give it a try…’

The problem was that the cooldown for the ‘Goddess’s Grace’ skill was six hours.

It was a skill cooldown system in Warlord that rarely went by the hour, but frankly, it was understandable that this skill was an exception.

If he could use such a skill at any time, it would be a clear imbalance, and a corresponding risk would follow.

‘What should I do…’

Eile’s eyes darted back and forth in this unfavorable situation.

Without the variable of a legendary skill, there was no way he could win against two high-rankers at the same time.

The two rankers, who had surrounded him on both sides, slowly narrowed the distance without showing any openings.

Kwaaaang!

At that moment, a huge black spear suddenly plunged into the floor.

The ground shook from the impact, and dust rose violently, along with thick smoke.

Pshooo!

A man’s hand appeared from the smoke and grabbed Eile by the scruff of his neck.

Eile, startled, tried to struggle, but it was Neshua, not an enemy, who had appeared from the smoke.

“You…!”

Tuck!

Neshua silenced the surprised Eile.

“What’s going on all of a sudden…!”

The voices of the bewildered rankers could be heard beside him.

Getting out of here first was the priority, and he followed Neshua to shake off the rankers.

“Haa…”

After gaining some distance, Eile was finally able to take a breather as they hid in a small room inside the ruins.

The ruins area below the Path of Roots was a very large area, not as extensive as the numerous passages that branched out everywhere, but not far behind.

It wasn’t a place where they could be easily discovered right away.

However, since the guys who had been stubbornly chasing them had come this far, they couldn’t let their guard down.

The rankers who had missed them were still searching for them with fire in their eyes.

Moreover, Apollyon’s rankers who had heard from them would soon join them.

“Thanks for saving me. How did you find this place?”

Eile asked as he laid the princess down in a suitable spot.

He had never expected that Neshua, who was not affiliated with the Six Guilds, would appear in this place.

「That’s for later. Of course, you’ve calculated a way out, right? Tell me which way the exit is.」

Neshua scribbled with a quill and held out the parchment.

As it was a situation where they needed to get out as quickly as possible, he also urged Eile.

However, Eile shook his head.

“Of course I have something in mind… but there are items I need to find before I get out.”

Fwoosh!

Eile waved his hand and shared the screen.

Then, after transmitting the internal map of the Path of Roots that he had 미리 [previously], he even marked the location.

“Hey, you’re good at hiding your presence, right?”

Neshua nodded at Eile’s question.

From Eile’s experience, he simply thought it was an outstanding skill, but in fact, his ability to hide his presence was a special ability possessed only by the apostles of the Order of Shadows.

No thief who had invested in stealth could hide their presence better than Neshua.

「I roughly understand what you mean. What do I need to bring from here?」

“It’s an item called the Orb of Trees. It’s in the form of a purple sphere… anyway, you’ll know it when you see it. There are probably about five of them placed on the altar, so just take them all and bring them.”

「What are you going to use that for?」

“I need it right now. It’s an item that kills the presence of plants, not people.”

「What? What does that mean?」

Neshua’s eyes, filled with questions, looked at Eile.

However, Eile pushed him on the back, urging him.

“There’s no time to explain leisurely now. I also need something called the Crushing Sword, so I’ll mark the location for you, so go get it quickly. Oh, I’ll mark a different place to meet again, not here.”

「No, wait…….」

Neshua was pushed out of the room by Eile.

Neshua shook his head after coming out of the room and let out a sigh.

The location coordinates that Eile marked on the map were accurate, and thanks to his skill, avoiding the eyes of the searching rankers was not a difficult task.

‘I feel like I’m being used, but…’

Anyway, Neshua collected both items.

Then he headed to the rendezvous point that Eile had marked at the end.

“You’re here. Thanks for your hard work.”

「Is there a reason why you wanted to meet here? It’s an easy place to get caught because it’s in the center.」

“You’ll know when you see it.”

As Eile reached out his hand, Neshua quietly handed over all five orbs that he had brought.

After receiving them, Eile first instructed them to each take one orb and keep it directly in their bodies, not in their inventory.

“Okay, what’s next?”

「Here.」

And then he took out the next item, the Crushing Sword.

It was an important quest item to break the seal, and Eile entered through a 미리 [previously] discovered passage.

It was a hidden place, but it was no problem for Eile, who already knew about it.

「Here is……?」

Neshua, who had entered a large room through the wall, blankly looked around.

Unrecognizable ancient writings were densely written on the ceiling and all the walls of the room.

The huge sealing formation drawn on the floor was emitting a subtle red light.

It was a place that didn’t look ordinary at all.

Eile, who had approached the center of it, stood in the center of the sealing formation.

Clang!

As he forcefully stabbed the Crushing Sword into the sealing formation, the red light fluctuated and emitted a strange sound.

Not only that.

Drrrrr!

The letters written on the wall were erased, and the ground shook violently.

It was the appearance of a powerful seal being gradually 解除 [unsealed].

However, as soon as the sealing formation completely disappeared, the shaking of the ground subsided, and nothing unusual appeared.

「The seal is broken, but why aren’t any monsters appearing?」

“They’ve already appeared. It seems like they’ve just woken up and are still half-asleep.”

「It doesn’t look like it.」

Neshua frowned as he looked around.

There wasn’t even a single bug, let alone a monster.

Then Eile smiled and said to him.

“This ‘Path of Roots’ that we’re in is not just a simple passage as it appears on the outside. It’s an extremely difficult dungeon… or to be more precise, it’s inside the body of a giant monster.”

“What……?”

Neshua, startled, looked at Eile.

Even throughout the entire continent, dungeon-type monsters were a very rare type.

There was no such thing as a dungeon getting up and moving as a whole, but the entire dungeon was inside the body of a monster, and each one boasted a large scale and terrible difficulty.

「But there hasn’t been a dungeon-type monster of this size yet.」

“It was created based on an average level 260 raid party. The estimated recommended number of people is at least 100 people with a well-organized first-tier raid party.”

「Then…….」

“Yes. Even if everyone inside here is a ranker, they’ll have to suffer quite a bit if they don’t want to die.”

Kiiiiii!

The dungeon shook and emitted a tremendous noise.