Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 225

225. To the Top (6)

Clatter!

Eile yanked his weapon free from under the debris.

After sheathing his sword, he immediately headed towards Kruger, who was likely on his way to the princess, preparing to descend to the lower floor.

However, he wasn’t about to rush into a confrontation with Kruger without a proper plan.

No matter how powerful a pattern [a specific sequence of actions or attacks by a boss] was, every boss had a weakness.

And that applied to players as well.

Now that he knew Kruger’s hidden card, he could at least prepare for it.

“Do you have something in mind?”

At Ru’s question, Eile’s gaze shifted to his inventory.

Numerous skill books were piled up there.

Since they were untradeable, he had been steadily collecting them, never discarding any.

[Current Level – 251]

Before the fight with Kruger, Eile could learn a new skill.

Thanks to the experience and rewards he had gained from defeating the rankers one after another today, his level had exceeded 250.

Level 250 meant it was time to learn his 25th skill.

To realize one of the few possibilities Eile had in mind against Kruger, he needed to draw one of the desired skills here.

“I’m going to get a new skill here. But it’s only possible if a good skill comes out. The number of skill books is quite generous, but if the skill I’m thinking of doesn’t appear…”

Eile’s expression turned grim.

If luck wasn’t on his side, it would truly end before it even started.

Of course, he wouldn’t give up just because one skill didn’t appear, but a lot was at stake at this moment.

“Then…”

“Wait.”

The moment Eile, who had taken out a skill book, reached for it.

Ru grabbed his arm, stopping him.

As Eile looked at her, puzzled, her face turned red.

“Do you… need a buff?” [A buff is a temporary enhancement to a character’s abilities.]

* * *

The battle between those who remained to protect the princess and the Apollon guild members who had detoured was already over.

The bodies of rankers from both sides were scattered, and the traces of the fierce battle had devastated the castle.

Thud, thud!

Karin, collapsed on the floor, struggled to raise her head at the sound of footsteps.

She was in a near-death state, on the verge of death due to bleeding.

She hoped it was reinforcements from her allies who had gone upstairs.

However, what appeared before her eyes was Kruger, not Sird or Eile.

“To think you’d inflict this much damage before I arrived.”

Kruger looked around and marveled.

The enemies were all annihilated, but the damage to Apollon was just as significant.

Lucan, the top executive, was defeated, and all guild members except Silas were dead or collapsed.

The difference in the number of people involved was significant, but even considering that, it was clear that the damage exceeded expectations.

“It seems we underestimated you too much. You had quite the potential in games other than Isthorn.”

Kruger smiled and looked down at Karin.

It was the same kind smile that everyone had been deceived by before he revealed his true colors, hiding his true intentions.

“Eat shit…”

Thump!

Karin, who had run out of energy, collapsed.

With her death, only Kruger, Silas, and the princess remained in the blood-soaked corridor.

Then, the two approached Seia, who was left alone.

“Ugh…”

She was cornered against the wall and couldn’t retreat.

She managed to maintain a calm expression, but her body was trembling.

She sensed that death was approaching.

Kruger swung his sword at her without saying a word.

Clang!

But at that moment, Eile, who had broken through the ceiling, slammed down his longsword.

Kruger, who had stopped his sword, quickly retreated.

“You were alive? I thought I had finished cleaning up. Why did you show up here?”

“Why did I show up? There’s only one reason.”

“You should have sensed the difference in power, though?”

“I’m a bit insensitive.”

At Eile’s words, the corners of Kruger’s lips slightly rose.

“Then just a little more…”

“Kruger.”

Silas grabbed his shoulder.

The barrier outside was about to collapse.

There was no need to waste time and give them an opportunity.

With all the other guild members dead, they had to finish the job quickly without any variables.

“I have no choice.”

Kruger nodded and quickly relented.

He was going to enjoy fighting against a fellow synchronization rate user for the first time in a while, but he wasn’t foolish enough to not distinguish between public and private matters in this situation.

‘They’re both coming at me at the same time…’

Eile thought, sensing their intentions.

Kruger alone was terrifying, but he couldn’t possibly win against both of them attacking him simultaneously.

However, he hadn’t come down without considering this situation at all.

Whoosh!

The moment the two rushed towards him at the same time.

“It should be about time…”

Kwaaaang!

A huge explosion occurred in the wall, and Silas, who was nearby, was caught in the blast and slid back.

Everyone’s eyes turned to the rising smoke.

There stood Neshua, the apostle of Hin from the Shadow Order.

Just in time, the paralysis from the legendary skill’s backlash had worn off, and she had appeared at the right moment.

“I’ll take care of you.”

“What is this?”

Silas’s expression twisted.

He had never seen her before, let alone a ranker, and the fact that such a person dared to block him annoyed him.

However, Eile, who knew Neshua’s skills, could focus on Kruger with peace of mind.

He had to settle things while Neshua appeared and took care of one of them.

Clatter!

“Things have gotten interesting. Then, shall we see your skills?”

Their eyes met through the swords that collided head-on.

Eile immediately activated Overdrive and triggered the ‘Goddess’s Blessing’ skill.

Unlike Kruger, he couldn’t afford to test the waters.

Kwaaaang!

An explosion occurred with white light in close proximity.

‘Holy Explosion,’ a unique-grade attack skill.

It was originally an excellent attack skill with a short casting time and excellent damage, but thanks to the Goddess’s Blessing skill, it was used instantly without any delay.

Even Kruger couldn’t avoid the area attack used so close.

Swish!

Due to the damage and knockback, Kruger slid back.

Eile didn’t miss the opportunity and activated the next skill.

The chains of divinity that sprang from the floor wrapped around his body, and a giant sword of punishment fell from above.

Kwaaaang!

Kruger, whose body was bound, was caught in the explosion without fail.

No matter how fast his reaction speed was, he couldn’t avoid the instant skill unless he predicted the next move in advance.

Although it was limited to divine magic, this was the power of the instant option of the Goddess’s Blessing skill.

That wasn’t all.

Kruger tended to invest heavily in physical defense for efficiency.

To maximize the effect of offense and defense, he had no choice but to neglect magic defense relatively among the two defense systems.

“But you guessed wrong.”

Thump.

Kruger walked out of the explosion unscathed.

He was the player with the best specs among the current Warlords.

It was true that he took relatively more damage from magic attacks, but it wasn’t at a level that could be exploited as a weakness.

Even though he was hit directly by two unique-grade skills, only about 2% of his health was reduced.

No matter how much the Goddess’s Blessing skill had a cooldown reduction effect, it was impossible to use large skills frequently.

‘I knew it would be difficult anyway.’

Eile wasn’t at all flustered in this situation.

Rather, he became more aggressive and poured attacks on him.

Although it was a seemingly hopeless difference, Kruger was missing one legendary-grade attack skill.

Considering its power and range, the cooldown would be quite long.

It was clear that he wouldn’t be able to use it in this fight, at least because he used it upstairs.

Clang!

Under Eile’s lead, who was actively rushing in, offense and defense were exchanged.

Kruger easily brushed off most attacks unless they were skill attacks.

Shallow attacks that weren’t deep enough didn’t even scratch his armor.

Eile had invested in defense as well, but his durability was so high that damage didn’t easily get through.

Whoosh!

‘Ugh…’

On the other hand, Kruger’s attacks, which passed by threateningly, were heavy.

Clearly, Eile had considerable durability even when compared to the rankers of Warlords.

It was thanks to the overwhelming bonus of the Madness stat, the temporary stat boost of the Goddess’s Blessing skill, his own healing skill, and his heavy investment in physical resistance and defense.

But Kruger’s attack was more than that of an average professional damage dealer.

If he lightly allowed a few attacks as if he were dealing with a normal tank, he would be knocked out.

Clang!

After exchanging blows for over 7 minutes, Eile stepped back and gathered his hands.

He used the Chains of Divinity skill as soon as its cooldown ended.

Chains of light that pierced the floor bound Kruger.

‘Is it a magic attack again?’

It was a predictable pattern in a way.

But it was different from his expectations.

Eile, who had approached in an instant, swung his sword engulfed in holy fire.

‘Ilgum’ (One Flash).

It was a hero-grade physical attack skill.

Kwaaaa!

Kruger couldn’t withstand the intense impact and was knocked away.

It was a clear hit that completely threw off his balance for a moment.

“How…?”

A question arose on Kruger’s face, which was always full of composure.

As much as 10% of damage was dealt to his health, which hadn’t moved at all.

It was absolutely impossible considering his high physical defense stats.

“This one stung a little, right?”

“Could it be…?”

Kruger narrowed his brows and belatedly checked his status window.

Then he could see that his defense was already nearly halved.

It was still a high defense, but it was greatly reduced compared to the original value.

The name of the 25th skill Eile obtained was ‘Armor Shattering Art.’

It was a passive skill with the effect of reducing the enemy’s defense by a certain amount per hit.

Eile’s sword strikes, which seemed meaningless as they didn’t even scratch him while exchanging blows, had been accumulating one by one, eating away at the opponent’s defense.

“As you know, there’s no such thing as a skill without weaknesses.”

“…”

Kruger’s relaxed expression was stiff.

His legendary skill, the effect of offense and defense as one.

The decrease in defense led to a decrease in attack power.