Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 6

6. Ru’s Follower

Thwack!

Aiel’s sword lodged itself in the neck of a Horned Rabbit.

[You have leveled up!]

[You have acquired the title ‘One Who Chose the Difficult Path’!]

[When equipped, all basic stats +5.]

“Exactly twenty. Precise.”

The title ‘One Who Chose the Difficult Path’ could be obtained by soloing 20 Horned Rabbits before reaching level 5. It was created for beginners who started in Dubel and chose dangerous hunting grounds to defeat formidable foes.

Aside from production jobs, there weren’t many ways to acquire useful titles early on. This title, which evenly boosted all four basic stats—Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Magic Power—held considerable value.

It was one of the main reasons Aiel had been somewhat ambitious in selecting his hunting ground.

Now that he had leveled up, he opened his status window and invested his points.

Name: Aiel

Title: One Who Chose the Difficult Path

Faction: Order of Light

Level: 3

Class: Inquisitor

Major Stats

Strength: 25(+5) Dexterity: 22(+5) Constitution: 23(+5) Magic Power: 20(+5) Faith: 0.2 Madness: 0

Passives

N/A

Actives

N/A

‘One Who Chose the Difficult Path’ Title Effect – All basic stats +5

He received a total of 10 bonus points from leveling up twice, and Aiel distributed them appropriately among Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution.

Magic Power, the stat for mages, increased magic attack power as well as maximum mana, but for Aiel, who used a sword, investing solely for mana was a waste.

His stats were still low, and he had no active skills, making him look quite pathetic, but there was a certain satisfaction in building it up piece by piece.

War Lord skills had a significant impact on combat, but they weren’t automatically acquired; instead, one had to obtain skill books separately.

Because of this, even users of the same class could have completely different play styles depending on their skills and weapons.

‘Still, even though it’s early on, leveling up twice with just twenty… it’s quite rewarding.’

The more difficult the challenge, the greater the reward for taking the risk.

That was the War Lord’s way.

Depending on the play style chosen by the player, the leveling speed and character specs could vary dramatically.

The thousand rankers listed on the War Lord official website were over level 200, whereas among ordinary users, even exceeding level 100 was enough to be treated as a skilled player. The gap based on skill was significant, even with the same time investment.

‘Exactly the kind of thing I like.’

Aiel hummed a tune and approached the limp Horned Rabbit.

He rummaged through the corpse, looting the items it had dropped.

– You have acquired an item!

[Mutated Horn (Common)]

[14 Cron]

‘Nothing special this time either.’

Luck wasn’t exactly on his side in this hunting ground.

Even after catching twenty, there wasn’t even low-level equipment, let alone valuable material items; just ordinary junk items.

However, even after looting the dropped money and items, the Horned Rabbit’s corpse remained.

Here, one could acquire items once more by disassembling the monster’s corpse.

Of course, most users didn’t bother to dig into monster corpses.

Whether it was too much of a hassle to collect each piece, a waste of time, or simply disgusting, disassembly was often skipped unless one had a production job.

After all, the primary route for obtaining money and useful items was the initial basic looting.

But Aiel didn’t do that.

He took out the disassembly dagger that was provided by default and cut open the corpse.

He tore the skin, dug out the flesh, and removed the bones.

It took time and effort, but it was well worth it.

– You have acquired an item!

[Magic-Infused Red Eyeball (Rare)]

[Low-Quality Bone Fragment (Lowest Grade)]

[Low-Quality Rabbit Meat (Lowest Grade)]

“Sometimes, you get something decent like this.”

Aiel chuckled and pocketed the items.

A rare-grade item, not commonly seen, had appeared.

It was an item of a level that was hard to come by at this level, and it was a very large income that surpassed what he had hunted so far.

Moreover, the ‘Magic-Infused Red Eyeball’ item he had just obtained was not only used as a material for high-grade doping potions [potions that temporarily enhance stats] that enhanced the player’s stats for a certain period of time, but it was also an item required by quests with good rewards.

Aiel happened to know where the quest requiring the red eyeball was located within the city.

As soon as the hunt was over, he was planning to visit the NPC [Non-Player Character] to clear the quest for free.

Grumble!

His satiety was hitting rock bottom, so Aiel went to a safe corner and lit a bonfire.

Then, he roasted three pieces of Horned Rabbit meat he had obtained from hunting.

He had bread and water provided as a basic supply of 30 each, but it was good to get into the habit of being self-sufficient in advance.

As the chunks of meat skewered on wooden sticks were almost cooked, Aiel closed his eyes and put his hands together in prayer.

Prayer was a very awkward thing for him, a thorough atheist, but he continued to pray from time to time, even checking the time.

Of course, these actions weren’t done without reason.

[Your faith deepens through consistent prayer!]

[Your Faith stat has increased! (Current 0.3)]

All classes in War Lord, aside from the four basic stats, had one exclusive stat each.

The exclusive stat, also known as the fifth stat, played a role in increasing the overall efficiency of the class’s skills. Among them, the Inquisitor, a dedicated class for followers of ‘Ru,’ had ‘Faith’ as their exclusive stat.

‘Faith,’ which was basically influenced by the player’s actions related to belief in God, could be raised in several ways, not just through prayer. Typically, completing quests or handling tasks for the Order were representative methods.

‘Originally, I wasn’t planning on joining the Order and doing this… but if that goddess really saved me from there, I’m grateful…’

It would be impossible to pray sincerely as if dealing with real gods, but he could offer prayers filled with gratitude.

However, the problem was the Madness stat, which occupied the 6th slot among Aiel’s stats. He had no idea what effect this stat had at all.

Aiel had never even heard of a stat with this name in the first place. He couldn’t invest points earned from leveling up, and it didn’t increase through hunting or praying.

Even when he tried to look at the detailed explanation of the stat, only the phrase ‘inactive stat’ kept appearing.

For now, he had given up on finding out about the Madness stat, and Aiel picked up the cooked meat and took a big bite.

‘I’ve always wondered what it would taste like, and this is it.’

The first time he had eaten War Lord food. The monster’s meat wasn’t bad at all, contrary to his expectations.

Since he didn’t have any cooking-related skills, it wasn’t really delicious, but it was worth savoring.

‘The next hunting ground is Lambroi Forest… or would the Forbidden Ruins be better?’

Aiel continued to think about the next route while chewing.

Compared to when he was a student and a hardcore gamer, he couldn’t invest as much time now due to livelihood issues, so he planned to move much more efficiently.

Even if it was just a hobby, his personality wouldn’t allow him to enjoy it without doing it properly.

‘The ruins where ‘heretics’ are likely to be… would be better…’

“Kuaaak!”

Just as he was about to bite off the last piece, a human scream came from the opposite side.

Aiel, intrigued by the sound, perked up his ears, shoved the meat into his mouth, and jumped up from his seat.

Heading in the direction of the sound, he saw a panting Horned Rabbit and the corpse of a man lying beneath it.

The user had already died and been forcibly logged out, and Aiel drew his sword and approached the monster.

The Horned Rabbit, enraged by the battle, charged fiercely at him, but Aiel, with his innate gaming sense, was already familiar with its patterns and was able to subdue it without much trouble.

Thwack!

“Kieeek!”

As the Horned Rabbit bled and slumped to the ground, Aiel approached the man who had died first.

‘Since the pros waiting outside will take everything anyway…’

Once dead, recovering the dropped money and items was as good as impossible.

Good things are good, Aiel rummaged through the man’s corpse.

– You have acquired an item!

[Baren Longsword (Superior)]

[Low-Grade Health Potion x 6]

[1 Silver 54 Cron]

“Hmm, not bad?”

Aiel exclaimed as he examined the items.

Judging by the name of the weapon, it was an item that could be obtained from the Full Rabbits in the east of Dubel, and the man must have been hunting in that hunting ground and boldly came to catch the Horned Rabbits.

Having gained confidence while facing the easiest guys and leveled up a bit, he must have come aiming for the ‘One Who Chose the Difficult Path’ title.

But in the end, he died like this, becoming a Golden Goblin [a player who dies and drops valuable items] and handing over items to Aiel.

Not only the equipment but also six health recovery potions that he wanted to have, and Aiel was satisfied with the decent income and took out the newly acquired weapon from the inventory.

[Baren Longsword]

– Grade: Superior

– Type: Longsword

– Restriction: Level 2 or higher

– Physical Attack Power 3

– Strength +2

As expected, the weapon was among the best swords that could be obtained right now.

In War Lord, ordinary-grade equipment items that are easily accessible usually only have basic attack power or defense options, whereas stats or additional effects start to be added as you go to higher grades.

Superior was the stage right above the normal item, and seeing that the strength stat was attached to two at the current level, it was quite a well-statted weapon.

‘But it looks very different from what I used to use.’

The sword that was given as a basic to beginners was easy to swing and had a perfect standard shape, while the newly acquired weapon had a longer blade as the name longsword was attached.

This type of weapon usually had an advantage through superior reach, but it was often quite difficult to handle.

“Should I… try using it?”