Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 61

61. Luck and Skill (1)

[Collection of Major News in the Esmair Region]

[Report on the Trends of the Six Great Guilds]

[List of Recent Ranker Ranking Changes]

[Detailed Structure and Strategy of the New Dungeon, Lehelheim]

[Compilation of World Quest Clues]

A list of items was displayed on Aile’s personal interface, and Aile, who was riding in the carriage, was reading them all, meticulously going through each one.

Although his next destination wasn’t far, he made sure to use every spare moment to gather information.

To survive in this world, it was crucial to never neglect gathering information.

After blinking his tired eyes, he raised his head. The destination, now much closer, began to come into view.

“Haha, what a sight.”

A smile naturally graced his face at the magnificent spectacle before him.

The canyon, towering from the plains he had crossed, filled his vision. The huge fortress walls, standing between the steep cliffs on both sides, showcased their majestic presence.

Adding to the atmosphere, a hazy mist swirled around the towering walls, emphasizing their height.

He had seen many wonderful sights while playing Warlord, including Queen’s Blonde, the Tomb of the King, and the White Forest, but each time he ventured into a new area, he was greeted with amazing scenery.

Dalgudak, Dalgudak!

The carriage entered through the open gate, the sound of horse hooves echoing.

The carriage Aile was riding in seemed like an ant compared to the countless people passing through the canyon.

Calpea Gate.

It was an important intermediate base, connecting the two major cities of Rockporter and Dubel. As the only passage that easily crossed the cliffs cutting through the nearby plain and blocking traffic, many people had no choice but to stop by.

On one side, merchant players moving for trade sat together, resting. On the other side, an army in black armor was stationed.

They were the same Nightmare-affiliated NPCs guarding the fortress walls. As an important base near the border area, it wasn’t just NPCs guarding this place.

Dozens of guild members from Nightmare’s sub-guild, ‘Windshear,’ could be seen passing by Aile on horseback.

‘Horses…….’

While most people’s attention was drawn to the guild members, Aile’s eyes went to the sturdy warhorses they were riding.

Since horses allowed for more flexible and faster movement than carriages, they were a valuable asset for guilds.

However, it was difficult for individuals not in a guild to ride them.

Leaving aside the maintenance costs of feeding and managing them, in Warlord, if you innocently tied the reins to a tree in front of a hunting ground, they would most likely be stolen.

In other words, every time you moved, you had to stop by a town or city to leave or find your horse, and such restrictions were unwelcome.

Tak!

Aile got out of the carriage and looked around.

Although it was a structure built to defend the area, there were ample facilities beyond the tall fortress walls, making it no different from any large town.

With so many players coming and going, it was a place where guilds could earn more revenue than most towns or fortresses.

‘Where’s a place where players might gather… Found it.’

Aile headed to the plaza set up in one area.

Many players were gathered there, creating a lively atmosphere, and most were looking for companions to go hunting with.

“We’re looking for one last person for the Royal Crest party! We’re only looking for people level 30 and below!”

“Are there any healers?”

The Kalling Forest, where you could get the Royal Crest, was not far from Calpea Gate, and many people were forming parties to aim for it.

The Kalling Forest was a place where level 50 monsters appeared, so Aile, who was level 27, met the conditions to obtain the crest.

Above all, they were relatively weak among the monsters of the same level, so they were popular targets for parties aiming for the crest.

However, as always with Warlord, there were no hunting grounds where you could get good rewards while being easy.

Even if they were relatively weak, the problem was that a large number of monsters moved in groups.

No matter how good Aile was, it was obviously impossible to hunt alone, and even if he formed a party, it wouldn’t be easy.

‘Where should I go?’

Aile scanned the people and approached a party whose equipment looked decent.

It was a party with only two people gathered.

“Is there room in your crest party?”

“Ah! Yes, what’s your level and class?”

Danram, who had been looking elsewhere for a moment, greeted Aile and asked.

“I’m a level 27 swordsman.”

Aile answered, slightly raising his sword.

Danram immediately sent him a party invitation, saying it was perfect.

He looked like he had excellent equipment, and he didn’t seem like the type to be clueless, so there was no reason not to welcome him.

Originally, it was standard to open and check each other’s status windows, but this time, they skipped the stat check and screening.

It was a story that was possible in the early levels when there weren’t many things to worry about.

“I’m Danram, a level 28 White Knight. This person is Furyon, a level 29 Druid.”

“Ah, nice to meet you.”

Aile shook hands with them and exchanged brief introductions.

They were each in a suitable small guild, and as a result of Aile using his personal screen to search them, neither of them was involved in any crimes or had a bad reputation.

It didn’t seem like there was any need to worry about being backstabbed.

“Is the Druid a melee type?”

“No, I’m all-in on magic. I’m going as a ranged dealer.”

The special class, Druid, could take various paths depending on the skills and set the concept, but Furyon seemed to have invested thoroughly in nature magic.

“Now we just need one more person…….”

“Let’s just go with these three?”

“Hmm… Can we manage with just this?”

Danram, who was the party leader, hesitated for a moment at Furyon’s suggestion.

Originally, it was standard to include a support class in this combination.

“The melee dealer looks like he has good equipment, so wouldn’t it be possible? Plus, the tanker is a White Knight. I also have auxiliary healing, and I don’t think the potion costs will be that high.”

The knight class, White Knight, was Warlord’s representative pure tanker [a character specialized in absorbing damage and protecting allies].

Most of their exclusive skills were specialized in defense, and they also had auxiliary self-healing skills, so if they were in the same party, they would reliably take responsibility for the front line. If you were facing them as an enemy, they were notorious as zombie classes that wouldn’t die.

Of course, if there were advantages, there were also disadvantages.

Although the defense was high, the attack power itself was very low, so there was a serious problem with solo hunting, but thanks to the overall excellent performance and high demand, it was establishing itself as a popular class.

The Druid also had some auxiliary recovery skills, so he was suggesting that they should trust him and hunt without a dedicated healer.

‘That’s usually a good way to die… but since I’m here, it won’t matter.’

Inquisitor, White Knight, Druid.

Even though it was a hastily formed party, the balance was quite good.

Even though they were heading to a difficult hunting ground that was 20 levels higher, it didn’t seem like a major disaster would occur unless there was a very serious weak link.

Of course, he didn’t forget that he had to be careful because he didn’t know what would happen since he was working with players he didn’t know at all.

“Then let’s get started.”

* * *

Kieeeek!

A four-legged monster rushed in with a loud cry.

Aile and his party members, heading to the hunting ground, encountered a ghoul that had strayed from the group at the entrance of the forest. The ghoul rushed at them as soon as it saw them.

The ghoul scratched Danram’s shield and aimed for his head with its wide-open mouth.

“Ugh! This is no joke!”

Even though it was rampaging without any skill, Danram’s body staggered because the monster’s strength was so great.

That’s because the opponent was a level 50 monster.

No matter how much armor a knight class wore and invested in defense, it couldn’t last long while receiving a difference of more than 20 levels head-on.

Of course, Aile didn’t leave the situation unattended.

Puk!

Aile quickly turned around and stabbed his long sword into the monster’s back, and the ghoul fell away from Danram as if it had been bounced off.

It was a direct hit in the back, but it didn’t do much damage with just one hit.

The undead monster, Ghoul, wasn’t particularly durable, but the difference in basic stats due to the level difference couldn’t be ignored.

Tak!

The ghoul lightly kicked the ground and floated up, raising both arms.

Unlike before, this time it was aiming for Aile, who had stabbed it.

Anyone could tell because of the blatant look in its eyes that were burning with hatred, and Danram, who saw it, raised his shield and intervened.

Peok!

The ghoul, knocked away with a dull sound, staggered and collapsed to the ground.

It was lightly stunned by Danram’s shield strike skill.

It wasn’t a skill that did a lot of damage, but it was enough to create an opening by inflicting a status abnormality.

Kwagwagwang!

A streak of dazzling green light stretched out and struck the ghoul and the ground.

It was Furyon’s nature magic that he had been casting from behind.

Compared to simply shooting a bow or swinging a weapon, attack magic, which generally requires a lot of preparation time, could do a lot of damage accordingly.

The same was true of the Druid’s attack magic that had just been cast.

In addition, Aile’s long sword greatly slashed the ghoul’s chest.

The damage was dealt in a big way in an instant, and the ghoul hurriedly got up, but the party continued to push it, continuing the momentum.

Danram, the main tanker, drew attention and took the attacks from the front, while Aile, who was in the second line, dug into the gaps and dealt damage. In the meantime, Furyon, who had finished casting, struck the ghoul with the final blow with the next magic.

“Nice!”

“That was clean.”

When the ghoul, whose stamina was exhausted, completely fell, the party members gathered in a friendly atmosphere.

Everyone had a proud look on their faces, satisfied that they had caught a level 50 monster without much damage, even though it was said to be on the weak side.

It wasn’t bad even from Aile’s standards.

Unlike his initial concerns, all of the party members didn’t fall too far behind and seemed to be competent.

Thanks to encountering a ghoul that was alone before entering the hunting ground in earnest, it became a good practice run.

“Oh…….”

At that time, Furyon suddenly stopped in his place.

Danram asked what was wrong, but he didn’t even hear the voice calling him, and his eyes were fixed on one place.

“Uh… uh? Where are you going!”

Furyon, who had found something in the bushes, started running.

Aile and Danram followed him into the bushes, and there they were able to witness an unexpected sight.

“This is……?”

A corpse lying on the ground, bleeding black blood.

It was the corpse of a dead deer.