Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 7

Level Up Heretic Inquisitor – Episode 7 (7/227)

7. Rue’s Follower (2)

[You have leveled up!]

As the monsters’ corpses littered the ground, Aile reached level 4.

Swish! He spun the sword, shaking off the blood, and slung it over his shoulder.

“This is amazing!”

Aile exclaimed, looking around at the three Horned Rabbits he had taken down simultaneously, their corpses scattered about.

Even though it was his own fight, he felt a difference that was on another level compared to using a regular sword.

Maintaining distance from monsters was easy, and sweeping away multiple enemies at once was also simple.

If he got used to the greatsword-type weapon, which he was using for the first time, and refined his control a little more, he felt like he could create tremendous synergy.

‘They say you find your ultimate weapon when you play Warlord… is this what they were talking about?’

Warlord had so many different weapons, and even within a single job, there were many weapons to choose from.

Therefore, finding a weapon that suited the user was very important.

In Aile’s case, it was this greatsword, with its refreshing impact and considerable power. Above all, the feeling of it fitting perfectly in his hand was amazing.

Warlord guaranteed the best fun among virtual reality games, so for Aile, who was a game fanatic, it was no different from a drug.

‘How great would it be if I could just enjoy it day and night without worrying about making a living.’

Aile clicked his tongue as if he was disappointed.

The market had grown so much that there were many people who made a living as professional players, and once you joined a decent-sized guild, you could earn a salary high enough to make a large corporation look like a joke.

Of course, the stability was not comparable to a typical job, but the fact that such earnings were possible even without being affiliated with a large guild or being a top-tier player was a good indicator of how much Warlord had grown commercially.

However, Aile couldn’t even dream of such a life.

He was a latecomer who started a whole year late, and he was living a day-to-day life where he had to go to work at a convenience store tomorrow to make a living.

‘Still, I have enough money to spare for the time being, and I can play the game that I thought I would never be able to play for the rest of my life, so I’m happy.’

“Kyaaak!”

“Huh?”

Just as he was content with his situation, he heard a woman’s scream from the other side of the hunting grounds.

Aile immediately ran in the direction of the sound.

It wasn’t because he thought it was a great opportunity to get an item.

He simply wanted to find out what was going on.

“Kiiik!”

“Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry! I was wrong, so go away!”

As he got closer, he saw a woman being chased by two large Horned Rabbits.

Judging from the corpse at the entrance, it seemed that more people were challenging this place with courage than he thought.

Of course, it seemed that most of them were dying from the recklessness of beginners who had just started.

“Sa… Save me!”

The woman cried out desperately when she found Aile.

Seeing her eyes filled with tears, it seemed that even in a virtual reality game, being crushed to death by a monster was scary.

Aile didn’t hesitate and stepped forward, drawing his greatsword.

It wasn’t any other case; she had directly asked him for help, so it was better to save her this time.

Clang!

Aile’s greatsword, swung with all his might, split the Horned Rabbit’s head.

The strike, imbued with more power than a normal sword, stunned the creature, and Aile immediately shifted his gaze to the side.

Rather than forcibly finishing off an enemy that was already incapacitated, he suppressed the other one aiming for him before it regained its senses.

Whoosh!

The angry Horned Rabbit’s horn aimed for Aile, but cut through the air.

Aile continued to maintain his distance and retreated, and the moment he saw an opening, he immediately thrust his greatsword deep into it.

Thwack!

The movements of the creatures, fatally wounded, noticeably slowed, and Aile, who had taken the initiative, was able to unravel the fight entirely at his own pace.

Soon, the notorious two monsters turned into corpses and lay scattered on the floor.

[You have successfully rescued a vulnerable person in danger!]

[‘Rue, the Light Arbiter,’ smiles upon your righteous actions.]

[Goddess’s Favor +0.11% (Currently 50.11%)]

[Light Order Contribution +25]

[Faith Stat +0.8]

‘Just as I thought…….’

Aile nodded as if he knew it would happen.

In Warlord, if you had faith, you needed to adjust your play style to match the characteristics of that god.

Perhaps if he had left the woman who had asked for help to die, aiming for the item as he originally would have, the ‘Goddess’s Favor’ stat would have dropped several times the amount it increased.

So Aile gave up the items and money he could have looted and saved the woman, and he was able to get even more rewards.

[Goddess’s Favor has exceeded 50%.]

[The benevolent goddess’s blessing dwells in your body.]

[Combat-related stats, very slight increase.]

With the notification window, a warm energy briefly lingered around Aile’s body and then disappeared.

‘0.11 percent……. Not bad.’

Goddess’s Favor.

It was an important reason why players, who were thoroughly self-centered, acted in accordance with their teachings as believers, the reason why they tried to have faith, and at the same time, the reason why they were reluctant to have faith.

The Favor stat, which was only created when a player followed a faith, could give powerful blessings or curses depending on the value.

If the Favor stat fell below 50 percent, they would be burdened with fatal debuffs by the angry deity, and conversely, if it exceeded 50 percent, they would be given buffs that were very helpful in playing.

The types of curses and blessings received were different for all seven deities, but in the case of ‘Rue,’ whom Aile had chosen, both were known to be powerful.

If she liked the player and they received a blessing, she would increase all detailed stats related to combat, and it would become more powerful as the Favor stat increased.

However, despite such powerful benefits, there was a reason why she was one of the two least popular deities among the seven.

The fatal flaw was that maintaining the Favor stat was terribly difficult.

Because she was an insanely fundamentalist god, she demanded a lot, and the amount that dropped when you violated her teachings or didn’t fulfill her requests was also unmatched.

If you showed evil deeds in front of her or had accumulated karma, she would urge you to kill even your guild members and party members if anything went wrong, making it impossible to enjoy normal play while maintaining Favor.

Well, Aile knew all of that, and he had thought about how to play in general, but one peculiar thing caught his eye.

‘Rue smiles……. Was there even a phrase like this?’

The system message that appeared in front of him included the phrase that Rue smiled.

Originally, he had never heard that the name of the god would be directly mentioned in the status window just because the Favor stat had increased by this much.

Aile, who knew that only a mechanical message would appear, speculated that it might be related to the goddess awakening this time, and the woman, who had barely regained her senses, approached him and greeted him.

“Th… Thank you so much for helping me. You saved my life.”

“It’s nothing, it’s only natural.”

Aile smiled and replied.

It was a very brazen attitude considering that he had been thinking about the items and money she would drop until just now.

“Um, if it’s not too much trouble… can I add you as a friend?”

She blushed as if she was embarrassed and asked.

Even if they were players they were meeting for the first time, if they registered each other on their friend list, they could contact or meet each other again at any time.

“Add me as a friend?”

“Yes, yes. Or even just your name…….”

The woman, fidgeting with her hands in embarrassment, glanced at Aile’s information window.

Even if they were other players, they could view each other’s basic information.

Name: Aile

Faction: Order of Light (Rue)

Level: 4

Class: Heretic Inquisitor

“Oh… Oh?”

The time it took to read the simple information window was quick, and when she realized that the man in front of her was a follower of Rue, her face turned pale.

Even if they were beginners, their notoriety was so widespread that players who were interested in Warlord couldn’t help but know about it.

Moreover, she had heard advice from an acquaintance not to get involved with those who believed in Rue, saying that they were all crazy fanatics.

“I’m… I’m sorry!”

The woman, her face ashen, ran away without looking back.

Aile stared blankly at her retreating figure as she left the hunting grounds.

“Come to think of it, I didn’t set it to private.”

Aile let out a hollow laugh and immediately set his user information to private.

If you set information viewing to private in advance, other users would not be able to read it.

‘I expected this to happen……. It’s going to be difficult to join a party later.’

As expected, Rue’s followers were a target of avoidance for users, on par with professional griefers [players who intentionally harass or disrupt other players’ gameplay].

He had set his information disclosure to private so that passing users wouldn’t notice, but when joining a party or recruiting party members, sharing each other’s information was a mandatory step.

Due to the nature of Warlord, where there were no penalties for player-to-player attacks or killings, confirming the trustworthiness of the person you were entrusting your back to was the most basic thing.

In particular, once you reached a certain level, it was difficult to deceive them moderately, as they would search and check not only the level and affiliation but also the equipment status and user reputation.

“Oof…….”

Aile, kneeling on one knee, picked up the items from the monsters he had caught and sorted out his next schedule while parting the corpses.

‘I was going to go to the next hunting ground after reaching level 5, so if I do a little more… no, no. If I go back now and complete the quest, that would be good.’

Aile realized that there was a quest he could complete now, and only after diligently collecting the last item did he get up from his seat.

Then, to head back to the city, he avoided the monsters in various places and left the hunting grounds.

But just then, a man who suddenly appeared from behind grabbed Aile’s shoulder.

“Hey! Just a moment.”