Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 71

Light and Shadow (2)

The Warlord’s divinity wasn’t just limited to the ‘God of Light.’

Besides her, there were six other divinities, and likewise, six orders that followed them were established across the continent.

Silence and Darkness, the God of Quiet.

All three epithets referred to the divinity ‘Hin.’

If the Order of Light, following ‘Lu,’ was the second most unpopular order in the Warlord due to its extreme and radical tendencies, then the Shadow Order, following ‘Hin,’ was the least popular, beyond being merely unpopular.

The reason was clear.

‘Silence.’

The most significant penalty for a follower of the Shadow Order was the inability to speak under any circumstances.

If they accidentally opened their mouth and spoke, their ‘Favor of the Gods’ stat would drop significantly.

Communication would be cut off not just with a specific individual, but with everyone.

It was, without a doubt, the most dreadful penalty in Warlord, a fact to which everyone unanimously agreed, such was the Shadow Order’s reputation.

Swish.

The chilling frost of black light blooming on Neshua’s dagger was the most prominent indication that he was a follower of Hin and a ‘Shadow Watcher,’ the order’s exclusive class.

Just as the Inquisitor had the symbolic exclusive skill ‘Consecration,’ the Shadow Watcher had ‘Dark Frost.’

“Must be tough.”

「You too」

“……”

Ayle and Neshua fell silent for a moment, fully understanding each other’s difficulties without needing much conversation.

It was only natural for them to understand each other, being members of the Order of Light and the Shadow Order, both renowned for their exceptionally strong concepts among the orders with strong concepts.

[‘Lu, the Light Arbiter,’ expresses discomfort.]

[She believes you are becoming too friendly with a potential competitor.]

Basically, players from other orders were rivals to the Order of Light, and furthermore, the divinity ‘Hin,’ whom Neshua followed, was uniquely opposed to Lu.

The two divinities, standing at opposite ends of light and darkness, had an inseparable connection, yet they were wary of each other, leading to a complex relationship in many ways.

Of course, there were other divinities with contrasting attributes besides light and darkness, but this particular relationship was unique to them.

The goddess was displeased that her only apostle was flirting with a follower of Hin.

However, the situation was different for Ayle and Neshua, who were facing each other.

Although they belonged to different factions, they were still players, and they actually got along quite well.

They knew each other’s skills from their previous intense battle, and there was no need to create conflict or desperately attack each other in a situation where they were trapped in an unknown place.

Of course, if he were to brand the mark of heresy on his head or assign a special quest, conflict would be inevitable, but the relationship between Lu and Hin wasn’t that bad.

It was only a rivalry to a certain extent.

“What are you planning to do now?”

Ayle asked, opening his mouth first.

Neshua then continued the conversation by scribbling on his dagger again.

「Out first」

“And then?”

「Payback」 Neshua only scribbled out words, as creating proper sentences seemed too much of a hassle, and Ayle, who understood his meaning perfectly, chuckled.

“Sure, why not.”

[The party has been formed!]

The two men, who had been squatting, stood up simultaneously.

As the Holy Water’s effect wore off, the flames blocking the path disappeared, and monsters that had been eagerly waiting for it poured out from the passage.

Koo-eee-ik!

The reddish-skinned undead roared as they approached.

Drooling as they swarmed, eager to devour human flesh.

Tsutsutsutsu!

Whirr!

Black frost and white flames bloomed on their weapons.

And Ayle and Neshua kicked off the ground and charged towards them.

A horde of over a hundred monsters clashed fiercely with the two players.

Slash!

Ayle’s vigorously swung longsword bisected a gaping monster.

The path of the longsword that cut through the monster was followed by the white flames of Consecration, which the undead loathed, causing the surrounding monsters to hesitate.

However, the monsters surrounding them from all sides did not diminish easily.

Ayle, unfazed by the undead’s pressure, continued to move and cleave through them.

Meanwhile, a monster from behind targeted Ayle’s back, but before it could get close, its head was pierced by Neshua’s dagger, and it rolled on the floor.

The opposite situation was the same.

A monster targeting Neshua’s back was immediately blocked by Ayle, who chopped off its head.

They protected each other’s backs as they blocked the wave of monsters, and even though they had only just exchanged a half-hearted conversation, they continued to fight without worrying about what was behind them.

‘Level 28… A mob-type monster? Even so, it’s rare to see this many from the start.’

Even in the midst of the intense battle, Ayle checked the monsters’ status windows and gathered information.

The undead monsters he was facing all had different appearances except for the common trait of having reddish skin, but they were all level 28.

As undead monsters, they were vulnerable to holy and fire attributes, making it much easier for Ayle to deal with them.

After they each cleaved through dozens of monsters.

Thud!

The last monster finally fell.

“Hoo… We managed to hold out.”

Ayle, who had plunged his longsword into the ground, sighed in relief.

No one had died, and they had managed to win safely, but their appearance was a mess.

Sticky blood was smeared everywhere due to the long battle against the relentlessly attacking monsters.

However, surprisingly, it was all the blood of the undead monsters.

Despite their disheveled appearance, Ayle and Neshua had only lost a bit of health.

They had only taken a few attacks that they could easily shrug off, with only slight tears or scratches.

It was hard to believe that it was their first time playing in a party together, as their teamwork was so well-coordinated.

Furthermore, they were not showing much fatigue, only taking a short breather.

As if to prove it, Neshua, who had sheathed his dagger, didn’t even try to take a break and immediately headed towards the passage where the monsters had rushed in.

“Wait a moment…!”

But Ayle called out to him.

Neshua stopped abruptly and looked back with a puzzled expression, and Ayle pointed to the monsters’ corpses with an obvious expression.

“We have to loot before we go.”

The corpses of the monsters were shimmering with a faint light.

It was a sign that loot could be obtained, and there was no reason to pass it by.

Neshua nodded and sat on top of a monster’s corpse, waiting for Ayle with his arms crossed.

“…You don’t loot items?”

「Only bosses」

“Damn… Must be rich. I’m jealous.”

Ayle chuckled and muttered a sincere remark.

He had heard stories a few times about users who had plenty of funds from the start due to cash purchases or other reasons not bothering to pick up items after catching regular monsters, and it seemed like this was the case.

They would get potions or equipment from the auction house and only loot when there was a skill book that couldn’t be bought with money, which was something Ayle couldn’t even dream of.

‘Well, whatever. It’s even better for me since I get to monopolize the items.’

He was jealous, but it was good for Ayle anyway.

Because the share of loot he could get was doubled.

As there were quite a few monster corpses scattered around, a considerable amount of gold and items dropped.

After acquiring all the satisfactory loot, Ayle didn’t stop there and took out a dismantling knife.

“……”

“Sorry, just a bit.”

Ayle apologized sheepishly and stabbed the corpse with his skilled movements.

His speed in cutting through the tough leather and hard bones was noticeably faster than other users, and he dismantled over a dozen monsters in the blink of an eye.

– You have acquired an item!

[Luck Stone (Rare)]

“It’s out…!”

A red gem was placed on his palm.

Ayle jumped up as the item he wanted came out much earlier than expected.

It was a consumable item called ‘Luck Stone,’ which could be obtained with a low probability when dismantling undead or animal-type monsters with a red aura like the ones they had just fought.

Except for skill books, it was a rare untradeable item and a gem with quite a special function.

It never came out with regular looting, and most people who weren’t interested in dismantling didn’t even know about this acquisition method.

Of course, even for players who enjoyed dismantling, it was strange to memorize the acquisition methods of each item like Ayle did.

Even Neshua, who was watching from the side, was surprised by the appearance of the Luck Stone.

Ayle, who continued to dismantle the monsters, gestured to Neshua to come closer and pushed one of the corpses he had finished dismantling towards him.

“……?”

Neshua reflexively looted the item, and a red Luck Stone was in his hand as well.

He had given one to him for waiting while he looted and dismantled over a hundred monsters.

Ayle was able to obtain a total of five Luck Stones after dismantling all the remaining monsters and stood up, satisfied.

‘To get six Luck Stones from catching just over a hundred… Unless my luck has suddenly become so good that I’m about to get struck by lightning, this means it’s not a regular dungeon.’

Considering the typical drop rate of Luck Stones, it was a balance collapse to continue dropping items at such a high rate.

In that case, it was more likely to be a one-time dungeon where monsters didn’t respawn, and as he headed towards the passage with Neshua, evidence soon appeared to support his guess.

[The first scenario of the hidden dungeon ‘Village of Demise’ has been completed!]

[Partial experience has been acquired!]

[You have leveled up!]