Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 73

73. Light and Shadow (4)

“Kuaaaa!”

The blubbering mass roared upon discovering the intruder.

Then, dragging its massive body that filled the passage, it began to charge towards him.

‘Crazy…!’

Startled, Aile quickly checked the monster’s information window.

A level 30 elite monster: Glutton.

Since it was a monster he had never seen before, he couldn’t know its detailed stats or characteristics.

However, it was obviously impossible to subdue an elite monster, which was close to a mini-boss, with a single attack. Judging by its size, it didn’t seem easy to stop its movements.

Crackle!

The Glutton approached, its flesh filling the narrow space.

Aside from the disgusting stench that made him want to retch, there was no way to escape to the side or back because of the straight structure of the passage.

If he confronted it carelessly or hesitated, he would be crushed to death under that blubbering mass without even a squeak.

Without hesitation, Aile turned his back and grabbed the ladder to climb back up.

“……?”

But in the meantime, Neshua was coming down the ladder behind him.

Not knowing about the monster’s existence, he had come down almost to the bottom, unintentionally blocking Aile’s retreat.

“Stop! Go back up!”

“Kuaaaa!”

Aile, hurried because the Glutton was chasing right behind him, pushed Neshua’s legs upwards and hung on the upper part of the ladder.

Thud!

The Glutton crashed into the end of the passage with a loud noise.

Then, Aile pulled his legs, which he had pushed up, back down, and the two of them tumbled messily to the floor.

Neshua, who shook off the sticky mud on his head, glared at Aile with a puzzled expression.

But right behind them, the Glutton was ramming its head into the end of the wall, and there was no time to explain.

“Just go quickly!”

Aile quickly got up and pushed Neshua’s back.

Thanks to the Glutton charging and ramming its head into the opposite side, the path it was blocking was temporarily opened.

They had to get out of the passage quickly through this gap.

“Kuwoooo!”

The Glutton chased after them, emitting an even more bizarre sound.

Although the monster’s speed was surprisingly fast for its size, Aile and Neshua were also relatively fast for their levels, and they barely managed to reach the end of the straight waterway without being caught.

An open space appeared in front of them, and the two, barely out of the passage, threw themselves to either side.

Thump!

The Glutton, bursting out while half-destroying the entrance, couldn’t control its speed and rolled across the floor.

While the monster slid across the floor, Aile quickly surveyed the surroundings.

The square room contained thick pillars and a large open space.

A large iron gate was placed on the opposite side, and an even stronger smell of blood wafted from beyond it.

“Kuaaaa!”

Meanwhile, the Glutton struggled to regain its balance and stood up.

The fat legs buried under its blubber appeared, and the monster’s height became even taller than before, almost touching the ceiling.

Boom!

The Glutton swung its arm with all its might, turning the floor upside down.

Sharp fragments flew in all directions, obstructing their vision.

But Aile, who was already running forward, didn’t care and went for the monster’s large movements.

Then, he plunged the sword imbued with holy power into the Glutton’s side.

Stab!

Whirr!

The longsword pierced into the Glutton’s body, and white flames blazed.

The monster’s thick fat was burned with a foul odor, and the damage from the opposing attribute was definitely effective.

As expected, the monster had high health and defense, but the mark of the heretic was already emblazoned on its head, and the maximum damage Aile could inflict was being hammered in.

And here, once more.

Swish!

The longsword that had been stabbed into its side disappeared, and at the same time, a sharp-looking blue spear was held in Aile’s hand.

‘Viper’s Spear’.

It was a two-handed spear he had bought at the auction house in the last city, replacing the lost dagger.

The only restriction on the Inquisitor’s weapon was that it had to be melee, so he was free to choose a secondary weapon, whether it was a spear or a dagger.

Thwack!

[The special effect ‘Poison’ has been activated!]

– The attacked monster’s health will gradually decrease over time.

The effect of the spear he had stabbed into the monster’s leg was activated.

As the two effects of burn and poison, which eroded health, were activated simultaneously, the Glutton’s health rapidly decreased.

The Glutton counterattacked, trying to cover them with its massive body, but Aile had already withdrawn the spear and stepped back.

However, the elite monster of the hidden dungeon was not as easy as he thought.

Sizzle!

The wounded area quickly bubbled up, and flesh swelled up from within, covering the wound.

‘Is it a type with high regeneration…!’

It wasn’t just that the bleeding stopped or the wound was covered.

Even according to the tooltip on the actual information window, the health that had been reduced was repeatedly rising and falling.

At least the burn and poison were offsetting the recovery.

Given the monster’s high health and defense, it was absolutely impossible for Aile to defeat it alone unless he knew in advance and prepared for it.

Of course, Aile wasn’t alone now.

Flash!

Neshua, who had silenced his presence, jumped behind the Glutton.

The Glutton was looking at Aile, not even knowing that something was approaching from behind, and Neshua activated the ‘Weakness Detection’ skill in that gap.

A skill that creates and marks vital areas that can inflict massive damage on the enemy.

Stab! Stab! Stab!

The dagger accurately stabbed into the vital areas in succession, and a huge amount of damage shaved off the monster’s health.

In addition, black frost clung to the area around the wound where Neshua’s dagger had pierced.

The monster’s movements slowed down, and the regeneration speed was halved.

It was the added effect of Dark Frost, the Shadow Watcher’s signature skill, which granted not only slowing but also regeneration interference.

Feeling a dizzying pain, the Glutton hurriedly tried to turn around.

But the one in front of the monster was also Aile, and there was no way Aile would just stand by and watch.

The two confused the Glutton and took turns attacking from opposite sides.

It was such tremendous teamwork that they made it impossible for just the two of them to move a single powerful elite monster.

“Kuwoooo!”

Feeling a sense of crisis, the Glutton struggled violently and swung its arms.

But it only cut through the air, and the monster’s skin blazed fiercely, and the smell of burning fat vibrated throughout the room.

Slash!

Aile and Neshua simultaneously cut one of the Glutton’s heels each, and the monster, which had lost strength in its legs for a moment, knelt down.

Then, Aile, who jumped up, stabbed the longsword into the monster’s chest.

The longsword, which accurately pierced the heart, made it spew out dark blood.

Remaining health: 0.31 percent.

The Glutton lost consciousness and fell forward.

* * *

[You have successfully executed the designated punishment according to ‘Sentence of Punishment.’ The stat bonus is doubled due to the skill’s effect.]

[Favor of the Goddess +0.39% (Currently 58.81%)]

[Contribution to the Order of Light +85]

[Faith stat +2]

[Madness stat +2]

[The execution of beheading increases the Judge’s speed by 10% for 60 minutes.]

“Okay.”

Aile, who leaned the longsword on his shoulder, wore a lighthearted expression.

Then, he kicked the Glutton’s head, which was separated from its body and emitting a foul odor, to one corner.

– You have acquired an item!

[Greatsword of Gluttony (Rare)]

[Rusty Iron Ring (Low Grade)]

[Unrefined Gray Crystal (Common) x 4]

[Squirming Mass (Low Grade) x 33]

[61 Silvers 4 Crowns]

Aile looted the monster’s corpse and even finished the dismantling process. The Glutton dropped many items, as expected of a tricky elite monster.

Among them, the rare-grade weapon, ‘Greatsword of Gluttony,’ was the most eye-catching.

Without delay, Aile took out the greatsword that had come into his inventory.

‘It’s so big?’

Aile, surprised by the heavier weight than expected, looked at the greatsword placed on both hands.

Aile had been using a ‘longsword,’ which was larger than ordinary weapons, but the greatsword now in his hand was incomparable to it.

If the longsword had a long and sharp blade, the greatsword was long and thick, and even had a heavy weight.

Moreover, the ‘Greatsword of Gluttony’ had a slightly larger size than the design of a typical greatsword, so Aile, who was holding a greatsword for the first time, couldn’t help but be surprised.

It wasn’t for nothing that the movements of classes that used greatswords were slow.

‘But it’s by no means unusable.’

Basically, greatsword weapons had several weaknesses, but no matter what anyone said, the simple attack power was the highest level of melee weapons along with large blunt weapons.

Above all, the added effect given to this ‘Greatsword of Gluttony’:

Limited to the first attack, it deals 1.5 times the damage to the enemy.

If you attack the same enemy more than twice in one battle, it also meant that you couldn’t see any effect from then on.

But the number 1.5 times was a tremendous merit enough to lightly ignore it.

Moreover, it was a perfect effect to use as a sub-weapon.

“…Really don’t need it?”

Aile, who was holding the greatsword, turned his gaze to the side and asked.

Then Neshua, who was crossing his arms, nodded.

Even if it was an item that came out of a boss monster, he didn’t seem interested unless it was a rare item or a skill book.

“If that’s the case.”

Aile, who shrugged his shoulders, got up from his seat.

Then, he approached the opposite iron door that was firmly closed and put the key into the hollowed-out groove in the middle.