Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 81

81. Madness to Madness (4)

It’s common knowledge among Warlords players that field dungeons untouched by others are often filled with valuable items and rewards.

This is why explorers are always racing to be the first to discover these untouched dungeons, and why everyone rushes to explore dangerous new dungeons, even without any prior information.

But right now, Aile was squatting down, staring at an empty chest.

“Nothing here either.”

This red chest, which should have been full of items, showed clear signs of its lock having been forcibly picked.

In other words, it wasn’t empty to begin with.

Someone had already been here and taken everything.

And it wasn’t just this room; other rooms were the same. He could see traces of other players throughout the dungeon.

‘This isn’t just one or two teams. I’d say at least ten teams have been through here. Other players aren’t stupid, and it’s been a week since this area was discovered, so I had a feeling it would be like this… This could be dangerous.’

Aile reluctantly stood up, trying to shake off his disappointment.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want the items in the dungeon, but he felt it was more important to quickly finish investigating the magic circle.

This quest involved not only the Order and the Inquisitorial Office, but also his relationship with the Executor, so he couldn’t afford to fail.

Creak!

Aile carefully opened the door and stepped out.

Dungeons were generally dark and gloomy spaces, but aside from a few areas, it wasn’t difficult to navigate. The darkness even helped him avoid being seen by the fanatics.

Even Aile couldn’t take on all those fanatics at once.

His mission was simply to investigate the unidentified magic circle, so he planned to avoid unnecessary or reckless combat.

Thwack!

“Cough… !”

The longsword was buried deep in the waist of the fanatic guarding the entrance. Aile quickly gagged him before twisting the embedded sword.

The longsword spun, and the fanatic struggled wildly, but it was a short fight.

Before he knew it, Aile dumped the limp corpse in a dark corner, out of sight, and moved further into the dungeon.

As he explored, he wasn’t just searching for items.

He realized that the underground dungeon had a circular structure, with the center being the focal point. He also noticed that the number of fanatics increased as he moved inward.

It was easy to guess that something important was in the central area.

Perhaps the dungeon’s boss monster or a key item was located there.

It was also very likely that the magic circle Aile was looking for was there.

‘If I had just stumbled in here, I would have had a hard time… but that’s not the case for me.’

The dungeon structure was quite large and complex, and the number of monsters made exploration difficult.

However, Aile had received a quest from Eileen, an Executor of the Order, and thanks to the Inquisitorial Office’s informant who had investigated the situation in advance and left a report, he knew some of the paths and shortcuts.

Of course, only a few paths had been identified, and the informant hadn’t been able to fully map out the detailed layout, so Aile still had to find his own way.

However, he wasn’t about to complain.

He had a much greater advantage than the other players who had entered the dungeon first, and Aile was confident he could navigate the dungeon with the information he had.

‘Shall I pick up the pace?’

* * *

“Please…”

“Kuaaaack!”

The screams of the residents echoed through the wide hall.

The people who were crying and begging were forced to kneel by the fanatics, and those who resisted were mercilessly stabbed with spears.

The kidnapped people, destined to be sacrifices, were lined up on the black magic circle.

Whoosh!

As the fanatic wearing a black mask began to chant, an eerie red light rose from the magic circle, filling the hall.

The residents writhed in agony as their souls were sucked into the magic circle.

The residents, unable to endure the pain, quickly became cold corpses, scattered on the floor.

The Twilight Council fanatics dragged their bodies away and prepared to bring the next sacrifice to feed the magic circle.

And on one side, a group was watching everything unfold.

“Ugh, that’s brutal.”

“As expected of fanatics, they’re doing some seriously crazy things.”

The party members, hidden on a railing above the hall, shook their heads as they watched the scene.

This party was the first to discover the hidden dungeon and enter its depths. They had finished their initial investigation and were now deep inside.

“It seems like that magic circle is some kind of key.”

“Yeah, it definitely looks that way.”

The party members exchanged glances as they observed the blood-soaked magic circle.

There were four of these suspicious magic circles in the dungeon, each requiring sacrifices, and each located deep within the dungeon to make them difficult to find.

Furthermore, even when a sacrifice wasn’t being performed, at least thirty fanatics guarded each circle.

It was a number they would rather avoid, but the fact that these fanatics were guarding the magic circles so heavily made them even more suspicious.

More importantly, the party had investigated almost every other part of the dungeon without finding anything significant.

It wasn’t as if someone had already looted the dungeon; they simply hadn’t found anything of value. This left them with no choice but to investigate the magic circles.

Having played together since the 2nd generation of Armenia [likely a previous game or expansion], they had a lot of experience as a team and didn’t hesitate to act.

“Ron, start casting. Let’s hit them hard right away.”

“Okay.”

The mage player called Ron immediately took a stance at the party leader’s command.

Mages generally take a long time to prepare a single attack, but they can unleash attacks of incredible power.

Given enough time, they can also perform efficient large-scale area-of-effect attacks that other classes can’t match, making them the most powerful class for surprise preemptive strikes.

Whoosh!

As the mage finished his casting, intense heat radiated from the tip of his staff.

Soon, a massive, blazing fireball formed in the air and hurtled toward the fanatics standing around the magic circle.

Kwaaaang!

True to the long casting time and high mana cost, the area-of-effect magic was devastating.

Several fanatics were instantly killed by the fireball, and others were swept away by the shockwave, burning in flames.

Caught completely off guard, they were utterly confused by the sudden large-scale attack.

Thud!

At that moment, the party members jumped down from the railing and charged at the fanatics.

First, the knight-class tanker used a charge skill to disrupt their formation, creating an opening for the other party members to attack.

“It’s… It’s a surprise attack!”

“Kuaaack!”

The fanatics frantically pulled out their weapons, but it was too late.

It was no accident that this party was the first to reach the depths of the dungeon.

They had been delayed in moving to the next generation game, Warlord, due to unavoidable circumstances, but the current party members were all highly skilled. They would have been at much higher levels if they had started playing Warlord at its launch.

Though there were only five of them, they displayed efficient movement and excellent teamwork, capitalizing on the element of surprise to quickly eliminate the fanatics.

Whirrrl!

As the mage’s second casting finished, another spell engulfed the remaining fanatics.

The spreading flames consumed the last of them, and the chaotic battle ended in an instant.

It took only one minute to wipe out all thirty monsters.

Click!

The party leader, taking a deep breath and removing his heavy helmet, approached the center of the hall.

A large black magic circle, stained with the souls of the sacrificed, was drawn on the floor.

“Ron, come down now!”

“Okay!”

The mage, who had remained on the railing during the battle, jumped down.

The other team members, who had been diligently looting the fanatics’ bodies, soon joined them.

“How is it? Does it look like anything’s there?”

“Well, I can’t tell just by looking at it.”

The party leader shrugged.

There were no related quests or clues, and it was difficult for him, a knight, to decipher anything with his eyes alone.

The party members’ gazes naturally turned to Ron, the only mage among them.

“It’s a black magic of the demon system, so I can’t know just by looking at it. But I think I can activate it directly.”

“You’re going to activate it?”

“That seems dangerous…”

The party members looked at the magic circle with suspicion.

It was a magic circle that absorbed the souls of living people, after all.

It was clearly a dangerous device, and rashly touching it without any information could lead to disaster.

But they were out of options.

“It’s a bit unsettling… but we can’t just back down after coming all this way, can we? We have to take a chance.”

“Ron’s right. There are no other clues besides the four magic circles, and the dungeon’s first clear is at stake. This much risk is worth taking.”

The party leader agreed, adding his own reasoning.

The party members, after a moment of contemplation, accepted the decision, united in their resolve.

“Then I’ll start.”

The mage stepped forward, infused mana, and activated the magic circle.

Kugugugung!

With a deafening roar, the entire underground dungeon shook.

The party members stepped back in unison as a black hole opened up in the center of the magic circle.

“Is something about to come out…?”

“Everyone, get ready!”

The party members raised their weapons, sensing the ominous atmosphere.

As soon as the words were spoken, undead monsters poured out of the black hole.

Kieeeek!

“Is it a wave defense?”

“Everyone, hold on!”

The black monsters surged toward the party members, and a fierce battle began.

The monsters continued to emerge from the black hole, forcing them to face an overwhelming number of enemies.

A monster wave where they had to withstand the endless onslaught.

It wasn’t a common pattern in Warlord’s dungeons, but it was a concept widely used in most games.

The two common objectives were to survive for a set time or to defeat all the monsters coming out of the passage.

But this case was different.

Even as they continued to cut down the monsters pouring out of the black passage, there was no sign of it ending.

“Kuaaaack!”

“Damn it, Ron got hit!”

Facing such a large number of enemies, it was difficult to protect the rear, and the mage, vulnerable to attacks, was the first to fall.

No matter how skilled they were or how well they worked together, their stamina and concentration had limits.

“How long is this going to last?”

“Just a little… just a little more…”

Thwack!

As one of the party members fell, the balance quickly shifted, and the number of monsters continued to increase.

The party members fell to the floor one by one, trampled under the feet of the monsters.

“Keuheok…”

“No way. How are we supposed to clear this…?”

Crack!

The knight’s helmet, which had been holding the front line, was crushed.

The party leader, exhausted, knelt and fell, and everyone was wiped out with him as the last.

But the situation didn’t end there.

The wave of monsters continued to pour out, filling the dungeon.

Swish.

The black energy flowing from the passage seeped into the corpses of the dead party members.

The corpses of the players, their pale skin rotting, soon rose, creaking like twisted dolls.

“Ugh…”

The users’ empty eyes stared blankly into the air.