Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 83

83. Madness to Madness (6)

“Whew, is this it?”

The man who had climbed the upper staircase leaned against a pillar and looked down.

While exploring the dungeon, Roden sensed something was wrong with the sudden increase in the number of monsters. He followed their trail and discovered a magic circle that was constantly spewing out Skull Hounds.

‘Something interesting is happening….’

Even though a troublesome situation had arisen, Roden’s lips curled up slightly, as he was rather intrigued.

There were a few player parties who targeted him, as he had entered alone without any companions, but they were too weak and uninteresting because of their low levels.

He was hoping for a somewhat enjoyable fight, if not a high-level one, but the users in this dungeon were far from satisfying.

‘The Armenia days were good… When will I level up again?’

Roden sighed deeply for a moment, then quickly shook his head and gripped his sword.

There were a large number of monsters swarming around the magic circle, but he didn’t care at all and intended to jump in and take them all out.

But the moment he tried to step forward.

Suddenly, Aile appeared on the opposite railing and jumped down with all his might.

‘Hmm?’

He was quite surprised that another user was hiding on the opposite side, and even more so that he jumped down there alone.

Moreover, he didn’t start a reckless fight without a plan.

He used a magic scroll to block the intervention of the surrounding monsters and showed overwhelming combat against the monsters in the area.

It was almost to the point where the expression ‘swept away’ was fitting.

‘There was a skilled person in a place like this.’

Roden’s eyes gleamed at Aile’s fighting style.

Whether he had been leveling up well, his firepower was outstanding, and above all, his skills were on a different level from the mediocre players he had been dealing with here.

However, the intense white flames contained in the longsword were by no means a common fighting style, and naturally, someone came to mind.

‘Wait, an Inquisitor…? Could it be that crazy Inquisitor I saw on WarTube [in-game video sharing platform]?’

Roden’s eyes widened.

He somehow looked familiar, and it seemed like he was the fanatic player from the Esmair region who had recently become a hot topic.

He had a common habit of searching Warlord sites [online forums dedicated to the game Warlord] to relieve boredom while moving between regions, and he had a vivid memory of the protagonist in the video thanks to the intense concept that was etched in his mind.

Although he couldn’t see the face that had been made private, the armor he was wearing looked almost identical.

Above all, it was very similar to the fighting style he had shown in the video uploaded to WarTube a while ago, where he raided a bandit camp.

It was a part that ordinary users might scratch their heads at because of the hidden key forces and editing, but his keen eyes did not miss even the smallest details.

“Haha, as I always feel, it’s a small world.”

Roden felt a subtle force in his hand holding the sword and continued to watch.

He knew that they were at a similar level, and he wanted to see him in person, but he never thought it would actually happen.

‘Of course, it’s a little scary….’

Roden had seen all of Aile’s crazy actions in the video, so he was definitely wary of what he might do if he was attacked by him.

But then, another variable arose that even Roden hadn’t expected.

Clearly, the users who had already died rose up as undead.

Moreover, the undead showed strategic movements as if they were being controlled by real users, and they even used their skills to put pressure on him.

It was no different from fighting against a well-organized party.

In addition, the monsters that were constantly being summoned from under the magic circle were clinging to him, so it was inevitable that he would feel more pressure from the perspective of fighting alone.

No matter how skilled he was, it was difficult to overcome the limitations of being alone, and the resurrected party members were above average in strength, and there were many interrupters.

It was not an easy situation for anyone, and Aile was also in trouble.

“What should I do with this….”

* * *

Clang!

“Ugh…!”

Aile, who had received a strong impact, staggered back.

Unexpectedly, the skills of the undead users were considerable.

They were not at the level of ordinary level 30 users.

They pressured him with numerical superiority and did not launch unreasonable attacks, and they knew how to deal with a single swordsman.

They certainly had a solid foundation in PVP [Player versus Player combat].

Moreover, it was not just them he was dealing with, but also the Skull Hounds that kept appearing from behind, so he was struggling with unexpected difficulties.

‘Damn it, I don’t have much time left….’

As with most single-use magic scrolls, the duration of this ‘Circle of Duel’ magic was not long.

If he dragged on like this, all the monsters outside would rush in and tear him to pieces.

Even if he tried to target the magic circle first to avoid the undead users, they and the monsters had formed a formation to protect the magic circle, so there was no gap to be seen.

‘It’s not worth spending a thousand points here [referring to contribution points, a type of in-game currency].’

It was better to avoid overspending contribution points if possible, and Aile showed a slightly more daring move.

The top priority was, of course, the annoying mage.

It was also the most vulnerable class to attack, and unless the opposing party had a healer, it was naturally the role that was targeted first.

And that was a fact that all users knew, and as expected, the tank who marked Aile blocked his way.

However, the moment the knight’s sword came down, Aile dodged the attack with a reverse move and went behind him, taking the accelerated movement as it was and closing the distance to the mage.

Slash!

Aile cheerfully cut down two Skull Hounds blocking the way.

But the two warrior users rushing in from both sides were opponents that could not be dealt with at once.

‘Then I’ll avoid them.’

Aile quickly swallowed a small potion he had taken out of his pocket.

[The ‘Instant Acceleration’ state is applied due to the potion’s effect!]

[Speed has temporarily increased significantly!]

Flash!

Aile, whose speed had increased dramatically, quickly outstripped them and rushed to the mage in the rear and cut him down in an instant.

A distinctly different effect from ordinary doping potions.

It was a special doping potion that greatly increased the stat increase width instead of having a shorter duration.

There were also reviews that it was difficult to use in actual combat because the duration of the effect was too short, but for Aile, who could freely perform even the tricky weapon swap based on a high synchronization rate, taking out the potion was nothing.

In addition, in the case of healing potions, it was difficult to use during fierce battles because there was a relatively large amount of contents to drink, but that was not the case for doping potions, which had a much smaller bottle size.

Whack!

Aile, who had successfully caught a gap, cut off the mage’s neck entirely.

Then, he quickly turned his head towards his real target and stretched out his feet.

The magic circle, which was still spewing out monsters, had to be destroyed first, and even if he only neutralized the magic circle and avoided his body appropriately, his purpose was as good as achieved.

But Aile felt his body become heavy for a moment.

The potion’s effect was over and the side effects appeared.

Aile gritted his teeth at the fact that his movements had slowed down even more than before he drank the potion, let alone the speed he had just had.

Even among those who were reluctant to swap equipment, even the rankers [top-ranked players], there were many skilled people who could use small potions.

However, the reason why those people did not use single-use special doping potions much was that all potions that explosively increased stats instantaneously had recoil due to their side effects.

Aile was also aware of that fact and did not use it unless some active variable was needed.

Of course, the fact that he used the potion in this battle meant that he had finished calculating all the reactions that would occur after the effect.

Thump!

[The magic circle has been temporarily disabled. Defend the soul crystal from the monsters until the destruction is complete.]

[Time remaining until the magic circle is destroyed ’00:05:28′]

“What…?”

Aile, who had broken through the monsters in an instant thanks to the distance he had already secured, succeeded in inserting the black bead into the center of the magic circle.

But the message that appeared in front of him was different from what he had expected.

‘They want me to block them for 5 minutes?’

“Krrr…”

The gazes of the many undead in the hall were all focused on one place.

The magic circle dismantling operation would take more than 5 minutes.

As the word temporary inactivation suggests, the Skull Hound’s regen had stopped, but it meant that he had to endure while dealing with all those monsters during that time.

The effect duration of the Duel Circle magic was not long, and Aile’s plan to solve only the magic circle for the quest and get out of the body appropriately was ruined, and the reaction remained intact on his body.

It was truly the worst situation.

The four remaining undead users slowly narrowed the distance.

‘Damn it….’

In this state, he could not easily guarantee victory, and he would inevitably incur a lot of expenses, including contribution points.

But then.

Swish!

A player who suddenly jumped down from the upper staircase appeared and instantly cut down two of the undead party members and landed on the floor.

And until he arrived in front of Aile, slashing the Skull Hounds rushing in from all directions, he broke through with concise and simple movements without any unnecessary actions.

Aile could not help but be surprised by the neat skill.

Roden, who was standing right in front of him, turned his back to him and raised his sword to the monsters surrounding him.

“Are you doing a quest? Let me get my feet in, too.”