Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 86

86. Madness to Madness (9)

As a ranker from Armenia, Roden was quite famous even across all games before Warlord, and I knew his style very well.

Clearly, Roden had made a name for himself as a top-notch spearman. However, in Warlord, he seemed to have changed his job, wielding only a one-handed sword. Yet, as Aile watched him fight, his unique play style remained unchanged.

That was the fact that he never used active skills.

All the attacks he displayed during the battle were just normal attacks without any skills added, and there were no directly used skills to be found.

A character build and skill tree that thoroughly focused on passives.

It was Roden’s biggest characteristic that set him apart from other rankers.

If active skills were about creating variables, passives were about fundamentals.

It was natural that one could not survive in the fierce world of rankers if either of the two elements was lacking.

But Roden was different.

He had the ability to create variables based on his monstrous reflexes and physicality, even without special skills.

That’s why he was able to catch up with the formidable rankers in Armenia, even though he started much later.

Despite his lower level, he invested heavily in passives to somehow compensate for the basic stats, and he covered the remaining problem of creating variables with overwhelming skill.

That was why Roden was famous from the beginning as a monster rookie when he appeared, and why he is still remembered among users with great acclaim.

Most users used to say that if he had started the game a little earlier, he would have been in a much higher position.

And Aile now felt that the assessment was not an exaggeration.

Clang!

“Kuh…”

Aile faltered at Roden’s erratic series of attacks.

He was inducing stances while exchanging blows, and even using the structures on both sides to somehow create non-existent gaps. [Inducing stances refers to manipulating his body position to gain an advantage.]

It was unbelievable, even while facing him directly, that he could exert such pressure with just normal attacks using a one-handed sword.

‘From the top rankers of the three major games… he’s not an opponent to be taken lightly after all.’

Reflecting on his complacency, Aile swung his sword greatly and activated Holy Fire.

Whoosh!

The pure white longsword spewed flames, and Roden stepped back quickly at the threatening heat that seemed to burn the surroundings.

He wasn’t an opponent he could deal with while holding back.

“Haha, I would have been upset if it had come out any later!”

Roden, seeing the Holy Fire despite his quite threatening appearance, rather enjoyed it and stomped his feet.

Aile, with Roden closing the distance quickly, took a stance to parry, then immediately changed his stance and activated a skill.

Due to the effect of Reverse Acting, Aile’s body instantly circled to his side.

Having caught his back, Aile swung his longsword at Roden, maintaining his momentarily accelerated movement.

Clang!

“Eek…!”

However, the attack was ineffective.

Roden blocked Aile’s attack by turning his sword back with surprising reflexes.

‘To think he’d block it so easily.’

Aile had been careful not to show his full strength, even during the fierce battles with monsters, in preparation for a possible fight.

From Roden’s point of view, even if he knew that he was an Inquisitor, it would have been impossible to anticipate Reverse Acting, a common skill for melee classes.

That meant Roden had dealt with it with just his reflexes, even though he had no preparation at all.

But there was no more time to be surprised.

The opponent was starting to come at him with all his might, and the counterattack came in an instant.

Thwack!

Roden, turning his body as the swords were still touching, stretched out his fist, and Aile hurriedly blocked him with one hand.

He blocked it without taking damage, but it didn’t end there.

Roden pushed forward with his sword close to Aile’s longsword, not allowing him to create distance easily.

Since the past, he had been famous for combining aggressive martial arts with swordsmanship, and his skills were still sharp.

Whack!

Aile, having been hit in the stomach by a kick, slid backward.

‘Hoo, he’s no joke when you face him directly.’

Aile quickly straightened his sword and regained his posture.

Since starting Warlord, this was the first time he had felt this much pressure against a player.

‘But it’s definitely possible.’

Compared to being hit in the stomach head-on, his health itself hadn’t decreased much.

Thanks to the Favor [a blessing or buff] and Madness stats he had faithfully built up, he had superior specs compared to the same level, and the equipment he was wearing was also generally superior to Aile’s.

Furthermore, the training method focused on passives was at a point where it was still difficult to gain enough momentum due to the level being only 30.

Roden had the mark of an Inquisitor stamped on his head due to the Inquisitor designation. [Inquisitors are typically tasked with hunting down heretics.]

Objectively speaking, Aile was in a favorable position in many ways.

Of course, even so, the situation was not easy.

If he could somehow succeed in an attack, he could deal strong damage, but even that was not easy.

Roden’s movements were very agile, probably because he had set up passives related to movement.

‘Then…’

Whoosh!

Aile, who had parried Roden’s sword that was pressing in again, immediately switched weapons.

The longsword that Aile was holding disappeared, and a long spear with white flames appeared in its place.

As the path of the sword that had been slashing horizontally suddenly changed to a straight spear and rushed in, Roden was startled and tried to dodge.

But this time, even his reflexes were not enough.

The spear grazed his face, creating a long wound, and the poison effect attached to the weapon was activated.

[Status condition ‘Burn’ has been activated!]

[Special effect ‘Poison’ has been activated!]

“What is this…”

Roden’s expression couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

The way to lead the fight varied greatly depending on the opponent’s weapon, but he couldn’t help but be flustered when the weapon he was holding suddenly changed in the middle of the battle.

But Aile didn’t stop there.

Aile’s weapon, which immediately changed to a longsword, was slammed down, aiming for Roden’s left shoulder, and collided strongly with all its weight.

Clang clang clang!

Roden hurriedly raised his weapon to deflect the attack at an angle, and the deflected longsword collided with the wall behind him, creating a fierce friction sound.

Even beyond the blocked sword, a considerable amount of heavy force was transmitted intact, and the white flames threatened him every time the longsword was swung.

Not only that.

His health was draining more than expected due to the poison and burn he had just suffered.

In particular, the burn caused by Holy Fire applied additional damage due to the forced attribute due to the stigma [a mark of honor or disgrace], and the damage amplification effect of the title and passive against heretics overlapped.

‘If I allow him to land an attack or two properly, it’ll be dangerous.’

He didn’t know how he had been training his character, but he felt that he was very strong compared to the same level.

Of course, he also knew how powerful the Favor that the Light Church believers had could be in some cases, and Roden himself hadn’t paid much attention to the equipment he was going to use right away, but even considering that, it was amazing.

He had noticed that he had hidden his cards, but when Aile, who had been hiding his power, revealed his true colors like this, it was on a different level.

And most of all, what was surprising was Aile’s skill.

‘Here!’

Thud!

He thought he had accurately pierced the gap, but Roden’s sword was blocked by a suddenly appearing shield.

Aile raised a shield in his left hand that would completely offset the damage, and at the same time, a dagger taken out from his opposite hand aimed for Roden’s neck.

Roden quickly pulled his upper body back.

‘What is this weapon swap… was this even possible?’

There is no one among the rankers who doesn’t know the concept of equipment swap.

However, apart from proficiency, most people usually don’t even bother with it due to the unavoidable delay and the excessively difficult difficulty.

Among ordinary users, it is even treated as a kind of impractical showmanship.

But the appearance that Aile is showing now was easily breaking that common sense.

Far from the unique system delay that is considered inevitable, the weapon change was taking place as naturally as water flowing without any hesitation.

Moreover, it wasn’t just once or twice, but he was constantly changing weapons freely and performing combat.

It was a level that Roden couldn’t even dare to imagine. No, it was a technique that had never been seen in all the games he had played.

‘I should cancel the thought that he’s a useful skilled player.’

The real deal was in front of his eyes.

* * *

Whoa!

Aile’s Flash skill swept through the surroundings.

A finishing move that was unleashed after creating a definite opportunity at the end of a fierce contact.

Roden, who was hit directly by it, staggered backward.

“Hoo… I never thought you’d have such a skill.”

Roden said with a hollow laugh, looking down at his messed-up appearance.

Roden, who was wearing light armor, had paid a lot of attention to his health stats, so his durability was by no means low, but he had taken so much damage that his life force was tattered with just one attack.

Moreover, the set effect of the armor he was wearing was that the defense option attached to the armor was doubled the moment the first hit was made.

But Aile had a Defense Shatter passive.

As a unique-grade skill with a whopping 40 percent defense penetration effect, it completely offset the additionally increased defense.

Roden’s remaining health after being hit by the Flash skill was only about 5 percent.

Even if other users couldn’t see the detailed numbers, they could tell his condition just by his appearance.

“Shall we stop here?”

“No, we have to finish it. Please, just a little more.”

Roden couldn’t hide his pleasant expression even in a situation where he might have been cornered.

And he suddenly released the weapon he was holding, opened his inventory, and took out another item.

Thud!

A long, blue spear.

As soon as Aile saw it appear, slamming into the floor, he was able to recall once again that Roden had been walking the path of a spearman since his Armenia days.

If he had come to Warlord and changed his job, and not chosen the same spearman job as in the past.

And if he had been using weapons that didn’t suit his class from the very first meeting.

The current flow could have been reversed at any time.

“This is like a boss monster’s phase 2…”