Chapter 11

Level Up IlDanSimPanGwan – Chapter 11 (11/227)

Chapter 11: Heretic (3)

Creeeak.

As I rummaged through the remains of the collapsed village warehouse, I found some planks lying on the floor.

And when I moved the planks aside, a deep underground passage heading downward appeared.

Without hesitation, Eil stepped inside, greeted by damp air.

The rather ancient-looking cave had torches placed at regular intervals, clearly made artificially.

It wasn’t quite big or deep enough to be called an underground dungeon.

After navigating some winding paths, there stood a large stone door blocking the only way forward, with two zombies loitering in front of it.

The moment they spotted Eil, the zombies charged but fell without even touching a hair on his head.

Considering Warode’s nature where even regular monster hunting is tough, fighting two monsters five levels higher should’ve been highly disadvantageous. Yet Eil handled it effortlessly.

“This must be the place…”

Wiping his longsword stained with sticky blood, Eil gazed at the massive stone door blocking the entrance.

Though he’d seen something similar a while ago, he couldn’t quite recall what lay behind it.

As he cautiously touched the stone door, the huge rock slid sideways with a groaning sound and opened.

Inside was a dim, eerie stone room like something out of a martial arts novel. A closer look revealed it was a magician’s study filled with strange tools and books.

But before he could examine further, a man standing in the middle of the stone chamber rose, emitting dark energy.

“Dared to step in here? I’ll rip your limbs off and kill you!”

The enraged man turned out to be Necromancer Latma, a Level 15 boss monster that appears beneath ruins and is responsible for turning this village into rubble. There were quests related to him, but the NPC giving them was far away and the process too time-consuming, so skipping was better.

[A Heresy has been discovered!]

[You have encountered a heretic who violates doctrines and dabbles in evil dark powers. Make them pay for their sins!]

[A great penalty will be given if you fail the mission!]

[Passive skill ‘Blade of Hatred’ activated!]

As the system notification sounded, Eil looked at Latma.

Above his head hovered a sinister mark branding him as a heretic, the ‘Heresy Seal.’

While the term “heretic” usually referred to those within the same religion who followed incorrect doctrines or distorted teachings, the Light Church used it differently.

Under the premise that all beings in the world were already followers of their goddess ‘Lu’, the creator god of light, anyone not directly worshiping her, or even animals behaving contrary to the church’s doctrine of “justice,” would be branded as heretics and judged without mercy.

This extremely unique and absurd method was approved by the goddess herself.

Even if a creature lacked proper sanity but committed evil deeds, it would inevitably be marked as a heretic—especially someone like a necromancer who destroyed an entire village.

Since joining the Light Church, whenever Eil encountered someone marked as a heretic, a quest was automatically assigned, requiring the designated target to be eliminated.

If one saw a heretic and avoided the fight due to perceived danger, the goddess’s favor stat would drastically drop, leading to a difficult situation nearly impossible to recover from.

Though everything depended on the quest-giving system or the whims of the goddess, such cases were rare, so it was best to assume unconditional elimination was required.

Koooom!

Necromancer Latma slammed his ash-gray staff onto the ground, filling the stone chamber with dark vibrations as battle commenced.

[Due to the severe level difference with the monster, you are now in the debuff state ‘Shrink’!]

[You are now in the debuff state ‘Mental Collapse’ due to black magic!]

[You are now in the debuff state ‘Fear’ due to black magic!]

The dark vibrations spread toward Eil, applying several debuffs after exposing him to black magic.

However, these debuffs, based purely on psychological factors, had little effect and faded quickly.

[All psychological status effects are nullified by the skill ‘Frenzied Martyr’!]

[Debuff ‘Shrink’ has been removed!]

[Debuff ‘Mental Collapse’ has been removed!]

[Debuff ‘Fear’ has been removed!]

“What… What are you?”

Seeing his black magic having no effect, the previously confident Latma stumbled back in shock.

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Completely blocking status effects was catastrophic for him, whose main strengths were necromancy and status-altering skills.

Panicking, Latma quickly struck his staff again, causing corpses to crawl out from the floor.

They were the same kind of zombies covering the village above.

One might think twenty-plus of these monsters appearing would make for a tough fight, but Eil knew these zombies weren’t as strong as the ones upstairs.

Due to settings tied to Latma, hastily summoned zombies were relatively weak, making them easier to deal with thanks to lower health and attack power.

Chack!

Proving this point, Eil swung his sword, taking down the obstructing zombies one by one.

Latma quickly cast his next skill.

Judging from his grand preparatory motions, it seemed like he was attempting the status effect ‘Frenzy,’ which forces the afflicted to attack all surrounding targets indiscriminately via powerful curse magic.

Even professional healers at Levels 15-20 typically wouldn’t possess skills to remove status effects yet, effectively forcing solo play when tackling Necromancer Latma.

Moreover, during solo play, this powerful frenzy would cause the player to attack surrounding zombies instead of targeting the boss monster Latma.

‘This is doable.’

Eil, however, smirked instead.

[You are now in the debuff state ‘Frenzy’ due to powerful black magic!]

[Status effects don’t work on one already consumed by madness!]

[Debuff ‘Frenzy’ has been removed!]

“What kind of guy are you!”

Seeing his signature Frenzy magic failing, Latma shouted loudly.

For a solo player like Eil, the failed Frenzy was actually advantageous.

Bosses designed for single players naturally have their balance set accordingly, and the infamous Latma in this area was no exception.

Additionally, wasting the boss’s patterns early left plenty of room for leisure while clearing mobs.

Pow!

Tripping over a zombie blocking his path, Eil immediately rushed toward Latma and swung his sword.

But the opponent wasn’t some easily underestimated monster either.

Latma instantly erected a defensive barrier, blocking Eil’s attack. The rebound from the black shield sent Eil sliding backward across the ground.

Noticing a slight drop in health, Eil clicked his tongue.

A notable feature of Latma was his proficiency in close combat despite being a necromancer known for casting black magic and curses, making it harder for solo beginners to face him.

‘Using enhancements would make this much easier… but not now.’

Eil did have surefire means to finish off his opponent.

But his health was still near maximum, and there hadn’t been any threatening moments yet.

Most importantly, according to his standards, a general boss mob with a 5-level difference was necessary for objective skill assessment.

Eil charged again, stopping mid-swing this time and pressing inward.

Latma, once more deploying his defense, found himself completely vulnerable when Eil canceled his attack midway due to the short duration of the defensive magic.

Puuuk!

“Kraaaagh!”

As Eil’s sword pierced his chest, red blood spurted from under the robe Latma wore.

While summoned zombies rushed from all sides to save him, Eil delivered a couple more hits before leaping back.

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While clearing mobs and preparing for the next attack, Latma summoned dark spears and continuously threw them at Eil.

Puck! Puck! Puuuk!

But Eil cleverly used the zombies as shields, conveniently removing the annoying summoned creatures with Latma’s own attacks.

“I… This!”

Seeing his attack backfire, Latma hurriedly prepared his next spell.

But Eil didn’t miss this opportunity.

With no summons left, the necromancer was practically defenseless while casting magic.

Leaping over the mangled zombies, Eil swung his sword again, landing another delayed attack that penetrated the shield.

Latma canceled his casting in the urgent situation and retaliated by swinging his staff, but even a mage skilled in close combat couldn’t match Eil, who excelled both as a melee class and in battle prowess.

Soon, Latma fell to the ground, and a cheerful system notification rang out.

[Your level has increased!]

[You have punished the heretic!]

[Light Church Contribution +35]

[Faith Stat +1]

[Madness Stat +1]

[Goddess’s Favor +0.16% (Current 50.27%)]

[An even stronger blessing of the goddess dwells within you.]

[Some combat abilities have increased.]

With the level-up, stats, contributions, and favor ratings all increased.

Indeed, eliminating a boss marked with the heretic seal highlighted the true strength of the Heretic Judge.

Although managing favor stats was challenging compared to other sects and often avoided by other players, like all classes in Warode, every drawback came with its advantages.

The Heretic Judge, heavily influenced by favor stats, showed incredible power when faithfully fulfilling the goddess’s demands, surpassing most professions.

Balanced dealing, tanking, and utility, along with numerous area-of-effect skills for a melee class, made group hunting effortless.

With many defense-penetrating skills, taking down pure tanks with high HP was easy, and though rare, there were even self-healing means available.

With such excellent skill composition and the stat boosts from favor-based skills, this was undoubtedly an outstanding all-rounder character rarely seen in solo play.

Though the situation was still unclear, he planned to cultivate his character enough to hold his own wherever he went until his calling was fulfilled.

Despite virtual reality gaming requiring physical effort unlike traditional online games, his past experience as a Ranker provided significant help, which he constantly felt since logging in.

His initial concerns about combat skills before starting Warode proved unfounded, and Eil had gained considerable confidence.

‘Now that I think about it, my Madness stat also increased…’

The sixth stat, Madness.

Alongside the Faith stat, the mysterious Madness stat also increased after defeating a heretic, but its exact nature remained unknown.

[This stat is inactive.]

“…What am I supposed to do with this?”

Eil stared dumbfounded at the inevitable system message that popped up.

Still shaking his head, suddenly the corpse of Latma behind him twitched.

With a grotesque wide-open mouth, he shouted while flapping his black robe.

“I am a necromancer who transcends death… I shall never die!”

Pahss…

Struggling, Latma toppled over, his unstable body dispersing into black ashes and vanishing.

Suddenly, a loud vibration echoed from above.

Dudududud!

Feeling the heavy tremor from the upper layer where the field hunting grounds were located, Eil smirked.

“So, the real game begins now.”

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[You are currently approaching the Apostle’s Path! (64.71%)]