Chapter 29

Level Up IlDanSimPanGwan – Episode 29 (29/227)

Episode 29: Quest IN (6)

SSSAAA!

Ail hastily retreated, sliding to a stop on the floor.

He had landed a precise hit and successfully inflicted temporary stun, but that was as far as it went for now.

Though he wanted to land a follow-up attack, he didn’t push his luck.

“Huff, just like the description said…mana consumption is insane.”

Checking his remaining mana, Ail shook his head slightly.

Using just that one evasion skill had drained about a quarter of his max mana.

This was partly because he hadn’t invested in magic stats at all, and partly because the skill was indeed mana-intensive for its performance.

“This is…”

Lisa, witnessing this, stared blankly at him for a moment.

The technique Ail had just used was clearly the rare-grade skill “Reversal.”

She knew this skill too.

Learning a rare-grade skill at level 10 wasn’t something that happened by mere good fortune.

GRRRAAAHHH!

Gahar began roaring with his skeletal mouth wide open.

There was no time for admiration or conversation.

Dodging another swing from Gahar’s greatsword, Ail struck at the extended leg.

With such a skeletonized opponent lacking flesh, cutting wasn’t effective – shock impact was the priority.

However, while dealing with the chains wrapping around from Gahar, Ail missed an important detail:

That the brute had swung his massive greatsword with only one hand.

Gahar’s free left arm stretched out.

SLAP!

Struck by the heavy fist, Ail was sent flying quite a distance.

Even so, he managed to twist his body mid-air, though his leg ended up completely broken and immobile.

But the game wasn’t over yet.

ZZZT!

Encased in white light, strength returned to his leg.

It was Lisa’s healing skill.

The healing came in almost instantly after being hit, allowing Ail to move before Gahar could approach.

Facing such a dangerous enemy where one critical hit could end things, Lisa had been constantly monitoring the situation, maintaining Ail’s health at 100% with well-timed healing spells.

KREEEE!

The chain whipped through the air.

Initially uninterested in Lisa, Gahar seemed annoyed by her healing and aimed directly at her position.

BOOOOM!

The thick chain demonstrated formidable power, destroying everything in its path.

A healer wearing robes with little investment in stamina stats would have been instantly killed if caught in that attack.

But it didn’t reach Lisa.

She simply took one step away from her original position, evading all the multiple chains.

The ground narrowly split apart on either side of her.

Her calm stance on that spot clearly showed she had calculated the chain’s trajectory precisely in advance.

SWOOSH!

Taking advantage of this opening, Ail leapt in from behind and swung his sword.

Another direct hit landed, causing the creature to stagger forward.

For such a bulky monster, this reaction was impressive.

“…What?”

But something was off.

Checking Gahar’s remaining HP, there was barely any difference from before.

Considering he’d landed three successful hits, the damage was excessively low.

The level gap between them wasn’t extreme, and the longsword he’d purchased easily surpassed average quality.

The fact it barely made a dent indicated there was an issue.

“Could it be…physical resistance?” Ail frowned, thinking.

If his guess was correct, this boss was the worst possible matchup.

Monsters with physical resistance typically required a mage to handle, making them especially troublesome among bosses.

Particularly problematic for Ail, who had no other means of attack besides swinging his sword.

Even Lisa as a healer had no way to deal non-physical damage.

While healers could eventually learn auxiliary attack spells, that was impossible at their current level.

KAGAKAGA!

Ail charged in again, attacking Gahar.

As expected, the HP decrease was minimal.

This confirmed the presence of physical resistance beyond doubt.

Lisa also seemed to have fully grasped Gahar’s characteristics.

“Looks like he has physical resistance. Is overcoming this even possible?”

“Yes, we must try.”

Ail gripped his longsword tightly.

They couldn’t afford to give up after coming this far.

KAWWWWW!

The monster’s attacks grew increasingly fierce, showing no regard for their situation.

“I need to figure out a solution somehow…”

Dodging the creature’s attacks, Ail searched for a method in his mind.

But currently, no clear brilliant ideas came to mind.

There were no mages available to bring in immediately, nor any terrain features to exploit with quick thinking.

“Guess brute force frontal assault is the only answer…”

As long as it wasn’t full immunity, damage would go through with enough strikes.

With sufficient skill and focus, it wasn’t entirely impossible.

Thanks to the “Blade of Hatred” passive ability increasing damage against heresy by 25%, the boss’s HP bar wasn’t completely unmoving.

Of course, it wasn’t as easy as talking about it.

Breaking through purely with raw power would make the difficulty several times greater.

“With no other options, can’t be helped…”

CHUNK.

Ail tightened his grip on the sword.

* * *

BOOOM!

“GRK!”

Ail was sent flying after grazing against the swinging chain.

Colliding with the wall along his flight path caused secondary damage, and his health dropped precipitously.

If Lisa hadn’t healed him immediately after being hit, it would have been game over.

“Just 30% left…”

Checking the boss’s HP, Ail sighed quietly.

Despite battling for what felt like ages against a single target, they had only progressed to one-third completion.

Successfully reaching this point against a physically resistant enemy was already remarkable.

But such accomplishments alone don’t earn recognition.

What he needed now was results.

“Big problem…”

Fighting a boss instead of regular mobs for such an extended period, he could feel his concentration gradually slipping.

Lisa signaled that her few remaining mana potions were almost gone, while Gahar still had about 70% HP remaining.

SWISH SWISH!

Suddenly, black fog started filling the large room.

The fog rising to knee-level emitted a distinctly ominous aura.

“Second phase, huh…”

TSSTTSST!

From the black stone in the center of the room, dark light spread out like snakes slithering across the ground.

The ground cracked and split apart.

Arms emerged from the fissures, followed by corpses crawling out one by one.

Revived by the stone’s power.

Dozens visible from all sides.

With the boss’s HP still stubbornly high and dozens of summoned regular monsters, the situation became even more dire.

This dungeon was never designed for two people to easily clear.

Realizing this, Lisa quickly shouted.

“Ail-sama, this is reckless! We should abandon this dungeon run…”

“No, actually this works out perfectly.”

Though the situation had clearly become much more difficult…

A smile of satisfaction appeared on Ail’s lips instead.

Sometimes variables appearing in hopeless situations can provide new solutions.

One of the howling monsters charging from all sides lunged at Ail, who turned and cleanly cut it down with a single stroke.

The decapitated undead fell backward, and Ail’s experience bar filled slightly.

Even summoned creatures counted as proper monsters, automatically granting experience points.

At that moment, a system message he’d been waiting for popped up in front of him.

[You have leveled up!]

“Finally…”

With only a little experience left to next level, defeating that monster pushed Ail to the next level.

Now level 15.

The level required to acquire a basic class skill.

[Achieved Level 15! You will gain one basic job skill. Please select your skill to learn.]

[Acquired Basic Sacred Flame Skill!]

“Good.”

Swiftly selecting the skill, Ail smiled.

Sacred Flame, practically symbolic of the Heresy Judge class.

Time for its true potential to shine.

Lifting his sword, Ail placed two fingers on its blade and gently traced it.

WHOOSH!

White flames erupted along the length of his longsword.

The sight of the smooth blade wreathed in white fire was mesmerizing, emitting a far brighter light than normal flames, illuminating the previously dark surroundings.

But the mindless corpses continued charging at him without hesitation.

KAAW!

Swinging his flaming sword, Ail cleaved through the undead.

As he severed their bodies, fierce white flames erupted in his wake, incinerating surrounding enemies as well.

An attack possessing both holy and fire attributes, undoubtedly the bane of all undead.

Powerful damage dealt, the corpses crumbled into ash.

Even Gahar momentarily paused at the sight of Ail revealed within the flames.

But quickly regaining composure, Gahar swung his greatsword, with his violent chain following closely.

KAGAGAGA!

The greatsword and chain shattered the floor around where Ail stood, showcasing their immense power.

But once again, they failed to reach him.

Mana replenished beforehand with potions, distance sufficiently closed.

SWOOSH!

Using Reversal, Ail instantly appeared floating behind the creature.

Acceleration achieved, he pulled back his sword and swung it forcefully forward.

KAABOOOM!

“GAHAAAA!”

For the first time, Gahar let out a pained cry.

White flames engulfed the area where his sword cut, continuously inflicting burning and holy damage.

Being undead himself, these damages from Sacred Flame were magical in nature, unaffected by physical resistance.

The significantly dropping HP bar confirmed this.

It was time to end this long raid.