Chapter 35

Level Up Heresy Inquisitor – Chapter 35 (35/227)

Chapter 35: Ruins (4)

Contribution Point Shop.

A special shop only usable by users with faith, and a place where contribution points earned through the Church can be spent.

At the same time, it was also another reason why users endure various penalties to believe in gods within the game.

Originally, to buy items with contribution points, one had to visit the temple of the corresponding god in each city. However, Ail could access it anywhere thanks to his Apostle status.

[Search function activated!]

As Ail waved his hand, countless items appeared before him—so many they couldn’t even be counted in the hundreds or thousands!

From basic healing potions to high-tier doping elixirs, equipment items, various magic scrolls, consumables, and random junk items whose uses weren’t immediately clear.

Normally, the available items would be limited based on one’s rank within the church. But for Ail, who held the highest position of Apostle, such restrictions didn’t apply.

Being the sole individual directly acknowledged by the goddess worshiped by the church made this perfectly natural.

With enough contribution points, anything could be purchased.

[Current Contribution Points: 605]

Ail’s contribution points stood at 605—a considerable number considering his level.

Had he not defeated numerous heretics and blasphemers through PVP and boss hunts, or accepted quests directly from the goddess herself, there’s no way he’d have amassed such a score.

The moment the shop interface appeared, Ail quickly selected an item he’d already planned to buy.

There was no time for leisurely shopping when facing a boss looming ahead.

[Purchase complete!]

[Upper-grade Banishment Scroll – Level 16]

[Consumed 600 contribution points.]

Without hesitation, Ail chose a magic scroll.

The “upper-grade” prefix indicated its tier among scrolls.

To maintain balance, most consumable items bought from contribution shops had effects that scaled with level.

However, that wasn’t all.

Even within the same level range, items were further divided into ranks based on their potency, ranging from lowest to special grade.

Given the massive differences in effectiveness between scrolls of the same type but different ranks, Ail opted for the upper-grade scroll despite the hefty cost, using a significant portion of his contribution points.

When fighting bosses above your own level, you needed something this powerful to see results.

Whirrr!

The scroll unfurled across the floor as Ail placed his hand upon it.

He had chosen a scroll containing the divine magic “Banishment,” which dealt devastating damage to demons, undead monsters, or anyone designated as heretical by the Light Church.

Though normally ineffective against statues, the synergy with the “Heresy Designation” skill he used earlier made this choice a no-brainer.

Whoosh!

As Ail placed his hand on the scroll, a surge of white light shot out toward the giant statue.

The statue, enveloped in light, writhed under the impact.

Its surface bubbled and melted away, dealing substantial damage to its health bar.

While the light persisted, it applied continuous damage and interference effects, combining with the slowing curse to completely turn the tide of battle.

“Hmm…”

Lisa stared in surprise at the sudden appearance of the scroll and the powerful divine magic, but now wasn’t the time for awe. She swiftly cast a final healing spell on Ail to restore his HP, then circled around to draw the giant’s attention away.

Meanwhile, Ail charged forward without hesitation, pressing the attack.

The duration of the upper-grade Banishment magic was 25 seconds.

They had to resolve things within that timeframe.

KAGAKAGA!

The massive stone statue thrashed wildly, smashing pillars and the floor in its desperate attempt to crush the intruders.

But slowed by the interference effect and cursed debuff, it couldn’t accurately target them.

Additionally, the banishment magic melted the statue’s hard surface, reducing its defense and accelerating the boss fight.

Despite the chaos caused by the giant’s violent thrashing, Ail continuously inflicted damage while Lisa kept circling from the opposite side.

Attacked from both flanks, the statue’s health bar had dropped significantly compared to its initial strength.

And just as the banishment magic was about to expire…

BOOM!

Suddenly, the statue revealed a second attack pattern.

It raised its glowing red arms high before slamming them down onto the ground.

The resulting shockwave shattered every pillar inside the room, shaking the entire chamber violently.

KUGUGUGUNG!

Cracks rapidly spread across the ceiling, raining debris everywhere.

Sensing the ominous energy, Ail and Lisa hurriedly distanced themselves from the giant.

“The statue has stopped moving.”

Lisa pointed at the giant.

After striking the ground once with both fists, the creature collapsed onto its knees, seemingly paralyzed or having expended its last reserves of energy. It showed no signs of movement for now.

“But…this feels dangerous.”

Ail wiped nervous sweat from his brow.

Due to the statue’s final wide-area attack, all the supporting pillars had collapsed, causing the entire room to crumble rapidly.

Even during their brief exchange, the large chunks of falling debris clearly demonstrated the severity of the situation.

But even if they had noticed these warning signs sooner, escaping the room was impossible given the distance, and there was no safe spot amidst the crumbling structure.

An unavoidable situation.

CRASHHH!

Time waited for no one. Before they could devise a proper response, the ceiling began collapsing.

If caught in the collapse of such a vast space, death by crushing was inevitable regardless of level. ‘Seriously? Creating a pattern like this for a measly level 26 boss…’

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Amidst the ceaseless rain of boulders, Ail couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

For low-level players tackling a boss of this level, most would only possess basic skills and lack any standout gear, leaving them utterly helpless against patterns like this.

Even though Worode dungeons and bosses varied wildly in difficulty, patterns this extreme typically only appeared after reaching higher levels.

Fortunately, Ail had one method to survive.

“Lisa-sama!”

Ail shouted and forcefully pulled her toward him.

“Eep…?”

Caught off guard by the sudden force, Lisa found herself yanked into Ail’s embrace.

CRASHHH!

The ceiling collapsed entirely onto the floor, burying the spot where they had stood beneath layers of rocks.

Silence fell over the room.

* * *

“Cough cough!”

Lisa managed to poke her head out from between two large boulders.

Inside the devastated chamber, surrounded by swirling dust, she took a deep breath of cold air.

Behind her, Ail emerged from the rubble.

Though bruised and battered, neither of them seemed seriously injured—an incredible feat given how thoroughly crushed they should’ve been.

The reason they survived what seemed like certain death?

Thanks to the accessories Ail wore.

‘Thank goodness I saved these… If I’d used them blocking the first attack, we might’ve died.’

Standing atop a pile of rocks, Ail glanced down at the ring on his finger.

The three-piece set of black gemstone accessories granted one-time immunity to all attacks.

Just before being buried under the collapsing ceiling, Ail activated the set effect, creating a dark protective barrier that absorbed the impact.

He hadn’t used the effect during the statue battle because, as a first-time encounter, he wanted to save it for unexpected patterns.

Of course, he hadn’t anticipated a pattern quite like this—but it turned out to be a stroke of luck.

Zzzz…

Lisa’s healing spell activated, restoring their HP.

Looking around from atop the rubble, they saw that fortunately, the entire underground ruin hadn’t collapsed.

Only the room’s ceiling had fallen, with no further chain reactions occurring.

It seemed the structure had been designed to withstand impacts like this.

“Guess our hard work was for nothing…”

Ail clicked his tongue regretfully.

The statue they had defeated now lay completely buried beneath thick layers of debris, its form invisible.

Naturally, looting items from beneath this pile was impossible.

“Haha, just surviving is achievement enough.”

She was right; escaping death in that situation was impressive in itself.

Even dodging the first blow thanks to the accessory effect, they still risked being killed by falling rocks or trapped helplessly beneath the rubble.

Their safe escape was nothing short of lucky.

And it wasn’t a total loss.

Experience from defeating the statue flowed in steadily, raising their levels.

In Ail’s case, he also gained normal contributions and exclusive stats for eliminating heresy.

Though spending all his accumulated contribution points was unfortunate, survival and avoiding death penalties far outweighed the cost of the scroll.

“We should check if there’s another passage…”

With the ceiling collapsed like this, the original passage was obviously blocked.

Neither the entrance they came through nor the exit on the opposite side was visible beneath the rubble.

They’d need to find a new way out.

“Ail-sama, look over there!”

Lisa suddenly pointed in one direction.

Turning his gaze, Ail spotted a passageway along the wall hidden beneath the densely stacked debris.

Normally concealed within the thick ceiling, the small tunnel was now exposed due to the collapse.

Just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Its clean shape clearly indicated it wasn’t a mere crack formed by the collapse—it had been deliberately constructed during the room’s creation.

There were two passages positioned as if anticipating the ceiling collapse—one leading deeper into the ruins, the other back outside.

This suggested the guardian was designed from the start to self-destruct along with any intruders.

The terrain-destroying design was typical of scenario dungeons, and fields crafted in this manner were extremely rare.

The sudden appearance of monsters and baffling boss patterns gave the place an unsettling vibe.

Still, they wasted no time hesitating.

Climbing over the rubble, they approached the internal passage.

Now was the time to see what awaited them at the end of this journey.