Chapter 66

Level Up Heretic Inquisitor – Episode 66 (66/227)

Episode 66: 70% Luck, 30% Skill (6)

The eastern plaza of the bustling city was alive with noise.

Beneath the vast open space, crowds of people had gathered. At the center, in front of the fountain, a group of users had assembled.

“These guys outside the Warode game are close buddies too, waiting in a circle for someone.”

“When’s your sis gonna show up?”

“Ahh, she’ll be here soon, just wait patiently.”

The man at the forefront waved his arms as he spoke.

But the rest of the group couldn’t hide their excitement.

“You know I barely slept last night?”

“Hoooh, the Six Major Guilds, it’s so nerve-wracking!”

“Over there…!”

“She’s coming…!”

Everyone’s gaze fixated on one spot.

Among the mid-to-low level users, a woman dressed in extraordinary gear stood out as she approached.

With strikingly elegant armor and a black spear, this long brown-haired woman exuded an unusual presence.

“Woah…”

“Ah, hello there!”

The group greeted her nervously.

Smiling brightly, the woman replied, “Hello everyone! Nice to meet you all~”

Tasha’s cheerful voice sent the girls into squeals while the boys looked at her like they were seeing a long-admired idol.

A top-tier user in Warode, she belonged to Nightmare – one of the legendary Six Great Guilds that most players could only dream of joining.

Of course, her younger brother was completely unimpressed by all this fuss.

“Ugh, her whole act makes me wanna puke. I wanna punch her.”

SMACK!

The next moment, the complaining younger brother got kicked in the shins, his HP dropping rapidly.

Just from one kick to the shin, he was near death.

“Ghhh… Heal! Someone heal me quick…”

“This is what happens when low-levels get cheeky. Got it?”

In front of the panicked brother, Tasha smiled menacingly with one lip tightly pressed.

Barely saved by a fellow party member’s heal, the younger brother groaned as he struggled to stand.

“That monster…”

“Why don’t you listen properly before getting hit?”

Shrugging, Tasha returned to her normal tone.

She decided to drop the usual roleplay since her brother was around, even though maintaining character was common culture in Warode where gaming life and real life were kept separate.

SWISH.

As Tasha placed her hand on her waist, her cloak shifted slightly revealing the emblem hidden beneath.

The unmistakable black snake insignia of Nightmare etched onto her equipment.

“Wha… wow…”

“Seriously amazing. I never imagined someone connected to me would be part of the Six Great Guilds…”

The group buzzed with admiration again.

Nightmare Guild practically ruled over the entire Esmaier region, adding extra mystique to their presence.

Of course, to the younger brother who saw his messy older sister every day at home, all this fuss seemed excessive.

“So what? She’s just a grunt. Probably guarding some warehouse entrance or something.”

His comment drew an indignant response from a friend standing nearby.

“Hey idiot! Does that even make sense? That kind of work is done by subordinate guilds!”

“Wait, really?”

“Obviously not! Would you waste top-tier experts earning minimum hundreds of millions just doing basic guard duty?”

While it was true Tasha was still relatively new to Nightmare, generally speaking, important locations often had a mix of both NPCs and users for more flexible handling.

But even then, anyone capable of entering the Six Great Guilds was considered precious near-Ranker level power individually.

Assigning such high-level talents to worthless security duties that offered no stat upgrades would be a massive loss for any guild.

Such mundane tasks usually fell to the many subordinate guilds under them instead.

“Looks like your friends are smarter than you despite being related. Right?”

“Guh…”

Having been put in his place, the younger brother shut up immediately.

Though normally this time should have been spent either busy with work or leveling up, Tasha had taken a short break due to a special guild quest.

There was about a day left before the quest began, which usually would mean continuing other tasks during this period.

However, given the importance of this quest even from the guild’s perspective, they had ordered her to standby early at the destination in case of unexpected situations, allowing her to help out her brother’s university friends’ party briefly.

“By the way, you do know that partying with me won’t give you any experience points due to our level difference, right?”

“Even if so, do we look like we wouldn’t know that? We’re just trying to get some skill books.”

While shared experience wasn’t possible, obtaining boss drops like skill books and items was still feasible to some extent.

Of course, Warode implemented drop rate adjustments based on level differences to prevent excessive exploitation.

However, it wasn’t severe enough to be detrimental when teaming up with higher levels, and for lower-level players, receiving anything was beneficial if possible.

“Just keep a safe distance behind me. As long as you don’t get one-shot, you’ll be fine.”

“Yes sis!”

“We understand perfectly!”

Tasha gave a slight smile as the group responded enthusiastically.

Their eager faces reminded her of kindergarten kids looking up to their teacher, making her chuckle lightly.

As the group prepared to head towards the hunting ground, Tasha quietly approached her brother.

“There are fewer people than I expected.”

“One person went ahead to draw lots for the next round. It’s not a crowded place and the boss should appear quickly.”

“Got it. We’ll only do six attempts, right? Then I said I’d buy chicken later.”

“Nah, why should I when you’re making tons of money…”

“Then shall I cut off your allowance?”

“Ah, okay! Okay!”

The annoyed younger brother grumbled as Tasha laughed and took a step back.

But at that moment, a man pushing through the crowd tapped her shoulder and rushed past.

Naturally, Tasha’s attention followed him, spotting Ail being chased by pursuers across the plaza.

As he weaved through the crowd, others also noticed and turned their attention to the chase.

“Wow, isn’t that Amaranth Guild?”

“He doesn’t look high level, poor guy. Look how desperately he’s running.”

People recognized the Amaranth emblem on the pursuers, leaving no one willing to intervene for Ail.

It was too risky to jump in without knowing the consequences, so no one acted on mere sympathy or sense of justice.

Most eyes were focused on the Amaranth pursuers…

Except Tasha’s.

‘That’s…’

Pausing momentarily, Tasha fixed her gaze solely on Ail.

What most people missed – he was evading three Amaranth guild members despite the huge level gap.

Even in the brief encounter with the man who passed by, she could tell he was likely below level 40.

Yet somehow, he was consistently increasing the distance between them, signaling he was no ordinary player.

“Sorry, something came up.”

“What? Wait, sis!”

“Go ahead! I’ll catch up in a bit.”

POOF!

Tasha started chasing after Ail.

Though both he and the pursuers had disappeared into the crowd, she could track their progress from the distant commotion.

Moving swiftly, Tasha caught up with Amaranth and Ail, then took a shortcut using skills to leap onto a rooftop.

From her vantage point above, she continued observing the scene below.

Ail slipped gracefully through the crowd while Amaranth tried but failed to corner him using obstacles and side streets.

Despite the city guards stationed everywhere limiting direct attacks, his performance remained impressive.

Using incredible improvisation, he effectively closed the level gap between them.

‘Hmm, this is interesting…’

Tasha’s eyes gleamed faintly.

She had seen countless high-level players, but in this era where rookies were said to be lacking…

Discovering such a promising gem was truly rare.

WHOOSH!

Ail’s arm was suddenly grabbed and pulled aside.

It was Tasha, who had quietly descended from the building.

Startled by the unexpected turn while frantically fleeing, Ail tried to shake off her grip but found it immovable.

Her strength was far beyond normal.

“Finally got you, bastard…”

Meanwhile, Lucas, who had caught up first, swung his raised dagger violently.

Ail, firmly held in place, had no way to counter…

But the attack never reached him.

CHING!

Tasha easily deflected Lucas’s dagger and pushed him back with the recoil.

Stumbling backward, Lucas clutched his numb arm in shock while the other teammates hesitated upon arrival.

“I don’t sense any friendly vibes here… But this gentleman has business with me, so kindly continue on your way.”

Stepping forward, Tasha smiled lightly as she addressed them.

Their gazes naturally shifted to her guild emblem upon this sudden intrusion.

They were stunned.

The black snake emblem.

No sane person would fake membership in one of the Six Great Guilds, and her equipment clearly marked her as a genuine Nightmare guild member.

Toolong froze in place, startled.

If Ail had connections with Nightmare Guild from the start, this situation could escalate dangerously fast.

But before he could respond, Lucas stepped forward.

“So you’re telling us to back off and leave him alone?”

“Yes, please.”

“We’ve been assigned official guild duties here. What relation do you have with him?”

“Step aside. Unless you want things to get messy.”

“…What?”

Lucas bristled at her words.

“Hey, that’s enough…”

“Even being a Nightmare Guild member doesn’t excuse rude behavior. Meddling in unrelated matters without reason…”

POOF!

Suddenly, Tasha vanished.

A swift whirring sound accompanied by Lucas’s vision spinning wildly.

Kicked hard in the leg, he fell while two consecutive spear strikes instantly ended his life.

Each blow precisely targeting vital points.

This was the explosive mobility and damage dealing characteristic of an ambush-oriented spear specialist.

KA-BOOM!

The black spear pierced through Lucas’s corpse, embedding itself in the ground.

Needless to say, Lucas was dead in an instant. Another teammate who reacted instinctively was already critically wounded, face planted on the floor.

Only Toolong, who managed to restrain himself upon sensing her movement, remained standing.

“Y-you’re definitely…”

Realizing belatedly, Eil opened his partially visible info panel, confirming her level – 184.

The first ‘Near-Ranker’ level player Eil had ever encountered.

“Since when did Amaranth start ignoring reasonable communication…”

The cold glare directed at Toolong was a stark contrast to the cheerful person laughing with her brother moments ago.