Chapter 90

Level Up IlDanSimPanGwan – Chapter 90 (90/227)

Chapter 90: Desperate Alliance (3)

KWAHAAAAANG!

A massive explosion erupted, and after being blasted a considerable distance, Ail tumbled across the floor.

“Ugh…”

Ail, whose appearance was now in shambles, groaned as he braced himself with his arm.

Checking his own stamina, he found that his vitality was almost depleted, matching the ragged state of his body.

It was an impossibly close call—pure luck that he’d survived this far.

Barely clinging to life, Ail hastily pulled out a recovery potion and drank it.

But despite swallowing all the contents of the bottle, no effect manifested.

Recovery potions should have taken immediate effect, yet Ail’s health remained exactly as it had been before drinking.

[An unknown wave is filling the room!]

[Debuff: ‘Recovery Disabled’ has rendered the potion ineffective!]

“Damn it, is this forbidden magic too?”

Due to the “Recovery Disabled” aura, all healing effects from potions or otherwise were rendered powerless.

While elemental magic or dark magic are commonly used in Warode, he’d heard beforehand that forbidden magic often defies common sense.

But even this was something Ail hadn’t heard or seen before—a completely absurd magical effect.

“If she can’t die… it’s ridiculous.”

Just like Ail, Mute—who had been at the center of the explosion—rose up, regenerating her wounds.

Even after having her heart pierced and caught in her own magic, her health was still full.

“There has to be some kind of weakness… what’s the strategy here?”

In situations like these, there are usually a few patterns.

Either there’s a critical weakness somewhere on her body, or she needs to be defeated a certain number of times until her stamina depletes entirely.

Or maybe something external is supplying her life force that needs to be destroyed.

“That must be it.”

Ail’s gaze locked onto something.

The black obelisk atop the altar.

Since it could freely resurrect dead bodies, it stood out as the most likely culprit.

The longer time dragged on, the more disadvantageous the situation became. With the target identified, there was no time to waste—it needed to be destroyed immediately.

But Ail suddenly felt dizzy and clutched his head.

His health stats were so low he shouldn’t even be conscious.

Any small attack could kill him at this precarious state.

KWAAHHHHNG!

Another magic blade from Mute came flying toward him.

Even amidst the chaos, Ail forced his battered body to move.

The magic seemed stronger than before, flipping the floor upside down. To make matters worse, a giant beast leapt from behind to attack.

CHIIIAAAKK!

A long spear slashed through the beast, leaving a deep gash. The already wounded creature collapsed, losing its strength.

It was Roden who had shaken off the earlier beasts and followed up from below.

“Ail-sama! Are you alright?”

Seeing Ail’s battered state, Roden asked.

But Ail immediately pointed toward the top of the altar and shouted.

“You need to aim for that obelisk!”

“Obelisk…? Ah, understood!”

Looking upward, Roden nodded.

Given how Mute hadn’t died earlier, Roden roughly grasped the situation.

Together, they began running toward the top.

“Hold them back!”

At Mute’s command, the beasts rushed forward to block their path.

But her reaction only confirmed that targeting the obelisk was crucial to defeating her.

Facing a charging giant bear, Ail used a reverse technique to swiftly bypass it and continue onward.

If they kept going, it would be impossible for her to stop them before the obelisk was destroyed.

But Mute grinned wickedly, blood smeared across her lips.

“They’ve finally arrived.”

Through pre-set detection magic, she sensed countless presences above.

Judges from the Heretical Interrogation Office had entered the dungeon.

“It doesn’t matter if you target the obelisk or not. The activation process is already complete!”

KEEEEEENG!

The massive mana gathered above the altar violently surged.

Mute, confirming all targets were within range, was about to activate the annihilation magic circle.

“I’ll send you all together!”

“What do we do…?”

Ail, rushing upward, abruptly stopped.

There was still some distance left to reach the top of the altar, and while the obelisk acted as the mana supplier, the separate mana gathering for the magic circle was already prepared for activation.

Even if he could destroy the obelisk right now, it would only prevent Mute’s resurrection—not halt the main magic circle.

To stop the activation of the circle itself, he’d need to first destroy the obelisk, then kill Mute—the one initiating the circle—but there simply wasn’t enough time.

Considering the nature of forbidden magic, this large-scale magic circle probably didn’t require much casting time either.

“Ail-sama, please go ahead!”

Roden stepped forward and shouted.

“I’ll take care of her. Even if I can’t kill her, I’ll restrain her to buy some time by preventing her from casting.”

“Just a moment, that’s way too dangerous without proper preparation.”

Their opponent was a mage who couldn’t die and could unleash devastating area attacks without any casting time.

Needless to say, facing such a terrifying existence was daunting.

Especially for melee classes, maintaining control alone would be incredibly difficult.

If she just kept spamming the same area magic she used against Ail earlier, Roden would likely get wiped out quickly.

“Anyway, if we don’t stop her, we’re all dead. Unless you doubt my skills?”

Roden flashed a playful grin.

Caught in a desperate situation, Ail had no choice but to nod.

“In that case… I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yeah, honestly, this is a tough job, so please hurry up and finish things as fast as possible.”

“I’ll try my best.”

As soon as the words ended, Ail and Roden split up and moved.

Ail pushed through the beasts toward the obelisk at the top of the altar, while Roden powerfully leaped downward, landing on the floor where Mute was.

BOOM!

Despite his legs tingling with pain, Roden pulled a sword from his inventory and threw it.

Whistling through the air, the sword embedded itself precisely into her arm.

The impact caused Mute to stagger, and her health visibly dropped.

Of course, for someone who couldn’t die, this reduction in health meant nothing.

However, one thing was clear.

The previous strike had successfully interrupted the large-scale annihilation magic.

“Don’t interfere…”

Her enraged gaze fixed on Roden.

A substantial amount of mana gathered in Mute’s staff, and sweat dripped down Roden’s forehead.

All he could do now was hope Ail resolved the situation as quickly as possible.

* * *

Ever since seeing it from below, Ail realized the altar was far from small.

Compared to the altar in the Village of Doom, this one located beneath the abandoned temple complex, a stronghold of the fanatics, was enormous.

With barely any health remaining, Ail’s breathing grew labored as he ascended the stairs step by step.

Endless gigantic beasts continuously obstructed his path, but he evaded their attacks, knocking them down or directly defeating them to break through.

Though every step felt like walking a tightrope on the brink of death, now wasn’t the time to complain.

BOOM!

Another loud explosion sounded from below.

It was likely Mute’s magic striking again.

By now, Roden, who was buying time against her, was probably getting annihilated.

“Not much further…!”

He could see the end of the stairs approaching.

He had managed to create quite some distance between himself and the other pursuing beasts.

But inevitably, another monster blocked his path.

“KIIIIEEEE!”

This time, a colossal demon bird perched on the staircase, blocking his way.

Spreading its massive wings wide, it roared, as if declaring that he wouldn’t pass.

From the start, it had been screaming loudly and hindering his progress, making his ears ring.

“Shut up! You can’t even fly!”

KWAAAAAH!

In one swift motion, Ail sliced through the demon bird’s gaping mouth.

Using the hero-grade skill he’d saved until now, “One Slice,” the creature was split in half and engulfed in powerful flames.

Losing its balance, the demon bird wobbled and fell, tumbling down the stairs.

On the way down, it collided with a few other monsters chasing Ail, sending them all rolling down.

THUD!

Finally reaching the top, Ail stood in front of the obelisk.

Facing the ominous black stone emanating sinister energy, Ail swapped his weapon for a greatsword.

Unless the weapon had special properties, large weapons like greatswords were far more efficient at destroying terrain features like this.

KWAANG!

With a heavy swing, Ail struck the obelisk, leaving a deep crack.

But that wasn’t enough.

The massive obelisk showed no signs of breaking, so Ail continued swinging his greatsword.

He needed to destroy it as quickly as possible before the monsters he’d narrowly escaped caught up and interfered.

With each powerful strike of the greatsword, the cracks on the obelisk widened.

“This is the last one…!”

Clutching his teeth tightly, Ail delivered one final blow to the shattered black stone.

KRAAACK!

The fiery greatsword plunged deep into the core of the obelisk.

Then, the obelisk, which had cracks spreading everywhere, glowed brightly, expelled all the dark mana it contained, and shattered into pieces.

Having lost its original form, the obelisk was utterly destroyed.

Down below, Roden watched anxiously as the obelisk disintegrated.

PUHUUUK!

Roden immediately acted, throwing his spear, which pierced straight through Mute’s chest.

The sharp spear emerged from her back, and a stream of crimson blood spewed from her mouth.

“GRRRAAGH…”

She dropped to her knees, trembling in shock, unable to believe what had happened. Not long after, her eyes lost their light.

[You have leveled up!]