Chapter 91

Level Up IlDanSimPanGwan – Episode 91 (91/227)

Episode 91: The Cult Squad (4)

“Whew!”

Ail, who had collapsed on the floor and guzzled a potion, let out a sigh of relief.

His barely hanging-on stamina gauge refilled to max, making life feel worth living again.

Without any particular rush, Ail leisurely got up.

The Undead in the room had all fallen due to the shockwave from the Command Stone’s destruction, and it was confirmed that the Cult Squad mage who orchestrated this was also dead. Thus, there were no more hostiles left in the area.

Ail trudged down the stairs toward where Roden lay sprawled out.

“Mr. Roden, are you alright?”

“Ail…?”

Roden, lying there, abruptly sat up.

“Ugh, look at me! Half my body is scorched… I almost kicked the bucket!”

Roden exclaimed dramatically.

But it wasn’t just an act; his body was genuinely marked with traces of various spells everywhere.

“At least you’re safe, which is a relief.”

“Haha, your timing was absolutely perfect!”

Ail helped Roden up by grabbing his hand.

It had been a battle with an extremely tough difficulty, but they’d cleared it flawlessly without casualties or injuries.

And especially for Ail, this situation was highly advantageous.

First off, he’d completed the quest given by the Executive brilliantly and would receive additional rewards. Moreover, he’d managed to rescue a large number of Inquisitors from the Church who would’ve been wiped out if the plot hadn’t been thwarted.

And most importantly…

He had uncovered new clues regarding the ongoing World Quest.

The World Quest that began with Sebera of Bloody Hands had not seen much progress since visiting the high-level dungeon, the King’s Tomb, leaving things stagnant.

Additionally, although they found a Command Stone at the Hardrock Cave where the thieves were stationed, its exact nature remained unclear at the time.

However, things changed after completing this quest.

It became evident that the Command Stones discovered here could freely resurrect the dead and possessed immense mana supply capabilities, showcasing their incredible power.

Moreover, considering that the Cult Squad operated these stones, it was almost certain that they were deeply involved in the World Quest.

‘Alright, what now…?’

Ail began pondering how to connect the facts he’d learned here with the quest and proceed further.

Unlike past online games where routes were clearly laid out, the linked quests in Warode, which claimed to be another world, didn’t automatically continue.

He had to thoroughly search for clues and forge ahead on his own.

But before Ail could come up with a proper answer, Roden shook him awake.

“Why… why?”

“What are you so deep in thought about?”

“Not much, just…”

“Meh, never mind. Hurry up. We need to loot the bodies around here.”

Indeed, looking around, there were plenty of corpses scattered about — cultists, beasts, and undead monsters alike.

To avoid wasting too much time, it was best to start looting as soon as possible.

Nodding his head, Ail started moving along with Roden.

They approached Mute first, who was both the main culprit behind this event and closest to them.

Given her status as a member of the Cult Squad and the trouble she caused, they expected her to drop some good items.

However, upon closer inspection, there was no faint glow indicating lootability on her corpse.

Even after checking thoroughly, only a message appeared stating that looting was impossible.

“This is weird… troubling.”

“Hmm, maybe she didn’t drop anything?”

“That’s unlikely, right?”

“Well, yeah, but other than that… Yikes! What, what is that?!”

Suddenly, Mute’s corpse twitched, causing Roden to jump back.

Her limp arm moved and grabbed Ail by the collar.

Caught off guard, Ail kicked her staff away and hastily drew his weapon.

Unbelievably, she wasn’t fully dead yet, which was giving him chills.

But Mute merely locked her gaze on him and uttered one phrase.

“I’ll remember you… Ail.”

Chiiiik!

With those words, Mute’s body rapidly decayed and melted away.

Her blackened, melting form emitted an unbearable stench of rot.

“So she’s finally dead…”

“Jeez. Even the cleanup is troublesome, really.”

Roden, pinching his nose and stepping back, complained.

Though Ail had faced countless undead creatures since starting the game, this level of stink wasn’t much of an issue for him.

He was naturally less sensitive to such things.

What truly occupied Ail’s thoughts now was the identity of the Mute they had defeated.

‘Could it be that our opponent till now was just a decoy?’

The Mute they fought wasn’t her true self from the beginning.

She was a false decoy created through forbidden magic, far weaker than the actual puppeteer controlling her remotely.

‘Remember… did she reveal her name for nothing? Or if she lied from the start, we might not have gotten anything.’

* * *

After a minor commotion caused by Mute, Ail and Roden went around the room collecting items.

They gathered and organized the spoils from the battle to ensure smooth distribution.

The first thing that caught their eye were the ten fragments obtained from the Command Stone.

There was no special ability written on them, and even Ail couldn’t determine their exact nature.

However, when Ail declared they were related to his quest, Roden readily handed over all the fragments. Since Roden didn’t have a World Quest himself, it was a reasonable decision.

Next were the items and money dropped by the monsters.

As long as their desires didn’t overlap, they divided the equipment based on necessity. The remaining items were distributed according to market value.

‘But there doesn’t seem to be any extra reward.’

Ail scratched his head, noticing the absence of a message window.

Despite accomplishing something significant for the Church, the Goddess gave no sign.

Had it not been for Lu’s patronage, he wouldn’t have minded, but having grown accustomed to their exchanges, Ail felt slightly disappointed.

Still, even after finishing the distribution process, Lu’s message never came, and they both stood up.

“Seriously, is this the end of the dungeon? Isn’t the reward way too little after all that effort?”

Leaning casually against the wall, Roden vented his complaints.

Ail silently nodded in agreement.

Honestly, he completely agreed with Roden.

Exploring a new dungeon wasn’t easy.

All they had were the drops from hunting undead monsters, and it was frustrating to think this would end so anticlimactically.

Nevertheless, despite searching thoroughly while collecting items, they found nothing noteworthy, forcing them to reluctantly descend the altar steps.

“Wait, here…”

“But it wasn’t here just a moment ago, right?”

Ail and Roden stopped simultaneously upon descending the steps.

Right beside the staircase, a round entrance had appeared.

Upon discovering the entrance, they wasted no time rushing inside, quickly finding themselves in a beautifully adorned inner chamber.

The small room was filled with treasures — a large chest, piles of gold coins on the table, and equipment displayed on stands.

“Yes! This is it!”

“Haha…”

The Spoils Room.

It was a place nearly every player loved unconditionally.

While such hidden spaces weren’t uncommon, this one seemed delayed due to the magical influence surrounding the entire room.

Seeing the long windows, Roden excitedly ran toward the display stand, while Ail headed in the opposite direction.

Stacks of antiques lined one wall.

Kneeling down, Ail carefully examined each item as he picked them up.

Though he wasn’t an appraiser and couldn’t immediately assess their value, the items showed minimal damage and overall quality, giving him hope.

Particularly, the shelves filled with ancient books caught his eye.

Though covered in grime and written in an unknown language, such rare tomes always carried the potential for big discoveries.

Standing up, Ail turned his head to look at Roden.

“How’s it going over there?”

“How do you think? It’s obviously a jackpot.”

Roden, busy inspecting the windows, replied with satisfaction.

The weapons and armor displayed on the stands were all top-notch, fitting rewards for clearing a new dungeon.

But then Roden paused, putting down the window and speaking up.

“I heard earlier that people from the Church were coming, right? How’s the upper level doing?”

“Now that you mention it…”

Ail recalled the Heresy Judges who had entered here.

Their focus had solely been on stopping the Cult Squad’s plot, but by now, a fierce battle must’ve erupted as they stormed the dungeon.

The massive wave of monsters unleashed due to the activation of the four summoning circles earlier was undoubtedly overwhelming.

However, what worried him now wasn’t that.

“Gaaaaah!”

Sure enough, screams echoed throughout the dungeon.

The judges had unleashed Sacred Flames, burning the dungeon to ashes. They captured and executed not only the undead cultists and monsters but also users marked with the heretic symbol above their heads.

It didn’t stop there.

This place was infamous as a den of demon worshippers, and anyone present was suspected of collaboration.

Even users without the heretic mark were subdued and arrested for follow-up investigations.

Terrified users tried to escape from their pursuit, but escaping the Level-overwhelming Judges of Lu was impossible.

From the judges’ perspective, tasked with rooting out heretics and evildoers, it was understandable behavior. But this was precisely why the Light Church had gained a bad reputation among users.

“The sinners shall kneel, bow their heads, and seek forgiveness from the deity! I will cut off their heads and send them to Him!”