Chapter 131

Level Up Heretic Judge – Chapter 131 (131/227)

Chapter 131: Underground World (5)

“Heretic!”

“Burn him! Absolutely, burn him!”

In the city square where the gallows stretched endlessly…

Formerly guilty gnolls were being dragged one by one to the execution pyres.

Their screams continued without end, and the countless surrounding gnolls cheered wildly at the sight.

Due to the relentless executions, the once overcrowded city prison was rapidly emptying out.

Clunk!

Just then, Ria emerged from a corner shop in the square with her arms full of goods and witnessed the scene.

“Guh…”

Her face inevitably turned pale.

Even though she’d seen this countless times on the way here, she simply couldn’t get used to it.

“Ho, um… Is there some kind of mark on my head or anything?”

“Nope, you’re fine.”

Eil exited the shop next, reassuring her.

They had been told multiple times that they wouldn’t be bothered, but clearly, she still felt uneasy.

“There’s no need to be scared. They’re actually pretty nice people once you get to know them.”

“T-They’re burning people alive right there…”

“Hmm… well…”

Eil awkwardly turned his head away.

At that moment, the other members of their group came out from the shop across the way.

“Are we done here?”

“Yes! Let’s get out of here quick!”

Roden approached Eil in hurried strides.

He looked visibly anxious.

Meanwhile, Alisa followed behind with a relaxed smile.

“We’ve got everything we need. Oh, and since we’re friends of Mr. Eil, they gave us half price? Maybe after this job, we should just settle down here. Not bad, huh?”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Hmm, looks like Roden is still having trouble adjusting.”

“Well, obviously! If I stay here any longer, I might go crazy. The things these gnolls say are starting to sound normal to me!”

Roden shook his head vigorously, unable to accept it.

Surrounded by so many abnormal people in the city, he was beginning to feel like the odd one out himself.

“Poor you, not knowing the greatness of our Goddess!”

“Eh…?”

A passing gnoll child stuck out their tongue and ran off.

Roden could only stare blankly at the child’s retreating back.

“Then let’s get moving now. The sooner we start, the better.”

Eil readily agreed with Roden’s suggestion.

Since they had gathered all the necessary supplies, there was nothing left to do in the city.

Besides, while this city saturated with faith was a source of pride for Eil, it could also be terrifying for others.

It wasn’t strange that some couldn’t adapt.

Anyway, with that decision made, the group quickly left the city.

Ria and Roden let out sighs of relief, while Alisa seemed oddly wistful, perhaps enjoying the unique scenery of the gnome-filled city.

But things outside weren’t much better.

The next towns, villages, even hunting grounds they passed through…

Everywhere, followers of the Light Church were everywhere.

Even the red orcs on the plains they had just crossed were working together to build a massive Temple of Lu, while far-off mountains were being carved into the likeness of Lu.

“This… Even I’m starting to feel a little scared.”

With such bizarre sights appearing one after another without end, even Alisa began breaking a nervous sweat.

For an entire city to be transformed would already be astonishing, but who would have thought an entire region could fall completely under the church’s influence?

It was truly unimaginable within the bounds of common sense.

‘Can we really escape this unscathed…?’

* * *

Eil’s party entered the dungeon they had targeted.

Inside the “Tomb of the Four Dragons,” which boasted an immense size, undead creatures filled the space. As expected from a high-difficulty dungeon infamous among nearby races, the level of the monsters wasn’t easy either.

But even so, the four of them, united as a party, were unstoppable.

Swoosh!

A spear swung boldly, severing a monster’s neck.

Roden’s consecutive sharp spear strikes were more impressive than ever before.

Without using a single active skill, he displayed incredible movements, sweeping away the undead coming from all sides.

Whoosh!

A massive wave of Sacred Flame swept past him.

This was Eil’s Baptism of Fire skill.

During this time, Eil’s skills had grown remarkably, and he was holding the front line alongside Roden, cutting down approaching monsters one after another.

Each monster was formidable enough not to be underestimated.

Moreover, the wide-open cave terrain with open access from all directions made it difficult to handle large numbers.

Nevertheless, Eil and Roden perfectly coordinated their moves to hold off the enemies.

Roar!

But inevitably, another roar echoed through the cave.

More undead appeared from every direction, swarming toward them.

There were so many that even skilled fighters like Eil and Roden began worrying about collapsing from exhaustion.

Of course, that was when only the two of them were present.

BOOM!

An explosion of flames erupted from the ground with a thunderous sound, engulfing the undead.

Once risen, the flames spread around, triggering powerful chain explosions.

The Hero-grade skill, Seeds of Destruction.

This was a large-scale magic spell that took over three minutes to cast, often overlooked by players due to its impracticality outside of large-scale siege battles despite its power.

However, it had taken less than thirty seconds for the spell to unleash its fury just now.

And the magic didn’t stop there.

KABOOM!

Ria continuously cast various high-powered spells, shaking the cave with intense magical bombardments.

These were attacks so powerful that it was hard to believe they came from the lowest-leveled member of the party.

“Hmph, no matter how many times I see it, I can’t get used to this…”

In the middle of the devastated cave, Roden muttered under his breath.

While Eil and Alisa had seen Ria’s abilities during previous hunts, this was Roden’s first time witnessing her fully unleashed.

She effortlessly fired off large-scale spells that usually required long casting times, treating them like simple magic.

A talent like hers was unheard of, not only in Armenia but even among the stories of Rankers.

POW!

At that moment, a white light shone, bringing healing.

The depleted health of Roden and Eil was instantly restored.

Various buffs, including blessings, were also granted, making their movements noticeably lighter.

“Thank you!”

“Don’t mention it.”

This was why healers were called nobles despite lacking personal combat ability.

Because they could provide healing and powerful buffs to their party members like this.

But Alisa went a step further than regular healers.

SLAP!

When an undead creature lunged at the mage, Alisa swung her staff, sending it plummeting off the cliff below.

Not only did she protect the inexperienced Ria from the monsters, but her close-combat skills as a healer were highly proficient.

Thanks to her abilities, Eil and Roden at the front lines could fight without worrying too much about rear protection.

‘This is really fun…’

A faint smile appeared on Roden’s lips during the battle.

Everyone else in the party, except for himself, hadn’t shown their true potential in front of others until now.

But what he saw now was everyone reaching a level almost equivalent to Rankers.

No, maybe even surpassing them.

BOOM!

The party, now fully energized, pushed forward through the dungeon without hesitation.

Their speed was incredibly fast, something most parties wouldn’t dare attempt.

Even with the same number of members, or even larger ten-member parties, it would be difficult to clear the dungeon so swiftly.

Around the time Eil and Roden leveled up again…

The group stopped briefly at a safe location for a mid-journey rest.

“Our hunger meter is almost gone, so let’s eat here.”

“I’ll prepare it.”

Once again, Alisa, with her high cooking rank, stepped forward.

Since entering the dungeon, she had been responsible for the party’s meals, allowing them to consume food with buff effects thanks to her high cooking rank.

“I’ll help too this time!”

“Thank you. Could you take care of that side please?”

Ria joined in to assist with the cooking, while Eil and Roden rechecked their equipment before setting off again.

“Then we’ll be going.”

“Be careful.”

Though they had paused to rest, they were heading out again.

Before officially starting their journey deeper, they wanted to conduct a preliminary reconnaissance inside.

This “Tomb of the Four Dragons” was undiscovered by other users, and even the gnomes managing the tomb knew nothing about its interior layout.

Moreover, the structure wasn’t a simple straight path but instead a complex maze branching off in all directions.

Thus, they needed to find their own way.

‘Given the polluted land, we’re moving towards suspicious points as a priority, but checking the route beforehand will still be helpful.’

Chirp!

Eil and Roden marked their simplified map while searching for paths.

Moving separately allowed them to move more stealthily, avoiding detection.

As they carefully mapped the complicated dungeon terrain while evading the monsters’ eyes…

They encountered a deep ravine with three bridges splitting off.

Beyond the bridges stood a horde of undead blocking the way.

Quickly hiding themselves, the duo watched the overwhelming numbers.

“There doesn’t seem to be any other way but to cross… But we can’t proceed further from here, right?”

“Hmm, seems so.”

Fighting such a large group alone was burdensome.

More importantly, defeating them all might attract even more undead upon hearing the noise.

For now, it was best to retreat without pushing too hard.

“When we went south earlier, it was a dead end, so focusing on this direction should work. Still, this place is much harder than we initially heard.”

“That’s true. The deeper we go, the worse it gets… It seems like the pollution is increasing the number of monsters as well.”

The dungeon was much tougher than what they had been told by the gnome who originally requested this quest.

With the added complication of land pollution in an already challenging dungeon, it was giving them quite a headache.

“Let’s head back then.”

“Hold on! Down there…”

Startled, Roden pointed down into the ravine.

Eil’s gaze instinctively followed downward to the cliff below.

‘I see it…!’

Through the dim darkness, a long object faintly came into view.

It was the tail of the colossal dragon.

“There it was.”