Chapter 105

Level Up Heresy Judge – Episode 105 (105/227)

Episode 105: Out-of-Spec Trader (4)

“Whoa… that’s intense.”

Eil let out an exclamation as he watched the footage.

The scene showed a massive fire spell sweeping away the entire guild building.

This video, uploaded just tens of minutes ago, was already making waves, showing a mid-tier guild being wiped out without any holds barred.

If Nightmare had followed their usual methods, they would’ve sent just three or four members to annihilate the guild.

That number would’ve been more than sufficient.

But the reason they sent six guild members…

“This must be them showing goodwill.”

Eil smirked faintly.

Having personally visited Media, Eil successfully negotiated a deal with Nightmare using information about the ancient dungeon.

In the case of Amaranth, which had pursued him before, it would’ve been too wasteful to use such valuable information just to block a single request, especially since Amaranth was scattered across Warlord and couldn’t be completely destroyed.

Moreover, stepping on them too hard might lead to retaliation from those left behind.

But White Fang was different.

A guild based in Esmaier, meaning they were within Nightmare’s absolute sphere of influence.

With Nightmare’s power, they could thoroughly and cleanly erase them without leaving any traces, and that process was now proceeding smoothly.

“I’m not sorry for you guys. I heard there were some issues within your guild, but you shouldn’t have been so greedy.”

After cutting off the video, Eil stood up with a relieved expression.

Amaranth had merely accepted one of many requests, yet these guys went as far as adding Eil to their hit list.

Not only that, they even ruined a quest by threatening him, so Eil decided to completely root them out to prevent future trouble.

He even added a perfect extra option for Beken, ensuring there’d be no repercussions, and he wouldn’t be bothered anytime soon.

“Damn, this unnecessary bad karma has taken up too much of my time…”

Though he had anticipated something like this might happen, it seemed he could now focus on growing peacefully for a while.

That said, it wasn’t all losses from this incident.

There was an unexpected gain.

None other than Karin, the guild leader of Nightmare, personally participated in negotiations with Eil.

Meeting face-to-face with a top ranker ranked 4th in the world was truly an honor.

She was always someone he only saw through the screen, but at that moment, he felt like he was meeting her on equal footing.

It was the moment he realized he had truly stepped into the grand chessboard of Warlord.

Of course, given how busy she was, the negotiation time was not long.

However, beyond just smooth communication, she immediately picked up on things Eil hadn’t even mentioned, quickly advancing the conversation and reaching full agreement within a short time.

Without any annoying posturing or delays, everything went smoothly, and a direct contact channel under Eil’s name was even established.

“Given that the guild leader herself came, it probably means they’re interested. They likely don’t think this will be the last deal.”

Whether recognized as a named player with potential or seen as something more, Eil wasn’t sure.

But one thing was certain: he had been acknowledged as having value.

“Still, it’s too early to get excited. All I’ve done is find another decent trading partner.”

Though not officially part of their guild, Eil had no intention of maintaining exclusive contact with them.

Being able to move freely between factions was one of the few advantages of being an independent user, and Eil intended to fully utilize it.

Whether it’s the Six Great Guilds or the Twelve Strong, he didn’t want to be a disposable hunting dog waiting to be discarded.

Instead, he wanted to be the mastermind orchestrating events between clashing giants.

[‘Light Judge Lu’ acknowledges your skill!]

[Goddess Favor +1.74% (Current 64.84%)]

[Light Church Contribution +1,500]

A sudden system message appeared, rewarding him handsomely for taking down a mid-level guild.

But then another message followed.

[‘Light Judge Lu’ points to the sky.]

“Hmm…?”

Following the message, Eil looked up reflexively and paled.

The airship bound for his next destination had arrived.

The airship with the dreaded 35-minute wait time.

“No way!”

* * *

“Have you arrived?”

At the entrance of the underground ruins of Hillsbeda located on Blanche Plateau.

Ramvik, a ranker from Nightmare, greeted Karin who emerged from the darkness.

“How’s the inside situation?”

“All monsters near the entrance are around level 190. However, elite monsters exceed level 200 and have difficult patterns, making them dangerous unless you’re a ranker.”

“True, we were told this is a dungeon in the 210s. Do we need to go deeper?”

Karin murmured with interest.

“As expected of an ancient dungeon, its size is enormous… We can’t guarantee how long it’ll take to clear.”

“We’ll shorten it as much as possible. Let’s depart immediately, so prepare yourself.”

“Wait, you’re going in personally?”

Ramvik looked shocked.

“Why do you think I’m here?”

“But…”

Judging by the appearance alone, this ancient dungeon wasn’t something that could be cleared in a day or two.

Depending on the dungeon’s patterns and difficulty, the schedule could easily extend.

Even with Karin and high-rankers like himself participating, it wasn’t ideal for the leader of a major guild to be tied up in one dungeon for so long.

“All my schedule has been canceled. For weeks, there’ve been noises coming from outside the Western Desert related to this matter.”

“In that case… understood.”

Impressed by the guild leader’s determination, Ramvik nodded and began leading her to the King’s Tomb inside.

Her instincts seemed to sense something again.

* * *

BOOM!

Intense battle sounds echoed endlessly, deafening the ears.

This was due to Eil’s sudden escape after discovering the dungeon, causing the Tulli Village attack problem to remain unresolved.

The increasingly fierce monster attacks had now evolved beyond waves, continuously pouring in.

[Quest Accepted!]

[Due to the ever-increasing monster attacks, the village’s defenses have reached their limit. Discover the cause before irreversible damage occurs and stop the undead army!]

[Upon success, quadruple additional experience points will be awarded.]

[Remaining Time ‘3:39:11′]

“You really need our help! We can’t hold out much longer.”

“Huh…”

Faced with the desperate plea from the investigator, Eil couldn’t hide his astonishment.

During his escape, the defense battle had reached its limits.

However, this situation spawned a new quest, turning into a boon for Eil.

An additional quadruple experience reward on top of the original reward.

He found himself contemplating whether he should thank Godin who had stopped him earlier.

“I need to hurry.”

Equipping himself quickly, Eil headed out of the village.

Though there was a time limit, that wasn’t the only issue.

What made him rush was the fact that this quest could be accepted by other users as well.

While the content required venturing into the fog to uncover unknown causes, most people chose to abandon the investigation and focus solely on defense.

But naturally, there were exceptions.

Despite the added rewards in this defense battle, the quadruple experience points were incomparable.

There would surely be greedy adventurers taking the risk.

Keeeee!

“Get lost!”

Monster roars and human screams intertwined chaotically, with wizards’ spells exploding everywhere.

Hearing about the undead invasion, more people had gathered compared to the previous defense, but the overwhelming number of monsters made the situation even worse than before.

The fierce struggle resembled a decisive battle.

But Eil’s attention was entirely focused on one thing while navigating the battlefield.

“Those guys… did they leave the stairs open again?”

The dungeon entrance stairs operated by a mechanism.

If the entrance was closed, the chances of anyone accidentally discovering the dungeon amidst this chaos were practically zero.

But if it was the opposite…

It wouldn’t be surprising if someone had already found it.

“Damn it!”

Stopping in his tracks, Eil’s worst fears were confirmed as the staircase entrance stood wide open before him.

He wanted to scold the White Fang group for not closing the door properly, but swallowing his frustration, he rushed down the steps.

Not only could this quest’s success or failure be at stake, but also crucial clues connected to the world quest might be lost.

To make matters worse, there were clear signs that someone had recently entered below.

“There!”

As Eil sprinted forward, he spotted a party standing ahead.

Fortunately, they didn’t seem to have ventured too deep yet.

Sure enough, judging by their greetings, they were another party who had received the same quest and stumbled upon the open staircase by chance.

“Phew.”

Stopping in front of the users, Eil took a brief moment to catch his breath.

Under normal circumstances, since they entered first, it would be considered a significant disadvantage for him.

Even if Eil claimed he discovered it first, without evidence, it would only cause disputes.

But upon seeing them, Eil’s anxiety disappeared instantly.

Thanks to the striking mark above the party members’ heads.

“Hmph… heretics.”

WHOOSH!

Flames erupted from Eil’s sword.