Chapter 120

Level Up Heresy Inquisitor – Chapter 120 (120/227)

Chapter 120: Between Conviction and Madness (5)

Kagagak!

The dagger made a rough sound as it left a long scratch on the wall.

A Dark Elf with a fierce momentum charged in, and after narrowly dodging, Eil lightly swept his longsword with his index finger.

Hworrlek!

The white sacred flame that bloomed on the blade ignited.

The longsword, engulfed in flames, was swung widely, aiming for the approaching Dark Elf’s neck.

But she quickly lowered her stance to dodge the sword and kicked Eil’s abdomen.

Eil, who was sent flying, collided with the narrow alleyway’s wall, losing his composure. The Dark Elf took the opportunity to thrust her dagger.

Chwack!

Eil hastily activated his skill, grabbing her from behind.

A counterattack executed simultaneously while dodging the dagger.

But the moment Eil’s figure disappeared, the Dark Elf immediately leaped, causing the longsword to only slash through the air.

“Damn… this isn’t easy.”

He thought he had secured her back when the perfect opening appeared, but it wasn’t enough.

Her movements were extremely fast, and her reaction speed in dealing with variables was incredibly quick.

With strength, speed, and battle sense, she could easily overpower users of similar levels, and due to the 20-level gap, Eil had no choice but to struggle even more.

Retreating step by step against the relentless Dark Elf…

But upon closer inspection of the fight, Eil was managing to barely block attacks while not allowing any significant damage.

Tsheeeng!

When an opening presented itself, the longsword swung out, forcing the Dark Elf to stagger backward under the strong impact.

Had the strike been just a bit stronger, she might have dropped her dagger.

In combat, Eil wasn’t falling behind either.

The level gap caused by the difference was somewhat bridged by stats fueled by madness and favor, supported by excellent equipment and skills.

Just one thing—using techniques mid-battle wasn’t exclusive to players.

[You are being watched by the Mark of Curse.]

[All damage taken from opponents will increase, and there is a higher chance of receiving critical wounds.]

Chiik!

As the Dark Elf pointed at him with her extended arm, a black mark appeared above Eil’s head.

Until now, he had only branded others with the Mark of Heresy; this was the first time he’d received such a mark himself.

Already facing a tricky opponent wielding dual daggers, the added damage and critical hit penalties made things even tougher.

Eil had to be more cautious about handling attacks appropriately.

However, he still had more tricks up his sleeve than she realized.

Tsheeeng!

In an instant, Eil’s weapon transformed into a greatsword, pinning down the elf.

A heavy blow, surprising the Dark Elf who hastily retreated due to the sudden change in weapon.

“What…?”

But Eil didn’t give her time to think.

Before she knew it, the long spear in his hand pierced her shoulder.

Caught off guard by the abrupt weapon switch and its reach, she couldn’t evade in time.

And the effect of the spear triggered.

[Special Effect ‘Weakness’ has been activated!]

A debuff reducing the enemy’s attack power.

Frowning deeply upon feeling the effect, the Dark Elf chose not to retreat but instead pressed forward beneath the high-thrust spear, targeting Eil’s openings.

Of course, all within Eil’s calculations.

The spear vanished with a swish, replaced by two daggers in each of Eil’s hands.

Kagagang!

Her class specialized in dual daggers for close combat.

Considering the range differences, he anticipated her diving into his space.

Using the narrow alley to force close-quarters fighting.

But Eil’s options weren’t limited to long-reach weapons.

With identical dual daggers, Eil slashed at the Dark Elf’s neck.

Regrettably, it only grazed her, failing to inflict a fatal wound, though blood trickled down her neck.

‘Really…?’

The High Elf lying nearby, watching the fight, widened her eyes in surprise.

She hadn’t expected much from the unexpected human help.

Yet he was holding his own against the Dark Elf tracker, giving her a small glimmer of hope.

“I tried to handle it quietly…”

Wiping away the blood irritably, the Dark Elf gathered dark mana in both hands.

Without a chance to interfere, the rapidly accumulated dark mana seeped into the ground, summoning something.

Kwa-durduk!

A black golem emerged, smashing through the bricks.

The enormous creature nearly filled the narrow alley, standing protectively beside the Dark Elf.

‘Summoning magic…’

Eil glanced upward, catching his breath.

Elves, naturally skilled communicators, often supplemented their battles with summoning magic, so this wasn’t entirely surprising.

It was well within expectation, and Eil already had countermeasures ready.

Jjulrreok!

A summoning scroll unfurled in Eil’s hand.

White light spread as the scroll activated, revealing a massive summoned beast amidst red flames.

Ki-e-ek!

The fiery serpent entangled with the black giant, wrecking the alley in their clash.

Amidst the debris flying everywhere, Eil struck first.

Twisting the Dark Elf’s attacking daggers aside, he precisely targeted her opening, activating the One Slice skill.

A powerful sacred flame and sword strike erupted from the forcefully plunged longsword, cleanly slicing through the momentarily stunned Dark Elf.

Kwa-a-aah!

“Guh!”

The elf’s health plummeted instantly.

The summoned black spirit attempted to intervene, but Eil’s summon wasn’t about to let that happen.

Ku-gu-gung!

The fiery snake coiled around the spirit, immobilizing it, while Eil advanced another step, raising his sword.

With the aftermath of One Slice fully exposing her, he aimed for the final blow.

But at that exact moment…

Paaat!

The Dark Elf’s form vanished in an instant.

Reappearing behind Eil.

The twin daggers she thrust pierced deep into his back.

He had no time to react, feeling dizzy.

Critical hits landed effortlessly due to his vulnerable state, adding extra damage.

Eil swiftly kicked her away.

‘Shit…’

Checking his health bar, Eil grimaced.

Due to the mark and the critical injury, less than 20% of his health remained.

Had he not previously applied the weakness debuff or invested in defense, that last strike would’ve killed him outright.

Clearly, such a level gap couldn’t be underestimated for even a second.

‘And I never expected her to use that.’

The reason the Dark Elf could suddenly disappear during the attack was thanks to the technique called ‘Shadow Step.’

Shadow Step was typically a hero-tier skill learnable by users, highly renowned among rogue classes.

He hadn’t anticipated her possessing this skill.

[Special Effect ‘Bleeding’ has been activated!]

Blood streamed from the wound on his back, slowly draining his health.

Through the earlier kick, some distance was created between him and the Dark Elf, and Eil quickly pulled out a potion from his inventory to deal with the urgent situation.

But something strange happened.

Despite drinking the healing potion, his health didn’t recover and remained frozen.

[An unknown curse has blocked all recovery methods!]

‘What…?’

Confused by the sudden message, Eil was baffled.

An unknown curse, and he had no idea when it had been inflicted.

‘I need to end this quickly.’

Pushing aside his confusion temporarily, Eil charged toward the Dark Elf.

With severe bleeding now occurring, he couldn’t afford to hesitate.

The longer it dragged on, the more advantageous it would be for her, necessitating a swift conclusion.

Clang!

Eil’s longsword clashed with the swinging dagger.

Unsurprisingly, the Dark Elf’s dagger was pushed back in the strength contest.

But she still had another dagger in the opposite hand.

Phuuk!

The dagger pierced Eil’s exposed side.

However, upon successfully landing the attack, the Dark Elf appeared startled instead.

Originally, this attack was merely meant as a feint.

Expecting Eil to retreat to avoid the strike, she planned to prolong the fight advantageously, but Eil willingly opened himself up and absorbed the hit.

“It’s over.”

Eil swung his raised longsword forcefully, unleashing a fiery barrage alongside the sword strike that poured forth before her face.

Hwarrrlek!

“Gwaaaah!”

Engulfed in massive flames, the Dark Elf screamed in agony.

Staggering, she soon collapsed onto the floor, depleting her health, and her summoned spirit disappeared along with her fall.

[Heresy has been eradicated!]

“Phew, that was close.”

Eil sighed in relief.

His dizziness was noticeable, and for anyone else, his remaining health would’ve put him in near-death status.

Despite the perilous situation, it was quite a successful outcome, thanks to the precise damage calculations.

Prioritizing stopping the bleeding, Eil quickly retrieved and wrapped a bandage around the wound.

Bleeding generally lasted for a long duration, and bandages were essential items for stemming it.

Recently, bleeding tactics had become trendy among Warode’s rogue players, leading most, including Eil, to always carry them.

“Don’t face a rogue without a bandage”—the saying “Dodacbong” wasn’t coined for nothing.

“Alright.”

After properly wrapping the injured area, the bleeding effect ceased, halting the health drain.

But despite attempting to drink a recovery potion afterward, the recovery still wouldn’t activate.

Even after the battle with the Dark Elf ended, the mysterious unknown curse persisted.

“Surely it won’t keep going like this…”

“Over here!”

From beyond the alley came noisy commotion.

Due to the loud skirmish involving summons and destruction, guards began gathering.

Since being discovered would complicate matters for both sides, avoiding the scene was priority.

“Excuse me? Are you alright?”

Approaching the fallen High Elf, Eil checked her condition.

Though she weakly nodded, her state didn’t look good.

She seemed unable to walk even with support, so Eil swiftly hoisted her over his shoulder to escape the alley.

“Oh, right…”

Pausing mid-sprint, Eil almost forgot to loot items and hurriedly rummaged through the fallen Dark Elf’s corpse.

– Item obtained!

[Helibron’s Sealed Scroll (Quest)]