Chapter 128

Level Up IlDanSimPanGwan – Chapter 128 (128/227)

Chapter 128: The Underground World (2)

“Be careful not to go off course! Forward… more, more, more. Alright, just a little to the right!”

Kooong!

The completed statue took its place at the center of the plaza.

It was a magnificent statue of a goddess in shining armor, holding a longsword, radiating light and gazing down benevolently.

This was the grand statue modeled after Lu, the Goddess of Light, Justice, and Madness.

“Lord Ail! It’s finally complete!”

“Can you see it?”

The gnomes excitedly chattered at Ail.

They couldn’t hide their thrilled expressions, while Ail, who had just returned to the city, looked upon the scene unfolding before him.

The statue of Lu was even more impressive than what he’d heard.

The plaza itself exceeded all expectations.

Gnomes were packed together so tightly there was no room to put your foot.

The crowd was so massive that not only was the plaza filled, but they lined the streets and rooftops as well.

“This is an overwhelmingly majestic sight! Her strong and beautiful form… To be united with such a true deity now, I would gladly offer my head without regret.”

“Ah, Lady Goddess!”

The gnomes shed tears as they bowed in worship.

Their unceasing praise made even Ail break out into a nervous sweat.

“Ev-, everyone seems to have the right mindset.”

Though he’d only been here for a short while, the city was already brimming with fanatics.

With a tendency to easily believe others and stubbornness to match, once they believed in something, they rarely changed their beliefs.

Truly, they were perfectly suited to become fanatic followers of the light.

‘This is going better than expected. What a relief.’

Ail recalled the previous event.

When he first accepted the gnome’s quest, he immediately ventured into the corrupted zone teeming with evil monsters.

Standing at the heart of the corruption, he used a shard of the Command Stone to purify the land.

Upon learning about the purification, the gnomes were naturally astonished.

While this method was familiar to Ail through Nesha, it was unknown knowledge in Eltris.

Thus, Ail could pass it off as a miracle and blessing from Lu.

In the moment when the end times seemed near, the gnomes abandoned their old gods who had ignored their prayers and became followers of Lu.

This was how the entire city of gnomes came to believe in the faith of light.

And things were still progressing smoothly.

“Not only here! The second temple being constructed in the downtown area is almost complete too!”

“We’re also spreading the news to other cities in Eltris. Not just our own cities, but other races are joining the Light Church. Even the red orcs of the southern plains have abandoned their old gods Guk and Muk and started following the Goddess.”

‘This… by now, our influence must have grown significantly.’

The explosive growth in church followers.

Unlike the surface world where seven churches competed and divided territories, Eltris was rapidly becoming saturated with the doctrine of light.

Naturally, the influence Lu would gain from this would be immense.

Of course, these events weren’t solely for the benefit of the Goddess.

“Most of our warriors are converting to the Knights of Light.”

“There are many who have set out on missions to become heretics judges of the church, following Lord Ail.”

“It’s an honor to die by Her sword!”

With the entire race becoming believers, all warriors wanted to join the church and take up arms.

As a result, the church’s direct combat power was rapidly increasing.

Moreover, even the weaker hunting grounds and races in this Eltris region were mostly over level 80.

Due to being a region where low-level beginners rarely ventured, according to gnome accounts, there were even higher-level entities present, all capable of becoming formidable forces immediately.

“Thank you all. Lady Lu will be very pleased.”

Ail said with a smile.

In response, they knelt before him, bowing deeply, unsure of what to do with themselves.

“How can we thank you… Lord Ail is not only a benefactor to our race… but to all of Eltris.”

The surrounding gnomes spoke in unison.

Though they attributed it to the Goddess’s will, it was Ail himself who personally purified the tainted lands.

As a result, they viewed him as a divine avatar sent directly by the Goddess or as a savior of the mortal realm.

“A benefactor? We’re not done yet, are we?”

Ail waved his hand dismissively.

Due to the continued misuse of the Command Stones by the Order, the number of tainted lands was virtually countless.

Despite Ail’s ongoing efforts to purify them, many areas remained tainted.

‘Fortunately, I’ve stockpiled enough fragments.’

Required Command Stone fragments to purify the tainted lands.

Without them, purifying Eltris would be impossible, and each use consumed the magical power stored within, limiting the number of uses.

The fortunate part was that the Command Stone fragments weren’t single-use items that disappeared after a few activations.

Since they could be used quite a few times, it seemed the number of fragments he’d secured beforehand would be enough to purify the remaining tainted underground lands.

[Level: 85]

‘Hmm, now that I think about it, having so many tainted lands might actually be beneficial for me. At this rate, I’ll be able to catch up incredibly quickly.’

Checking his level, Ail nodded satisfactorily.

During his journey purifying the tainted lands, he had received substantial rewards from the residents.

Through reward items, skill books, and vast amounts of experience points, he had already reached level 85.

Given the survival of the race was at stake, the quest rewards were naturally generous.

“Well then, let’s get moving.”

“You’re leaving already…? Aren’t you tired? Shouldn’t you rest a bit more…”

As Ail stood up, the gnomes anxiously tried to hold him back.

But he shook his head.

“This concerns the future of Eltris, and we cannot afford any delay. The tainted lands are likely expanding even as we speak.”

“Kuh… how could this be…”

“Lord Ail, please leave it to us!”

Leaving behind the gnomes moved to tears, Ail departed the city once again.

He planned to spread the faith of Lu throughout the entire underground world.

Continuing his quest to purify the tainted lands.

However, the process wasn’t entirely smooth.

The locations where taint appeared lacked any fixed pattern, which was troublesome.

There were easy places like untainted plains where no monsters had yet appeared, but there were also many difficult-to-access spots.

High-level monster-infested dungeons, cliff edges, or deep riverbeds presented challenges.

Once, he nearly fell to his death while climbing a steep cliff.

Nevertheless, Ail persisted and successfully purified all the tainted areas around the first city he visited, then moved on to the next region to continue his quests.

Spreading the doctrines of light to everyone while removing the taint.

During this time, Ail grew rapidly alongside the church.

* * *

Squeak squeak squeak!

Deep beneath the earth in Eltris.

Inside an enormous and complex network of tunnels, an incredible amount of rat-like sounds echoed.

But these weren’t ordinary rats.

Ratters.

One of the underground dwellers, these rat-men were powerful entities at the 140-level tier.

Moreover, due to their incredible breeding rate, they posed a significant threat to all cities and lifeforms in Eltris.

However, even they couldn’t escape the effects of the land’s corruption living so deep underground.

In fact, they were among those most sensitive to the earth’s pollution in Eltris and suffered greatly from it.

‘That’s why I came to them directly.’

Just as the Ratters were feeling an extreme sense of danger, Ail met with them and had a conversation.

Unlike most monsters, the Ratters possessed enough intelligence for normal dialogue.

And Ail demonstrated the Goddess’s miracle to them, who were filled with distrust.

“It’s true! It’s really true!”

“The contamination is gone! The human saved us!”

“Look, I’ve told you three times already. It wasn’t me; it was Lady Lu who saved you.”

“Yes, yes! Lady Lu saved us!”

The Ratters jumped around excitedly.

Some even hugged each other while chirping happily.

At first, they seemed disgusting, but watching this scene made them appear somewhat cute.

Their actions and broken speech reminded one of children.

There was one crucial point that needed clarification though.

The Ratters were marauders who frequently raided other monsters, NPCs, and different races in Eltris.

Technically, they were half-monster-like beings, so it was necessary to make things clear.

“Listen carefully. This doesn’t mean the crisis is over. The purification was possible thanks to the Goddess’s blessing, and to maintain that blessing, you all must devoutly believe in Lady Lu. If you return to your old gods, you’ll face divine punishment worse than the contamination.”

“Of course, of course! The foolish old gods with fur abandoned us. Now it’s time for them to be forgotten!”

“Squeak squeak squeak!”

Overjoyed, the Ratters raised their short arms in celebration together.

Having converted the Ratters, arguably the strongest faction in Eltris, was undoubtedly a tremendous achievement.

According to what the gnomes said, though the Ratters were aggressive, their faith in deities was incredibly strong, to the point where they’d sacrifice their lives willingly.

Therefore, it was expected they’d obediently follow the new deity.

And the gnome’s predictions proved accurate.

“Remember this well and pass it on to the others.”

“Yes, yes! Understood!”

“Squeak!”

The Ratters, despite their less-than-brilliant minds, worked hard to learn the church’s rules.

Ail handed them the scripture and taught them the necessary aspects of belief.

“Now, you must understand the Goddess’s justice thoroughly. Those who don’t listen to Her words will eventually become heretics, and as Her agents, we shall execute punishments upon them.”

“Punishment! Burning the heretics! I really like this!”

“Cutting heads is good too! Squeak squeak!”