Chapter 130

Level Up Heretic Judge – Chapter 130 (130/227)

Chapter 130: Underground World (4)

“Guess it’s about time…”

Eil, who had been sitting astride a rock, glanced at the time.

Above his head was the large passage through which he had first entered Eltris, now gaping open in the ceiling. He was waiting for someone at the entrance connecting to the surface.

‘Already close to a month…’

Amidst Eil’s rare moment of leisure, memories of the past came flooding back.

It had been quite some time since he entered this place, Eltris, through a quest.

Not just a few villages or dungeons, but an entire vast ‘region’—that much area naturally required plenty of time.

Eil had run around trying to convert everyone into not just fanatics, but Lu’s faithful believers.

And now, he’d successfully purified most of Eltris’ corrupted lands.

As the sources of corruption disappeared, the land gradually began to return to its original state.

And as a result…

‘The results were substantial.’

Eil briefly checked his status window.

His level had already reached 131.

Thanks to the massive quest rewards he received while using fragments of the command stone to purify the region.

Every time he completed a purification task, he earned huge amounts of experience and rewards. With all the quests from the underground cities monopolized by Eil, his growth was naturally rapid.

The same went for the skills he’d acquired during that time.

Thanks to a steady supply of high-grade skill books obtained as rewards, the list of five skills Eil had gained sparkled brilliantly.

Among them were three passive skills he had chosen first:

[Agile Footwork (Hero)]

[Relentless Tracker (Hero)]

[Impenetrable Wall (Unique)]

The Hero-tier skill ‘Agile Footwork’ was a passive ability that increased the player’s overall speed.

Given its Hero ranking, it offered significant improvements and, being a basic passive like sword mastery that applied at all times, it was only natural that Eil didn’t pass up the chance to acquire it.

Following that was the ‘Relentless Tracker’ skill, which granted a movement speed bonus when approaching enemies.

At first glance, it might seem similar to the previous skill, but in reality, there were significant differences.

Rather than accelerating overall ‘movement,’ it simply increased ‘movement speed.’

Many users mistakenly confused the effects of these two skills, leading to their downfall.

What’s more, the ‘Relentless Tracker’ skill even had prerequisites.

If you weren’t in the process of approaching an enemy, the passive effect wouldn’t activate.

But despite those narrow effects and conditions, there was a reason Eil chose this skill.

‘It just has a different role.’

In exchange for its narrow scope and conditions, it boasted an improvement far beyond comparison.

In other words, it was specialized for specific situations.

If it had provided the same level of enhancement, there’s no way it could have been rated as a Hero-tier skill.

When Eil first used this skill in battle, it felt better than any ordinary charge skill.

Since it was a constantly active passive skill with no cooldown, combined with the effects of ‘Agile Footwork,’ the difference was palpable.

‘Still, the biggest one is probably this skill…’

Eil’s gaze shifted to one side.

The skill named ‘Impenetrable Wall,’ a Unique-tier passive skill with physical resistance effects.

A powerful effect against physical damage, reducing incoming damage by a certain percentage and increasing durability.

Previously, boss monsters like Gahar from the bandit group were known for being difficult due to possessing physical resistance traits, but now Eil had obtained such a trait himself.

Of course, compared to what a boss monster would have, the numbers were weaker, but since it was calculated separately from defense stats, the mere existence of physical resistance was enough.

On the active side, things were equally flashy.

He’d obtained one Unique-tier and one Hero-tier skill each, both with excellent effects that didn’t overlap with his previous skills.

‘Just five Unique-tier skills… Even so, this puts me above an average Ranker. Once I wrap up this quest, I’ll get more skill books, so I won’t have to worry about them for a while. The problem is the next target though…’

Currently, only one contaminated area remained in the Eltris region.

Simultaneously, it was also Eil’s final target.

However, unlike the other areas, it was a place that Eil couldn’t conquer alone.

The Level 130 dungeon, Tomb of the Four Dragons.

Even attempting to gauge it once nearly got him killed.

Setting aside the fact that it was a high-difficulty dungeon, it was designed to be tackled by large parties, making it far too burdensome for Eil.

Moreover, judging by the surrounding contamination, it was expected that the core that needed purification was located at the end of the dungeon.

Essentially, they were asking him to clear the entire dungeon.

Even for a solo player, in a multiplayer game, this was an unavoidable situation.

This was where allies were needed.

Without hesitation, Eil gathered his party members, and fortunately, those nearby readily rushed to Eltris.

BOOM!

“Eil-sama!”

Ria, descending from the passage, waved happily.

She wasn’t the only one.

Alisa and Roden, whom he had met before, arrived shortly after.

“You’ve come.”

“It’s been such a long time.”

The four users gathered together exchanged cheerful greetings.

Having pulled strings to gather his network, among those present, there were some who hadn’t met each other before.

However, excluding Eil, who had been waiting in Eltris, they had already gathered at the entrance leading underground and descended together.

After exchanging numerous stories during their journey through the deep passage, there was no awkwardness in the air.

But as soon as their gazes turned to the base of the towering cliff, they couldn’t help but be astonished.

“What is…?”

“Huh, I never imagined something like this existed down here.”

The expansive view visible below the cliff.

They had heard there was something down here, but all they had expected was a large dungeon.

But this was an entirely different story.

An enormous region filled with cities—it was no ordinary matter.

“Did Eil-sama discover this first?”

“Yes, it happened by chance. For now, I ask all of you to keep this a secret.”

“Of course.”

At his words, Roden and Alisa nodded as if it were obvious.

Actually, Eil wasn’t particularly worried about the first two.

What concerned him now was Ria, who was gawking at the scenery absentmindedly.

“Ria-sama, even if someone asks, you absolutely mustn’t tell them, okay?”

“Huh? Oh, yes! I’ll remember that!”

Realizing herself, Ria nodded enthusiastically.

She still lacked understanding of the game compared to Roden and Alisa.

Even unintentionally, she might make a mistake without realizing it, and Eil repeatedly warned her several times.

Of course, though she might be inexperienced, she wasn’t stupid. With this much caution, it should be fine.

They formed a party and descended a small slope on the side while chatting further.

There was still a long way to go, so there was plenty of time to talk along the way.

“Hey, Eil-sama! Your level is incredible…”

Suddenly, Roden, who had been following behind, exclaimed in surprise.

He had noticed the level displayed in the party window.

The level shown there was a staggering 131, showing how much he had grown compared to the last time, leaving no room for astonishment.

The others, who had just checked the party window later, were equally amazed.

“Wow, it’s true? You’re the highest among us.”

“To be honest, I thought I’d caught up by now, but instead, the gap has widened… I never expected this.”

Roden shook his head in disbelief.

His current level was already a swift 120.

Roden, who had started relatively late in Armenia yet managed to catch up with other Rankers, was growing quickly as expected.

Even so, the gap between him and Eil had widened even further.

Embarrassed, Eil changed the subject.

“Ria-sama, your level has also risen significantly while I wasn’t looking?”

“That’s… thanks to Alisa-sama.”

Ria smiled sheepishly and looked at Alisa.

‘So it’s because she’s been playing with her.’

After parting ways with Ria, who had finished purifying the Sacred Realm and performing quests together, Eil introduced her to Alisa.

If Ria continued to wander alone, she would likely be taken advantage of everywhere, and she needed to learn more about the world.

However, Eil himself was too busy progressing the World Quest to teach her anything.

That’s why he made the choice.

Alisa wouldn’t scam her, and she wouldn’t fail to recognize the true potential of Ria’s talent, so Eil introduced them.

Fortunately, Alisa readily accepted the request, and the two were able to play together.

Thanks to that, rookie Ria managed to reach level 98 by following Alisa.

“It’s because of me? If anything, I was able to level up quickly thanks to Ria-sama.”

Alisa smiled faintly.

‘Hmm, level 127…?’

Eil was surprised upon checking her level.

She was only 4 levels behind him.

Compared to his explosive growth through World Quests, she hadn’t fallen far behind, and her growth rate was faster than Roden’s.

Although she was initially a couple of levels higher than Eil when they first met, it was puzzling how a healer managed to level up so quickly.

“Oh, is that it over there?”

Then Roden pointed ahead.

The first city of Eltris appeared before their eyes.

“We agreed to stop by our city first, right?”

“Yes, let’s go in.”

Before diving into the serious dungeon run, they needed to visit the city to purchase necessary items.

The giant city of the dwarves spread out before them.

They marveled at the new races and unique scenery different from the surface, but their admiration quickly turned to shock.

The overwhelming waves of believers filling the city.

Everywhere was filled with the symbols of the church, and temples lined the streets.

They witnessed the dwarves, possessed by madness, praising Lu.

“Wha, what in the world…”