Chapter 17

Level Up IlDanSimPanGwan – Episode 17 (17/227)

Episode 17: Apostle (4)

“Wh-what the hell? This is impossible!”

The man’s face went pale as he stared in shock.

His health bar was rapidly depleting while fallen users surrounded him, constantly flashing in his field of vision.

It was ridiculous—just two users had overwhelmed their group of six.

Especially that swordsman… He was casually handling four opponents all by himself!

When Eil had been watching him from afar killing the boss monster, it seemed impressive but distant. But now, facing him directly, it was on an entirely different level.

“There’s no way I’m dying here!”

He had just completed his set of defensive gear a few hours ago, spending real money at the auction house to buy it for top dollar. The pride of acquiring it hadn’t even worn off yet when he got dragged into this bizarre situation and now faced death.

As the reality of losing his hard-earned levels and money hit him, the man screamed and swung his sword with all his might.

But his desperate struggle was futile.

Puuuuk!

The longsword pierced through his abdomen, and the man collapsed onto the floor, instantly logged out before he could even feel despair.

“Hmm… Not bad.”

Eil muttered to himself, satisfied after eliminating the last user.

An overwhelming victory against three times his numbers.

He had briefly considered capturing one alive to test out his new Apostle-exclusive skills, but there was nothing to be done about that.

Even with the power of an Apostle, fighting multiple opponents didn’t allow for much leniency.

Still, having killed four and steadily accumulated Faith and Madness stats, he felt content.

And best of all, the final reward was securely in his hands.

[Quest Completed!]

[Kill all six users (6/6)]

[Goddess’s Favor +0.21% (Current 52.07%)]

[Light Church Contribution +300]

[Faith Stat +2.2]

‘Nevertheless, her skills are extraordinary…’

Eil glanced at Alisha beside him.

Even someone as skilled as Eil couldn’t have taken on six users alone at this stage.

Their victory was thanks to several factors: the lack of PVP experience among the enemies, their poor coordination, the “Heresy” status effect boosting his titles and passives, and the lingering effects of the doping potion he drank before fighting the boss.

However, the biggest factor was undoubtedly the support from the healer in the backline.

She perfectly timed her healing on Eil as he charged forward and simultaneously dealt with two users targeting the rear.

Thanks to her support, Eil could ignore minor attacks and boldly reduce the enemy numbers. Meanwhile, Alisha finished off two users with her staff, significantly lightening the load.

‘Maybe she’s playing an alternate character…’

Indeed, she radiated an aura of a seasoned player.

It was suspicious whether this high-level user wasn’t playing a secondary character at lower levels just for fun.

However, in Warode, developing second characters wasn’t very common.

With fierce competition among top players, most barely had time to develop even one character. Moreover, expanding character slots required significant payment to the game company.

Even then, various penalties were imposed to prevent loophole plays when developing two characters simultaneously. Unless you were a concept-focused player, it wasn’t something commonly done.

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“Still, did we really need to kill them all?”

Alisha looked at the scattered corpses of the users.

Initially not intending to join the fight, once they started attacking her too, she instinctively retaliated and ended up killing two users.

Based on her past experience, though unfamiliar with PVP, she felt somewhat uneasy.

“It couldn’t be helped. You never know when people in the same hunting ground will betray you, especially those who monopolized items after killing a boss mob. It’s better to clean things up here.”

“Hmm… That’s true.”

Eil’s reasonable explanation made Alisha nod in agreement.

It was awkward explaining quests given by a goddess to someone unaware of the full situation.

Now, before anyone else entered the forbidden ruins, it was time to farm the dead users’ bodies and discuss distribution.

If they were acquaintances or party members, they could adjust shares based on roles and contributions. But this was a completely unexpected event involving complete strangers.

Determining exact shares would be complicated, and since the fight broke out without prior agreement, adjusting distribution ratios might unnecessarily complicate the situation.

In such cases, splitting things fifty-fifty without argument was usually the cleanest solution…

“You can take all the items, Eil. I got involved accidentally, so I don’t mind not taking anything.”

“Really? That’s…”

“No, I mean it. I didn’t come here planning to fight anyway.”

Though seemingly uninterested in farming items from defeated users, letting her pass on everything made Eil feel guilty, especially considering how much she contributed.

It wasn’t right to let her leave empty-handed when she helped so much.

Having a good idea, Eil pulled out a staff from his inventory and handed it to her.

“I can’t take everything myself… Please accept this at least.”

“Eh?”

Upon inspecting the item, Alisha’s eyes widened in surprise.

It was a weapon Eil obtained after defeating the necromancer Latma in the dungeon.

“Can you really give me something like this?”

“Of course.”

The ‘Latma’s Staff’ he offered wasn’t limited to pure mages but could be used by all magic-based classes, including healers.

Even at lower levels, it was a named boss weapon with satisfying performance and additional options.

As expected, Alisha reacted positively, and for Eil, giving away a high-grade staff was more financially beneficial than splitting the loot evenly.

“Thank you very much.”

“I should be thanking you.”

With matters settled, Eil began collecting items from the dead users.

Unlike the beginner killed by horned rabbits who only had basic equipment, these users were clearly above level 15 and well-farmed.

They carried various equipment items, multiple recovery potions, miscellaneous loot collected during hunts, and hefty coin pouches.

Judging by the substantial experience gained, Eil felt he’d earned quite a profit, comparable to defeating a major boss monster.

User-killing (PK) wasn’t frequent in Warode without reason.

Despite the risk of retaliation, many users fell into the trap due to the lucrative rewards.

Of course, some engaged in PK purely for the unique thrill it provided compared to monster hunting, but most were driven by the promise of high rewards.

‘Not a particularly wise method in the long term, though.’

These unfortunate souls who got logged out on the floor likely entered the dangerous territory too soon and encountered Eil and Alisha.

For less skilled players, eventually becoming victims themselves was almost inevitable.

Getting a taste for PK early on often led users to neglect proper hunting and stagnate at their current level.

Once looting was complete, it was time to select which equipment to equip from the acquired items.

Among the daggers, staves, and double-bladed axes he obtained, none suited Eil’s playstyle. However, armor options were relatively limited compared to weapons.

Since he had been hunting using basic issued gear until now, these timely acquisitions were perfect additions.

Typically, Heresy Inquisitors chose either medium armor, light armor, or leather gear setups.

‘Medium armor isn’t my style…’

Primarily chosen by sturdy tank-type classes, medium armor increased defense but slowed movement speed.

Being a relatively passive type of armor, it didn’t suit Eil’s playstyle focused on skill development and agility. Additionally, he disliked the cumbersome playstyle, so it was immediately ruled out.

That said, opting for leather armor solely for its speed advantage was problematic.

The main drawback of leather gear was its low defense, making it vulnerable to unavoidable attacks melee dealers inevitably faced, offering minimal damage absorption.

Unless supported by teammates capable of drawing aggro or providing healing from behind, leather armor was unsuitable for Eil, who primarily played solo in raids or PVP.

Eliminating those options left only one choice.

Light armor, balancing adequate defense and speed.

Fortunately, a complete set of five pieces—head, torso, legs, gloves, and boots—was available, and Eil quickly equipped them.

[Equipping matching armor applies Light Armor Set Bonus!]

[Agility +3%, Defense +10%]

Confirming the set bonus applied correctly, Eil adjusted settings to make the helmet’s appearance invisible.

While other equipment remained unaffected, helmets could be set to remain invisible even when equipped.

Some helmets reportedly obstructed vision partially, so Eil preferred keeping it hidden.

Of course, some users kept helmets visible for aesthetic reasons or to maintain stability as tank-type classes, but it ultimately came down to personal preference.

Even top-tier Rankers often activated this feature without much thought to minor details.

After finishing looting and adjustments, Eil carefully checked if any users had tampered with the Tregawl corpse while he was busy.

Most users avoided the unpopular hunting ground, “Forbidden Ruins,” so no one was in sight.

Probably after the seven users—including the archer who fell earlier—were forcibly logged out, Eil and Alisha were the only ones remaining in the hunting area.

“Then, let’s head down.”