Chapter 18

Level Up Heresy Judge – Episode 18 (18/227)

Episode 18: Quinnze Blonde (1)

Pooook! Ziiik!

Every time Ail skillfully swung his sword, blood gushed out in spurts, and the sound of piercing and slicing corpses tickled their ears.

He was in the middle of dismantling the boss monster Tregawl’s corpse, while Lisa sat nearby watching him work.

With Tregawl’s body around, the zombie minions, either scared or confused, didn’t dare to move, allowing them to rest or continue the dissection in peace.

“You’re incredibly skilled. It looks like you’ve done this a lot.”

“Yeah, I’ve done quite a bit since starting this game. By the way, didn’t we get anything useful from that archer’s body earlier?”

“Two equipment items did drop, but nothing I can use… We could probably sell them at the shop for a decent price.”

Lisa replied.

Even so, Ail couldn’t just take credit for the archer who had fallen due to her efforts alone.

Besides, with the gear being leather and bow-related, there was no chance it would be useful to Ail anyway. He smoothly bowed out, letting her have it.

Pooook!

As Ail plunged the dissection knife again, he recalled her impressive skills and naturally became curious.

“Are you maybe leveling up an alternate character? Grabbing an archer as a healer and taking on two melee classes alone—doesn’t feel like someone doing this for the first time.”

“Haha, nope. This is my first time playing Warode.”

“Ah, then…”

Ail immediately understood the situation and nodded.

“Warode is” her first game…

That meant she came from another VR game.

“Which game were you playing before?”

“It was… Trinamu.”

Lisa smiled awkwardly as she answered.

This made Ail react with a somewhat uneasy expression.

“Ah…! Trinamu, huh? I’ve heard a lot about it.”

“Probably not good things, right?”

She asked knowingly, and Ail nodded.

Virtual reality game Trinamu.

It was infamous in the industry for all the wrong reasons.

Released during the early days of the VR gaming market, despite receiving praise for its quality and gameplay, Trinamu suffered from bizarre bugs popping up frequently.

Due to the rushed release by a developer worried about competition, countless major bugs went unchecked.

Though they hurriedly pushed updates, new problems emerged elsewhere, leading to even more unexpected bugs. Matters worsened when main director Kim Hae-seung resigned, plunging the game into chaos and severely damaging its reputation.

Even though they managed to patch up some holes and keep the game alive, the already declining Trinamu eventually collapsed completely with the arrival of Warode. Now, with less than 0.01% market share, it was nearing server shutdown.

“Haha… But it was fun. Once I started treating the bugs as part of the content, it became enjoyable. Maybe it was enlightenment? Anyway, I had so many memories built up in that game, so I couldn’t leave easily.”

Lisa said with a nostalgic look.

In fact, unlike most people who followed trends, she had transitioned to Warode much later than others.

“But the biggest cities emptied out, and now they’re saying the last remaining server will close soon… So I moved here. The more I play, the more I realize how amazing Warode is. I’d heard stories, but I didn’t expect it to be THIS good… It’s a bit scary with the intense competition, but it’s still a great game.”

“Definitely true.”

Ail agreed with her.

There were many highly praised and extremely popular virtual reality games like New World, Armenia, and Easthorn, but all fell before Warode.

With unmatched gameplay and completion, users and even rankers from other games abandoned their investments and flocked to Warode.

Because of this, competition intensified several times over, but the hype and scale rose accordingly, growing the gaming market dozens of times over.

“So, you must’ve been a ranker in Trinamu, right?”

“I ranked as a priest, though not at an extraordinary level.”

‘Figures…’

Just as expected, Lisa’s exceptional skills weren’t coincidental.

To make the official rankings as a dedicated healer class, Priest, in Trinamu meant she was an incredible player.

Players’ skills in virtual reality games usually carried over regardless of the game, and if someone was skilled in one game, chances were high they’d be the same in Warode.

Most current Warode rankers were previously top-tier players in other games, confirming a clear correlation.

“And what about you, Ail? You must’ve been a famous ranker from another game, right?”

“No, this is my first VR game.”

Ail answered truthfully.

But Lisa naturally burst out laughing, refusing to believe him.

“C’mon, no way.”

“Seriously. Not being able to play VR games until now was the biggest regret of my life.”

“Really? That’s surprising.”

Lisa responded, clearly intrigued.

Of course, she didn’t truly believe him, no matter how convincingly she acted.

Her sharp eye, honed from being a ranker in another game, allowed her to gauge Ail’s skills just from witnessing the Tregawl raid.

However, seeing that Ail wasn’t eager to reveal more, she silently decided to let it go, assuming he had his reasons.

“What are your plans now?”

“At least we should leave here. Who knows what those dead guys might do.”

In any online game, once you’ve been toyed with, it’s common to lose focus and find it hard to concentrate on anything else.

Especially in VR gaming where you experience everything firsthand, getting PK’d and receiving a two-day login penalty would be devastating.

You could call on friends for revenge or hire a high-level mercenary.

Plus, among the seven players Ail killed, at least one likely belonged to a guild, making staying here unwise for various reasons.

“I plan to head toward Quinnze Blonde after obtaining a quest item from Tregawl.”

“Huh? I’m going that way too. Same destination!”

Lisa clapped her hands happily.

Originally, she had come here solo as a healer because it was necessary for her quest, and Quinnze Blonde was the quest completion area.

“Would you like to travel together?”

She brightly suggested traveling together.

But Ail shook his head with a self-deprecating smile.

“I belong to the Light Church.”

“Ah, really?”

Lisa reacted as if she hadn’t expected that.

But her gaze remained steady, waiting for his answer.

Confused, Ail instead questioned her.

“…Does that mean it doesn’t bother you that I’m part of the Church?”

“Hmm, should it be a problem? I’m Catholic. I think it’s not about which religion someone believes in, but rather what kind of person they are.”

Hearing her words, Ail momentarily shut his mouth.

He wasn’t sure if she genuinely didn’t know about Lu and her followers’ system or if she knew but chose to say this.

Regardless, it seemed her offer wouldn’t be withdrawn anytime soon.

Then the decision rested solely on him. Considering how helpful a healer had been during the recent raid and battle, having one along would be advantageous.

Especially one who was a former ranker, capable enough to handle two melee players alone, making her talent worth extra pay or better loot shares in any party or guild.

Still, despite this, Ail added one condition.

“It’s fine for a short while, but due to circumstances, I won’t be able to join long-term.”

Soon, Ail would dive fully into his routine to catch up with the rankers, leaving no room for leisurely travel.

Not that he thought Lisa would lag behind and cause trouble.

But even she wouldn’t be able to keep up with his near-hermit lifestyle.

“That’s alright. Even if it’s disappointing, I’m okay with it.”

Lisa nodded without showing any bad feelings despite Ail not explaining further.

She extended her hand, and Ail, after sticking his dissection knife back into the monster’s corpse, reciprocated the gesture.

“For a short while, please take care of me.”

“Likewise, please take care of me.”