Chapter 19

Level Up Heretic Judge – Episode 19 (19/227)

Episode 19: Quinnze Blonde (2)

Quinnze Blonde and Duel.

Though these two cities were located near the center of the continent, they weren’t as close as they appeared on the map.

While the distance itself might be considered short, a thin mountain range lay between them. If you didn’t want to go through the Simay Mountains, you’d have to take a detour through a treacherous forest, which would waste quite a bit of time.

Of course, there was always the option of crossing the mountains directly, but the problem was that monsters around level 110 roamed there.

Safely navigating through those beasts was obviously out of the question for our duo.

At least, they wouldn’t need to make a wide detour thanks to the Forbidden Ruins being between the two cities. Even so, if they took the forest route, it’d still be impossible to reach Quinnze Blonde in the remaining daylight, even if they hurried.

“Here we go.”

Ail said after spotting a split wooden signpost.

Having emerged from the Forbidden Ruins, Ail and Lisa had been walking along the main road until they reached this fork in the path. Now they had to decide: risk crossing the mountains or take the long way through the forest.

Like any other player, it was time for them to choose between the two routes.

“Let’s take the right path.”

“…Huh?”

Lisa looked at Ail in surprise when he spoke.

The right path led toward the Simay Mountains.

She had assumed they’d stick to the safer Xennts Forest route, so his choice caught her off guard.

“If we go through the forest, it’ll take too much time. My plan was to reach Quinnze Blonde today and gather info about the quest item.”

“But monsters will attack us! I don’t have money to hire guards…”

Their levels were only 13 and 18. There was no way mere caution or knowledge of the terrain could protect them against such a massive level gap.

Even high-ranking players in Warode wouldn’t stand a chance against level 110 monsters without proper preparation.

The only realistic way to cross the mountains would be under the protection of some high-level users.

Mercenary services for low-level players were actually pretty common—even non-fighters like merchants often hired guards. Finding someone at the mountain entrance wouldn’t be hard…

But paying them *was* the issue.

Any user capable of fending off level 110 monsters wouldn’t come cheap. You’d either need deep pockets from real-life success or belong to a wealthy trading guild to afford their services.

For lowbies like them? Totally out of the question.

And Ail knew this well.

“I don’t have the cash either. But there’s a perfectly safe way to cross without guards.”

With confidence, Ail started heading down the right path.

Curious, Lisa hesitated for a moment before quickly following him. She didn’t think someone with Ail’s skills would make such a reckless decision without a solid plan.

And she was right.

As they walked toward the mountains, Ail kept scanning the surroundings. Soon enough, he spotted two large rocks shaped like twins near the base of the mountain.

“There should be something about 250 meters left of here along the mountain…”

Ail mentally mapped out the area as he moved.

When he reached the destination, he slipped into a dense thicket.

Surprisingly, a small crevice revealed a hidden cave entrance.

“Whoa…”

Lisa stared in amazement as she followed Ail inside.

The cave glowed faintly blue and stretched endlessly.

“This tunnel goes straight through to the other side of the mountain range. And no monsters on the way.”

“How did you even know about this place…?”

Lisa had done her research since arriving in Duel, but she hadn’t heard anything about this spot.

Meanwhile, Ail seemed to already know all about it.

That’s because this information was restricted to the Diamond Tier section of the “WorthSpot” community—a section most users couldn’t access.

For over a year, while unable to play Warode himself, Ail had spent countless hours diving into forums and info-sharing sites. He joined nearly every platform, meticulously gathering and organizing data. His contributions eventually earned him premium access to exclusive content.

From WorthSpot and RedEight to foreign sites like WGN, he had insider knowledge few others possessed.

This Walroni Cave wasn’t just useful for bypassing the mountains—it was originally shared as a secret spot for harvesting Granzeb herbs without competition.

Naturally, Ail picked a few herbs along the way, knowing their value.

“We should reach the other side in about 20 minutes.”

“That’s fast! We might actually find clues today!”

Quest Item: Casano’s Sealed Letter.

Since they were partying together, they agreed to share progress on this quest.

While solo players sometimes hoard items for themselves, many quests tied to specific items turned out to be dead ends or repeatable junk tasks. With nothing concrete yet, working together made far more sense.

Plus, having a Ranker veteran around could speed up solving the mystery, and who knew what kind of challenge awaited them?

‘Conditional quest…’ Ail briefly pulled out the crimson-stamped letter from his inventory.

Truthfully, he was somewhat excited about this quest. Something about the situation felt promising, though he couldn’t quite explain why.

‘Hopefully this turns out to be a good one…’

* * *

Thanks to the secret cave, Ail and Lisa safely crossed the mountain range without encountering any monsters.

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Following the river through the plains, they soon spotted Quinnze Blonde in the distance.

Beautiful though small, Quinnze Blonde was still a sizable city by Warode standards, easily handling the region’s heavy traffic.

Crossing the bridge connecting both sides of the river, they approached the fortified walls surrounding the city. At the open gate stood imposing guards clad in black armor, wielding spears that radiated an intimidating presence.

Unlike the generic NPC guards back in Duel, these were clearly elite mercenaries hired by powerful guilds to maintain order in this conflict-prone border region.

Stepping inside, however, revealed a completely different vibe.

Small canals ran throughout the city, creating Quinnze Blonde’s signature charm. The streets and buildings, though modest in scale, were beautifully organized.

Lisa eagerly snapped photos while Ail quietly admired the scenery. It truly felt different from seeing it in pictures or videos.

“Alice, you mentioned having a quest to complete here?”

“Yes.”

“In that case, let’s split up and meet back here once we’re done.”

“Alright.”

Lisa readily agreed. Even without her own quest, Ail needed to sell his inventory and look for useful gear.

After parting ways, Ail first headed to the nearest shop to liquidate some funds before buying weapons.

Inside the cluttered general store, a scruffy-bearded giant wiped his hands on a tiny rag, looking more like a mercenary than a shopkeeper.

Ignoring the stereotype-inducing appearance, Ail opened his inventory.

“Thanks to those potion farmers, I’ve got plenty of potions… Might as well start with the junk.”

With a dramatic flourish, Ail dumped a pile of wriggling black chunks onto the counter.

Despite their grotesque appearance, these “Corpse Clumps Infused with Mana” were valuable loot from higher-tier enemies—specifically, the Tregawl and its remains.

Dozens of pieces filled the table, alongside rotten flesh and degenerated bones harvested from lesser undead foes.

However, instead of appreciation, the shopkeeper shot Ail a disgusted glare.

“You expect me to pay good money for THIS garbage?”