Chapter 25

Level Up Heretic Judge – Episode 25 (25/227)

Episode 25: Quest In (2)

“Yeah, yeah. Thank you. I’ll visit again sometime later.”

Ding!

The call ended, and WooJin tossed his phone onto the blanket as he sprawled backward.

“Hmph…”

He had just quit his long-running part-time job at the convenience store.

Having decided to fully commit to being a professional player, it was only natural that he would have to quit his side gig.

But until a replacement could be found, he thought he’d have to keep working for at least two weeks. Luckily, the manager understood and said it was fine for him to leave immediately.

It turned out the manager’s nephew, who lived nearby, was looking for a part-time job, so it seemed they could find a replacement right away.

“Now it’s time to really get moving.”

With his biggest worry resolved, WooJin felt renewed determination.

The time invested in Warode never betrayed him, and conversely, the less time you invested, the less competitive you became exponentially.

From now on, WooJin planned to dedicate most of his time to Warode, aside from eating and sleeping.

Of course, even so, he knew it was important to include some exercise.

No matter what, Warode ultimately came down to stamina. If he spent all day sitting in front of the console and ended up ruining his body, it would be far more fatal than receiving death penalties several times.

He needed to build up the physical strength and mental fortitude to endure harsh grinding and long playtimes.

One fortunate thing was that thanks to the money he received as a reward from the game company, he had some financial leeway.

If he hadn’t had that money after quitting his convenience store job, he would’ve been living a crazy, tight schedule just trying to make ends meet instead of having time to develop his character.

Though even now, with nothing but 100 million won, it wasn’t enough to secure his future. Ultimately, he had to succeed in Warode within the set timeframe.

The cramped studio apartment where WooJin lived remained unchanged.

Since he wasn’t currently earning any income, WooJin thought it wasn’t the time to move out yet.

“I still have some time left… Should I log in early?”

Checking the clock, WooJin jumped up from his seat.

* * *

Poof!

Logging into Warode, the first thing Ail saw were lush bushes and trees.

Turning his gaze sideways, he could see the landscape below the mountain halfway point, with a cool breeze blowing.

Ail had logged off as planned at the entrance to Hardrock Dungeon after reaching Midona Mountain.

When he reconnected, there weren’t just Ail but several other users at the dungeon entrance. Some were reorganizing after hunting, taking breaks, or looking for party members.

Among them was a familiar face.

“You’re here already?”

“Ah, Master Ail. I came early to prepare some things before we enter.”

Lisa greeted him cheerfully.

Though he hadn’t expected her to be there ten minutes before their scheduled meeting time, it seemed she had come even earlier to get ready.

Looking closely at what she was doing, Ail saw various tools laid out with something bubbling in a small pot.

“What is this?”

“Here, take these. I heard Hardrock Dungeon is especially dark.”

[Mysterious Eye Drops (Common)]

[Upon consumption, brightens eyes to maintain clear vision in dark environments for 30 minutes.]

[An improved quality potion with enhanced effects.]

Ail caught the three potion bottles Lisa tossed to him.

The transparent bottles held a golden liquid that shimmered appealingly.

“Did you… learn alchemy by any chance?”

“Yes, I’ve dabbled in various things. Warode has many interesting contents beyond just hunting.”

Lisa smiled while stirring the pot.

In Warode, there were no separate classes like blacksmiths or merchants or alchemists.

Regardless of your main class, players could freely enjoy all basic content without restrictions. Whether running a shop, crafting weapons, or practicing alchemy like Lisa was doing now.

Players focused mainly on combat could still run shops, and those who joined merchant guilds as pure traders still possessed combat skills and classes.

The key was what each player chose to prioritize in their gameplay.

Focusing too much on one area naturally meant neglecting others.

That’s why Ail hadn’t touched minor content like cooking at all.

To aim for the top, indulging in unrelated distractions was both reckless and wasteful.

But it seemed Lisa didn’t feel the same way.

“Mysterious Eye Drops can be made starting at Alchemy Rank 2…”

“Yes, I recently reached Rank 2.”

Her statement impressed Ail internally.

Though the number might seem low, reaching Rank 2 in any skill was quite an achievement.

Especially in alchemy, which was notoriously difficult, not even an 8th Rank user existed yet. To reach this level likely meant holing up in town and focusing solely on alchemy for days.

If she managed this while casually balancing it with hunting, reaching Rank 2 around level 18 would’ve been impossible.

Compared to Ail, whose life revolved around leveling up and hunting, leaving all his lifestyle skills at Rank 0, this was even more impressive.

Chiiik!

Just then, the liquid in the alchemy tool began boiling, completing another potion Lisa was making.

Quickly filling a bottle, a pure white liquid swirled inside.

Its appearance gave no clue as to what kind of potion it might be.

As Ail’s curiosity rose to ask about it, a man suddenly approached.

“Excuse me, are you two the only ones here?”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Could I join your party perhaps? Would that be possible?”

As the man spoke, Ail quickly scanned him.

Judging from his thick greatsword and heavy armor, he appeared to be a warrior class focused primarily on defense.

There was nothing immediately suspicious about his demeanor, and he seemed rather perceptive for someone in the beginner zones.

He had likely observed Ail and Lisa’s equipment, noticed their careful preparation with potions, and judged them to be skilled players in this area, deciding to join their party hunt.

“I’m sorry, but we aren’t recruiting party members.”

Naturally, Ail declined the request.

Their purpose wasn’t simple hunting, and it wouldn’t be wise to bring an unknown person into such a major quest.

While having more party members for their first dungeon run might increase safety somewhat, the real danger in games like this often came from people, not monsters.

After the man reluctantly left, Ail spoke to Lisa.

“Shall we go in then?”

* * *

The interior of Hardrock Dungeon, an efficient hunting ground, was filled with parties hunting everywhere.

The large number of monsters allowed for faster hunting, but also increased the burden, so most players entered with parties of at least three.

In contrast, there were just Ail and Lisa.

Still, penetrating deep into the dungeon proved no problem.

Thanks to their exceptional skills, combined with the Mysterious Eye Drops allowing them to see clearly in the dark, plus the fact that the dungeon’s main monsters were level 11, they moved through with relative ease.

Keeeek!

Pooook!

A goblin wielding a club was lifted high into the air.

The one pierced through the abdomen by the longsword flopped limply, dropping items onto the floor as Ail removed its corpse from his blade and flung it aside.

With the last one down, eleven goblin corpses littered the area.

Certainly, each goblin corpse could be disassembled.

However, they were simply clearing a path toward their destination, and investing time in such low-level monsters wasn’t worth it.

With two people, there was no need to waste time.

“Do you need healing?”

“No, my HP is fine. There’s no need to use mana so early.”

Ail waved his hand in response.

Even after progressing nearly halfway into the cave, continuously battling goblins, his HP was still over 90%.

And the same went for Lisa.

Without needing special protection from behind, she efficiently took down enemies, never using healing magic or potions.

Meaning neither allowed attacks from the clumsy goblins to land on them.

A nearby party had been watching them for a while, murmuring to each other with dumbfounded expressions.

“Whoa, who are those people?”

“I… don’t know. Their movements don’t look like they’re relying on gear alone, so why are they here with this level of skill…?”

“They’re probably alternate characters…”

“Hey!”

Ail suddenly called out to them.

The party members looked at him curiously.

“What is it?”

“You’ve been staring since before… Is there something you want to say? Or maybe you’re waiting for an opportunity to initiate PK…?”

“Eh? Absolutely not! No way we’d do PK! Oh man, what a thing to say.”

The party members hastily dispersed after waving their hands in denial.

They knew if they started any trouble or tried to eliminate potential threats preemptively, they’d almost certainly die.

Once the group disappeared completely behind the wall, Ail wore a satisfied expression.

“They’re gone.”

“A little mean, but it worked well.”

Lisa chuckled.

With the entrance to the instance dungeon just ahead, they’d been stuck spot-hunting for a few minutes because those guys kept watching.

It was common sense that nobody else should witness entering an unknown instance dungeon.

Even though mid-entry interruptions were impossible for non-party members, there was always the risk of them camping at the entrance hoping for unknown rewards or bringing in more players.

So Ail carefully scanned the surroundings one more time, then slipped between the narrow rock crevices when no one was around.

To other players, it would look like they were charging headfirst into the wall, but to Ail and Lisa, who possessed talismans, what appeared as a wall was actually a white barrier surrounding a clearly visible dungeon entrance.

[You have entered the Instance Dungeon ‘Cave of Conspirators’.]

[You will only have one chance; failure to complete will not allow for retries.]

Whoooosh!

The talismans clutched in Ail and Lisa’s hands simultaneously burst into flames.

Judging from the fact that re-entry would be impossible, the talisman seemed to function as a one-use entry ticket.

The sound of torches burning echoed from ahead, revealing a narrow cave passage before them.

“So, it really was like that, huh?”

“Hahahaha!”

Through the passage, the boisterous laughter and chatter of two men could be heard.

Instantly silencing themselves, Ail and Lisa hid behind opposite walls at the entrance.

Two figures approached.

Tightly gripping their respective weapons—a longsword and staff—they waited quietly for the pair to emerge.

The voices grew closer.