Chapter 52

Level Up Heresy Judge – Episode 52 (52/227)

Episode 52: Silence and All That Jazz (8)

“Hold up… ‘caution’?”

A totally unexpected message out of nowhere.

Like, why would Warode’s divine rank be all jittery about just one measly player? Made zero sense.

Sure, you could stretch it to mean his Apostle was threatened, but that seemed unlikely.

If a divine rank was cautious enough to send out a system message, it wasn’t gonna be over some random Believer having a bad day.

No way. This was the kinda thing that happened when something could actually threaten his faith or Church on a serious level.

But before Ail could even stress about it further, the player in front of him suddenly lunged forward with incredible speed.

The guy closed the distance so fast even Ail was caught off guard, swinging a dagger straight at him.

An honest-to-god straightforward frontal attack.

But Ail wasn’t dumb enough to fall for that – he easily blocked the dagger.

Except that wasn’t what the guy was really going for from the start.

KAGAKANG!

Pressing close with blade locked against blade, the man surged right into Ail’s personal space.

And then proceeded to relentlessly slash away with his dagger, sticking tight like glue to keep Ail from creating any distance.

With his longsword’s length making proper counterplay difficult, Ail quickly adjusted his grip, holding the hilt shorter while pulling the blade close to his body.

CHIING!

As the relentless attacks kept coming, Ail managed to find an opening and swung hard, landing a solid hit.

Reacting fast, the man blocked with his dagger but was pushed back a step, allowing Ail to finally create some breathing room.

“What the actual…”

Facing an unexpectedly tough opponent, Ail couldn’t hide his surprise.

Just a Level 25 quest mob, yet this guy’s swordsmanship blew past the usual skill level for this tier.

Also, most rogue-types using daggers went dual-wield, but this dude stuck to just one.

Even keeping an eye out for a potential trick where he’d suddenly pull out a second dagger – which happened sometimes – didn’t seem necessary here.

Only one sheath on his waist, and his fighting stance showed no signs of planning to draw another weapon.

“So…”

Ail mentally ran through the various classes and skills that might rely on a single dagger.

Without any clear info, pinpointing exactly which one he was dealing with was impossible, but he needed to consider all likely possibilities and prepare accordingly.

Can’t go down to some unexpected move because you got complacent.

Their brief exchange alone made it clear this was no ordinary foe.

Ail immediately activated the Heresy Designation Skill, marking the man with the Heretic seal above his head.

A strong advantage only available to Apostles, whether in PVP or PVE.

WHOOSH!

With a light sweep of his longsword, Sacred Flames erupted.

The hooded man flinched at the sudden appearance of the Heretic mark above his head and the white flames engulfing Ail’s weapon.

But only for a moment – both charged at each other almost simultaneously.

KAANG!

“Figures. Not a coincidence.”

Once again, as soon as their blades clashed, the man pressed in close without hesitation.

An infuriatingly obvious playstyle if you were on the receiving end.

This wasn’t just brute physical prowess – the guy clearly knew how to fight.

Longsword versus dagger – if the longsword user can’t maintain distance, they’re at a major disadvantage, and that’s exactly what this guy was aiming for.

“Crap…”

Though Ail had anticipated this weakness being targeted, he didn’t have a great solution ready.

At Level 23, with only two skill acquisition opportunities beyond basic class skills, and limited item options, addressing this vulnerability thoroughly had been impractical.

He’d planned to eventually compensate with some martial arts training for close-range combat, but that wasn’t happening in the middle of this fight.

KAANG!

“Oof!”

Ail deflected a dagger aimed at his empty side.

This guy wasn’t just unusual for using a single dagger – his entire fighting style was rare.

Typically, dagger users relied on quick mobility and flexibility, incorporating lots of minor feints in their attacks.

Not this guy.

Every strike aimed exclusively for critical points, delivered with powerful force.

While Ail’s decent investment in Vitality and bonus stats gave him some leeway to absorb smaller hits, none of this guy’s attacks fell into that category.

The last one targeting his thigh wasn’t just a feint – it went straight for the artery to trigger the “Bleeding” status effect.

“But I’ve got the gist of your pattern now.”

SWISH!

Ail’s longsword vanished, replaced instantly by a dagger from his inventory in a perfectly smooth weapon swap.

Twisting the longsword’s trajectory mid-swing, he thrust the dagger toward the man’s abdomen in a completely unexpected move.

CHHAA!

But it missed.

The man’s quick reflexes let the dagger graze just his collar, and an immediate fluid counterattack followed.

Attempting too much fancy footwork left Ail in a poor position to defend once his attack failed.

The man’s dagger came straight for Ail’s neck…

THUD!

“…!”

Only for the man’s back to get stabbed instead.

Right before the fatal blow landed, Ail activated his Reverse Skill to instantly pivot behind the man, driving his dagger into his back.

[Special Effect ‘Curse’ Activated!]

The Slow effect from the “Crying Dagger” applied, along with burn damage from the Sacred Flames – all part of Ail’s carefully calculated plan since the moment he swapped weapons.

KAGAKANG!

But the man quickly recovered and charged at Ail again.

Still moving fast despite his Agility-focused build, though the Slow effect made countering easier.

Using his re-equipped longsword, Ail managed to cover himself, even landing a few close calls.

Then, circles appeared around Ail’s body.

“Wha–!”

Recognizing what these circles meant, Ail’s eyes widened in shock.

Rare-grade skill: Weakness Analysis.

When activated, markers indicated the opponent’s weak points, allowing for massively increased damage if successfully struck.

A shared skill among rogue classes, highly rated even among Rare-tier skills.

Absolutely could not let these marked areas get hit.

The man persistently aimed for these weak points with his dagger, all of which Ail managed to block.

KAGAKANG!

After blocking repeatedly, the man deflected Ail’s longsword to the side and moved in low, finding an opening.

WHACK!

His left elbow connected squarely with Ail’s chest.

The impact was far beyond a normal strike – his head went fuzzy for a moment.

Warode’s status ailment: Stun.

Not a full blackout like in some online games, but during its duration, cognitive abilities dropped drastically, leaving the victim confused and unable to respond effectively – one of the strongest status effects.

Ordinary elbow strikes didn’t cause Stun; this was definitely the shared skill “Stunning Strike.”

A Rare-grade skill that, when it lands cleanly, dealt significant damage along with guaranteed short Stun.

“Shit…”

Trying to shake it off, Ail found it impossible due to the system-imposed confusion state.

THUD! THUD!

Dodging Ail’s blind swings, the man easily stabbed at the marked weak points.

A chilling sound of metal cutting through armor and flesh accompanied Ail’s rapidly depleting health bar.

Thanks to the combination of Weakness Analysis and Stun, a massive amount of damage drained his HP down to the 30% range.

Two dagger strikes alone took out over 60% of his health.

With Stun still lingering and Ail’s unsteady stance unsuitable for defense…

KAGAKANG!

“…!”

This was it for the toughest opponent the man had faced so far.

Aiming for the finishing blow, he thrust his dagger straight for the heart.

KLANG!

“Wha–!”

His expression immediately shifted to bewilderment.

Out of nowhere, a black energy barrier surrounded Ail, completely nullifying the attack.

A special effect of the Black Crystal Set jewelry, capable of negating any single attack.

The powerful strike caused significant recoil, forcing the man’s arm backward and leaving him wide open.

TIIING!

That instant, the Stun wore off from Ail, who’d already prepared his stance and gripped his longsword.

The perfect opportunity presented itself, leaving only one possible action.

Activating the Heroic Skill: “Single Island.”