Chapter 59

Level Up Heresy Inquisitor – Episode 59 (59/227)

Episode 59: Corpse Cave (3)

“That kid… ain’t no ordinary guy.”

As Toolong watched Ail sprint ahead, he couldn’t help but think.

At first, Toolong had secretly dismissed Ail as nothing special, but now his opinion had completely flipped.

Ail had meticulously set up traps at strategic points throughout the dungeon, using them to evade two users over 100 levels higher than himself.

Even the simplest traps could effectively delay a couple of users, and whenever they got close enough to launch an attack, another trap would activate, buying him more time.

The spacing between traps was unpredictable, with some coming in unexpected intervals, creating a complex structure that was difficult to anticipate.

For a level 20 user, this level of seasoned expertise was unbelievable, even to Toolong, who had seen it all.

Most surprisingly, Ail had only been here for a few hours but was utilizing the terrain as if he’d been studying it for days.

Such skill and intelligence weren’t something just anyone could possess.

But Ail wasn’t the only one pulling off impressive feats.

“Knew it’d be tough, but damn, this sucks.”

Gritting his teeth, Ail kept running.

Though he hadn’t taken any direct hits from the pursuing players’ attacks, he was already battered and bruised from dodging and tumbling.

Surviving against high-level users who outclassed him in every way wasn’t easy.

Despite using every trick in the book, they were still hot on his heels, putting his life in danger multiple times.

It was only thanks to his prior knowledge of the area and the traps he’d set up that he’d managed to stay alive this long.

Without careful planning and route preparation, he wouldn’t have lasted 30 seconds, let alone 15 minutes.

“My traps are almost gone… can’t keep this up much longer.”

Sensing danger from behind, Ail ducked just in time.

A powerful arrow whizzed past, cracking the wall behind him. Amidst this chaos, Ail checked his interface.

[Elapsed Time ’00:29:23′]

“Perfect.”

Ail’s 30-minute timer was about to expire.

Confirming the time, he immediately turned right.

The pursuers quickly closed in, but sure enough, another trap activated.

BOOM!

Falling rocks accompanied by flames rained down on them.

This was one of Ail’s more expensive traps, well-hidden and effective at buying significant time.

Predictably, the Amaranth guild members, now accustomed to the simpler traps, struggled to handle this more sophisticated one.

Using the opportunity, Ail weaved through the corpse-filled meremen blocking his path and descended further into the dungeon.

Unlike the previous maze-like layout, this new route was a straight passage that ended in a dead end.

While he could previously escape by turning corners, if his pursuers followed him here, he’d have no choice but to face them head-on.

Yet despite knowing this, Ail showed no hesitation.

CRASH!

Reaching the end of the path, Ail stopped.

He had arrived at the boss room where the Corpse Cave’s boss monster resided.

“ROOOAR!”

A massive figure, dozens of times larger than regular meremen, roared upon seeing Ail.

King Mereman.

Though the main boss of a popular hunting ground, this monster was notoriously avoided by players due to its difficult patterns, high difficulty, and poor rewards.

Normally, players would need to wake the sleeping boss upon entering the room to start the battle, but strangely, King Mereman was already awake and ready to fight.

Before the battle could begin in earnest, Toolong and Lucas suddenly burst into the room.

“So you’ve given up and led us to a dead end?”

“Just catching my breath. Can’t keep running forever.”

Ail shrugged nonchalantly.

While Toolong remained expressionless, Lucas beside him sneered.

“So you’re finally throwing in the towel after all that struggling?”

“How am I supposed to take on Amaranth alone?”

“Hmph.”

Zzzt!

Behind Ail, King Mereman began casting a spell.

But neither Toolong nor Lucas paid it any mind.

After all, no matter how powerful a boss monster’s magic might be, it couldn’t harm users so far above its level.

“Any last words before you go?”

Lucas leaned casually against his bow, asking more out of courtesy than genuine interest.

There was no real reason to ask, but satisfying their clients sometimes meant providing such touches.

Ideally, they wanted to see their target beg for mercy or show cowardice, but disappointingly, this one showed no signs of doing so.

“Last words…”

Ail glanced back thoughtfully, then looked at the barely visible cracks forming on the wall.

“I’ll be taking a two-day vacation, so tell your client I said hi. Let them know I’ll be back soon.”

“What…?”

BOOM!

As Ail finished speaking, the walls around them exploded violently.

In an instant, chunks of ceiling and walls collapsed, showering debris everywhere. Toolong and Lucas had to leap away to avoid being caught in the falling rocks.

And that wasn’t all.

BOOM!

Massive torrents of water gushed through the gaps created by the collapsing ceiling and walls.

Caught completely off guard, they were swept away by the powerful water pressure, losing their balance and dropping their weapons in the process.

Attempting to retreat through the passage they’d entered, they found it too was now flooded with rushing water.

Against such a strong current, escaping upstream was impossible. They were effectively trapped.

“Damn it! What’s going on here!”

“It can’t be…!”

Toolong’s gaze finally turned to the boss monster, who had just finished casting its final spell and was now fading away.

“Is this… the Annihilation Pattern?”

King Mereman’s infamous clearance condition required defeating it within 30 minutes. If unsuccessful, the “King’s Wrath” pattern would activate, flooding the entire Corpse Cave and wiping out all intruders.

By now, even the upper entrance was likely blocked by the boss’s rockfall magic, leaving the other Amaranth members outside equally bewildered.

Once the cave filled with water, it would reset to normal in 5-10 minutes – plenty of time.

No matter their level or stats, everyone could survive underwater for only up to 3 minutes before drowning.

This was why the Corpse Cave, despite being near a popular hunting ground, remained unpopular – its design ensured everyone inside would perish if the boss was not defeated in time.

“This doesn’t make sense! That pattern should only activate after 30 minutes!”

Realizing the situation, Lucas shouted in disbelief.

They hadn’t come unprepared – they knew about the boss and its patterns.

However, they had only seen Ail alone in the swamp earlier, with no companions. Therefore, they deemed it impossible for anyone to maintain aggro on the boss for over 30 minutes.

“Did you have accomplices hiding somewhere?”

“Nope. If I did, they’d have been spotted. All I did was pay some guys at the entrance to keep watch for anything suspicious.”

Ail emerged from behind a large rock fragment.

Hearing this, Lucas recalled seeing someone eyeing them suspiciously at the entrance.

An anxious-looking warrior – someone working for the target.

“And once you came in, I woke the boss and used this.”

Ail gestured behind him.

Floating on the now knee-deep water was a battered scarecrow.

Hermit – an item used to lure monsters, capable of maintaining aggro without a player present.

“Don’t joke around! There’s no way a Hermit could last over 30 minutes!”

“True, you wouldn’t find one like that normally.”

An exclusive item available only at church contribution stores, costing a whopping 400 contribution points.

“Didn’t think you’d resort to something like this… so you want us all to die together?”

“Nope. Just you guys.”

“What…?”

Toolong furrowed his brow in confusion.

Without further explanation, Ail pulled out an item from his inventory.

A small blue orb.

Water Breathing Pearl – a rare consumable dropped by mermen with extremely low probability, allowing the user to breathe underwater for 10 minutes.

“When did you…!”

“Close call. If you’d come an hour earlier, I’d be the one dying.”

As they spoke, the icy water continued to rise, now reaching their chins.

“Captain!”

Lucas looked anxiously at Toolong.

There was nothing they could do – no one prepares a specialized underwater breathing item for every dungeon run.

“See you in two days then.”

With an evil grin, Ail waved from atop the rising water.