Chapter 80

Level Up Heretic Judge – Chapter 80 (80/227)

Chapter 80: Madness upon Madness (3)

“Phew, this weather is sticky as heck.”

Ail wiped the sweat off his forehead as he pushed through the bushes.

He was walking through a dense jungle where an abandoned shrine was located, suffering from the sudden rise in temperature.

Taking a swig from his waterskin, Ail also poured some water over his head to cool down.

After shaking out his soaked hair, Ail pulled out a map.

The map, zoomed in on the jungle area, had circles marking sections Ail had already cleared.

“Well, not too far to go now.”

Adjusting his direction, Ail set off toward the marked destination.

Even in this thick jungle, finding his way wasn’t hard for Ail since his position was indicated on the map and his sense of direction was top-notch.

New hunting ground: The Abandoned Shrine.

The term didn’t just refer to the shrine itself but included the vast jungle surrounding it. Indeed, fanatics of the Dusk Council were lurking everywhere, ready to ambush intruders.

Just like these guys…

“Die!”

Fanatics wielding weapons emerged from the bushes.

There were more than seven robed figures hiding among the foliage.

Though they’d concealed their presence well, Ail wasn’t fazed. He’d faced this pattern dozens of times already on his way here.

Crack!

The first fanatic’s head split in two.

Without even using the Sacred Flame skill, one hit was enough to take them down depending on where he struck.

This Asleton longsword he’d gotten from Lu really lived up to its Hero grade with unmatched power.

Meanwhile, a dagger grazed past his waist, but Ail calmly grabbed the assailant by the collar and hurled him at another fanatic charging from the opposite side.

Klang!

As the two men crashed together, Ail methodically took out the rest one by one.

At level 35, Ail towered over the fanatics whose average level was 34. With his high Favor and Madness stats boosting him, normal monsters of the same level were no match for him.

“Kraaaagh!”

With the last fanatic collapsing after being impaled, the fight ended quickly.

It was a one-sided victory.

Casually subduing them all, Ail intentionally spared five of them instead of killing outright.

And the fate awaiting the survivors was always the same.

After tying ropes neatly around their throats while they were near death, Ail hoisted them up onto the trees.

Their struggling ceased almost instantly.

[Your Faith stat has deepened further.]

[+0.1 to Faith stat]

[+0.1 to Madness stat]

‘Seems public executions are definitely effective.’

Upon seeing the message, Ail thought.

Even while hunting regular monsters, he always made time for stat grinding. It felt like his stats increased faster when he caught people’s attention.

Especially after realizing his stats sometimes rose unexpectedly, Ail figured the traces left after executions also contributed to stat growth.

Just like Ilileen, the Executioner, had told him, instilling fear and reverence in people must be part of the Heretic Judge’s mission, explaining this phenomenon.

‘Choosing the right execution spot is important.’

While executing in the middle of the city might be excessive, within the same hunting ground, choosing areas with more foot traffic would be better.

Of course, though pyres were great for drawing attention, it was too hot already—no need to start a bonfire here.

‘Almost there…’

Ail looked around for the entrance.

The marked destination was somewhere nearby.

Most users active here mostly wandered around the shrine or its outskirts, but Ail’s goal wasn’t the shrine—it was the secret underground facility.

Unless he was here to hunt, there was no reason to follow the crowd.

“There it is.”

Behind a thick tree, between two sturdy rocks, a hidden passage opened up.

Barely wide enough for a person, it had a small mark carved into the base of the tree.

Just as Arileen had described during the briefing.

Relieved, Ail stepped inside without hesitation.

Inside the passage, a slippery slope led downward, which Ail carefully navigated.

Thud!

The hidden dungeon was eerily quiet.

Despite rumors of countless fanatics stationed underground, so far only sporadic torches illuminating old facilities could be seen.

The passage Ail entered was merely one of many secret entrances leading into the complex, which explained why there was no guard posted at the entrance.

‘Recording begins.’

Once inside, Ail immediately started recording.

He needed footage for his next video to upload on WorkTube, targeting the fanatics from this quest.

Since Ail’s video uploads were part of a long-term plan, achieving meaningful results required consistent growth and uploading to build his image.

He was barely starting, so expecting instant fame was unrealistic.

‘Hope I get some decent footage.’

Though editing would be involved, getting good source material was crucial.

Still, he wasn’t overly worried.

Equipped with new skills, weapons, and gear, his specs were boosted significantly, allowing him to dominate monsters convincingly.

Plus, this was an unknown hidden dungeon that hadn’t been discovered by other users yet.

Given the mention of magical runes during the quest briefing, the contents seemed promising and likely to pique people’s curiosity.

‘Videos are secondary anyway. Need to hurry.’

Glancing at the time, Ail quickened his pace.

There was no time to worry about video quality.

This massive facility beneath the shrine was a hidden dungeon, but not an instance dungeon.

Anyone could freely enter and exit since there were no restrictions.

Other users might’ve already found it.

Considering the area had been open for a week and there were multiple entrances, it was possible others were exploring inside.

If that was the case, Ail’s plans could be disrupted.

Messing up the quest objective runes or provoking the fanatics could lead to failure.

For now, completing the quest as quickly as possible was the best strategy.

Ail slipped into the shadows beyond the torchlight.

* * *

“How’s it going?”

“They just passed.”

“Phew…”

The party members hiding behind the corner sighed in relief upon hearing the thief’s detection skill report.

A day ago, this party had stumbled upon the hidden underground facility beneath the abandoned shrine and began exploring it.

Despite having five fairly strong players, progress was slow due to the large number of fanatic mobs.

“Never seen a place with so many humanoid monsters. This dungeon seems unusually large too.”

“Yeah, lucky us. Not just any dungeon, but one crawling with demon worshippers. There’s gotta be something valuable here. Maybe some artifact blessed by a demon.”

“If we find an item with ‘Benaron’ in its name, it’ll be at least Hero to Unique grade. That’d solve our gold problems for a while.”

Some party members grinned at the thought.

Normally someone would tease them for getting ahead of themselves, but this hidden dungeon in a newly opened area with its impressive scale and lore was undeniably intriguing.

It smelled like rare loot.

Clearing it first would undoubtedly bring huge rewards.

“The problem is, we’re not the only ones thinking this way.”

“True, we’ve already spotted four other parties. One of them was wiped out, meaning griefers might be involved too.”

“Right… we should be careful.”

They weren’t the only ones to discover the hidden dungeon.

Multiple parties were exploring inside, aware of each other’s presence.

All were racing to reach the dungeon’s end first.

“All users here are competitors. Everyone should prepare for PKs.”

“Hey, let’s move already. Those fanatics might return anytime.”

Urged by the thief, the party snapped back to reality and moved quickly.

Passing through a long hall, they reached an opposite room and hastily closed the door to avoid detection by fanatics.

Pulling out small lamps to search the dark room, they dimmed the brightness to avoid alerting potential threats.

Tension remained high as they scanned the room.

Suddenly, they noticed someone inside.

A lone player with a bloodied sword stood amidst four lifeless bodies.

“Wh-who are you?!”

“Hold on, those people…”

One party member pointed at the corpses.

The dead were not fanatics but other players—a 4-person party they’d encountered earlier.

“One guy took out four?”

“What trickery is this?!”

The shocked party members raised their weapons defensively.

Facing five opponents, the man simply shrugged.

“I didn’t start it.”

“Don’t joke around. How else could you solo four unless you snuck up on them? Save your excuses for outside the game!”

Clang!

A heavy strike slammed toward the man, who effortlessly deflected it and sent the attacker flying across the room.

“Gahhh!”

The party member groaned as he got up, gritting his teeth, while the others prepared to charge.

Trapped alone in the room, the situation seemed dire for the man.

“Five against one, huh? Might be more fun than the last group.”

Instead of panicking, the man spun his sword casually.

The healer in the back hesitated, sensing something off. Finally, the dim lamp light revealed his face.

A face everyone recognized.

If memory served correctly, this was…

“Wait! Everyone stop!”

Realizing something was wrong, the healer shouted.

But it was too late.

The party was already charging forward as the man continued speaking, glancing at a small rock in his hand.

“Did you really want a fight?”

Crack!

The lamp shattered, plunging the room into darkness.