Chapter 82

Level Up Heresy Inquisitor – Chapter 82 (82/227)

Chapter 82: Madness begets madness (5)

Ku-gu-gu-gung!

The tremor that shook the entire dungeon was big enough for all users inside to notice, and Ail, who was close to the center, was no exception.

While trying to avoid the fanatics’ gaze by moving along the thin foothold on the wall, Ail almost lost his balance but barely avoided danger.

“Almost fell… What’s going on?”

There was no reason for the dungeon to suddenly shake like this.

Someone must’ve triggered something that activated a new event, though this wasn’t exactly good news for Ail.

With the thought of some incident possibly occurring, Ail tensed up and soon faced a loud noise.

Kwaang!

Keeeeeek!

“Wh-what the hell!”

Ail froze in shock at the sight of monsters appearing as they smashed through one of the corridor’s doors.

A massive horde of monsters rushed past below him, devastating everything around them.

These unexpected undead monsters not only attacked the dragged-along civilians but also engulfed the fanatics of the Twilight Meeting.

Without much resistance, the fanatics were swept away, leaving Ail staring down at the scene with a dumbfounded expression.

Ail quickly checked the information of the creatures filling the corridor.

Their name was Skull Hound—30-level beast-type undead monsters whose ragged flesh revealed white bones here and there.

“I never heard about monsters like these… What in the world is happening?”

Clearly, this wasn’t a normal situation, and Ail began to feel a headache from the sudden variables.

But the problem didn’t end with just the appearance of monsters.

Mysterious black energy spread low across the floor like fog, settling around the area.

Then, the clearly dead fanatics started rising one by one from where the monsters had passed.

“Ghhrrr…”

“What now…?”

The fanatics, infused with the black energy, had come back to life as undead.

Though their levels and names remained the same according to the info window, their changed attributes significantly altered their appearances, making it impossible not to notice.

Most notably, their pale skin and bloodshot eyes resembled something he’d seen before.

Not just the fact that the dead had risen again but overall, this felt similar to the resurrection pattern of the bandits he encountered in the ‘Conspirators’ Cave’ instance dungeon.

“Could this be related to the previous World Quest? Though… it’s not impossible.”

Though Ail had stepped into the quest involving Bloody Hands thanks to a lucky quest item, it made sense that various incidents would be tied together across regions in such a vast World Quest.

Of course, he couldn’t confirm anything yet, but his instincts were reacting.

“Now what do I do…”

Ail sank into deep thought while looking down at the wobbling fanatics.

This sudden situation occurred in an uncharted new dungeon.

If dungeon mechanisms were tampered with carelessly, it could easily lead to the annihilation of all users inside, and normally, it would be safest to leave before getting entangled in unnecessary trouble.

But Ail couldn’t give up now.

He had an important quest from the Church’s Executor, and there was a possibility it was connected to the World Quest.

Naturally, he couldn’t abandon it and had to solve the problem himself.

To thoroughly investigate the magic circle, Ail began moving.

“The sudden appearance of variables… There’s a high probability the magic circle is involved somehow.”

Avoiding drawing the monsters’ attention, Ail moved in the direction the black energy had seeped in, muffling his presence.

The deeper he went, the stronger the energy grew, indicating he was getting closer to the source.

However, more and more monsters kept pouring out as he progressed.

“At first, I thought it was just a lot of monsters, but if this keeps up, they’ll fill the entire dungeon.”

“Could it be that there’s no limit to the number of summoned monsters?”

From the opposite side, faint screams of users could be heard—they seemed to have become sacrifices.

Judging by the numbers, it was hard to consider this normal regeneration, and it appeared necessary to locate and stop the source of the monsters directly.

“The worst-case scenario has been triggered. I need to hurry.”

* * *

Keeeeeek!

Skull Hounds continuously emerged from the black hole beneath the large magic circle.

The enormous hall was already packed with monsters.

However, the creatures filled the first floor or scattered in different directions without paying attention to the upper levels, allowing Ail, who hid behind the railing, to remain unnoticed.

“So… The party that came in earlier must’ve messed with the magic circle.”

Ail’s eyes lit up upon discovering the large magic circle.

It seemed to be a high-level summoning circle prepared by the fanatics over a long period, and it showed no signs of limiting the number of summoned beings.

Of course, it wouldn’t infinitely cover the world, but judging by its current momentum, filling the dungeon wouldn’t be a problem.

Since human souls were quite efficient materials in Warode’s dark magic, it wasn’t an impossible story.

But from Ail’s perspective, he couldn’t just sit idly by.

He pondered how to deal with the summoning circle amidst so many monsters.

Woooom!

Before entering the hunting ground, Ail had placed a black orb in his pocket, which now began to react strongly.

Though hesitant, Ail took out the orb and looked at it in his palm.

The black orb, said to contain the souls of dark mages, continued to resonate with the magic circle, creating a harmonizing reaction as if pulling towards each other.

“Am I supposed to use this?”

Though initially thought to be a minimal safety device or protection mechanism, it seemed to serve a different purpose in this quest.

Having calculated his options, Ail gripped the black orb tightly and leaped over the railing.

Thud!

Successfully landing not far from the magic circle after a powerful jump,

the swarm of monsters filling the hall turned their attention to Ail, who had descended to the floor.

Just as the beasts were about to charge towards him, Ail manipulated his screen, opening a new window.

[Special Apostle Benefit, ‘Contribution Shop’ opens!]

[Apostle privilege bypasses regional restrictions!]

[Search function activated!]

[Current Contribution Points: 5,410]

[Purchase complete!]

[Advanced Duel Circle Scroll – Level 35]

[Consumed Contribution Points: 500]

A white scroll appeared in his left hand along with a flash of light.

Ail immediately tore the scroll with his sword as it unfurled downwards.

Hwaack!

A white circle formed on the floor, surrounded by edges glowing with sacred flames.

The flame barrier surrounding Ail prevented the external Skull Hounds from crossing over.

Duel Circle.

A holy magic spell that isolated the caster from surrounding interference.

Though limited as it only blocked approach and didn’t stop ranged attacks, it was still a valuable spell when used at the right time.

However, the Duel Circle had no effect on enemies within its range, requiring direct action.

“Kiiiik!”

The Skull Hounds charged towards Ail.

Though fewer compared to the total number in the hall, the monsters within the circle were still numerous enough to cause concern.

But Ail swung his sword with ease.

Whoosh!

The blade, ignited with sacred flames, cut through the Skull Hounds, causing them to crumble and disappear in fiery bursts.

That level of worry was typical in ordinary cases, but Ail wasn’t your average player.

His superior level and advantageous elemental properties made the one-versus-many battle much smoother.

And most importantly, the weapon he currently wielded.

The Hero-grade Nuier Longsword’s firepower was beyond imagination.

Not only did it possess excellent base stats, but the special effect “Full Moon” increased all holy attribute damage dealt by Ail by 15%, and added a further 35% bonus damage against undead targets.

Under Warode’s system, which followed combined calculations, this meant the weapon alone doubled the damage against undead.

Thus, the monsters melted away instantly upon contact with the sacred flames, and the number of Skull Hounds within the Duel Circle rapidly decreased.

The speed at which the monsters were being summoned from the magic circle couldn’t keep up.

But then, an unexpected complication arose.

Chiiing!

Ail blocked a sudden slash from the side with his longsword.

“A user…?”

Ail’s brow furrowed upon recognizing the attacker.

Users he thought had perished after falling among the monsters rose one by one and pointed their weapons at Ail.

“Ah, they’re undead too.”

Ail immediately noticed that the entire party had transformed into undead, showing the same changes as the previously resurrected fanatics.

Facing five users with glowing red eyes, Ail instinctively knew things were about to get complicated, raising his sword.

But at that moment, the tank standing in front made an unexpected move.

Kwaang!

In an instant, he closed the distance with a powerful dash, colliding with Ail and knocking him back.

“A skill…?”

Ail’s face showed confusion as he rolled across the floor.

Knight classes commonly possessed charge-type skills, which could’ve been anticipated given their professions.

However, that was only true under normal PVP circumstances.

Even if user corpses revived as undead, losing their self-awareness would make them follow monster behavior patterns, essentially becoming high-spec zombies.

Yet, the current opponent directly used skills retained as a user.

Such a case where a user corpse revives as undead was rare, but this was unprecedented.

“Could it be related to the World Quest?”

Whoosh!

Before he could dwell on it, a fireball hurled by the mage from the rear approached.

Startled, Ail swiftly dodged the area-of-effect magic and slashed through a rushing Skull Hound.

“If they’re treated as users rather than monsters in the system…”

In that brief moment, Ail formulated a hypothesis and immediately activated a skill.

Apostle-exclusive skill: Heresy Designation.

Chi-ing!

A distinct mark of heresy appeared above the heads of the undead users.

Something that wouldn’t have been possible if they were treated as regular monsters.

Satisfaction spread across Ail’s lips.

“If only they dropped items as generously in PVP…”