Chapter 83

Level Up IlDanSimPanGwan – Chapter 83 (83/227)

Chapter 83: Madness Begets Madness (6)

“Huh, is this the place?”

The man who had climbed up the stairs leaned against a pillar and looked down below.

While exploring the dungeon, Roden had noticed something amiss due to the sudden increase in monsters. Following their traces, he discovered a magic circle continuously spawning Skull Hounds.

‘Something interesting is happening here…’

Even though trouble seemed to be brewing, Roden’s curiosity was piqued, and he smirked slightly.

A few player parties had tried to ambush him for coming alone without backup, but their low levels made them incredibly boring opponents, leaving him unimpressed.

He had hoped for at least a somewhat enjoyable fight, but the current dungeon users were far from satisfying.

‘Ah, those Armenia days were good… When will I level up again?’

Roden sighed deeply but quickly shook his head and gripped his sword.

Despite the large number of monsters surrounding the magic circle, he didn’t hesitate to charge in and take them all out.

But just as he was about to move forward…

Out of nowhere, Ail appeared on the opposite railing and jumped down forcefully.

‘Hmm?’

Not only was another user hiding on the opposite side, but Roden was surprised that someone would jump down alone like that.

Moreover, it wasn’t a reckless fight without planning. Ail used a magic scroll to block the surrounding monsters and displayed overwhelming combat skills against those within range.

It was a fight that could be described as almost wiping them all out.

‘There are competent players even in places like this.’

Impressed by Ail’s battle prowess, Roden’s eyes lit up.

Judging from how well he had developed his character so far, his firepower was exceptionally strong, and his skill level was clearly above the average players Roden had been dealing with here.

However, the intense white flames engulfing the longsword weren’t a common fighting style, naturally reminding him of someone.

‘Wait, an IlDanSimPanGwan… Could this be the crazy judge I saw on WarTube?’

Roden’s eyes widened.

For some reason, the figure seemed familiar, and it turned out to be the fanatical player from the Esmaier region who had recently become a hot topic.

He often passed the time between regional moves by browsing Warlord sites, and the striking concept had left a deep impression on him when he watched the video.

Though the face had been obscured, the equipment worn looked almost identical.

Most importantly, the fighting style shown in a video uploaded to WarTube not long ago, where he cleared out bandits, closely resembled what he was seeing now.

While regular users might find the heavily edited footage confusing, his sharp eyes missed no detail, no matter how small.

“Haha, always thought the world was small.”

As Roden gripped his sword tighter, he continued watching.

Knowing they were around the same level, he had hoped for a direct encounter, but he hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.

‘Of course, it is a little scary…’

Having seen all of Ail’s frenzied actions in the videos, Roden couldn’t help but feel uneasy about what might happen if he crossed paths with him.

But then, an unexpected variable arose that even Roden hadn’t anticipated.

Clearly dead users resurrected as undead.

What’s more, these undead moved strategically, as if controlled by actual players, using their skills to pressure him.

It was akin to fighting a well-organized party.

Additionally, with the continuous summoning of monsters from the magic circle below, the situation became increasingly burdensome for someone fighting alone.

No matter how skilled one was, overcoming the limitation of being solo was difficult, especially with the resurrected party members being above average strength and the increasing number of interference.

It was a tough setup for anyone, and Ail clearly found himself in a bind.

“What do I do with this…”

* * *

Chiiing!

“Ugh…!”

Ail stumbled back after receiving a powerful blow.

Unexpectedly, the skills of the undead users were quite high.

They weren’t at the average level of 30s users.

Based on numerical superiority, they applied pressure without reckless attacks and knew how to deal with a lone swordsman.

They definitely had solid PVP fundamentals.

Moreover, while dealing with them, there were also continuously spawning Skull Hounds attacking from behind, making it hard for him to keep up with these unforeseen tough opponents.

‘Damn, not much time left…’

Like most single-use magic scrolls, the ‘Circle of Duel’ magic wouldn’t last long.

If he kept dragging this out, the monsters outside would eventually swarm in and tear him apart.

Attempting to target the magic circle first while avoiding the undead users proved difficult since both they and the monsters had formed a protective formation around it, leaving no clear openings.

‘Using a thousand points here wouldn’t be cost-effective.’

Ideally, he should avoid excessive expenditure of contribution points, so Ail decided to make more daring moves.

The top priority was obviously the annoying mage.

Being the most vulnerable class, and without a healer in the opposing party, it was naturally the first role to target.

And as everyone knows, sure enough, a tank blocked his path, marking Ail.

However, the moment the knight’s sword came down, Ail dodged with a countermove, circled behind him, and maintained the momentum to close in on the mage.

Chack!

Ail decisively cut down two Skull Hounds blocking his way.

But the two warrior players rushing from both sides weren’t ones he could handle all at once.

‘Then I’ll evade.’

Ail quickly swallowed a small potion he had prepared beforehand.

[The effect of the potion activates ‘Instant Acceleration’!]

[Your speed has temporarily increased significantly!]

Whoosh!

With drastically enhanced speed, Ail easily evaded them and rushed toward the mage in the rear, cutting him down in one swift motion.

Clearly different from regular doping potions.

In exchange for a shorter duration, this special doping potion greatly boosted stats.

Though criticized for being impractical in real combat due to its short duration, for Ail, who could freely perform tricky weapon swaps based on high coordination, simply taking out a potion was no issue.

Besides, healing potions require drinking a larger amount, making them inconvenient during intense battles, which didn’t apply to the much smaller doping potions.

Kwaak!

Successfully exploiting the opening, Ail cleanly decapitated the mage.

Then he quickly turned his head and advanced toward the true target.

He needed to destroy the magic circle spewing out monsters first, and after neutralizing it, appropriately escaping would essentially achieve his goal.

But at that moment, Ail felt his body grow heavy.

The effects of the potion had worn off, and the backlash had set in.

Though slower than before taking the potion, even compared to his pre-potion state, Ail gritted his teeth as his movements slowed.

There were many skilled players who could use small potions effectively, even if not reaching the level of intricate equipment swapping that even Rankers avoided.

But the reason why such one-time special doping potions weren’t widely used among these skilled players was because they all carried significant backlash alongside their stat explosions.

Ail was aware of this fact and generally refrained from using them unless absolutely necessary.

Of course, using the potion in this battle meant he had already calculated the aftermath.

Dooong!

[The magic circle has been temporarily disabled. Defend the soul crystals from the monsters until the destruction is complete.]

[Time remaining until magic circle destruction: ’00:05:28′]

“Huh…?”

Thanks to the sufficient distance secured earlier, Ail successfully broke through the monsters instantly and inserted the black sphere into the center of the magic circle.

However, the message appearing before him was unexpected.

“Guard for 5 minutes?”

All the undead in the hall turned their gaze towards him.

Over five minutes for the dismantling process.

Though the regeneration of Skull Hounds had stopped temporarily, it meant he had to endure against all these monsters for that duration.

The effect duration of the Circle of Duel magic was almost over, and Ail’s plan to just resolve the magic circle for the quest and retreat was disrupted, leaving the backlash fully affecting his body.

Truly the worst-case scenario.

The four remaining undead players slowly closed the distance.

“Damn…”

At this rate, victory couldn’t be easily guaranteed, and there would inevitably be considerable expenses, including contribution points.

But then…

Swoosh!

Out of nowhere, a player leaped down from the upper staircase, swiftly cutting down two party members turned undead before landing.

Breaking through the charging Skull Hounds with clean, concise movements, he reached Ail without any unnecessary actions.

Impressed by the clean technique, Ail couldn’t help but be amazed.

Roden, standing right in front of him, raised his sword towards the surrounding monsters without turning around.

“You’re in the middle of a quest, right? Let me stir things up a bit.”