Chapter 61

Riding the Rapids

"...My eardrums almost burst."

The little witch's scream, unable to accept the sudden turn of events, was sharp enough to sting.

Well, it was understandable.

'They said they caught the culprit—so why are the waves still coming?'

If I were in her shoes, I'd have been just as shocked.
Just watching the horde of crazed monsters surging like a tidal wave was enough to make one's legs tremble.

But—

"Fufufufu…"

I couldn't stop the laughter bubbling out of me.

Honestly, at this moment, I was hoping time would slow down—just for a bit.
Why?

Because of the lovely system messages popping up before my eyes right now.

[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[...]

It had been barely fifteen minutes since the wave defense truly began.

And yet, my level had skyrocketed beyond recognition.

At the start, I was only level 14—but now...

[Status]
<Gilroshan Ello di Balt>
Level: 24
Remaining points: 10

"Wow, level 24! Jackpot!"

In less than thirty minutes, I had climbed ten whole levels—an unbelievable, storm-like leveling spree.

And because I'd passed level 20 in the blink of an eye, I'd even been given the chance to select my third Fate Card.

But that could wait.

"Card selection later."

I decided to postpone the shuffle for now—since saving it meant greater potential rewards later.

[Fate Card selection has been paused. You can resume at any time.]

Could such ridiculous level-ups really be possible?

As a proud veteran of this field, I could say it with certainty:

'Of course not.'

It was only possible because I'd gotten lucky—and seized the perfect opportunity when it came.

***

Fifteen minutes earlier

Eve and I were sprinting toward the orc shaman's cave.

And I was thinking:

'Just how far can I level up this time?'

Through this chance, I planned to raise my level by at least ten.

'It seems impossible—but right now, it might just be doable.'

Naturally, in The World Abandoned by God, leveling up happened primarily through hunting.
Experience gained by slaying monsters was the foundation of growth.

And, like any RPG, the higher your level, the slower you grew—since the required experience kept increasing.

That meant my "explosive leveling" plan was only feasible before reaching level 30.

'But to push beyond my limits, I'll need a few special conditions.'

The first condition—

I needed a huge number of monsters that gave massive amounts of experience.

In normal hunting grounds or dungeons, such numbers were impossible to find... but now?

'We're in the middle of an Ultra Wave.'

In terms of pure experience points, this wasn't just enough for ten levels—it could easily be twenty.

'Then how do I turn all these monsters into my experience?'

As I said—through hunting.
Monsters only granted EXP once their lifeline was cut; until then, they were just dangerous beasts.

So—

'How can I hunt this many monsters?'

That's where the second condition came in:

The Clan System.

To safely convert this insane monster wave into EXP, I'd need allies to fight alongside me.

A clan was the higher form of a party—not just a raiding unit, but a fellowship bound by fate.

'And one that shares the rewards of battle.'

That was what a clan truly was.

Meaning, if my clanmates hunted monsters, I'd receive a share of their EXP.
And since lower-level members gained more experience from shared hunts—

I'd grow rapidly, like bamboo after a rainstorm.

'Normally, this system unlocks after level 30.'

But I could form a clan early—thanks to a faction scenario I'd been holding onto:
"War Reconnaissance Unit."

Certain special scenarios allowed players to unlock key systems regardless of level.
And the War Reconnaissance Unit and Clan System were two such cases.

So, I had timed the activation of the Recon Unit Formation Quest—obtained from the Tomb Dungeon—precisely to coincide with the Ultra Wave.

'War Reconnaissance Unit, form!'

[With whom would you like to form a Recon Unit?]
[Select two individuals with 'Maximum' affinity with Gilroshan Ello di Balt.]

My choices were obvious.

'Kals Silion, Tyrbaen Sui.'

For a brief moment, I wondered what would happen if I added Eve Wyler, running beside me now...
But I doubted our affinity was "maximum" yet.

'Well, who knows—maybe later, when the Recon expansion quest appears.'

For now, I just needed two people who would tirelessly slay monsters in my stead.

[War Reconnaissance Unit formed.]
[Members: Gilroshan Ello di Balt, Kals Silion, Tyrbaen Sui — Total: 3]
[Reconnaissance Unit is considered a Clan.]
[You can temporarily use the Clan System.]
[You may name your Reconnaissance Unit.]

The name—just as I'd promised the guardian saints of the Tomb Ruins—

'...Everlast.'

The name of an ancient kingdom long vanished from this continent.

[War Reconnaissance Unit "Everlast" has begun operations.]
[Scenario Quest "Form the Recon Unit" completed.]
[Claim your reward.]

"Reward…"

Just hearing that wonderful word made me grin.

I hadn't triggered the Recon Unit earlier because I was waiting—for the completion reward.

'Claim reward.'

Then the reward list appeared before me:

[Quest Completion Reward]

Unlocks Communication Spell "Voice of Allies"

All members receive massive EXP

One-hour blessing: "Pacifist's Hope"

I couldn't help it.

"Khuhuhuhuhu…"

"...?"

Eve shot me a suspicious look as I grinned mid-sprint.

But honestly, it was hard to hold it in.

"Khahahahahahhat!"

"Yikes! You scared me—are you insane?"

I'd collected rewards from two quests so far, but compared to this, those were nothing.

First, the communication spell — something usually hard to learn unless you're a mage.

'You can talk easily with clan members even if you're apart — super convenient.'

For me, the communication spell would shine soon.

'…When we challenge the Dragon Rider in the Wyvern's Nest.'

Long-range teamwork would finally be effective.

And the "massive EXP" was literally that.

[Level up!]

It granted me a level.

So I hit level 15.

But that wasn't even the main thing catching my eye.

…The last condition for explosive leveling.

The final reward: Pacifist's Hope.

I couldn't help but laugh at that blessing.

<Pacifist's Hope>

[Blessing] To those united to prevent the outbreak of war, I bestow a blessing carrying the hope of all life.

Experience gained is increased by 5×

Duration: 1 hour

For the next hour I had an EXP ×5 buff.

'Perfect timing.'

We were in an Ultra Wave saturated with monsters on all sides.

This blessing was absurd at baseline — but to be able to exploit it to the extreme in an environment like this? Ideal!

With every condition for explosive leveling met, I couldn't stop grinning no matter how Eve looked at me.

"UHAHAHAHA! Let's rocket up!"

"Why are you so terrifyingly excited!?"

Eve backed away with a terrified face, but I didn't care.

…It had already started.

['Tyrbaen Sui' has defeated 'Kobold Bladefighter'!]
['Tyrbaen Sui' has defeated 'Sluggish Grol'!]
['Tyrbaen Sui' has defeated 'Goblin Shotgunner'!]
[...]

I hadn't even drawn my sword — I was just racing down the night road.

"W-whoa…!"

A torrent of experience began pouring into me.

That meant the fire traps set in the forest had activated, and real defense-and-hunting had begun.

And the results made me very happy.

[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]

My level jumped three stages in an instant.

Now I was level 18.

[Level up!]

No — 19!

"Krrrhhhh."

Beyond excitement, there was actual euphoria.

"Yeah — this is it. Riding the rapids tastes exactly like this…"

"You have a seriously perverted expression."

Eve shook her head, but I barely noticed.

I savored the taste of EXP and kept pounding my legs.

'Almost there.'

At the deepest part of the valley I could see the dark mouth of a cave.

A chilling, strange ripple of magic seeped from within.

Eve, lowering her footsteps, signaled to me with her eyes.

'She'll be in there — that woman.'

…The Kishiris Order's senior priestess, Ervia Watts.

A viper-like priestess who'd appeared after Eve assassinated Vanessa, her predecessor.

'She's dangerous. Be careful.'

Eve whispered, trembling as if recalling how close she'd come to death.

I felt that sinking sensation too.

That ghastly image — like near-death — flashed back sharply.

But—

'All the more reason to stay calm.'

I had to see everything with a cold head.

My level surge had paused at around 20.

…No, 21.

'Honestly, it's hard to stay cold-headed with this kind of explosive leveling,'

Heh. I'm too hyped. Heh heh heh.

"Gilroshan, what's the plan?"

When Eve asked, I paused and thought.

Originally I'd planned a frontal assault.

'We'd just charge in guns blazing.'

If I'd brought Kals and Tyrbaen, a single deceiver-goddess priestess would've been no big deal.

But plans had changed…

'We need to change the attack plan too.'

Even if the matchup was messy, charging head-on with an assassin who even two attendant priests struggle against wasn't a smart move.

I mouthed the plan quietly to Eve.

'…Do it like this. Got it?'

Eve blinked, a little surprised.

'Are you sure?'

'I trust you.'

When I said that, she nodded with a slightly flushed face and moved first.

Once she took her position, I opened my skill tree.

Because of the insane leveling, I had plenty of skill points.

'Explosive Shot, Novice Howitzer, Intermediate Shield Handling.'

I picked those skills.

"…Hoo."

I set a Swift Blade on my palm and took a calm breath.

In my head I recited the cautions to myself.

'Ervia is a 6-star cleric.'

A master of highly aggressive, violent holy magic.

'But we must not kill her.'

If we brought her in alive, we could flush out the Grand Priestess Grace hiding behind her.

That made things a bit harder.

But—

'We can definitely do this.'

I was confident of it now.