Novel Bin Chapter 28: The Consequences of One’s Choices (3)
Chapter 28: The Consequences of One’s Choices (3)
We first stopped by the Adventurers’ Guild and the Temple.
What I heard there wasn’t all that surprising. I hadn’t been sure before due to my failed attempts to act separately, but this game did allow the party to split up.
As such, we formed two groups: the Inquisitor and the Archmage, and me and Deb. Naturally, my group was in charge of investigating the Adventurers’ Guild.
“Hey… Did we accidentally go to a hospital instead of the Adventurers’ Guild?”
Deb spoke up upon entering the guild hall. It was undeniable that the situation was abysmal.
Instead of the usual lively sounds, the guild was filled with the groans and moans of the injured.
“All I can see are corpses."
“…!”
Someone struggled to stand up at my scathing remark but couldn't, seemingly prevented by their injuries.
“Ah, Sir Demon Knight?!"
I then heard a familiar voice.
It was Clerk Izren.
“I-I thought you went to a different city…?"
“Do you have any information on those wretched parasites hiding in this city?”
“…!”
When she saw me, she immediately came over, her face a mixture of joy and confusion. However, after I spoke up, her expression swiftly changed.
Her eyes had the seriousness of someone used to dealing with public affairs.
“…This request is of an urgent nature, so no compensation has been set for it. Writing up a formal contract and receiving a fitting remuneration later also isn't possible. Furthermore, we cannot guarantee your safety, Sir Adventurer. Even so, will you still cooperate with us?"
Oh, if you put it like that, I kind of feel the need to act cool. Well, that wasn't even a question for me, though.
“I don't care about the reward."
I simply put my hand on my sword and showed fury in my eyes.
“I just came here to rip them apart."
“…!”
The clerk seemed fearful, perhaps because of my harsh words, despite sharing the same purpose. She then nodded her head.
“I'll get you the information right away!"
A very satisfying answer.
“…Hey.”
However, while I waited for the clerk to return, someone spoke to me. I didn't know the person's face. Judging by his equipment, he seemed to be an adventurer.
“You'll die."
There were a lot of nosy people in this world. Oh, not that I disliked it. How many people were actually brave enough to advise some strangers?
“If you even try, all of you will die!”
But wasn’t he a bit too pessimistic? He wasn’t actually trying to scratch my pride, right?
“Just go away and wallow in your own weakness elsewhere. Don’t pollute my ears.”
It was unclear how the Quest would go, but one would likely get hurt attempting it.
However, that meant only the player could solve it. Even if we failed, we would at least survive.
Anyway, that NPC’s statement didn’t apply to me.
“The sewers are filled to the brim with Demons! There’s no way in hell someone could survive that!”
“Hah.”
I frowned as I watched that person wail, his hand on his chest. A dense sensation of fear grabbed my ankles, making me uncomfortable for no particular reason. The discomfort was similar to what I felt when faced with Divine Power.
“So, what do you want to tell me?”
“—What?”
However, I didn’t like that feeling, so I shook it off with a sneer.
Instead, I grabbed my right arm and quietly spoke as though muttering to myself.
“I don’t care if it’s life-threatening, so long as I can kill those Demons.”
If I had to immerse myself, I’d prefer to do so in that hatred of Demons. Getting annoyed and angry at people just made me feel more stressed.
“Mister…”
“I brought it over!”
I held out my hand and coolly lowered my eyes. The clerk reflexively handed me the documents, but her eyes soon opened wide in surprise.
“I don’t have to read it to you?”
“There’s no need.”
That damn low literacy rate setting.
Making use of my speed-reading skills, I first leafed through the documents. The content was quite difficult for me to grasp as it wasn’t organized into tables, and, given the nature of my job, I didn’t often need to read through these types of documents.
Deb peeked at the papers from beside me.
“The damage caused… is big.”
What? He also knew how to read?
“Yes. There are the people who tried to leave the city, but… The Demons coming out of the sewers every night also cause extreme damage."
I made sure to memorize the information gained from Deb's and the clerk's conversation as I searched for a document detailing the case’s progress.
Initially, they only noticed the increased number of kidnapped or missing people, not knowing that Demons were coming out of the sewers. After finding that out, they locked down the city. Next, the Temple's priests and some adventurers formed a party to investigate what was happening down there. However, contact was lost. Not long after, they sent a second investigation team, of which only one member returned alive. According to their testimony, Demon Contractors were hiding among the Demons that attacked them…
And now, the people were forced to defend against those Demons every night.
“Currently, the city guards, the Temple’s people, and the adventurers are cooperating to survive, but… as the city becomes increasingly isolated, our supplies are running low. Furthermore, as the number of injured steadily grows with each passing battle, we no longer have enough manpower to go on…”
I had no idea how they ended up in that state, but I didn't want to dig any further.
The issues which urgently needed to be addressed were the Demons in the sewers and the city's isolation. However, with only one body, I could only choose one of the two…
Was this actually a branching point or something? If I chose wrong, would the city be ruined? Damn it.
“Sir Demon Knight, as expected…"
Still, I didn't agonize over it for long.
I definitely had to take care of the sewers. My character would never leave Demons alone, and the Hero, the Inquisitor, would also want to stay.
Moreover, this game’s travel time was just too long.
Even if we broke through the siege and requested support from other cities, it would take the troops at least a week to arrive.
The city would have already collapsed by then. Before doing that, we had to go right to the heart of this matter and bring this incident to a quick resolution.
“Information on the sewers.”
“Pardon?”
“You said the Demons appeared in the sewers. Do you have any information on the sewers’ layout?”
There were just too many documents! Also, why wasn’t the information sorted into tables or charts? There were no titles or highlighted sections either.
Finding the information I wanted to read was far too difficult as it was all written in plain text. She should ask someone to properly organize this information.
“Ah, i-it’s here at the end… Th-there’s also a separate map of the sewers…”
The clerk panicked at my question, so another clerk, noticing her predicament, hurried inside and brought me a piece of paper. It was a fairly large sheet.
“This is the map of the sewers… Survivors said that many of the roads are blocked or distorted. We also blocked off some of the entrances for defense.”
So, she was saying I had to explore and memorize the proper roads on my own.
“Which ones remain?”
“Here, there, and over there… Ah, I think you probably know that place. The mission you undertook last time started from there, after all.”
It was good to know that the entrance I knew of was still open. I took note of its location and checked my inventory at the same time.
If I had known this would happen, I would have packed more bandages. I didn’t buy any more because I’d managed to cut down all enemies in one swing until now. I didn’t think they would throw a huge dungeon at me all of a sudden.
The one silver lining was that I hadn't used many of the items from my pre-order gift. If I gave up on completion and treated this like a speedrun, I should be able to get through this.
「❖ The Truth Behind the Curtain
∎ Investigate what has happened in the city
∎ Search the sewers
∎ Optional - Demons eliminated: 0 / ??」
The moment I accepted the request, the Quest updated, showing me that my judgment hadn't been wrong.
“I'll take it."
Even if the paths had changed, it was better to have a map rather than not. I folded the map and put it in my coat. I don't have to ask for a pen because I still had the one from back then—I’d forgotten to give it back.
“Erm, you aren't going in there alone, right? It's too dangerous to enter the sewers alone!"
However, as soon as I turned to leave, Izren shouted in shock.
“Sir Knight, are you sure you want to go there right away?"
Deb reacted similarly. He had sneakily taken the documents from my hand and begun looking through them not too long ago. Their voices were so strong and healthy that they managed to hurt my ears slightly.
“You've been rushing here for three days and nights without a break. You should at least sleep a few hours…"
“What?! Then you can't go! Just resting is nigh impossible in the sewers! And supplies…!"
Hmm, was that really necessary?
There was one thing I’d discovered while managing my fatigue the last few days. It was something I had completely missed due to feeling a little dazed whenever my fatigue level got too high…
Even if my fatigue exceeded 100, this game gave no penalty.
I would feel sleepy and exhausted, but it didn't inflict any debuffs or decrease my stats.
So what if I felt a little sleepy? This time-limited Quest should be my top priority. I didn't want to see the city being destroyed while I took a leisurely break.
Luckily, I was rather used to moving around in that state. Given the nature of my job, sacrificing sleep for work was a daily routine for me.
Of course, it wasn't my body that was actually moving… However, wasn't it still similar to that?
“Don't concern yourself with me."
“Then what should I care about?! At least let that priest and sage go along, Mister!"
No!
I mean, I didn't hate the idea, but because of you people, I couldn't just let them join me! If I waited here for the other two, the Inquisitor would just say, 'There's no way the real Demon Knight would wait for us!' and bash my head in with her mace. Aaaargh!!
I gritted my teeth as I reminisced over my love-hate relationship with that kimchi dumpling.
It wasn't like I wanted to do it… Right! It was you people who drove a wedge into any harmonious group activity our party might have had! This was all their fault!
* * *
* * *
“Are you really going alone?!"
Deb followed after me.
Looking at the guy following me everywhere, I wondered if this was what it was like to have a younger brother. I was pretty sure he was younger than me, considering how he fought with the kimchi dumpling.
Ah, but I certainly couldn't see the Inquisitor like a sibling.
She was closer to a niece or a much younger cousin than a sibling. Especially since I couldn't seem to hate her no matter how much she messed with me.
“You'll have to leave now, as well."
“What?"
“I don't plan on dragging a weakling around with me. You'd just be a hindrance."
Anyway, I gave up on trying to improve my relationship with my party members.
I didn't like the idea of dying, so I’d theorized this might be a real world, but so what? If this world were real, I'd be screwed in a different sense!
Only by thinking that could I overcome my shame and immerse myself in my character again. Ah, but I really didn't want to roleplay as the Demon in my right arm. That setting was so excessive that even I couldn't accept it.
“B-but."
“Isn't it your job to watch the horses?"
Furthermore, Deb wasn't even officially a companion NPC yet. I didn't receive any related system messages, at least.
His job was to watch the horses, right? There was no mention of him joining us, right? The Inquisitor and the Archmage had brought the horses to the Temple to guard them, by the way.
Ah, not that we had given them away. It was just safest to keep them there.
“…”
He had no reason to come along with me. That was a clear fact.
“…Right, my job was to watch the horses."
Perhaps realizing it as well, he muttered softly, only revealing the lower part of his face beneath his hood. He parted his lips slightly again as if in a trance.
“But Mister…"
Ah, I can't hear you, I can't hear you.
I sped up my steps. Fortunately, Deb said nothing more and stopped following me.
Soon, I could see the drain near the river bank that I remembered.
“Are you the reinforcement?"
As one might expect from a defense zone, quite a few people were in front of the sewers. All of them were covered in bloodied bandages, so it seemed to have been quite difficult for them to keep defending.
“Who are you?"
I took out my adventurer’s card and showed it to them, putting it back once they had confirmed my identity.
“Wait a second, where are you going? If you're here to support us, then you have to follow our instructions!"
There were barricades around the riverbanks, but a narrow path was left open at one point, probably to remove the corpses. I walked through it without any hesitation.
“Hey!"
When someone came to stop me, I caught a glimpse of the veins protruding from his skin.
They were black, a clear sign of Demonic Erosion. Well, a side effect, so to speak.
“Are you actually trying to get in there?! Have you gone crazy?!"
I listened to what he had to say before turning my gaze elsewhere. In addition to that NPC, I could see many others with black veins and bloodshot eyes.
It was quite difficult for me to ignore them. If they turned into Demons like that, they would become a huge pain in my ass. And…
“Take it."
“Are you deaf—Huh?"
Well, I just so happened to be carrying some medicine for that condition. I would never have to use it, too.
“It's an antidote! I heard there aren't many left anymore…!"
Moreover, I'd be really thankful if I could open up some space in that damn inventory!
While the people's eyes were on the antidote, I went down the riverbank. Some became quite upset when they noticed, but I had already reached the bottom.
「A hostile existence has entered a radius of 20m.」
At that moment, I saw a red light shining from the dark sewers. Pitch-black feet stepped through the sewer entrance, the iron bars before it completely ripped off.
“…! It's a Demon!"
“Hey you, come back up here!"
What good timing. I pulled out my Zweihänder while trampling over the corpses of various Demons.
“You'll die!!"
Okay, let me see what came out.
「Sammokgu │ A Demon resembling a dog, but with three eyes instead of two. It can see through walls with its third eye.」
「Ghoul │ A Demon that feasts on rotten flesh. To kill it, one must split its belly open. However, it will resurrect if cut one more time.」
There were Skeletons, Goblins, and two kinds of Demons I saw today for the first time.
As I watched these things crawling out of the sewers, I took a stance.
“Damn it, you madman, just give up! Just come back up—!"
“Victory to my blade, glory to the heavens…!”
I left out the part where I pointed my blade to the sky this time. Instead, I widened my stance and swung my Zweihänder down horizontally, gripping it tightly.
Crack!
As I crushed the skull of the Demon corpse I was currently standing on, black energy came out of the sword and flew in a crescent shape toward my enemies.
Slash!
It was a little slanted and not perfectly horizontal. The bodies of the Demons before me were cut in half.
The attack that flew out just now was the [Slash] skill.
「[Slash]│Swing your sword and send out a strong slash filled with Arcane Power.
Effect: Consumes 40 MP. A ranged attack that causes 300% damage to enemies.」
That was the skill description. However, I hadn't selected that skill yet. Even so, for some reason, I could use unselected skills. So, that Stinger bug wasn't just in my head.
Ah, the activation trigger was just willing that black energy to surround my blade. I had wondered if I had to use Breaker and pretend it was something else, but that didn't seem to be necessary.
I still didn't really know how this actually worked. However, players weren't people who fixed bugs but those who made use of them.
Thanks to that, I could save my skill points.
“Wh-what in the…"
All the people around me let out dumbfounded sounds, seeing all those enemies drop dead in a single attack. It was quite the sight.
It seemed I could now enter without anyone holding me back.
I quickly checked whether the monsters around me were all dead. They were. In other words, there was nothing in my way to stop me.
Crack.
I put away my Zweihänder and placed my hand on the hilt of my Longsword, just in case.The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on n0velbjn((.))com
Of course, I didn't run then. While I was in a hurry, there was no reason to run like a sinner. That wouldn't look cool.
Jump!
However, a Sammokgu I thought to be dead suddenly opened its eyes and jumped out of the corpse pile. It was still moving despite its whole body being cut in half, making it seem like an actual Demon.
Slash!
Wow, it was a good thing I noticed. I took out my Longsword without even looking. The blade, flowing through the air as smooth as water, immediately split that thing's head.
No one should be willing to interfere with me anymore after seeing this.
I entered the sewer system without much trouble, greeted by a strange twisting passage covered with weird black vines.