#002. Demon Hunter (1)
‘Finally out of the tutorial.’
His darkened vision brightened.
At the same time, the stray thoughts constantly scrambling through his head ceased.
With his mind liberated, he heard the desolate sound of wind and the cries of unidentified beasts.
Feeling much lighter, he surveyed his surroundings.
The first things he saw were, as expected, a dark sky and two moons.
And below them.
There was a small city—too big to be a village, yet a bit too small to be called a city.
Spires pierced the sky, and stone buildings of varying heights.
Thick fog choked the spaces between them, with torches flickering here and there.
An ominous atmosphere that made it seem as though a terrible plague could break out at any moment, pouring forth people's screams.
The City of Lamentation, ‘Javelin’.
This place, the first he visited after leaving the tutorial, was one that imprinted upon him the setting of ‘Jaha’—a world where medieval Europe and modern technology were mixed here and there.
Facing this surreal landscape in reality sent a shiver down his spine and made his heart pound fiercely.
He had truly entered the game ‘Otherworld’.
Leaving the tutorial area made it feel all the more real.
From now on, he just had to use the information he knew to become the strongest in this vast world and head toward the end.
How could he not be excited?
Unlike the gloomy surroundings, the inside of his helm had become a bright spring.
***
The South Gate, one of Javelin’s entrances.
Because it faced the Exile’s Canyon, called the end of the continent, and the South Ocean, traffic was very light even on normal days.
These days, it was even worse.
Except for hunters and herb gatherers, there were days when not a single person came.
The reason for the reduced traffic was simple.
For months now, the sun had not risen near Javelin.
What curse had befallen them that the sun, the root of Jaha, would not rise?
Many mages had visited seeking answers to this question, and the conclusion was always the same.
‘We do not know.’
After that, people left Javelin, but no one came looking for it.
“*Yawn….*”
The old soldier Jake was yawning idly again today with nothing to do.
Since it was night all day long, he was sleepy all day long—thus he justified his own negligence.
“Hmm?”
A dark figure walking toward the city caught Jake’s eye.
Just an hour ago, a rookie mercenary had come from that direction, and now it was the same direction again.
“*Ahem.*”
Thinking of the mercenary he had met earlier made him laugh again.
How could he hold back laughter at the sight of someone clanking around in ill-fitting armor and stabbing a cheap longsword into the ground with every step?
It was exactly like some country bumpkin running away from home to become a knight.
But this time was different.
Even from afar, the figure’s frame was imposing and looked strong.
“What the…”
Jake wasn’t particularly wary.
Would villains come to this cursed land when there was nothing to gain?
It was obvious without looking.
Jake listlessly began to deduce the visitor’s identity.
Judging by the armor’s form, he wasn’t a knight. Especially the helm—it was very unusual.
It was a helm modeled after a beast’s head.
And the most eye-catching thing was the long, heavy greatsword strapped across his back.
Surely he didn’t carry that to actually wield it?
No matter how he looked at it, it was for show.
If such an appearance belonged to a knight, he would have come from the Underground Empire or the Order of Blood.
*Pfft.*
Jake laughed at his own imagination.
As expected, let’s just go with mercenary.
Having reached his own conclusion, Jake pushed off the stone wall.
“Halt.”
When Jake spoke, the mercenary flinched.
Hmm? Unexpectedly a greenhorn?
“Where do you come from?”
No answer.
“Have you come after hearing of the lord’s request?”
“…Indeed.”
His voice was as heavy as the greatsword on his back.
“Do you have a mercenary badge?”
“…I do not.”
“Tsk, tsk. Without one, you won’t be able to receive formal requests; you’ve had a wasted trip. Well, since you’re here anyway, take a look around the city and go. It’s night all day, so it has a certain charm.”
“I shall.”
“But why have you been looking at me so strangely since earlier?”
“…It is nothing.”
“Hehe, hurry on in. It’s cold.”
“Understood.”
“Ah, right. There have been so few visitors lately, I almost forgot.”
Jake scratched his helm and came closer.
“What is your name?”
“…Vergil.”
“Hoo, a fine name. Anyway, the check is done, so you may enter.”
“Understood.”
Vergil was surprised.
The NPC showed vivid reactions rather than only spouting predetermined lines.
Like a living creature.
Did that mean he could act as he did when playing the game normally?
Vergil had intended to obtain what he could in Javelin as quickly as possible and move to another area.
But he realized he shouldn’t rush.
In a world this alive, he didn’t know how his actions might change future information.
Therefore, he decided to solve problems with maximum efficiency in the shortest time, as was his usual playstyle, while not interfering with the flow of important events.
Vergil passed through the South Gate and immediately headed for the city slums.
There lived a foolish resident who would hand over a family heirloom in exchange for killing a monster.
Because it was a very useful item early on, he had chosen it as his first destination.
“P-please go away right now!”
But as always, things did not go as planned.
Vergil had overlooked one thing.
That he did not have the player’s privilege of ‘kindness bestowed without reason.’
“I-I’ll call the guards!”
The resident, who should have been begging him tearfully, did not show the expected reaction.
Far from confiding his troubles, the resident avoided even conversation.
Vergil fell into thought, and it didn’t last long.
If the resident wouldn’t request it, couldn’t he just catch the monster himself and trade?
He decided to reverse the order of the request.
“I’ll come again next time.”
Vergil adjusted the greatsword on his back and headed for the city sewers, where ghouls swarmed.
***
The old soldier Jake was on his way home after finishing his duty.
As if proving that more residents were leaving, the city was darker than a few days ago.
As he turned off the main road into an alley, something caught his foot.
“Hmm?”
Someone in crude iron armor was crouching there.
Looking closely, it was one of the mercenaries he had met during his shift.
“What are you doing here?”
At Jake’s question, the mercenary lifted their helm.
“Yes?”
Perhaps unable to see well, the mercenary lifted their visor. Between it, soft eyes were visible.
“Dear me, you are a woman?”
“Ah… yes….”
“Tsk, tsk, for a woman to wander such a place alone, you must be mad. Count yourself lucky the armor saved you.”
“Yes…. I… may I ask for directions? It’s so complicated here….”
“Where are you looking for?”
“The Order of the Sun….”
“Shh!”
Jake startled and tapped the Player’s helm. Then he brought his deeply stern face close.
The smell of roast chicken and tobacco wafted off him.
“For the time being, the Order of the Sun is as good as a forbidden word in this city.”
“I-is that so….”
“Tsk, is there nowhere else for you to go?”
“No….”
“Hmm, it’s late today, so follow me.”
Jake turned and led the way.
The Player’s eyes caught the emblem engraved on Jake’s backpack.
A round circle with a person’s smiling eye.
Ah, that was one of the things the hermit had told her about.
Was it a good one, or a bad one….
Just as she began to get confused.
A window appeared before the Player’s eyes.
‘Huh? It’s a quest.’
***
The greatsword was heavy.
Swinging it with one arm was even more arduous.
Unnecessary movements had increased.
There were times when he couldn’t overcome the weight and the blade’s path deviated.
But it couldn’t be helped.
He couldn’t give up the torch in his hand.
*Whoosh! Thud!*
Vergil’s greatsword split a ghoul’s body in half. It seemed more accurate to say it had been crushed in half rather than cut.
*Splish splosh splish!*
-*Screech!*
Another ghoul charged.
Judging by its condition, this one too had fed and grown well.
A thrust would suit this one.
Without swinging, he straightened the greatsword and thrust it forward.
*Splat!*
-*Screech!!*
The ghouls living in the sewers could barely see, so they charged only by the scent of humans.
This one was already the sixth.
They were all quite plump, suggesting there were already many discarded corpses nearby.
Had he begun his activities?
Unlike the game, this place was reality, so the information he could verify was drastically limited.
Especially the variable of time was unexpected.
Still, Vergil was confident.
He just didn’t have a status window; this place was still within the palm of his hand.
Going deeper, he found the ghoul nest he was looking for.
A puddle of filth or blood—one couldn’t tell.
Corpses of humans piled upon it.
A ghoul matron tearing into them ravenously.
*Crunch crunch crunch.*
Sensing a presence, she turned.
By the flickering of the torch, her form became visible in detail.
On her naked body covered in rotting skin, patches remained where mutation hadn’t occurred.
Human hair was matted on her scalp, and scarlet gums were visible around her mouth as she chewed on human flesh.
Disgusting, but good. It was perfect for a gift.
He met the ghoul matron’s emerald eyes.
She opened her maw wide and let out a monstrous shriek.
-*Screech!!!*
The ghoul matron’s thunderous distress signal, or courtship call.
At that scream-like sound, the ghouls lurking in every corner of the sewers rushed toward this place—the vibrations traveling through the walls.
There were quite a few. Eight? Nine?
*Splish splosh splish.*
*Splish splosh splish.*
*Splish splosh splish.*
He jammed the torch in his left hand into a crack in the crumbling wall.
He gripped the greatsword with both hands.
Exhilaration.
Chewing down the still-unfamiliar pre-battle emotion, he took a deep breath.
A repulsive smell stabbed into his nostrils.
-*Screech!!*
The ghouls began thrusting their heads into the nest.
Exactly ten.
Without so much as a greeting, they leaped at Vergil simultaneously.
“*Hup!*”
Vergil executed a spinning slash.
Due to the narrow space, the wall was gouged and sparks flew. Still, he couldn’t stop his rotation.
The massive blade cleaved the space in half while simultaneously tearing the ghouls’ torsos to shreds.
*Shrrrack!*
Damn. He had inadvertently been drenched in the ghouls’ disgusting blood.
It was unpleasant.
But that alone couldn’t stop the rising pleasure from within.
Because to Vergil, this entire situation felt like a game.
-*Screech!*
The spinning slash ended.
Now only the centrifugal force from the greatsword’s weight remained.
Vergil used it to hurl the greatsword toward the ghoul matron.
*Splat!*
The greatsword pierced the ghoul matron’s abdomen and embedded itself in the wall beyond.
***
*Boom!*
“*Kyaaah!*”
Startled by the sudden explosion, the Player let out a scream.
At the sight, Jake clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, how could one so timid become a mercenary?”
“It’s not what I wanted…. But what was that sound just now?”
“I don’t know. The underground of this city is far larger and more complex than people think.”
“Ah, yes…. But um….”
“Hmm? Is there something you’re curious about?”
“When we met at the city entrance earlier…. Why did you let me in just like that?”
“Hehe, so you’ve been wondering about that all this time?”
“Yes, well….”
“You looked like a lost puppy, poor thing. And you didn’t look like a bad person.”
“Ah… I see…. I was truly grateful then.”
“Hehe, enough now.”
How far had they descended?
These stairs seemed to lead endlessly downward.
As time passed, the inside of her armor grew damp and soggy.
If she took off her underwear and wrung it out, it would probably yield a full bowl of water.
Moreover, the large bugs crawling on the walls made her want to flee at once.
“…But where are we really going?”
“To a place far better than the Order of the Sun.”
He had been repeating the same thing for a while now.
She had followed because of the emblem on his backpack, but unease was creeping up on her.
A seagull that looked like a smiling eye within a round circle.
No matter how she looked at it, it hadn’t seemed bad, so she had followed—but now she was berating herself, wondering if her memory was wrong.
The quest window had been the same.
It was vague.
Asking me to choose! How irresponsible!
“We’re here.”
Jake stopped before a sturdy-looking iron door.
The Player turned and looked back at the stairs they had descended. It was easily the height of four underground floors.
*Knock knock.*
Jake knocked on the iron door.
A small iron grate between the doors opened slightly, and a mask identical to the emblem popped out.
“Who is behind you?”
The mask spoke.
“A new brother-sister.”
“Hmm.”
After a brief silence, the small grate closed. Then the thick iron door began to open.
*Murmur murmur.*
There were many people inside.
All wearing the same mask.