#009. City of Lament (3)
The underground warehouse of the lord's castle.
"Item check…."
An exhausted cry echoed from the woman.
"When am I going to finish checking all this…."
The Player wore a thin chain hauberk with a brown robe draped over it.
This time, she had pulled on a strange hat with a mask attached.
"Ooh, this raises it by three!"
Following the Recluse's instructions, she had decorated her entire body with items that increased her magic power, regardless of type.
To others, she looked utterly ridiculous, but she herself was quite satisfied.
"What should I pick this time…."
She had briefly rediscovered the joy of shopping she had felt back on Earth.
And made a vow.
That she should definitely keep following the Recluse.
***
The slums had more ghouls than any other district.
That was because it was an ideal place to hide corpses.
But not even numbers were of any use before Virgil's greatsword.
Each time he swung, several bodies were pulverized.
*Thud. Splatter.*
The outer shell of his armor was covered in the ghouls' sticky blood, while underneath, it was soaked with dripping sweat.
"-Kieeeek!"
After carving through the horde for a time, he arrived at his destination before he knew it.
A shabby wooden house in the slums.
Oddly, there were no ghouls around this house alone.
Looking around, they only drooled and did not come near.
Like frightened dogs.
If this were a game, he would have thought it was a bug. But this was reality.
There was clearly another reason.
Virgil swallowed his curiosity and slung the greatsword onto his back for the first time in hours.
His fingertips had gone numb.
After a brief rest, he drew a silver dagger from his waist.
At once, even though there was not a single torch nearby, his vision brightened and the forms of objects and creatures grew distinct.
Thanks to the magic inherent in the dagger.
Virgil slowly opened the door of the wooden house, which emanated a gloomy atmosphere.
There was no sign of people.
He crossed the cramped interior and headed toward the back room.
Racking his memory, he pried up a section of the floor, revealing a small matchlock gun.
A matchlock pistol with a just-right appearance—not too ornate, not too simple.
It was a weapon Virgil had rather liked, one that proved quite useful in the early game.
Its name was [Somnium].
Its meaning: illusion, vain hope.
There had been flavor text, but he only remembered it vaguely.
Something about a man who sold his wife to pay his gambling debts meeting an end of regret—well, roughly like that.
Virgil dusted off the gun and began loading the bullets he had brought in advance.
One shot.
And just as he tried to insert the second bullet, he sensed a presence behind him.
He turned sharply.
"Hmm…."
There stood a naked man.
His head was grotesquely twisted, making identification difficult, but Virgil recognized him at once.
The gullible resident he had encountered in the slums, who had traded his family heirlooms for a monster's head.
The very man who had received from Virgil the head of his wife, now a ghoul broodmother.
And.
"Honey… the one who killed you is here…."
The dead ghoul broodmother's head was embedded in the man's chest.
"-Kiaaaack!!!"
It shrieked, brimming with hatred and rage.
It clacked its teeth as if dying to chew him up right there.
"All right, honey... Let's kill him... Let's kill him!"
The man charged, arms flailing.
"You're noisy."
Virgil pulled the trigger of the matchlock pistol he had already prepared.
*Click.* The small iron wheel turned.
Striking the flint, it sent sparks flying.
*Boom!*
An explosion erupted from the round muzzle.
The bullet that cleared the barrel pierced the man's forehead.
*Shhhhk!*
Red blood splattered across the back wall.
The man collapsed without even letting out a scream.
His movements ceased. But the ghoul broodmother's head lodged in his heart did not stop.
It kept gnashing its teeth, craving prey.
"-Kiaaaack!"
Virgil's stomach churned at the grotesque sight.
A ghoul's head stuck in a person's chest, still moving.
It was even more terrible than he had expected.
Just as he was about to step forward to finish it off, another thought crossed his mind.
"Hmm…."
He looked out the window and saw ghouls unable to approach, only shrieking.
It seemed to be the same principle as the area's final boss.
"Excellent."
Virgil praised his own past actions.
Thanks to having personally delivered the head, the next quest looked to be resolved very smoothly.
Offering silent thanks to the dark sorcerer with the twisted hobbies and experimental spirit, he dragged the corpse outside.
"-Kieeeek."
"-Kiek."
When Virgil appeared, the ghouls fell back.
They cleared a path as if encountering a noble being they must not touch.
An abandoned cart on the roadside caught Virgil's eye.
He loaded the corpse onto it and began pulling it himself in lieu of a horse.
After dashing along for a while, he spotted a building on the side of the main road with an unusual gathering of ghouls.
Based on its form, it seemed to be a shelter built in preparation for a siege.
"Ah, right."
He turned the cart and headed that way.
At the appearance of Virgil and the cart, the ghouls clinging to the building scattered like fleeing insects.
Virgil knocked on the shelter door.
"Come out. I will escort you to the lord's castle."
When there was no answer, he knocked again.
"I am a Demon Hunter."
It truly was a convenient title for introductions.
A moment later, a frightened voice came from behind the door.
"It's too dangerous outside... We will remain here...."
They hadn't noticed a ghoul lingering in front of the ventilation window moments ago.
Virgil did not continue the conversation.
He raised his greatsword and struck the seam of the iron door.
*Clang!*
"Wh-why are you doing this! Please leave us alone!"
"I haven't the leisure to come here again."
Soon enough, the captain of the lord's guard would request soldiers to escort a rescue for the citizens.
Better to save them on the way.
*Clang!*
With another strike, the shelter's iron door gave way.
He locked eyes with a terrified man.
Behind him, more than ten people were visible.
"Hurry and follow. I must save others along the way."
Virgil gestured to the hesitant people and promptly pulled the cart onward.
***
"Reload!"
At the captain's shout, the crossbowmen fell back behind the shield wall.
They grabbed the bolts beside them and began reloading.
"Kuaaack!"
One shield soldier was bitten in the nape and dragged into the horde.
Another shield soldier filled the gap, but he could not fill the hole of hope in their hearts.
The god of death felt one step closer.
"Attack!"
The soldiers thrust their spears through the gaps in the shields.
*Thud! Thud!*
The spear techniques that were the pride of the javelineers pierced the ghouls' torsos, forcing them back a step.
Though their movements were agile and powerful, they were insufficient to handle the sheer numbers.
"Save me!"
Another soldier was dragged away by a ghoul.
"This is bad…."
The captain glanced at the woman chanting in the rear.
A woman wearing a brown robe over loose chainmail, a wide-brimmed hat, and a white mask.
They had endured until now thanks to this strangely dressed woman.
The captain shouted.
"Mage! Please hurry!"
At his cry, the corners of the Player's mouth twitched.
The title of Mage always put her in a good mood.
As her chant finished, she thrust the wooden staff in her hand forward.
"Ignis arm!"
Small fireballs formed at the tip of the staff.
They swiftly flew toward the crossbowmen, igniting the bolt heads.
Seeing this, the captain shouted.
"Fire!"
*Twang! Twang! Twang!*
The blazing bolts flew toward the ghouls.
Unlike ordinary fire arrows, flames born of sorcery did not die easily, and they burned the ghouls.
"Reload!"
At the captain's shout, the crossbowmen ducked behind the shield soldiers again.
Observing this, the captain looked at the Player and asked with his eyes.
'Don't you have anything stronger than that?'
The Player, who somehow understood him, shook her head.
'This is all I learned.'
The grimoire Virgil had thrown her contained only two spells.
One added fire attributes to weapons; the other was completely useless in combat.
There had been one or two magic books—not grimoires—down in the warehouse, but she had been unable to learn from them.
[Does not match your job.]
[Cannot acquire 'Energy Missile'.]
'Huh? Job?'
Truthfully, the Player had been tricked.
After realizing this was inside a game, she had come to cherish one dream.
To become a Mage.
But when she touched the grimoire Virgil threw her, a notification asked if she wished to change jobs to a Warlock. Not knowing the difference between a Warlock and a Mage, she had immediately accepted.
She was still taking it in stride, but the difference between the two was rather large.
Large enough to devastate her, had she known.
"Ignis arma!"
Small fireballs formed at her staff once more.
Thanks to this, the crossbowmen shot their burning bolts, and the ghouls died with ease.
"Reload!"
The captain had imagined a Mage's overwhelming power, so he was inwardly disappointed. Still, since she had given them room to breathe, he couldn't show it.
"C-Captain!"
A soldier standing atop the castle wall shouted.
His voice was edged with panic.
Now what?
The captain looked at him with worried eyes.
"P-people are swarming in from the front!"
"How many are there!"
"Sir?"
"I mean the ghouls!"
"They aren't ghouls—they're people!"
What? Had he misheard?
How could living people make it here?
Breaking through that tidal wave of corpses was impossible.
"It's the Demon Hunter! He's bringing the residents!"
"Ah!"
The captain let out an exclamation.
Just how powerful was that man, to bring people here on his own?
The captain ran between the shield soldiers.
Over their shoulders, he could see the Demon Hunter running toward them.
And the people following behind him.
"Ahh... O, God…."
***
The captain was bewildered.
Trusting the Demon Hunter's word alone, he had removed the iron spear barricade.
The problem was the cart.
Something that absolutely shouldn't be here had been loaded upon it.
"Sh-shouldn't we kill it quickly?"
The captain asked.
Virgil shook his head and pointed to the ghouls outside the barricade.
They only drooled and shrieked, not daring to approach.
The quick-witted captain nodded.
The corpse was covered with a thin cloth so the soldiers' morale wouldn't plummet.
"Recluse!"
The Player stepped forward with a proud gait.
Chest puffed out and chin raised, as if to say, 'Aren't I amazing? Hurry up and praise me!'
Virgil had indeed watched her cast her warlock spells.
It was below expectations.
The casting speed was slow, and the output was weak.
At that level, she couldn't even enchant a heavy weapon like his greatsword.
"Try harder."
"Huh? Y-yes…."
She wilted at Virgil's reaction.
'I want to curse him out.'
Since the ghouls weren't attacking, the soldiers finally had a moment's respite.
As their tension drained, people began collapsing to the ground one after another.
It wasn't the sort of thing one should do with monsters right before them, but it couldn't be helped.
Having fought for hours on end, they were utterly exhausted.
"What should we do now...? Neither the Lord nor Sir Serman can be found…."
The captain said to Virgil in a quiet voice.
He was the deputy of the previous captain. When the previous captain had vanished without a word, he had temporarily assumed the captaincy.
Thus, he lacked the decisiveness to make calls in an emergency like this.
All he could rely on now were the Demon Hunter, the city's hero, and his companion.
He looked at Virgil with eyes that begged for an answer.
Virgil silently surveyed their surroundings.
He thought of the Temple of the Sun, not far from here, and Sophia who would be inside.
He had to choose.
Whether to proceed by the book, or to gamble.
"I'm hungry…."
Beside him, the Player clutched her stomach.
'If only this woman could show enough power to make it possible….'
"You."
"Yes?"
"What level are you?"
"Nine!"
She said proudly.
She had gained as many as three levels helping the crossbowmen, but it was far from enough to be of use in Virgil's plan.
"Let's raise it a bit more."
"Huh? What—"
"Follow me."
Virgil took the Player to the cart and pulled out items he had procured from the commercial district.
Items crafted from the carcass of Makum.
He grabbed a bag from among them and threw it to the Player.
"Ugh!"
She barely caught it.
"Wh-why are you giving me this..."
"If you fall behind, I'll abandon you. Remember that."
Virgil donned a cloak made of Makum's fur and hide, then hefted his greatsword.
He told the captain to hold the line until he returned, then headed for the rear courtyard of the lord's castle.
When the Player hesitated, he snapped at her to follow quickly.
Watching the two of them depart, the captain let out a sigh, his face etched with worry.