Chapter 30 - The Bloody Citadel (Part 1)

 

Every gamer has a habit of pressing the "interact" key whenever a suspicious wall or unusual sculpture appears. I was the same. And this habit has helped me discover a lot of "hidden parts", that is, hidden elements, while playing Dungeon & Stone for the past 9 years.

... Like, for example, with the statue of the fountain here.

"Bjorn?"

"Oh, I'm coming."

Leaving the feeling of anxiety behind, I followed my group into the inner city. I decided not to mention the statue.

Does the barbarian know something that even a mage who has dedicated his life to training did not know?

It is better not to arouse suspicion on yourself.

It was obvious that lying and saying that I saw it in the book wouldn't work this time, and this thing was an object that couldn't be pulled out even with [Distortion Magic].

"So it's an inner city.

If the outer fortress served as the first line of defense in the Middle Ages, the inner fortress was closer to the last stronghold. Originally, it housed various military facilities, such as the armory, which housed the master's vassals, knights, and soldiers.

Raven looked around and sighed.

— ... I've heard that's the case here, but I don't think I'm going to get anything out of it.

The inner city, which was a third smaller than the outer fortress, was horribly destroyed. All the buildings were in ruins.

There were not even monsters here.

— Let's move on to the next one as soon as possible.

Under Raven's guidance, we cleared the rubble for about 30 minutes and found a way to the basement.

"Mr. Murad, can you take the lead?"

— Of course!

"Ah, I need to protect my magic, so please light the torch as well."

The dwarf took out a torch and placed it on his head. Maybe it's because of his short stature, but he looked like a mole miner from a cartoon.

*Ears!*

We pushed off the thick wooden planks and slowly descended the stairs hidden under them.

Chapter 3 of "Blood Citadel": Underground Prison.

I swallowed and got ready.

[Character entered the 1st floor of the Underground Prison].

Damn it, I don't know if my stomach can withstand this...

"Miss Raven, what monsters are there?"

"I know that there will be Skull Rats, Banshees, Death Fiends, Chimera Wolves, Ghoul Lords, and Corpse Golems.

"Except for the Corpse Golem, these are all the monsters I've dealt with.

— That's right. Corpse Golems are monsters that only spawn in the Blood Citadel.

"Hahaha, this is the first time I've got an achievement in a long time!"

The dwarf was happy to hear that he would be able to increase his experience points by fighting new monsters.

But I wasn't. Even the illustrations for them were terrible. How disgusting will they be in reality?

"Is there anything else you need to be careful with?"

"You just need to be careful with the [Flesh Blast]. The explosive range is not very strong, but body fluids are mixed with acidic toxin, so it can be fatal when hit at close range. Of course, I'll try to stop him before that happens.

"Haha!" There is nothing to fear when a magician is around!

"All this is possible, because there are strong warriors like you, Mr. Murad.

Ha...

Not too long ago, they stared at each other murderously over the loot.

*Step*

As soon as I reached the last step, the labyrinthine structure of the dungeon unfolded before my eyes. Inside the cages, the chained Dead roared at us, and rats roamed the floor, making strange noises, with only bones left of their bodies.

"Bjorn, are they monsters too?"

"These are the Skull Rats I mentioned earlier.

"I didn't ask you, mage!"

For reference, they were not ranked like the Dead. In fact, they didn't even have enough combat power to be called monsters, so we went forward, crushing those we could see with our feet.

And soon after that, we met the Banshee.

— He-he-he-he-he-he-he-he!

The banshee flew around us like a vengeful spirit, showing only the outlines of a bizarre face.

"B-Bjorn...

Oh, that's right. She is afraid of the Banshee.

Seeing that Einar was clinging to me, Raven chuckled. It's good that Ainar didn't see it. Otherwise, she would have fallen into another attack.

"Be careful not to run into the Banshee. Once or twice is not too dangerous, but...

— ... But?

"Otherwise, you're going to have a very, very, very, very, very horrible experience.

"A very, very horrible experience?" What does it mean?! Be precise, mage!

"Hmm. Maybe leave it to your imagination?

Raven smiled bitterly as she looked at Einhar, who was pale as a ghost.

Seeing her take revenge in this way, she was clearly not of a good character.

I sighed inwardly and wedged myself into their conversation.

"I've heard that mages have a way to deal with the Banshee.

"That's right, she said you liked to read. You're very well informed, aren't you?

Could this be called something well-informed? Well, considering that I was a barbarian, that might be the case...

However, it was probably within the acceptable limits.

"Then stop joking. I'll take the Banshee out first. [Teyrun Schell].

Immediately, an arrow of light flew out of Raven's staff and pierced the Banshee.

The magic in the game was called [Magic Arrow]. It didn't take time to cast the spell, as it was a basic offensive spell.

"Eeeeeeeeee!!ee

We stood and waited, and soon dozens of vengeful Banshees began to flock to this place with obvious hatred in their eyes.

They felt the "mark" left by their comrade after Banshee's death.

Although, for a Magus who possessed a large number of powerful large-scale skills, it had to be a desirable thing.

- [Iherno Haindar]

[Baptism of the Flame].

The flames emitted by the magic wand filled the straight passage.

And when the fire slowly went out, the Banshee was gone.

*Ears!*

Once again, the mana stones that had spilled onto the floor flew into the air and ended up in her bag.

It was something I envied more than offensive spells. You don't need to collect mana gems every time.

Damn, how long will it be before I can add a mage to my team?

There is still a long way to go.

***

The two-dimensional world through a monitor and the world in real life are different.

The cold transmitted through the skin was even stronger.

[The character entered the 2nd floor of the Underground Prison].

The dungeon that I now felt with my own eyes was closer to the laboratory of the mad scientist.

A Chimera wolf with three or four heads with ragged muscles like a mutant.

A Ghoul Lord who was dragging about 30 Elder Ghouls behind him.

Not only did these rank 8 monsters have a grotesque appearance, but the small props around them were reminiscent of horror games.

However, this was the final touch.

"By the way, Miss Raven, you're amazing. Aren't you scared at least a little?

"Hmm. I love anatomy, you see. That doesn't scare me.

Hell, I hope it's not the anatomy of a barbarian.

Come to think of it, the reason why barbarian hearts were sold at a high price was because they were magical ingredients...

"Ah, we've arrived.

After killing all the monsters in the underground prison and reaching the 3rd underground floor, we found a secret door leading to the underground chamber of the ruined lord's castle.

Originally, we had to get the card in the security room first, but...

"The door was hidden behind the wall. It's good that I memorized the map in advance.

Thanks to Raven, who carefully studied the map, we did not get lost. However, even if I were alone, I wouldn't have any problems either.

The underground prison had an identical structure from the game.

But all this is possible only because I am a player.

Once again, I realized the high status of a magician.

Powerful offensive magic; very useful auxiliary abilities, such as the curse of wound exacerbation; and even knowledge that could be accumulated by reading many books.

No wonder mages are valued more in the team than priests.

"It would be better to leave our backpack here." Especially Mr. Yandel.

Feeling a little embarrassed, I placed a huge backpack that went down from my head to my hips in front of the door.

... Once I earn money, I'll need to buy a magic backpack first.

This wasn't the first time this bag had caused discomfort.

"Ah, from now on, Mr. Yandel, you should also light the torch.

At Raven's direction, I also fastened the torch to my head. At this point, all preparations were completed.

*Squeak, squeak, squeak*...

As we turned the round latch to open the iron door, a putrid stench hit our nostrils.

"This is a completely unexpected place.

"A mage... Do we really have to go in?

"I would also like not to enter, but there is no other choice.

The room resembled a sewage treatment plant. The cylindrical walls were lined with large water pipes, through which black mud flowed.

In addition, the broken and severed limbs and heads were piled on the ground like a mountain, and the gas that accumulated as they decomposed stung my nose and gave me a headache.

*Sick*

The porter was the first to vomit.

The guy who continued to stand solemnly next to Raven as if he were her bodyguard emptied his stomach to the ground.

The second was Raven.

That's disgusting.

Even with a lot of experience in dissecting, she was still vulnerable to odors.

Surprisingly, I survived. Even the scene before me would have made me faint in the past, but it had no effect on the barbarian's strong stomach.

"I'm glad at least you're okay. Come on, go ahead.

Feeling an indescribable feeling wash over me, I slowly approached the center.

*Squelch*

Each step sounded like stepping on a sponge. And as the light approached the center, the huge figure, which in the darkness was only an outline, became clearer and clearer.

"Hello."

Surprisingly, it spoke to us.

"Hick!" Help! I... Help me! I! *Crunch, crack*, herd, father, hehe!

It was a woman's voice, like a broken audio guide.

Uh...

To be honest, it was a bit shocking.

I sighed.

Fuck, you were calmer in the game. Why do you do this to me?

I couldn't help but complain, but the words "woe is me" won't change anything. As I looked away, even the trustworthy dwarf froze in place.

"Everyone, wake up!! I immediately shouted, waking up my stunned teammates. But this seemed to stimulate him even more.

"Father!" Father! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!!!!!!!!

A pile of corpses curled up on the ground stood up and stepped forward with what looked like a leg.

*Boom!*

It was the Corpse Golem.

An intermediate boss of the Blood Citadel.

***

Dungeon & Stone is the definition of a second-rate game, but it wasn't without its popularity. At least the illustrations for the game were famous.

This was due to realistic illustrations that looked like they had been photographed in black and white and were often used as memes online. But few people knew that these illustrations were actually from this game.

I understood again:

"Shit.

No matter how realistic the drawing was, it could not be compared with reality.

"It hurts!" It hurts! It hurts!!!!!!!!

So what did the monster look like when it gathered thousands of human arms, legs, and heads?

Each limb even moved individually, as if it had a will of its own.

It was the same with hundreds of mouths. Each of them poured out what he wanted to say, uncontrolled by anything. Most of these words were cries of pain, cold, resentment, pleas to kill or save. Illogical and useless emotions.

"Kyaaa!"

At other times, it was just a scream.

Everyone froze again from the eerie cacophony created by the confluence of all kinds of bizarre voices.

"Hikurod!" Be careful!

A magician who understands human anatomy.

A dwarf with three years of experience, who must have encountered numerous monsters.

A man who radiated the atmosphere inherent in a porter.

These people treated the two novice barbarians as a bench, but... Surprisingly, at this moment, only Einar and I did not lose our composure.

"What are you all doing?!"

Ainhar, who had been staring at the Corpse Golem, grabbed the dwarf by the collar and lifted him to his feet. And at this moment,

*Bam!!! *

A pile of corpses, flying like a bullet, exploded on the spot. Blood and flesh spurted and clung to Einhar and the dwarf.

*Zzzzzz!*

Thankfully, Einhar wasn't hurt because of her clothes, but it wasn't the same with the dwarf.

"Ahhh! Eyes! My eyes!

Damn, it seems to have somehow penetrated through a narrow slit in his helmet and got into his eye.

In an instant, the dwarf was incapacitated. And the mage who told us not to worry and just trust her...

She was still vomiting.

Abomination!

... What are you guys doing?

No wonder, because everything has been going so smoothly so far.

Of course.

"Ainar!" Take the dwarf back and protect the mage!

Shouting this, I raised my shield and collided with the Corpse Golem.

I had no choice. I didn't want to stand out as much as possible, but... The bastards who boasted about their skills on the front lines were now talking nonsense.

'Behellaaa!!aa

In order to survive, I had no choice but to stand on the front lines.