Chapter 115

“Th-this is the place...” Hansen said, his voice trembling.

Count Bursen’s estate.

This was also the family home of First Queen Fourier, who had died three years ago. Unlike the childless first queen, Second Queen Rosia had borne two sons. She had swiftly displaced Fourier and become queen in all but name. Naturally, House Bursen’s influence had waned along with the first queen’s.

Five years had passed that way. Eventually, Queen Fourier had died, and House Bursen was now on the road to ruin.

‘Their house may be in decline, but... never mind guards, there isn’t even a sign of life.’

Woojin studied the mansion, so neglected that he could have mistaken it for a ruin.

CRASH!!!

Aswell roughly forced open the closed door.

No, he smashed it. The door flew off its hinges and shattered.

“Strange.”

Not a single light burned inside the mansion.

TAP, TAP.

Aswell slowly walked inside.

[SCREEECH!!!]

It happened then. A bizarre roar rang out, utterly out of place in a count’s estate.

CLANG!!!

Aswell raised his sword and knocked aside the sharp claws flying toward him.

[GRRR...]

The creature twisted in midair and landed, crouching low as it growled.

“... What are these things?”

Sharp fangs. Long claws.

It was a monster unlike anything they had seen before.

No. Was it really a monster?

‘... A human?’

Woojin stared at the creature crouching low and glaring at them.

[SCREEECH!!!]

The monster lunged at Aswell again.

SWISH!!

His sword pierced it faster than the eye could follow.

PATTER!!

In an instant, its limbs were chopped into chunks of flesh.

THUD... RATTLE!!

Something fell among the pieces of meat scattered across the floor.

“This is...”

Woojin picked it up. The small orb resembled the [Refined Black Mana Stone] he had obtained from the Human Golem.

“It belongs to the alchemists.”

Name: Unrefined Black Mana Stone

Grade: C

Description: A mana stone of low purity resulting from a failed refining process.

“Yes. I don’t know what those things are, but now we know for certain that Count Bursen conspired with them.”

Woojin nodded and examined the corpse.

[Using Silver Flame.]

As Setsuna provided light, Ed, standing beside Woojin, examined the dismembered corpse to see what it was.

“Th-this...”

“Yes. It’s a person.”

Bad feelings always seemed to prove true. Faced with exactly what he had first suspected, Woojin could only click his tongue.

“They made hallucinogens in the building on the outskirts and researched monsters in the Great Forest. Then... what were they doing here?”

Surely not.

Yet somehow, he felt this bad feeling would prove right too.

One of the many doors was locked.

CRASH!!

This time, Woojin opened it.

“... Those bastards.”

At the sight beyond the door, he ground his teeth without realizing it. Just as he had feared, his instincts had been right.

-Urgh...

Setsuna turned her head away in distress.

People hung along one wall with both arms bound, like meat in a butcher’s shop. Their bellies had been slit open and emptied of their organs. Instead, they had been filled with rough mana stones like the one that had dropped from the monster moments earlier.

The process seemed to have been interrupted midway. Stones that had never made it into their bellies lay scattered across the floor.

“It seems they fled along with the ones from the mansion on the outskirts.”

“It looks that way. But... these people... they look like the mansion’s servants, don’t they?”

One of the corpses hanging on the wall wore the sort of tuxedo a steward would usually wear.

“Were they actually experimenting on people here? I know it’s virtual reality, but ugh... They really do it all. Crazy bastards.”

Ed’s words left a bitter taste in Woojin’s mouth.

As Ed had said, this was virtual reality, a world where people could do whatever they wanted. But what kind of person could casually slit someone’s belly open and hang corpses on a wall?

Perhaps virtual reality itself could breed madness.

RUMBLE...

Beyond the corpses stood a black door. No one needed to say it. They all knew something was waiting behind it.

“I don’t see the count,” Aswell said, taking hold of the black door’s handle.

“I just hope he’s still capable of talking,” Woojin muttered uneasily.

CLICK.

The handle turned, and the door opened.

[The door to the Count’s Chamber is opening.]

A notification sounded at that moment.

[You have discovered a hidden dungeon.]

“... Ah.”

A dungeon...

Woojin smiled wryly. Unfortunately, even that last hope had come to nothing.

‘Has the count turned into a monster?’

Then a question occurred to him.

‘The hallucinogens and experiments were all the work of players. But the count turning into a monster created a dungeon...?’

That meant a hidden dungeon had been generated by something players had done.

‘So dungeons aren’t just created by the AI? They can keep changing depending on players’ actions?’

If so, [Ethan] could make changes as circumstances arose rather than follow a fixed scenario.

Wasn’t that truly a living world?

“Ed. Stay here and watch this one.”

“Understood.”

“I’ll compensate you some other way for missing out on the dungeon.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it.”

Ed nodded and dragged the fallen alchemist toward him.

[GRR... GURGLE...]

As expected, a guttural, phlegmy rattle greeted them from within.

[You have entered the Count’s Chamber.]

[Trait: Adventurer activated.]

[“... Who are you?”]

The count raised his head from his chair. His face was pale, his lips blue. Even at a glance, it was clear something was seriously wrong with him.

[GURK... GURK...]

He retched. His eyes began to grow bloodshot, as though the red veins climbing his neck had passed over his temples and into the whites of his eyes.

[“Who are you... coming here...?”]

The count rose, breathing in harsh wheezes.

[“You’ve taken everything from me... What more is there for you to take?!!!”]

RIP... RRRIP!!!

His hunched back swelled, tearing his shirt apart in an instant.

[“I... will not let you take anything more!!!”]

He thrust out his chest and howled like a wolf as his body began to grow.

[ROAAAR!!!]

The transformed count could no longer be called human. He was smaller than the Human Golem they had fought in the Great Forest, but...

BOOM!!!

He charged at the party with incomparably greater speed.

“Ever since the first queen’s funeral, rumors have been rife throughout the federation that the second queen plotted her death.”

Count Bursen had been powerless to do anything but watch her die.

“To you, biding your time for revenge, the alchemists may have seemed like the perfect opportunity,” Aswell said quietly, watching the count charge. “But what a pity. You were the one the Outlanders used.”

THUD!!!

A heavy fist struck Aswell’s cheek. Despite the dull impact, his feet did not budge even half a step.

WHOOSH!!

Aswell swept his sword horizontally.

SPLAT!!!

It sounded like clay being beaten. Instead of slicing through flesh, the blade became coated in sticky matter.

[Bursen casts [Bone Armor].]

CRACK... CRACKLE!!

Bones burst from within his body and multiplied, covering him from head to toe in an instant.

[ROAAAR...!!!]

More monstrous than ever, the count lunged at Aswell again.

[This is a one-time dungeon.]

[It will disappear once cleared.]

[There is no Dungeon Board.]

▶ However, an additional reward is available if it is cleared within 10 minutes.

An event dungeon. It offered no time attack title, but clearing it quickly would grant a corresponding bonus reward.

‘I doubt this will even take ten minutes.’

Woojin studied the notification window.

CRACK!!!

The count’s outstretched arm snapped.

THUD!!

As the count fell, Aswell brought down his sword and severed the broken arm.

When Woojin used [Focused Eyes], a number appeared above the count’s head.

[Lv.88 Corrupted Count Bursen]

Considering that Kerga, currently the highest-level player, had only just reached level 70, defeating him was practically impossible. Like the Black Dragon’s appearance, this was an event that forced a defeat.

That was how powerful this monster was, but...

“Hup!!!”

Aswell’s sword buried itself in the count’s shoulder.

CRACK... CRACKLE!!

The bones covering his body began to crack and fall away one by one.

Once again, the outcome was different.

‘Because he isn’t facing a player. He’s facing an even bigger monster.’

[“Ugh... uhhh...”]

Battered and torn, the count lay helpless on the floor.

[“Die!! Die...!! Die...!!”]

Bursen crawled forward and scratched at Aswell with blunt fingers stripped of their nails. For all his frenzied cries, his attacks were utterly futile.

“... I will at least preserve your final shred of honor as a noble.”

Aswell sighed quietly, seemingly reluctant to drag the monstrous count before the king. That king was hardly in his right mind either.

“Count Bursen conspired with alchemists to bring down Esten’s royal house and, furthermore, instigated war with the Kingdom of Tekan.”

Aswell looked down at him.

“Having verified the evidence, I, Aswell Balan, acting under the Antarian Federation Compact...”

He smoothly raised his sword.

“...shall exercise the right of summary judgment granted only to those who possess the military might of a kingdom.”

CRUNCH!!!

The count’s head fell.

[Congratulations.]

[You have cleared the Count’s Chamber.]

‘... Now that’s what I call getting carried.’

Woojin chuckled despite himself as the notifications sounded. Having always had to fight for his life, he found this strangely unfamiliar.

The count’s corpse vanished, and a reward chest appeared. Oddly enough, although his body was gone, his severed head remained.

‘Normally, even a monster’s severed parts disappear...’

Was it because Aswell, an NPC, had killed him?

▶ Photograph of Fourier as a Child

▶ High-Grade Potion x 3

▶ Old Contract

▶ 50 Gold

[An additional reward has been added.]

▶ Purified Refined Mana Stone

The photograph of the young girl inside the chest left an even more bitter taste in Woojin’s mouth.

‘I really don’t want to take something like this...’

He set the photograph down where the count’s body had lain.

Name: Old Contract

Grade: None

Description: A contract Count Bursen entered into with an alchemist.

“Sir Aswell. I think this will serve as evidence.”

Woojin took out the contract and showed it to him. Its contents were simple: the alchemists would provide drugs in exchange for a supply of corpses.

“The alchemists said they attacked Tekan because they didn’t have enough corpses. Even if they acted on their own, we can still hold Bursen responsible, since supplying corpses was his obligation.”

Woojin left the room. The alchemist, who had regained consciousness, grimaced at the sight of the contract in his hand.

‘It was probably a quest.’

That was the only explanation for taking things this far. And now that the contract had been found, the quest would probably end in failure.

‘Still, even things like this can become quests?’

Hallucinogens, monster research, human experimentation...

In reality, these things would cause countless problems. Here, however, they happened without a second thought, disguised as quests.

‘After living in a world like this, can people really think normally when they return to reality?’

For some reason, Woojin felt afraid.

‘Well, I have enough problems of my own without worrying about that...’

Unlike before, this left a bitter aftertaste.

“I’m not sure a king who’s barely in his right mind will compensate you properly,” Woojin said, tucking the contract away again.

“The king’s state of mind is irrelevant. I believe I made myself clear. They must repay the lives Tekan lost a hundredfold.”

At that moment, Woojin knew instinctively that Aswell had made up his mind from the start.

“... Are you planning to start a war?”

“All I needed was a justification.”

Woojin looked at Aswell.

The Antarian Federation.

In the end, it was an alliance destined to collapse.

“We cannot remain a small kingdom forever. What the Outlanders have done could present an excellent opportunity.”

“Do you think Tekan can hold its own among the five great kingdoms?”

Honestly, in Woojin’s eyes, there was little difference between Esten’s drug-addled king and Tekan’s king, who let his ministers push him around.

“It can, because I am here.”

Aswell picked up the count’s head from the floor.

“Hansen, you will accompany me to the royal castle and help bring this matter to a close.”

“Eek... P-please spare me.”

“Do as you see fit with the alchemist. Outlanders should settle Outlander affairs.”

Now that he had a justification for attacking Esten, he clearly had no further use for the man.

“... You’re being too hasty,” Woojin said, watching Aswell press ahead as though something were chasing him.

“You saw them too. His Majesty and the ministers gathered in that council chamber.”

He stood motionless and sighed. Though nothing rested on them, his trembling shoulders looked terribly burdened.

A loyal subject struggling alone among incompetents, unable to bring himself to rebel.

It was frustrating, yet Woojin could understand him.

‘If things stay as they are, Tekan will be the one to fall.’

Woojin did not want to let this opportunity slip away.

“Then become king yourself.”

BOOOM!!!

In that instant, Aswell’s sword flew at Woojin. This blow carried a weight unlike any before it. Woojin barely blocked it, but the force felt as though it would shatter his wrists.

“How dare you, Khan!! I may be fond of you, but I will not overlook such outrageous words!!”

“Tekan will fall.”

“... What?”

“I don’t know whether it will be the five great kingdoms or monsters that cause it... but if you truly want to protect the kingdom, you need to become its king.”

Woojin braced himself and stood firmly in Aswell’s path.

“For your family’s sake, too.”

“Hmph. You know as well as I do. My son may be a fool, but he can look after himself. There’s no need to worry.”

“I’m not talking about Karlan.”

“... What?”

“I’m talking about you.”

He knew this was a different world. He knew it was only a game, a world where Irurin had not even been born.

Woojin wondered whether he was becoming more and more immersed in the game. Perhaps he really was losing his mind...

Even so...

He could not leave things this way.

“Shouldn’t you get to see your granddaughter’s face at least once?”

Irurin’s face came to his mind.