The Walking Swarm Burns
The corpse of the Walking Swarm burned. So did Noman and I. For a while, neither of us could find the words. Only the sickening stench of roasting bugs lingered in the air, faint but persistent.
A short-haired woman with a calm expression bowed her head toward us. “Thank you for your help. I’m Strider Hanna. Without you, the damage would have been far worse.”
Noman blinked, then scrambled to his feet. “Ah… um. Nice to meet you. I’m Noman, an explorer from Runen. And this is Explorer Hajun.”
“So that’s how you managed to defeat the Walking Swarm. You’re explorers.”
We spoke with Hanna for a while—where we’d come from, why we were here, how we’d run into the Walking Swarm. Simple questions, simple answers. The whole time, Hanna never took her eyes off the burning remains.
Once the flames died down, Hanna bowed again. “You can collect your reward at the guild. I’ll make sure it’s arranged. Leave the rest to me and head inside.”
Noman scratched his head with a relieved smile. “Hahaha… That’s a relief. Honestly, when I followed Hajun here I thought something had gone terribly wrong, but we took down a monster, got paid, and we’re still alive. Hahaha!”
He laughed heartily, but I couldn’t join him.
“Hajun?”
The Walking Swarm’s final words refused to leave my mind. It had claimed to be a victim, that it had only been affected by the relic. The thought kept circling.
“Where are you going?”
I approached the pile of ash that had once been the Walking Swarm. Hanna stepped in front of me.
“You shouldn’t get any closer.”
“Why not?”
“It’s dangerous. Even for an explorer, some things are safe to touch and some aren’t. From here on, the Striders will handle it.”
Our eyes met for about three seconds. I drew the saw blade from my back sheath and pointed it at her.
“Hajun!” Noman’s horrified voice rang out behind me.
Hanna’s gaze turned cold. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m the one who found the Walking Swarm. I’m the one who nearly killed it. I don’t want some latecomer who only showed up to finish the job stealing the credit.”
“…If this is about money, as I said earlier, you can visit the Strider headquarters—”
She couldn’t hide her agitation. Even someone with dull instincts could tell there was something inside that corpse. I kicked the ashes aside and found the hidden object—a pitch-black necklace.
“…”
It looked like a length of rope twisted together and dipped in tar. Utterly ugly, with zero aesthetic sense. Even while the bugs turned to ash, the necklace had endured the flames untouched.
Hanna sighed as if the ground had opened beneath her. “You wouldn’t understand it even if you looked at it. Why touch something you know nothing about?”
Her tone carried absolute certainty that I wouldn’t figure anything out. Of course I knew what it was.
Status Window.
Sacrificial Necklace of the Long-Lived
Material: Jord’an
Creator: Jord’an
Classification: <Artifact> <Accessory>
[This necklace was created by a mad mage in pursuit of longevity. The twisted cord appears to be made of leather, yet it never rots in water and never shrinks in heat. It has never been cleaned, yet it always looks brand new. You, too, feel no desire to maintain it…]
*This is an <Artifact>. It harbors an unknown special power. Its function can only be understood through repeated use.
*This is an <Accessory>. It enhances your appearance.
The moment I touched the necklace, the Status Window appeared. I was certain now—this was no ordinary item.
“I’m warning you out of concern—never put that around your neck.” Hanna’s quiet voice carried a warning.
I fiddled with the necklace for a while, searching for anything else I could learn. Sacrificial Necklace of the Long-Lived… I felt like I’d seen it a few times in the game, but nothing particularly memorable stood out. Maybe its performance was so average it had just been left in storage.
That was when it happened.
「Ohoho… A new guest…」
A voice echoed from somewhere. I focused my mind and realized it was coming from the necklace itself.
“Guest?” The words slipped out before I could stop them.
Noman looked bewildered. Hanna gritted her teeth and raised her sword.
“Hajun. I don’t know what you’re doing, but stop right now.”
I raised a hand to calm her and focused on the voice again.
“Who are you?”
「Heh heh. I am Chef Jord’an. The very necklace you hold in your hand.」
A talking necklace. I’d expected something like this in a fantasy world, but actually experiencing it was more unsettling than I’d imagined.
“Chef?”
「Indeed. I am a master of what you call [cooking]. Eating, drinking, and ultimately enjoying a feast where everyone is happy—that is my joy. My purpose.」
…For a moment, a sweet scent brushed past my nose. Sour yet savory, an indescribable richness. I swallowed hard. I was hungry. The emptiness gnawed at me…
「This is but the smallest fraction of the flavors you could enjoy at my [banquet]. Yes… In your terms, it would be an appetizer…」
I rummaged through the ashes and found a charred piece of bug. When I brought it to my nose, the scent of boundless appetite filled my senses. This hunger. This starvation was calling to me.
「Of course, the true [dish] we will enjoy is something else entirely.」
“True dish?”
「Right over there… those lumps of meat…」
I turned my head in the direction Jord’an indicated. There lay the half-eaten human corpse the Walking Swarm had left behind—too horrific to look at directly. From the riddled body wafted an indescribable, seductive aroma that felt almost like pleasure.
「Heh heh heh… How about it? Can you feel it? The taste of that meat? The only thing that can satisfy your hunger and starvation?」
In an instant, my vision blurred and a hallucination flashed through my mind. I saw myself transformed into something monstrous, greedily devouring human flesh. It was utterly revolting, yet my heart raced with a strange excitement.
[You tasted the foul scent of blood in your mouth.]
[You witnessed a vision of eating rotten human flesh!]
I squeezed my eyes shut and hurled the necklace to the ground.
“Hajun!” Noman rushed toward me in alarm.
Just now… that being called Jord’an had shown me a vision of devouring human flesh. Why had I seen such a thing? The answer was simple. That necklace—[Chef Jord’an]—was an entity that tempted humans into becoming bugs themselves. Those who succumbed would shed their humanity and be reborn as ravenous, writhing swarms that fed on corpses.
That damned necklace… was the one that created the Walking Swarm.
“Shibal.”
[You tasted human flesh! This is too horrifying!]
[But on reflection… it wasn’t so bad.]
[+ Corpse Lover]
Even though it had only been a hallucination, I had eaten human flesh. Any other class would have had their mind shatter. But as a Necromancer, I possessed the [Corpse Lover] trait. Thanks to it, my sanity remained intact.
“Satisfied your curiosity?” Hanna approached and retrieved the Sacrificial Necklace of the Long-Lived. She slipped it into a small pouch. “I was going to send you off before you noticed… but it can’t be helped.”
“What can’t?”
“Follow me to the Strider headquarters. I need to report this to the captain.”
Hanna led the way. Noman and I exchanged glances, then followed.
Late that night, we visited the Strider Guild.
#
Inside the Strider Guild, familiar faces greeted us.
“Hajun!” It was Jangcheok’s family and Sion.
“You were here.”
“Yeah. When I asked the guild for help, they brought me here.”
It was close to midnight by modern standards. The town slept, but the Striders remained awake, handling various matters. The sudden overtime was probably because of the Walking Swarm.
“You’re here.” A middle-aged man emerged from the innermost room. The Striders paused their work and bowed to him. He stopped in front of me.
“You’re the explorer Hajun?”
“You know me?”
“I didn’t want to, but I ended up learning. You knocked out the gatekeeper and forced your way into town?”
For a moment, Jangcheok and the other explorers stared at me blankly. I turned my head and feigned ignorance.
“The situation was urgent.”
“A fine, then. I’ll deliver the money to the guard you struck.”
I had nothing to say. I should be grateful it ended with just a fine.
“I’m Mode, the leader of the Strider Guild. I apologize for dragging you into this commotion.”
The explorers exchanged uneasy glances. Around us, Striders hurried about cleaning up the aftermath. Mode gestured to a seat.
“Explain. What is that disgusting necklace, and what exactly is the Walking Swarm?”
“My. You know more than I expected.”
“I know even more. Should I tell you everything?”
Mode studied me for a moment, then gave a bitter smile. “That’s enough. It’s not something to brag about.”
Mode began his explanation. “First, that necklace you found… It’s a relic excavated from the ruins of the old kingdom. Discovered in the treasure vault of the Quas Temple.”
“The Sun God, right? It doesn’t seem related to the Sun God at all.”
“In truth, that necklace wasn’t on the vault’s inventory list.”
“…”
“Something that isn’t a treasure yet slipped into the treasure vault and pretends to be one… That’s the better way to look at it.”
Jangcheok raised his hand. “Hey, listen. I’ve got some explorer experience under my belt, so I know this much. Items that threaten their owners—cursed items, as they’re called—aren’t supposed to be brought out of dungeons, right?”
I nodded. Dungeons contained dozens, hundreds of item types. Some were incredibly useful, while others harmed their wearers. People here called items that inflicted penalties on their users “cursed items.” Naturally, cursed items were extremely dangerous. The Sacrificial Necklace of the Long-Lived was 100% a cursed item.
Mode fell silent for a moment. Then he spoke firmly. “Even if it’s cursed, an ancient relic is still a relic. Rather than letting it fall into the wrong hands, it’s better for the guild to manage it.”
I frowned at his explanation. “Hold on. So the Striders bring back every item they find in dungeons near Wiseville? Even cursed ones?”
“That’s right.”
Jangcheok slammed the table. He looked utterly dumbfounded. “Damn it! I was wondering what you were doing monopolizing the dungeons! So you’ve got a whole warehouse full of cursed items?”
“Calm down.”
“Calm down, my ass!” Jangcheok’s raw fury erupted. “Did you think I poured my entire fortune into Wiseville just to watch it fall apart? I have land here. A house. And the guild in this town has been—”
“You seem too agitated. An item is just an item. What matters is how it’s handled.”
Crash!
“Your shitty management nearly got my daughter killed! You brought cursed items out of the dungeon and let that disgusting monster roam free!”
Jangcheok’s eyes were bloodshot with rage. Even if he was about to retire, he was still a Level 4 Raider. If blades were drawn, someone would get seriously hurt.
“We’ll compensate you.”
“Compensation? You think I’d accept some measly—”
“One million Ron.”
“…”
“One million Ron to your family. On the condition that you relocate to another town.”
Mode’s offer was shocking. One million Ron was more money than most people in this world could earn in a lifetime. Enough to buy a new house, fields, and livestock in another town with plenty left over.
“And ten thousand Ron each for the explorers.”
“Hush money, I assume.”
“Something like that.”
It was payment with the condition that we never speak of what we’d seen. Hmph. Ten thousand Ron just to keep quiet… It was an amount no explorer could refuse. The Strider Guild had made a reasonable offer. Forget tonight, and they’d reward us handsomely. And that amount was large enough to play games with people’s memories.
I realized I had no choice. If we refused, Mode would use 1.4 million Ron to erase the evidence. 1.4 million Ron could accomplish a lot. So it was better to put it in our pockets instead.
“This incident was an unfortunate accident.” I extended my hand to Mode. The Striders collecting cursed items was unsettling, but they must have their reasons. Objectively speaking, they’d managed things well so far… Surely Wiseville wouldn’t fall because of a few cursed items?
“I hope there won’t be any more incidents like this.”
“You’re a reasonable fellow. Thank you for accepting the apology.”
I accepted Mode’s proposal cleanly. Noman and Sion joined in as well. Jangcheok hesitated until the very end before finally shaking Mode’s hand.
Looking on the bright side, we’d earned one million Ron just for taking down a single Walking Swarm. The explorers had received enough money to complete ten high-paying missions. Mode smiled pleasantly, clearly relieved that things had worked out.
So I asked him a question.
“By the way.”
“Something on your mind?”
“The Sacrificial Necklace of the Long-Lived. How did it end up around the guild porter’s neck?”