The Cursed Armory
Mode’s voice rang out with commanding authority.
From this moment on, raise the alert level to maximum. Respond to the insect invasion immediately. All patrollers, move to your assigned sectors and do everything possible to evacuate and protect the civilians.
“Yes, sir!”
The patrollers answered in unison. They quickly gathered their weapons and charged out into the streets swarming with swarms of insects.
“We don’t have much choice. We’ll help too.”
Mode gave a firm nod.
“Then I’ll be counting on you all.”
He pulled out a map of the town and gestured toward me.
“There’s a secret guild vault beneath the hill past the western gate. Like I mentioned earlier, it’s where we store all the cursed artifacts.”
I started to nod, then froze. A secret vault? Wait a second…
“The walking swarm of bugs has definitely gotten their hands on items from the vault. To take down an enemy armed with relics, we’ll need comparable firepower.”
“…Is that really okay? Those are cursed relics, aren’t they?”
Mode’s plan was straightforward. Since the walking swarm had raided the guild’s secret vault and armed themselves, we would do the same—retrieve cursed relics, equip them, and use them to destroy the enemy.
Mode’s eyes burned with resolve.
“Those items were collected precisely for situations like this. There’s no point in being stingy now.”
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
They weren’t called cursed for nothing. Just looking at the Sacrificial Necklace of the Long-Lived was proof enough. Cursed relics were dangerous. Even more so because they offered no guarantee of the wearer’s safety.
“You seem to be worrying about pointless things. I’ll be the one using the relics. Not you or your companions.”
“If you touch a cursed relic, there’s no telling what might happen. The situation could get even worse than it already is.”
“I’ll only use relics that have been verified. I have a plan, so there’s no need to be so anxious.”
Mode pointed at the map and continued his explanation.
“I’ll assign you all to escort duty. Get me safely to the secret vault. The other patrollers will be busy rescuing civilians, so you’re the perfect team for this.”
I couldn’t know exactly which relic Mode intended to use. But the sense of foreboding was overwhelming. Something felt very wrong.
He looked like a man who had already accepted his own sacrifice.
“Understood. I’ll go talk to my party.”
I walked over to Jangcheok’s group. Jangcheok was completely focused on calming his family. They weren’t explorers. That was probably why they were gripped by such overwhelming terror.
“Honey… what are we going to do now?”
“Calm down. It’ll be fine. This is the guild headquarters. There’s no way those bug bastards can get in here.”
As the old saying went, a blessing in disguise. The fact that Jangcheok’s house had been attacked by the walking swarm had actually turned into a positive. If the attack hadn’t happened, we would still be asleep in that rural house outside the village.
Somehow, we had become the first civilian family to take refuge in the Strider Guild.
“Mister Jangcheok. I’m sorry, but I need your help.”
The moment I spoke, Jangcheok’s entire family turned to stare at him. Jangcheok looked at me with trembling eyes, then slowly closed and opened them again.
“…Yeah. I suppose that’s how it has to be.”
His wife looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment. She clutched desperately at the hem of his clothes with her slender fingers. Helping me meant leaving the safety of the guild and heading straight into the battlefield.
“B-but he’s only a Bronze-rank explorer…”
Jangcheok’s wife stared at me with pleading eyes. It was clear she wanted me to withdraw the request… but there was no other choice. In this situation, keeping a Level 4 Raider cooped up inside the guild would be ridiculous.
I was sorry, but Jangcheok had to go out and fight.
Jangcheok’s son, Ideon, gently took his mother’s hand.
“Mother. Let him go.”
“…”
Then he looked at me with determined eyes.
“Hajun. Please take care of my father.”
I couldn’t bring myself to say anything as reassuring as “trust me.” After all, I was only a Level 4 Necromancer. I wasn’t at the level where I could turn the impossible into reality just yet.
But there was one thing I could promise.
“I’ll do everything in my power.”
Eliminating the mastermind behind this chaos and saving the village from the insects. No matter what, I was determined to accomplish that.
In the meantime, Mode, now fully prepared, called the explorers together.
“We should get moving too.”
Jangcheok spoke to Ideon.
“Son.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Take care of your mother and your little sister. You’re the one who has to protect the family while I’m gone.”
Ideon smiled confidently. It was a dependable, trustworthy smile.
“That’s what I’ve always done while you were away.”
“…That’s right. Of course.”
Jangcheok drew his sword. Noman stepped up beside him, lantern in hand. Finally, Sion finished gathering his sword and shield, ready to move out.
Jangcheok’s daughter, Isol, ran over and threw herself into his arms.
“You have to come back! Promise me!”
“Of course, my daughter.”
Then she approached Sion. Isol grabbed his face with both hands and pulled him in for a deep kiss. Kissing him right in front of everyone. She really did take after Jangcheok—her personality was just as fiery.
“Don’t you dare die! Come back alive!”
“Hah. Obviously. You think I’d lose to a bunch of bugs?”
Sion gave a sleazy grin and brushed her hair back. I could have sworn I felt Jangcheok’s killing intent spike from the side… or was that just my imagination?
“Looks like everyone’s ready. Let’s move out.”
Mode kicked the door open and dashed into the street. The four explorers followed right behind the Strider Guild Master.
“I-I’m not saying I don’t trust you, Hajun!”
“What is it now?”
“How is it that everywhere we go, there’s always a fight?! Haven’t you ever been told you have terrible luck?”
Noman’s teeth chattered as he pumped his legs desperately. He was always going on about being a scholar, so I already knew he had zero talent for combat. But even so, he had now been dragged into two incidents that most explorers would be lucky to encounter even once in their entire lives.
Once against the fungal entities in the Spriggan village. And now again against the insects in Wiseville.
Come to think of it… maybe I wasn’t the one with bad luck. Maybe it was Noman.
“Don’t you know my nickname?”
“Nickname? Hmm, I don’t quite recall…”
“The Necromancer Who Calls Death. I’m pretty famous, you know.”
Noman’s jaw dropped as he stared at me.
“That nickname… it’s not because you killed your own party members, right? Right?”
“…”
“Hey, say something!”
“There’s a grasshopper coming. Better duck.”
Flap flap flap!
The loud buzzing of wings filled the air. A massive grasshopper dove down like a hunting eagle, aiming straight for Noman’s neck.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
The moment Noman ducked, I swung my saw blade. The carapace shattered, spraying green bodily fluids everywhere. The giant grasshopper crashed headfirst into the ground, spilling its guts in a disgusting mess.
The moonlit streets of Wiseville had truly become insect paradise. Giant grasshoppers filled the sky while enormous beetles crawled across the ground. The air was thick with the terrified screams of residents and the battle cries of Striders fighting the bugs.
“This way!”
“Take shelter in the guild!”
The Striders continuously cast fire spells, filling the air with the heavy stench of burning insects.
“Everyone, follow me.”
We followed Mode through the western gate. Fortunately, there weren’t many enemies. A few giant bugs were annoying, but they weren’t enough to stop a party that included two Level 4s. Not to mention Mode himself was incredibly strong.
“Die!”
“Uncle Jangcheok, maybe swing that sword a little less violently…”
“What did you say, you bastard?”
Jangcheok glared at Sion like he wanted to kill him, but Sion brushed it off with his usual shameless grin. That guy really had skin thicker than a dragon’s hide.
“I never thought I’d feel betrayed by you in my lifetime!”
“Come on, betrayed? That’s a bit much…”
“You and Isol both! Why the hell didn’t you say anything?!”
“There just wasn’t a good time to bring it up.”
Jangcheok grumbled nonstop. It wasn’t that he disapproved of Sion and Isol’s relationship. He was just disappointed that he had been completely left out of it. After all, both his precious subordinate and his own daughter had been dating without telling him. It was enough to make anyone depressed.
But if Sion and Isol really ended up together… did that make Sion Jangcheok’s son-in-law? What a strange twist of fate.
Mode had expected a difficult battle and brought the explorers along. But the fight wasn’t nearly as tough as anticipated. When we reached the secret vault of the Striders, Mode turned to us.
“From here on, I’ll be going down to retrieve the relics. I only need one person to accompany me. If anyone is willing…”
I stepped forward.
“Looks like it’s just me. Let’s go.”
“Mm. Very well. Let’s head down.”
We descended the stairs into the underground chamber. A cold chill filled the air, accompanied by the foul stench of death. Mode frowned and looked around warily.
“There are… quite a lot of bugs here. As expected.”
He stomped on a crawling insect, crushing it beneath his boot. Several corpses lay scattered about, with bugs wriggling between them. The flesh had been cleanly stripped away, leaving only bones and scraps of skin.
“Four male corpses.”
“…None of them are Hanna. So it really was her who transformed into the walking swarm.”
Mode rolled up the sleeve of his left arm. The magical tattoos unique to the Strider class were revealed. The door to the secret vault had been designed to open in response to those very tattoos.
Rumble…
With the sound of grinding stone, the vault door swung open. Mode scanned the interior and spoke in a heavy tone.
“More relics are missing than I expected.”
“Hanna’s doing, I assume?”
“Most likely. That girl always had an unhealthy obsession with ancient relics. I sometimes wondered if she would have been better off becoming a Dungeon Seeker instead.”
I could understand how Mode felt. If she had been a Dungeon Seeker, at least any trouble she caused would have stayed inside the dungeons. Sure, her party members would have died horribly, but the scale of the disaster would have been completely different from what was happening now.
“The giant insects attacking the village were summoned using an artifact called the Staff of Domination.”
“So that’s one of the relics she stole.”
“Yes. It was one of the relics that should never have been used… It seems she took it specifically to throw the village into chaos.”
“What else is missing?”
“The Cube of Void. We still don’t fully understand what that one does.”
“Why would she take something when even you don’t know what it does?”
“She probably wanted to figure it out herself.”
“I know I’m not one to talk, but she sounds like a total lunatic.”
Mode walked deeper into the vault with clear purpose, searching for something specific. Meanwhile, I wandered around, curiously inspecting the various items. I wondered if there might be something useful among the cursed objects.
“…”
While I idly browsed with my status window open, I discovered one particularly interesting item. It was a sword with a pitch-black blade.
◈ Damage: 33 (Slashing), 21 (Dark)
◈ Action Cost: -4
◈ Weight: 2.2 kg
◈ Material: Obsidian (Enchanted)
◈ Creator: Necromancer Lord
◈ Tags: <Artifact> <Weapon> <Sword> <Slashing Weapon> <Magical Power> <Scent of Death>
◈ A massive greatsword radiating an eerie aura. The moment you lay eyes on it, an inexplicable suicidal impulse begins to take hold. Between the pitch-black blade, you can almost hear a voice craving your death. Before wielding this weapon, one must first confirm whether they possess an intense attachment to life.
◈ This is an <Artifact>. It contains a mysterious power of unknown origin. Multiple uses may be required to understand its true functions.
◈ This is a <Sword>. Higher swordsmanship skill will allow more proficient handling.
◈ This weapon is imbued with <Magical Power>. There may be a way to draw out that power.
◈ This weapon was once used by a <Necromancer>. It carries the <Scent of Death>.
Just from a glance, the status window was anything but ordinary. A greatsword crafted by someone called the Necromancer Lord, and it even had a tag indicating the previous user was a Necromancer. But more than that, the raw specs were insane. 33 physical damage? Plus an additional 21 dark attribute damage on top of that?
When I compared it to the Steel Saw Blade I was currently using—which only had 15 damage and 3 bonus damage—it was clear this thing was ridiculously overpowered.
I’d said it before, but in roguelike games, gear really is everything. Levels and skills matter, of course, but the most important factor is always the equipment.
No matter how I looked at it, this seemed like a weapon perfectly suited for a Necromancer. The only problem was… I had no idea what kind of curse it carried.
Maybe I should just give it a little touch?
I glanced around. Mode was still completely absorbed in his search. Perfect. Since I had the status window, I should be able to identify the nature of any curse pretty quickly.
Taking advantage of the moment when Mode wasn’t paying attention, I reached out and touched the Cursed Obsidian Greatsword.