Count Klinsmann Heaves a Heavy Sigh
Count Klinsmann let out a heavy sigh.
"How long are we going to keep this up? Hiding down here isn't going to solve anything."
At Klinsmann's words, another dwarf flared.
"So what, we march out and all die together? You think that makes any sense?"
"I'd rather that than crouching in this filthy cellar like a pack of rats."
"Watch your tongue. His Majesty is present."
"We're all dead anyway, so what does it—"
Klinsmann was the finest warrior in the kingdom. His title was only that of a count, yet he was stronger than anyone, and so even that insolent manner drew little more than a grumble from the other noble dwarves.
The king, for his part, was far too distraught to spare Klinsmann a thought.
"Where could my dear children have gone..."
"All three of them will be hiding somewhere safe."
The head maid's reassurance did nothing to lift the worry carved into the dwarven king's face.
"You know as well as I that it isn't so. Haa... Irresponsible adults abandoned those children and fled. How great their heartbreak must be."
"Your Majesty. The other kingdoms have promised aid, so capable players ought to arrive before long..."
"And they will turn into monsters just as quickly."
"..."
The slightest wound from those monsters meant instant infection, an immediate transformation into one of them. A scratch was no exception. Mere contact itself carried the risk of contagion.
"What did we ever do wrong... to deserve a punishment like this?"
One dwarf looked upward and lamented.
It had happened in an instant. Truly, in a single instant. In the blink of an eye, dwarves turned monster had seized the kingdom, and the royal family, the nobles, and whatever dwarves survived had been forced to flee underground.
Fortunately, the transformed dwarves—strangely—did not pursue them below. Perhaps they disliked the dark. There was reason to think so, for the zombies grew markedly less active at night. Even so, no one could go out to fight under cover of darkness.
Then a dwarven baron spoke.
"What if we opened the castle gates?"
"I have already said that will not do."
"But penning the monsters in like this only leaves us the ones who suffer."
"Even if that is so, we gain nothing if this plague spreads across the whole Continent. And opening the gates is no guarantee our situation would improve."
The dwarven king was wise.
"Better to keep them gathered in one place and wipe them out in a single stroke, once we have force enough to do it."
"Agreed. For now, we must do everything we can to keep this plague from spreading."
Klinsmann looked thoroughly frustrated, and he said as much straight to the king's face.
"Can't I just go sweep them all away myself?"
"And if you were to die? Then matters would only grow bleaker."
"That's why I'm asking. Just give me a few more elite soldiers. I'll handle the rest. Those things aren't anything special, I tell you."
"To you, perhaps, Klinsmann."
In truth, Klinsmann had already cut down dozens of dwarf zombies on his own. He was that strong a player.
"If you had some means of guarding against the plague, you would be free to go out and face as many monsters as you liked."
The smallest wound, and Klinsmann would become a monster no one could handle. The burden on the dwarves would multiply several times over. That was why he could not move.
"Ugh. Then I'll just go and bring the princes back myself. That much is allowed, isn't it?"
At those words, the king's eyes wavered. Klinsmann had drawn out precisely what the king wanted most.
"...No matter that they are my children and the princes, I cannot put the whole of Sitahel's people in danger."
"As I said, if we just sit here, nothing gets solved."
Klinsmann spoke as if venting his fury. The king was firm.
"I cannot permit it."
That was when it happened.
Step. Step.
The sound of feet on the damp floor echoed through the underground. Not one or two.
"Those monsters?"
"No way. They couldn't come down here."
"We can't be sure of that. They might have a change of heart and come in. Prepare yourselves."
The dwarves shifted into fighting stances. Klinsmann took up his own weapon, a heavy spiked flail. Tension ran through them. In the silence, only the wet slap of footsteps kept sounding, again and again.
Then the ones making that sound revealed themselves.
"...Humans?"
"How did humans get here?"
The dwarves who saw Yujun's party startled. But a sight that would startle them even more was still to come.
"Ah, Father!"
"Daddy!"
From behind the humans, the three dwarven princes came running. The king startled first, then broke into a wide smile. He pulled the charging princes into his arms and wept.
"Where have you been, that you come only now... I was so worried."
"I—I missed you too!"
"I was scared!"
Smiles touched the lips of the dwarves watching. Yujun smiled along with them.
Dwarves are warmer-hearted than they look.
Once the joy of reunion had passed, the king turned toward Yujun's party.
"How is it you came to be here?"
"We heard the Kingdom of Sitahel was in crisis and came to help... is a lie. We were commissioned to investigate the plague."
That, of course, was a lie as well. If he honestly admitted they had come to loot the palace warehouse, saving the princes would not be enough to keep the dwarves from taking a dim view of them. So he had no choice but to bluff.
"My thanks come late. I am truly grateful you saved my children."
"Don't mention it. We only did what needed doing."
Yujun offered a perfunctory courtesy, speaking words he did not mean.
"How do matters stand outside?"
"There were a great many dwar-zom— no, of the corrupted. So many it was hard to move around."
"As I thought. On your way, did you happen to see the reinforcements?"
"They hadn't arrived yet... but it looked like they'd be here soon."
"This is grave."
"Why?"
"Once they arrive, they will only spread the plague further. The most efficient course is for a single overwhelming power to take the time and dispose of the monsters slowly."
Then Klinsmann stepped forward.
"Which is why I keep saying I should be the one to step up..."
At that brimming confidence, the king's face hardened.
"Do you truly believe you can face that many monsters without taking a single wound?"
"Well, a few scratches would probably..."
"And if you become a monster?"
"..."
Klinsmann could not bring himself to deny it. Those turned by the plague gained power far beyond their former strength. And if Klinsmann himself were transformed? Would anyone even exist who could stand against him? He knew the answer himself.
"There is a way to stop the plague."
Yujun said it, and the dwarves' eyes went wide.
"Stop the plague?"
"That's possible?"
"And how would that human even know such a thing?"
The dwarves voiced their doubts. The king, however, seemed intrigued, and drew closer to Yujun.
"A method, you say? What is it?"
"More precisely, it keeps you from catching the plague even if the monsters wound you. I can't use it on everyone, though."
Yujun explained the Injection: that it could ward off every disease, and that its duration was limited. Klinsmann cheered.
"Lend that to me. I'll be sure to repay you. I've got full confidence in my strength."
"Klinsmann is the strongest warrior in our kingdom."
The king agreed, his face bright. Yujun nodded.
"Very well. Leave the princes here. Count Klinsmann and I will go hunt the monsters."
"Just the two of you?"
"Two of my companions will come as well. They've already used the Injection."
Then Klinsmann spoke.
"Have you fought the monsters this plague makes?"
"Yes."
"Well, of course, if you made it this far... I'm curious about your skill."
"See for yourself."
Yujun had thoroughly raised Klinsmann's expectations.
"Then I leave it to you."
"The reward will be handled appropriately, I trust?"
"...O-of course. I shall have something prepared."
He was the king of a kingdom. There ought to be a few worthwhile items in his inventory. Carrying that expectation, Yujun walked toward the entrance of the underground passage, and as he went he resummoned Paranet, whom he had dismissed earlier.
Klinsmann startled at the sight of the undead, but Yujun hastily explained that Paranet was his summon.
"Remarkable. An undead summon. And I can feel considerable power in him. The summon is a strong one as well."
"Hmph. To sense even a fraction of this one's power. Impressive, dwarf."
Paranet spoke with arrogant pomp.
"D-dwarf? Have you lost your mind? Do you wish to die?"
"I am undead. Threats of death do not work on me. How dull-witted."
Paranet sneered at Klinsmann.
"Insolent, for a mere summon."
"Bold words, from a creature who was trembling at a mere plague. Without the Injection, you couldn't even walk outside, could you?"
"..."
"I, however, am nothing but bone. Even if I wished to catch the plague, I could not."
"You've got no hair, though."
"Wh—...? That is rather... harsh."
"M-my apologies."
Once Yujun's party emerged from the underground passage, they looked for the dwarf zombies. There was hardly any need to look. The zombies were strewn all around nearby.
Klinsmann, having used the Injection, was the first to dash off in high spirits. A dwarf zombie that spotted him charged.
Crunch!
He planted his feet and swung the flail. The zombie's head shattered.
"Easy!"
Drawn by the commotion, zombies began to swarm. Against foes far larger than himself, Klinsmann did not give an inch. He overwhelmed them. Bodies struck by his flail flew, burst apart—utter chaos. But the moment their numbers passed ten, gaps began to open in his guard.
That was when Paranet cut in.
Slash! Slice!
Paranet, too, was one stroke, one kill. Zombies lost their lives emptily beneath the sword he swung.
"They do say a dog at a school for three years learns to recite poetry..."
"Huh? What's that all of a sudden?"
At Hong Yeji's words, Yujun tilted his head.
"No, I was just amazed at how well your summon handles a sword. It isn't only high stats. He's practically a master of the sword."
"Is he?"
Yujun, whose Swordsmanship had reached its absolute peak, could not sense anything special in Paranet's swordplay. His standards had grown too high.
Well, he does time his attacks and counters cleanly enough.
Yujun joined the fight as well. The moment he stepped in, the zombies were cleared at a rapid pace.
His level climbed steadily. To monopolize the experience, he hunted the zombies even faster than Klinsmann.
"Kraaaah!"
"Grrk...!"
"Kyaaah!"
Slash! Slice! Slash!
"..."
Hong Yeji and Shin Jiwon had grown used to it and stayed where they were, but Klinsmann, seeing Yujun for the first time, gaped.
"To think a human this strong existed."
It was the greatest shock Klinsmann had felt in a very long time. Sword strikes too fast for the eye to follow, their trajectories so exquisite that the zombies seemed to collapse in heaps before they could even close in. Those rushing from every direction never so much as touched Yujun.
Before long, the swarm had vanished completely. They lay on the ground as cold corpses, not a single one left standing.
"He didn't even use a skill. How does he produce power like that? High stats alone shouldn't be enough."
"Now you see it. Our master is strong."
Paranet, beside him, straightened his back and preened.
"Yes. I'll admit it. Strongest human I've ever seen. An outstanding warrior."
"Of course he is. Heh."
"Undead. The same goes for you. Incredibly strong. Hard to believe you're merely some player's summon."
"...Ahem. Y-you have a good eye!"
Rather, when the praise turned upon him, Paranet grew bashful.