Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Curse of the Plague (1)
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[Entering the dungeon ‘Kton Sewer.’]
“Huh.”
The moment he stepped into the sewer, a pungent stench assaulted his nose.
Rokan immediately slapped a prepared detox herb under his nose. The bitter scent stabbed at his nostrils again, but it was still better than the sewer stink.
Splash.
He drew his Orc Battle Axe, and a slight tension rippled through his muscles.
Sewer rats weren’t enough to make Rokan nervous, but he had no intention of taking them lightly. Even if they dropped pitiful items and experience, they were decent opponents in certain ways.
Squeak.
Recalling the layout of Kton Sewer from memory, he advanced until a rat the size of a small dog appeared. It was no mere rat—calling it a monster wouldn’t be out of place.
“Came alone, did you?”
Thwack!
He swung his axe at the sewer rat charging with bloodshot eyes, cleaving it from head to spine in one stroke.
One-shot, one-kill!
Sewer rats were no match for Rokan’s overwhelming attack power.
[Axe Mastery has increased by 0.1%.]
“Good.”
This was the sewer rat’s one saving grace: their numbers. That meant they were perfect for grinding skill proficiency.
The higher the proficiency, the stronger the foes needed to raise it further—but this was the early game, the very beginning.
Raising Axe Mastery to 30% was more than doable with just sewer rats.
And to fully utilize a weapon’s attack power at 100%, he needed at least 30% proficiency.
“Butchery.”
After the hunt, Rokan drew his butchery knife and harvested the hide without fail.
The quest item—sewer rat tails—went straight to his inventory automatically, but Rokan aimed to level Butchery proficiency early too. They didn’t sell for much—two coppers per ten hides—but it was an investment for the future.
Of course, that changed if the numbers got massive.
“Alright, let’s go.”
Swinging the Orc Battle Axe experimentally, Rokan dashed deeper into the sewer.
Squeak squeak squeak!
Sewer rats were surprisingly aggressive mobs. They didn’t flee from people—they saw them as food and attacked.
Add the splashing footsteps of his run, and over twenty sewer rats were soon chasing him.
Rokan was fast, but in the sewers, the rats kept pace.
“Here we go.”
When he had a good number, Rokan spun around.
Slash slash!
He stopped running and began mowing down the swarming rats.
Kton Sewer was vast enough for hundreds to hunt simultaneously, so picking them off one by one would take forever.
Besides, Rokan had no plans to linger. He knew every path and feature—no reason to drag it out.
“Dash! Strike!”
Run, herd, butcher—the pattern repeated, steadily building proficiency.
Normally, he’d loop extra paths just for grinding, but with his controls at a masterful level, proficiency rose faster than expected. No need.
‘Just five hundred will do.’
Slaughter a thousand sewer rats for the ‘King of the Sewers’ title? No need.
Its effect was a minor attack boost against ‘rats,’ and as far as he knew, no rat-type monsters appeared later.
‘Ratmen at best.’
Wasting more time here was pointless.
[Outstanding achievement! You have slaughtered 500 sewer rats.]
[Acquired title ‘Rat Hunter.’]
[Rat Hunter][Normal]
You who slaughtered 500 sewer rats without rest. Rats now feel fear toward you.
[Effects]
-Attack power +5% against rats
[Special Effect]
-Can use [Rat Hunter’s Terror], which instinctively evokes fear.
A few more herding runs, and he easily hit five hundred.
He’d gained Rat Hunter’s Terror to evade rat fights, but he didn’t need it anymore.
He’d just left the sewer rat territory.
Keeek.
In their place appeared a ‘Contaminated Rat.’ Similar to sewer rats but grotesquely covered in mold-like growths.
A definite step up at level 12, but their real terror was elsewhere.
Poison. It stacked up to five times, and the application method was the problem.
“Butchery.”
[Poisoned by Contaminated Rat’s venom. -1 HP every 10 seconds.]
[Caution: Contaminated Rat’s venom stacks up to 5 times.]
Even corpses could poison you.
A headache for Rokan grinding Butchery, but he didn’t care.
‘It wears off in 30 seconds anyway.’
Short duration, and light poison like this? He welcomed it.
[Overcame the poison in your body.]
[Poison Resistance has been created.]
Frequent exposure like this could generate hard-to-earn ‘resistances.’
And not just that—too gross to let sewer rats bite, but these could whittle HP nicely.
“First Aid.”
[First Aid has increased by 0.1%.]
Using it as HP slowly dropped didn’t restore health but raised proficiency.
You can’t fill up on the first sip. Spamming until HP recovered yielded occasional tiny gains.
Whether HP recovered or not, proficiency rose steadily.
‘This is what they call one stone, two birds.’
If it got risky, pop a detox herb to cleanse and top off HP.
Kton Sewer wasn’t just infamous for the stench—it was a honey pot otherwise.
Like durian: heavenly taste, hellish smell. Rokan, who’d tried dried durian once, disagreed, but the analogy fit.
And so, Rokan pressed on, massacring Contaminated Rats.
‘About time it shows up.’
Sewer rats or Contaminated Rats—same to him. Herd a few, one-shot them. Manage HP via poison, and there was zero real danger.
Deep in, he reached the end of Kton Sewer.
“Was it around here?”
Standing at the dead end, Rokan scanned around, then dragged over Contaminated Rat corpses from recent kills, tossing them about.
‘Can’t recall the exact spot—hope one hits!’
One bubbled up. Skin melted away, red eyes flashed, and it revived—much larger, dwarfing Rokan.
[Plague Rat][Lv 23]
A new name floated above its head.
Even more grotesque, with a sinister purple gem shard embedded in its forehead—but Rokan took issue elsewhere.
“Bow down, you punk.”
A mere rat towering over his average Korean height? Unacceptable.
Thwack! Keeek!
Before it could brace, the Plague Rat clutched its belly and reeled back.
Bubble bubble...
Blood and guts should’ve spilled, but the long gash from the Orc Battle Axe bubbled and healed fast. Power of the forehead gem.
“Kieeeek!”
Finishing First Aid, the Plague Rat unleashed fury at Rokan. Long fangs and razor claws propelled by spurting pus lunged forth.
“Krraaah!”
Rokan countered with War Cry.
The loser was obvious. Similar levels, but stats gap was huge. All its stats dropped, shrinking its ferocious movements.
“Dash.”
Here, Rokan’s control shone.
Dash wasn’t mere speed—it amplified agility for three steps. Not for single strikes like Strike.
Cancel if idle over a second, but that was plenty.
Boosted agility shredded the Plague Rat’s belly repeatedly.
“Rat Hunter’s Terror.”
Tremble. Splurt!
Its attempts to cope crumbled under fear. It counted as a ‘rat,’ so short duration, but it worked.
Meanwhile, its thick belly burst like tofu. Force too immense to just slice—exploded. No quick recovery this time.
“Hmph!”
Even then, it bared fangs for a bite. But Rokan wouldn’t oblige.
He uppercut its jaw with the axe haft, shattering it, then kicked the body down.
“Worthless punk.”
[Leveled up.]
Experience from sewer and Contaminated Rats exploded with the Plague Rat’s. Another level up, and poison-drained HP refilled.
Sparkle!
Inventory check: junk as usual. Not a loot class after all? Tsking, he approached the corpse. The purple gem in its forehead twinkled temptingly.
Picking it up triggered the issue.
[Afflicted with Curse of the Plague.]
[All stats slightly reduced.]
[-5 HP every 10 seconds.]
[Caution: Untreated, you may die.]
Curse of the Plague.
But Rokan stayed calm. Many flailed and died clueless in his past life—he knew the cause.
Plague Gem. The power in the purple shard he’d retrieved invaded his body, persistently draining HP over time.
“Whew! Time to graduate this stinking hole.”
Unfazed, Rokan backtracked through the sewer to the surface.
The curse drained 30 HP per minute, but his total HP topped 1,000—no sweat.
* * *
“Ugh, the smell!”
“Look at that guy. Sewer dive?”
“Wow, manners. Wanna walk around like that?”
“Ah, fuck! Wash up before coming out!”
Rokan planned to hit the guard post after exiting, but changed course. Couldn’t wander like this.
His nose was numb, but others weren’t.
Worse, his footsteps might leave a stench trail. Reputation hit would suck.
HP still trickling down, but bandages could hold—he confirmed, then rushed to an inn for gear laundry and a wash.