Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Curse of the Plague (2)
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“Phew, finally feel like I can breathe again.”
Rokan arrived at the guard post looking much refreshed, about ten minutes later.
On top of that, his First Aid proficiency had risen quite a bit thanks to it all.
“So, this was lurking deeper in the sewers, huh?”
[Sewer cleaning complete.]
[Tails of sewer rats have been tallied.]
[You have acquired 10 silver.]
When he reported completion to the soldier manning the guard post, the rewards were automatically settled.
No quest items dropped from the contaminated rats, but the reward money alone came to a whopping 10 silver.
It was the kind of amount a party would struggle to gather, yet he’d collected it solo, so a big haul was only natural.
“Ugh, this thing’s cursed! And come to think of it, those spots on your face…”
While counting out the reward, the soldier examined the purple gem Rokan handed over from all angles, then realized it was cursed. He also spotted the blemishes blooming across Rokan’s face.
“This is bad. I’ll make contact—can you take this to Steroian? Might as well get yourself treated while you’re at it!”
‘This punk, he should just deliver it himself…’
Rokan grumbled inwardly at the soldier who wouldn’t even touch it. But he wasn’t dumb enough to show it.
Instead, he flashed a businesslike smile and replied brightly.
“Of course. Leave it to me.”
His businesslike smile earned a response in the form of a new quest.
[Deliver the Cursed Gem][Quest]
Take the cursed gem found in Kton’s sewers to Steroian in the Mage Guild.
-Failure Condition: Death
-Time Limit: None
-Rewards: Five low-grade potions, treatment for Curse of the Plague, small amount of EXP
“Thanks. You look in rough shape, so here—take this.”
Along with that, the apologetic soldier rummaged in his pouch. This reward was paid upfront.
[You have acquired Low-Grade Health Potion ×5.]
Five low-grade health potions that restored 200 HP over 10 seconds made for decent extra income.
It was bonus compensation to replenish the potions he’d used getting from the sewers here, but to Rokan, it was pure profit. He still had some bandages left.
Plus, he knew exactly where Steroian was, so no time wasted.
Rokan bolted off like the wind and dashed into the Mage Guild.
* * *
‘Whew, gonna get buried alive here.’
The Mage Guild was overflowing with people—total gridlock. A far cry from the Berserker Guild, where you could spot even an ant crawling.
‘All flash, no substance…’
And who could blame them? There was that saying: “Fantasy’s flower is magic!” In The Lord, unlike novels, you didn’t need to solve complex formulas or tie intricate mudras to cast spells, so it made sense the Berserker Guild was losing out.
Even in his past life, early on, knights and warriors up to level 50 flocked here dreaming of becoming magic swordsmen.
Naturally, the current timeline wouldn’t differ. They’d soon realize the magic swordsman class had less merit than expected.
“Coming through.”
“Hey, don’t push!”
“What the—how’s he so strong…?”
The crowd was too thick to pass, but Rokan shoved his way through.
Most choosing mage had dumped spare stats into intelligence and wisdom over strength, so none could match him.
Not even in groups of dozens.
Each time Rokan shouldered through, people parted like waves crashing left and right.
Forcing a path, he took the stairs straight to the second floor.
“Hey, who’s that guy?”
“He’s heading up to the second floor!”
“High-level mage? Weren’t we barred from there?”
“Let’s ask when he comes down!”
Unlike the ant-hill first floor, the second was dead quiet. No users in sight at all. Only those with scenario quests like Rokan could access the Mage Guild’s second floor.
The clueless mage hopefuls eyed him eagerly, but with his axe stowed in inventory, none pegged him as a berserker. They just waited for his return.
“Whew.”
Rokan sighed in relief upon reaching the second floor and hurried on. He’d kept bandaging en route, but his HP was now teetering on the edge.
“This way, right?”
Relying on memory, he soon reached a row of rooms. These housed big shots in the Mage Guild, so barging into the wrong one could mean pain—but Rokan moved without hesitation.
Click. Creak…
“Anyone here?”
“Who might you be?”
Throwing the door open with force revealed an old man in unmistakable mage robes turning to face him.
He’d seemed deep in research, but spun around instantly, recognizing what Rokan carried.
“Isn’t that the Plague Gem?”
“Yes. Found it deep in the sewers. The guard post soldier told me to bring it to you, Steroian. Said you’d treat my illness too.”
“You’ve come to the right place. Curse-induced diseases are my specialty! Set it down here.”
“…”
“What’s the holdup? Hurry—it’s still gnawing at you, that ‘cursed gem’!”
When Rokan stood frozen despite his words, Steroian urged him impatiently.
But Rokan didn’t budge. He wasn’t even looking at him.
“If you’re really Steroian, I’ll hand it over.”
“What? Implying I’m a fake? You insolent—!”
Steroian sputtered at the out-of-left-field remark, but Rokan upped the ante. Finally facing him, he drew the Orc Clan Battle Axe from his inventory.
He even threw in a low threat.
“Shall we verify?”
Rokan’s muscles twitched like they’d cleave Steroian any second.
He meant it.
“Enough! You win.”
Poof!
As Rokan reared back to swing, the real Steroian appeared. His true form had been a small potted plant off to the side.
‘Thought it was a bird on the windowsill…’
Rokan had misjudged—mages usually shapeshifted into animals—but he kept a straight face.
A notification followed.
[Unbelievable feat! You discerned a high mage’s deception without any aid.]
[Acquired title ‘Truth Seer.’]
[You are the first to acquire this title.]
[First][Truth Seer][Unique]
Applause for your insight piercing a high mage’s magic without aid.
You are the first to acquire this title.
[Effects]
-Illusion-type resistance +20%
[Special Effect]
-Summon [Bell of Truth] once per day to discern truth from lies.
‘Whoa!’
Rokan hadn’t pierced magic per se—that would’ve been an ‘achievement’-worthy feat.
He’d known in advance.
Had the prompt been to pick the real one, he’d have failed. But Steroian had revealed himself first from nerves, granting Rokan a unique-grade title.
‘Better in the hands of someone who’ll use it right.’
It was meant for someone else later, but that guy never reached the top ranks anyway.
“I’m the real one—hand it over. You’re in dire straits.”
‘‘Bell of Truth’, summon.’
To double-check if this was genuine, Rokan quietly summoned the title’s special effect.
[Truth]
Satisfied at last, Rokan passed the gem. Only then did he notice his HP below 100.
Bandages had run out right on cue. A little later, and he’d have wasted a low-grade health potion.
“Drink this first.”
Steroian snatched the Plague Gem and pulled an antidote from a drawer, handing it to Rokan. It neutralized the Curse of the Plague.
[Curse of the Plague has been lifted.]
Gulping it down erased the curse clean. Not for nothing a high mage.
“A Plague Gem in the sewers…”
Meanwhile, Steroian scrutinized the gem, focusing intently to analyze its power structure and mechanism.
Moments later, he rubbed his bleary eyes and stood.
“This needs more study. See anything else?”
Rokan mentioned the sewer rats mutating into contaminated ones, but it wasn’t much help. That was just a side effect of the gem—not a real clue.
“Hmm, plotting chaos via rats?”
That was usually it: hypothesis of trouble via prolific rats.
But contaminated rats were pushovers for soldiers willing to stomach the stench—not the answer.
“No. That’s not it.”
Steroian would normally tear his hair out alone, then shoo Rokan out with orders to return if more clues surfaced.
Not this time. Rokan sighed inwardly.
‘High mages sure are simple.’
Rokan already knew the answer.
“That thing seemed pretty dangerous to humans too.”
“Humans—well, you experienced it yourself, so you know… Ah!”
Sometimes, even knowing the answer meant guiding them to it themselves. Especially for prideful mages.
So Rokan played dumb and dropped a subtle hint to let Steroian connect the dots.
“Of course! Not rats—humans. That’s why the Plague Gem was in the sewers!”
True to high-mage form, Steroian nailed it from that nudge alone. The culprits—unknown ‘they’—had meant to slowly spread plague energy from the sewers across the whole city.
Such contagious power, left unchecked over time, would’ve become a massive threat.
Without Rokan’s hint, Steroian would’ve figured it out only after plague ravaged the city.
Starting in slums users rarely visited, it’d spread far before detection.
Users would then grind the infamous ‘Hell’s 10-Chain Quest’ to resolve it.
‘But I just skipped Hell’s 10-Chain Quest with this?’
Rokan had bypassed the whole chain. Steroian tossed him a quest and rushed out.
“I must see the guard captain now. You—uh, right. Return in three days!”
A timely notification popped up.
[Those Spreading the Plague][Quest]
Steroian is tracking those who placed the Plague Gem in Kton’s sewers with the city guard. Wait for phase-one search results.
-Completion Condition: Meet Steroian in three days
-Reward: Small amount of EXP
Suddenly alone, Rokan scratched his head to leave—having never hit this branch before—when an unexpected alert appeared. A server-wide system message.
[Main Scenario 1-1 has branched due to a recent user action.]
[Accordingly, branch quest ‘Plague Outbreak’ and numerous others have been deleted.]
“What?”
Plague Outbreak was the first linked quest to quell the slum-spawned plague.
Gone—because of his actions?
He’d seen this in his past life, but way too early now.
“Then…”
What butterfly effects would this unleash?
Hell’s 10-Chain Quest was toast, for one.
Would that make the main scenario easier?
No way. With the 10-chain path gone, others would need tougher, more numerous quests to access it.
“Time gained.”
Grinning at the win, he stepped out—only to face a shocking sight.
“…What the hell?”
The view from the second floor down to the first.
Moments ago packed solid with mages, now all lay as corpses.