Chapter 30: The Bloody Citadel (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 30: The Bloody Citadel (1)
Every gamer had a habit of pressing the interaction key whenever a suspicious wall or unusual sculpture appeared, and I was the same way. That habit had helped me uncover many hidden Easter eggs—that is, hidden elements—in my time playing Dungeon and Stone for the past nine years.
...Like the fountain statue here, for example.
"Bjorn?"
"Oh, coming."
Setting my apprehension aside, I followed my party into the inner city. I decided not to mention the statue.
A barbarian knowing something that even a wizard who had dedicated their life to knowledge didn't know?
It would be better to avoid attracting suspicion.
It was obvious that lying and saying I had seen it in a book wouldn't work this time, and the thing in the statue was an item that couldn't be taken out of the rift even with distortion magic anyway.
"So this is the inner city."
If the outer fortress served as the first line of defense in the Middle Ages, the inner fortress was closer to the last stronghold. Originally, this place would have held various military facilities, such as an armory where the vassals, knights, and soldiers of the lord would have been stationed.
Raven looked around and sighed.
"...I heard it was like this, but it looks like I won't get anything out of this area."
The inner city, which was one-third the size of the outer fortress, was entirely destroyed. All the buildings had collapsed and only ruins remained. There weren't even monsters there.
"Let's move on to the next area as fast as possible."
Under Raven's command, we cleared the rubble for about thirty minutes until we found a way to the basement.
"Mr. Murad, can you take the lead?"
"Sure!"
"Ah, I need to conserve my magic, so please light a torch as well."
The dwarf took out a torch and placed it on his head. Maybe it was because he was short, but he looked like a mole miner from a cartoon.
Whoosh!
We pushed away the thick wooden planks and slowly descended the stairs hidden beneath them. This was the third stage of the Bloody Citadel: the Underground Prison.
I gulped and prepared myself.
[You have entered the first floor of The Underground Prison.]
Damn it, I don't know if my stomach can handle this...
***
"Miss Raven, what kind of monsters show up here?"
"I know there will be skull rats, banshees, death fiends, chimera wolves, ghoul lords, and a corpse golem."
"Except for the corpse golem, those are all monsters I've dealt with before."
"That makes sense. Corpse golems are monsters that only appear in the Bloody Citadel."
"Hahaha, I'll be earning an achievement for the first time in a while!"
The dwarf was happy to hear that he would be increasing his experience points by fighting new monsters. But I wasn't. Even the 2D pixel drawings of them were horrifying. How disgusting were they going to be in reality?
"Is there anything else we should watch out for?"
"You just have to be careful of the corpse golem's Flesh Burst. The explosion itself is not very strong, but its bodily fluids are mixed with an acidic toxin, so it can be fatal if you get hit at close range. Of course, I'll try to stop it before that happens."
"Haha! There is nothing to be afraid of when there is a wizard around!"
"Well, it's all possible because there are strong warriors like you here, Mr. Murad."
Ha...
It was not that long ago that they had been glaring murderously at each other over the loot.
Step.
As soon as I reached the last stair, a labyrinthine dungeon structure unfolded before my eyes. Chained Undead roared at us from inside cages, and on the floor, rats with only bones left on their bodies roamed around, making strange noises.
"Bjorn, are those monsters too?"
"Those are the skull rats I mentioned earlier."
"I didn't ask you, wizard!"
To clarify, skull rats were unranked like the Undead were. In fact, they didn't even have enough fighting power to be called a monster, so we walked forward, crushing the ones we could see with our feet. And not long after, we encountered a banshee.
"Heh heh heh!"
The banshee was flying around like a vengeful spirit, only the outline of its bizarre face visible.
"B-Bjorn..."
Oh, right. She's afraid of banshees.
Noticing Ainar clinging to me, Raven grinned. I was glad Ainar hadn't noticed. Otherwise, she would have thrown another fit.
"Be careful not to bump into the banshee. Once or twice isn't too much of a problem, but..."
"...But?"
"Otherwise, you will have a very, very, very, very terrible experience."
"A-A very, very terrible experience? What does that mean?! Speak clearly, wizard!"
"Hmm. How about I leave it to your imagination?"
Raven flashed an ominous grin at Ainar, who was as pale as a ghost. Given that she was taking revenge like this, I could tell her personality wasn't all that great.
I sighed inwardly and cut into their conversation.
"I heard wizards have a way of dealing with banshees."
"Right, you did say you like to read. You're very well-informed, aren't you?"
Was this something to call me 'well-informed' over? Well, given that I was a barbarian, that could be the case...
Still, this was probably within the realm of something even a barbarian could know.
"Anyway, enough joking around. I'll clear out the banshees first. Tayrun Shell."
Immediately, Raven fired an arrow of light from her staff and shot the banshee. The name of the spell in the game was Magic Arrow. The spell didn't even require any casting time because it was a basic attack magic.
"Keeheee!"
We stood and waited for a moment, and soon dozens of vengeful banshees began to flock to the area with clear hatred in their eyes. They had sensed the "mark" that had been left behind by their fellow banshee when it died. Although this was probably a welcome sight for a wizard who possessed a large number of powerful area-of-effect spells.
"Iherno Heindar."
[Flame Baptism.]
Flames emitted from the magic staff filled the straight passageway. And by the time the fire slowly began to die out, no banshees were remaining.
"Haha! There is nothing to be afraid of when there is a wizard around!"
"Well, it's all possible because there are strong warriors like you here, Mr. Murad."
Ha...
It was not that long ago that they had been glaring murderously at each other over the loot.
Step.
As soon as I reached the last stair, a labyrinthine dungeon structure unfolded before my eyes. Chained Undead roared at us from inside cages, and on the floor, rats with only bones left on their bodies roamed around, making strange noises.
"Bjorn, are those monsters too?"
"Those are the skull rats I mentioned earlier."
"I didn't ask you, wizard!"
To clarify, skull rats were unranked like the Undead were. In fact, they didn't even have enough fighting power to be called a monster, so we walked forward, crushing the ones we could see with our feet. And not long after, we encountered a banshee.
"Heh heh heh!"
The banshee was flying around like a vengeful spirit, only the outline of its bizarre face visible.
"B-Bjorn..."
Oh, right. She's afraid of banshees.
Noticing Ainar clinging to me, Raven grinned. I was glad Ainar hadn't noticed. Otherwise, she would have thrown another fit.
"Be careful not to bump into the banshee. Once or twice isn't too much of a problem, but..."
"...But?"
"Otherwise, you will have a very, very, very, very terrible experience."
"A-A very, very terrible experience? What does that mean?! Speak clearly, wizard!"
"Hmm. How about I leave it to your imagination?"
Raven flashed an ominous grin at Ainar, who was as pale as a ghost. Given that she was taking revenge like this, I could tell her personality wasn't all that great.
I sighed inwardly and cut into their conversation.
"I heard wizards have a way of dealing with banshees."
"Right, you did say you like to read. You're very well-informed, aren't you?"
Was this something to call me 'well-informed' over? Well, given that I was a barbarian, that could be the case...
Still, this was probably within the realm of something even a barbarian could know.
"Anyway, enough joking around. I'll clear out the banshees first. Tayrun Shell."
Immediately, Raven fired an arrow of light from her staff and shot the banshee. The name of the spell in the game was Magic Arrow. The spell didn't even require any casting time because it was a basic attack magic.
"Keeheee!"
We stood and waited for a moment, and soon dozens of vengeful banshees began to flock to the area with clear hatred in their eyes. They had sensed the "mark" that had been left behind by their fellow banshee when it died. Although this was probably a welcome sight for a wizard who possessed a large number of powerful area-of-effect spells.
"Iherno Heindar."
[Flame Baptism.]
Flames emitted from the magic staff filled the straight passageway. And by the time the fire slowly began to die out, no banshees were remaining.
Whooom!
Once again, the mana stones that poured onto the floor floated into the air and found their way into her bag. That was what I envied even more than the attack magic she had—not having to pick up mana stones every time.
Man, how long would it be until I could add a wizard to my party?
I still had a long way to go.
***
The 2D world I saw through the monitor and the real world were different. The chill that permeated through my skin was even more so.
[You have entered the second floor of The Underground Prison.]
The dungeon that I was now getting to experience firsthand was a lot like a mad scientist's laboratory. In it, there was a chimera wolf with three or four heads and the ripped muscles of a mutant, and a ghoul lord accompanied by around thirty elder ghouls.
These rank-eight monsters were not only grotesque in appearance, but the small props around them were also reminiscent of a horror game. However, the cherry on top was...
"By the way, Miss Raven, you're amazing. Aren't you scared at least a little bit?"
"Hmm. I love anatomy, you see. This much doesn't faze me."
Shit, I hope that isn't barbarian body parts I'm seeing.
Come to think of it, the reason why barbarian hearts were sold at high prices was because they were magical ingredients...
"Ah, we've arrived."
After hunting all the monsters in the Underground Prison and reaching the third floor of the basement, we discovered a hidden door leading to an underground part of the collapsed lord's castle. We usually would have had to obtain the map from the guard room first, but...
"So the door was hidden behind the wall. Good thing I memorized the map in advance."
Thanks to Raven, who had thoroughly studied up on the map, we didn't get lost. Well, even if I had been alone, I wouldn't have had any problems either. The layout of the Underground Prison had been identical in the game.
But that's only possible for me because I'm a player.
Once again, I realized just how high-status wizards were. Powerful attack magic, highly useful support abilities like the Wound Exacerbation Curse, and knowledge that must have been accumulated through reading numerous books... There was a reason that wizards were even more appreciated by their parties than priests.
"It would be best to leave our backpacks over here. Especially Mr. Yandel."
Feeling a little embarrassed, I placed the oversized backpack that hung from my head to my thighs in front of the door.
...Once I make money, the first thing I'm going to buy is a magic backpack.
This was not the first time this bag had caused awkwardness.
"Ah, from now on, Mr. Yandel, you should light a torch as well."
Following Raven's instructions, I also put a torch on my head. With this, we were ready to go.
Creak, creak, creak—
When we turned the round valve to open the iron door, the stench of rot burned our nostrils.
"This place isn't what I was expecting."
"W-Wizard... Do we really have to go in?"
"I would also like nothing more than to not enter, but we have no other choice."
Whooom!
Once again, the mana stones that poured onto the floor floated into the air and found their way into her bag. That was what I envied even more than the attack magic she had—not having to pick up mana stones every time.
Man, how long would it be until I could add a wizard to my party?
I still had a long way to go.
***
The 2D world I saw through the monitor and the real world were different. The chill that permeated through my skin was even more so.
[You have entered the second floor of The Underground Prison.]
The dungeon that I was now getting to experience firsthand was a lot like a mad scientist's laboratory. In it, there was a chimera wolf with three or four heads and the ripped muscles of a mutant, and a ghoul lord accompanied by around thirty elder ghouls.
These rank-eight monsters were not only grotesque in appearance, but the small props around them were also reminiscent of a horror game. However, the cherry on top was...
"By the way, Miss Raven, you're amazing. Aren't you scared at least a little bit?"
"Hmm. I love anatomy, you see. This much doesn't faze me."
Shit, I hope that isn't barbarian body parts I'm seeing.
Come to think of it, the reason why barbarian hearts were sold at high prices was because they were magical ingredients...
"Ah, we've arrived."
After hunting all the monsters in the Underground Prison and reaching the third floor of the basement, we discovered a hidden door leading to an underground part of the collapsed lord's castle. We usually would have had to obtain the map from the guard room first, but...
"So the door was hidden behind the wall. Good thing I memorized the map in advance."
Thanks to Raven, who had thoroughly studied up on the map, we didn't get lost. Well, even if I had been alone, I wouldn't have had any problems either. The layout of the Underground Prison had been identical in the game.
But that's only possible for me because I'm a player.
Once again, I realized just how high-status wizards were. Powerful attack magic, highly useful support abilities like the Wound Exacerbation Curse, and knowledge that must have been accumulated through reading numerous books... There was a reason that wizards were even more appreciated by their parties than priests.
"It would be best to leave our backpacks over here. Especially Mr. Yandel."
Feeling a little embarrassed, I placed the oversized backpack that hung from my head to my thighs in front of the door.
...Once I make money, the first thing I'm going to buy is a magic backpack.
This was not the first time this bag had caused awkwardness.
"Ah, from now on, Mr. Yandel, you should light a torch as well."
Following Raven's instructions, I also put a torch on my head. With this, we were ready to go.
Creak, creak, creak—
When we turned the round valve to open the iron door, the stench of rot burned our nostrils.
"This place isn't what I was expecting."
"W-Wizard... Do we really have to go in?"
"I would also like nothing more than to not enter, but we have no other choice."
The space was reminiscent of a wastewater treatment plant. The cylindrical walls were lined with large water pipes that had black filth dripping down them. In addition, broken and severed limbs and heads were piled up in a heap on the ground, and the gas that had accumulated from their decay stung my nose and gave me a headache.
Wretch.
The first to vomit was the porter. The guy, who had up to this point been standing next to Raven as solemnly as a bodyguard, emptied his stomach on the ground.
The second was Raven.
Wretch.
Even with a lot of dissection experience, she was still vulnerable to smell.
Surprisingly, I rode it out. Even though the scene before me would have made me faint in the past, it had no effect on this barbarian's strong stomach.
"I'm glad you're all right, at least," said the dwarf. "Come on, get up here."
I slowly approached the center of the room, and as I did, a strange feeling came over me.
Squish.
Each step sounded like stepping on a sponge. And as the torchlight neared the center, the huge shape we could see outlined in the darkness became clearer.
"Hi."
Surprisingly, it spoke to us. It was a female voice that sounded like a broken audio guide.
"Heeek! Help! I... Help me! I! Crunch, crack, tas-ty, Father, hehe!"
Uh, um, uh...
To be honest, it was kind of terrifying.
I inhaled sharply.
Fuck, you were quiet in the game. Why are you doing this to me? I couldn't help but complain in my head, but I knew that whining "woe is me" wasn't going to change anything. When I glanced to the side, I noticed that even the steadfast dwarf was frozen in place.
"Everyone, snap out of it!" I immediately shouted, waking up my stunned teammates. But this seemed to provoke the voice even further.
"Father! Father! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"
The pile of corpses on the ground stood up and stepped forward with something that looked like a foot.
Booom—!
This was the miniboss of the Bloody Citadel—the corpse golem.
***
Dungeon and Stone was the definition of an indie game, but it was not without popularity. At the very least, the game's art was famous. This was because the realistic illustrations that looked almost like black-and-white photographs were often used as memes on the internet.
But very few people knew what game those illustrations were actually from.
In that moment, I once again realized—
"Shit."
No matter how realistic a drawing was, it didn't compare to the real deal.
"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"
Is that what a monster that has collected thousands of human arms, legs, and heads looks like?
Every limb seemed to move individually, like they all had a life of their own. The same was true for the hundreds of mouths on its body. Each one of them spouted whatever they wanted to say without anything controlling them. Most of those words were cries of pain, cold, resentment, pleas to be killed, to be saved. Fragmented, irrational emotions.
"Kyaaah!"
Sometimes, it was just screaming.
Everyone once again froze at the disturbing cacophony created by the blending of all these bizarre voices.
"Hikurod! Be careful!"
A wizard who was knowledgeable in human anatomy, a dwarf who was a three-year veteran of the dungeons and must have encountered all sorts of monsters, and a human man who exuded a distinguished vibe for a porter. All of these people had treated the two novice barbarians as their benchwarmers, but...
Surprisingly, at this very moment, Ainar and I were the only ones who did not lose our cool.
"What are you all doing?"
Ainar, who kept her eyes locked on the corpse golem, grabbed the dwarf by the collar and lifted him up. And in that moment—
Bam!
A pile of corpses flew in like a shotput and exploded right where they had been standing. Blood and flesh splattered and stuck to Ainar and the dwarf.
Czzzzzz!
Fortunately, Ainar was uninjured thanks to her clothes, but the same could not be said for the dwarf.
"Ahh! Eyes! My eyes!"
Shit, it seemed that some of the blasts had somehow gotten through the narrow gap in his helmet and hit his eye.
In an instant, the dwarf was incapacitated. And the wizard who had told us not to worry and to just trust her...
Wretch!
Was still throwing up her guts.
...What are you guys doing?
No wonder things had been going so smoothly up to this point.
Of course.
"Ainar! Move the dwarf back and protect the wizard!"
After shouting that, I raised my shield and faced the corpse golem.
I had no choice. I wanted to avoid standing out as much as possible, but... The bastards who had been showing off their skills on the front lines were now fucking around.
"Behelaaah!"
So, in order to survive, I had no choice but to stand on the front line myself.
The space was reminiscent of a wastewater treatment plant. The cylindrical walls were lined with large water pipes that had black filth dripping down them. In addition, broken and severed limbs and heads were piled up in a heap on the ground, and the gas that had accumulated from their decay stung my nose and gave me a headache.
Wretch.
The first to vomit was the porter. The guy, who had up to this point been standing next to Raven as solemnly as a bodyguard, emptied his stomach on the ground.
The second was Raven.
Wretch.
Even with a lot of dissection experience, she was still vulnerable to smell.
Surprisingly, I rode it out. Even though the scene before me would have made me faint in the past, it had no effect on this barbarian's strong stomach.
"I'm glad you're all right, at least," said the dwarf. "Come on, get up here."
I slowly approached the center of the room, and as I did, a strange feeling came over me.
Squish.
Each step sounded like stepping on a sponge. And as the torchlight neared the center, the huge shape we could see outlined in the darkness became clearer.
"Hi."
Surprisingly, it spoke to us. It was a female voice that sounded like a broken audio guide.
"Heeek! Help! I... Help me! I! Crunch, crack, tas-ty, Father, hehe!"
Uh, um, uh...
To be honest, it was kind of terrifying.
I inhaled sharply.
Fuck, you were quiet in the game. Why are you doing this to me? I couldn't help but complain in my head, but I knew that whining "woe is me" wasn't going to change anything. When I glanced to the side, I noticed that even the steadfast dwarf was frozen in place.
"Everyone, snap out of it!" I immediately shouted, waking up my stunned teammates. But this seemed to provoke the voice even further.
"Father! Father! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"
The pile of corpses on the ground stood up and stepped forward with something that looked like a foot.
Booom—!
This was the miniboss of the Bloody Citadel—the corpse golem.
***
Dungeon and Stone was the definition of an indie game, but it was not without popularity. At the very least, the game's art was famous. This was because the realistic illustrations that looked almost like black-and-white photographs were often used as memes on the internet.
But very few people knew what game those illustrations were actually from.
In that moment, I once again realized—
"Shit."
No matter how realistic a drawing was, it didn't compare to the real deal.
"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"
Is that what a monster that has collected thousands of human arms, legs, and heads looks like?
Every limb seemed to move individually, like they all had a life of their own. The same was true for the hundreds of mouths on its body. Each one of them spouted whatever they wanted to say without anything controlling them. Most of those words were cries of pain, cold, resentment, pleas to be killed, to be saved. Fragmented, irrational emotions.
"Kyaaah!"
Sometimes, it was just screaming.
Everyone once again froze at the disturbing cacophony created by the blending of all these bizarre voices.
"Hikurod! Be careful!"
A wizard who was knowledgeable in human anatomy, a dwarf who was a three-year veteran of the dungeons and must have encountered all sorts of monsters, and a human man who exuded a distinguished vibe for a porter. All of these people had treated the two novice barbarians as their benchwarmers, but...
Surprisingly, at this very moment, Ainar and I were the only ones who did not lose our cool.
"What are you all doing?"
Ainar, who kept her eyes locked on the corpse golem, grabbed the dwarf by the collar and lifted him up. And in that moment—
Bam!
A pile of corpses flew in like a shotput and exploded right where they had been standing. Blood and flesh splattered and stuck to Ainar and the dwarf.
Czzzzzz!
Fortunately, Ainar was uninjured thanks to her clothes, but the same could not be said for the dwarf.
"Ahh! Eyes! My eyes!"
Shit, it seemed that some of the blasts had somehow gotten through the narrow gap in his helmet and hit his eye.
In an instant, the dwarf was incapacitated. And the wizard who had told us not to worry and to just trust her...
Wretch!
Was still throwing up her guts.
...What are you guys doing?
No wonder things had been going so smoothly up to this point.
Of course.
"Ainar! Move the dwarf back and protect the wizard!"
After shouting that, I raised my shield and faced the corpse golem.
I had no choice. I wanted to avoid standing out as much as possible, but... The bastards who had been showing off their skills on the front lines were now fucking around.
"Behelaaah!"
So, in order to survive, I had no choice but to stand on the front line myself.