Even in a Dark Fantasy, You Still Have to Eat - Chapter 37

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Even in a Dark Fantasy, You Still Have to Eat ◈

Chapter 37: Army of the Dead # 2

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“Tell me about Undine Citadel!”

Before we set out through the Ether Table, Instructor Roze questioned me in front of the gathered platoon.

What kind of place was Undine Citadel again?

“It was a strategic stronghold, but a terrible plague spread there, so people couldn’t live there anymore?”

“Correct! People cannot live there! But demons can!”

Clap, clap.

The instructor clapped to get everyone’s attention.

“You’ll be rolling around with those demons today, so check your equipment and get ready!”

They said the officer academy had a large Ether Table, allowing a large number of people to deploy at once.

Apparently, it could send out up to twenty-four people?

‘This is just like a game.’

A memory I had nearly forgotten came back to me.

Some raid content in the game Night Diver had also allowed up to twenty-four players.

Those massive raids gave great rewards too.

They had been one of my main sources of income.

Hehehe.

As I rubbed my palms together in anticipation, Instructor Roze spoke in a grave voice.

“Remember this. The death rate among the Blessed is highest at the beginning of Level 10. The moment you think you’ve gotten used to it is when you’re in the most danger.”

# # #

Swoooosh.

It felt like I was passing through dark fog and clouds.

This feeling!

How I had missed the feeling of heading into the Land of Night!

When I came to my senses, we were standing before the enormous main gate of a citadel.

“Wow, it’s huge...!”

No exaggeration, the structures were as large as mountains.

Just standing before them made my legs tremble.

“It’s twice as big as the Black Fortress we saw before!”

Wasn’t it practically the size of a city?

But a disgusting smell filled the air, and a fishy taste touched the tip of my tongue.

Sneak chuckled.

“Boss, this place was built hundreds of years ago. It was made during civilization’s golden age, so of course it’s big and grand!”

That Sneak bastard.

Why was Sneak acting like he knew everything?

I suspected it was definitely bullshit, but Priest Batuli nodded.

“Looks like Sneak paid attention in class?”

“Heh. If you can freely mix truth and lies, you can fool most people!”

There were quite a few Thieves like Sneak who were good at studying.

They usually became con artists, and everyone envied them because they made good money.

“The citadel’s main gate.”

Sir Mancha, the oldest member of our platoon, raised his head.

Sir Mancha was a warrior nearing sixty, and apparently his dream was to receive a knighthood.

“The moat is deep! Even if we cross that pond, breaking through those thick gates without siege weapons would be impossible.”

“There must be another route.”

“A citadel this large definitely has sewers or drainage channels.”

The warriors each gave their opinions.

They had all reached Level 10 through their own experience, so they looked cool, like actual experts.

I had been appointed platoon leader by Instructor Roze. I couldn’t just stand there doing nothing.

I needed to say something cool too.

“Good. You’re all doing well. Keep it up.”

Everyone glanced at me.

“We should probably look for a drainage channel.”

“I agree.”

They went back to discussing their strategy, and I noticed a man who especially stood out for not fitting in with the group.

He was nearly thirty, and everyone called him Mouse.

Because he was as small as a mouse.

“Mouse, why are you standing there like that?”

“I-I’m... I’m going to die. For sure... I won’t be any help at all.”

This bastard was doing it again!

“You’re a mage! You’ll be the most useful one here!”

I knew just how terrifying Hermit’s firepower was.

Even with all the nonsense I pulled using my shadow, Snake’s Blood, and shuriken, Hermit just had to click and cast magic to be more destructive.

Mages were that overpowered!

Fuck, I wished I was a mage too!

But despite being in such a blessed profession, Mouse did not seem confident at all.

“I-I never learned magic professionally to begin with... I’m not a noble either... I won’t be much help.”

“What does being a noble have to do with anything here?”

“M-mage n-noble families can inherit blessings. The children of noble mages become mages for generations. They inherit their Mana Circuits...”

So if you were born to good parents, you could become a mage!

Lucky bastards.

“Prominent mages often make contracts with great idols as entire families... But the idol I happened to contract with, Jweperi... is just... a mouse.”

The idol Mouse had contracted with was called Jweperi, a palm-sized mouse.

Mouse, mouse idol, Jweperi.

That name was fucking easy to remember.

As I thought that, Mouse kept muttering in a shrinking voice.

“It’s not a famous idol... and the blessings it can grant are pathetic. The only ability I have is spreading illnesses like colds...”

“Then you’ve got no choice. Pay me one million Ether.”

“One million Ether?”

“Yeah. I’ll protect you if anything happens.”

Mouse glanced at me, then quickly left.

Even while whining that he was going to die, Ether still seemed too precious to waste.

“I found a waterway!”

Someone waved his hand wildly.

He was a man equipped with a bow. His profession was Ranger, and apparently he was good at tracking and scouting.

Honestly, it sounded like an inferior version of a Thief.

Thieves could basically do what Rangers did, plus pick locks.

‘Hehe. I’m better than him.’

Mages made being a Thief seem like a lousy job.

But when I looked at Rangers, I liked my job well enough.

“Alright, let’s go in!”

“Lower the ropes!”

We lowered ropes to the drainage channel deep beneath the moat and infiltrated the citadel.

Splash, splash.

Maybe because the citadel was so enormous, even the sewers were huge and complicated.

It was hard to find our way, so everyone kept going in circles.

‘I miss Hammer’s magic map.’

After walking through the damp sewers for who knew how long, we saw people standing still ahead.

They did not move at all.

At that moment, my sensitive nose caught a disgusting, rotten smell.

“Urgh.”

As I gagged, Sir Mancha, the oldest among us, shouted.

“They’re Akam!”

“Uwooooh!”

“Kyaaaagh!”

As they rushed toward us, I finally got a clear look at them.

Their rotting, falling flesh was utterly horrifying!

‘Those are Akam...!?’

Living corpses!

“There’s a dog!”

“There are rats too!”

“Fuck, what kind of skeleton is that!?”

Countless zombies.

Many were just skeletons with nothing but bones left.

Clang! Splat!

In the chaotic melee that erupted in an instant, Priest Batuli shouted.

“Anyone who’s injured, come to the priests! If you don’t treat your wounds early, the plague will turn you into the same thing as them!”

I threw shuriken too, knocking down zombies.

Swish, swish.

It was so much fun watching one fall every time I threw one!

Clink!

「+100 Ether」

Fuck, this was a complete Ether party!

I’m rich!

The cadets, who had panicked at the Akam’s attack, were shocked by this.

“What? Why are they dropping so much Ether?”

“What is this? Isn’t something wrong?”

“Pick it up later! Stop these bastards first... Aaargh! My shoulder got bitten!”

The piles of corpses kept pouring in without end.

Then the poor Ranger struck my shoulder.

“Platoon Leader! Get a grip! The whole citadel must know we infiltrated it! This is where it really starts!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! The Akam will bring out their High-Grade Collection!”

“High-Grade Collection?”

What the hell did that mean?

Sneak, who knew a lot about the Akam, explained.

“Akam was originally the name of the sorcerers who control these corpses! These things! They’re all no different from that bastard’s puppets!”

“So the High-Grade Collection is made up of more formidable corpses?”

“That’s right!”

An army of death that kept killing living things and swelling its ranks.

That was the Akam.

Even pyramid schemes did not seem this evil!

“Can the Empire really win against things like this?”

It was frightening that creatures like them existed beyond the Wall.

What if even one of these things that increased its allies through disease sneaked into the Empire?

Oh, just thinking about it was horrifying!

“The Akam may seem invincible, but there’s actually a way to deal with them. That is...”

Sneak chuckled.

“Aaargh!”

Someone screamed.

It was Mouse.

Mouse was trembling as he pointed into the dark sewer...

“Hehehe.”

“Why are there so many of you?”

“Did an officer academy come here on a field trip?”

“This brings back memories.”

Strangers were grinning at us.

A warrior holding a massive weapon, a mage carrying a staff, a lightly dressed dagger wielder, and a dual-sword fighter.

Their group looked exactly like an explorer party.

But the disgusting stench of rotting corpses poured from their bodies.

“Fuck, it’s the High-Grade Collection!”

“Hold the line!”

“Aaargh!”

The warriors formed a wall in a row.

That alone was reassuring, but the problem was their mage.

“There are so many corpses here. Shall we try that? 《Bone Spear》.”

The corpses and bones scattered across the ground gathered strangely before the rotten mage.

Crunch, crack.

They soon transformed into a thick spike as large as a human body.

Whoosh!

It flew forward at high speed and struck the warriors directly.

“Aaargh!”

“M-my arm!”

The warriors screamed.

The smell of blood stabbed sharply into my nose.

Batuli and the other priests raised their hands high.

“Merciful Sun, grant us the power of your burning radiance!”

“Light!”

“《Sun’s Barrier》!”

Whoooosh!

A brilliant dome-shaped barrier appeared before us in an instant.

The rotten warrior tapped the barrier and looked impressed.

“Oh? The priests in this class are especially skilled.”

“Three priests are working together, so it will last an hour at most.”

“Hehe. When the barrier falls, let’s split the priests among us and feast on them.”

At that moment, I realized it.

What made the Akam terrifying was that they knew our strategies and tactics far too well.

Because they had once been explorers too!

“Don’t drag this out. You should become one with us too.”

“We don’t need Ether to level up.”

“Isn’t it a waste to pay taxes to the Emperor?”

“If you become one with us, you won’t need to eat either.”

They even cleverly dug at our weak points!

‘They don’t need Ether to level up?’

They were just like the Erdari, those demonic bloodlines!

Why were there so many thieves in this world trying to get things for free?

Fuck, I was too angry to stand it!

“You traitors to humanity! I’ll kill every last one of you!”

I shouted in fury.

Then everyone let out cheers like fireworks.

“For His Majesty the Emperor!”

“For the Empire!”

This was a terrible situation, but shouting together felt kind of cool.

Like we had become one?

Maybe this was why soldiers went through training together.

Tap.

Sneak grabbed my shoulder.

Sneak’s face was flushed too.

“Boss! This isn’t the time for this!”

“Then what should we be doing?”

“I told you before, didn’t I? The Akam aren’t invincible! Somewhere nearby, there’ll be a lord overseeing all these bastards! You could call it the Akam’s middleman!”

A middleman.

Someone who oversaw various tasks under the crew boss.

Basically, a subcontractor.

The Akam had someone like that too?

“If we take down that middleman, will those bastards be disabled too?”

“Boss, I like how quick you are! The problem is, where the hell is this middleman? Finding it will take some time!”

At that moment, an idea flashed through my mind.

‘If I shine here, I’ll earn a lot of points, right? My chances of placing in the top five when I complete training will go up too.’

Alright.

“I’ll find it. I’m good at finding things like that.”

I spat sharply into my palm.

The spit flew in one direction.