Episode 30 Bloody Citadel (1)
Any gamer has a habit of pressing the interaction key when they see a suspicious wall or a unique structure.
I was the same way.
And that habit helped me discover countless ‘hidden pieces’, or hidden elements, while playing [Dungeons & Stone] for 9 years.
For example, like this fountain sculpture.
“Bjorn?”
“Ah, I’ll go.”
I left my discomfort behind and followed the group into the inner castle.
I decided not to bring up the topic of the statue.
How could a barbarian know knowledge that even a wizard who devotes his entire life to learning does not know?
‘It would be better to avoid anything that might arouse unnecessary suspicion.’
This time, it was clear that the lie that he had seen it in a book would not work, and anyway, ‘that thing’ was an item that could not be taken out even with distortion magic.
“This is Naeseong.”
If the outer castle served as the first line of defense in the Middle Ages, the inner castle was closer to the last bastion.
Originally, this was a place where the lord’s vassals, knights, and soldiers would have been stationed, and various military facilities such as armories would have existed.
Raven looked around and sighed.
“… I heard about it, but I guess there’s nothing to be gained by doing it this way.”
The inner castle, which was one-third the size of the outer castle, was in terrible ruin.
All the buildings had collapsed, leaving only the foundations.
There weren’t even any monsters here.
“Let’s move on quickly.”
Under Raven’s direction, we cleared away the rubble for about 30 minutes and found a passage leading underground.
“Would you please take the lead, Mr. Murad?”
“I guess so!”
“Oh, and I need to conserve my magic power, so please light a torch as well.”
The dwarf took out a torch and placed it on his head.
Maybe it’s because he’s short, but he looks like a mole miner from a cartoon.
Hurrruk!
We pushed away the thick wooden planks and slowly descended the stairs hidden beneath them.
The third chapter of the Bloody Citadel: The Dungeon.
I swallowed my saliva and renewed my resolve.
“We have entered the first floor of the underground prison.”
Oh, I can’t stand seeing dirty things… … .
***
“Miss Raven, what kind of monsters come out here?”
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“I know there are Skull Rat, Banshee, Deathfiend, Chimera Wolf, Ghoul Lord, and Corpse Golem.”
“I’ve faced all the monsters except for the Corpse Golem.”
“That’s right. Corpse golems are monsters that only appear in the Bloody Citadel.”
“Hahaha, I guess I’ll finally be able to accumulate some achievements!”
The dwarf was delighted at the fact that he could gain experience by fighting new monsters.
But I couldn’t do that.
Even the illustrations were so horrible, so how disgusting would it be in real life?
“Is there anything else I should be careful about?”
“You just have to be careful of the flesh explosion. The explosion isn’t that strong, but the body fluids are mixed with acid poison, so if you get hit up close, it can be fatal. Of course, I’ll stop it before it happens.”
“Haha! There’s nothing to be afraid of since there’s a wizard!”
“It’s all possible because there are strong warriors like Mr. Murad.”
What the hell.
When will they ever fight over loot while glaring at each other as if they were going to kill each other?
Thump.
As I descended the last staircase, a labyrinthine underground prison appeared before my eyes.
Inside the iron bars, dead men snarled in chains, and on the floor, skeletal rats scurried about, making strange noises.
“Bjorn, are these monsters too?”
“It’s the Skull Rat I mentioned earlier.”
“I didn’t ask you, wizard!”
For reference, the rank is unranked, like Deadman.
In fact, we didn’t have enough fighting power to be called monsters, so we just trampled on everything we saw and moved forward.
And soon after, I encountered the Banshee.
“Khuhhhh, hehhhhhh!”
The banshee was flying around in a ghostly state with only the outline of its grotesque face visible.
“Rain, Bjorn… … .”
Oh, he was afraid of the banshee.
Raven snickered as she watched Einar cling to her.
It’s a good thing Ainar didn’t see it, otherwise he would have screamed again.
“Be careful not to bump into the banshee. It’s not too dangerous if you do it once or twice, but… … .”
“…but?”
“You are going to have a very, very horrible experience.”
“Oh, a very, very terrible experience? What do you mean! Tell me exactly, wizard!”
“Well, let’s leave it to your imagination.”
Raven smiled faintly as he looked at the pale Ainar.
Seeing him take revenge in this way, I don’t think he has a very good personality.
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I sighed inwardly and joined the conversation.
“I heard that wizards have a way to deal with banshees.”
“Hmm, I heard you like books. You really are very knowledgeable.”
Is this enough to be called broad-minded?
Well, if you assume that it’s a Barbarian, then that might be possible… … .
Still, I think this is within the cutoff line.
“Then let’s stop joking around and start cleaning up the banshees. Teirun Shell.”
Within moments, a bolt of light shot out from Raven’s staff and pierced the banshee.
The name of the magic in the game is Magic Time.
Since it was a basic attack spell that was no different from a wizard’s normal attack, it had no casting time.
“Keeeeeeeek!!!”
Wait a moment, dozens of banshees begin to swarm us, spewing out fierce hatred.
He detected a ‘sign’ left behind by his colleague as he died.
For a magician who possessed many powerful area-of-effect spells, this might actually be a welcome development.
“Iherno Heindar.”
Baptism of fire.
A stream of flame from the magic wand filled the linear passageway.
And when the fire died down.
There were no banshees left.
Phew!
This time, too, the magic stones that had spilled on the floor floated into the air and went into my pockets.
Actually, I envy this more than the attack spells.
You don’t have to pick up each magic stone individually.
Well, how long would it take to add a wizard to the team and take him around…?
I feel like I still have a long way to go.
***
The 2D world beyond the monitor and reality are different.
Even more so if it’s a chill that can be felt through the skin.
“The character has entered the second floor of the dungeon.”
The underground prison I experienced felt more like a mad scientist’s laboratory.
A chimera wolf with bulging muscles and three or four heads, like a mutant.
A ghoul lord who carries around thirty elder ghouls.
Not only did these 8th-grade monsters all possess grotesque appearances, but each and every small prop around them was reminiscent of a horror game.
I’ll start the Hwalongjeomjeong from now on.
“By the way, Miss Raven is amazing. Aren’t you scared?”
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“Well, I like anatomy so much. This is nothing to me.”
Shit, that’s not Bavarian anatomy, is it?
Come to think of it, the reason why Barbarian Hearts are sold at such high prices is because they are magic materials… … .
“Ah, we’ve arrived.”
After hunting all the monsters in the dungeon and reaching the 3rd basement floor, we discovered a hidden door that connects to the underground space of the collapsed lord’s castle.
Originally, I should have gotten the map from the guard room first… … .
“There’s a door hidden behind the wall. It’s a good thing you memorized the map beforehand and came in.”
Thanks to Raven’s thorough preparation, there was absolutely no getting lost.
Well, even if I were alone, I would have found it easily.
Because the dungeon’s structure matched the game’s structure.
‘But that’s possible because I’m a player.’
I feel the status of a wizard anew.
Powerful attack magic.
Highly useful support line abilities such as the Wound Aggravation Curse.
Even the knowledge accumulated through reading countless books.
There’s a reason why wizards are treated better than priests in a team.
“It would be better to leave your backpack here in front and go in. At least, Mr. Yandel.”
I felt a little embarrassed as I put my oversized backpack, which reached from my head to my thighs, down at the door.
… Once I earn money, I should buy a magic backpack or something.
This has made me uncomfortable more than once.
“Oh, from now on, Mr. Yandel, please light the torch too.”
Following Raven’s instructions, I also fixed a torch above my head.
With this, all preparations are complete.
Squeak, squeak, squeak-
As I turn the round valve and open the iron door, a putrid stench rushes in.
“What a completely unexpected place.”
“Wow, Wizard… Do I really have to go in here?”
“I hate it so much I could die, but I can’t help it.”
A space reminiscent of a sewage treatment plant.
The cylindrical walls were lined with large water pipes, dripping black, filthy stuff.
also.
On the floor, broken and severed limbs and heads were piled up like mountains, and as they decayed and piled up, the accumulated gases stung my nose and caused headaches.
“Whew, woof!”
The first one to vomit was the porter.
The guy who had been holding Raven’s weight as if he was guarding her vomited out everything inside him with a truly expressionless face.
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The second was Raven.
“Ugh, eww!”
Although he may have visual tolerance based on his extensive dissection experience, he appears to be vulnerable to smell.
Surprisingly, I held on.
Even though a sight unfolded before his eyes that would have made him faint in the past, it had no effect on the body of this agreeable barbarian.
“It’s fortunate that you are okay. Let’s go forward.”
I slowly approached the center, feeling an indescribable feeling.
Jiik.
Every time I walked, it sounded like I was stepping on a sponge.
And as the light got closer to the center, the huge shape that had been only an outline in the darkness became clearer.
“hi.”
To our surprise, it spoke to us.
In a woman’s voice, like a broken guidance audio tape.
“Bam, break! Live! Me! Kkeukkeuk, save me! Me! Kkiik, kkadduk, yummy, uh, Father, kkihi!”
Uh, um, uh… … .
To be honest, it was a bit shocking.
“after…….”
Shit, you were always quiet in the game.
Seriously, why are you doing this to me?
I can’t help but let out a sigh, but nothing will change if I lament.
Looking to the side, even the dwarf I had trusted was frozen solid.
“Everyone, wake up!!”
He immediately shouted and woke up his dazed teammates.
But did you feel stimulated by this?
“Father! Father! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurtsaaaaaaah!!”
The pile of corpses that had been curled up raised itself up and stepped forward with what was probably a foot or something.
Kuuung-!
The mid-boss of the Bloody Citadel.
It was a corpse golem.
***
[Dungeon and Stone] is the epitome of minor genres, but it does have some popular elements.
At least one illustration was famous.
This is because vivid illustrations that look like they were taken in black and white are often used as so-called ‘memes’ online.
However, few people actually knew that the illustrations came from the game.
I realized it once again.
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“Fuck.”
No matter how realistic a painting is, it cannot compare to the real thing.
“It hurts! It hurts! It hurtsaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!”
If you gathered thousands of human arms, legs, and heads and put them together tightly, would this be what it would look like?
Even each of them moves individually as if it has its own will.
The same goes for hundreds of mouths.
Everyone pours out what they want to say without any control.
Most of them are emotions that are momentary and incoherent, such as “I’m miserable, I’m cold, I’m resentful, kill me, save me.”
“Kyaaaaaaaah—!”
Well, or maybe it was just a scream.
Everyone was once again shocked by the eerie harmony created by all the strange voices coming together.
“Hikurod! Be careful!”
A wizard who was said to be skilled in anatomy.
A third-year dwarf who has encountered numerous monsters.
A human male who gave off an air of being quite decent for a transporter.
They treated the two beginner barbarians like kimchi… … .
Surprisingly, at this moment, only Ainar and I were not losing our composure.
“What are you all doing!”
At that moment, Ainar, who had been keeping an eye on the corpse golem, lifted the dwarf by the scruff of his neck.
Kwaaang!
The pile of corpses that flew in like a shot put exploded on the spot, and blood and flesh scattered and stuck to Ainar and the dwarf.
Cheeeeek!
Fortunately, Einar was not hit because he was wearing clothes, but the dwarf was different.
“Ahh! Eyes! My eyes… … !”
Shit, it looks like it went through the narrow gap in the helmet and hit me in the eye.
In an instant, the dwarf was incapacitated.
And the wizard who told us to only believe in himself… … .
“Whew, waaaaay!”
I’m still vomiting.
…what are you guys really doing?
Somehow things just seem to go smoothly and easily.
Of course, that can’t be happening.
“Einar! Take the dwarf and go back to protect the wizard!”
After shouting like that, I raised my shield and faced the corpse golem.
There was no choice.
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I really don’t want to stand out, but… … .
Aren’t those guys who are supposedly bus drivers doing something stupid?
“Behel—raaaaah!!”
To survive, you have no choice but to take the wheel yourself.
