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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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I once saw a movie called 28 Days Later. It was a disaster movie, similar to a zombie movie, where people infected with a rage virus destroyed the world.
And in this game, the undeath that occurred during the plague event was similar to that rage virus. The infected weren’t completely dead, but rather, alive and close to death, transforming into infected beings.
Well, that was just the lore. In the game, they were essentially undead, except for the fact that they could be cured.
Anyway, according to the lore, there were three characteristics of undeath caused by the plague.
First, contagiousness.
The bodily fluids of an undead individual could transmit the plague.
Second, aggression.
Once undead, they became hostile to all living things, trying to spread the plague, and their aggression increased.
Third, enhancement.
The transformation into an undead being seemed to remove the body’s physical limitations, making the NPC much stronger than they were before.
Of course, “stronger” was a relative term, as they weren’t much different from regular undead.
Some players would treat these transformed NPCs as just another source of experience points, while others would try to cure them.
Both had their pros and cons.
If you killed the NPCs indiscriminately, it could make it difficult to get support later on.
And in the case of important NPCs, there were no replacements, so you might miss out on related events or quests.
Of course, you would get a lot more experience points than from regular undead.
And if you saved them, the opposite was true.
So, what kind of NPC was Evangeline’s younger sister, Rudhi?
As far as I knew, there weren’t any quests or achievements related to her.
So, it wouldn’t be a problem if I killed her here.
–CRASH!!
“Th- That…”
With a loud crash, a couple of elven priests were sent flying. I glanced inside and saw a room filled with holy artifacts related to the Healing Tree tribe.
–Grrrrr…
A short-haired elf in white robes emerged from the room, stomping on one of the holy artifacts with a look of disgust.
Her body was covered in sores, and her eyes were bloodshot.
The sores, a symptom of the high fever, were festering, pus dripping from them. She looked like a walking corpse.
And because she was pushing her body beyond its physical limits, she moved with a creaking, unnatural gait.
Did she injure herself during her attack? Her right hand was torn, white bone exposed.
But instead of feeling pain, she was enveloped in an aura of death, her hatred for the living palpable.
“Th- This is…!!”
“Rudhi!! Snap out of it!!”
Rudhi, a talented alchemist, should have had a strong will. But the undeath had already taken hold. She ignored the shouts and let out a roar of rage.
–KRAAAAAAH!!
She charged at the nearest priest like a beast. I immediately raised Moonlight.
–Thud!
She was thrown back by the barrier, baring her teeth. Sensing that I had cast the spell, she turned her rage on me.
“Come on.”
I transformed Moonlight into a staff and aimed it at her bloodshot eyes.
“Sage! We’ll help…”
“Don’t get in the way and get yourself infected.”
“But you’re in danger too!”
Of course, there was a risk of infection.
A single scratch from an undead individual could transmit the plague.
But that was for normal people. For me, who could maintain a constant barrier, it wasn’t a problem.
And it wasn’t like her attacks were that strong.
–Grrrrrrr!!
Rudhi charged at me with the speed of a monster. I swung the staff before she could reach me.
A long staff versus bare hands.
With the difference in reach, she had no chance.
She was sent flying back, but she quickly recovered and leaped at me again.
But to think she could hit me with a simple attack…
“I’ve fought too many battles for that!!”
–Thwack!
I spun and struck her in the side with the end of the staff.
With a sickening crunch of bone, Rudhi tumbled to the ground. I raised my hand and touched the ground.
–Rumble!
Earthen Shackles, one of the Shaman’s skills. Earthen ropes shot up from the ground, snaking around Rudhi’s legs.
She struggled against the bonds, but my spell was too strong.
–Thwack! Thwack!
One to the face, another to the side.
With her legs bound, Rudhi was unable to move properly, unable to even defend herself. She could only roar in frustration and punch at the air.
But she couldn’t hit me. I laughed and swung the staff again.
This was like hitting a training dummy.
I had done this in the game, gathering and trapping enemies like this to easily level up.
I reminisced as I beat her relentlessly. After a while, she seemed to start feeling the pain and let out a roar.
“Aaaaaaaargh!!”
“R- Rudhi!!”
The elves who were worried about her shouted. A few of them raised their weapons and started to approach me, to stop me from beating her.
“Rotelo! Stop anyone who tries to get close!”
“Huh? Oh, right!”
Rotelo, though flustered, spread his arms to block the elves. Yeonhwa did the same.
“What are you trying to accomplish by hitting her like that?!”
One of the elves shouted, watching the brutally beaten Rudhi.
What was I trying to accomplish by hitting her like that?
They didn’t understand.
“Rage issues are best treated with a good beating!”
Even the most rage-filled person would learn to control themselves in front of someone stronger.
After a thorough beating, Rudhi finally coughed up blood and passed out. As she fell silent, the elves stared at me in shock, then glared.
“What? What? What? Never seen physical therapy before?”
“S- Sage, is that… alright?”
“Of course. I only beat her to the brink of death.”
“…Isn’t that pretty much dead?”
“Eh~ She won’t die from this.”
I looked down at the bloodied and battered Rudhi, then used Heal on her. A few of the Healing Tree tribe priests seemed to be grinding their teeth, but I didn’t care.
After confirming she had recovered somewhat, I collected a sample of her blood and said,
“Put her in bed and tie her down. She shouldn’t be able to move for a while, but just in case. And don’t get close to her.”
“…How dare you attack an elf in the Elven Forest, human!! Are you mad?!”
Hey, it was part of the treatment.
I smiled at the furious elves and said,
“This is also a form of treatment. A mad dog needs a good beating.”
“What?!”
“Think about it. If you just let her be while she’s turning into an undead, the damage will only increase.”
“Even so!”
“Then do you want all the elves here to go berserk like her? Wow, what’s your name?”
“Why?”
“So, I can make sure your name goes down in history as the elf who helped bring about the downfall of the elves.”
The furious elf bit his lip.
“Anyone else have anything to say?”
A few of the elves grumbled that the treatment was too harsh, but it wasn’t a big deal. After I refuted their arguments, they seemed hostile but unwilling to interfere.
“Alright, then. And if she starts to go berserk again, call me.”
It was a bit of a struggle, but I had gotten the sample easily. It was worth it.
I hummed a tune as I returned to the alchemy workshop. By the time I had created a cure based on Rudhi’s blood, the sun had set and the moon had risen.
“Sage, are you sure this will work?”
“Some of the elves might refuse your treatment.”
It seemed they were worried about the hostility I had earned earlier. Rotelo and Yeonhwa said with concern. I administered the cure to the unconscious priest and, after observing his condition, replied,
“They’re not that stupid.”
“Hmm, I’m also from the Healing Tree tribe, but… there are some elves who refuse any treatment other than our own… Especially among the Healing Tree tribe and those close to them.”
Apparently, there were many who only wanted to be treated with prayers and holy arts, not with medicine made by alchemists.
And there were also many who insisted on traditional methods of treatment.
Seriously, in a situation like this?
In the game, if they refused treatment, they would die immediately.
Hmm… should I do that?
My goal was to stop the plague, after all…
Yes, let’s do that. There was no need to take the hard way when there was an easy way.
I’d save who I could. If I couldn’t, then I couldn’t.
“I’ll think about it when the time comes.”
“Haaah… So? Is that the cure for the plague?”
“No, this is to reverse the undeath. It just alleviates the symptoms, so I need to do more research to create a cure for the plague itself.”
But I had a base to work with. I would continue to test and refine it with the elven alchemists, and then, when the reinforcements from the kingdom and the Church arrived, we could start mass production.
I placed the ampule of cure on the table and picked up a syringe.
“Where are you going?”
“To reverse the undeath. Come on, let’s go.”
I took Yeonhwa and Rotelo and headed back to where I had beaten Rudhi. As we arrived, I was met with a barrage of hostile, questioning, and wary gazes.
Some of the elves who were close to Rudhi were even holding their swords.
It seemed they were ready to stab me if the treatment didn’t work.
Haha. Idiots.
This was why I didn’t like elves.
“If looks could kill, I’d be dead several times over.”
I said with a smile. Yeonhwa looked embarrassed. Even an elf would feel a pang of guilt for treating someone who had come to help them like this.
Especially Rotelo, who couldn’t even look me in the eye.
“I… I’ll apologize on their behalf…”
“One must take responsibility for their own actions. I will not forget this debt.”
“Ugh… but you’re not going to stop treating the plague, are you…?”
“Of course not.”
I had to cure the plague.
No matter how they treated me.
I ignored their glares and walked inside.
Inside, Rudhi was bound, drooling, and glaring at me with eyes filled with hostility and rage.
“What’s with that look?”
–Grrrrr…
To still be glaring at me like that after such a beating. Was it really a rage issue, not just a symptom of the undeath?
Well, it didn’t matter.
I had to be understanding, since she wasn’t in her right mind.
But if she was still like this after she recovered…
I raised the syringe and injected it into her vein. A few of the elves gulped.
–…….
As the cure was administered, the murderous intent and rage in Rudhi’s eyes began to fade. The bestial growling subsided, and her ragged breathing ceased.
After a while,
Rudhi, who had been twitching, went limp. I called out to the elves beside me.
“I’d heal her myself, but I’m sure you’d find it offensive. So, you do it.”
“…Human, is Rudhi alright?”
“Why don’t you come and see for yourself?”
I lifted Rudhi’s chin. The beautiful girl, who looked like a younger version of Evangeline, had her eyes closed. Her long, dark eyelashes trembled, and her eyes fluttered open.
“Ah… ow… Where… cough! cough! Where am I…? Huh? Who… who are you…?”
She, who had been unable to even speak, was now struggling to form words.
She still had the plague, and her body was hot with fever.
But her consciousness had returned, and the aura of death that had surrounded her had significantly diminished. The elves stared at me in shock.
“…G- Good heavens.”
“The… the aura of death is gone?! With a single injection?!”
Why were they so surprised?
The treatment of the plague had only just begun.
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