Chapter 4: I shouldn't have done that (4)

By the time the phrase ‘A dungeon perfect for losing your sense of time’ had taken over my mind, I had explored every section that had been revealed so far.

「※ Polluting the Sewers

■ Demon Elimination: 62/??

■ Bonus: Find Relics: 6/13

■ Bonus: Recover Traces of Deceased Adventurers: 5/??」

The quest had progressed this far as well. I had no way of knowing the overall completion rate, but considering I had found nearly half of the relics, I probably wasn’t too far off.

I had even obtained a new sub-mission.

“Am I stuck?”

Scratch.

I took out the map and marked the paths I had just explored. The map was almost completely filled in now, with only one path remaining.

The boss monster and the remaining relics were probably gathered there. Or perhaps the path would open up into an additional map.

“Tch.”

I put the pen back into its cap, which I had been holding between my lips, and carefully folded the map.

Wait for the ink to dry?

There was hardly any point. The map was already somewhat tattered from being soaked in goblin blood.

The blood hadn’t splattered directly onto it. Rather, it had been transferred from my bloodstained hands whenever I took out the map.

Still, as long as I could read it, that was enough. I had almost found everything anyway.

With that thought, I tucked the folded map into my coat and searched the end of the dead-end passage. I had learned by now that places like this often contained items or objects that needed to be recovered.

「※ Polluting the Sewers

■ Demon Elimination: 62/??

■ Bonus: Find Relics: 7/13

■ Bonus: Recover Traces of Deceased Adventurers: 7/??」

As expected, I found a worker’s corpse and traces of an adventurer.

I pressed the heel of my blood-soaked hand against my dry, irritated eyes.

“Finding these is a damn pain……”

Wouldn’t it have been nice if recoverable objects were highlighted with outlines or sparkles?

If I hadn’t heard bones cracking beneath the heel of my Military Boots in the very first alley and looked down, I would probably still be wandering around wondering, Where are the corpses? Why aren’t there any corpses?

And if I hadn’t tested whether items without any notification could still be placed in my inventory, I wouldn’t have recovered anything at all.

Grumbling about such trivial inconveniences, I searched through the corpse I had found.

Taking the corpse itself was out of the question because of its weight and size. The best I could do was collect small items that could prove the person’s identity, such as pendants, rings, or adventurer badges.

This guy couldn’t even keep any relics of his own family.

Come to think of it, this class…

Right after the Demon had taken root inside his body, hadn’t he gone berserk and destroyed not only his home but even his family’s corpses? His entire house had been blown away, so there was no way he could have recovered any relics.

That was how it had been in the original work, at least. There was no guarantee the remake would keep that setting……

But considering the opening video, they had probably preserved it.

A little pitiful.

Kyarrrrk!

“Haa……”

Well, thanks to a backstory like that, I could immerse myself even deeper into the role!

I carefully picked up the pendant.

A character who had never even been given the chance to keep relics of his own probably wouldn’t treat someone else’s relics carelessly. Besides, it simply felt like the morally correct thing to do.

Unless the Character Concept specifically required ignoring basic decency, I wanted to follow it whenever possible.

For one simple reason.

Because it was the right thing to do.

“Come, you vermin……”

But more importantly, wasn’t there an even cooler line than this somewhere?

The moment I put away the pendant, I raised my sword toward the goblins that had appeared behind me once again.

“I shall send you back to the homeland from which you crawled forth……!”

Haah. I had spent months thinking up and preparing these lines, yet they still felt lacking.

There had to be something even more cringe-worthy and badass out there!

Slash!

The goblins were cut down once more by my Blade.

The passage where the Demons had built their nests—and where strange, root-like growths had spread—glistened beneath the flickering crimson Lanterns.

Squeak! Squeee!

The cries of rats and goblins echoed through the tunnels like a repetitive chorus.

It certainly wasn’t pleasant to listen to. My ears were suffering.

But after enduring the smell, was I really going to be defeated by something like noise?

Besides, there was no need to suppress my irritation here.

Eliminating the source of those sounds was literally part of the mission!

In other words, I could vent my frustration without breaking character.

“I shall leave not even a trace behind!”

Die, you bastards!

Outwardly, die because you are the target of my hatred!

Inwardly, die for the sake of my ears!

Hahaha!

Crunch!

I crushed the heads of every goblin that appeared and continued forward.

Then, when I reached the intersection between the path I had come from and the only path I had yet to explore—

I shook off the blood that had soaked into my body and stepped forward without hesitation.

Before long, a massive space appeared.

Screeeeeech!!

The enormous chamber was covered in black, sticky strands.

Dozens of goblins filled the space.

Among them, however, one stood out immediately.

Thud. Thud!

As the goblins parted like the Red Sea, a goblin holding a staff stepped forward.

「Hobgoblin | A mutant born when a goblin survives after consuming a large quantity of demonic energy. It possesses greater intelligence and special strength compared to ordinary goblins.」

Its skin was bright red rather than olive-colored, and it was at least twice the size of an ordinary goblin.

Normally, even this would often appear as a regular mob, but at this early stage of the game, it wouldn’t be strange for one to serve as the boss of an entire area.

“Mmph! Mmph!”

However, mixed in with the goblins’ squeaking cries was another strange sound.

I casually shifted my gaze.

Behind the goblins, I spotted a child tightly bound.

“So you are the last of them……”

Rather than sympathy, what I felt was something closer to nostalgia.

In the original game, there had been a choice. You could rescue the captured child—or leave them behind.

My choice?

Naturally, I would save the child.

Back when I played the original, I had been so obsessed with my Demon-hunting Character Concept that I neither helped nor rescued them.

But now, I had chosen a less extreme version of that concept.

Besides, unlike back then, I had grown older.

These days, I had become particularly passionate about protecting minors.

Even if they were NPCs, that didn’t change much.

Children deserved to be happy.

Absolutely.

“Mmph! Mmph!”

Well, saving the child was one thing, and immersion was another.

The child looked around the same age as the youngest sibling I had seen in the opening video, which made it perfect for getting into character.

“Vile Demons.”

The room was spacious enough that I decided the True Zweihänder of Destruction would be more suitable than the Longsword.

I sheathed the Longsword and reached behind my back.

Following a sensation that had become almost engraved into my body, I curled my fingers.

Now, something hard settled firmly into my grasp.

Shiiing—

The 1.6-meter-long sword slid free.

“Consider it an honor.”

Screeeech!

Perhaps recognizing what I was doing when I drew the sword, the Hobgoblin raised its staff.

Several goblins that had been lingering near the walls suddenly jumped out and began creeping toward me.

A boss that summons adds, huh?

“The time of your death has come.”

But underestimating a gamer who had cleared dozens of games would be a mistake.

“May my sword know victory, and may glory belong to the heavens……!”

I gripped the sword with both hands and raised it straight toward the sky.

I was imitating a Knight.

After all, this class was given the nickname Demon Knight by those around it. Even if my nickname itself wasn’t that, certain NPCs would still refer to me as the Demon Knight.

But would such a title be given for no reason?

Of course not.

At least, that was how I saw it as someone who valued narrative and plausibility.

So I concluded that there had to be at least some qualities that made people see him as Knight-like enough to grant him such a title.

And this was the result.

Ah, of course, I had no intention of acting too much like a Knight.

Honestly, if I was going to uphold chivalry even while hunting Demons, I might as well have simply become a Knight.

Someone who abandoned the path of Knighthood specifically to hunt Demons wouldn’t faithfully follow every aspect of chivalry.

So I would keep only this much of the habits of a Knight.

When it came to fighting, however—

I would fight like an evil spirit.

I immediately charged forward and swung my sword.

Slash!

The True Zweihänder of Destruction, gripped firmly in both hands, carved through the air in every direction.

Its enormous size made it rather difficult to handle, but my experience using similar weapons in other games, combined with the game’s Combat Assistance, made it manageable enough.

Screech!

After blocking a goblin that had rushed at me and grabbed both the handle and the Blade, I slightly released the hand gripping the Blade and slid it downward using only my fingers.

Once my hand passed the Parrying Hooks and reached the Ricasso—the unsharpened section of the Blade above the crossguard—I gripped it firmly and swung.

The hand holding the handle moved left while the hand gripping the Ricasso moved right, creating a powerful sweeping motion.

Slash!

I split the falling goblin in half and quickly adjusted my grip.

Then, reversing my grip on the handle in one smooth motion, I slammed the Two-Handed Sword into the ground.

Thud!

The head of a goblin attempting to claw at my leg was pierced straight through.

I stepped on the goblin, pulled the sword free, and swung again.

The fourth goblin died.

Every add temporarily summoned by the boss had been eliminated.

Then I should deal damage to the boss before the next wave appears.

While the goblins hidden in the tunnels on both sides were emerging, I advanced.

The creature that had been preparing to attack me alongside the adds recoiled in shock and slowly began edging away.

But the Zweihänder was a full 1.6 meters long.

Before the goblins could even block my path, I swung it.

Ignoring defense completely, my sword cleaved through both the staff raised by the boss Hobgoblin and its body.

Wow, this game has weapon destruction too?

I’d better not use wooden weapons.

The adds had emerged, so I retreated as well.

As I stepped backward, the sword I pulled back became a shield, blocking the goblins’ bodies.

Then, one goblin leaped onto my back and drove its claws into the exposed back of my neck.

Thanks to my reduced pain sensitivity setting, it felt little more than a sharp sting.

“How pathetic……”

My HP, on the other hand, had dropped considerably.

I immediately grabbed the creature and threw it away.

But in that brief moment, another one latched onto my thigh.

They died in one hit, but they were so small and numerous that they were unbelievably annoying.

“Die obediently, you vermin!”

If I dealt with the one attached to my thigh first, the creatures rushing in from both sides would probably latch onto both of my shoulders.

So, with a frown, I swung my sword wildly.

The two goblins leaping toward me were cleanly cut in half.

Afterward, I grabbed the small Demon digging its claws into my thigh and slammed it onto the ground.

Crunch!

My Military Boot crushed the goblin’s head completely.

Investing in Close-Quarters Combat had been worthwhile.

Squeak! Squeee!

Even after all that, the goblin adds showed no sign of stopping.

The boss was probably still ordering them to attack.

Then killing him takes priority.

I checked my remaining HP and kicked off the ground.

Then, gripping both the Ricasso and the handle firmly, I swung in every direction.

The massive Blade swept through the air without a specific target, keeping the charging goblins at bay.

After about four swings, I finally caught up with the boss, who had been retreating while surrounded by goblins.

Several goblins attacked me along the way, tearing my clothes and leaving wounds on my skin, but none of them were serious.

Thud!

Just before attacking the boss, I brought the sword down on one charging goblin.

Together with another goblin standing behind it, two creatures were impaled at once.

As a result, the Blade was practically fixed in place.

Exactly what I wanted.

I released both the handle and the Ricasso, then grabbed the Longsword hanging at my waist with my left hand.

I had no hesitation about abandoning my weapon.

Earlier, I had accidentally let go of it, and it had simply remained exactly where it fell.

The Blade slid smoothly from its sheath.

The moment it emerged, it cut down one goblin—

And struck at the target beyond it.

Slash!

A spray of blood drenched my cheeks, the back of my neck, and the vest and shirt beneath my Long Coat.

It was the blood of the boss Hobgoblin, obtained at the cost of allowing several goblins to sink their claws into my body.

Screech!

Squeak! Squeee!

Perhaps it was the price of having its head pierced.

Or perhaps it was simply the superiority of the weapon.

The boss Hobgoblin died instantly.

「Fear and Confusion | When a leader is killed before their eyes, some enemies may become terrified and flee or lose the will to fight.」

The death of their superior even caused the goblins to panic.

“Weaklings.”

I pulled my sword free from the boss Hobgoblin, then kicked and cut down the terrified creatures.

During the process, I also retrieved the True Zweihänder of Destruction.

In a spacious area against a large number of enemies, the Zweihänder was more effective than the Longsword.

“Begone to hell.”

Once the boss was dead, dealing with its adds was easy.

In high spirits, I spoke in a sinister voice as I slaughtered them one by one.

I didn’t let a single one of the fleeing goblins escape either.

If one got away and prevented me from completing the quest, things would become troublesome.

“Pathetically easy.”

After killing them all, I shook the blood from my sword and muttered.

In truth, I hadn’t felt anything remotely close to boredom while fighting.

But that was the nature of showing off.

You started by making things up or exaggerating them.

“Imagine leaving things like this unattended for so long because you couldn’t even deal with them……”

Still, simply showing off wouldn’t be entertaining.

So I added a little of the character’s personality.

I made my voice slightly bitter, reflecting the idea that he acted strong to hide his weakness even though he was actually soft-hearted.

I wanted just a hint of sorrow to seep into my tone.

“Tch……”

Finally, a regretful click of the tongue.

Good!

Perfect!

The Award for Most Over-the-Top Roleplaying of the Year was mine!

“Mmph……”

Around that time, I heard a groan coming from one side.

Only then did I remember that there was someone I was supposed to rescue.

It wasn’t as though I had forgotten.

I had simply pushed it a little too far down my list of priorities.

“Kid, you were lucky.”

I approached the wall where the child was restrained, deliberately wearing a cold expression.

The child was suspended against the wall by strands that looked like plant roots.

Crack.

I grabbed them all with my hands and tore them apart.

My grip strength was stronger than I had expected, allowing me to rip them away without any embarrassing struggle.

“Th-thank you……”

The child I had rescued seemed a little older than the sibling from the opening video.

Still, the child was barely tall enough to reach my chest.

My dead youngest sibling must have been even smaller.

“…You don’t need to thank me.”

Remembering that made it even easier to immerse myself.

A child even smaller than this one had died.

That child had been my sibling.

And the one responsible for killing them now resided in my arm?

It was impressive that I hadn’t gone insane.

If I were in that situation, I would probably draw my sword and swear to beat every last one of those Demons to death too.

“Protecting the weak……”

In any case, I was in the middle of delivering a line.

A child who reminded me of my dead sibling stood before me, and unlike in the past, this time I had managed to save them.

What would someone in that situation feel?

“As a Knight… it is only natural.”

I allowed the end of my voice to tremble slightly and raised my hand.

I intended to pat the child on the head.

However, as a right-hand-dominant ambidextrous person, my right hand rose first unconsciously.

That wouldn’t do.

The Character Concept I had chosen involved viewing this right arm with horror—to the point that I had even changed my dominant hand.

There was no way I would touch another person with this hand.

Especially not a child.

“A… a Knight? Are you a Knight, sir?”

I hesitated for a moment.

Should I be rude to the child too?

Or should I be kind to children?

The latter was probably right.

The only reason he had become so prickly and ill-mannered was because he didn’t want to appear weak.

In the past, he had been an aspiring Knight who wanted to protect the weak, including the elderly and children.

So he probably wouldn’t act like that toward a child.

Keeping them at a distance was one thing, but—

“Yeah.”

I reached a conclusion quickly.

I would keep my voice cold, but soften my manner of speaking slightly.

People tended to assume you had a terrible personality if your voice sounded icy, even if your actual words were perfectly polite.

Of course, my interpretation of the character wasn’t the only reason I chose that approach.

These NPCs were made so well that, even if I could treat adults however I wanted, I simply didn’t want to act like an asshole toward children.

Children…

Children absolutely deserved to be protected and happy……

“…Why were you being held here?”

“My mom… My mom went to clean the Sewers and never came back…… So I came here to look for her. I’m sorry……”

Oh, kid.

You came looking for your mother and ended up getting captured?

This uncle was going to cry.

“…That wasn’t something you should have done, kid. You should have trusted the adults and waited.”

“I’m sorry……”

“Don’t apologize to me. I’m not the person you should be apologizing to.”

Even though it was just a game, things like this still left a bitter feeling.

Parents dying in this dangerous Worldbuilding.

Children being left behind.

Hmm.

Maybe when I finished the game, I should call my mom and dad and check in on them for the first time in a while.

Thanks to this, I even felt like being a dutiful son again.

The positive side of gaming, I suppose.