A Veteran in a Dead Game - Chapter 186



Only Noblemtl

186. Post-processing (2)

“You did something big this time too!”

Sarah came over with a smirk and looked Kyle up and down.

“You look fine! Take care of yourself. You are a precious person to our regeneration group!”

“If you think so, it would be good if you could at least take some nutritional supplements.”

“ruler!”

It was a joke, but Sera actually gave her an elixir. A bunch of grass. The leaves spread out at a strange angle, and turned a reddish brown toward the end.

“…Is it Seobulcho?”

“That’s right! It’s a health elixir!”

To be exact, it increases disease resistance. It also has a life-extending effect, so it is not wrong to say that it is good for your health.

“I was just joking.”

“Hey, you did something, so I guess I can take care of this much as a greeting!”

“But I will decline.”

“Huh? Why?!”

“Because I already took it.”

Sarah rolled her eyes and quietly put the candle back in her pocket. Instead of Sarah, who was embarrassed, Lardin took a step forward.

“It’s nice to see you again. I heard you were seriously injured, but I’m glad to hear that you’ve recovered well.”

“I think you should be worried about your condition rather than mine.”

When he was fighting the dream-eating earthquake, Lardin was struck by a dream and suffered serious aftereffects.

Even now, the aftereffects still torment Lardin.

Lardin could not walk straight, but walked in a slightly erratic path. Also, Lardin’s gaze would often tilt in the wrong direction.

It was evidence that he was still dreaming while awake, and that his senses were being disturbed because of it.

“It is certainly uncomfortable, but… there is nothing I can do about it.”

Lardin laughed bitterly.

“There is a lot of work to do, but there aren’t enough people. It’s only natural that someone like me, who is not good at putting in effort, would be sent to a job that doesn’t require effort.”

“It sounds like it’s a low priority thing.”

“Isn’t that all thanks to Kyle handling things so well?”

Well, since Part Shet is already dead, all we have to do is take follow-up measures.

Kyle was already satisfied with the Regeneration Council’s measures. The fact that Kyle was able to take items from the Legion Commander’s warehouse without much resistance was also thanks to the Regeneration Council’s proper mediation between the Legion and Kyle.

Of course, Vanguard Commander Mirad Jirel also gave full support to Kyle.

‘I wish I had helped you in your fight against Partshet.’

Since all the members of the Regeneration Society who were confident in battle were dispatched to the side of the Demon King or the Vampire Lord, it was probably not something that could be expected.

That’s why there were some surprising things.

“But, you didn’t have to come here either.”

Surprisingly, Sarah was not greatly affected by the aftereffects of the Dream-Eater Earthquake. That’s why she was able to run wild in the Sinkhole Settlement with Kyle even after defeating the Dream-Eater Earthquake.

However, he thought he would be mobilized for hard work, but he came all the way here. Kyle was questioning that.

“I have something else to do. It has nothing to do with the Empire. It feels like I’m just stopping by in passing?”

“It seems like it’s an internal affair within the regeneration group.”

“Well, that’s it.”

In that case, there was no need to dig into it. Although he was an external advisor to the Regeneration Society, it wasn’t something Kyle had to worry about internally.

The only thing that mattered was information about the disaster.

“So, have you finished investigating the location of the mechanized factory?”

“Yeah. The Sedorren Cave, I heard it’s there.”

The deepest and widest cave in the world, Cedoren, called Piltos.

The maximum depth is close to 4 km, and the total length of the winding passage is estimated to be over 800 km.

If a mechanized factory had developed in that deep place, it would not be surprising that it was not discovered in the old days. Originally, a mechanized factory was built by first mechanizing nearby areas and then starting to operate properly.

“It looks like the Demon King took some action against you before you could even move properly. So, did the mechanized factory start operating?”

Sarah shook her head.

“No, that’s not true. The mercenaries we sent as investigators said it was quiet.”

That was at least some good news.

“How about we just deal with it now? Wouldn’t it be easier to finish it off if we just collapse the entire cave?”

“It won’t help at all. It’ll just turn the cave factory into an underground factory.”

“For now, it’s probably best to just leave it alone. There’s already a lot to worry about, and if another disaster comes along, there’s no answer.”

Kyle nodded.

“First, I’ll ask you to keep watch. I’ll tell you what we need to subdue the mechanized factory later.”

“Uh… Yeah.”

For some reason, Sarah hesitated slightly as she answered. Then, Sarah opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, as if she was about to bring up something difficult.

“Mr. Kyle.”

Lardin stepped in for Sarah. He smiled bitterly and said:

“We don’t plan on responding to the mechanized factories. We will end up doing minimal surveillance.”

“I see. So you’re planning on closing the ark?”

“Yes. The Regeneration Council held a meeting recently to discuss how to proceed in the future… and concluded that they would not be able to win against the Calamity.”

This was already expected.

The Regeneration Society wanted to close the dungeon called the Ark forever and move on to the next world. This meant that the closing process was now imminent.

“…….”

There was a moment of silence. At the end of it, Lardin blew away all explanations and simply said this.

“Kyle, I would like to formally invite you to the ark.”

It was an unexpected proposal.

“Why do you want to invite me? You’ve been trying to hide the Ark from me until now.”

“Because this might be your last chance.”

Sarah, who had been listening from the side, intervened.

“This is also a trade offer. I am willing to buy anything that could be of help to the Ark. Be it items, recipes, or knowledge of any kind.”

“What will I get in return?”

“I’ll open the warehouse, you take a look and decide. You can calculate the appropriate price. I don’t think you will be disappointed.”

The continent was vast, and there were many cities. There must have been a huge amount of abandoned items that had lost their owners. Most of them were probably damaged by monsters, but if the Regeneration Society was able to collect even a small portion of them, the amount would have to be considerable.

“How is it? Are you coming?”

“I will review it positively.”

“Hey! You have to understand this. This is the first time in history that an outsider has been given the right to enter and exit the ark. It should be considered an honor.”

The way he was laughing while doing so seemed more like a light joke than sincere.

“But it’s more calm than I thought. I thought you’d be angry or disappointed when you heard the news of the Ark’s closure.”

“If you do that, is there a chance that your regeneration council will change its decision?”

“I don’t think so, right?”

“Then there’s no need to bother arguing about it.”

Closing the Ark is probably the most important agenda item for the Regeneration Society. Kyle’s few words alone won’t change the decision.

“It’s certainly regrettable, but it’s not an incomprehensible decision. After all, isn’t it a matter of survival?”

“You, I guess you have no intention of giving up on conquering the disaster.”

“Of course.”

“Isn’t the possibility incredibly low?”

That may be true. But it is by no means impossible.

Kyle was still confident that, given enough opportunity to grow and proper preparation, he could carry out the conquest.

From the beginning, didn’t you start out with the idea of ​​successfully defeating the disaster on your own without the help of the Regeneration Association?

There was an unexpected situation where the Demon King also possessed the power of a warrior, but if that were the case, then you would just have to build up your specs accordingly.

So Kyle replied:

“It is entirely possible.”

“…I see.”

Sarah’s voice, which was always noisy, quietened down.

Sarah was a little amazed at Kyle’s unwavering appearance even though his most powerful ally, the Regeneration Society, had disappeared.

“What! Let’s end this story here!”

Sarah raised her voice again, perhaps feeling embarrassed for even having such thoughts.

“It looks like you have more to say.”

“It’s a story about the Plague Rider. Are you tired? Then continue next time-”

“Listen.”

“I knew it.”

One of the five plagues, the Horseman of the Plague. There was a story about this.

“You’ve heard that we’re sealing and controlling the Plaguebearer?”

“Peña told me.”

To be exact, the Regeneration Society did not succeed in sealing the Plague’s rider. They were merely isolating the Plague’s rider, who had been put into a state of suspended animation by the Demon King.

“The Plague Rider is a creature that spreads all kinds of diseases even if left alone, so I couldn’t just leave it alone.”

If the Regeneration Society is locked in the ark, they will also have to let go of the control over the plague riders they were sealing away.

“To get to the point, I would like to transfer all authority over the Plague Riders.”

“It seems closer to passing it on than transferring it.”

At Kyle’s words, Lardin laughed bitterly.

“To be precise, we don’t really have a choice other than Kyle.”

“…….”

“There are many people who want to kill the disaster. There are also a few who have both the will and the ability. However.”

Lardin looked straight at Kyle.

“You are, I can confidently say, the only one who seriously discusses the possibility of subjugation. You are also the only one who has achieved anything.”

“Your evaluation is excessive. You must have joined in the subjugation of the dream-eating earthquake.”

“It was possible because you showed me the way.”

So far, I have only defeated one spirit and one dream-eating earthquake. I have not yet completely defeated even one of the five disasters.

If we evaluate this world from the perspective of the time when we enjoyed it as a game, it is not something to be particularly impressed with.

But this world is not a game.

The conquest of disasters was a failure of the old civilizations, and it was also a goal that no one had achieved in the past 100 years.

However, even though it was only one spirit, Kyle succeeded in subduing it.

It’s no wonder that Lardin rates Kyle so highly.

“Therefore, we have concluded to hand over to you the authority to manage the Plague Riders.”

“What about the schedule? You’re not planning on handing it over right now, are you?”

“That’s not true. There’s still a lot of work to be done before the Ark can be sealed. It won’t take more than two months at the earliest, or three months at the latest. Even if we let go, the seal will remain in place for at least another month.”

It wasn’t something that was immediately in front of me, but I didn’t have enough time to relax either.

‘I guess I should start preparing in earnest to subdue the plague riders.’

The Plague’s Horseman is the disaster that kills humans the fastest.

Because a single carrier could wipe out a city or even entire nations.

You can’t even make medicine.

A disease in which, while suffering from a high fever of over 40 degrees, the skin becomes strangely cold and causes frostbite. A disease in which parts of the body become distorted and change into the form of another animal. A disease in which the body floats away from gravity.

Such absurd phenomena occur and are called diseases, so there is no way we can make a cure.

However, even so, the Plague Rider was rated as having a low difficulty level. This was not a difficulty level assigned arbitrarily by Kyle, but an assessment made by the researchers at Piltos.

Because the user has resistance to disease.

High endurance stats grant high resistance to diseases. There are also various items, skills, and potions that can prevent diseases.

Of course, they are stronger than the spirits who are treated as one disaster, but compared to other demon lords or vampire lords, the difficulty of subduing them is much lower.

‘That also means that it is easy in the end based on the disaster.’

It’s time to start preparing to deal with the Plague Riders in earnest. There must be many items in the Legion Commander’s warehouse that could be of help. You may be able to obtain additional items during your visit to the Ark this time.

“That’s all I have to say for now. We can talk about more details later.”

“Where is the ark?”

“Lady Sarah will personally guide you. I intend to remain here in the Empire and continue post-war processing.”

Sarah shrugged.

“Since this body is the one who will guide you, consider it an honor. In fact, since I am returning to the ark, I am taking you with me as a favor!”

“When do you plan to leave?”

“Anytime. Let’s leave as soon as your business is finished.”

There is still work to be done in the Empire.

You should check the performance of the newly acquired items and prepare elixirs and potions using herbs and materials. Also, there are several dungeons secured by the Legion, so it would be a good idea to conquer them during this opportunity.

‘There are many other things that Partshet left behind.’

The notebook that Parth Schet gave to Kyle in the conscious space. The knowledge engraved in it was a kind of coordinate. It must have meant that there was something there, so he should go and look for it.

‘We also need to check the coffin that Partshet used to summon the dragon.’

Now that my physical condition has recovered, it shouldn’t take long to process and check these things.

But, just as I was about to end the conversation with that thought in mind.

dripping.

Another visitor arrived.

“Mirad Jirel.”

He was the vanguard commander of the empire.

“Kyle. You look fine. I’m still like this.”

Mirad Jirel waved his only arm.

He had caught the spear of ash tree that Partshet had shot with all his skills with his own hands. He was still unable to shake off the injury he received then.

“Hey, Lardin. How long has it been? It seems like it’s been a while since I last saw you.”

Mirad Jirel then exchanged greetings with Lardin of the Regeneration Society. Since Lardin served as a bridge between the Regeneration Society and the Legion, it was inevitable that they would already be acquainted.

“So, what brings you here?”

At Kyle’s suggestion, Mirad Jirel spoke with a pretended solemn expression.

“I have an important suggestion to make.”

Mirad Jirel’s proposal contained something truly important. It was so radical that even Kyle was taken aback. Even Lardin, who was listening, widened his eyes and Sera’s mouth dropped open.

“Kyle. Don’t you want to be a legion commander?”