I Became a Veteran Who Has to Stir Up Trouble to Survive - Chapter 113

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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[113] Plague Investigation #3
People with grotesquely split mouths laughed as they slowly closed in from all sides, encircling us.
A sight so bizarre it could leave lasting trauma.
Nia stepped forward, but I blocked her path with my blade raised.
“Miss Nia, please fall back. If they are infected, it’s wise to keep your distance.”
The fundamental principle of infection prevention is avoiding contact with carriers.
Unlike Radi, who could attack from range, Nia risked being splattered with bodily fluids or saliva in close combat—far too dangerous.
Even with the antidote taken, I couldn’t blindly trust it until the disease’s mechanism was fully understood.
As Nia reluctantly retreated with a disappointed expression, she suddenly furrowed her brow and challenged me.
“Wait! Setting Radi aside, you also fight up close—how is that any different?”
“I have a trump card.”
“A trump card?”
The moment I chanted the incantation, Nia’s eyes widened dramatically.
「You have transformed into an Enhanced Skeleton!」
「A merciless undead warrior! By absorbing spiritual power, your skeletal frame has grown larger and more resilient!」
「Even in undead form, you can temporarily manifest the abilities of other monsters!」
─Khahahaha! Fresh air after so long!
Now transformed into a Skeleton, I cackled wildly, my jawbone clattering.
If infection was a concern, I simply needed to eliminate the flesh and organs that pathogens would consume.
I immediately lunged at the enemies and swung my blade, blood spraying in all directions.
Slashing cleanly, deflecting, kicking—each movement flowed effortlessly.
As I pressed forward like a tempest, they seized my shoulder blade with brutish hands, but—
─it was futile!
I twisted my body, snapped their arm, and drove them into the ground.
Crash! Their upper body crushed, they rolled across the floor without uttering a single cry of pain.
‘…Do they lack pain sensation entirely?’
Moreover, when I cut them with my blade, it felt strange—as though I were slicing through empty skin rather than flesh.
An unmistakable abnormality.
─So you truly are infected!
I laughed with unbridled arrogance as I slaughtered the figures before me.
But in the midst of my rampage, a new wave burst through the warehouse door at the back of the workshop.
“I’ll handle this!”
Radi quickly repositioned and fired her crossbow at the ground.
The bolts she released in rapid succession were connected by glimmering thread at their tips.
「These are Spider Web Trap Bolts, personally crafted by your ally Radi!」
「Watch your ankles!」
The people rushing forward like a zombie horde fell in rapid succession.
Their limbs tangled together, they couldn’t rise easily and thrashed helplessly.
Radi didn’t stop there—she hurled flaming bottles into the mass of bodies.
The bottles shattered upon impact with the ground, scattering flames in all directions.
At that moment, thundering footsteps echoed from outside the Mill.
Had they come rushing over after hearing the commotion?
‘How irritating.’
Dealing with them wasn’t a problem in itself.
But the longer the battle dragged on, the greater the risk of Nia and Radi being exposed to infection.
If I could just shake off those stubborn creatures clinging to my limbs and slowing me down, I could dispatch them far more swiftly.
Was there any good method for this?
─Wait! This is a Mill! Nia! Follow me!
“Got it!”
Nia and I bolted straight for the Warehouse.
After puncturing holes in the flour sacks and scattering them in all directions, the interior of the Workshop filled instantly with a thick haze of powder.
「The infected, their vision blocked, are losing their sense of direction!」
“Cough… cough…! I can’t see anything—is this really okay?!”
─Of course, mortal!
Naturally, I couldn’t see even an inch ahead either, but it didn’t matter.
I had an ability I’d acquired from the Primordial Forest.
「You have manifested the Primitive Tarantula’s [Vibration Sense] ability!」
「You can sense minute vibrations in your surroundings! Without sight, you can pinpoint the locations of living creatures moving around you!」
The very ability that had trapped Radi and me in that cave for days.
As I centered my focus calmly, crimson silhouettes emerged from the dense haze.
As if perceiving sound as sight itself, each wave became a clear landmark, revealing the enemies’ positions to me.
─Krahaha! How sluggish you are!
I tore through the flour cloud at full speed, felling each form one by one.
Like a spider driving its fangs into a prey’s throat, I swiftly dispatched the blinded infected, and gradually the haze began to clear.
Standing there were only three figures, dusted white from head to toe.
「You have defeated all the infected that appeared at Windmill Hill!」
Radi coughed behind his scarf and shook out his tail.
“Cough… cough… You could have warned us beforehand… Flour is terribly difficult to wash out of Beastfolk fur, you know.”
“But it was so much fun! Undead Doran looked amazing!”
─I’m grateful. But it’s not over yet. Let me examine the corpses while you keep watch around us.
To prevent a flour dust explosion, we quickly exited the Workshop.
As I dragged out one corpse along the way and examined it closely, I felt a peculiar sense of wrongness.
‘…It’s not completely dead.’
Despite having severed its vital points, its limbs were twitching faintly.
Without hesitation, I split open its abdomen with my dagger.
As expected, the corpse’s interior was completely hollow.
‘This confirms they’ve contracted the same affliction as the creatures in the Primordial Forest.’
But no matter how I considered it, this was no ordinary plague.
Walking, breathing, lunging forward—all while their bodies were completely hollow inside.
As I thrust my head through the hole in the corpse’s abdomen, Radi, who had been watching from a distance, suddenly shrieked in alarm.
“What… what are you doing?!”
─Hmm… I don’t see anything unusual yet… Radi, hand me one of your most potent venoms.
“…Which one are you looking for?”
─The strongest you have.
Radi tossed me a vial filled with emerald liquid.
I caught it deftly and poured the venom into the corpse’s hollow cavity. The toxic fluid bubbled and churned violently.
At first, nothing changed…
─…Hmm?
After a moment, something writhed within the empty thoracic cavity.
I quickly snatched it up and peered closely.
A larva resembling a maggot, no larger than a finger joint.
Ding—!
「You have discovered a [Hollow Parasite]!」
「A parasitic creature that devours the host’s organs and dwells within the body cavity! It possesses remarkably sophisticated mimicry abilities, making it nearly impossible to detect with the naked eye!」
「If it bores into the brain, it can control the host’s actions!」
The worm squirmed frantically between my finger bones.
So this was the culprit.
With such exceptional camouflage abilities, and people naturally avoiding contact with the infected, it was no wonder the cause had remained hidden for so long.
Yet as I tilted my head in puzzlement at the strange sense of familiarity, a chill ran down my spine.
A plague that controls the host’s mind?
If that’s the case, then this is…
‘…the Third Great Calamity!’
Information about Belheim’s Third Great Calamity was oddly scarce.
However, in the rare texts I had discovered, there was a single line describing it as “a peculiar plague that makes people harm one another.”
But something felt wrong.
‘The next calamity shouldn’t arrive for some time yet…?’
The timing didn’t align, and the original symptoms didn’t include the worms eating through flesh.
Furthermore, the outbreak had occurred not in this kingdom, but in another realm far to the north.
This was why I hadn’t immediately recognized this plague as a harbinger of the calamity.
I stared at the worm once more and froze completely.
Within the creature’s body, a dark aura rippled and undulated.
Twisted and contorted in an unsettling manner—malevolent magical power.
Demonic energy.
Faint though it was, I sensed the power of a demon emanating from the parasite.
‘Has a demon descended into this world?’
No, that couldn’t be.
If a demon had truly descended, far greater calamities would have unfolded than a mere plague.
Then this must mean…
─Someone is wielding demonic power and orchestrating this.
Some organization has deliberately accelerated and amplified the scale of the calamity.
A situation that wouldn’t end with a simple epidemic investigation.
‘Should I flee while I still can…?’
A calamity—especially one involving demons—was best avoided altogether.
I’d been fortunate enough to prevent the first and second calamities, but there was no guarantee I’d survive a third unscathed.
Then, at that very moment, a chime sounded.
Ding—!
「You have obtained decisive clues regarding the unidentified infection phenomenon!」
「The Unknown Cult is currently accelerating Belheim’s demise by borrowing the power of demons!」
「The detailed objectives of your Main Quest have been updated!」
「Find and destroy the source of the parasites, and prevent the calamity from arriving! If you fail to stop this conspiracy, this entire continent will be consumed and devastated by the parasites.」
「Hint: The [Collective Parasite] was originally created by modifying larvae that inhabited oak trees in the cold Snowy Tundra!」
「Quest Failure: Death as your body is devoured by the swarming insects」
—Damn it!!
With that, any option to flee from the epidemic vanished.
I hurled the corpse into the workshop and set it ablaze, incinerating it entirely.
As I returned to human form and contemplated what to do next, Nia approached me from her reconnaissance of the surroundings.
“Doran! Did you find anything out?”
“Yes, but… the situation isn’t exactly optimistic.”
“What is it, Doran?”
“Well… it seems we’ll have to find a way to resolve this epidemic ourselves.”
Radi’s brow furrowed for a moment, but she soon exhaled softly and nodded.
“If we don’t resolve the epidemic, it will eventually harm us as well, won’t it?”
“That’s right. Definitely.”
“Then we have no choice. Have you decided where we’re headed next?”
I paused for a moment, then turned to face Radi and Nia as I spoke.
“We’re leaving the kingdom.”
The Collective Parasites were originally creatures that inhabited the cold northern regions.
If that were the case, the Unknown Organization’s breeding ground for these parasites would surely be located there as well.
More precisely, in the land of ice and fire that bordered this kingdom’s northern frontier—the Caldheim Duchy.
* * *
In a secret chamber deep underground in the Northern Region, where bitter winds scraped against the city walls.
Flickering candlelight illuminated the silhouettes of figures draped in black robes.
“How is the plan progressing?”
“Smoothly. The infection has already spread throughout the entire Valeria Kingdom. At this rate, we’ll be able to consume the entire continent before long.”
A map lay unfolded upon the table.
Red dots marked various locations on the map, spreading across the kingdom like wildfire consuming dry reeds.
Parasites modified using the power of the fifth-rank demon Marbas himself.
Ordinary purification magic would struggle to even detect them, let alone eradicate them.
By the time a cure was discovered, it would already be far too late to do anything.
“What of the Northern Breeding Facility?”
“All systems are nominal. We will commence the second release within this month. By distributing it through the waterways, we can contaminate the drinking water sources.”
“Drinking water.”
A man laughed with cruel delight.
“Whether noble or commoner, everyone must drink.”
No one raised objections to the plan.
Many sacrifices would be needed for his return.
The bombing attack in the Royal Capital orchestrated through Count Valter’s brainwashing was merely a diversionary tactic for this very purpose.
While everyone’s attention was consumed by the terror attack, we were able to dramatically accelerate the parasites’ growth rate using the artifact stolen from the Royal Palace Treasury.
The High Seat Figure issued a solemn command.
“His descent draws near. …Ensure the Northern Breeding Facility in Kaldheim is thoroughly guarded against destruction.”
“Understood.”
Low, reverent voices filled the chamber.
“”All things exist for his return.””
The figures in black robes bowed their heads in unison.
The candles extinguished simultaneously, and the Secret Chamber descended into absolute darkness.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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