The Second Life of a Legendary Necromancer

Chapter 32: The Power of Decay (3)

While Yeonwol was focused on treating the young lady at Duke Dilen’s castle, players visiting the Duke’s territory noticed something unusual happening.

Thud!

The residents of Dilen Castle began collapsing one by one on the streets.

“What, what’s going on here!”

“People are rotting alive…!”

Previously, the power of decay had only affected the people inside the castle.

Now, its influence extended to the residents of the territory.

Since players were transient visitors to the Duke’s domain, they avoided becoming zombies.

However, witnessing the townspeople rotting alive and collapsing was an utterly horrifying sight.

“Run! Something’s definitely wrong here.”

“Let’s leave this place!”

“I’m staying. Something interesting might happen.”

“Could this be a special event?”

“No! Anna’s collapsed!”

“She’s just an NPC. Don’t bother about her.”

“But Anna’s helped me out so much over the past six months…”

The players’ reactions were varied.

In real life, many people can’t even handle horror movies.

Here, in a world more realistic than reality, the sight of people rotting and falling provoked a far more instinctive fear than any horror movie ever could.

Many players left the Duke’s territory immediately, but a considerable number stayed.

Some players had grown close to the NPCs and wanted to help them, while others thirsted for new events and battles.

Rumors of these bizarre occurrences spread quickly through the Eddit community.

[Author: Is there going to be some kind of event at Dilen Castle?]

Posts with screenshots of the rotting townspeople began appearing everywhere.

Players soon learned that something was happening at Dilen Castle.

And it wasn’t just outside the castle—this was happening in the town itself.

Until now, there had been almost no incidents occurring within towns.

While there were occasional defense battles when monsters invaded, there had never been a case of a disease spreading within the town.

[Author: As a doctor in real life, I can tell this isn’t a normal epidemic. Players are almost unaffected. And it doesn’t seem to only target NPCs either. NPCs who came from outside or stayed outside the castle are fine.]

Even certified medical professionals appeared, analyzing the rotting NPCs in the game.

Of course, real-world knowledge and expertise couldn’t explain phenomena occurring in Elthera World.

“Please save my daughter!”

“Ahh! My father’s collapsed!”

Ding!

[Quest triggered!]

A variety of quests began appearing en masse at Dilen Castle.

Parents and children desperately sought help from players to save their rotting loved ones.

NPCs instinctively turned to players for help whenever they encountered trouble or faced crises.

As a result, the number of players flocking to Dilen Castle grew significantly due to the surge in quests.

“…There are so many people at the castle now.”

A female player dressed in an eccentric outfit stepped into Dilen Castle.

Her name was Song Yeon-Ju.

She wore a shabby coat patched together with scraps of torn leather, stained and shredded by beast claws.

On her head was what resembled an aviator’s hat, completing her peculiar appearance.

No one could understand why she dressed that way, but there was a practical reason behind it.

Field-supplied equipment!

Song Yeon-Ju didn’t use expensive gear.

Whenever her equipment’s durability ran out and broke, she would immediately pick up dropped items to wear.

Her coat was made by stitching together monster hides to cover her unsightly equipment.

Even her attempt to maintain a sense of fashion resulted in such a ridiculous appearance.

Carrying a heavy bundle on her back, she entered the town, her face betraying unease as she headed somewhere.

Her destination was an antique shop located in a secluded alley.

But unlike usual, the shop was eerily quiet.

She hastily dropped her bundle and rushed inside, only to hear the sound of an elderly woman sobbing from within.

‘No way….’

Opening the inner door, she saw an old woman with white hair weeping as she held a young woman tightly.

“What… what is this?”

Song Yeon-Ju gasped in horror at the young woman’s condition.

The skin on her neck and cheeks was rotting away!

“Grandma! What happened to Sedilen?”

The young woman lying there, Sedilen, was a benefactor who had helped Song Yeon-Ju out of pure kindness during difficult times.

Even though she was an NPC, Song Yeon-Ju treated her like a real person and regarded her as her savior.

“I don’t know… everyone in town is starting to rot… It must be divine punishment.”

Rotting flesh?

Hearing this, Song Yeon-Ju’s face grew pale.

She cautiously examined Sedilen’s decaying skin.

As the old woman had said, Sedilen’s arm and cheek were visibly rotting.

There was likely even worse damage beneath her clothes.

“That can’t be…”

Song Yeon-Ju collapsed to the ground in shock, her face filled with despair.

“What did Sedilen do to deserve divine punishment…?”

“How could humans ever understand the whims of the gods…?”

[Quest Activated!]

A quest to save Sedilen had appeared, but there was no joy in receiving it.

“There’s a cure, right?”

If so many people suffered from the same illness, surely priests and doctors would have gathered to treat it.

However, the elderly woman shook her head grimly.

“This ailment has afflicted Lady Sedilen of the Duke’s domain for a long time. The Duke has summoned renowned saints and specialists from all over the world, but none have succeeded in curing her.”

“Oh…”

In other words, there was no cure.

Song Yeon-Ju gripped Sedilen’s hand, cold sweat forming on her brow.

A disease that caused the body to decay. She wasn’t a doctor, but she could at least tell that death was inevitable.

“A disease like this, out of nowhere…”

Losing loved ones was something she had already experienced enough in reality. It was to escape such losses that she immersed herself in Elthera World.

She didn’t want to endure such horrifying experiences here as well.

She lifted her head.

Song Yeon-Ju was not someone to give up and wallow in despair.

This world was different from reality.

It was a mysterious place where players could uncover hidden truths and solve problems through their own efforts.

Elthera World was such a place.

“I need to go.”

What was happening? What needed to be done? She didn’t have the answers yet, but she was determined to find a way to act.

Song Yeon-Ju couldn’t bear to lose Sedilen.

[Velkiri: You want me to help with the situation in Duke Dilen’s domain?]

Velkiri blinked in surprise.

Song Yeon-Ju, a rising star in the prestigious Calisodia Guild, was also her junior in Kendo back in reality.

Of course, Song Yeon-Ju’s skills in Kendo far surpassed hers, but as her senior, Velkiri had always been a source of mental support, and their bond had extended into the game world.

While she enjoyed guiding Song Yeon-Ju to prevent her from straying down an odd path, she regretted that Yeon-Ju never accepted guild-provided equipment or hunting grounds.

Yeon-Ju preferred to venture into the wilderness, battle fiercely, and equip herself with gear she earned on her own.

As a result, her radiant beauty—rivaling even that of global actresses—was often overshadowed by the ragged attire she chose, which Velkiri found disheartening.

Now, that very Song Yeon-Ju, who had always played solo without seeking help, was asking for assistance?

Such an opportunity was rare.

[Velkiri: Hmm, we’ve also gathered a lot of information about Duke Dilen’s domain recently. People’s bodies are rotting away, right?]

[Song Yeon-Ju: Yes, but we don’t know why.]

[Velkiri: I’m sorry, but this isn’t an issue our guild can solve easily. I suspect this is going to turn into a long-term quest.]

[Song Yeon-Ju: I see…]

Seeing Song Yeon-Ju’s disheartened expression made Velkiri feel sorry for her, but it was the truth.

Having started Elthera World earlier than Yeon-Ju, Velkiri knew not every quest could be resolved.

Some quests were designed to fail.

These failures often triggered certain events, leading to the emergence of main quests—the true objectives.

[Velkiri: That doesn’t mean I’m going to sit idly by. I’ll hire the Mullen Cross Order on a large scale and dispatch them for the people suffering from the disease.]

[Song Yeon-Ju: The Mullen Cross Order? That will cost a fortune…]

The Mullen Cross Order.

They move solely for money, and their recovery and purification abilities are said to rival even those of the Helios Church.

The Helios Church does not treat criminals, and guilds must regularly participate in various donations and gatherings to establish friendly relations with them, making it difficult to hire them.

Instead, it is better to hire the Mullen Cross Order, who will provide treatment as long as they are paid, regardless of who the client is or what happens.

[Velkiri: Yeah. You wouldn’t want to see the villagers suffering, would you?]

Velkiri pinpointed Song Yeon-Ju’s feelings accurately.

Not only was she deeply connected with Sedilen, but she also found it unbearable to see the villagers in pain.

[Song Yeon-Ju: The priests of the Mullen Cross Order will certainly help, but it’ll put a huge burden on the guild…]

[Velkiri: Hehe, of course, it’s not free.]

If you give something, you receive something in return.

[Velkiri: In exchange for supporting the priests, I won’t even ask for access to hunting grounds. Just please wear the equipment our guild provides. I hired craftsmen to make them custom-fit for you, based on your level, and they’re all rotting away in storage.]

[Song Yeon-Ju: …Are you sure that’s enough? It feels like you’re taking too much of a loss.]

[Velkiri: If you knew how much I stand to gain from this, you’d be shocked. You know how pragmatic I am, right?]

She wasn’t wrong.

If Song Yeon-Ju walked around wearing the insignia of the Calisodia Guild and dressed in a beautiful female swordsman’s outfit, it would have an enormous promotional effect for the guild.

Just revealing her affiliation would bring immense benefits to Velkiri since Song Yeon-Ju was influential enough to be considered one of the most prominent influencers in reality.

[Velkiri: Of course, all we can do is dispatch priests to prevent the disease from worsening. Finding and eliminating the cause of the disease isn’t our responsibility.]

[Song Yeon-Ju: Yeah… Thank you.]

With that, the call ended.

Velkiri immediately recruited a large number of priests from the Mullen Cross Order and dispatched them to Duke Dilen’s territory that very day.

‘Phew, I wonder if that girl is completing the quest by now.’

She didn’t believe that Song Yeon-Ju would be able to resolve this quest.

In fact, even before the situation in Duke Dilen’s territory erupted, rumors about a quest concerning the Duke’s daughter suffering from a decaying illness had already spread among high-level players.

Naturally, the Calisodia Guild had also taken an interest, but they quickly gave up, knowing it was beyond their capabilities to resolve.

Song Yeon-Ju, too, would likely be unable to accomplish anything.

‘Tsk. Even so, I can’t bear to see that girl get hurt again.’

Though Velkiri knew the odds were slim, she decided to go there herself.

If it ended in vain, it could potentially affect her ranking, as she was currently among the top-ranked players…

Even so, her desire to help Song Yeon-Ju burned fiercely.

And so.

With various stories and individual motives, rankers began to focus their attention on the situation in Duke Dilen’s territory, leading to an unprecedented gathering of high-level players.