“Protective suits contaminated by miasma, bring them over here!”
“Anyone whose condition feels off, over here!”
After finishing the underground recon,
my unit and I returned to where the surface detail was waiting.
The soldier breached by miasma headed to the infirmary,
and when the priests began purifying the miasma clinging to the suits—
“How far did you break through?”
“Hard to say exactly... but it looked like we didn’t even get halfway.”
“Good grief.”
I
spoke with the unit’s Production-class Awakened.
“It was only a prototype, sure, but we were pretty confident in it...”
“Hm. Then it means the miasma deeper in is that severe. It’s not that Miss Sanga’s workmanship was lacking.”
The prototype protective suit they’d poured themselves into.
Its miasma-resistance effect was certainly impressive,
but it still wasn’t enough to punch all the way down through that underground.
“I’m sorry, but with our current tech, that’s about the limit.”
“Mm... can’t be helped.”
According to Corporal Lee Gongu,
it was impossible to boost those suits’ performance right now.
Thanks to [Nepenthes], I could push farther in myself,
but taking the unit with me would be hard.
“Hm.”
I fell into brief thought.
Coldly speaking, it wasn’t a place we urgently needed to clear right now.
But—
“I don’t like it.”
The fact that,
in there,
there were still lives that hadn’t been allowed to die properly...
hit me as profoundly unpleasant.
That said,
you can swallow that kind of disgust.
What really mattered was—
“If Vimanar’s right... clearing that place and getting mana would set me up to leave for another region.”
If I secured that mana and cleared the Perk Quest,
and the fortress leveled up,
we’d have enough strength that I could be absent.
Then the plan to depart for Gyeonggi-do ahead of everyone else.
To achieve that, breaking through the underground mine was essential.
Of course,
this was my personal objective.
“I can’t put the unit at risk... over something like that.”
If the suits could keep up, fine.
But if there was a hard limit,
then since it’s a personal goal,
from here on I’d have to go alone.
It wasn’t like I didn’t have a concept in mind.
“If I deploy the vampires, we can go a little deeper.”
Vampires not only had higher average stats than humans,
but being monsters of the [Dark] attribute, they had somewhat stronger tolerance to things like miasma.
Even if the miasma invaded them to a degree, they could push on by regenerating through it.
All the ingredients in my shadow had been ruined by the miasma,
yet the vampires, who weren’t even wearing protective suits,
had withstood it just fine.
Besides, the place below was lightless.
And darkness is the battlefield of the Nobles of the Night.
“We’ll go with that.”
To do that...
first—
“I need to feed them.”
****
“Blegh...”
Since I’d decided I couldn’t deploy the unit for the underground,
I had no choice but to deploy the vampires.
For that, the vampires needed to get stronger.
I was going to serve a proper course to my vassal,
Ariella—
“You’re such a baby about it.”
“M-my Lord only says that because blood isn’t your staple!”
—only some of the ingredients were, how to put it...
a bit old.
“Dwarven blood.”
From her perspective, used to fresh blood only,
it must have felt like looking at kitchen refuse.
“...My Lord. Must I really drink this?”
“If we’re going to clear that mine, absolutely.”
Right now it’s a space full of monsters,
but deeper in, who knows what kind of traps we’ll run into.
She can absorb memories inside blood by drinking it.
Even if it’s only fragmentary knowledge,
the Dwarven knowledge that created that mine is essential.
“Uuurp...”
In the end,
looking as miserable as could be, she forced down a spoonful of what might as well have been blood pudding.
“Blegh... the rot...”
“So? Tastes bad?”
Her face was full of protest.
Right before she put the spoon in her mouth, she’d looked like she might cry,
but—
“No... it’s delicious...”
Heh.
“Right. Who do you think cooked it?”
“With this smell, but the taste is good—my brain can’t reconcile it... ugh... delish...”
Sure, it was old stock,
but there are ingredients aged for years,
and even ingredients intentionally fermented to the edge of rot.
“Those can be delicacies.”
The smell might be rough,
but with my cooking,
the flavor was something I could stake my pride on.
Thus,
after feeding her one course of “acquired taste”—
“Now for the main dish.”
[Of Mixed Mana—]
Not long ago,
in the process of turning “Demon Contractors” into “Demon Hunters,” I’d obtained—
the blood of Abnormal Appetites.
The mana of all kinds of monsters was turbulently mixed in that blood. The quality was iffy, perhaps,
but the quantity of mana packed inside was tremendous.
“If the flavor’s lacking...”
I could shore it up with cuisine.
“Here. Don’t leave a drop of the broth.”
“My Lord’s spe— grace! Thank you for the meal~!”
Once I fed her the dish made from Abnormal Appetite blood,
the change began.
[You have met the conditions for evolving your vassal.]
[Proceed with evolution?]
A line that made me think of X-kémon «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» popped up.
I nodded without hesitation.
[Your vassal advances to the next stage.]
FWUM!!!
The vampire who minutes earlier had pinched her nose over the smell—
from her body,
a blackish-crimson shadow spread out.
****
“Hm.”
Last time, the scene had shocked me,
but this was the second time.
Unlike the first, I watched the changes around me calmly.
Shadows of blood and darkness filled the kitchen.
Soon,
the place transformed into an otherworld I couldn’t define.
“Last time, I think I only saw Ariella’s eyes in here.”
I remembered being pretty rattled then.
Like, wow, how dangerous is this monster?
Now, though, it barely moved me.
“I had a staring contest with a demon the other day. This is nothing...”
As I thought that,
I waited for the surroundings to shift.
—...
In the middle of the dark space,
a form began to appear.
As before,
I figured it was Ariella, blankly opening her eyes—
“...Huh?”
It was a little different.
Someone was definitely there,
but—
“A child?”
Unlike Ariella, who appeared as an adult woman,
this was the form of a child who might be ten years old.
As my eyes adjusted to the time in darkness,
the outline of the face came faintly into focus.
“Who is that?”
Unlike Ariella,
her eyes weren’t red, nor did they glow in the dark.
Unlike Ariella—who, as a Noble of the Night, made much of her dignity—
this girl was ragged like a slum urchin.
Dirt smudged her face.
Her hair was clotted with filth, its original color hard to guess.
As more time passed
and my night vision settled in,
I could make out more detail.
“...Resemblance.”
The overall aura was nothing alike.
But—
golden hair, glimpsed beneath grime,
facial lines half-hidden under dust,
and eyes that, though neither red nor blazing, had a gemlike blue.
I couldn’t say who she was,
but a child who resembled Ariella very much
lay half-buried in the dark space, blankly staring at me...
And as more time ticked by—
FWAAAAASH!!!
The black shadows that had spread in all directions
drew back into a single point again.
Light brightened in the room,
and when I opened my eyes—
[Your vassal’s potential is released by one stage.]
[Karstein Bloodline — Baron → Karstein Bloodline — Viscount]
[Owned Vassal (1)]
[Ariella Karstein]
[Race — Vampire]
[Viscount of the Karstein Bloodline]
[Captain of the Iron Legion’s Household Guard]
[The Nightmare of the Green Manes Tribe]
[As potential is partly released, her rank within the bloodline rises as well.]
[She has now fully shed the lowest rung and become a proper noble in her own right!]
[Treat your vassal with care and raise her!]
[With your support, she may reach even higher realms.]
The kitchen had returned to normal.
The mysterious child in the darkness was gone.
“Heh-heh... heh-heh-heh!”
“...”
“To be treated to a supreme banquet, and then—another elevation in title!”
Only one very pleased vampire
remained in the kitchen.
“At first the smell was a bit much... but truly, my Lord’s grace. It was worth giving up freedom to become your vassal.”
“...”
I could only stare at her a little blankly.
“...”
“Mm? My Lord? Is something the matter...?”
This time, the “advancement in title” process was a bit different.
What I’d seen in that darkness was a child who resembled Ariella—
a human child, not a vampire.
Who that child was
nagged at me a little, but...
“No... never mind.”
“?”
That wasn’t
what I needed to focus on now.
Shaking my head to straighten my thoughts,
I addressed her.
“Since you advanced, you’re stronger than before, right?”
“Of course. My vassals should have grown a bit along with me... and if we take time, I believe I can even create a special vassal.”
“A special vassal?”
“Not every vassal can be a mere knight, can they? Crafting special vassals takes time, so I can’t make many, though.”
Most of her vampires were “Vampire Knights,”
but now she could produce units a notch stronger.
“At this level... per your wishes, my vassals and I should be able to dig much deeper than those soldiers.”
“Right. Worth the time invested.”
“However...”
Unlike when she’d been sniffling over the rotten-blood dish, she was brimming with confidence,
yet she spoke with a touch of concern.
“There will still be limits.”
“Well, of course.”
Even with somewhat stronger tolerance to miasma and regeneration,
it’s not perfect immunity.
“Don’t worry. I don’t plan to clear it recklessly.”
We’d proceed only through the zones the vampires could handle.
If we still couldn’t resolve the source of the miasma,
then we’d cut it clean.
“Shall I order the vassals to prepare for battle right away?”
“Do that—oh.”
Just as she said,
I was going to move straight into the second push,
but—
“Come to think of it.”
“Yes?”
“Did you properly absorb the Dwarven knowledge?”
“Ah. I forgot to mention.”
At my question,
she slipped into my shadow and—
shff.
“Let’s see.”
—came out holding a book.
Then—
“‘Establishing the Theoretical Basis for Permanent Operation of Slave Restraints Inside the Spirit Mountain Range Underground Mine; Preliminary Treatise on the Design of an Automatic Mana-Absorption Engine’...”
“...!”
“That’s what it says.”
Just as I’d aimed for,
she’d obtained the Dwarven language knowledge.
“Then is there anything in there about the mine? Like why it’s so full of miasma?”
“Mm... I don’t think there’s anything like that...?”
“What’s with the lame answer.”
“It’s just... the content itself is so complex that... I can read it, but I don’t really understand what it’s saying.”
Unfortunately,
it didn’t seem like a book that would be a big help with clearing the mine.
“Hard to understand? Why?”
“It appears to be a technical text. I learned only the language; I didn’t absorb their disciplines themselves...”
“Hm.”
A technical text.
“You said translation is possible, right?”
“...? Yes. I may not understand it, but I can translate it.”
“In that case...”
I headed to the unit’s supply depot
and from the piles there—
THUD!!!
“Do it.”
“...Do what?”
“You said you can translate. So do it.”
Notebooks.
Dozens—hundreds of them—
I set them down in front of her.
“Weren’t we going to clear the mine?”
“The suits are contaminated with miasma. They said it’ll take about a day before they can be worn again. We can’t just sit around with time to kill, can we?”
“...I am aware you didn’t bring back just a book or two... translating all of them will be quite the ordeal...”
“Figured as much?”
Indeed.
Translating all those thick volumes,
then transcribing by hand on top of that, wouldn’t be easy.
In that case,
there was only one thing for me to say.
“Mm. That’s a lot of work.”
“...”
“But it has to get done, so what can you do. Thanks in advance~”
“..........”
Half-rotten in the face,
she somehow kept smiling and took the notebooks I handed her.
****
And so,
a day passed.
“I-it is done...!”
Vampires emerged from the shadows,
each carrying stacks of notebooks.
“Faster than I expected.”
“...Since I advanced in title, I can share my language knowledge with my vassals to a degree. I prioritized those who already spoke human tongues and shared the Dwarven knowledge with them, somehow...”
There were dark circles under her eyes as she spoke.
Ariella muttered under her breath, half exasperated:
“To think that after advancing in title, the first use of my newfound capabilities would be... this.”
For a noble of no less than viscount rank,
it must have been an affront to pride.
Be that as it may,
I was just glad the translation had finished quickly.
“But why have us translate these books? Even if translated, understanding them won’t be easy.”
“I can’t, no.”
However—
these were technical texts.
And—
“Our unit has plenty of engineers.”
“Ah...”
We’re talking about technology from another world.
Just like I’m learning an otherworldly culinary art,
if our Production-class Awakened can take anything from these,
that alone is a huge gain.
And just for times like this—
[Research Lab Lv.2 (New!)]
[Tech! Tech! Tech!]
[Have you heard of the Red Queen effect?]
[Technology advances. And no matter how brilliant a technology is, if it can no longer advance, that’s not stagnation—that’s practically regression!]
[To survive in a changing world, constant research and development are essential.]
[With the completion of the Research Lab, engineers can research and develop new technologies.]
[It is also possible to study results created by others and absorb their technology.]
[Lv.2]
[Research speed increases slightly.]
[Higher-tier research becomes possible.]
“I originally built it to absorb Vimana’s tech, but...”
When Vimana hit Lv.2, we’d unlocked new buildings.
We’d already built the Research Lab.
“Ah! Sergeant Shin!”
“What brings you here? If it’s detoxing the suits, that should wrap up today or tomorrow.”
Strike while the iron is hot.
I headed straight to the Production District crowded with the production crews.
Corporal Lee Gongu and Team Lead Lee Sanga approached me.
“Actually, I’ve got something to hand off.”
“Something to hand off?”
“Yeah. This.”
“Books...?”
Of course,
they were supposedly extremely difficult technical texts.
Maybe they’d be no help even after all this.
“Not like I did the hard part anyway.”
My vassal had.
If it didn’t pan out, I could live with that.
“I translated some books we found down below.”
“Translated? How did you even— No, right, we’re not supposed to question your methods.”
Thus,
without particular expectations—
“‘Establishing the Theoretical Basis for Permanent Operation of Slave Restraints Inside the Spirit Mountain Range Underground Mine; Preliminary Treatise on the Design of an Automatic Mana-Absorption Engine’...”
“Title’s a bit long, right?”
“Yes. Hard to tell what it’s about from the title alone. May I take a look?”
“That’s why I brought it. Of course.”
I passed one notebook to Corporal Lee Gongu.
He opened it on the spot.
“Hm? This content, hmm...”
“Oh? Seeing anything from an engineer’s angle?”
Maybe that’s just how engineers are.
Unlike me—a “chef”—he was reacting.
“Hmm, hmm...”
“I translated it, but it’s all so difficult that I couldn’t make heads or tails...”
“Hmmmm...”
And then—
how to put it—
“Hmmmmmmmmmm...”
“...Gongu?”
“So that means—hmm. So this is... hmmm.”
“Can you hear me?”
“Mm... hoh. Hoooooh... Oooooooh!!!”
“...Sir?”
Corporal Lee Gongu began flipping pages
at an incredible pace.
And in that state—
“KYOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!?”
“...”
—he got,
well,
very weird.
