Chapter 10. The One Who Forges Names (2)
"…Hoo, huff."
Ragged breathing, a face dyed deep red. His broad shoulders and arms trembled with spasms, and cold sweat poured down his forehead like a sudden downpour.
Kadim's condition was clearly not normal to anyone's eyes.
"Wh-why is this happening, milord! N-no, someone who can tear demons apart—how did you end up like this… Ah!"
There was something Duncan could guess. He hurried over to Kadim, then examined the upper part of his chest, the area covered with a dry piece of cloth.
Just as he expected.
When he pulled the cloth away, thick, sticky pus pooled in the wound came spilling out. The inside was badly infected, on the verge of rotting away. It was the injury from when he had been pierced by a paladin's spear before.
'Ugh… urgh….'
Duncan barely managed to suppress his rising nausea.
"Wh-why didn't you say anything until it got this bad! We shouldn't have moved today at all—you should have rested in the village for a few more days…!"
"…Huff, huff."
Kadim slowly shook his head.
This wasn't an injury that would heal just by resting a few more days. It seemed that the 'blessed weapon' had been imbued with a blessing that inflicted fatal wounds on demons.
'Damn it, I should've realized sooner….'
Normally, such blessings had no effect on humans. But Kadim was an exception. He was a berserker who drew power from demon blood. When he drank it, even if only briefly, he could be affected.
Unaware of the real situation, Duncan offered misguided advice.
"M-milord! Then, um… how about drinking demon blood? I don't really know, but whenever you drink it, you seem to be brimming with energy…."
"..."
To suggest drinking demon blood when that was precisely what caused this—it was like telling someone with tuberculosis to smoke. Kadim tried to let out a bitter laugh, but instead, violent coughing burst forth.
Even so, there was not absolutely no way out of this crisis.
'Probably by tonight….'
Kadim looked at Duncan with bloodshot eyes.
"Hoo… hey. What did the moon look like last night?"
"Y-yes?"
"The shape of the moon. Huff… was it a completely waning crescent?"
"Uh… y-yes, I think it was."
"Then… first, unfasten the sword from my belt and huff, place it beside me."
Kadim's unique trait wasn't limited to 'Blood Berserker'.
On nights when the moon completely vanished, when only clusters of stars slowly drifted across the midnight sky, he could use another of Kadim's 'unique traits'.
By using that, he might somehow be able to overcome this crisis.
The problem was…
'…Damn it, I have to endure without losing consciousness until then.'
It was dusk, when the clouds were gently stained crimson. There was still a long time to go before midnight. It felt like it would be a bitter trial of endurance.
To steady himself, Kadim forced down the porridge Duncan brought. But his stomach acid surged upward, and he ended up vomiting it all out. All that remained was the backlash—his insides twisted nauseatingly, and his vision swayed dizzyingly.
As a stopgap, Kadim pinched his thigh to cling to consciousness. Before long, his thigh was bruised black and blue. Duncan fidgeted anxiously, constantly watching the barbarian warrior's mood.
How much time passed like that?
At last, the sun set and night deepened. There was truly not much time left now. Kadim clutched his sword hilt in one hand and his thigh with the other, panting heavily.
But this world was not a warm cradle that gently embraced weary travelers.
The dark forest bared its fangs.
– Awooooo…
– ...…Uuuuuu!!!
– …Grr, grrgrrgrr!
– Grrrrr, grrgrrgrr!
Ominous howls echoed from afar, then soon reached right beside them. It wasn't just one or two. A murderous presence surrounded the campsite.
"M-milord, th-this sound is…."
Duncan turned pale, his shoulders trembling violently. In no time, he looked even more like a patient than Kadim. Strictly speaking, he was closer to death right now.
"Huff… hide behind the campfire, peddler."
"W-what? B-but, milord, your body is—"
"Then, huff… are you going to fight those monsters?"
Without another word, Duncan scurried behind the campfire.
Kadim gave a bitter smile. Even in this situation, he was the one who had to fight. Only after planting his sword tip against the ground did he barely manage to stand.
'Damn mutts… you could've come to visit a sick man a little later….'
Between the sparsely grown trees, eerie blue eyes glinted ominously. Ferocious beasts with fur as stiff and gleaming as metal.
– Grr, grrgrrgrr!
– Grrrrr, grrgrrgrrgrr!
A pack of blade wolves descended upon the campsite.
Kadim's hand moved to his thigh. Reflexively, he drew a hand axe and threw it. The axe blade, flashing in the campfire light, sliced through the instant and vanished into the night.
Whoong – thud!
– Kyaaang!
It struck the lead one's front leg. The wolf lost its balance and rolled on the ground. Seizing the opening, Kadim advanced and drove the sword tip (劍尖) into the back of its neck. The blade wolf shuddered, its front legs twitching, then went limp.
He dispatched one easily, but Kadim's expression did not brighten.
'Damn it, I was aiming for the brow, not the leg… my vision's shaking… I can't aim properly.'
In his current condition, he had no confidence in fighting properly. If it were just one or two, he could have handled them without much trouble, but there were far too many.
More wolves charged without caring about the enemy's circumstances.
– Grrrrrrk!
Smack!
– Yelp!
Clenching his fist tightly, Kadim timed it and smashed one's lower jaw with all his strength. Its neck snapped from the impact, and it flipped onto its back, never rising again. Using the same method, Kadim swiftly killed two more wolves.
But in the meantime, one wolf that had crept up from behind bit down hard on his calf.
"Ghk!"
Thrust!
– Keck!
He drove his sword into its skull the moment it bit him, so the injury wasn't deep. The problem was that his already impaired movement became even worse. A deep shadow of worry fell over the barbarian warrior's face.
"Hii! G-get back! Get back!"
– Grrrk, grrrrr….
– Grrrrrr….
Worse still, Duncan was now surrounded by wolves as well. He resisted by swinging a heated poker, but it didn't look like he could last long. The moment an opening appeared, they would tear him apart without mercy.
Becoming wolf food together with the peddler was only a matter of time.
"..."
At last, Kadim's hand moved to his waist.
When he opened the waterskin, a fishy stench spread out. In his current condition, it was no different from drinking poison, but he had no choice. At least it was better than dying right now.
The barbarian warrior gulped down the demon blood.
– Grrk? Grrrrr….
– Grr, grrgrrgrr!
– Grrrrrrrr….
The blade wolves sensed the threat with their animal instincts.
This was no time to worry about the frail human hiding behind the campfire. The wolves surrounded the hulking human whose aura had clearly changed.
– Grr, grrgrr!
– Grrrrrrr, grrgrrgrr!
The blade wolf acting as the pack's leader gave the order to attack. The silver beasts bared their sharp fangs and charged all at once.
But Kadim was no longer the sick man who couldn't even throw a single axe properly like before.
Slash—!
A blade flashed, cleaving straight down the vertical axis like lightning.
The wolves couldn't even grasp what had happened. The process itself was invisible; only the result remained—a single wolf with its head split apart.
Blood-darkened eyes stared directly at the pack. Kicking away the cleaved wolf's head, Kadim spoke dryly.
"…Dogs that bite people deserve to die."
– Grrr, grrgrrgrr!
– Grrgrrgrrgrr!
He decided to personally discipline the ill-mannered mutts.
– Grrgrrgrr! Grrr, grrgrr...
Thud!
– …Yelp!
He hurled a hand axe, burying it in the crown of the noisiest one. Immediately after, he gripped his sword hilt and charged into the pack. He severed one wolf's neck completely, then pierced straight through the belly of the one beside it.
Thrust!
– Keheng, kegegekeng!
A raging blood cyclone—flashing steel tore through tough hides and plunged between slabs of flesh. Fresh blood scattered, soft entrails spilling out. There was no time for the droplets on the blade to dry.
The wolves didn't stay idle. But their counterattacks never reached him. Kadim deftly evaded claws and fangs, slipping swiftly between the wolves. His movements were so fast that even animal instinct couldn't keep up.
– Keheng, kyengkyeng!
– Kkiing, kkiing...
Before long, the pack finally tucked their tails and retreated all at once. Kadim wiped the blood splattered on his cheek.
'Hoo... that demon bastard was annoyingly nimble, but as expected, this kind of effect….'
The buff granted by 'Blood Berserker' varied depending on what kind of demon blood was consumed. This time, it was likely an 'agility enhancement' buff. Thanks to that, Kadim could unleash inhuman speed, even forgetting the injury to his leg.
Unfortunately, like a burning candle, the effect would soon fade.
"Hack, ghk...."
As the bloodlust subsided, even more horrific pain bored in below his shoulders. It felt as though boiling molten metal were being poured into his festering wound, iron spikes driven into living flesh. It was agony no human could endure. Kadim's shoulders trembled violently as he collapsed to the ground.
In truth, this had already been foreseen. After suffering so terribly from demon blood once, he drank it again? If not for the robust body of a barbarian warrior, he would have surely died of shock long ago.
– Grrrng...?
– Grrr, grrrrr....
Blue eyes gleamed again from beyond the tree trunks. As if waiting for this moment, the wolves leapt out once more. The peddler screamed in terror, clutching at his lifeline's shoulder.
"M-milord! Milord! Are you all right? Y-you must stay conscious! H-huh? B-behind you, behind you!"
The other wolves flattened their ears and obediently parted to make way. The alpha blade wolf, which had been watching the bloodbath, revealed itself.
– Grrrrrrrr....
It was twice as large as ordinary blade wolves. Its enraged growl was chilling enough to rob even the bravest of their fighting spirit. Beneath its grotesquely twisted snout, saw-like sharp teeth were exposed. If bitten by those, even the thickest arm would be severed in an instant.
But Kadim did not worry.
On a night when the moon that gazed down upon the world had completely vanished, with a heart pounding like war drums and eyes flashing in rhythm with the flickering starlight—
Midnight finally arrived.
The great warrior of Atala, who had come from the barren wasteland beyond the mountain range, gently closed his eyes and recited with reverence.
"[O Atala, Master of Myriad Weapon, who knows no defeat. Place your blade in my hand, consecrate this great warrior thirsty for struggle, let me slake my thirst with the enemy's red blood. On the night when the eyes that watch over the land hide their form, I forge this blade in your bloodstained name]."
Wooooong—
Brilliant crimson energy wrapped around the blade. At the same time, scarlet light rippled outward in all directions. The dark forest was dyed as if seized by the flames of war. Even the monsters were momentarily overwhelmed by the atmosphere, forgetting their savagery as they froze in place.
Kadim's second unique trait, 'The One Who Forges Names'.
A trait that borrows Atala's power to bestow a 'name' upon a nameless weapon, granting it special effects worthy of that 'name'.
In the game, it had been a truly insignificant trait. There, rare items laden with special effects were easy to obtain, and one could directly add effects through 'enchant'.
But now, it was different.
In the game-turned-reality, finding even an ordinary sturdy weapon was difficult, let alone a rare item. Being able to grant special effects without any materials was an enormous advantage. Without this, he would never have survived the early stages of the 1st playthrough, when everything was lacking.
In any case, he had somehow endured until 'midnight on a moonless night', the condition required to use his unique trait.
Now it was time to decide what 'name' and what 'special effect' to grant this sword.
"...."
The effect Kadim had originally planned was 'self-healing'. Up until earlier, that would have been more than enough. But now, his body was too severely damaged for such weak 'self-healing' to suffice.
[What 'name' will you give this blade.]
An inner resonance that spread not as a voice, but as clear intent alone. It was a familiar sensation—he had felt it during the 1st playthrough as well.
Kadim decided on the weapon's name. Only 'that effect' could resolve the present crisis.
"Mosquito."
[....]
"The name of this sword shall be 'Mosquito'."
Wooooooong—!
The blade willingly accepted the new name and resonated with it.
The crimson energy that had dispersed like mist compressed and was drawn into the blade. The writhing lines of energy finally settled into the form of red letters etched upon the blade.
…They were ancient characters he couldn't read, but they likely meant 'Mosquito'.
The reason Kadim chose such a name was simple. The special effect he desired only manifested reliably with that name.
Kadim tested the newly acquired effect.
– Grrrrrrrr....
Slash—!
A trajectory stretching toward the thick nape. The alpha wolf hastily dodged, but Kadim's slash was faster. The blade grazed its hide, and a single line of blood beaded along the edge.
The blade greedily absorbed the blood droplet and offered it to the master gripping the hilt.
Then, smoke rose from Kadim's skin, and his wounds recovered, if only slightly.
"Hoo...."
'Lifesteal'.
A special effect that restored vitality whenever damage was dealt to an enemy.
"Now I can finally breathe."
– Grrk, grrrrr....
"…Still far from enough, though."
The berserker's lips curved like a waning crescent moon.
It was a smile that thirsted for more blood.