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#35 Episode Server Merger and the Third Trial (2)

《Kieeeeeek!》

The zombie struck by the fire I shot emitted a grotesque scream as it flailed about, only to turn to ash in an instant.

Next to it, a new zombie charged at me, but with a light backstep, I unleashed my next spell, resulting in its instant death as well.

Repeating this process several times, I unleashed my skills without concern for fuel depletion.

The unique skill ‘Death Knight’ restores both my health and magic by 4% regardless of the monster’s level whenever I defeat one.

In other words, if I can one-shot an enemy with a skill that consumes 4% of my magic or less, I can use my skills without any limit to my magic.

Moreover, ‘serum’ has a low drop rate, but zombies drop it without issue even at lower levels.

Essentially, this means I can wipe them out with long-range attack magic before they even have a chance to infect me and gather serums without any fear of infection.

Of course, if I become careless and miss my attack, or if other monsters interfere and mess up my damage, my life could be in danger… but that’s nothing new. Since I’m fighting in this game, a certain level of risk is always expected.

At least it can’t be more dangerous than riding a bike, right?

「What’s with the bike comparisons to a death game?」

After a nonstop zombie run in the field for about a day, I managed to secure 13 serums.

「Considering the drop rate is supposed to be bad, that’s not too shabby?」

I need to think about the specific conditions.

My current level is 51. The players commonly referred to as ‘top-tier’ within the alpha server are around level 40, so I’m more than 10 levels higher than them.

On top of that, I have a unique skill specialized for hunting trash mobs and I’m part of the Black Knight class, which boasts the highest DPS, and I’m soloing, so I monopolize the loot.

Yet, even with all these favorable conditions, I only got 13.

A regular party of 4 to 6 people can barely get 1 to 2 serums each. In extreme cases, they might not even get that.

Players like me, who can one-shot before zombies even approach, are rare. Especially close-combat characters like warriors or paladins have a considerably higher chance of getting infected by the virus. Assuming they consume serums every time they get infected, no matter how carefully they play, the supply will never meet the demand.

「But there are priests, right? Paladins and bards too.」

Well. I’m not too confident about that.

In the first place, there are very few players with the priest profession in BE.

There are various reasons for this.

First, the difficulty.

While damage dealers only need to focus on their health, enemy health cooldowns, and magic, healers have an overwhelming amount of things to monitor: their own health, team members’ health, their own magic, buffs, debuffs, and so much more.

「Well, the more versatile you are, the busier you get.」

Second, external perception.

However, despite the daunting difficulty, it’s quite hard for healers to receive compliments like “good job” from others. Damage dealers, obsessed with kill scores, often freak out and complain about not being healed, and if they happen to be saved by a healer, they think that’s their own skill. Naturally, a thank you is the last thing on their minds.

Of course, there are rational players who appreciate healers for their timely buffs and heals, but online games tend to gather villains who go off the rails like a Mohican. I’ve seen countless instances where people complain about healers as “riding along without doing anything” after they’ve just struggled to clear the game by healing and buffing.

「That sounds like a deeply personal grudge against the assessment.」

Still, the first two reasons can be somehow brushed aside. Given the miserable treatment of healers, there still exists a user group dedicated to becoming “masters” of healing out of sheer stubbornness.

In fact, during the ‘official service’ era of BE, there were quite a few healers, meaning players with the priest profession.

But now, the stolen BE is a death game.

Choosing the priest profession, which lacks combat capabilities, is almost equivalent to putting one’s life in the hands of other players aside from myself.

While there are few players choosing priests, many players demand them.

The price of priests has already been substantially inflated. Even during the early newbie drop-off incidents, players were eager to bring in low-level priests to raise them up for use.

And now, with the spread of the ‘zombie virus’…

The status of priests has escalated almost to that of royalty.

“Looking for a priest! A priest is needed! A level 38 warrior is looking for a priest!”

“Um, I’m level 30, is there a spot?”

“Welcome! Just relax at the back and treat status ailments!”

“Excuse me. Why does the loot distribution in this party contract look like this? There are four party members, and the leader is taking 80% for himself, how is that fair?”

“I’m a priest, though.”

“Oh, you’re a priest! You should’ve mentioned that earlier! I’ll be counting on you!”

“A priest is looking for a party. Party joining fee 200,000! Once you form a party, it lasts for 24 hours!”

“Hey, my entire fortune is only 180,000, can I substitute the rest with items?”

“Hm. That’s fine. Come on in.”

──── ──── ────

『Zombie Virus』

If a player is infected and not treated within 30 minutes, they die and transform into a zombie monster that retains their original specs.

The virus level increases based on the level of the zombie monster defeated, requiring either serums or status ailment recovery skills of equal or higher virus levels for treatment.

──── ──── ────

If you are attacked by a zombie, there’s a chance of being infected with the virus.

And the only way to cure the virus is by using serums dropped by zombies or through recovery magic.

Stores do sell antidotes and whatnot, but they are ineffective against the zombie virus.

What this means is, if you get infected with the virus without a priest in your party, and fail to obtain serums within the time limit, you instantly die regardless of how much health you have.

Moreover, zombie monsters are spread across the entire continent, not just specific hunting grounds, and their aggression level is incredibly high. They will attack players regardless of level the moment they spot them.

Those who go out of their way to hire a priest to hunt are relatively better off, while most players remain trapped in the city, unable to even attempt hunting.

「…Is this bad news?」

Yeah, it’s not good. As usual.

The zombies left strewn across the continent become stronger as time goes on.

So, players must actively engage in hunting before the zombies get stronger.

However, priests are limited, and the supply of serums is low.

A few players, including Nadia, are desperately hunting, but that alone would never be enough for an early suppression.

Later, when the zombies, strengthened to a certain extent, break into the city and carry out mass slaughter, while the players are engulfed in despair, Lunara will pop up and say something like this.

─Oh my, I told you it’s best to take them out soon. It’s foolish and pitiful to shy away from immediate fear, only to allow a greater disaster to fester! Hoohoohoo!

That’s so annoying. Extremely annoying.

The attitude of someone who has cleverly arranged a situation where people can’t help but feel helpless and then acts all high and mighty saying, “Well, as long as you did well, that’s what matters!” is utterly infuriating.

「What about asking Aurelia for help?」

That’s a pipe dream. Asking her for a hunting favor around Arkemia is an entirely different issue.

Aurelia wouldn’t release soldiers across the continent just because I asked, and even if she did, if those soldiers got infected, everything would immediately fall into chaos.

「Sigh, I’m at a loss.」

No, that’s wrong.

There is an answer.

「…What are you planning now?」

Fighting within the set conditions is the way of the player.

If I’m the GM and creator, I need to flip the entire board.

So for now, I should consider moving to a new city.

*

Orcomenia.

One of the continent’s leading cities governed by the wise lord Oberon.

While Arkemia, ruled by Aurelia, is dubbed the “Village of Beginning” and is beginner-friendly, Orcomenia caters to mid-level players around level 4-50.

The quality of the equipment sold is high, and as expected, the overall prices are steep.

The key NPCs in this city are Oberon and Titania, whom I’ve mentioned before, but they are not the ones I wish to meet right now.

There’s a shabby shop in a western alley of the city.

As I entered the place with a sign depicting herbs and vials, a unique medicinal smell greeted me, reminiscent of stepping into a dentist’s office.

Behind the counter was a bespectacled young man who set down the newspaper he was holding to focus his gaze on me.

“Welcome to Cagliostro’s Alchemy Workshop. What potion are you looking for?”

I approached him and spread out the serums I had gathered from my hunts.

Curiosity glimmered in the youth’s eyes beyond his modern glasses.

“Our shop does not buy potions.”

“It’s not a purchase; it’s a mass production.”

“Pardon?”

I addressed the young shopkeeper.

“The best alchemist in this city, Cagliostro.”

“A wicked disease has spread across this continent, tormenting humanity. These potions are meant to cure that ailment. I wish to mass-produce the cure. Is that possible?”

If you guys are going to drop zombies into this world, then I’ll just wipe them out in the world’s own way.